After the Great Dao died

Chapter 10: Contemplating the transformative power of Heaven and Earth, praising the profound unity

Before Ding Zun could finish speaking, the illusory image of the spirit tree suddenly shrank.

As if time had reversed, the towering tree's branches and leaves curled back, its roots contracted, and the azure spiritual energy was enveloped, entangled, and compressed by countless branches, eventually condensing into a crystal the size of a pigeon's egg.

The crystal is amber in color, with a flowing bluish hue sealed inside. Its surface is as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the red light of the candle.

The amber fell and landed in Lin Suri's outstretched palm.

The moment it touched the skin, a strange change occurred.

Lin Su Ri's body trembled violently.

Chen Lingxi clearly saw an invisible ripple spread from the point where the spirit amber landed, instantly sweeping across Lin Suri's entire body.

His body beneath the brocade robe undulated like waves of wheat in the wind, and dense golden patterns appeared on his skin as he was being violently assaulted by some force.

The patterns flicker and change, sometimes as brilliant as gold melting in the blazing sun, sometimes as dim as a candle flickering in the wind.

Even more horrifying was Lin Suri's face.

Under the red light, his originally fair face lost its luster at a visible speed.

The fine lines around his eyes deepened as if etched by a knife, a few strands of silver appeared at his temples, and even his once straight back hunched slightly for a moment.

In just a few breaths, it seemed as if ten years had passed for him, and he had aged from a spirited young man to someone older.

But Lin Su Ri's eyes were surprisingly bright.

"Spirit Amber!" Lin Suri looked down at the treasure he had obtained by trading his lifespan.

"The deal is done." Ding Zun's voice grew increasingly ethereal, his vertical pupils began to contract, and the red light receded like a tide: "The spirit amber is yours, and twenty years of life... I accept it."

The last glimmer of light disappeared deep within the candle.

The fragment of the Time Candle returned to its pitch-black, lifeless state, falling to the ground with a "thud," as if it were just an ordinary piece of rotten wood.

Chen Lingxi was somewhat at a loss, unable to understand what was happening before her eyes.

Lin Su Ri's heavy breathing echoed in the secret room.

He looked down at the amber crystal in his palm for a long time, then carefully put it away.

Then he picked up the Time Candle, turned around, left the secret room, and even left the East Hall of the South Courtyard.

"Where is Lin Su going this day?"

Before I knew it, it started snowing again outside.

The north wind, carrying snow flakes, howled and surged in.

His brocade robe fluttered in the wind, and snow fell on his shoulders, but he was oblivious. He walked straight through the covered corridor, across the snow-covered garden, and all the way to the corner gate of the north courtyard of the Marquis's mansion.

The guards at the gate hurriedly bowed when they saw him arrive, but he didn't even look at them. He pushed open the side gate and stepped into the long street outside the mansion.

As night approached, the long street of Yuanjiang Prefecture was deserted and desolate. The bluestone pavement was covered with snow, and the shops on both sides had long since closed, leaving only a few lanterns swaying under the eaves.

"Where is Lin Su Ri going? I can't see him anymore if he goes any further."

Just as Chen Ling was wondering, Lin Suri arrived at the Yuanjiang River and stopped.

In winter, the Yuanjiang River dries up, its channel narrows, and a large expanse of gray-white riverbed is exposed.

The river flowed slowly beneath the remaining ice, its color murky. On the opposite bank, distant mountains appeared dark and indistinct, their peaks covered in snow that met the evening clouds, creating a vast and desolate landscape.

Lin Su stood on the edge of the riverbank, looking down at the Time Candle in his palm. The Time Candle was silent and dark, and did not seem to have much of a divine power.

He stared at it for a long time, then suddenly raised his hand and gently tossed the Time Candle aside.

The candle of time traced an arc before falling into the cold river water with a "plop" and sinking deep into the sand.

Chen Lingxi almost cried out in surprise.

But Lin Su Ri's actions did not stop.

"After the disaster subsides and two months have passed, come back to save me!"

He seemed to be chanting an incantation, and with his fingers like a sword, he swiftly drew three talismans—one gold, one silver, and one black—where the candle of time had sunk.

The three talismans connected end to end, forming a miniature triangular array, which quietly disappeared into the river sand.

The river murmured, as if nothing had happened.

After doing all this, Lin Suri stood quietly for a moment.

Then he turned around and went back the way he came.

With unhurried steps, each footstep echoing through the snow, they gradually disappeared into the deepening night along the long street.

The scene in the shrine collapsed with a crash, like shattered glass.

"Well!"

In the servants' quarters of the west courtyard, Chen Lingxi suddenly opened her eyes.

The intense headache felt like an iron spike piercing his skull, causing him to curl up and press his hands tightly against his temples.

I saw stars before my eyes, my ears were ringing like thunder, and my internal organs were churning.

"This hurts much more than the previous times I went on tours."

"It must be due to the immense pressure exerted by the Time Candle Cauldron Venerable."

He lay on the hard bed, panting heavily, his clothes soaked with cold sweat. A wisp of Qi quietly rose from his body and flowed into his head.

After a while.

Chen Lingxi's headache finally eased a little, and she struggled to sit up.

He didn't light a lamp, but he was breathing heavily, just like Lin Suri.

"The ancestral mountain's mother energy, the source of spiritual essence!"

"A bronze vessel!"

"Circulate your Qi to the fifth floor!"

"What exactly are these things?"

"Who is that man in black?"

The various questions left Chen Lingxi somewhat at a loss.

But then, he suddenly remembered the breathing technique.

"Circulating Qi... This seems to be significantly different from the seventh level of martial arts."

Whether it's the man in black vanishing into mist, or Lin Suri standing on the banks of the Yuan River, his sword fingers forming strange runes... this is entirely different from martial arts; it's a completely different system.

A unique gleam appeared in Chen Ling's eyes.

"Breathing, releasing Qi!"

"As the Venerable Ding just said, one can cultivate the Qi Sea by circulating Qi to the fifth floor, where the pores close and become free from dust."

"Circulating the Qi through the Sixth Floor, the spiritual liquid undergoes nine cycles, removing impurities and rebuilding the foundation!"

"Could this system be... about cultivating immortality?"

Chen Lingxi was somewhat excited, and her body trembled slightly.

"Cultivating immortality! Achieving eternal life!"

As Chen Lingxi sensed the faint Qi in his dantian, his excitement was almost beyond measure.

In his previous life, even if he didn't achieve great success, he had made some achievements in his field and could be considered a rising star.

Unfortunately, he died young, at the age of 29.

In this life, he spent the first seventeen years in a daze, and his memories were restored for two years. Even though he was in shackles and a cage, he still managed to find a way to survive.

Originally, all he wanted was to live, to escape his status as a government slave, and ideally, to avenge his parents in this life.

But now, he was suddenly greatly encouraged, all because of the mere word "immortality"!

Immortality!

Break free from your own constraints, participate in the nurturing and transformative processes of heaven and earth, and praise the profound unity of the universe!

How could this not excite Chen Ling, who had died young in her previous life?

"Breathing Technique!"

Chen Lingxi suppressed the pounding in his heart and immediately began practicing breathing exercises.

With each breath, he inhaled several streams of pure energy into his body, which settled in his dantian.

His skin glowed with a faint blue light, and his pores emitted a subtle, almost imperceptible, spiritual mist.

"Absorbing and exhaling spiritual energy to transform the physical body may be the first step in circulating qi."

"And that fragment of the cauldron, the Time Candle! It's also an extraordinary treasure; it's in the Yuan River..."

"But why did Lin Suri sink the fragments of the Time Candle into the Yuan River?"