After the Great Dao Died

Just as the crowd reeled in shock, the two Yu Jiangweis moved at the exact same time!

The Yu Jiangwei on the left took a step forward, and the void beneath her feet exploded with a thunderous boom!

She grasped at the void with her right hand, causing the thin mist shrouding her body to churn madly. In the blink of an eye, it condensed into a longsword forged entirely of mist.

The sword was about a zhang long. The mist along its blade flowed endlessly, exuding an eerie, heart-palpitating aura.

Holding the misty longsword horizontally in front of her, she looked up. Her gaze pierced through layers of the void to land on Daoist Shu Rong—Chi Jianshu—and Luan Shu.

The Yu Jiangwei on the right moved at almost the exact same moment.

She did not condense a mist sword. Instead, she brought her hands lightly together in front of her. Her ten fingers flew into a blur, instantly forming a profoundly intricate hand seal.

Instantly, an even more turbulent wave of mist surged outward.

Amidst the churning mist, countless dense, minuscule runes faintly circulated.

The mist obscured the void. Meanwhile, the second Yu Jiangwei shot forward like a streak of profound light, driving straight toward Daoist Zhuxu!

She was actually going to fight three against one!

’These cultivators from the upper sect are so damn arrogant!’ Daoist Zhuxu cursed inwardly.

But his reaction was not slow in the slightest. The very instant the two Yu Jiangweis attacked, he had already reactivated his Deity Reverence Altar Great Divine Ability.

The Nine-Tiered Sacrificial Altar suspended in the void lit up with a blinding, gloomy glow once more. The dense layer of dark red runes across the altar began to circulate madly, as if they had come to life.

He clasped his hands together and bowed through the void toward the Yu Jiangwei on the left once more!

But this time, his previously infallible Deity Reverence Altar Great Divine Ability failed.

The Yu Jiangwei on the left lightly slashed her misty longsword through the void.

Where the misty longsword passed, a white streak was instantly sliced into the void.

The white streak spread out like mist in a flash, landing heavily on the Deity Reverence Altar!

Daoist Zhuxu’s expression abruptly changed.

Right at that moment, Daoist Shu Rong—Chi Jianshu—and Luan Shu also attacked!

Forcing down the rampage of the Deity Reverence Altar’s god within her Sea of Consciousness, Daoist Shu Rong raised the Big Dipper Jade Ruyi high.

The phantom of the seven stars of the Big Dipper above her head began to spin again, transforming into a Big Dipper Star Sword grand formation that suppressed toward the Yu Jiangwei on the right!

As for Luan Shu, he flicked his horsetail whisk through the void. The phantom of the great river beneath his seat crashed explosively toward the Yu Jiangwei on the left!

Of the two Yu Jiangweis, one met Luan Shu’s Great River Divine Ability with her misty longsword, while the other took the brunt of Daoist Shu Rong’s Big Dipper Star Sword grand formation using the churning mist around her body!

The grand battle erupted!

For a time, the thunderous booms of clashing divine abilities shook the heavens and earth above the prefectural city. The collision of Dao Origin and spiritual qi whipped up a terrifying halo of light that blotted out the sky and sun.

But the most terrifying aspect was the mist seeping out from Yu Jiangwei’s body.

At first, the mist only lingered around her. Yet, as the battle waged on, it began to frantically expand in all directions.

A ten-li radius, a thirty-li radius, a fifty-li radius... The mist devoured everything like an insatiable Taotie beast. In just a short moment, it had already enveloped a hundred-li radius!

Chen Lingxi stood among the ruins, watching the battle in the sky using his Method of Qi Observation.

”This Yu Jiangwei... is actually this strong.” Chen Lingxi sucked in a sharp breath.

Fighting three opponents by herself without falling into a disadvantage, and even having the spare energy to shroud the battlefield in mist and cut off everyone’s prying eyes.

Such means, such spirit, such a foundation—it far exceeded Chen Lingxi’s imagination.

Just then, Chen Lingxi suddenly furrowed his brows.

He whipped his head down and pulled the Three Profounds Mirror from his Vast Void Pouch.

A sudden anomaly had appeared on the surface of the Three Profounds Mirror!

On the mirror, the black streak of profound light symbolizing Zhao Duanxuan was hurtling closer at an unimaginable speed!

The speed was too fast. It cut across the mirror like a bolt of black lightning. The distance between it and the pale gold speck of starlight representing his own location was shrinking at a rate visible to the naked eye.

At that speed, Zhao Duanxuan would descend upon this place in mere moments!

At the same time, the blazing white profound light symbolizing Bai Lingze was constantly vanishing, reappearing, vanishing, and reappearing... flashing madly across the mirror!

The flashes were so fast that Chen Lingxi’s eyes could barely track them.

”These two are also approaching Nanche Prefecture!”

Chen Lingxi’s expression changed.

”A single Yu Jiangwei is already this troublesome. If Zhao Duanxuan and Bai Lingze also arrive, the situation here will spiral completely out of control.”

But before he could react, the madly flashing blazing white light on the Three Profounds Mirror abruptly vanished.

This time, it did not reappear where it had been.

Instead, it overlapped perfectly with the starlight speck marking Chen Lingxi’s location!

Chen Lingxi’s breath instantly hitched.

Just then, above the ruined prefectural city, the void at the edge of the ceaselessly churning mist suddenly tore open!

Immediately after, a black whirlpool slowly extended out from within.

Inside the whirlpool, the silhouette of a person could vaguely be seen slowly stepping out.

The figure was dressed in spotless white robes, completely untainted by dust, like a white cloud drifting down from the heavens.

He was exceedingly handsome. His face was like flawless jade, his eyebrows pale like light smoke, and his translucent pupils were devoid of worldly dust. He did not look like a mortal of the secular world in the slightest.

He walked forward with an unhurried, leisurely pace, as if strolling through his own courtyard.

It was Bai Lingze.

As he stepped out of the black whirlpool, a faint Hymn of the Divine Being began to echo through the surrounding void.

The hymn sounded like thousands of deities chanting simultaneously. Every single syllable contained indescribably profound truths.

These syllables transformed into ripples of sonic waves, spreading out in all directions with Bai Lingze at the center.

The various whispers of immortals that Chen Lingxi had heard during his Absolute Perception Deduction surfaced once more.

’Another Dao Foundation avatar...’

He rapidly assessed the situation in his mind. Yu Jiangwei was fighting three opponents alone, Zhao Duanxuan was about to arrive, and now this Bai Lingze had brazenly descended.

Five Dao Foundation avatars were gathered here!

’In this small Nanche Prefecture City, immortals are fighting and mortals are the ones who suffer! I must leave this place immediately. Otherwise, even getting clipped by the shockwaves will grind my bones to dust!’

Bai Lingze appeared. His gaze swept over the ruined prefectural city, over the churning mist in the sky, and over the faint clashes of Dao Origin within that mist, before an amused smile crept onto his face.

Soon after, his gaze fell upon Chen Lingxi, who was forcing down the immortals’ whispers among the ruins.

A flash of surprise passed through his eyes, which immediately hardened into undisguised, icy killing intent.

”To think there’s an unexpected harvest.” Bai Lingze shook his head, his tone as placid as still water.

There was not a shred of a smile in his ethereal, otherworldly eyes. They were like a freezing abyss as his gaze roamed back and forth over Chen Lingxi.

”You certainly gave me quite the surprise,” Bai Lingze murmured softly, killing intent brimming in his eyes. ”A mere native ant of the Weiji Grotto-Heaven actually managed to become so strong in such a short period of time. I’m quite curious just what secrets are hidden on your body.”

As his voice faded, Chen Lingxi felt the immortals’ whispers in his ears abruptly erupt in volume!

The hymn, which had originally been incredibly faint and ethereal, suddenly sounded as though thousands of deities were beating war drums right next to his ears!

Every syllable smashed against his Sea of Consciousness like a ten-thousand-jun warhammer!

His Sea of Consciousness quaked violently, his head throbbing as though it were splitting apart!

”I originally just wanted to kill you and be done with it... but now, I don’t want to kill you anymore.” Bai Lingze looked down at him from above, a relaxed smile on his face.

He suddenly extended his right hand, splayed his five fingers slightly, and squeezed the air toward Chen Lingxi.

From a hundred zhang away, Chen Lingxi felt an invisible, intangible, yet irresistible and overwhelming suction lock him firmly in place.

The spiritual qi around his body was completely suppressed by that power. He couldn’t even activate his Qi Sea Whirlpool; he could only watch helplessly as that hand slowly clamped down toward him.

”I’m going to slice you open layer by layer and take a very close look at you.”

Bai Lingze spoke with a flippant, casual tone, like a mischievous child squatting beneath a tree, deciding to pluck up an ant and tear it to pieces just to see what it looked like inside!

In his eyes, Chen Lingxi was nothing more than a slightly larger ant!

Chen Lingxi raised his head, meeting Bai Lingze’s ethereal, otherworldly, yet abyss-like freezing eyes.

’What rotten luck.’

Bai Lingze’s arrival today was undoubtedly for the several Dao Foundation experts facing off here.

Yu Jiangwei, Chi Jianshu, Luan Shu, and Daoist Zhuxu—these four Dao Foundation avatars had caused such a massive disturbance with their confrontation that they had long since alerted countless experts in the vicinity.

Bai Lingze was one of them.

It was just that he happened to be here too!

And he had quite a bit of bad blood with Bai Lingze.

Upon descending, the first thing Bai Lingze wanted to do was casually crush this ant that had gotten in his way.

’Moreover, the black profound light representing Zhao Duanxuan is closing in on this place at an unimaginable speed.’

Once Zhao Duanxuan arrived, six Dao Foundation cultivators would be gathered here.

’When that happens, let alone protecting the Great Ferrying Array, it’s completely unknown whether Lin Suri, the others, and I will even be able to leave alive.’

The Great Divine Ability Spiritual Wall and Thunder Prison Spirit Branch being nurtured within the Great Ferrying Array were the crucial keys to his breakthrough into the Dao Foundation Realm. They could not be lost under any circumstances.

If he didn’t make a decision now, it would be a dead end.

And so...

Right at this moment!

With resolute determination, Chen Lingxi crushed Emperor Daye’s Golden Finger Bone!

Crack!

An exceptionally crisp cracking sound rang out.

The Golden Finger Bone shattered into powder in his palm.

A stream of golden light shot into the sky, landing right in the void!

Illuminated by this golden light, Bai Lingze’s void-grasping divine ability abruptly dissipated. The terrifying force binding Chen Lingxi actually vanished in an instant as well.

A trace of surprise appeared on Bai Lingze’s face.

He looked up, his brows raising slightly.

Meanwhile, Chen Lingxi did not hesitate for another second!

He spun around. Beneath his feet, the Longevity Bridge that spanned the sky abruptly manifested, carrying his body away as a streak of light in a rapid retreat.

He projected his divine sense into the ears of Lin Suri, Jiang Xiu, and Wei Qingran: ”The battle of Dao Foundations here is no longer something we can interfere with. Retreat quickly!”

Lin Suri and the others had naturally also sensed the terrifying pressure of the Dao Foundation avatars around them.

They knew that staying here was tantamount to waiting for death.

Jiang Xiu and Wei Qingran instantly joined hands. They wrapped the already crumbling Great Ferrying Array—along with the incompletely descended Great Divine Ability Spiritual Wall and Thunder Prison Spirit Branch inside it—within layers of restrictions. Then, they frantically fled toward the outskirts of Nanche Prefecture alongside Chen Lingxi and Lin Suri.

At the exact same moment they fled, the heavens and earth above Nanche Prefecture City drastically transformed!

The powder from the shattered Golden Finger Bone had materialized into a staggeringly colossal golden human face in the void.

The face was a full hundred zhang tall, its features carrying an ultimate, majestic martial valor. It was precisely Emperor Daye, Ying Xian!

Two golden gazes, thick as physical substance, locked straight onto the white-robed figure who had been pushed back by the golden radiance.

With a cold snort, countless dense, intricate golden runes erupted from the giant face’s gaping mouth. They formed a towering golden cage that completely trapped Bai Lingze—whose face had only just shown a hint of surprise—along with the churning sonic waves of the Hymn of the Divine Being around him!

Meanwhile.

Deep within the Great Zhou Imperial Palace, which bordered the Southern Sea far, far away.

Emperor Daye, Ying Xian, slowly opened his eyes.

Reflected in his eyes—which burned with golden flames—were the shattered finger bone, the giant face above Nanche Prefecture City, and the white-robed young man currently trapped in a golden cage by his projection.

A faint smile graced his lips as he slowly stood up.

He took a step forward, and the lingering aura of old age clinging to his body vanished as rapidly as a receding tide.

His white hair turned black, his wrinkles melted away, his hunched back straightened, and his shriveled limbs plumped up with flesh and blood once more.

His entire being seemed like an ancient divine artifact wiped free of dirt and grime, radiating a dazzling brilliance once again.

He took a deep breath, sharp light suddenly flashing in his eyes.

The golden radiance flickered with all sorts of lines, forming what looked like a massive map!

Shockingly, the map detailed numerous mountains and rivers.

This was precisely the heaven-shaking formation he had spent many years of blood and sweat to lay down, sacrificing countless lives to link the mountains and rivers of all of Great Li and even the surrounding nations!

Right after!

With a sweep of Emperor Daye’s sleeve, a war chariot unexpectedly appeared before him.

The chariot glowed with resplendent golden light. It was pulled by the phantoms of nine five-clawed golden dragons. Though they were only phantoms, they naturally exuded a terrifying dragon might that deterred all living souls!

Emperor Daye stepped onto the chariot and lightly tapped the map made of golden light, pointing right at Nanche Prefecture!

Instantly, the war chariot practically blurred into an afterimage.

Rainbow light unfurled beneath its wheels.

He drove the chariot onto the rainbow light, speeding far away toward Nanche Prefecture!

Its speed was unmatched—several times faster than even Zhao Duanxuan, who was currently treading across the sea’s waves!

Back in Nanche Prefecture, Bai Lingze had intended to toy with the ant he’d already grasped in his palm, only to suddenly find himself imprisoned by Emperor Daye’s terrifying golden face.

A flicker of astonishment passed through his eyes, followed by a cold snort.

From within the golden cage, he threw his arms wide open. At once, a terrifying qi signature blossomed outward, turning the void blindingly white!

The notes of the Hymn of the Divine Being became like the roars of ten thousand gods, frantically slamming against the barrier of golden runes trapping him.

At this moment, within the churning mist that covered a hundred-li radius, Yu Jiangwei was using the power of two bodies to fight three experts single-handedly without losing an inch of ground.

And just past the borders of Nanche Prefecture lay the Southern Sea, which bordered the waters of Great Zhou.

Furthermore, the Great Zhou Imperial Palace was exceedingly close to the Great Zhou sea region.

Assisted by the Mountains and Rivers Great Array, Emperor Daye’s speed reached a terrifying extreme!

The time it took to drink a cup of tea hurried by!

Bai Lingze broke free from the golden face’s bindings. His white robes were slightly disheveled, and his previously calm, handsome face now wore a dark expression and undisguised killing intent.

He jerked his head around, his divine sense sweeping outward!

He sought to hunt down Chen Lingxi and the others who had already fled Nanche Prefecture City.

But right at that moment, waves of the war chariot’s golden radiance suddenly poured in from the edge of the distant horizon. A terrifying pressure that made even his heart palpitate surged over like a tidal wave!

Emperor Daye had descended!