After the Great Dao Died

The terrifying pressure shook the heavens and the earth.

The four pillars of light converged in the void.

At their intersection, the void began to collapse.

Countless fine rifts spread madly in all directions through the void.

The fissures grew larger and deeper until they shattered completely, revealing a bottomless, pitch-black abyss behind them.

Within that black hole, countless terrifying auras rumbled.

These auras were profound and mysterious, as if some ancient entity were peering through!

At the same time, myriad profound and mighty forces surged, clashed, and roared in the depths of the black hole, triggering invisible ripples that spread madly in all directions.

Wherever the ripples passed, the thick fog of the Ancestral Mountain was shattered into nothingness, and the starlight in the sky began to twist.

Even the Celestial Ranking suspended high in the void trembled violently at this moment. The names on the Celestial Ranking flickered unsteadily, as if it might shatter at any moment.

”To think this kind of power would be so astounding!”

”A True Lord is likely no more than this.”

Emperor Daye marveled, looking up.

At the same time, a gleam of hope flashed through his eyes.

”Perhaps this is the power of the Great Sage’s true body. So tyrannical.

”Under such might, that True Monarch of the Que Star Xi Family might truly no longer dare to refine this grotto-heaven!”

Chen Lingxi looked up, feeling as if everything in the world had changed. The only things that remained unchanged were likely the two bright mirrors in the sky!

Within Absolute Perception, the bright mirrors—like a sun and a moon—still hung high, utterly unchanged.

The radiance they cast remained just as mysterious.

’The level of power within the Divine Chamber is even more terrifying than this mighty force.’

Chen Lingxi took a deep breath.

Right at this moment.

An unimaginable aura was born from within that black hole.

The aura was too majestic, too ancient.

It was as if it had settled over myriad eons, only to be explosively released at this very second.

As that aura descended, the entire Weiji Grotto-Heaven trembled.

The mountains and rivers shuddered, the rivers reversed their flow, and even the sun, moon, and stars suspended high in the sky grew dim under the impact of this aura.

Just then, a river surged out from the depths of the black hole.

It was a roaring, ancient long river, sweeping along an unparalleled, majestic power as it crashed down into the Weiji Grotto-Heaven.

”The Luoyuan Long River!”

Ying Xian looked up, his expression visibly moved.

At this moment, the river water was pale blue, clear and translucent to the extreme.

The surface of the river was incomparably wide, stretching beyond the limits of sight. As the water surged, it kicked up monstrous waves, every single swell containing terrifying power.

As those waves crashed against the void, they actually emitted a deep, heavy roar resonant as a grand bell, shaking the entire Ancestral Mountain until it shuddered.

Even more heart-palpitating was the sight of countless ancient runes faintly bobbing and flowing within the water. Like stars embedded in the river, those runes radiated a warm, bright silvery-white light.

Each rune contained some indescribable supreme truth of heaven and earth. Just a single glance was enough to make one’s mind tremble and their Sea of Consciousness churn.

Immediately after, that long river began to steam.

Countless streams of incredibly dense water vapor rose slowly from the surface, acting like a pale blue veil that shrouded the entire river.

The vapor did not disperse. Instead, it gathered madly in the air above the long river, growing thicker and more solid. It was as if an invisible giant hand were kneading the vapor in the void, molding it into shape inch by inch.

First came a head, then the shoulders and back, followed by the torso and limbs... Amidst the churning vapor, an enormously tall human figure slowly coalesced above the river.

The figure was exceptionally tall, easily surpassing a normal person by more than two or three heads.

Endless pale blue ripples of water wreathed her body, flowing slowly around her like living creatures. They framed her like an ancient goddess stepping out from the eons of time.

Her facial features were indistinct, obscured by the surging water. One could only faintly make out a pair of eyes, deep as the abyss, currently shut tight.

She simply stood there, but the aura naturally radiating from her was enough to twist and deform the surrounding void, cause the three peaks of the Ancestral Mountain to quake violently, and force the roaring Luoyuan Long River to calm down. It was like a sovereign had descended, demanding all of creation to bow in submission.

Right at this time, the radiance of the Four Great Immortal Pivots finally shone upon her!

Four completely distinct beams of light simultaneously landed on the vapor figure’s glabella, chest, dantian, and limbs.

The next instant!

She slowly opened her eyes.

It was as if two silver suns had risen simultaneously within her eye sockets. Wherever her gaze shone, all things lost their color!

At the same time, an even more vast and ancient phantom of a long river slowly emerged behind her!

That river phantom stretched for an unknown tens of thousands of miles. Like a river of stars spanning through the eons, it flowed all the way from the distant ends of time and surged toward the unknowable future.

Waves churned across its surface, each one containing terrifying power capable of destroying the heavens and exterminating the earth.

Endless stars drifted and flowed in the water, like bright pearls embedded in the river, emitting a warm and luminous ancient light.

”Great Sage... Luoyuan!”

Emperor Daye took a deep breath.

Golden light also bloomed in Chen Lingxi’s eyes.

’It seems the information within that drop of river water was not mistaken. This is indeed the Great Sage’s true body. Furthermore, the Great Sage’s true body—which had been slumbering due to that battle in the Immortal Capital—has descended here and seems to have already awakened.’

He took a deep breath.

’With such a powerhouse in this grotto-heaven, that True Monarch should no longer dare to refine the Weiji Grotto-Heaven.’

Chen Lingxi’s mind churned.

Ever since he stepped onto the path of cultivation, the crisis of the Que Star Xi Family’s True Monarch refining the grotto-heaven with the Realm-Refining Furnace had been like a toppling mountain, pressing down heavily upon his mind!

It made it completely impossible for him to find peace.

The shadow of death loomed over him.

But now... it seemed all of this had taken a turn for the better.

’In this way, if the Que Star Xi Family no longer refines the Weiji Grotto-Heaven, I can look for a chance to leave this place, head to the Great Xuanzhuo Realm, and thoroughly embark on the path of cultivation.’

’Perhaps one day, I too can achieve the Golden Portal, or even the True Lord Realm!’

Chen Lingxi’s eyes burned brightly, many expectations stirring within his mind.

Emperor Daye, Ying Xian, likely felt the same.

The luster in his eyes was more fervent than ever before.

Only...

At this very moment, an unforeseen event occurred!

As that phantom long river appeared, the void of the entire Weiji Grotto-Heaven began to tremble violently!

Chen Lingxi and Emperor Daye suddenly changed expressions!

The next instant!

The grotto-heaven!

Began to collapse!

The entire grotto-heaven shattered all at once!

Above the firmament, the sun, moon, and stars that had hung high for untold eons shattered almost simultaneously, silently turning into fine powder and dissipating into nothingness.

The churning sea of clouds was torn apart from the middle by an invisible force, like a shredded piece of silk, its fragments scattering in all directions and evaporating completely before they could even fall.

The great mountains and rivers were silently being ground to dust!

Those towering, majestic peaks were like sandcastles eroded by hundreds of millions of years. The mountain bodies peeled off, crumbled, and faded away inch by inch!

Those winding, surging rivers were like shallow streams baked by a scorching sun. The water dried up and evaporated at a visible rate, until eventually, even the riverbeds turned into dust filling the sky.

The great rivers and mountains, mortal cities, worldly dust, and myriad living beings—all turned to ashes...

And subsequently merged into that long river.

The vast long river phantom behind Great Sage Luoyuan’s true body acted like an eternally insatiable gluttonous beast, swallowing all those ashes, that dust, and those lingering auras until nothing was left.

With every fraction it devoured, the river phantom grew a fraction more solid, and the Weiji Grotto-Heaven perished a fraction faster.

Chen Lingxi stood atop the Ancestral Mountain, shoulder to shoulder with Emperor Daye, Ying Xian.

The distant mountain ranges were shattering inch by inch, then being swallowed by that vast long river.

”What... is going on?”

Chen Lingxi was stunned.

Then...

Chen Lingxi also clearly sensed that everything about himself was collapsing.

Those profound lines on his Plundering Dragon Dao Platform were cracking apart inch by inch. The Thunder Prison Profound Root trembled madly under the impact of this terrifying power, and the Weiji Thunder Radiance had grown so dim it was nearly extinguished.

The Dao Origin within his body was dissipating at a visible rate!

The same was true for his physical body. His muscles were falling apart, his flesh and blood melting away!

Emperor Daye, Ying Xian, was faring no better.

The grayish-white mist transformed from his Heavenly Decline Law Great Divine Ability was like a cup of water for a cartload of burning firewood in the face of this world-destroying power.

The formation lines of the Mountains and Rivers Great Array around him flashed frantically, attempting to neutralize the destructive force surging into his body. But that destructive force was too majestic, too overbearing. The Mountains and Rivers Great Array held out for less than half a breath before shattering with a boom.

His Dao Platform shattered inch by inch, and his two Profound Roots—Age-Dial Reversal and the Heavenly Decline Law—were reduced to flying ash!

”Luoyuan destroying the world...” Chen Lingxi muttered to himself.

He looked at the collapsing world, at the vast long river swallowing everything, and at the true body of Great Sage Luoyuan standing amidst the water mist with eyes as indifferent as ever...

The grotto-heaven shattered, while the imposing aura radiating from Great Sage Luoyuan surged higher and grew ever more terrifying!

’Great Sage Luoyuan is refining this very dojo she nurtured in order to recover her power.’

Chen Lingxi pursed his lips.

The unwillingness that had built up in his eyes over an untold number of years finally morphed into unsuppressible rage.

’The True Monarch wants to refine this realm.’

’Great Sage Luoyuan’s true body has awakened, and she equally wants to swallow the grotto-heaven!’

’In the face of such existences, where is the path to survival for a native cultivator like me, Chen Lingxi?’

’The idea that the Great Sage’s incarnation would protect this realm after waking up was fake, and the myriad paths to survival were also fake... In the end, everything was nothing but empty talk.’

Beside him, Emperor Daye let out a sigh.

”Daoist Friend!”

Chen Lingxi’s body dissipated right then and there.

The same happened to Emperor Daye.

Right at this moment, the two bright mirrors in the sky—which only Chen Lingxi could see—suddenly erupted with blinding light.

Absolute Perception, shattered!

The pillars of light from those two bright mirrors descended simultaneously, shining onto his body as it turned to ash!

Amidst the swirling light, the entire world began to twist, crack, and collapse. Mountains and rivers folded backward, pine forests turned to dust, and at this moment, all creation turned to fine powder, dissipating into nothingness.