After the Great Dao Died

Chen Lingxi had just ascended to the fortieth rank on the Celestial Ranking. Before he could fully refine the strand of Celestial Ranking Spiritual Energy that had descended into his Qi Sea, his ascent was already stirring the winds and clouds in all directions!

In the void, a divine sense swept across the Celestial Ranking. It paused briefly on the words ”Weiji Grotto-Heaven” before moving on.

The owner of that divine sense was none other than Zhao Duanxuan of the Que Star Xi Family!

At this moment, Zhao Duanxuan stood with his hands behind his back in the sky above the Heavenly Gate Sea.

Profound light bloomed in his eyes as his gaze swept the Heavenly Gate Sea inch by inch, as if searching for some extremely precious treasure.

He possessed a towering physique and a majestic aura. Simply standing there caused the sea of clouds for dozens of li around him to stagnate, ceasing to flow entirely.

”Chen Lingxi... a native of the Weiji Grotto-Heaven...”

Zhao Duanxuan raised his eyes and glanced at the Celestial Ranking. His gaze swept over the names of Chen Lingxi and Ying Xian, paying them no mind.

To him, this Weiji Grotto-Heaven and every living creature within it were ultimately nothing more than a handful of kindling beneath the Que Star Xi Family’s Realm-Refining Furnace.

Since this grotto-heaven already belonged to the Xi family, its inhabitants were merely contents of the furnace. They were destined to be refined into Realm Essence to forge the eternal Great and Profound Golden Palace for his clan brother, Xi Hengsu.

Since this was the case, why should he spare a glance for this Chen Lingxi or that Ying Xian?

No matter how fortuitous their encounters or how peerless their talent, they could never escape their fated deaths.

Thus... Zhao Duanxuan dismissed the thought entirely. He retracted his gaze and resumed his search of the Heavenly Gate Sea.

—

In Guanshan Province, inside a towering palace suspended above the sea of clouds, Bai Lingze sat cross-legged.

He possessed strikingly handsome features, his face like polished jade. His slightly upturned peach-blossom eyes carried an indescribable, captivating charm with every glance.

Bai Lingze slowly opened his eyes. Deep within his pupils, two incredibly profound jade-colored rays of light were faintly circulating; as that light turned, the entire palace emitted a brilliant glow.

”Chen Lingxi...”

Bai Lingze tilted his head in thought.

During the Battle of Cauldron Seizing, his Bright Jade Avatar had taken Xi Yu and transformed into a tornado to retreat.

That Chen Lingxi had even dared to attack them, leaving him in a wretched state.

For a figure like Bai Lingze, who had stood at the peak for far too long, it remained a deep humiliation—even if the form that fled as a tornado had only been an avatar.

But now...

His two Bright Jade Avatars had merged into one. Furthermore, with his clan channeling mighty power through the Great Ferrying Array, his avatar in this realm had fully stepped into the Dao Foundation realm...

He was entirely different from before.

A faint smile graced the corners of his mouth. He slowly stood up, walked to the edge of the palace, and stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at the churning sea of clouds below.

Killing intent surged in his heart.

’I cultivate the [Great Brilliance Jade Perfection Dao]! The most vital requirement of this path is an absolutely clear mind, which means sweeping away all obsessions. Since this Chen Lingxi has formed a grudge with me, I must kill him.’

He tilted his head slightly, his gaze seeming to pierce through the churning clouds and mist to fall onto the name at the fortieth position on the Celestial Ranking.

”Since I cannot locate the exact whereabouts of the Immortal Slough and the Cauldron Vessel at the moment, sitting idly here is terribly dull. I might as well treat this as going out for a stroll,” he said, gently flicking his sleeve.

A jade-colored beam of light rose from beneath his feet, carrying his figure into the sky. It tore through the sea of clouds, speeding rapidly off into the distance.

The light was astonishingly fast. In the blink of an eye, it vanished into an imperceptible dot at the edge of the horizon.

—

Having slain Wang Zhian and claimed the fortieth rank on the Celestial Ranking, Chen Lingxi felt the new surge of Celestial Ranking Spiritual Energy within his Qi Sea. It was exceptionally dense.

The energy flowed through his Qi Sea like a warm spring current, nourishing his spiritual qi and bolstering his foundation.

A touch of pleasant surprise colored Chen Lingxi’s eyes. ”To think that merely the fortieth rank’s Celestial Ranking Spiritual Energy is already this profound and pure.”

”If I can advance a few more ranks into the top twenty, perhaps this Celestial Ranking Spiritual Energy will be enough to push me into the Twelfth Floor of Qi Circulation.”

Anticipation welled up in his mind, yet he felt no rush to immediately refine the energy.

High in the sky, two bright mirrors hung suspended, proving that this place was still the Absolute Perception Divine Chamber.

”I haven’t attracted the experts of the Xi family and Bai family yet...”

”I need to be a bit more ostentatious.”

Spiritual qi churned around him like ocean tides, and the Three Flowers bloomed above his head. He unleashed the rolling spiritual qi pressure of the Qi Circulation Eleventh Floor without reservation. Like a walking sun, he churned the sea of clouds wherever he passed, leaving a wake like the path of a tornado.

He continued walking through the void, his black robes snapping wildly in the wind, his aura majestic to the extreme.

With spiritual qi surging so violently, an expert of the Heaven-Facing Three Floors would be able to perceive Chen Lingxi’s location even from hundreds of li away.

Chen Lingxi proceeded in this manner, eventually arriving deep within a vast, untamed mountain range.

Its peaks were layered endlessly, ancient trees towering into the sky, the terrain exceptionally treacherous.

Suddenly, at the highest peak of the mountains, a sword-bearing figure slowly stood up.

That person had originally been sitting cross-legged on the summit, his aura entirely merged with the mountain itself.

But the moment Chen Lingxi stepped into the boundaries of this mountain range, he slowly opened his eyes.

Surging killing intent brewed within the man’s eyes, striking out like twin bolts of tribulation lightning. That piercing, lethal intent locked straight onto Chen Lingxi up in the clouds.

Then the man slowly stood up, carrying a majestic aura as if he were uprooting the mountain. A terrifying pressure violently erupted at this moment, churning the sea of clouds in the mountains and locking onto Chen Lingxi as he rode the clouds!

Chen Lingxi’s gaze flickered with a hint of pleasant surprise.

The clouds beneath his feet dispersed, and he landed on a mountain peak, facing the sword-bearing figure from afar.

He sensed the overwhelming aura radiating from this man. This profound, towering power actually surpassed most of the Twelfth Floor of Qi Circulation cultivators Chen Lingxi had seen; only that blue-robed youth had been stronger.

’The spiritual qi fluctuations on this man are actually somewhat similar to those of Xi Mu and Xi Yuan, who died by my hands... He is someone from the Xi family,’ Chen Lingxi thought.

Having already guessed the man’s background, he didn’t voice his suspicions, merely asking, ”Who goes there?”

The man initially seemed unwilling to answer.

Intense killing intent radiated from his body, bearing down straight onto Chen Lingxi!

At the same time, his aura climbed to its absolute peak. His robes whipped about without any wind, snapping loudly.

The longsword at his waist had not yet been drawn, but intense sword qi already hung around him, severing the air.

Then he took a step forward. With this single step, he crossed a distance of over a hundred zhang, stepping right into the void!

Right at this moment, a strange look flashed through his eyes, and he slowly shook his head.

”I came for revenge. If you don’t know whose hands you die by, or for what reason you die, how can it even be called revenge?”

The man raised his head, his eyes burning with lethal intent as he stared straight at Chen Lingxi. ”I will tell you this much. My name is Xi Lingqiao.

”The Xi Lingqiong who died by your hands... the one you knew as Xi Yuan, was my older brother. I... have come for revenge!”

Xi Lingqiao.

Chen Lingxi’s eyes flashed. ”A member of the Xi family, just as I thought.”

On the Celestial Ranking, Xi Lingqiao ranked twenty-sixth. Compared to Wang Zhian, who had died by his hands not long ago, he was a full twelve places higher!

And now, Xi Lingqiao’s spiritual qi ran wild, his might truly astonishing.

Just by standing there, the spiritual qi pressure radiating from him had already caused the surrounding clouds and mist to stagnate. The air in the void had completely ceased to flow!

Chen Lingxi took a deep breath.

’Xi Lingqiao is considered the number three figure of the Xi family currently in the Weiji Grotto-Heaven,’ Chen Lingxi thought.

Number one was Zhao Duanxuan, first on the Celestial Ranking.

Number two was Xi Yuan, tenth on the Celestial Ranking.

’I am currently at the Qi Circulation Eleventh Floor, but my Qi Sea is exceptionally vast because of those two strands of Ancestral Mountain Mother Qi, giving me an extraordinarily deep spiritual qi foundation.’

’On top of that, cultivating the True Edict of Approaching the Dao has given my physical body incomparable combat strength, far surpassing anyone in the same realm.’

’Let alone that Demon Saint, even Wang Zhian, ranked fortieth on the Celestial Ranking, was no match for me.’

Chen Lingxi’s mind raced.

’Then, facing the avatar of this Dao Foundation expert from the Que Star immortal clan... can I win?’

Chen Lingxi asked himself.

At the same time, fierce battle intent burned in his eyes.

’I might as well use this Xi Lingqiao to gauge my true combat strength. Let’s see just how far my physical body, spiritual qi, and the Great Sage aura of my Heaven-Inviting Momentum can go against these noble cultivators from the Great Xuanzhuo Realm.’

His eyes flickered, and his entire aura suddenly erupted, enveloping an area of a thousand zhang.

The [Heaven-Inviting Momentum] erupted just like that, as if the Great Sage had descended in person, rushing straight toward Xi Lingqiao!

Sensing this terrifying aura, a hint of surprise flashed through Xi Lingqiao’s eyes.

Then, with a flick of his finger, the longsword at his waist rang out as it left its sheath.

As the blade was drawn, an incomparably sharp sword intent soared into the sky.

[Falling Sea Profound Qi]!

Just as his sword stance rose, streams of profound aura materialized out of thin air, shrouding his entire body along with that longsword.

That profound qi was pale blue in color, just like ten-thousand-year-old ice from the bottom of the deep sea, emitting a chilling cold that made one’s heart palpitate!

Immediately after, a spirit bridge stretching across the sky suddenly extended from beneath his feet!

The entire bridge was constructed from spiritual light condensed to the absolute extreme. Its surface was carved with complex and ancient runes, surging with thick, heavy spiritual light.

It was precisely the Xi family spell...

[Longevity Bridge]!

Xi Lingqiao stepped onto the Longevity Bridge. His figure suddenly disappeared, and in the next instant, he appeared directly behind Chen Lingxi.

At this moment, the layer of pale blue profound qi on the blade of the longsword in his hand brightened to the extreme.

At the same time, a blurry phantom vaguely appeared behind him. The phantom wore golden armor and held a precious pestle. Its face was blurry and unclear, yet it naturally possessed an awe-inspiring majesty that suppressed all things.

It was another of the Xi family’s secretly imparted divine abilities!

[Victorious King Ruyi Precious Phase]!

Once this precious phase manifested, the aura around Xi Lingqiao rapidly expanded once more. It was as if a true Victorious King had descended to the mortal realm, his might unparalleled.

He unleashed a sword strike. The sword light surged like a reversed ocean wave, carrying terrifying, apocalyptic might as it crashed down straight toward Chen Lingxi’s head.

A cold light flashed in Chen Lingxi’s eyes.

He didn’t retreat but advanced instead. Inside that crude Inner Divine Palace within his body, the phantom of Great Sage Yaotian sitting cross-legged on the high platform suddenly opened its eyes.

Those eyes were as deep as the abyss, with stars vaguely revolving within them.

An indescribably terrifying aura explosively erupted from him at this moment!

The might of the [Heaven-Inviting Momentum] thoroughly erupted. That overwhelming Great Sage pressure crashed toward Xi Lingqiao like a formless giant wave.

Xi Lingqiao’s inevitable sword strike actually stagnated slightly under this terrifying [Heaven-Inviting Momentum]!

In this exact instant, Chen Lingxi moved.

The mountain-sized Flower of Golden Essence above his head suddenly bloomed with blinding light, and rolling essence energy rushed madly into his limbs and bones like a bursting dam.

He curled his fingers into a fist. On his right fist, pale golden light suddenly flared up, as if he were holding a blazing sun in his palm.

At the same time, he brought the fingers of his left hand together like a sword!

[Twelve Chimes of the Heavenly Drum!]

Twelve earth-shattering claps of thunder suddenly exploded in the void. The thunderous sound was as if a god were beating a heavenly drum, each strike stronger and faster than the last.

The thunderous sound stacked upon his fist momentum!

His right fist shot out explosively like a golden meteor.

The air exploded wherever the fist passed, sending shockwaves rippling out in all directions in layers.

Rumble!

With an earth-shattering roar, the fist aura and sword light collided violently in the void.

That seemingly indestructible Falling Sea Profound Qi sword light shattered inch by inch before Chen Lingxi’s fist, which was imbued with the aura of the Great Sage and the thunder of the Heavenly Drum, scattering into a sky full of pale blue motes of light.

”Hm? Such a tyrannical physical body...”

Xi Lingqiao’s pupils shrank slightly. He clearly had not expected Chen Lingxi to forcefully meet his sword strike with his bare flesh.

But he was ultimately a descendant of the Xi family, a powerhouse ranked twenty-sixth on the Celestial Ranking in this grotto-heaven.

In just the blink of an eye, he had already changed his move.

He fiercely clenched his left hand in the void, and the Longevity Bridge under his feet suddenly split, transforming into dozens of profound spiritual light chains that wrapped toward Chen Lingxi from all directions.

Those chains were like dozens of silver-white giant pythons waking up at the same time, each one containing a terrifying force sufficient to grind a small hill into powder.

At the same time, the longsword in his right hand flipped over, and the Victorious King Ruyi Precious Phase behind him simultaneously raised the precious pestle in its hands.

Golden light flared wildly on the precious pestle, merging with the sword light and transforming into a golden pillar of light spanning a hundred zhang, smashing down toward Chen Lingxi’s head!

Chen Lingxi took a deep breath.

He pushed the True Edict of Approaching the Dao within his body to the absolute limit. That Great Sage Breathing profound mechanism operated madly, endlessly pouring rolling essence energy into his limbs and bones.

At this moment, his physical body seemed to transform into a human-shaped magical treasure. He neither dodged nor avoided, striking out with both fists. His left fist blasted toward the overwhelming spiritual light chains, while his right fist met that apocalyptic golden pillar of light.

Boom! Boom!

Two loud bangs that almost overlapped exploded.

Those dozens of spiritual light chains were blasted to pieces inch by inch by Chen Lingxi’s punch, turning into a sky full of light motes.

And that golden pillar of light was also forcefully brought to a halt in midair by Chen Lingxi’s right fist.

The pillar of light and the fist aura remained deadlocked for no more than half a breath before violently exploding.

Terrifying air waves madly swept in all directions, crashing onto the surrounding mountain peaks. Broken rocks splashed like rain, and smoke and dust soared into the sky.

Xi Lingqiao retreated explosively, landing in the distant void, a feeling of respect rising in his heart.

Although he knew early on that anyone capable of killing Wang Zhian must be extraordinary, he had never expected that Chen Lingxi could actually fight his Twelfth Floor of Qi Circulation avatar to a standstill using only Qi Circulation Eleventh Floor cultivation!

’The tyranny of this man’s physical body, the dominance of his aura, and the thickness of his spiritual qi have all far exceeded the scope of the Qi Circulation Eleventh Floor.’

’If he can step into the Dao Foundation realm, he will undoubtedly be an extraordinary Dao Foundation cultivator.’

Light flickered in Xi Lingqiao’s eyes, yet he had not the slightest hesitation.

He took action once more. A blinding point of golden light suddenly flared on the blade of the longsword in his hand!

Then the light blazed fiercely, and a terrifying divine ability sprang from it!

[Sun World-Illuminating Method]!

A dazzling golden profound light shot out from his longsword, soared into the sky, and hung a thousand zhang up in the air.

That profound light transformed into a golden sun, shining high in the sky, so brilliantly radiant that one could not look straight at it.

The profound sunlight spilled down, dyeing the mountain forest within a radius of several thousand zhang into a blinding golden color.

That profound light seemed warm and genial, but it actually contained extremely terrifying power.

As the sunlight shone on Chen Lingxi, it made the essence energy and spiritual qi throughout his body feel as if they had been frozen, making them extremely difficult to circulate.

That feeling was just like sinking into a sticky quagmire. Every movement of his hands and feet required several times more effort than usual.

This was precisely the terrifying aspect of the [Sun World-Illuminating Method]: using the profound light to suppress the enemy and weaken their essence, energy, and spirit, reducing them to lambs waiting to be slaughtered!

Right at this time, Xi Lingqiao’s longsword rose again.

The pale blue profound qi on the blade reflected with the profound sunlight in the sky, spitting out biting cold killing intent.

He intended to thoroughly slay Chen Lingxi under this sword strike!

Chen Lingxi’s brows furrowed slightly.

He clearly sensed that the circulation speed of the spiritual qi and essence energy inside his body had slowed down by at least several times under the illumination of this profound sunlight.

’These immortal clan cultivators truly are extraordinary. They are on a completely different level than Wang Zhian.’

With a mere thought, the Delayed Light Flying Dagger he had been nurturing within his Qi Sea suddenly appeared in his palm.