After the Great Dao Died

The Cauldron Vessel was about to emerge.

An unexpected smile surfaced on Emperor Daye’s wrinkled face.

He spoke again, ”Have Qi Lian and Marquis Fengshan guard it carefully. When the day of maturity arrives, you will go and retrieve it.”

The white-haired, purple-robed marquis kowtowed once more.

”I receive the decree.”

He then raised his head and respectfully inquired, ”And that Cauldron Vessel Fragment in the Zhuzhao River...”

Hearing this, Chen Lingxi suddenly recalled Lin Suri and Chao Feiye mentioning that a Cauldron Vessel Fragment was due to emerge in the Zhuzhao River.

Moreover, this was no ordinary Cauldron Vessel Fragment.

It was an extremely rare Killing Power Cauldron Vessel Fragment with extraordinary might.

If an Upper Three Floors cultivator obtained it, its power would be enough to draw the covetous eyes of figures at the Heaven-Facing 3rd Floor.When Imperial Consort Chun was still alive, she had personally gone to inspect the banks of the Zhuzhao River.

The top-tier vessel fragment this purple-robed marquis mentioned today was, in all likelihood, that exact piece. High upon his throne, Emperor Daye gave a slight nod.

”This Cauldron Vessel Fragment is of great importance... Once it emerges, go and take it.”

The purple-robed marquis bowed his head in compliance.

In this short span of time, the marquis had kowtowed three times. He maintained his kneeling posture, as if waiting for Emperor Daye’s next decree.

He remained as still as a stone statue.

Emperor Daye suddenly asked, ”Has that Chen Lingxi been found?”

His aged voice was entirely casual.

But as the name reached Chen Lingxi’s ears, it exploded in his mind like a clap of thunder, jolting his thoughts to a halt.

Before he could even react, the purple-robed marquis replied, ”He was found long ago. He is in the Nanju Twelve Mountains, currently still in secluded cultivation.”

Not the slightest ripple of emotion could be heard in the marquis’s tone.

Chen Lingxi’s heart pounded like a drum; thunder seemed to crack through his mind once more.

For a moment, he could not even maintain his Vision Roaming state. The divine ability shattered and faded. He abruptly opened his eyes, breathing rapidly, a fine layer of sweat beading on his forehead.

’The Imperial Court has actually known my whereabouts from the very beginning?’

He gritted his teeth, ignoring his headache. Suppressing his shock to calm himself, he reactivated his Vision Roaming divine ability.

Vision Roaming once more.

Emperor Daye was speaking slowly.

”To be able to snatch the Ancestral Mountain Maternal Qi from among those numerous reincarnators, his talent must be extraordinary. Coupled with the Mother Qi’s blessing, it is already enough.”

”What realm is he at now?” Emperor Daye slightly tilted his head, his deep eyes falling upon the purple-robed marquis.

The purple-robed marquis answered, ”It is rather unexpected, but that Chen Lingxi has already stepped into the Qi Circulation 9th Floor realm.”

Emperor Daye’s already indifferent gaze suddenly narrowed.

The purple-robed marquis bowed. ”Ying Chi was abducted by him. However, the Sage was in secluded cultivation, so we did not come to report it.”

These words were enough to show that this Crown Prince, Ying Chi, was extremely unimportant.

Sure enough. Upon hearing that Crown Prince Ying Chi had been abducted, Emperor Daye showed no reaction whatsoever.

He even nodded slightly.

”Since that is the case... has the Beast-Fighting Palace fallen into Chen Lingxi’s hands?”

The purple-robed marquis remained kneeling on the ground, listening attentively.

Emperor Daye took a deep breath and said, ”The Qi Circulation 9th Floor is still not enough. Wait for him to step into the Heaven-Facing Pavilions.”

His voice echoed through the hall like a heavenly decree, every word carrying immense weight.

The purple-robed marquis kowtowed once more and took his leave.

Emperor Daye’s gaze flickered as he looked out beyond the resplendent palace.

Following Emperor Daye’s perspective, Chen Lingxi looked into the distance.

Above the imperial palace, he saw densely packed threads of spiritual qi intertwining like a massive spiderweb covering the sky.

The web was not chaotic; it flowed slowly through the void along an unimaginably profound trajectory, faintly forming a massive array.

Surging spiritual qi gathered vigorously within the array.

It almost submerged the entire palace in spiritual qi.

It was unfathomably stronger than the Pure Wondrous Qi Pivot Array Formation Chen Lingxi had laid down.

What alarmed Chen Lingxi even more was that these threads of spiritual qi wrapped around severed limbs, slithering about like living creatures.

Spiritual light circulated over the surfaces of the severed limbs, making the dead flesh and blood seem to come alive.

The sight was far too bizarre.

It was as if...

Emperor Daye was using these severed limbs and this boundlessly surging spiritual qi to conduct some sort of unspeakable experiment.

Vision Roaming shattered right then.

Chen Lingxi opened his eyes, feeling extremely exhausted.

He forced his eyes to stay open and walked out of the cave. The Method of Qi Observation circulated in his eyes as he looked out over the vast Nanju Twelve Mountains, standing atop the rocks.

Morning light spilled over the eastern ridges, dyeing the landscape in pale gold.

Chen Lingxi had no time to admire the scenery.

The Method of Qi Observation flowed slowly in his eyes, meticulously inspecting this mountain range from the inside out.

However, he found absolutely nothing!

’Just how did this purple-robed marquis know my location?’

Chen Lingxi furrowed his brows.

In his eyes, the Nanju Twelve Mountains were merely ordinary, barren mountains with nothing remarkable about them, rarely visited by people.

How could he be so easily discovered by the Imperial Court?

His frown deepened as an immense sense of crisis rose in his heart.

Not only did that purple-robed marquis know his exact location, he was even crystal clear about how long he had been in secluded cultivation.

’From the very beginning, the Imperial Court has known my whereabouts. Moreover, this Emperor Daye is obviously scheming against me. Once I step into the Heaven-Facing Tenth Floor, what else is he going to do?’

The chill in Chen Lingxi’s heart deepened.

He thought for a moment before returning to the cave. From the Vast Void Pouch, he took out the items he had obtained from Crown Prince Ying Chi, Rong Chun, and the others, one by one.

He carefully inspected them again with the Method of Qi Observation, yet still found nothing.

Chen Lingxi ultimately laid his eyes on the Beast-Fighting Palace.

’For someone of Crown Prince Ying Chi’s cultivation level to control the Beast-Fighting Palace and the Purple True Treasure Vase—it makes no sense. Especially since Emperor Daye specifically asked about this Beast-Fighting Palace during the Vision Roaming.’

Chen Lingxi closed his eyes, pouring his divine sense into the Beast-Fighting Palace.

He could see the Purple True Treasure Vase suspended high within the palace. In just a short while longer, the mighty power of the palace would be blessed upon it.

’Once this Purple True Treasure Vase is fully blessed, it will inevitably become an unimaginably lethal weapon of slaughter.’

’With this treasure in my hands, my combat strength will certainly soar, and perhaps I can directly face those ordinary Tenth Floor cultivators!’

Chen Lingxi’s eyes flickered, his gaze burning intensely. But then, he let out a long sigh.

He gathered all these treasures and stored them into an empty Vast Void Pouch.

He sealed it with a streak of spiritual qi and wrapped the outer layer in several barriers from the Hidden Edge Method. Only then did he bury it within a hidden crevice deep inside the cave.

’No matter what, these things cannot be kept on my person for now.’

As he pondered this, he was just about to leave.

Right at that moment, he felt a fierce spirit erupt in the distance.

Chen Lingxi frowned, sending out a strand of divine sense.

Then, he clearly perceived that on a mountain peak dozens of miles away...

...two terrifying and explosive auras were currently erupting.

These two auras rose like two great suns over the distant horizon, radiating an overwhelming presence.

Their power rumbled like thunder—incomparably terrifying—yet it was laced with a deathly stillness that momentarily caught Chen Lingxi by surprise.

These two auras were far too bizarre. They possessed the heavy, mountain-like coercion of an Entering Profound martial practitioner, yet they also held an aura of pure deathly stillness, like a pool of eternal ice that would not melt in ten thousand years—cold, dark, and despairing.

And at this moment, these diametrically opposed auras were perfectly fused together, making it impossible to comprehend.

Chen Lingxi stepped forward.

He channeled the Method of Qi Observation. Spiritual light circulated in his eyes, piercing through the heavy barriers of the mountain forests and falling upon the site of those warring auras.

He saw that on that distant mountain stood two figures dressed in black robes.

They were tall, their bodies tightly wrapped in black robes that obscured even their faces.

However, the blazing auras radiating from them were completely unhindered by the black robes. They surged into the sky like two pillars of fiery smoke.

And these auras rushed straight toward Chen Lingxi.

’Two Entering Profound figures... Are they people from the Imperial Court?’

It was no wonder Chen Lingxi made this guess. Aside from the Great Li Imperial Court, he could not think of any other faction in the empire that could so readily dispatch two Entering Profound experts.

Right at this moment, when the True Intent from Chen Lingxi’s Method of Qi Observation swept past them...

Chen Lingxi caught a shocking glimpse of the eyes beneath those black robes. Hollow, void.

There was only a deathly stillness.

In an instant, Chen Lingxi caught the aura radiating from this hollowness.

Chen Lingxi’s pupils shrank slightly.

’Undying Willow Puppets!’

Chen Lingxi couldn’t be more familiar with this sort of deathly aura.

He had once used an Undying Willow Branch to refine that Xi Mu into an Undying Willow Puppet.

The aura emanating from the eyes of those two black-robed figures on the distant mountain was exactly the same as Xi Mu’s, only countless times stronger.

’Two Entering Profound figures were refined into Undying Willow Puppets. Who could have the means to do such a thing?’

Chen Lingxi’s thoughts spun rapidly.

At this moment, the vitality on those two experts was extremely terrifying, blooming out like great suns scorching the sky.

Even separated by such a vast distance, Chen Lingxi could still sense their formidable strength. Yet, there was not the slightest trace of fear in his eyes.

With a reach of his hand, a longsword of thunder appeared in his grasp.

It was the Thunder Radiance Treasure Sword.

’Entering Profound martial practitioners... They are still somewhat inferior to Zhang Mozhu.’

’But there are two of them...’

’This is a perfect chance to see just how strong my Thunder-Concealing Sword Scripture truly is.’

Meanwhile, on a mountain peak thousands of miles away, Xi Yu opened her eyes.

Despite being separated by an immense distance, her eyes—calm as water—reflected the terrifying spiritual light and vitality at the very end of that distant horizon.

She furrowed her brow and slowly stood up.

Just like that, Xi Yu clearly saw that young man in dark clothes.

She saw the three-colored radiance churning around him, saw the Longevity Bridge stretching across the sky, and also saw the Thunder Radiance Treasure Sword spitting golden thunderous brilliance!

”Chen Lingxi... Is he actually a Truth-Seeking cultivator as well?”

She muttered softly to herself.

Blown by the wind atop the mountain peak, her voice scattered without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Soon after, this genius of the Que Star Xi Family slowly shook her head, seemingly recalling Xi Yuan.

”Once memories awaken, the Chen Lingxi of the past is already dead.”

”Kill.”