After the Great Dao died

Inside the Beast Fighting Palace, Lin Longyue sat upright in a chair, her face revealing neither joy nor anger.

Her gaze swept over everyone in the hall.

Chu Linzi smiled, completely ignoring the somber atmosphere in the hall.

Princess Yunhe held her teacup, still looking languid.

Yang Zhuri was talking in hushed tones to a young man in brocade robes beside him...

It was as if they had grown accustomed to seeing such strange beast fights.

Lin Longyue frowned slightly, because he saw Qiu Chihu walk into the Beast Fighting Palace.

"That Qiu Chihu is a master of the Silver Bone technique, with a long and distinguished family tradition. If he fights alongside those fighting beasts, wouldn't he be slaughtering them all?"

"Aren't they at all surprised? Why didn't Princess Yunhe tell me sooner?"

Lin Longyue muttered to herself, her brows furrowing involuntarily.

She recalled the rumors that had been circulating for nearly a year.

The Crown Prince is quite fond of animal fighting, and in the past year he has invited young men from various families in the capital region to bring their fighting beasts to compete.

She had heard about this before, but had never experienced it herself.

This was the first time the Crown Prince had come to Yuanjiang Prefecture for a beast-fighting banquet.

She then looked at the noble young men in the hall.

At the far right, a young man in a royal blue robe was whispering to his companion, a hint of barely perceptible anxiety in his eyes.

The person opposite him was staring blankly at the vermilion gate on the side of the hall, his eyes filled with barely concealed heartache.

Lin Longyue saw this and understood a bit of what was going on.

The fighting beasts these people raised were probably good seedlings that they had found at great expense and effort, and had been carefully trained for a long time, hoping to show their faces in front of the crown prince and get a reward.

Now that the person has gone inside, we don't know if they're alive or dead; we can't even hear a sound.

"It seems Chen Lingxi and the other two... are doomed." She couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "The Crown Prince's beast-fighting banquet is far too strange."

Just then, the vermilion gate on the side of the hall opened silently.

Everyone in the hall looked up at the same time.

Lin Longyue's gaze swept past the crowd and landed on the doorway.

A person emerged from the deep passage.

He was a young man, pale-faced, with an undeniable weariness between his brows.

Chen Lingxi?

Lin Longyue's expression changed instantly.

The palace became quiet.

Immediately, a clamor spread like a tidal wave.

Princess Yunhe, Yang Zhuri, and Chu Linzi all had different expressions, some puzzled, some surprised, and some confused.

Behind the jade platform curtain, the seated figure slightly raised his head.

Her face was obscured; only a blurry outline could be seen, swaying slightly behind the silver-red gauze.

Lin Longyue was looking at Chen Lingxi at this moment, feeling both surprised and puzzled.

"Could it be that Qiu Chihu never entered the Beast Fighting Palace?"

"Or perhaps, Chen Ling killed Qiu Chihu?"

The moment the thought crossed her mind, Lin Longyue shook her head.

absurd.

"Absolutely impossible."

Just then, Yang Zhuri's peach blossom eyes looked at Chen Lingxi.

"Where is Young Master Chihu?"

He calmly began to ask the question.

Everyone looked at Chen Lingxi.

One of the government slaves emerged alive from the Beast Fighting Palace, but Qiu Chihu was nowhere to be found.

This is indeed a strange thing.

Chen Lingxi raised her head and looked at Yang Zhuri.

He displayed just the right amount of fear on his face, his eyes darting around.

That fear was not exaggerated; in fact, one could say it was perfectly measured.

It's perfectly normal for a servant who has narrowly escaped death to be questioned in public by such an important figure, leaving him bewildered and at a loss.

He glanced outside the palace gate.

The palace doors were wide open, and outside was a hazy, dim light, above which hung two precious mirrors.

A blazing golden sun and a silvery-white moon hung high in the sky.

"The precious mirror hangs high, truly revealing the world of complete enlightenment."

Chen Lingxi silently recited the words in her heart, but her face still showed fear.

He lowered his head and replied, "Young master, the servant saw purple energy bursting out from a treasure bottle in the sky in that palace. It covered the sky and the earth, and swallowed up... swallowed up Young Master Chihu and the other fighting beasts."

"The purple aura was so thick, it was like a purple waterfall hanging down from the sky. The official slave was far away and only had time to hide in a crevice in the rocks. When he came out again after the purple aura dissipated, the Chihu Prince and the other fighting beasts... were all gone."

After he finished speaking, he lowered his head deeply.

The hall fell silent immediately.

All eyes turned to the curtain.

Behind the silver-red cicada-wing gauze, the seated figure remained motionless, like a clay or wooden Buddha statue.

The son of the commander of the capital's guards has died... This is no ordinary event.

silence.

A long silence.

Until a soft cough came from behind the curtain.

The cough wasn't loud, but it made everyone in the hall hold their breath.

Behind the curtain, the prince's shadow slowly shook his head: "Prison him for questioning."

Just four words.

The voice wasn't loud, and the tone wasn't particularly harsh.

But as soon as those four words were spoken, the air in the hall suddenly tightened.

Two silver-armored warriors emerged from the side of the hall, their steps perfectly synchronized, their armor gleaming coldly in the candlelight.

They walked up to Chen Lingxi, one on each side, and reached out to grab him.

Chen Lingxi kept her head down and remained motionless.

"As expected, this explanation was not enough to fool them. However... if the Crown Prince could see the matter of the Beast Fighting Palace, there would be no need to imprison me and interrogate me."

His mind raced with thoughts: "Then let's investigate further!"

laugh!

His right hand, which was hanging down, twitched slightly.

A wisp of extremely fine and faint spiritual energy emanated from his fingertips, rippling out in the air in a very subtle way.

The ripples were so faint that even the silver-armored warriors standing right next to them didn't notice them.

But behind the curtain, the seated figure suddenly paused.

Then, the prince's voice rang out again.

"Wait a minute."

Two words.

The sound was still faint and still bland.

"Let him enter the East Hall of my palace."

Enter the east hall?

The nobles in the palace were puzzled. Did the Crown Prince intend to interrogate him personally?

The old eunuch stepped out from the side of the curtain and gestured towards the east hall.

Chen Lingxi lowered her head and followed the old eunuch through the main hall, around the screen, and onto a secluded passageway.

Copper lamps were embedded in the walls on both sides of the passageway, and the candlelight flickered slightly in the breeze, casting his shadow long and short.

At the old eunuch's signal, he stepped into the East Hall.

The East Hall is much smaller than the Main Hall, but it is more exquisite.

The ground was paved with whole pieces of mutton fat white jade bricks, which were warm and smooth like grease and had a mirror-like sheen.

The hall was filled with the fragrance of ambergris, the smoke curling upwards and lingering, enveloping the entire hall in a subtle and rich aroma.

Only one lamp was lit in the hall.

The lamp was made of bronze, with an ancient and simple design. A small, bluish-green flame burned in the lamp, illuminating everything in the hall in a hazy, indistinct way.

The crown prince stood with his hands behind his back in the hall, his back to the door and his face to the huge landscape painting on the wall.

He was extremely tall, with shoulders and back as straight as a pine tree. His bright yellow brocade robe gleamed with a deep luster in the candlelight, and he wore a white jade belt around his waist and a purple-gold crown on his head.

The candlelight cast his shadow long and faint on the white jade brick.

Chen Lingxi stepped into the hall, stood with his hands at his sides, and did not speak.

The old eunuch quietly slipped out, and the palace doors slowly closed behind him with a very soft thud.

Only two people remained in the hall.

The candle flame flickered.

The smoke from ambergris drifted slowly through the air.

A few breaths later, the crown prince turned around.

The moment Chen Ling saw the Crown Prince's face, she thought to herself, "It really is him."

The candlelight illuminated the prince's face, revealing an exceptionally handsome man with eyebrows like distant mountains, eyes like bright stars, a high and straight nose, and lips with distinct, knife-cut lines.

But in those eyes, there was not a trace of the youthful exuberance one should have; there was only a deep, unfathomable calmness that was incongruous with his age.

They are like two ancient wells, the water deep and dark, the depth of which is unknown and the bottom cannot be seen.

He stared at Chen Lingxi.

That gaze wasn't sharp, or even fierce; it simply fell upon Chen Lingxi in a calm and even manner. Yet, it caused Chen Lingxi's spiritual energy to stagnate slightly, and the azure energy in his dantian involuntarily contracted a little.

The Concealing Edge Technique circulated within his body, tightening the barrier of spiritual energy even further.

The prince's gaze lingered on Chen Lingxi for a few moments. Seeing that the fear on the beast's face had faded into indifference, he asked, "What is your background, fellow Daoist?"

The voice was soft and the tone was calm, but as soon as the words "fellow Daoist" were uttered, the weight that had been hanging over Chen Lingxi's heart finally lifted a little.

Chen Lingxi remained expressionless, only slightly raising her head to meet the Crown Prince's gaze: "I came from Daoxia Academy."

The Crown Prince narrowed his eyes slightly, remained silent for a moment, and then spoke again: "My memory has not fully recovered, but I vaguely remember the Daoxia Academy."

He paused for a moment: "The Daoist Master of the Academy is a Golden Core cultivator who has attained the position of True Lord and wields the Golden Core artifact, the Heaven-Fixing Brush, which can determine a person's destiny. Countless cultivators wish to have their names written down by the Daoist Master."

"It is said that on the day he breaks through the barrier, he will most likely ascend to the Nascent Soul stage, hold the Mysterious Throne, and become a Mysterious Lord."

Golden Elixir!

Nascent Soul!

These words, falling into Chen Lingxi's ears, were like a boulder thrown into the center of a lake, stirring up ripples.

He remained expressionless, only nodding slightly, as if listening to something he already knew.

After the Crown Prince finished speaking, his gaze returned to Chen Lingxi.

Chen Ling met his gaze and calmly asked, "May I ask where you come from, my friend?"

He asked the question frankly and in a calm tone.

The crown prince did not hesitate: "I will learn from Ehai."

Chen Lingxi raised an eyebrow slightly.

Eelhai?

His expression remained unchanged, but he frowned slightly, then shook his head and sighed, "My memory has not fully recovered yet, and for the moment, I cannot remember the Lord of the Calamity Sea."

"I, the Venerable One of the Calamities of the Sea, am married to the Heavenly True Lord." The Crown Prince spoke with reverence: "Holding the Golden Elixir Cauldron [married to the Heavenly Ladder], all calamities, karma, tribulations, and sins are married to another."

"Climbing the ladder, one can also see the mysterious throne."