After the Great Dao Died

Relying solely on his own killing power, Lu Baizhong was hailed by Crown Prince Ying Chi as the number one on the Seventh Floor.

These were not empty words; it was a definitive conclusion forged through countless life-and-death struggles!

Lu Baizhong retreated the instant his strike landed, flying back to stand upon a mountain crag beneath the starlight. Fierce lightning blazed around him, and he gripped his silver-white longsword in his hand!

As pale golden lightning flickered along the blade, the thunder qi within his body surged into motion!

His pupils could no longer be seen; his eyes were merely two clusters of pure, burning golden lightning, like a pair of thunderous stars embedded in his sockets.

Opposite him, the Cloud-Soaring Technique beneath Chen Lingxi’s feet held him steadily in midair, his robes flapping fiercely in the night wind.

From that single clash, Lu Baizhong had gauged Chen Lingxi’s strength, and the excitement in his eyes only grew!

”Among those on the Qi Circulation Seventh Floor, other than Lin Suri, I have never seen someone as formidable as you.”

Lu Baizhong finally spoke, his voice rumbling like thunder.

And amid that thunder, his longsword rose once more!Before the sword strike even fell, the sound of thunder arrived first!

The thunderous roar pierced the ears. If an ordinary cultivator were struck by this sound, their blood and qi would churn and their spiritual qi would fall into chaos, leaving them unable to unleash even six or seven tenths of their cultivation. But Chen Lingxi merely narrowed his eyes slightly.

”Haa!”

The Dragon Roar Technique circulated silently in his throat before crashing explosively into the overwhelming thunder!

The instant the dragon’s roar and the thunderous boom collided, both dissipated into nothingness!

At the same time, Chen Lingxi advanced instead of retreating!

The mortal iron precious saber in his hand gleamed with three intertwined colors, transforming into an erratic, magnificent saber aura.

Saber and sword clashed.

With a massive boom, the two men were forced back once again!

Thus, a fierce battle broke out between them in the mountain wilderness.

Once Lu Baizhong’s terrifying sword light unfolded, it became like a raging storm, utterly impenetrable.

He soared into the air, his longsword thrusting straight forward!

The strike was unfathomably fast. Lightning condensed at the tip of the blade, compressing all its might to the absolute limit. As the sword stabbed out, thunder flashed! A cold light glinted in Chen Lingxi’s eyes; surprisingly, he did not dodge or evade.

He clawed at the empty air with the five fingers of his left hand, fiercely triggering the Heaven-Seizing Seal method.

The natural spiritual energy within a hundred zhang was dragged in by this grasp, condensing into an almost tangible giant hand seal of spiritual qi in his palm.

He thrust his palm forward, colliding explosively with Lu Baizhong’s third incoming sword strike.

The two forces locked in a stalemate for only half a breath before the Heaven-Seizing Seal was pierced by the lightning!

But Lu Baizhong’s sword momentum was also violently halted by the palm strike!

This brief pause was exactly what Chen Lingxi had been waiting for.

He closed the distance in a flash, his Nine Revolutions blood energy roaring to life!

The mortal iron precious saber in his hand slashed upward at an angle, the tri-colored brilliance on the blade flaring to its absolute peak.

There was nothing flashy about this strike. It was a simple upward slash, yet the speed of the blade was so great that even Lu Baizhong only saw a tri-colored afterimage flash before his eyes.

In a rush, he brought his sword across to block. As his spiritual qi circulated, it formed a barrier spell!

Clang! Lu Baizhong felt an indescribable, terrifying force pour backward through his blade!

He let out a muffled groan as the saber strike sent him flying backward. His feet plowed two deep trenches in the ground, and he skidded back dozens of zhang before barely stabilizing his stance.

He raised his head and looked at Chen Lingxi. For the first time, a trace of true gravity flickered in his eyes, which were still burning with golden lightning.

He took a deep breath, and the lightning around him erupted in a fiery blaze once more.

The incandescent white lightning wrapped around his body like a cicada-wing veil woven from thunder. It appeared fragile, but every inch contained a terrifying might capable of destroying cities and pulling down strongholds!

[Thunder Garb]!

One of Lu Baizhong’s trump cards!

The moment the Thunder Garb formed, Lu Baizhong vanished from his spot!

His speed was so immense that even Chen Lingxi’s divine sense could only capture a blurry white afterimage.

In the next instant, Lu Baizhong appeared three zhang behind Chen Lingxi, his longsword raised high. The blazing white lightning on the blade completely retracted inward!

[Nirvana Sword Light!]

This strike was one of Lu Baizhong’s ultimate killing techniques. The moment the sword’s momentum rose, heaven and earth fell completely silent.

Wherever the blade passed, the air was torn open, leaving a fissure visible to the naked eye!

Chen Lingxi’s pupils contracted slightly.

He reacted in almost the exact same instant that Lu Baizhong disappeared.

Pushing his Nine Revolutions blood energy to its absolute limit, he activated the seventh form of the Seven Forms of Halting Weapons—the Halting Weapons Form.

To halt weapons meant stopping killing with killing, and curbing violence with violence!

His blood energy condensed, and the Cyan Edge Method, Purple True Precious Qi, and Sword Edge Qi were frantically channeled, accompanied by a violent eruption of terrifying spiritual qi.

Everything converged into the long saber in his hand!

With a backhand strike, he slashed behind him!

Unable to withstand the terrifying, massive force, the blade of the mortal iron precious saber began to shatter bit by bit midway through the swing.

However, the shattered fragments of the blade did not scatter. Instead, they were swept up by Chen Lingxi’s spiritual qi and blood energy, transforming into dozens of even finer streaks of saber light. Together with the residual edge of the broken blade, they crashed directly into Lu Baizhong’s Nirvana strike.

Rumble! Saber and sword collided once again. The impact was horrifying, kicking up massive clouds of dust and smoke!

The smoke and dust eventually cleared.

Chen Lingxi stood at the edge of a massive crater over a zhang deep. The mortal iron precious saber in his hand was reduced to a hilt less than three cun long; the blade had completely shattered into fragments scattered at the bottom of the pit.

The right sleeve of his robe had long since been reduced to flying ash. His exposed forearm was covered in scorch marks burned by the lightning, and the webbing between his thumb and forefinger had split open, allowing blood to drip down his fingers onto the crushed stones beneath his feet.

Lu Baizhong stood on the opposite side of the giant crater. The layer of Thunder Garb around his body had dimmed significantly.

His right hand gripping the sword trembled slightly, and a very faint trace of blood marked the corner of his mouth.

Lu Baizhong was injured.

Yet as he stood his ground, his lightning-filled eyes betrayed no hint of dejection; instead, they burned even more fiercely!

Suddenly, Lu Baizhong took a step forward and slashed down with his sword!

Before the sword shadow even arrived, the world-destroying pressure caused the ground beneath Chen Lingxi’s feet to crack inch by inch.

Holding nothing back, Chen Lingxi pushed the pool of spiritual liquid within his sea of qi to its absolute limits: Profound Qi, Sword Edge Qi, Purple True Precious Qi, and the Cyan Edge Method.

Four completely distinct forces frantically circulated within his body, and his Nine Revolutions blood energy erupted with equal, unreserved fury. Facing that world-destroying sword light, he stepped forward! He raised his right hand and violently clenched his five fingers in the empty air.

Heaven-Seizing Seal.

This time, the Heaven-Seizing Seal was entirely different from before.

He was no longer just grabbing the natural spiritual energy within a hundred zhang; rather, he was pushing the Heaven-Seizing Seal method to the absolute limit of his current capabilities.

All the spiritual qi in his sea of qi, all the blood energy throughout his body, and all the power of divine sense in his sea of consciousness flowed entirely into this single palm strike.

A massive hand seal spanning a full ten zhang manifested out of thin air. A four-colored brilliance coiled around its five fingers, while a highly condensed vortex of spiritual energy spun frantically at the center of the palm. With every revolution, the vortex devoured even more of the surrounding natural spiritual energy.

Carrying a terrifying might meant to suppress all things, the Heaven-Seizing Seal smashed explosively into the incandescent white sword shadow!

Boom!

The instant the sword shadow and the hand seal collided, Chen Lingxi felt an intensely searing sword intent pierce through the layered spiritual energy of the Heaven-Seizing Seal, stabbing straight toward the space between his eyebrows.

Chen Lingxi gave a low shout!

The Dragon Roar method circulated once more, vibrating his divine sense and transforming into an air current that crashed directly into the sword light!

Under the obstruction of the Dragon Roar Technique, the very last shred of sword intent dissipated in Chen Lingxi’s sea of consciousness!

In reality, the collision had also determined a victor.

The giant Heaven-Seizing hand seal and the sword light detonated simultaneously in midair, like two blazing suns perishing together.

By the time the dust settled, Lu Baizhong was standing amid a messy expanse of shattered rocks.

The lightning on the blade had completely extinguished. The previously ceaseless, flowing thunder runes were now dull and lifeless, resembling a network of dead blood vessels.

His robes had been mostly torn apart by the blast waves, revealing several bone-deep wounds across his chest.

He raised his head and looked across the way.

Chen Lingxi was likewise standing amid the rubble. The jade-like luster around his body had dimmed significantly, and there was a gash sliced open by the sword light across his chest and abdomen.

But Chen Lingxi was still standing, and rich spiritual qi continued to flow around him!

In a direct clash of strength, without even drawing upon his numerous other trump cards, Chen Lingxi had defeated Lu Baizhong!

The victor had been decided.

Lu Baizhong suddenly let out a laugh. He sat down cross-legged, laid his longsword horizontally across his knees, and looked up at Chen Lingxi. ”Just... what is your background?” he asked. Chen Lingxi remained silent.

Lu Baizhong waited for a moment. Seeing that he wouldn’t answer, he didn’t press the matter.

Lowering his head, he slowly ran his fingers across the blade of the longsword resting on his knees.

His movements were gentle and meticulous, and his eyes actually held a hint of reluctance.

Then, he suddenly raised his head. Divine sense surged from the center of his brow, transforming into an extremely fine, microscopic golden thread that shot straight toward Chen Lingxi’s forehead.

Thinking it was some kind of divine sense attack, Chen Lingxi subconsciously prepared to mount a divine sense defense.

However, upon the collision of their divine senses, Chen Lingxi’s expression suddenly froze!

”Hm?”

He immediately withdrew his divine sense, allowing the golden thread to sink into his brow.

And then, a sword scripture appeared in his sea of consciousness.

[Thunder-Concealing Sword Scripture]!

Chen Lingxi skimmed through the information in his sea of consciousness. He looked up at Lu Baizhong, a flash of surprise in his eyes. This Lu Baizhong had actually imparted an extraordinarily profound sword scripture to him!

Lu Baizhong merely shook his head, his tone flat. ”This Thunder Radiance Longsword was originally forged from mortal iron. I nurtured it using the thunder of my sword scripture, so it shares a destiny with me.

”Without the thunder of the sword scripture, it would soon regress into a piece of ordinary iron... having followed me for a time...”

He paused and gently pushed the longsword in his hand toward Chen Lingxi. The Thunder Radiance Longsword slipped from his grasp and flew out, hovering steadily in front of Chen Lingxi. The tip pointed down and the hilt pointed up, as if bowing to its new master.

A strand of thunder qi flowed along the blade—this was precisely Chen Lingxi’s target.

”Chen Lingxi, now that this sword has fallen into your hands, I ask that you nurture it with the sword scripture.”

Chen Lingxi reached out and grasped the hilt of the Thunder Radiance Longsword.

The hilt felt slightly heavy in his hand, cool to the touch. The moment his fingers brushed against it, the dim thunder runes along the blade flared briefly before sinking back into stillness, silently accepting its new master.

Seeing him accept the sword, a faint smile suddenly appeared at the corners of Lu Baizhong’s mouth.

”To be able to defeat me in this Qi-Depleted Grotto-Heaven, and to be like me—disdaining the use of any magical treasures... you are truly extraordinary.”

He said softly, ”Perhaps one day, we shall meet again in the Great World.”

After saying this, he remained seated cross-legged, resting his hands on his knees, and closed his eyes. A flash of thunder streaked across his brow!

Then, at that exact moment, his aura was completely extinguished.

Chen Lingxi stood in place, gripping the Thunder Radiance Longsword. He looked down at Lu Baizhong’s seated corpse and remained silent for a long time.

”This man truly was extraordinary, and incredibly pure. He didn’t even carry a Vast Void Pouch on him, only a single precious sword. It’s just...”

Chen Lingxi frowned.

Lu Baizhong had just said that perhaps they would meet again in the Great World?

But Lu Baizhong was already dead. He had died here in the Qi-Depleted Grotto-Heaven. How could they meet again in the Great World?

Could it be that Truth-Seeking cultivators who perished in this grotto-heaven could be reborn in the Great World?

No sooner had this thought crossed his mind than he immediately overturned it.

”If that were the case, the Truth-Seeking cultivators who died by my hand wouldn’t have been so terrified of death,” he muttered to himself.

The sheer terror of Xi Mu, Luo Ran, and Xu Qingru just before their deaths was still vivid in his memory.

If death merely meant returning to the Great World, why would they have been so terrified to die? He raised an eyebrow, recalling the many marvels of the Great World. ’The Great Xuanzhuo Realm holds countless mysteries, along with many Cauldron Vessels,’ he thought.

’Perhaps Lu Baizhong’s sect is capable of protecting him at the moment of his death, allowing him to be reborn in the Great Xuanzhuo Realm.’

If this were truly the case, then Lu Baizhong’s sect possessed methods far superior to ordinary sects, allowing disciples to preserve their immortal souls even after failing their Truth-Seeking, so they could return to the Greater World and start over.

Such methods were absolutely not something an ordinary small sect could possess.

Chen Lingxi yearned for the Great Xuanzhuo Realm even more.

Retracting his thoughts, he wasted no more time.

He found a relatively flat spot in the river valley and sat down cross-legged.

Although he had won the fierce battle just now, the spiritual qi in his sea of qi was mostly depleted. The sword wounds on his body needed to heal, and more importantly... that strand of thunder precious qi desperately needed to be refined.

There was also the Thunder-Concealing Sword Scripture, which required deep focus and calm meditation to comprehend.

He first used spiritual qi to stop the bleeding from the sword wound on his chest. Then, he swallowed a healing pill obtained from the Jade Bracelet from Rong Chun, calming his mind to refine its medicinal efficacy.

A refreshing wave of medicinal power soaked through him like spring water, extracting the lingering lightning sword qi from his wound thread by thread.

After a long time, as Chen Lingxi’s injuries gradually improved, he closed his eyes in concentration. Circulating the Six Qi True Method, he began to refine that strand of thunder precious qi. The moment the thunder precious qi came into contact with his own spiritual qi, it unleashed an extremely violent surge of resistance.

Even though Chen Lingxi was well prepared, the frenzied power of the thunder still jarred him, causing his blood and qi to churn.

He hurriedly channeled his spiritual qi, suppressing its frantic struggles bit by bit.

At the same time, the silver-white brilliance of the Sword Edge Qi also lit up, wrapping around the thunder precious qi layer by layer to prevent it from rampaging wildly inside his sea of qi.

The refinement process was extremely slow. It took a full half day for the thunder precious qi to completely settle down. It now hovered docilely in the depths of the spiritual pool within his sea of qi, occupying a corner alongside the Profound Qi and the Sword Edge Qi.

”Success!”

Chen Lingxi exhaled a long breath of turbid air. Tiny arcs of electricity were mixed within the breath, crackling and flashing in the air twice before fading away.

He opened his eyes, and with a slight shift in his thoughts, an extremely faint wisp of pale golden lightning leapt from his fingertips, sizzling softly.

He channeled the lightning and activated the Cyan Edge Method, merging that wisp of lightning with the sharp edge of the Cyan Edge Method.

The cyan glow and the lightning intertwined without any friction, resulting in a might that was far more than just a notch stronger than the standalone Cyan Edge Method.

He understood perfectly. Even though this thunder precious qi had not yet been paired with any lightning spells, its sheer thunderous empowerment alone was enough to infuse all his offensive methods with the scorching power of lightning.

He retracted his finger and sank his divine sense into his sea of consciousness to begin comprehending the Thunder-Concealing Sword Scripture that Lu Baizhong had carved into his mind. The scripture’s complete profound mysteries, its sword manipulation methods, the techniques for quenching a blade with thunder, the arts for condensing sword qi, and even the numerous cultivation insights Lu Baizhong had attached to it, were all laid out clearly before his eyes.

The more Chen Lingxi examined it, the more astounded and filled with admiration he became.

This Thunder-Concealing Sword Scripture was no ordinary sword technique; it was an entire cultivation system that seamlessly fused the Dao of Thunder and the Dao of the Sword.

From the foundational basics of drawing lightning to temper the body, to the advanced stages of wearing thunder as garb, commanding lightning with the sword, and nourishing the blade with thunder, every level was explained in exhaustive detail.

If one could cultivate it to completion, every movement would carry the might of heavenly thunder. Even in the Greater World, this would be considered an extremely formidable offensive method.

However, this sword scripture was incredibly profound, far more complex and esoteric than the Heaven-Seizing Seal.

’Cultivating this sword scripture will definitely take more than a day or two,’ he thought.

Chen Lingxi went through the full text of the sword scripture in his sea of consciousness and formed a plan.

At present, it was inconvenient to cultivate within the Ancestral Mountain. It wouldn’t be too late to practice it slowly after leaving the mountain and finding a secure location.

Remaining seated cross-legged, he continued to refine the Life Devouring spiritual energy that had not yet been fully digested in his body!

Zheng Wuzheng, Rong Chun, Lu Baizhong!

A long while later... When he opened his eyes once more, the spiritual pool in his sea of qi had expanded by a significant margin.

The spiritual liquid was as clear as jade and bottomlessly deep, with every single drop refined to the absolute limit.

The Seventh Floor was nearing completion...

Chen Lingxi’s eyes flickered. He felt that the harvest from this trip to the Ancestral Mountain had been incredibly huge!

He sank his consciousness into the Divine Chamber. Amid the swirling clouds inside the Divine Chamber, tadpole-like script flashed with golden light.

Seeing those words, Chen Lingxi’s mind focused.

’The Vision Roaming Divine Ability has changed again!’

The range of Vision Roaming had long since expanded to two hundred li in every direction!

Other than that...

He stared at the tadpole script. Originally, beneath the column for Vision Roaming, there had only been two names.

One was his own, and the other was Lin Suri.

But now, a blank line had unexpectedly appeared... ’I can use Vision Roaming on a second person besides Lin Suri?’ he thought.

Chen Lingxi was overjoyed!

’I wonder where Lin Suri is right now?’ he thought.

Chen Lingxi hadn’t forgotten that Lin Suri still held a strand of the Ancestral Mountain Mother Qi.

The Mother Qi was the most extraordinary treasure in this place.

He focused his mind and activated Vision Roaming!

Only to see that a hundred and fifty li away!

Lin Suri was being hunted down by multiple people trying to seize his Mother Qi!

A smile surfaced on Chen Lingxi’s face.

”Dao Brother Lin... I’m coming to help you.”