After the Great Dao Died

Chen Lingxi sat cross-legged within the Storm Immortal Pivot. Churning Weiji lightning coiled around his body in a continuous flow.

Blazing arcs of electricity completely engulfed him.

His robes were dyed deep emerald, fluttering around him and making him look like a deity born bathing in lightning.

He closed his eyes in concentration. Above his Plundering Dragon Dao Platform, the Thunder Prison Spirit Branch had transformed into an incredibly pure cluster of lightning essence. It hovered in the very center of the platform, pulsing with a faint, heart-palpitating light.

As Chen Lingxi circulated the Great Divine Ability, mystical patterns lit up simultaneously across the Dao Platform, and the cluster of lightning essence began absorbing vast amounts of spiritual qi!

Weiji lightning surged toward him, madly pouring into his body to wrap around the essence layer by layer, refining it over and over.

The process was extremely slow, yet it allowed for absolutely no errors.

Cultivating a Dao Foundation Great Divine Ability was unlike practicing ordinary spells; the slightest deviation could waste all his previous efforts, or even trigger a severe backlash.

An unknown amount of time passed before the cluster of lightning essence finally sprouted a tender shoot in the void above the Plundering Dragon Dao Platform.

Ultimately, that shoot grew into a small lightning tree. Its branches and leaves were lush, with lightning flowing across them.

”This is the Thunder Prison Profound Root.”

”The Profound Root formed by the Thunder Prison Heaven Great Divine Ability.”

Chen Lingxi opened his eyes, his gaze burning bright.

With the Profound Root established, Chen Lingxi felt it brimming with blazing lightning that he could control as easily as moving his own fingers.

With a mere thought, he pointed a finger. A bolt of lightning instantly materialized, then dispersed into the void.

’This is a Dao Foundation Great Divine Ability,’ Chen Lingxi thought silently, his eyes shining.

He could clearly sense the might of this Thunder Prison Heaven.

’After planting the Profound Root, I can transform its lightning into a Thunder Prison.’

”Covered by the Thunder Prison, I will be the sovereign of lightning in this space.”

”Furthermore... this is far from the ultimate might of this Great Divine Ability.”

Chen Lingxi slowly opened his eyes, lightning coiling around his body.

With a thought, the lightning at his fingertips suddenly flared, transforming into five arcs of electricity that danced wildly in the void.

He casually waved his hand. The five arcs roared out like five lightning dragons, crashing into the churning lightning deep within the Storm Immortal Pivot and triggering a chain of earth-shaking explosions.

”Such might from just a casual strike,” Chen Lingxi muttered to himself, pleasantly surprised.

He sank his mind back into the Plundering Dragon Dao Platform.

The Profound Root in the void above the platform was still slowly growing. With its every breath, a wisp of pure lightning Dao rhythm diffused from it.

This was the marvel of a Great Divine Ability’s Profound Root.

Even without him actively circulating it, the Profound Root would constantly nourish him with its lightning Dao rhythm, refining his physical body and spiritual qi to make them increasingly pure and formidable.

The more time passed, the deeper his foundation would become.

’No wonder Dao Foundation cultivators are so formidable,’ Chen Lingxi sighed inwardly. ’I’ve just condensed the Profound Root. I haven’t even planted it into my Dao Platform yet, nor has my spiritual qi become Dao Origin.’

’Fueling Thunder Prison Heaven with spiritual qi alone makes this Great Divine Ability so powerful. If I drove it with Dao Origin instead, both its might and the benefits to myself would definitely see a massive increase.’

Chen Lingxi sighed in awe.

He finally understood why Dao Foundation figures possessed such terrifying might in their every move.

Why Bai Lingze could make him feel so powerless with a casual palm strike, and why Zhao Duanxuan could heavily injure him with merely a Spiritual Artifact avatar.

The main reasons lay in two points.

The first was Dao Origin.

Qi Circulation cultivators cultivated spiritual qi. While mystical, it was ultimately just a product of refined ambient spiritual energy.

The Dao Origin cultivated by Dao Foundation cultivators, however, was the result of a qualitative transformation after spiritual qi was refined by the Dao Platform and augmented by a Profound Root.

A single drop of Dao Origin was equivalent to a hundred wisps of an ordinary Qi Circulation cultivator’s spiritual qi.

The might, purity, and enhancements it provided to spells and divine abilities were far beyond what spiritual qi could offer.

It was like comparing a mortal iron sword to a divine weapon forged from a thousand hammerings of extraterrestrial meteoric iron. They might share the same shape, but the difference between them was like heaven and earth.

The second reason lay in Dao Foundation Great Divine Abilities.

The difference between a Dao Foundation Great Divine Ability and ordinary spells was simply too immense.

No matter how profound ordinary spells were, they were nothing more than the manipulation of the world’s spiritual energy and the stimulation of one’s own spiritual qi.

But a Dao Foundation Great Divine Ability was different!

It could resonate with the Great Dao and breathe alongside heaven and earth!

Take Thunder Prison Heaven, for instance.

Without it, Chen Lingxi’s lightning spells would rely purely on his own spiritual qi and lightning precious qi, leaving their might ultimately limited.

But with Thunder Prison Heaven, it was equivalent to carrying a lightning purgatory with him at all times.

As long as his Dao Origin was not exhausted, the Thunder Prison would never cease, providing an endless stream of killing power.

That was without even considering the marvel of the Profound Root constantly refining his physical body and nourishing his Dao Origin.

”Such enhancements cannot be matched by any ordinary spell.”

Chen Lingxi marveled for a long time, his mind sinking into the Thunder Prison Profound Root.

He could clearly sense a bolt of lightning being nurtured within it.

The lightning was about the size of a fist, entirely deep purple, with faint arcs of electricity flowing across its surface.

With every throb of that profound lightning, countless fine arcs of electricity shot out to nourish the Profound Root.

”The lightning in my Profound Root is actually not the lightning contained within the Thunder Prison Spirit Branch, but rather the Weiji lightning from this Storm Immortal Pivot.”

’I just began cultivating Thunder Prison Heaven and I already encountered this Immortal Pivot’s lightning,’ Chen Lingxi marveled inwardly. ’This can be considered a great stroke of luck for me.’

Without this Storm Immortal Pivot, he would have needed at least several years of bitter effort to cultivate Thunder Prison Heaven to this stage.

But within this Immortal Pivot, borrowing the power of the Weiji lightning, he had succeeded in just a few short months.

This was serendipity.

”On the path of cultivation, sometimes one part serendipity is worth ten parts bitter effort.”

Reaching this point in his thoughts, Chen Lingxi controlled the Profound Root to descend onto the Plundering Dragon Dao Platform.

The moment the Profound Root touched the Dao Platform, he felt the spiritual qi within surging madly. It churned endlessly like a disturbed python, continuously pouring into the Profound Root.

The Profound Root acted like an insatiable Taotie, greedily devouring the spiritual qi from his Dao Platform. With every wisp it consumed, the lightning on the root blazed a fraction brighter, and its branches and leaves grew a fraction lusher.

Yet, Chen Lingxi furrowed his brow.

He could clearly sense the spiritual qi in his Dao Platform depleting at a visible rate.

The platform’s spiritual qi, originally as deep as a lake, began to run shallow under this mad devouring. It was like a pond exposed to the blazing sun, its water level dropping inch by inch.

’No wonder the Plundering Dragon Dao-Transforming One Qi True Incantation records that for a Qi Circulation cultivator to achieve the Dao Foundation, they must pass through four major hurdles—Dao Seed, Dao Platform, Profound Root, and planting the Profound Root into the Dao Platform!’ Chen Lingxi recited inwardly.

’However, thinking carefully, the most difficult part of achieving the Dao Foundation is actually cultivating a Great Divine Ability and forming the Profound Root.’

’Now that I have cleared the profound hurdle, I only need to grind away patiently to plant this Profound Root into the Dao Platform. By then, the spiritual qi throughout my body will completely transform into Dao Origin.’

’I will then be able to achieve the Dao Foundation.’

Chen Lingxi continued his cultivation. A few days later, however, he couldn’t help but open his eyes and frown.

”The spiritual qi required for this final step is simply too massive.”

He looked up in thought, his gaze sweeping across the Storm Immortal Pivot.

Although the spiritual energy within the Storm Immortal Pivot was far superior to the outside world, it still couldn’t help Chen Lingxi achieve the Dao Foundation quickly.

Planting the Profound Root into the Dao Platform was like planting a towering giant tree into the earth. Without enough fertile soil and sweet rain, not only would the giant tree fail to take root, but it would also suck the earth’s nutrients dry, ultimately destroying them both.

’Now that I have cultivated a Great Divine Ability and formed the Profound Root, planting it into the Dao Platform will allow me to achieve the Dao Foundation, completely transforming my spiritual qi into Dao Origin.’

’It’s just that this final hurdle requires a massive amount of spiritual energy and serendipity,’ Chen Lingxi sighed inwardly. ’They say one can achieve the Dao Foundation through patient grinding, but the time required is simply too long. Cultivating like this, I’m afraid it will take twenty or thirty years.’

Twenty or thirty years...

”If I wait that long to achieve the Dao Foundation, won’t it be far too late?”

Chen Lingxi couldn’t wait that long.

The experts of the Great Xuanzhuo Realm were descending one after another, Emperor Daye’s fate was currently unknown, and Bai Lingze and Zhao Duanxuan were watching him like a pair of hungry tigers.

More importantly... the shadow of the Realm-Refining Furnace constantly loomed over his head.

He didn’t have the time to slowly temper himself within this Immortal Pivot.

His thoughts reaching this point, Chen Lingxi looked up at the void again.

His gaze pierced through the churning lightning of the Storm Immortal Pivot and the overlapping seas of clouds, finding the Celestial Ranking wreathed in purple qi in the extreme distance.

The Celestial Ranking stood tall in the void, flowing with purple light and densely packed with names.

’The Cauldron Vessel Celestial Ranking stands tall in the void. For me, it is a rare serendipity...’

’I am only ranked eighteenth on the Heavenly Ranking,’ Chen Lingxi muttered to himself.

He had once defeated Daoist Huotuo, advancing to fourteenth on the Celestial Ranking.

But as time hurried by, his rank had dropped several places; he was now only in eighteenth place.

Chen Lingxi’s gaze slowly swept over the Celestial Ranking, eventually landing just past the tenth-ranked name.

’Ou Ningzi of the Southern Heaven Region, Qing Yuechan of Zhuran Star...’ he silently recited.

’These two are ranked eleventh and twelfth respectively.’

’Ranked above them is Liu Chengfeng, the Dao Foundation avatar of the Dragon-Revering Sect.’

’If I can defeat one of these two and secure the majestic spiritual serendipity of the Celestial Ranking’s top ten, I can use it to nourish the Dao Platform and plant the Profound Root, allowing me to step into the Dao Foundation Realm in one fell swoop.’

’My spiritual qi will then transform into Dao Origin and my combat power will skyrocket. Even if I face Bai Lingze again, I won’t be as wretched as before.’

Making up his mind, Chen Lingxi injected a wisp of divine sense into his communication jade pendant, sending a message to Lin Suri.

In the message, he listed the names and backgrounds of Ou Ningzi and Qing Yuechan, asking Lin Suri to beseech Daoist Shu Rong to see if she could trace their whereabouts for him.

Following that, Chen Lingxi did not immediately go looking for Ou Ningzi and Qing Yuechan; instead, he took the Return to Void Sword Pagoda out of his Vast Void Pouch.

The roughly three-foot-tall glazed pagoda hovered in front of him, three faintly discernible layers of phantom images appearing on its surface.

Chen Lingxi took a deep breath and circulated the Thunder-Concealing Sword Scripture.

A dazzling Thunder-Wielding Heavenly King Sword Light shot from his fingertips. Lightning patterns flowed across the sword light, bearing peerless sharpness.

With a thought, an invisible suction force surged from the ”Sword Tomb” on the first layer of the Return to Void Sword Pagoda, sweeping the Thunder-Wielding Heavenly King Sword Light into the tower.

The moment the sword light entered the pagoda, the second layer’s ”Sword Furnace” lit up. Raging flames faintly churned behind the layers of glazed barriers, repeatedly calcining, refining, and grinding away at the sword light.

Following this, Chen Lingxi activated the Twelve Chimes of the Heavenly Drum.

Twelve earth-shaking peals of thunder exploded in the void in quick succession. Twelve arcs of lightning sword light roared out like twelve lightning dragons, and he tossed them one by one into the Return to Void Sword Pagoda.

The sword pagoda acted like an insatiable Taotie, greedily devouring every single ray of sword light he threw in.

The fire of the Sword Furnace on the second layer burned brighter and brighter, stripping the lightning Dao rhythm and sharp sword intent from the sword light thread by thread. It transformed them into incredibly pure strands of ”Sword True Intent” that converged toward the Return to Void Sword Shadow on the third layer.

In the blink of an eye, a season passed by in a hurry.

On this day, Chen Lingxi abruptly opened his eyes.

He saw numerous bolts of lightning flashing within the Return to Void Sword Pagoda hovering above his head, along with countless streams of sword qi soaring wildly.

Within the dim void of the third layer, which was originally empty, an incredibly pure sword shadow had actually condensed.

The sword shadow was about three feet long and pale gold all over. There were no carvings on the blade; only along its spine was there a microscopic, incredibly fine lightning pattern trailing all the way from the hilt to the tip.

That lightning pattern coiled around the blade like a slumbering lightning dragon. Even though it had not yet awakened, it already emanated a terrifying, heart-palpitating coercion that pierced through the sheath.

Chen Lingxi pondered inwardly, ’Three months of nurturing, using over a hundred Thunder-Wielding Heavenly King Swords and the sword lights of the Twelve Chimes of the Heavenly Drum, has condensed into a single strand of Return to Void Sword Qi.’

His eyes burning bright, he stored the Return to Void Sword Pagoda away in his Vast Void Pouch.

He possessed the capital he needed.

’With this to rely on, I can do my utmost to seek out the serendipity of the Celestial Ranking.’

He silently added in his heart, then took out Lin Suri’s communication token.

”Still no results. Now that the Immortal Slough has yet to appear in the world, these experts of the Great Xuanzhuo Realm have started to hide themselves away again. Daoist Shu Rong couldn’t find them either.”

Chen Lingxi sighed.

”If I can’t find them, how can I seize the Celestial Ranking’s spiritual serendipity?”

”Furthermore... even if I did find them, they’re probably with the Dao Foundation experts of their sects... It wouldn’t be easy for me to strike.”

Chen Lingxi thought for a moment, then tentatively activated the Vision Roaming Divine Ability.

Ever since Emperor Daye fought against the masses and was besieged by Zhao Duanxuan and the others, Chen Lingxi had been completely unable to sense his whereabouts.

Today, out of habit, he circulated the Vision Roaming Divine Ability once more to catch a glimpse of Emperor Daye’s location.

In a flash!

His perspective tore through the void, passing over mountains, rivers, seas of clouds, and cities, ultimately descending into the crater of a towering volcano.

’The Volcano Immortal Pivot?’

Before he had time to think, his perspective suddenly went dark.

When the darkness cleared, he witnessed an astonishing scene!

He saw Xiao Changlv stand up from within the Volcano Immortal Pivot. His vitality was like a vast ocean; as it surged, loud booms resembling muffled thunder echoed from deep within the volcano.

Xiao Changlv was bare-chested, his muscles knotted like dragons. Beneath his bronze skin, countless streams of golden vitality could faintly be seen circulating madly.

The mere act of him standing up caused the churning magma around him to shoot into the sky, transforming into crimson pillars of fire that bathed the entire volcanic crater in a blinding crimson-gold light.

The boundlessness, density, and sheer domineering force of that vitality were simply unimaginable.