After the Great Dao Died

That aura was incomparably majestic. As it fell upon the Demon Saint’s incarnation, it drastically slowed the circulation of his spiritual qi.

The Demon Saint remained seated upon the dragon throne. Snapping fully awake, he saw the young man looking down at him.

Astonishment flared within him!

’His qi dynamics are actually this powerful! Even with my state of mind, I was momentarily dazed under this young man’s momentum!’

His thoughts raced, and he immediately tried to circulate his spiritual qi!

Then, his expression drastically changed!

Under the impact of this oppressive might, the spiritual qi within his body felt frozen in ice, its circulation turning extremely sluggish!

Meanwhile, Chen Lingxi’s Longevity Bridge smashed down with a boom.

The Demon Saint’s incarnation was, after all, at the Twelfth Floor of Qi Circulation!

Under the oppressive might of the Heaven-Inviting Momentum, he had only been dazed for half a breath before forcefully regaining his senses.

He let out a harsh shout, and the spiritual qi within his body erupted.

A terrifying aura burst forth!

He opened his mouth and spat out a massive mouthful of black blood mist, so dense it was nearly corporeal.

The blood mist was as black as ink and thick as slurry. The moment it left his mouth, it expanded in the wind, transforming into a massive black net hundreds of zhang wide in the blink of an eye.

The threads of the giant net were as thick as a child’s arm. Every single one emanated a pungent stench of blood. Countless twisted human faces faintly surfaced along the strands, their mouths open in wails, their resentment soaring to the heavens!

Boom!

The Longevity Bridge smashed into the blood net.

Ripples of spiritual qi violently washed outward.

The Demon Saint had already used this brief opening to retreat.

His figure drifted dozens of zhang backward. Cloud vapor abruptly manifested beneath his feet, and in the blink of an eye, he stood high in the void!

The demonic cultivator brought his hands together in the air. His ten fingers flew in a blur, forming an extremely bizarre hand seal.

The black blood mist lingering faintly around him suddenly grew several times denser. Countless black venomous snakes seemed to madly drill out of his pores, converging, condensing, and transforming in front of him.

Ultimately, the blood mist formed a massive black palm over a dozen zhang wide.

The giant palm was entirely pitch-black like ink. Upon its center, countless twisted human faces wailed in agony.

Those faces belonged to men and women, old and young alike. All of them bore savage expressions as they roared, radiating a heavy, bloody stench.

[Myriad Faces Asura Method]!

The Demon Saint snorted coldly and thrust his palm down at Chen Lingxi’s head.

The massive palm tore through the air! Wherever it passed, the void was dyed a dark red by that dense, bloody, fiendish aura.

Chen Lingxi stood upon the Longevity Bridge. Watching the massive black palm blot out the sky, his expression remained unchanged.

”Twelfth Floor of Qi Circulation... the power of this kind of spell doesn’t seem all that formidable.”

Chen Lingxi took a step forward and violently punched out with his right fist.

[Heaven-Inviting Momentum] abruptly erupted. A blurry phantom of a Great Sage seemed to manifest behind him, delivering the exact same punch!

The fierce essence energy within Chen Lingxi’s body rushed forward like a surging river tide, madly pouring into his punch.

Above the fist’s edge, radiant light shone like a great sun. Mixed with billowing essence energy, it tore through the air!

At the same time, the Flower of Golden Essence above Chen Lingxi’s head shone with incomparable brilliance. A nearly berserk momentum swept out, and everything in the surroundings seemed to be enveloped by his punch!

Boom!

Fist and palm collided.

The so-called Demon Saint, whose face had originally been as calm as still water, suddenly underwent a drastic change in expression!

His sky-blotting asura blood palm crumbled in an instant before Chen Lingxi’s Great Sage punch!

Silently, the human faces in the center of the palm were shattered inch by inch by the Great Sage momentum contained within the fist aura, turning into nothingness.

Immediately after, the entire giant palm violently shattered, turning into a sky full of blood mist fragments that splattered in all directions.

Yet, the remaining force of Chen Lingxi’s fist aura did not diminish as it blasted straight toward the Demon Saint’s chest.

The Demon Saint’s pupils rapidly shrank, terror revealing itself in his eyes!

He had never imagined that his asura divine ability, which was more than enough to suppress cultivators of the same realm, would be unable to block even a single punch from this person.

In his haste, his spiritual qi exploded into motion. Pushing the spiritual qi around him to its absolute limit, he condensed a blood-colored spiritual light barrier in front of him.

But in the very next instant after the spiritual light barrier condensed, Chen Lingxi’s fist aura arrived.

Crack.

An extremely crisp shattering sound rang out. The spiritual light barrier immediately fractured inch by inch, turning into a sky full of light fragments.

Wrapped in the momentum of the Great Sage, the fist aura ruthlessly slammed into the Demon Saint’s chest.

The Demon Saint let out a muffled groan. His body, which had appeared to be flesh and blood, actually rippled before turning into pure spiritual energy and beginning to dissipate!

Within his body, the dense and vigorous spiritual qi was still circulating, attempting to resist Chen Lingxi’s terrifying punch.

However...

He clearly sensed a terrifyingly sharp and peerlessly overbearing power currently rampaging through his incarnation.

Wherever this power passed, the many profound mechanisms hidden within the incarnation were completely shredded, totally impossible to restore.

’This person has the Three Flowers blooming above his head. He merely has the incarnation cultivation of the Qi Circulation Eleventh Floor, yet his combat strength is this formidable!’

’Who exactly is he?’

The Demon Saint’s thoughts raced, and he was just about to circulate his divine sense to ask.

But he saw Chen Lingxi step through the void. With a flick of his finger, a streak of thunderous sword light abruptly erupted, like a deity wielding lightning and hurling it forward!

The sword light swept out. The wildly surging spiritual qi transformed into overbearing lightning, piercing over with violent intensity!

If it had been just moments ago, Chen Lingxi’s streak of thunderous sword light would not have been able to cut down a figure at the Twelfth Floor of Qi Circulation!

But now, this cultivator calling himself the Demon Saint had been injured by Chen Lingxi’s terrifying punch. Even the power of that punch was still rampaging wildly inside his incarnation.

Thus, this streak of thunderous sword light bloomed effortlessly, piercing into the incarnation’s body.

The demonic cultivator gave a soft groan. His entire body began to twist, dissipating even faster.

”Senior...” the demonic cultivator’s divine sense swept out.

Beneath Chen Lingxi’s feet, the Longevity Bridge condensed once again. He merely reached out a hand and squeezed at the void.

The Heaven-Seizing Seal gripped the demonic cultivator’s incarnation, and the Method of Life Devouring was ruthlessly activated!

Held within the grasp of the massive hand seal, the Demon Saint convulsed violently. Drawn by the Method of Life Devouring, streaks of black spiritual mechanism threads within his body madly poured out like water from a broken dam, falling into Chen Lingxi’s Qi Sea!

Inside Chen Lingxi’s Qi Sea, the Myriad Breeding Dao-Seeding Marvelous Lotus Qi slithered over like a small black snake and began devouring this black spiritual energy.

The incarnation of the expert who called himself the Demon Saint was completely suppressed by Chen Lingxi before he could even finish his sentence. His body instantly dissipated into the void, turning into dense spiritual energy.

Using the Method of Life Devouring, Chen Lingxi drew those spiritual energies into his Qi Sea, allowing the precious qi to devour them!

In the blink of an eye, the incarnation of this Ten Thousand Saints Gate cultivator who styled himself as the ”Demon Saint”—an incarnation at the Twelfth Floor of Qi Circulation—no longer had a single trace of vitality.

”An incarnation with merely the cultivation of the Twelfth Floor of Qi Circulation, and not even a strong one at that, yet you dared to call yourself the [Demon Saint].”

Chen Lingxi withdrew his hand and turned his head to look at Zhang Mozhu.

Zhang Mozhu had long been frightened pale.

He knelt where he was, his face ashen, deep terror in his eyes.

When that Demon Saint descended, he had easily suppressed Zhang Mozhu and the many experts under his command, as effortlessly as flipping his hand.

But now, this Chen Lingxi had easily killed this Demon Saint!

Zhang Mozhu still clearly remembered that when he met Chen Lingxi previously, he had even spoken words of mockery toward him...

Chen Lingxi’s gaze fell upon Zhang Mozhu. He suddenly recalled that when he, Xiao Zhushan, and Zhang Mozhu had assassinated the Crown Prince together, Zhang Mozhu had once said, ”If not for the common people of the world, I would gladly be a wandering knight.”

Later, he had turned his coat on the spot and tried to kill Xiao Zhushan, utterly devoid of any knightly demeanor.

And now, he had built a sacrificial altar and willingly served as a vanguard for the demon, handing over the 1.32 million citizens of Qiuzhu Prefecture for the demon to devour.

This kind of person...

...was a villain through and through.

Chen Lingxi casually flicked his finger. A streak of Cyan Edge Method sword qi flashed from his fingertip, unimaginably fast, sweeping across Zhang Mozhu’s throat.

Zhang Mozhu’s body abruptly stiffened. A thin line of blood slowly surfaced on his throat, the light in his eyes rapidly scattering as he died right then and there.

Chen Lingxi looked at him no longer. He turned around, his gaze sweeping over the generals under Zhang Mozhu on the high platform.

Those generals had already been frightened out of their wits by the earth-shattering battle just now. Seeing Chen Lingxi’s gaze sweep over them, every single one of them paled and trembled. Some collapsed to their knees with a thud, while others turned to flee, only to find their legs too weak to take a single step.

”These people claim to be fighting for the commoners of the world, but in reality, they only act for their own selfish interests... exploiting the people along the way, burning, killing, looting, and committing all manner of evil. Without them, perhaps this Qiuzhu Prefecture would be better off.”

Acting on his convictions, Chen Lingxi consecutively flicked out several sword strikes.

Wherever the sword qi swept past, those generals collapsed to the ground one after another.

In merely the blink of an eye, seven or eight corpses had fallen on the high platform, their blood flowing freely.

He ultimately did not kill them all, deliberately sparing two generals who appeared relatively young.

Those two knelt on the ground, their faces deathly pale. Their bodies trembled like sieves, yet they didn’t dare to move a muscle.

”Immortal...”

Chen Lingxi stepped onto the clouds and departed, but a voice fell by the ears of these two men like a thunderclap.

”That demon is dead, and Zhang Mozhu has also been executed.

”Listen well. The order in the city shall be maintained by you two.

”Restrain the surrendered soldiers, open the granaries to distribute food, and pacify the commoners.

”If anyone takes the opportunity to cause chaos, burn, kill, or loot, do not blame my sword for being merciless.”

His voice sounded extremely young and calm, yet in the ears of these two, it rumbled like thunder.

Hearing this, the two men were first stunned, but then acted as if they had received a great amnesty. They kowtowed repeatedly, watching as Chen Lingxi transformed into a streak of pale golden light, piercing the sea of clouds and disappearing at the edge of the horizon in an instant.

Chen Lingxi controlled the Cloud Soaring Technique, flying straight into the void while sensing the vigorous spiritual mechanism of the so-called Demon Saint within his Qi Sea.

”If used for cultivation, I could only absorb one or two percent of this spiritual mechanism at most. But it couldn’t be more perfect for feeding this precious qi.”

Chen Lingxi revealed a slight smile. ”True to an incarnation descended from the Great Xuanzhuo Realm. Even as a projection, its foundation is incredibly deep.”

He muttered to himself, a look of satisfaction flashing through his eyes.

”During my Vision Roaming, I saw the tracks of many incarnations. Their wings are not yet fully grown, and they often still need to rely on formations to empower their cultivators.

”Since that’s the case, I might as well go track these figures down!”

Chen Lingxi closed his eyes and recalled. From among those dozen or so figures, he picked out three.

”That fisherwoman, that old beggar, and that expert in the coffin are all brimming with profound mechanisms, possessing many mysteries... I’ll hold off on seeking those three to avoid any accidents.”

Having thought this through, he headed straight west, crossing the vast Western Sea, and engaged in a fierce battle in the deep ocean with a flood dragon descended from the Flood Demon Palace!

That flood dragon was originally an ordinary sea snake. After being possessed by a cultivator from the Flood Demon Palace using a secret method, it transformed into a hundred-zhang flood dragon body, stirring up wind and waves, devouring passing ships, and churning the entire Western Sea into monstrous, bloody waves.

Chen Lingxi tangled with the flood dragon at the bottom of the sea. The Great Sage phantom of the Heaven-Inviting Momentum unleashed unimaginable oppressive might in the deep ocean. The Longevity Bridge suppressed the dragon’s body, the Heaven-Seizing Seal smashed its head, and the thunderous sword light of the Twelve Chimes of the Heavenly Drum completely obliterated the remaining divine sense of the Flood Demon Palace cultivator within the dragon’s body.

In the end, he stood upon the flood dragon’s corpse and circulated the Method of Life Devouring, completely swallowing the remaining spiritual mechanisms on the dragon’s body and the essence of the Flood Demon Palace cultivator’s incarnation!

Later, he went to Qin Province. In an abandoned Daoist temple there, he found a Daoist who exuded the air of immortal breeze and Daoist bones.

The Daoist claimed to be from the Two Sages Palace. He drank tea and discussed the Dao with Chen Lingxi, speaking with spectacular eloquence, only to seize an opportunity to strike, attempting to suppress Chen Lingxi!

The spells of that Two Sages Palace Daoist were extremely exquisite, his spiritual qi seemingly endless. With a wave of his hand, golden talismans blanketed the sky and earth, coming at him like an inescapable net from the sky and snare from the earth.

Chen Lingxi pierced the void with the Longevity Bridge, forcefully weathering the sky full of talismans to close within three zhang of him. Within the Inner Divine Palace inside his body, the phantom of Great Sage Yaotian abruptly opened its eyes. The momentum of the Heaven-Inviting Momentum crashed over overwhelmingly. The Daoist’s divine sense was momentarily seized, and Chen Lingxi cleaved off his head with a single sword strike!

After this, Chen Lingxi went to Qieman Mountain. Unbeknownst to anyone, a stone embryo had appeared on that mountain at some point.

The stone embryo had originally been an ordinary mountain rock, but it suddenly broke out of its shell, transforming into a holy spirit of stone.

By the time Chen Lingxi found the stone embryo, it had already grown facial features and seven orifices. It was cultivating cross-legged when Chen Lingxi cut it down.

Qin Province, Qieman Mountain, the Western Sea... he traveled along, his footprints covering more than half the grotto-heaven.

Among those descending cultivator incarnations, some were arrogant and domineering, having long since claimed mountains as their own territories and slaughtered living beings.

Some remained hidden and dormant, concealing themselves in bustling markets and using mortal identities as cover while secretly setting up formations.

Others were even more cautious. Knowing that they were not the only descenders in this realm and that other dangers lurked, they sought out extremely secluded locations and stayed behind closed doors, waiting only for the guiding grand formations to be completed to summon the descent of even stronger incarnations.

Chen Lingxi cared not whether they were arrogant or hidden. As long as he tracked them down by following the traces of their spiritual mechanisms, he slew them with his own hands!

He also encountered the strongest among them. For example, there was a blue-robed youth with a long spiritual qi saber at his waist. His saber intent and spells were incomparably profound; he had likely already touched upon the Wondrous State.

Unable to match him, Chen Lingxi could only flee far away.

Since the blue-robed youth couldn’t do anything to him in the short term, he stopped pursuing Chen Lingxi and continued forging his spiritual formation!

In the blink of an eye, three months quietly slipped by.

Three months had passed. Chen Lingxi had fought no fewer than twenty battles, big and small, accumulating many injuries on his body. Even the Thunder Radiance Longsword was completely shattered during his clash with the blue-robed youth.

Yet, the number of descended cultivators he had slain already reached a full twelve.

At this moment, Chen Lingxi was sitting cross-legged atop a nameless, barren mountain.

With his eyes closed, he circulated the Six Qi True Method, slowly refining the twelve mottled and impure spiritual mechanisms in his Qi Sea.

”Twelve mottled spiritual mechanisms... thoroughly refining them will only take about a year of time...

”I wonder, with these twelve spiritual mechanisms, if that Myriad Breeding Dao-Seeding Marvelous Lotus Qi... will mature a bit more.”