After the Great Dao died

Chapter 82 Thorough Understanding Shattered

Cuojin Mountain, with its cliffside caves.

Chen Lingxi laid the unconscious Lin Longyue flat on the smooth blue stone in the center of the cave, and then sat cross-legged beside her.

The cave was dimly lit, with only a small patch of hazy sunlight filtering through a crack in the cave ceiling, falling on Lin Longyue's pale face and making her look even more bloodless.

Chen Lingxi reached out and placed her fingers on Lin Longyue's forehead.

The spiritual liquid surged in his dantian, and wisps of spiritual energy emanated from his palm, slowly seeping into Lin Longyue's meridians along her brow.

As soon as his spiritual energy entered his body, he sensed the filth.

Ignoring the filth, Chen Lingxi probed deeper into Lin Longyue's body.

Then he suddenly frowned.

"There's something extraordinary about Lin Longyue's body?"

It was because he sensed that great deal of spiritual energy.

Deep within Lin Longyue's muscles and bones, and between the crevices of her flesh, there was an extraordinary spiritual energy.

The spiritual energy was not something she cultivated herself; rather, it was something that naturally existed within her body, and it was extremely pure and abundant.

"However, for Lin Longyue, this kind of spiritual energy seems to be a burden."

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"She has never cultivated, so she cannot use this spiritual energy to strengthen her constitution and body, and also—"

Chen Lingxi's eyes flickered.

The prince's filthy energy was seeping deep into her muscles and bones, drawing away her abundant spiritual energy bit by bit.

"The Crown Prince's magic array seems to be only absorbing the spiritual energy within Lin Longyue's body, while the true precious energy is still dormant."

Chen Lingxi raised an eyebrow.

"Could it be that Crown Prince Ying Chi has not realized Lin Longyue's true extraordinary nature?" he asked himself.

With this thought in mind, Chen Lingxi controlled her spirit to continue probing into the deepest part of Lin Longyue's body, wanting to explore that precious Qi.

Then a hint of doubt appeared on his face.

At this moment, his spiritual energy probed into Lin Longyue's body, but no matter what he did, he could not find any trace of that energy.

It disappeared.

To be precise, it went into hibernation.

Chen Lingxi pushed his spiritual energy to its limit, searching inch by inch within Lin Longyue's body.

He examined her dantian, meridians, bones, bone marrow, and internal organs one by one, but could not find any trace of that Dao.

That path was like a startled fish; when his spirit probed in, it silently sank into the deepest silt at the bottom of the water, concealing all its brilliance and all its presence, as if it had never existed.

"A hidden gem." Chen Lingxi withdrew her spiritual energy, opened her eyes, and murmured to herself.

He looked down at Lin Longyue's pale face, his brows furrowed slightly, and pondered for a long time.

"This wondrous Qi is hidden so deeply that, without a secret technique like the method of observation, even someone at the sixth level of Qi cultivation, or even higher, would probably find it difficult to detect."

A flash of understanding crossed his eyes.

"It seems that Crown Prince Yingchi only stumbled upon this by accident. He used Princess Yunhe as a medium to plant a magic array in Lin Longyue's body and devour her spiritual energy. He probably just thought that this young lady of the Marquis's family had some special talent and had more spiritual energy accumulated in her body than ordinary people, so he could use it as cultivation resources."

He had no idea that Lin Longyue possessed far more valuable qualities than just spiritual energy.

He paused, and the realization in his eyes became even clearer.

"Then Lin Suri must have discovered it."

Lin Su Ri also practiced the Six True Methods and possessed the same skill of observation.

He spent every day with Lin Longyue, so how could he not discover that his own sister was hiding such an amazing secret?

Chen Lingxi suppressed these thoughts for the time being, lowered her head again, and placed her two fingers together like a sword on Lin Longyue's brow.

The spiritual energy probed in again, continuing to search for that dormant wonder.

But it still cannot be found.

He withdrew his finger and remained silent for a moment.

"It seems there's no way to take it by force," he muttered to himself.

He stared at Lin Longyue's pale and indifferent face.

"This person lost her mother at a young age, and her father spent all his time in seclusion cultivating Taoism and ignoring worldly affairs. Her elder brother was domineering and violent. Her feelings for Princess Yunhe were mostly due to the princess's status. Growing up in such an environment made her cold-hearted."

"You can't even tell that she has any special feelings for anyone or anything."

Her only desire was probably to improve her cultivation so that she could take charge of the household and rightfully inherit the title of Marquis Baosu.

In the Great Li Kingdom, women could also inherit titles; this was not without precedent.

"In this way, we can take advantage of Lin Longyue's personality to seize this precious Qi."

Chen Lingxi pondered in her heart.

"This precious Qi is far more valuable and extraordinary than I imagined."

Chen Lingxi's eyes shone brightly: "With this treasure, I can make a living and travel the path of cultivation."

He took a deep breath, weighed these thoughts over and over in his mind, and finally made up his mind.

He stood up and glanced at Lin Longyue, who was still unconscious.

As his thoughts raced, the divine chamber in his mind suddenly trembled, the void shattered, and light and shadow distorted.

Everything in the Chejue Divine Chamber began to collapse, turning into countless fine specks of light that scattered and vanished into nothingness.

Chen Lingxi suddenly opened her eyes.

He remained seated cross-legged in a cave on the cliff face of Cuojin Mountain.

The cave was dimly lit, and water droplets condensed on the stalactites occasionally dripped down, hitting the bluestone floor and making a very soft and delicate tinkling sound.

He has returned from enlightenment.

Along with it came the bamboo slips that recorded the Qingmiao Pivot Qi Array.

Chen Lingxi took out a bamboo slip from the shrine, but his mind was elsewhere. "The most important thing right now is to capture that injured Qi-cultivation sixth-level cultivator alive."

As Chen Lingxi pondered, she rubbed the bamboo strip with her fingers, unconsciously channeling her spiritual energy into it.

Then he suddenly raised an eyebrow.

The bamboo strip seemed to have a slightly different aura, as if something had been erased, yet its contents seemed unchanged.

His eyes flickered slightly, and he stopped thinking about it, assuming he had misremembered. He felt that he had gained a great deal from this experience.

Through the Six True Methods and the Pure and Subtle Qi Array, one also learns of a treasure and an opportunity.

He activated the Six True Techniques, his aura becoming deep and resonant, and he absorbed the surrounding spiritual energy, making him quite extraordinary.

After a long while, Chen Ling opened her eyes.

"Make preparations to capture him alive."

He then took out the Soul-Losing Pill and placed it aside.

The Soul-Losing Pill was no bigger than a longan, dark purple in color, and its surface was so smooth that it was without a single flaw. It gleamed coldly in the dim light of the cave.

He merely placed it on the bluestone, and the strange fragrance of the elixir began to waft out, like invisible tentacles slowly wriggling in the air.

The aroma filled her nostrils, and a desire that swept over her from the depths of her soul made Chen Lingxi swallow hard.

His Adam's apple bobbed, and as if possessed, he reached out, wanting to pick up the pill and put it in his mouth.

At that very moment, his mind's spiritual chamber trembled slightly, and a clear, refreshing coolness spread from between his brows, sweeping away the greedy desire that had been entangled in his heart.

Chen Lingxi abruptly withdrew her hand, a fine layer of cold sweat already seeping from her forehead.

"What powerful medicine," he muttered to himself, still shaken.

This Soul-Losing Pill is indeed malevolent; the mere fragrance it emits can cause people to lose their minds.

"This elixir can also be used as a hidden contingency plan."

Chen Lingxi pondered for a moment, then put the Soul-Sinking Pill into her bosom, took out a small bronze furnace, put in a few common medicinal herbs, and lit the furnace fire.

A wisp of smoke rose from the bronze furnace, carrying a very faint medicinal fragrance, which mingled with the scent of the Soul-Sinking Pill in his arms. If one did not listen closely, one would not notice anything unusual.

"If I am truly no match for him, I can retreat calmly. That person is seriously injured, and his mental state is very likely to be compromised. He may very well have taken some pills."

He placed the bronze furnace deep in the cave, where the fire illuminated the stalactites on the cave wall, making them flicker. He then took out the spirit arrow and held it in his palm.

The arrow felt slightly heavy in my hand, and the fine lines on the shaft were faintly visible in the dim light.

He channeled an extremely fine and faint wisp of spiritual energy into it, and a faint blue light appeared on the arrow fletching. The light was so weak that it was suppressed by his Concealed Edge Technique after only a brief flash, leaving no trace.

"The spiritual energy within this arrow is so thin that it is like an ordinary arrow if not detected with spiritual energy."

He weighed the spirit arrow in his hand, his gaze falling on the surging sea of ​​clouds outside the cave.

"Whether we can capture that person alive depends on this spirit arrow."

He already had a plan in mind.

That day in the realm of enlightenment, he fought with the young man. Despite being injured, the young man was still able to calmly unleash a variety of spells, including ice blades, ice spears, cold air, and sword intent.

Despite possessing skills such as the Golden Slaughtering Saber, the Purple True Treasure Qi, the Azure Edge Technique, and the Spirit Arrow, he was still unable to truly get within three zhang of his opponent.

"Even with my severe injuries, I cannot defeat this beast from the sixth level of the Qi Circulation Realm by confronting it head-on," Chen Lingxi thought to himself. "To capture this fiend alive, I must strike it with a single blow using a spirit arrow."

His mind stirred slightly, and his consciousness sank back into his dantian.

Within the Qi Sea, the misty stream of spiritual liquid was slowly flowing.

A vibrant green willow branch floats above the stream. It is about three inches long, as thin as a chopstick, and entirely emerald green, just like a tender branch that has been pulled from the spring water. It is warm to the touch and as supple as silk.

The immortal willow branch.

After bringing this item back from Chejue, he refined it into his dantian according to the information he had obtained that day.

Later, Chen Ling washed his dantian and transformed it into a sea of ​​qi. This immortal willow branch was no ordinary thing. It took root in the spiritual liquid of his sea of ​​qi, just like a real willow branch planted by a stream. Not only did it not show any signs of withering, but it became even more lush and verdant, with a faint and soft green light flowing on the branch.

Chen Lingxi pondered, "If I am no match for him, I can take that person's fatal blow head-on, trading injury for injury, life for life, and defeat him in this way."

The immortal willow branch can take a fatal blow for him, which is his greatest source of confidence.

Although the young man possessed many magical techniques and ruthless methods, he was ultimately severely injured and had little spiritual energy left. By using the Willow Branch of Immortality to withstand one of his deadly attacks, the young man would inevitably lower his guard.

After making all the necessary preparations, Chen Ling continued to meditate with her eyes closed.

The only sounds in the cave were the bubbling of the medicinal soup in the bronze stove and the occasional dripping of water from the stalactites on the cave ceiling.

He closed his eyes and concentrated, and the Six True Methods flowed slowly within his body.

The stream of spiritual liquid in his dantian flowed silently along his meridians. At the same time, a wisp of his consciousness remained outside, sensing the fluctuations of spiritual energy around the cave.

Time passed quietly until, from the distant sea of ​​clouds, the fluctuations of spiritual energy were heard once more.

The fluctuation was so subtle that it was almost impossible to detect unless he was paying close attention.

Chen Ling opened her eyes.

"It's time to close the net."

He stood up, straightened his robes, and activated the Concealed Edge Technique to its fullest extent, concealing his aura as if he were a stubborn rock.