After the Great Dao died

Chapter 63 Time Candle Reappears

The night at the Marquis's residence was deeper and quieter than at the Qingjiang Villa.

Chen Lingxi also became more familiar with the Marquis's residence.

He knew the area well and arrived at the South Campus.

The South Courtyard was Lin Su Ri's courtyard. Unlike the other courtyards in the Marquis's mansion, there were very few servants here, and you could hardly see anyone after nightfall.

Only a few lanterns were lit in the courtyard, their dim yellow light swaying slightly in the night breeze, casting long and short, sometimes bright and sometimes dim shadows on the ground of the covered walkways.

Chen Lingxi hid in the shadows, gazing at the direction of the East Hall from afar.

The lights in the east wing were still on.

"Lin Suri..."

He took a deep breath and took a step forward.

This step no longer involves concealing their whereabouts.

He let the soles of his boots make a crisp sound on the bluestone ground, each step taken with composure, just like a true general inspecting his camp.

The blue light on the window paper of the East Hall suddenly disappeared.

The candlelight was lit again, and the warm yellow light shone through the sheer gauze, casting a person's shadow on the window paper.

The shadow sat motionless, only slightly tilting its head, as if listening to the sounds outside.

Chen Lingxi walked to the front of the main hall of the East Hall and stood under the sycamore tree.

He stood with his hands behind his back under the tree, looking up at the tightly closed hall door, without saying a word.

A few breaths later, the hall door opened silently.

Lin Suri walked out of the door.

Today he wore a black brocade robe, a jade belt around his waist, and his hair was perfectly styled.

He stood on the inside of the threshold, hands behind his back, his gaze fixed on the black-robed, masked figure under the sycamore tree. His eyes showed neither surprise nor vigilance, only a profound calmness.

The two stood facing each other, about a dozen steps apart.

A breeze blew in from outside the courtyard, causing Lin Su Ri's robe to flutter slightly and making the shadows of the fangs on Chen Ling Xi Gui's face flicker.

Lin Suri spoke first: "General Zhiling?"

His tone was calm and his voice was neither hurried nor slow.

Chen Lingxi felt a slight stirring in her heart.

Without much guesswork, it's clear that Wang Chu was the one who mentioned the general's name.

He composed himself, and without uttering a single wasted word, went straight to the point: "I've come to make a deal with the young marquis."

Lin Suri looked at him without saying anything, but slightly raised his chin, signaling him to continue.

"I obtained three Qi Gathering Pills from Wu Mohe." Chen Lingxi took out the wooden box, opened the lid a crack, and let the fragrance of the three pills waft out: "I am willing to exchange the Qi Gathering Pills for two things with the young marquis."

"Which two?" Lin Suri asked.

"First, the cultivation technique of the Six Qi True Method," Chen Lingxi said directly. "Second, I need to use a fragment of the Time Candle once."

Lin Suri's eyes flickered slightly.

A few breaths later, he suddenly asked, "The martial arts techniques of the academy are as vast as the ocean. How do you know that I possess the Six Qi True Method? And how do you know that I have fragments of the Time-Candle Cauldron?"

Chen Lingxi remained calm and said, "Between the vast world and the microcosm, there are countless extraordinary people and events, as well as countless rare treasures and wondrous methods. Why should the young marquis delve into these trivial matters?"

Lin Suri stared at him for a moment, then continued, "Are you under the command of Consort Chun?"

Consort Chun.

These three words made Chen Lingxi's heart skip a beat.

Why would Lin Su-ri associate him with Consort Chun?

He remained expressionless, calmly steer the conversation in another direction: "Your spiritual amber is about to run out, and even the two pills you exchanged with Wu Mohe will not be enough to support your cultivation at the sixth level of Qi Circulation."

I happen to have some Qi-Gathering Pills here, which will be perfect for your cultivation.

Upon hearing this, Lin Suri's pupils contracted slightly.

He remained silent for a few moments before finally speaking, "The Six Qi True Method is a secret transmission of the Pool Soul Academy, and I cannot give it to you."

Chen Lingxi did not rush to answer, but waited quietly.

Lin Suri then said, "I can give you the Time Candle, in exchange for two Qi Gathering Pills."

Two?

Lin Su Ri wasn't greedy.

"Okay," Chen Lingxi replied.

He took out a pill from the box, then flicked his hand, sending the wooden box and the two pills flying toward Lin Suri.

The pill traced an arc in the air and landed steadily in Lin Suri's outstretched palm.

"You're very confident in yourself," Lin Suri said casually, glancing at the pills.

A calm smile flashed in Chen Lingxi's eyes: "Young Marquis, you want to seize the ancestral mountain's spiritual aperture, and you're even willing to join forces with the cultivators of the Imperial Cloud Post Station. At this critical juncture, why would you needlessly kill me and make enemies?"

"and……"

As Chen Lingxi finished speaking, suddenly, beams of starlight burst forth from his body, his aura soared, and for a moment he became extraordinary and majestic!

"Besides... the young marquis can't kill me."

Lin Suri narrowed his eyes, turned around and went into the house.

A few moments later, he emerged from the east hall, holding a short, black candle in his hand.

It is the candle of time.

"The immense power of the cauldron within this fragment of the Time Candle Cauldron is about to be exhausted," Lin Su Ri said. "At most, there will be one more transaction. After this, the fragment of the cauldron will return to heaven and earth, and the Time Candle will cease to exist."

Returning to heaven and earth?

Chen Lingxi was surprised. He took the Candle of Time and turned to leave.

His steps remained steady, his back straight, just as composed as when he arrived.

He stepped out of the main hall and quietly left the Baosu Marquis's residence.

By the time he walked far into Liujie Lane, a thin layer of sweat had seeped out of his back.

Chen Lingxi turned around and glanced around. The night was quiet, and there was nothing unusual.

"Lin Suri appears calm, but his aura is like an abyss. Standing there, he is like a crescent moon hanging high, giving people a sense of being unapproachable."

"Fortunately, with the stories of Wu Mohe and Cuojinshan as a backdrop, he never doubted me."

As Chen Lingxi pondered, he walked through several streets and alleys, making sure no one was following him, before turning into Willow Street and sitting cross-legged in the dilapidated old house where he had lived in his childhood.

The room was full of dust, the beams and pillars were rotten, and there were layers of cobwebs in the corners. A rat scurried past his feet and disappeared into a hole in the wall.

He took the Time Candle out of his bosom, held it in his palms, and calmed his mind.

The azure energy in his dantian flowed slowly, flowing into the Candle of Time.

The moment the spiritual energy entered the candle, the candle suddenly lit up.

The crimson glow rippled from the candle wick, initially only the size of a pinhead, then slowly opened like a vertical pupil, the red light like a burst dam, instantly engulfing the entire dilapidated house.

"The candlelight flickers, time passes; embers fade, mountains and rivers change. A wisp of smoke vanishes, a thousand years of white bones sing a song."

An ancient verse resounded in his mind.

He steadied himself and bowed before the vertical pupil.

The vertical pupils stared at Chen Lingxi, and after a few breaths, Dingzun spoke.

"Cultivator on the third floor of the Qi Circulation Realm."

"Lifespan..." His vertical pupils narrowed slightly: "Sixty-eight years remaining."

It paused, then added a hint of amusement in its voice: "You summoned me with your spiritual energy, so you want to do business with me."

Here lie countless treasures and wondrous techniques, myriad creations; all can be obtained if you are willing to pay the price.

Without hesitation, Chen Lingxi got straight to the point: "This junior wishes to reveal the true secrets of the Six Qi True Method of the Academy."

Ding Zun's vertical pupils slowly closed, then opened again a few breaths later.

A half-smile appeared on the pieced-together face: the baby's lips were upturned, the old man's brows were furrowed, and a hint of mockery flashed in the middle-aged man's eyes.

"You have reached the third level of Qi cultivation," Ding Zun's voice trailed off, "Your lifespan is insufficient to exchange for the true secrets."

The Six Qi True Method is a secret transmission of the Chi Po Academy, a Daoist academy, and is the foundation of the Dao.

"You're only at the third level of Qi cultivation now; even if you stake your entire lifespan on it, it won't be enough."

Chen Lingxi remained silent.

The answer was what he expected, but it still made him feel disappointed.

The breathing and energy circulation techniques of the Six Qi True Method had already propelled him from a dying medicine slave to the third level of Qi circulation, demonstrating the extraordinary nature of this secret method.

He pondered for a moment, then changed his question: "If I may be so bold as to ask again, what is the price of the next three moves in the Seven Forms of Ceasefire?"

Dingzun closed his eyes for a longer time this time.

A deep, eerie light flickered within his vertical pupils, and the expression on his face constantly shifted, as if he were searching for something deep within his memories.

After about ten breaths, Dingzun suddenly opened his eyes, and a strange light shone in his vertical pupils.

"Seven Techniques to Stop Warfare"

"Mountain-Climbing, River-Entering, City-Crushing, Sea-Stabilizing, Jade-Severing, Qi-Harmonizing, War-Stopping! This technique leads directly to the Ninefold Perfection of Martial Arts."

Chen Lingxi's heart stirred, directly reaching the Nine Revolutions Perfection?

This technique can actually lead directly to the peak of the sixth realm of martial arts?

After the Nine Revolutions comes the Profound Realm, which is the pinnacle of martial arts...

"Price." Ding Zun paused, his vertical pupils flashing: "Thirty years of cultivation experience as a cultivator at the third level of Qi cultivation."

"This junior agrees," Chen Lingxi said without the slightest hesitation.

Ding Zun said no more.

The vertical pupils suddenly dilated, and blood-red light surged out like a tide of blood, instantly engulfing the entire dilapidated house.

The ruins were bathed in a crimson light, revealing every detail of the cobwebs on the walls, the dust on the ground, and the dead rat in the corner.

Chen Lingxi felt an unimaginable spiritual energy surge from the void, pouring into his brow like water bursting from a dam.

His head was almost bursting open.

A massive influx of information flooded into his mind, as if someone were unfolding a long scroll in his head, with countless dancing figures on the scroll, each figure practicing different moves.

The three styles of Breaking Jade, Harmonizing Qi, and Stopping War, totaling twenty-seven variations, are all clearly imprinted in his memory, including the methods of circulating Qi and blood in each style and the key points of receiving and releasing force in each method.

When the last image lingered in his mind, the flash of inspiration receded like the tide.

Chen Lingxi was drenched in sweat and panting heavily.

He looked down and saw that the skin on his hands seemed much looser than before, and there were more fine lines at the corners of his eyes. Even his long black hair had a few strands of white hair mixed in.

Thirty years have passed, and he has aged considerably.

But a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"We succeeded."

He was immersed in the joy of this harvest when the red light on the candle of time gradually dimmed.

The vertical pupil slowly closed, and the pieced-together face sank deep into the candle, disappearing without a trace.

In the instant the last bit of red light dissipated, the Candle of Time also vanished, turning into fine sand and drifting away with the wind.

The fragments of the bronze vessel have returned to heaven and earth, and the light of time has vanished.

"The power of the fragments of the cauldron will dissipate... What about the cauldron itself?"

He was pondering something.

Just then, a call suddenly came from the dilapidated house.

"Chen Lingxi".

The voice was as if calling an ordinary name.

But these three simple words struck Chen Lingxi like a thunderclap.

He suddenly looked up, his gaze piercing through the doorway of the dilapidated house, looking towards the Willow Street outside.

On the rooftop opposite, there stood a person.

The moonlight streamed down from behind the man, shrouding his entire face in shadow, making it difficult to see clearly.

All that could be seen was his hands behind his back, his tall and slender figure, and his black brocade robe fluttering in the night wind.

Chen Lingxi was all too familiar with that figure.

Lin Su Ri, the eldest son of the Marquis of Bao Su's mansion.