After the Great Dao Died

Lin Suri sat cross-legged at the summit of a high mountain.

The Six Qi True Method ran through a grand circulation cycle within his body. A formation enveloped a ten-li radius, drawing in every last trace of spiritual qi from the area.

High in the void above, another formation lay hidden amid the clouds and mist.

Countless threads of spiritual qi wove densely through the clouds, giving the formation a deeply profound air.

A silhouette could now be seen faintly shifting within that cloud formation.

The figure stood tall and straight. An extraordinary aura slowly gathered around them, causing the surrounding clouds to grow increasingly dense.

Lin Suri rested as he kept guard over the formation.

Five months had passed since the Battle of Cauldron Seizing.

Lin Suri seemed to have stumbled upon another fortuitous encounter. His cultivation base had reached the peak of the Qi Circulation 8th Floor, leaving him just a final kick away from the Qi Circulation 9th Floor.

If he chanced upon a moment of insight, he might even break through tomorrow.

Even if he had to rely on the slow, grinding work of wearing down the bottleneck, it would only take him three to five months.

Lin Suri sat peacefully, focusing on his breathing. Heavy snow swirled around him, but the flakes melted entirely before they could touch his body.

Right then, Lin Suri suddenly frowned and looked into the distance, his peaceful cultivation broken.

His General’s Token appeared at his waist, and the Jade Sword hovered beside him.

He was instantly on high alert.

The figure inside the cloud formation also turned its head to look out into the distance.

Soon, the distant sea of clouds suddenly split open, revealing an approaching figure.

The newcomer wore black clothes and carried a longsword at his waist, treading on the clouds as he advanced.

Most extraordinarily, streaks of lightning flashed through the clouds beneath his feet, granting him incredible speed.

An azure light flared within the cloud formation.

Lin Suri abruptly stood up, a faint smile appearing on his face. A stream of his divine sense flowed out and entered the cloud formation.

”Senior Brother, please hold your hand. This is the man Martial Aunt Hong Ning mentioned the other day. He is also the one who saved my life during the Battle of Cauldron Seizing.”

The azure light in the cloud formation quietly dissipated. The figure melted back into the mist, vanishing from sight.

Lin Suri put away his Dharma treasures and stood at the mountain peak to await his guest.

The man moved exceptionally fast, taking only a few breaths to reach the peak after piercing the sea of clouds.

Before the man even landed, Lin Suri offered a sincere smile and called out, ”Daoist Brother!”

The newcomer was, of course, Chen Lingxi.

He alighted on the mountain peak and exchanged a formal greeting with Lin Suri.

Lin Suri lightly flicked his sleeve. A burst of spiritual qi suddenly whipped into a small tornado, sweeping the snow off a protruding rock nearby.

He then gathered some clean snow from the summit, melted it, and produced a few leaves brimming with spiritual qi to steep in the water.

”Since Daoist Brother has come to find me, I must play the good host,” Lin Suri said.

”It is a pity this place is so crude. I can only offer these spiritual leaves in place of proper tea to entertain you.”

And so, the two men sat down upon the rock.

Chen Lingxi looked curiously at the cluster of clouds in the distance.

During his Vision Roaming just now, he had already sensed the formation hidden in the mist.

He didn’t need to think much to know that the clouds were receiving a projection from an expert of the Under-Dao Academy.

Yet at this very moment, standing right here and running the Method of Qi Observation, he still could not see through the mysteries of that cloud.

’The Method of Qi Observation comes from the Six Qi True Method. The Under-Dao Academy naturally knows how to hide from it.’

As Chen Lingxi pondered this, Lin Suri, who was usually unsmiling, kept a steady smile on his face.

”Daoist Brother saved my life back in Yuanjiang Prefecture, but because we were in such a hurry that day, I never had the chance to thank you properly.”

Chen Lingxi shook his head, waving off the concern.

Lin Suri poured tea for him, then suddenly said, ”Thinking about it carefully, I’ve been quite rude.

”Daoist Brother has saved my life twice now, yet I still don’t know your origins.”

Chen Lingxi thought for a moment, glanced at the cloud formation, and smiled. ”I am but a loose cultivator without any profound background—unlike you, Daoist Brother Lin. Hailing from the Under-Dao Academy, your roots run deep.”

Lin Suri raised an eyebrow, visibly surprised.

Yet he seemed to trust Chen Lingxi completely. He sighed in admiration. ”A mere loose cultivator, yet able to suppress a host of major sect cultivators here in the Land of Reincarnation.

”And to grow so quickly... it is truly astonishing.”

Chen Lingxi smiled, then his expression turned serious. ”Daoist Brother, I came today to seek your guidance.”

Lin Suri nodded. ”Please go ahead.”

Chen Lingxi’s expression remained calm as he said, ”To tell you the truth, my origins are humble, and I have no sect to rely on.

I only stepped onto the path of cultivation by sheer chance.

Now I am about to step into the Heaven-Facing Three Floors, and I even have a bit of hope for the Dao Foundation Realm...

Unfortunately, I am completely unfamiliar with the Dao Foundation Realm. I have heard terms like Dao Platform, Great Divine Ability, and Profound Root, but I don’t know the intricacies of this realm.

”Therefore, I came to ask Daoist Brother Lin to clear my confusion.”

Lin Suri gave Chen Lingxi a startled look.

He had come here to the Land of Reincarnation, yet he didn’t know the intricacies of the Dao Foundation? Could it be that in the Great Xuanzhuo Realm, this Daoist Brother Chen truly was just a loose cultivator at the second or third layer of Qi Circulation?

However, Lin Suri was deeply grateful to Chen Lingxi for stepping in twice to bail him out and even save his life.

Faced with such a request, he naturally had to answer as best he could.

Lin Suri finally spoke. ”In the Dao Foundation Realm, one transforms spiritual qi into Dao Origin; one forges their Qi Sea into a Dao Platform; and one must practice a Dao Foundation Great Divine Ability to cultivate a divine ability Profound Root!

”Daoist Brother, what exactly is it that you don’t understand?”

Chen Lingxi asked, ”What exactly is a Dao Foundation Great Divine Ability?”

Lin Suri’s aura gradually grew heavy. He slowly opened his mouth and said softly, ”A Dao Foundation Great Divine Ability is a divine ability of the Great Daos of heaven and earth!”

”If one wants to forge a Dao Platform and achieve the Dao Foundation, they must use a Dao Foundation divine ability spiritual object as a guide to cultivate a Dao Foundation Great Divine Ability.

”And this Dao Foundation Great Divine Ability... compared to ordinary spells and divine abilities, it possesses the profound mysteries of the Great Dao... It is truly unspeakably wondrous.”

Lin Suri paused for a moment before continuing. ”In this heaven and earth, the number of Great Daos is unknown, but there are thirty-six main Dao paths, each distinct from the rest.

”Within every Dao path, there are numerous Dao Foundation Great Divine Abilities.

”If a cultivator practices their methods, they will naturally grasp some of the profound mysteries of the Great Dao!”

Profound mysteries of the Great Dao...

Chen Lingxi’s thoughts flickered as he recalled those three wondrous Great Divine Abilities. He couldn’t help but ask, ”If that is the case, then the Profound Brightness Reverent Splendor Dao is likely one of the thirty-six Dao paths? Daoist Brother, I wonder what is so profound about the [Age-Dial Reversal] divine ability?”

”It seems Daoist Brother is not entirely clueless,” Lin Suri said carefully. ”The Profound Brightness Reverent Splendor Dao is the path of [Sacrificial Sublimation]!

”My Under-Dao Academy currently knows of six Great Divine Abilities belonging to the Profound Brightness Reverent Splendor Dao, and one of them is Age-Dial Reversal!”

”The Age-Dial Reversal divine ability is truly incredible.

”A cultivator who practices Age-Dial Reversal and forms its Profound Root will instantly become incredibly old and decrepit.

”Yet with every passing year, they will grow one year younger.

”With every passing year, they will grow a fraction stronger!

”Practicing this Great Divine Ability doesn’t even require much active cultivation. One merely needs to wait as the years pass; as they grow younger, they will naturally grow more powerful.”

”Because of this, the younger an Age-Dial Reversal cultivator appears, the stronger their combat prowess.”

So that was how it worked.

Chen Lingxi thought of Emperor Daye’s elderly appearance, and understanding dawned on him.

But then he immediately remembered how, during his Absolute Perception Deduction, Emperor Daye had suddenly become extremely young, appearing to be in his prime.

Thinking of this, Chen Lingxi frowned again and asked, ”Dare I ask, Daoist Brother, if a cultivator who practices Age-Dial Reversal is normally old and decrepit, would they revert to their prime when taking action in battle?”

Lin Suri shook his head. ”I have never heard of such a thing.”

Chen Lingxi pondered for a moment, recalling that Emperor Daye seemed to have forcefully cultivated the Age-Dial Reversal divine ability without using a divine ability spiritual object.

’Perhaps it is because of that?’

He was just thinking this to himself.

Then he heard Lin Suri add, ”However, the method for the Age-Dial Reversal divine ability is exceedingly rare, and the required spiritual object, the [Year-Passing Bamboo], is extremely hard to find.

”Therefore, no one in my Under-Dao Academy has been able to successfully cultivate it.”

Chen Lingxi nodded and then asked about the [Heavenly Decline Law].

Emperor Daye was the strongest in this realm. Since Chen Lingxi had the opportunity, he naturally had to learn as much as he could.

Lin Suri cleared up Chen Lingxi’s confusion once more. ”The [Heavenly Decline Law] belongs to the Shangshe Ruanle Dao, which is the [Path of Disorder]!

”Cultivating this Great Divine Ability allows one to cause things to decay from perfect order into corruption and chaos.”

Chen Lingxi didn’t quite understand for a moment, so Lin Suri offered a more detailed explanation.

”Take this Heavenly Decline Law for example. The Heavenly Decline Law is a cursing Great Divine Ability.

”One can inflict the [Dao of Heavenly Decline] upon a specific object, a specific area, or an enemy. Under the profound power of this Dao, trees, flowers, and grass will wither and rot!

”Cloud-iron and spiritual-copper will be corroded by the Great Dao.

”Formations will fail.

”And people will grow old and fall ill.”

”The duration, naturally, depends on the cultivation base of the cultivator casting the Heavenly Decline Law.”

Chen Lingxi listened in silence.

His gaze flickered, a look of astonishment lingering deep in his eyes.

To think it was...

So powerful.