After the Great Dao died

Chapter 76 The Complete Awakening Technique and its Formation [Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets]

That night, Chen Lingxi quietly left the Baosu Marquis's residence and hid in the darkness, walking through Yuanjiang Prefecture and entering a deserted alley.

"Whether Lin Su-ri left Yuanjiang Prefecture and went to Luyang Prefecture, we can find out soon enough."

Chen Lingxi leaned against a half-ruined wall and closed her eyes.

Consciousness entered the divine chamber and landed on the two characters "Jian You". With a slight movement of the mind, a strange fluctuation spread out from the divine chamber, ripples spreading in layers and extending in all directions.

The ripples penetrated the ruined walls, the streets and alleys, and the city walls, covering a distance of four thousand feet in both directions.

A moment later, Chen Lingxi opened her eyes, her brows furrowing slightly.

"Lin Su is not in Yuanjiang Prefecture."

He had already tried once when he was at the Baosu Marquis's residence. The divine chamber covered most of Yuanjiang Prefecture, but he still couldn't find any trace of Lin Suri.

So he deliberately came to this alley in the south of the city, covering the other half of the city, but still found nothing.

Without delay, he sprang up and quietly left the city.

Chen Lingxi then launched a search and search operation at the foot of Zushan, Mangyangshan, and Cuojinshan, but found no trace of Lin Su Ri.

"It seems that Lin Su Ri has really left Yuanjiang Prefecture."

He stood silently for a moment, then went up Mount Cuojin.

"I don't know where he went."

Chen Lingxi sat cross-legged in the cave, thinking to himself, "Since that's the case, there's no need to worry about anything else. I should just focus on making up for this last bit of progress in replenishing my vital energy. Once I've reached the peak of enlightenment, I can test the Six True Methods and the Debt Merchant technique in the enlightenment realm."

He took out several medicine bottles from his Qiankun bag and poured the pills into his palm.

They were all qi and blood elixirs bought with money.

The spiritual energy there is scarce, but it is still far better than nothing.

"The spiritual energy on Mount Cuojin is scarce, so we still need these Qi and Blood Pills."

Without further hesitation, he put more than a dozen pills into his mouth, chewed them casually as if they were candy, and swallowed them whole.

These days, Chen Lingxi no longer bothers to refine the medicinal power of qi and blood, since it is not very helpful and she still needs to use Lingxi to refine the poison of the pill, which would only waste her energy.

He extracted only one thing from those elixirs: spiritual energy.

Once the pill enters the stomach, the spiritual energy is extracted like peeling away layers of an onion, flowing into the dantian and merging into the misty stream of spiritual liquid.

He swallowed the pills one after another, as if he were eating a plate of bland fried beans, his face expressionless.

At the same time, he practiced the Six Qi Breathing Technique, trying his best to extract the extremely weak spiritual energy from the almost depleted Cuojin Mountain.

"The art of breathing exercises still has limitations. Even after swallowing so many pills containing a trace of spiritual energy, it has had almost no effect on my cultivation."

Chen Lingxi sighed, but dared not slack off and continued his cultivation.

Three days passed in this way.

On this day, as he was meditating cross-legged, he suddenly felt a slight tremor in the stream of spiritual liquid in his dantian, like the first rise of spring water, with the water level increasing slightly compared to before.

What delighted him even more was that Chejue's progress in replenishing his vital energy had finally made up the remaining two percent, reaching perfection.

【彻觉：已准备】

Chen Lingxi exhaled a long breath, and the corners of her mouth involuntarily turned up slightly.

He tried to communicate with the divine chamber, first using his supernatural powers of sight and travel, but still could not find Lin Suri's whereabouts.

"It seems Lin Su Ri has not yet returned."

Chen Lingxi did not delay any longer.

He took a deep breath, his consciousness sinking into the depths of his divine chamber, communicating with the ready-to-be-realized divine power.

In the void of the divine chamber, two bright mirrors suddenly lit up.

The void shattered, the light and shadow distorted, and when everything quieted down, he was no longer in the cave.

Two bright mirrors hung high in the sky, their golden and silver light reflecting off each other.

The gold-plated mountain in the shrine is exactly the same as the real gold-plated mountain.

He stood up from the cave on the cliff, went down Cuojin Mountain, and went up Zu Mountain!

Zushan is located in the west of the city. From a distance, it looks like a giant beast crouching on the banks of the Yuan River. The mountain is not particularly steep, but it is shrouded in thick fog all year round, as if it were covered with a veil that can never be lifted.

The thick fog surged like waves, instantly engulfing his figure.

The fog was utterly silent; even the sound of the wind was blocked out.

Chen Lingxi tried breathing exercises on this ancestral mountain, but found that the spiritual energy on this mountain was even thinner than that on Cuojin Mountain.

"How could such a place with sparse spiritual energy be able to nurture a spiritual aperture like the Ancestral Mountain Mother Qi, which is of great interest to cultivators from many great worlds?" Chen Lingxi was quite puzzled.

It is said that the Mother Qi is a treasure of the spiritual aperture. Once obtained, one's marrow sea will churn and the bone apertures will generate tides, and one's entire body will be transformed like an old cauldron being reborn.

Logically speaking, a place that can nurture primordial energy must be a blessed land with abundant spiritual energy and converging earth veins.

However, the spiritual energy on this ancestral mountain is so thin that it is like a barren desert, yet some say that a sweet spring is buried beneath the desert, which is quite strange.

He suppressed his doubts and continued to delve deeper.

The mountain road wound its way through the thick fog, and the fog grew even denser the further one went.

After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he suddenly realized something.

"Since entering the mountains, I have not seen any living creatures."

As he was thinking this, his gaze fell upon a bend in the cliff ahead, and he suddenly stopped.

There was a rock there, about half a person's height, gray all over, just like any ordinary mountain rock that can be seen anywhere in the mountains.

But Chen Lingxi's gaze fell on the stone.

Isn't this the stone the peddler used to buy things on credit?

"I have never ventured deep into Zushan, yet I have seen this stone."

The thought had just formed in his mind when a voice rang out: "Fellow Daoist, please wait!"

The voice, imbued with a subtle spiritual energy, traveled silently to Chen Lingxi's ear.

Chen Lingxi raised her eyes.

Suddenly, a very faint ripple appeared on the surface of the stone. Then, the ripple twisted and expanded, and a person emerged from it.

Short clothes, hemp rope, basket on his back, sly smile, youthful face.

It was a peddler on credit.

Chen Lingxi feigned surprise, took a step back, sized up the peddler, and asked, "Who are you? Why did you come out of the stone?"

The peddler stood there with a grin, not in a hurry to answer.

Chen Lingxi waited a moment, and seeing that he did not answer, she took the initiative to ask, "What is your background, sir?"

Upon hearing this, the peddler laughed and replied, "My background is both complicated and simple, and it's hard to explain in a short time."

"As for why I'm waiting for you here today—" He paused, his smile deepening, "it's because I was asked to do this!"

Entrusted by someone?

Chen Lingxi was greatly puzzled, and her brows furrowed even more deeply.

He looked at the peddler on credit and asked, "Whom did you entrust this to?"

The peddler just shook his head.

He reached into his robe and pulled something out from the inside of his shorts.

It was a jade pendant, about an inch square, pure white, with a warm and smooth texture, gleaming with a faint, cold light in his palm.

Chen Lingxi's eyes showed a hint of doubt, but her heart was deeply shaken.

He recognized this jade pendant.

He had seen Lin Su give this jade pendant to the peddler during his travels; it was the very jade pendant that recorded the true secrets of the Six Qi!

His expression remained unchanged, only his brows furrowed slightly as he pointed at the jade pendant and asked, "What is this?"

A sly glint flashed in the peddler's eyes: "This contains a true secret technique, exactly what you need, fellow Daoist."

Chen Lingxi's eyes narrowed with wariness: "You haven't even asked who I am, how do you know what kind of cultivation technique I need?"

The peddler didn't say anything, but flicked the jade pendant lightly with his finger, and the pendant flew out of his hand, hovering in the air between the two of them.

The jade pendant slowly rotated in mid-air, and the faint blue light on its surface grew brighter and brighter.

Immediately afterwards, spiritual energy surged forth from it, filling the sky and gradually transforming into countless characters.

The text was complex and profound, each character radiating a bluish-green glow, slowly flowing in the air and arranging itself into a complete cultivation method.

It is precisely the true secret of the Six True Methods!

As Chen Ling's self-illuminating gaze swept over the words, a sudden jolt ran through her heart.

Although he already knew what this was, he was still excited when he saw the true secret technique displayed before his eyes. The peddler took in his reaction, chuckled, and made a feint.

The blue characters suspended in the air were gathered by an unseen hand, transformed back into wisps of spirit, and rolled back into the jade pendant.

The jade pendant fell from mid-air and came to a steady stop in front of Chen Lingxi, hovering there, neither too high nor too low, just within reach.

"No need to be wary, I'm just doing this on someone's behalf. Please accept it, fellow Daoist." After saying this, the peddler cupped his hands in greeting and prepared to leave.

He took a step back, and his figure, like dissipating fog, sank inch by inch into the rocks behind him.

Chen Lingxi suddenly feigned a sudden realization, pointing at the face that was about to completely disappear into the stone, and exclaimed urgently, "Could you be that legendary peddler on credit?!"

The peddler's face was about to sink into the stone.

Chen Lingxi called out to the peddler again and asked, "May I ask, peddler, who exactly is the person you entrusted with this?"

The peddler on credit did not answer.

Chen Lingxi seemed to have stopped worrying about it and said, "In that case, Chen Lingxi would like to make a deal with the peddler."

The peddler's eyes lit up slightly; he had become interested.

The face that had sunk most of its way into the stone resurfaced, and in the blink of an eye, it returned to the appearance of the handsome young peddler.

He emerged from the stone carrying a bamboo basket, grinning as he said, "This little shop is honest and trustworthy, young and old alike. May I ask what you would like to exchange?"

After asking his question, the peddler tilted his head and thought for a moment. Before Chen Lingxi could speak, he suddenly stretched out his right hand and quickly tapped his thumb between the knuckles of his index and middle fingers, as if he were fiddling with an invisible abacus.

Then he blinked and laughed, "How about I sell you a magic array?"

The magic array gathers spiritual energy, which is perfect for cultivation.

In this barren land, such a magic array is like digging a well in the desert, providing sweet water every day—how wonderful is that?

Chen Lingxi was immediately filled with astonishment!

Even though he had already witnessed the peddler's extraordinary abilities during his visit, he still found it hard to believe when he experienced it firsthand.

This was because he genuinely had such a thought in mind when he came to Zushan.

If one could obtain a magic array for gathering spiritual energy from the peddler, one would no longer have to worry about spiritual energy in future cultivation.

Ignoring Chen Lingxi's surprised expression, the peddler asked again, "Do you have any treasures for setting up formations?"

Chen Lingxi pondered for a moment and nodded gently.

He raised his right hand and gently swiped it across his waist.

With a flash of blue light, eight bronze lamps and dozens of jade pendants flew out of the Qiankun bag and landed on the ground, arranging themselves neatly in several rows.

The peddler glanced down at the bronze lamps and jade pendants, his gaze first settling on the leather pouch at Chen Lingxi's waist.

He raised an eyebrow slightly, a faint hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, then nodded: "The Hongdong Treasure Bag—it's quite rare—"

""

He then looked at the bronze lamps and jade pendants and commented, "The quality is a bit low, but it's still good enough."

As he said this, he suddenly turned his head, his clear eyes looking directly at Chen Lingxi: "However, these formations of mine are quite extraordinary, and the price is extremely high. I don't know if you can afford them."

Chen Lingxi: "Why don't you say you want to come and see?"

The peddler raised his right hand again, as if calculating with his fingers.

After a good dozen or so breaths, the peddler suddenly opened his eyes.

He looked at Chen Lingxi, extended a finger, and slowly said, "How about we exchange it for one of your future treasures?"

The treasures to come? Chen Lingxi was greatly puzzled.

The peddler laughed and said, "That treasure is not yet in your hands. Once you have obtained it, I will naturally come to find you, fellow Daoist."

Chen Lingxi lowered his head in thought, then looked up and asked, "Should we sign the Jade Law?"

The peddler waved his hand, a look of disdain on his face: "I don't have the Jade Law Book on hand."

He paused, then added, "There's no need to sign the jade agreement. I'll come find you once I get the treasure."

Chen Lingxi frowned even more deeply.

"Such a person doesn't possess the Jade Law Book?"

He shook his head and asked, "And I wonder when I will be able to obtain that treasure?"

The peddler waved his hand again: "It cannot be said, it cannot be said!" He said it twice, his tone carrying a mysterious air.

He had just finished speaking when he suddenly changed the subject: "In this grotto, you can only do business with me once. After today, this place will be gone."

"I'm selling this formation at a bargain price, so hurry up and grab it."

"You can only make one transaction?" What does that mean?

Just as he was about to ask, the peddler laughed and said, "I know you're going to agree, fellow Daoist."

The peddler chuckled. He reached into his robe and pulled out a bamboo strip from the inside of his short tunic, about the length of a palm and the width of two fingers, its color a bluish-green.

He handed the bamboo slip to Chen Lingxi. Chen Lingxi took it with both hands, looked down and saw five tiny characters engraved on the front of the bamboo slip: "Qingmiao Pivot Qi Array".

The characters are slender yet powerful, each stroke penetrating deeply, as if they were not carved on, but rather naturally formed on the bamboo strip.

He slowly channeled his spirit into the bamboo strip, and in an instant, a torrent of complex and intricate information flooded into his mind like a burst dam.

"This formation—how can it be so complex?"

He quickly memorized those messages, word for word, without missing a single detail.

The peddler disappeared into the stone at that moment.

The stone vanished without a trace.

After a night, Chen Lingxi finally opened her eyes.

"This Six Qi True Method, this Pure and Subtle Qi Array, is truly profound!"

The profoundness of the Six True Methods far exceeded his expectations.

The array of pure and subtle Qi is equally exquisite.

It doesn't simply gather spiritual energy; rather, it uses spiritual energy as a guide to construct a small spiritual energy cycle within the array's range. When the array operates, it gathers the scattered spiritual energy from the surrounding world, then slowly releases it around the array's core, forming a constantly circulating vortex of spiritual energy.

Those within the formation are as if sitting atop an invisible spring of spiritual energy, breathing in and out every day, cultivating constantly, with an efficiency far exceeding that of self-breathing.

Even more remarkably, this formation can absorb the essence of the sun and moon, as well as the vitality of plants and trees, and transform it into pure spiritual energy to replenish the formation, allowing it to continue operating even in places where spiritual energy is depleted.

Overjoyed, he stood up and paced around the mountain, his thoughts wandering.

But gradually, his pace slowed down.

"This mysterious peddler said he wanted a treasure from me in the future, and that I could only do business with him once."

What will the treasure of the future be?

Only one transaction.

Why can it only be done once? Is it because of the rules of this grotto? Or because of the peddler's own rules? Or is it due to some other restriction?

As Chen Ling was thinking, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

He raised his head and looked up at the two bright mirrors hanging high in the sky.

A blazing golden sun and a silvery moon, the golden and silver light intertwined, enveloping the entire ancestral mountain in a strange halo.

This is the Chejue Divine Chamber.

His eyes suddenly lit up.

"I possess the power of complete enlightenment."

"If I never do business with the peddler in reality, I will come to Zushan to find him and trade with him every time I wake up."

In my enlightenment, I can agree to his conditions without any hesitation, exchanging this future treasure for his goods each time.

After the awakening ends, I only need to choose one item from what I've obtained to bring back to reality. That would be equivalent to getting something for free from the peddler every time I have an awakening.

Chen Lingxi's eyes were intense: "But in reality, I have never made a deal with him, so the opportunity for that one transaction will always be there."

Chen Ling had already removed the ghost mask, revealing a face slightly flushed with surprise.

"Use this same treasure from the future to exchange for numerous wondrous methods and treasures!"

P.S.: This chapter is a bonus chapter for reaching 100 monthly votes yesterday. If we reach 100 monthly votes today, there will be another bonus chapter tomorrow.