After the Great Dao Died

Emperor Daye pondered for a moment, the golden flames in his eyes still dancing slowly.

The hall remained silent for a long time.

”Very well,” Emperor Daye finally said. His voice was old, yet it carried an unquestionable, deep authority. ”It is a path to survival... Since that is the case, what harm is there in me protecting your Dao?”

He slowly raised his right hand and flicked his fingertips.

In an instant, the first joint of his left index finger flared with a layer of golden radiance.

It carried a profound, heart-palpitating aura, as if something were slowly awakening within that segment of bone.

Then, under Chen Lingxi’s astonished gaze, the bone simply detached itself from Emperor Daye’s finger.

There was no wound and no blood. The finger bone fell away like a living creature and hovered in the air, still exuding that profound presence.

Chen Lingxi looked closer. The entire finger bone flashed with golden light, crystal clear, with streams of dense qi constantly swirling across its surface like a peerless treasure.

What shocked him even more was the spiritual qi contained within it.

The spiritual qi was so thick it was almost tangible, as if an entire lake of it had been sealed inside.

At that moment, Emperor Daye flicked his finger.

The hovering golden finger bone floated over and stopped right in front of Chen Lingxi.

”Keep this Bone Talisman on you. It seals one of my spells. Although it holds the power of only a single strike, it is enough to keep you safe.”

Emperor Daye stared at Chen Lingxi. ”If you encounter a Dao Foundation cultivator, crush this finger bone.

”Once the bone breaks, the spell sealed inside will activate on its own. The bone dust will transform into an escape light and carry you a thousand miles away.

”I will sense it as well, and I will come to protect you.”

Chen Lingxi’s eyes brightened as he reached out his hand.

As if it possessed a spirit of its own, the golden finger bone dropped into his palm.

Chen Lingxi could clearly feel the majestic power radiating from it, and he was secretly shocked.

’Emperor Daye is a deeply scheming man. He once used the Crown Prince’s Beast-Fighting Palace to track me down. I need to be careful with this finger bone too. I can’t completely trust his words.’

Thinking this, Chen Lingxi stored the finger bone in his Vast Void Pouch and revealed a satisfied smile. ”Thank you, Emperor Daye.”

Emperor Daye gave a slight nod, but his gaze had already shifted away, falling toward a corner deep within the hall shrouded in heavy shadows.

He swept his sleeve.

The broad sleeve of his dragon robe brushed gently against the void, like an invisible hand parting layers of curtains.

The shadows deep in the hall receded like a tide, revealing a patch of void veiled in thick fog.

That void was about a zhang across, hovering in midair like a dark mirror embedded in the wall.

Thick fog surged like waves within that mirror. The gray mist stacked up layer after layer, tightly obscuring everything behind it.

However, in the deepest part of the fog, the outline of an object was faintly visible.

It was an arm.

The arm was entirely pale gold, more than a size larger than an ordinary person’s.

At the same time, it radiated an unimaginably profound Dao aura—obscure, noble, powerful, and mysterious.

The Immortal Slough.

Chen Lingxi’s pupils shrank slightly.

He had seen this arm during Vision Roaming. Back then, it was sunken at the bottom of that great river in Changhe Province, wrapped in layers of a profound grand array personally laid down by Emperor Daye.

But now, this arm hovered right here in the side hall of the Great Zhou Imperial Palace, close at hand.

The moment the Immortal Slough appeared, an indescribably ancient and desolate aura spread from the arm.

It was a heart-palpitating, archaic resonance, like a divine object passed down from eons past. Even after slumbering for countless ages, it still exuded a majesty that made it difficult to look at directly.

Under the impact of this aura, Chen Lingxi felt the spiritual qi in his Qi Sea constantly surging.

Emperor Daye stood up. With his hands behind his back, he stood before that patch of void and looked up at the pale golden arm hovering in the dense fog.

The golden flames danced slowly in his eyes, reflecting the golden light flowing across the Immortal Slough.

”I was able to reach the Dao Foundation Realm in this world by relying on the power of this Immortal Slough,” Emperor Daye said slowly, his voice echoing through the empty hall. ”The essence contained within this object is like an inexhaustible spiritual vein.

”Only by nourishing my body day and night with this Immortal Slough’s essence can I suppress the heavy toll brought by the Age-Dial Reversal.”

Chen Lingxi listened, but his gaze remained fixed on the arm.

He had heard Daoist Shu Rong say during Vision Roaming that the Pool Soul Courtyard of the Under-Dao Academy wanted to use this Immortal Slough as a foundation. Supplemented by True Person Lingguang’s Spirit-Gathering Wondrous Pearl and the Pool Soul Courtyard’s many accumulated resources, they aimed to forge a Nine-Transformation Precious Body.

The value of a treasure that could draw such immense attention from a behemoth like the Under-Dao Academy was self-evident.

”I will use this Immortal Slough to step into the Dao Foundation Middle Stage.” Emperor Daye’s voice continued, carrying a barely concealed pride. ”Even for those Great Xuanzhuo Realm cultivators projecting themselves here, it wouldn’t be easy to project the cultivation of the Dao Foundation Middle Stage.”

Chen Lingxi listened in silence. He truly felt some admiration for Emperor Daye.

For this man to suppress so many reincarnators in this Qi-Depleted Grotto-Heaven, and even surpass so many projected experts, was nothing short of legendary.

At this time, Emperor Daye turned around and looked at Chen Lingxi. ”Once you step into the Dao Foundation Realm, I will test whether I can use this Immortal Slough to awaken Great Sage Luoyuan.”

Chen Lingxi met Emperor Daye’s gaze and slowly nodded.

Still wearing that satisfied smile, he bowed to Emperor Daye. ”Since that is the case, I shall take my leave.”

Emperor Daye nodded slightly and did not urge him to stay.

With a sweep of his sleeve, the rainbow light stretching across the hall doors lit up again, extending out of the hall like a seven-colored bridge straight into the clouds.

Chen Lingxi stepped onto the rainbow light. His body was enveloped by it and shot up into the sky, arriving above the clouds in the blink of an eye.

He looked down at the Great Zhou Imperial Palace hidden in the night, then up at the two bright mirrors in the sky that only he could see, and the smile on his lips slowly faded.

Turning around, he silently activated the Cloud Soaring Technique underfoot, transforming into a streak of pale cyan light that flew into the distance.

Emperor Daye stood before the hall doors with his hands behind his back, watching the fading streak of pale cyan light. The two golden flames in his eyes danced slowly.

No emotion could be seen on his old face. Only his profound eyes reflected the shrinking figure at the edge of the sky.

The celestial winds poured in from outside, and the profound robes on his body flickered with a deep light.

Standing before the doors, he was as motionless as a silent mountain.

Only when the pale cyan light completely vanished into the depths of the sea of clouds did he slowly withdraw his gaze and turn back into the hall.

Emperor Daye walked back to the prayer mat, lifted his robes, and sat down.

Sitting cross-legged, he closed his eyes to focus his mind. The pale golden essence of the Immortal Slough around him surged once more, enveloping him like a thin mist.

The hall returned to silence.

Suddenly, a faint smile appeared on Emperor Daye’s lips.

”Great Sage Luoyuan?”

—

Chen Lingxi left the Great Zhou Imperial Palace and rode the Cloud Soaring Technique all the way east.

The celestial winds howled past his ears, and the mountains and rivers below blurred backward.

He sat cross-legged on the cloud vapor beneath him, his eyes slightly closed, feeling a mix of reassurance and doubt.

’I wonder if Emperor Daye really believed the story about Great Sage Luoyuan, or if he’s plotting something else?’ Chen Lingxi asked himself. ’But thinking about it carefully, the Realm-Refining Furnace tribulation is imminent. It makes sense for Emperor Daye to believe me. After all, this counts as a new path to survival.’

He thought it over and shook his head slightly.

’This man’s scheming is far beyond what I can fathom,’ Chen Lingxi murmured internally. ’But fine. Whether he believes me or not, at least for now he is willing to protect my Dao, and that is enough... Only, I still need to test that finger bone.’

He stopped dwelling on Emperor Daye and turned his thoughts to the Immortal Slough.

A severed arm actually contained such terrifying power that it caused numerous experts to flock eagerly after it, and even someone like Emperor Daye could only absorb a small fraction of its spiritual essence for cultivation, falling far short of unleashing the Immortal Slough’s true power.

’If it were a complete Immortal Slough, what kind of sight would that be?’ Chen Lingxi briefly imagined it, then immediately shook his head.

That kind of treasure was no longer something he could covet at his current level.

”I just hope this Immortal Slough can actually awaken the incarnation of Great Sage Luoyuan,” he muttered to himself, a hint of anticipation flashing in his eyes.

If the incarnation of Great Sage Luoyuan truly awakened, it wouldn’t be so easy for True Monarch Xi to refine the grotto-heaven.

When that time came, he wouldn’t have to struggle so bitterly for a sliver of survival. He could cultivate at ease and wait for the future.

As he pondered, the Cloud Soaring Technique had already carried him thousands of miles away.

The terrain beneath him changed from the fertile plains of Great Zhou to the rolling hills of Great Li, and then into the familiar dense forests surrounding Yuanjiang Prefecture.

Chen Lingxi lowered his cloud and landed on the mountain outside Yuanjiang Prefecture city.

It was Ancestral Mountain.

Ancestral Mountain looked the same as always.

Thick fog surged like ocean waves, tightly wrapping the entire mountain so that nothing could be seen clearly more than a few steps away.

In Absolute Perception, Chen Lingxi had walked through this thick fog many times, so navigating it now was second nature.

He followed the path all the way into the mountain.

After walking for about the time it takes an incense stick to burn, he saw that stone again.

He walked up to the stone, stopped, and waited quietly.

Before long, a faint ripple suddenly swept across the surface of the stone, and a person stepped out from it.

It was the Credit Peddler.

He still looked just as young, about twenty-three or twenty-four years old, with clear and handsome features. The corners of his mouth were slightly raised in a sly smile.

The Credit Peddler stepped out of the stone. When he looked up and saw Chen Lingxi, the sly smile on his face grew a bit brighter.

He cupped his hands and said with a grin, ”Daoist Friend, this is our first meeting. Seeing as you made a special trip to find me, you must know what I do, right?”

Hearing this, Chen Lingxi skipped the pleasantries and cut straight to the point. ”Peddler, I came here to make a trade with you.”

A sharp light flashed in the Credit Peddler’s eyes.

He raised his right hand and rapidly tapped his thumb against the joints of his index and middle fingers. After a few breaths of time, he lowered his hand, showing a bit of surprise on his face.

”How strange,” he muttered softly. He looked up, his clear eyes scanning Chen Lingxi up and down. ”Daoist Friend, you seem perfectly aware of what you want.”

Chen Lingxi asked in amusement, ”Are there many people who trade with Senior but don’t know what they want?”

The Credit Peddler answered, ”The living beings of this world can only see me once and trade with me once. When many people see me, they still think I am just a mere Qi Circulation cultivator, so naturally they are completely unprepared.

”That is why I count on my fingers to divine their various desires and demands before offering my goods to them!

”But I never expected that you would come to me already so clear about what you seek.”

Pausing here, he put away his sly expression and continued, ”I have a few treasures here that can help you track down your enemies’ whereabouts.”

As the Credit Peddler said this, his eyes darted, and a shrewd glint flashed in his clear gaze. ”You can afford them, but I fear you might not be willing to pay the price.”

He reached into his robe and pulled three items from the inside of his short tunic, laying them out in front of Chen Lingxi one by one.

The first item was a censer.

The censer was about the size of a palm and cast entirely from ancient bronze. Many relief patterns were engraved on it. Though Chen Lingxi couldn’t understand their meaning, they made the object feel exceptionally mysterious and profound.

At the same time, this censer exuded an archaic aura.

”A Cauldron Vessel Fragment?”

Chen Lingxi’s eyes flickered.

”Indeed, it is a Cauldron Vessel Fragment. This is the [Name-Chasing Furnace].”

Pointing at the censer, the Credit Peddler smiled. ”Insert incense into the furnace and shout the name and background of the person you want to find, and you will learn their exact location with absolute precision.

”However, this item is just a fragment of a certain Cauldron Vessel. Although its power remains, it is incomplete.

”Every time you use this censer, you must pay a hefty price. The cost depends entirely on the cultivation level of the person you are searching for.”

He paused and held up one finger. ”If you want to trade for this item, it will cost you a future magical treasure, Daoist Friend.”

Chen Lingxi remained impassive as his gaze fell on the second item.

The second item was a heavenly eye magical treasure.

The magical treasure was about the size of a palm, crystal clear all the way through, like an eye carved from crystal.

A golden bead smaller than a grain of rice was embedded right in the center of the pupil. A wondrous spiritual light faintly circulated on that bead.

”This is the [Heaven-Patrolling Eye].” Cupping the crystal eye in his palm, the Credit Peddler smiled. ”You only need to take a wisp of the target’s qi signature and refine it into this treasure. As long as that person enters within a thousand miles, this treasure will sense it and notify you immediately.

”However, this heavenly eye magical treasure can hold only a single qi signature at most.

”Once a qi signature is refined into it, it cannot be replaced.”

He held up two fingers. ”If you want to trade for this item, it will cost you a future magical treasure, as well as the Taotie Urn Cauldron Vessel Fragment on your person.”

Chen Lingxi’s expression did not change as his gaze shifted to the third item.

The third item was a precious mirror.

The precious mirror was also about palm-sized, its body made of silver. The mirror’s surface was as smooth as water, bright enough to reflect a person. Yet what reflected in it wasn’t the thick fog of the mountains, but a bottomless, dark void.

In the deepest part of that void, three specks of profound light could be faintly seen slowly flashing and radiating brilliance.

”This is the [Three Profounds Mirror],” the Credit Peddler explained. ”You only need to refine a person’s qi signature into this treasure, and you can use the profound light in the mirror to locate their whereabouts... Moreover, this treasure can hold up to three qi signatures, tracking three people simultaneously.”

He paused briefly here and held up three fingers. ”If you want to trade for this item, it will cost you a future magical treasure, as well as the Taotie Urn Cauldron Vessel Fragment on your person.

”Aside from that... I also need to see what other treasures you have on you, Daoist Friend.”