After the Great Dao Died

Chen Lingxi looked up into the void. The Celestial Ranking was shrouded in purple qi, its names flowing like an inverted river of stars.

His name remained on the eleventh line.

’I defeated Bai Lingze, but only by relying on the might of the Enemy-Slaughtering Spirit Wall.’

’Without the mighty blessing of a Cauldron Vessel, and with my Dao Platform cultivation having just formed a Profound Root, it would be absolutely impossible to clash head-on with a figure who has formed a Wondrous Fruit.’

His gaze calm as water, he thought, ’If I want to obtain higher-tier Celestial Ranking Spiritual Energy, I need to defeat an even stronger opponent.’

’With every position the Celestial Ranking Spiritual Energy rises, the Dao rhythm and spiritual qi contained within it more than double.’

’If I can advance a few steps from eleventh place, the spiritual energy will be enough for my Thunder Prison Profound Root to sprout new branches, and perhaps even touch the threshold of growing the Profound Root into a tree.’

’More importantly... it can supplement the progress of Absolute Perception Origin Supplementation.’

He took a deep breath. Lightning slowly circulated in his eyes, and the densely packed names on the Celestial Ranking reflected deep within his pupils.

His gaze finally settled on the name ranked sixth.

Engraved in pale purple light, an untamed demonic qi flowed between its strokes. It read...

[Golden Crown Demon Lord of the Southern Heaven Domain].

He had seen this Golden Crown Demon Lord from afar during the battle at the Ancestral Mountain.

That rooster, covered entirely in golden feathers with a comb like fire, only needed to flap its wings to send tens of thousands of icy rays of light pouring down, sharp and unmatched.

’This Golden Crown Demon Lord has already grown a tree from his Profound Root. In his mastery of a Great Divine Ability and the profound thickness of his Dao Origin, he is much stronger than I am.’

Chen Lingxi speculated, ’But even such a tyrannical Dao Foundation avatar is inferior to me in one aspect within this Weiji Grotto-Heaven.’

His gaze shifted, lightning flickering faintly in his eyes. ’I have many Spiritual Artifacts and treasures on me.’

’These Dao Foundation avatars arrived completely empty-handed, descending as projections into this realm. Very few managed to ferry their Spiritual Artifacts over in time.’

’Even Bai Lingze had to rely on the Yutai Bai Family’s Great Ferrying Array and spend many days just to project the Wall-Breaking Shuttle here.’

’The rest are entirely empty-handed and can only rely on their own divine abilities and spells to fight.’

At this thought, he remembered something Lin Suri had told him a long time ago.

’Daoist Brother Lin once told me that the Spiritual Artifacts one refines are considered part of one’s own strength, which is naturally recognized by the Celestial Ranking.’

’In other words, if one uses treasures or pills to temporarily boost their power, or relies on someone else’s help to defeat an expert on the ranking, the Celestial Ranking will not bestow Spiritual Energy.’

’But Spiritual Artifacts and treasures are part of one’s own strength.’

’The Celestial Ranking has a spirit and can naturally distinguish truth from falsehood.’

’Take the Enemy-Slaughtering Spirit Wall, for example—it can only briefly enhance combat power and be used five times.’

He paused and looked up at the Celestial Ranking, his gaze growing ever brighter.

’The Spiritual Energy of sixth place on the Celestial Ranking will elevate my cultivation. Even if it can’t make my Profound Root grow into a tree, it will certainly complete the final seven parts of the Absolute Perception Origin Supplementation’s progress, allowing me to utilize the Absolute Perception Divine Ability once more.’

With these thoughts in mind, Chen Lingxi slowly stood up.

As his divine sense circulated, the Method of Qi Observation quietly unfolded in his eyes.

Dao Origin surged from the Plundering Dragon Dao Platform, traveling up his meridians and pouring into his eyes.

The lightning in his eyes receded, replaced by an incredibly clear, pure jade-colored light.

Under the Method of Qi Observation, all things in heaven and earth possessed their own qi.

Mountains had mountain qi, water had water qi; grass, trees, and living beings were no exception.

And because the Golden Crown Demon Lord cultivated extremely cold Dao Origin, his qi appeared ice-blue. Between heaven and earth, he was like a walking abyssal chill, making him extremely easy to spot.

’Since the Golden Crown Demon Lord cultivates a frost divine ability, even if he wanted to hide his tracks, he would undoubtedly choose a place of extreme cold.’

’I will first search the Northern Ice Plains. If I cannot find him there, I will head to other freezing lands.’

His mind made up, he immediately activated the Cloud Soaring Technique, piercing through the surging sea of clouds as he flew swiftly toward the north.

Heading all the way north, the mountains and rivers beneath him shifted from verdant green to withered yellow, and then from withered yellow to pure white.

The Northern Ice Plains were incredibly vast, stretching out endlessly as far as the eye could see.

A thick layer of snow covered the ice. The northern winds swept up frost as they blew across the surface, howling as though countless malicious ghosts were weeping in the gale.

Chen Lingxi lowered his cloud over the ice plains, pushing the Method of Qi Observation in his eyes to its absolute limit.

Just then, his Method of Qi Observation caught a faint, almost imperceptible trace of energy.

’He really is here,’ Chen Lingxi thought, feeling certain. He silently urged the Azure Cloud beneath his feet, carrying him swiftly toward the source of the energy.

Deep within the ice plains, a towering snow peak jutted from the earth. The mountain’s terrain was treacherous, entirely covered in profound ice that had not melted for ten thousand years, gleaming with an eerie blue light beneath the sun.

At the summit of the snow peak, a crude hall constructed of ice and snow was faintly visible.

In front of the hall, a figure draped in a golden robe sat cross-legged.

Riding his cloud, Chen Lingxi arrived and hovered a hundred zhang above the snowy peak, looking down at the gold-robed figure.

The man appeared to be in his thirties. He had a fair complexion and effeminate features, with an undeniable, lingering demonic aura between his brows.

He wore a pure gold demonic crown on his head. The crown resembled a rooster’s comb, fiery red throughout. It starkly contrasted with the freezing Dao Origin surrounding him, yet vaguely possessed a bizarre sense of harmony.

He wore a Golden Feather Robe woven from golden plumes, which shimmered with an incredibly brilliant light under the sun.

This person was none other than the Golden Crown Demon Lord.

At the exact moment Chen Lingxi arrived on his cloud, the Golden Crown Demon Lord slowly opened his eyes.

His eyes were actually slit pupils of a pale gold color, radiating a piercingly cold glint.

He looked up at the figure suspended above the snowy peak. There was no surprise in his eyes, only an extremely calm indifference.

Seeing Chen Lingxi’s arrival, the Golden Crown Demon Lord slowly stood up.

He stood with his hands behind his back at the summit of the snowy peak. Raising his head, a cold glint flickered in his slit pupils, but he did not speak a word.

Chen Lingxi swept his gaze over the demon lord’s body and saw array patterns faintly flowing beneath the Golden Feather Robe, much like a highly complex Great Ferrying Array slowly operating.

The array had not yet fully formed, but it had already drawn upon the worldly spiritual energy within a radius of dozens of miles. A faint aura of a treasure flowed through the void.

It seemed this demon lord, just like Bai Lingze, was relying on a Great Ferrying Array in an attempt to project a certain treasure here.

The two remained silent.

Neither of them offered any superfluous nonsense.

Instead, the Golden Crown Demon Lord simply opened his mouth and spat, sending out an azure-blue cold current that shot forth like a cascading waterfall.

Wherever the cold current passed, the air froze into countless fine ice crystals, forming a waterfall of ice that crashed down toward Chen Lingxi’s head!

A battle of Dao Foundations erupted instantly!

Chen Lingxi’s expression remained unchanged. With a flick of his finger, a lightning sword light slashed out. The lightning and the cold current violently collided in midair, exploding into a blinding burst of light.

The cold current sizzled beneath the scorching heat of the lightning, turning into a sky full of white mist before entirely dissipating.

The cold glint in the Golden Crown Demon Lord’s eyes intensified, and the golden feathers around his body suddenly flared with light!

Hundreds of golden feathers trembled all at once, emitting an incredibly faint yet dense metallic hum, as if twelve tiny golden swords had simultaneously awakened upon his body.

The Great Divine Ability he cultivated was named [Spirit-Forging Profound], derived from the [Miaocheng Changjie Dao].

This path was one of creation. It emphasized using one’s own Dao rhythm as a furnace and their intrinsic life-bound object as an embryo to forge a unique ”spiritual profound” that belonged solely to them.

This was entirely different from ordinary spells and divine abilities!

Ordinary divine abilities merely channeled worldly spiritual energy to form killing techniques. However, the spiritual profound forged by the Spirit-Forging Profound existed somewhere between a Spiritual Artifact and a divine ability, possessing both the sharp solidity of an artifact and the agile adaptability of a divine ability.

Every wisp of spiritual profound was linked to the caster’s qi meridians, operating like the arm commanding the fingers, retracting and launching at will.

The spiritual profound forged by the Golden Crown Demon Lord used his own life-bound golden feathers as embryos, repeatedly tempered by his extremely cold demonic origin over an unknown number of years to form the twelve [Profound Ice Golden Swords].

From the Golden Feather Robe adorning his body, the twelve most radiant golden feathers abruptly detached and flew out.

Those golden feathers circled once in the air before growing against the wind. In the blink of an eye, they transformed from the size of feathers into three-foot-long golden swords.

The body of each sword was formed with a golden feather as its bone, while the blade edge was covered by a layer of azure-blue profound ice.

That profound ice was not ordinary frost, but ten-thousand-year profound ice condensed from his extremely cold Dao Origin. The chill was so potent that even from a hundred zhang away, one could feel its bone-piercing coldness.

The twelve Profound Ice Golden Swords hovered around him, their tips pointed outward as they arranged themselves in a ring and slowly rotated.

On the sword bodies, the sharp, scorching heat of the golden feathers intertwined and clashed with the bone-piercing chill of the profound ice.

This was precisely the terrifying aspect of the Spirit-Forging Profound Great Divine Ability.

Ice and fire within the same furnace, yin and yang inciting each other.

The killing power contained within that sword array was far beyond what any single-attribute divine ability could compare to.

Wherever the sword light passed, freezing and incineration descended simultaneously, making it incredibly difficult to defend against.

The Golden Crown Demon Lord extended a finger and tapped lightly in Chen Lingxi’s direction.

”Go.”

The twelve Profound Ice Golden Swords moved all at once in that exact moment.

They weaved through the air in an incredibly exquisite trajectory, faintly forming a sword array.

The sword array took a hexagonal shape. The twelve swords were split into six pairs. In each pair, one was yin and the other yang, one ice and the other fire, echoing and linking with one another.

As the sword array took form, an exceedingly profound and chilling sword intent soared into the sky, carving a massive rift through the blizzard filling the air.

Standing atop the clouds, Chen Lingxi watched the sword array enveloping him from above, the lightning in his eyes condensing slightly.

’The killing power contained within this sword array is absolutely extraordinary.’

Every Profound Ice Golden Sword was equivalent to a Spiritual Artifact of no low grade. With twelve swords forming a sword array, the might doubled and surged wildly.

’It seems I underestimated these Dao Foundation figures.’

Even as Chen Lingxi thought this, he showed not a shred of retreat, advancing instead of backing down.

The Plundering Dragon Dao Platform spun madly, and the Thunder Prison Profound Root trembled violently. A boundless surge of Dao Origin rushed into his right hand like water breaking through a dam.

Simultaneously, the Abyssal Heaven Spiritual Sword abruptly flew out, landing directly in his grasp.

He took a step forward and slashed out with his sword.

The Twelve Chimes of the Heavenly Drum shot out. Like a deity beating a war drum, twelve primary sword qi bursts soared into the sky, while hundreds of secondary sword qi rays bloomed from the precious sword!

’Weiji Grotto-Heaven actually has such a Spiritual Artifact? It is at least a Fourth Grade Spiritual Artifact!’

The Golden Crown Demon Lord’s expression changed!

One must know that for an Early Dao Foundation figure, a Fourth Grade Spiritual Artifact was already extraordinarily remarkable, incredibly precious, and immensely powerful.

Although the Big Dipper Jade Ruyi that Chi Jianshu of the Under-Dao Academy ferried over was a Second Grade Spiritual Artifact, having been projected here, a mere projection fell far short of unleashing the full might of the Spiritual Artifact.

In terms of sheer power, he feared it was far inferior to this precious sword!

His eyes narrowed. His aura became even more imposing as Dao Origin rolled out from his freezing Dao Platform.

At this moment, the instant the many sword lights collided with the sword array, Chen Lingxi felt an incredibly bizarre power surging from it.

Half of the power was scorching like a raging fire, while the other half was freezing like profound ice. The two completely opposing forces actually erupted simultaneously the moment they clashed.

Under the erosion of the interwoven ice and fire, his lightning sword light actually melted and disintegrated at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The scorching power incinerated the lightning patterns on the sword light’s exterior, while the freezing power seeped into the interior, freezing and shattering the Dao rhythm within.

’What a tyrannical Great Divine Ability. Using a divine ability as a Spiritual Artifact is truly so profound,’ Chen Lingxi praised inwardly, though his face showed absolutely no fear.

Flipping his left hand, the Spirit-Calming Shuttle flew out from his Vast Void Pouch.

As soon as this three-inch ink-colored shuttle appeared, it transformed into an intangible and formless soul-suppressing light. It silently pierced through the sky filled with sword light and sank directly into the Golden Crown Demon Lord’s forehead.

The Golden Crown Demon Lord only felt a massive tremor crash through his Sea of Consciousness.

An incredibly bizarre, profoundly heavy power suppressed his divine sense like a mountain.

The circulation of the demonic origin around his body suddenly stalled at this exact moment.

On the blade of Chen Lingxi’s Abyssal Heaven Spiritual Sword, the residual patterns of the hundred restrictions lit up all at once. An extremely deep and ancient sword intent spread out from the blade.

With a single slash, the Abyssal Heaven Spiritual Sword split into more than ten rays of sword qi, blooming out toward the enemy!

The Golden Crown Demon Lord’s expression shifted slightly.

He scoffed coldly, forcibly enduring the discomfort in his Sea of Consciousness as he prepared to wield his Great Divine Ability.

But right at that moment, Chen Lingxi’s Profound Binding Decree arrived.

The golden decree grew against the wind, transforming into chains of gold that swept toward the Golden Crown Demon Lord.

Wherever the chains passed, the void stagnated. Even with the Golden Crown Demon Lord’s level of cultivation, as the chains wrapped around him, his body couldn’t help but stall.

The Golden Crown Demon Lord gnashed his teeth.

’This is the Qi-Depleted Grotto-Heaven, isolated from the rest of the world. How does this Chen Lingxi have so many treasures?’

’That precious shuttle and this golden book are both extraordinary. Even back in the Great Xuanzhuo Realm, these are treasures that Dao Foundation cultivators would drool over.’

While his thoughts swirled, Chen Lingxi had already closed the distance.

The dozen or so rays of sword qi split from the Abyssal Heaven Spiritual Sword sealed off all avenues of retreat around the Golden Crown Demon Lord.

Chen Lingxi pointed his right index finger skyward. The Immortal Smiting Thunder Pool of his Thunder Prison Heaven Great Divine Ability had been compressed to its absolute limit.

The pale gold lightning churning in the sky frantically gathered at his fingertip like all rivers running into the sea. In the blink of an eye, it condensed into a single drop of pale gold lightning liquid, no larger than a grain of rice.

Though the lightning liquid was merely the size of a grain of rice, the killing power of lightning contained within it had been compressed to an utterly terrifying degree!

At the same time, Chen Lingxi went all out. The True Edict of Approaching the Dao abruptly circulated, and the Palace-Knocking Finger fiercely erupted, blooming in tandem with the Immortal Smiting Thunder!

As his finger descended, the rice-sized lightning liquid shot like a comet of thunder ascending through the air. Wrapped in terrifying, world-destroying might, it blasted straight toward the Golden Crown Demon Lord’s head.

The Golden Crown Demon Lord’s pupils violently contracted.

Before he had time to think, the Golden Feather Robe around him abruptly expanded.

He pushed his divine ability [Heavenly Frost Cold Feather Armor] to the absolute limit while attempting to stabilize his Sea of Consciousness with a [Soul-Calming Art].

But that finger strike was too fast.

Lightning clashed with the golden feathers. The twelve Profound Ice Golden Swords were blasted to pieces by the strike, and both the ice-blue and pure gold glows instantly dimmed.

However, the Golden Crown Demon Lord possessed tyrannical Dao Origin and a majestic aura. With a single roll of the Dao Origin upon his Dao Platform, his energy immediately swelled and refilled!

The remnants of the demonic origin around him began to burn madly at this moment. His Golden Feather Robe was torn apart inch by inch under this surging force, revealing a rapidly expanding body beneath.

His form grew taller and taller, bones cracking and popping as his muscles frantically bulged. In just a few short breaths, he morphed from an effeminate middle-aged man into a massive rooster entirely covered in golden feathers.

The rooster stood dozens of zhang tall, its comb blazing like fire, and its wings spanning a full ten zhang when spread. It radiated a terrifying pressure that struck fear into the heart.

He had revealed his true form.

Upon revealing his true form, the golden-crowned rooster launched his most ferocious assault at Chen Lingxi.

With a flap of its wings, the twelve golden feathers forged from his Great Divine Ability shot toward Chen Lingxi in a sweeping torrent like a violent storm.

These golden feathers were sharper and heavier than before, and the demonic origin wrapping around them was even purer and more tyrannical.

Simultaneously, its fiery red comb suddenly flared with blinding light. A beam of golden light as thick as a heavenly pillar burst from the comb, shining directly down upon Chen Lingxi.

Within that golden beam was some incredibly bizarre suppressive force.

Under the illumination of the golden light, Chen Lingxi felt the flow of his Dao Origin turn sluggish.

Immediately after, the golden-crowned rooster opened its beak and pecked. A phantom beak that blotted out the sun, imbued with destructive power, ruthlessly struck at Chen Lingxi.

This peck appeared clumsy, but in reality, it was flawlessly precise. Three lethal attacks: the torrential storm of golden feathers in front, the golden light suppression in the middle, and the phantom beak following closely behind. The threefold assault linked together seamlessly, sealing off all of Chen Lingxi’s escape routes.

Chen Lingxi’s face remained calm.

The Profound Binding Decree, the Spirit-Calming Shuttle, and the Abyssal Heaven Spiritual Sword—he activated all three Spiritual Artifacts simultaneously to brazenly clash with the Golden Crown Demon Lord’s true form killing moves.

Lightning crashed against the golden feathers, sword light wove into the golden beam, and Spiritual Artifacts contested against demonic origin. Massive halos of light exploded above the snowy peak, blotting out the sky.

Chen Lingxi struck repeatedly. The Profound Binding Decree locked down the sky full of golden feathers, the Spirit-Calming Shuttle suppressed the golden phantom, and the Abyssal Heaven Spiritual Sword split into dozens of rays of sword qi.

At the same time, his right index finger pointed skyward again. The Immortal Smiting Thunder Pool of his Thunder Prison Heaven Great Divine Ability gathered once more, condensing into an even tighter, more tyrannical drop of pale gold lightning liquid that ruthlessly shot toward the descending phantom beak.

As the strike landed, the phantom beak shattered inch by inch beneath his finger.

Wrapped in a Great Sage aura, the residual lightning pierced through the broken phantom and slammed squarely into the golden-crowned rooster’s chest.

The golden-crowned rooster let out a shrill, miserable screech. Its massive body was sent flying backward by the strike, violently crashing right into the snowy peak.

The entire mountain shuddered violently. A bottomless golden crater was smashed into the cliff face, kicking up a sky-filling cloud of frost.

Even so, this mighty expert still had strength left. The freezing Dao Origin upon his Dao Platform continued to circulate, endlessly pouring into the twelve golden feather swords in a vain attempt to mount a comeback.

Chen Lingxi, however, gave him no such chance.

The Abyssal Heaven Spiritual Sword slashed out once more, sending over a dozen rays of sword qi straight into the Golden Crown Demon Lord’s true form.

The Spirit-Calming Shuttle’s second soul-suppressing light silently invaded the Golden Crown Demon Lord’s Sea of Consciousness.

The Golden Crown Demon Lord trembled violently. His massive true form actually crumbled mid-way, reverting back to its human shape.

He slumped onto the ruined ice surface. The Golden Feather Robe around him had completely lost its luster, and a gaping bloody hole bored straight through his chest gushed with pale golden blood.

With this, the avatar of the Golden Crown Demon Lord began to dissipate.

With a flick of his finger, Chen Lingxi unleashed the Cyan Edge Method, sending it piercing into the Golden Crown Demon Lord’s forehead to shred his Dao Platform.

Throughout this entire clash of Dao Foundations, not a single word had been spoken.

It started incredibly fast and ended just as quickly.

Chen Lingxi appeared relaxed, but in reality, after successively activating the Abyssal Heaven Spiritual Sword, the minor Immortal Smiting Thunder Pool, the Palace-Knocking Finger, and numerous treasures, his Dao Origin and spiritual essence were nearly exhausted.

If the Golden Crown Demon Lord had still possessed any strength, he would have had no choice but to summon the Return to Void Sword Pagoda.

The Golden Crown Demon Lord’s avatar dissipated just like that.

Chen Lingxi raised his head and looked at the Purple Qi Celestial Ranking standing majestically in the heavens.

On the Celestial Ranking, purple light flowed like woven silk.

The name [Golden Crown Demon Lord of the Southern Heaven Domain], which had previously hung high in sixth place, was growing blurry and dim at a visible rate.

Finally, the name turned into a wisp of incredibly faint, thin purple smoke and scattered into the void.

It was replaced by a brand-new name.

[Weiji Grotto-Heaven, Chen Lingxi].

Sixth place.