Chapter 1013 - 920: The Twenty-Eighth Change
Tianjiang Continent.
The people of the Nine Eternal Ancient Clans had completely taken control of this area.
The original rulers of this region, the Long-armed Ape King, Divine Ox King, and True Martial Turtle King, could only compromise and reach an agreement with the Nine Eternal Ancient Clans. They stepped aside, but they, too, wanted a share of the opportunities and treasures.
Open-gate level powerhouses like Ji Wuming, Wu Jianghan, and Ning Yuanjue arrived in person to oversee the area.
“Hmm, these seven rainbow lights truly deserve to be the remnants of The End of Myriad Paths, so very terrifying… far surpassing the realm of Ultimate Beings!”
Wu Jianghan, drinking, watched the rainbow lights that appeared in the ruins ahead, his eyes filled with solemnity.
“That is her last resort. Once we break through this, the Nine Laws will no longer be at risk of leaking, and we, can rest easy.”
Ning Yuanjue smiled.
Ji Wuming, however, coldly said,
“We must still be cautious. Do not forget that our grand plans have been thwarted repeatedly. Now Wu Jianghe has even become an Ultimate Being, known as the Ultimate Asura, incredibly terrifying. If he appears, it is very likely he will bring about change.”
At his words, the other two also became stern.
They feared nothing – except Wu Jianghe!
After all, Wu Jianghe’s current reputation was simply too immense. In places like the Martial Desolate World, the Demon Desolate… wherever Wu Jianghe was, it became a graveyard!
Even several terminators of the Grey Mist Sea had perished.
Now, among the upper echelons of the Nine Eternal Ancient Clans, there was nothing but fear for Wu Jianghe, who was even proclaimed as the “Ultimate Asura”!
“Report!”
“Young Master Qifeng Lin from the Grey Mist Sea has arrived!”
“And with him, there is an old man dragging a coffin.”
At this news, Ji Wuming and the others hurriedly got to their feet and went out to greet them.
Soon, they saw Qifeng Lin.
Qifeng Lin, accompanied by an old man, approached. The old man wore a wide robe with large sleeves, but only had his right eye open, and behind him, a large iron chain dragged a coffin.
“Greetings to Young Master Qifeng!”
“Greetings to Young Master Qifeng!”
Ji Wuming and others bowed respectfully and said,
“Young Master Qifeng, who is this?”
Qifeng Lin smiled and replied,
“This is the Chess Ancestor. His mastery of chess… is unrivaled in the world.”
Hearing this, Ji Wuming and the others were even more shocked and hurriedly paid their respects to the Chess Ancestor.
“Cut the crap and make way!”
The Chess Ancestor waved his hand dismissively, his gaze fixed on the seven white rainbows in front of him,
“I am here to break the formation!”
With these words, he stepped forward and appeared in the sky in front of the seven white rainbows.
Looking at the seven white rainbows ahead, a look of incredible joy appeared on the Chess Ancestor’s aged face.
“Excellent… Let me carefully study this; the variations that these seven moves bring are not few… Fourteen types, fifteen types… at least twenty!”
He took out the “Shi Sha Formation Plate,” one of the Grey Mist Sea’s ten grand chess masters’ plates, and began to adjust it.
He pondered deeply, exhausting all of his lifelong chess skills.
“Twenty-three kinds… twenty-four kinds… terribly formidable, terribly formidable!”
The Chess Ancestor looked extremely solemn, with even a trace of greyish blood seeping from his right eye.
Qifeng Lin was deeply shocked by this sight.
“The Chess Ancestor… is too terrifying!”
Sweat drenched his back.
Being a chess prodigy himself, he naturally realized the Chess Ancestor was right; the seven-move chessboard was not limited to just the fourteen variations mentioned by the ten masters.
Had he rashly tried to use the Shi Sha Formation Plate to break the formation at The End of Myriad Paths…
He would have had no place for his body to lie in rest!
This realization made him feel relieved.
“Although the Chess Ancestor’s realm is stuck in the Realm of Ghosts… his understanding and mastery of the path of chess far exceed that of the ten masters…”
He murmured to himself.
Such a person, if he hadn’t given up the golden age to stay in the Grey Mist Sea, might have already become a True Ancestor level existence by now, right?
He suddenly felt that these once-glorious talents, though they had missed some eras, were still not to be underestimated.
“Twenty-five kinds… I’ve solved it… it’s twenty-five kinds!”
Finally, the Chess Ancestor shouted excitedly, clutching the chessboard, ready to act!
But, at that moment, a ghastly white hand suddenly reached out from the coffin he dragged and grabbed his hand.
A hoarse voice sounded,
“You’ve missed three variations; there are a total of twenty-eight.”
The Chess Ancestor instantly paused, turned his head, and saw that the coffin lid had been opened at some point, and a man had already sat up.
His face was ashen-gray, his eyes full of grey mist as he spoke:
“This seven-move chess game is impossibly intricate and hard to decipher… but these seven moves… seem not to be the endpoint. The twenty-eighth variation appears to be the foundation of other changes, confounding me for the moment…”
He seemed to feel deep despair and sorrow, saying,
“The one who arranged these seven moves has chess skills that are rare through the ages, an eminent and unattainable existence in the path of chess. Even if you practice for ten million more years, you will not be her match.”
Hearing this, the Chess Ancestor instantly grew furious, saying,
“Nonsense! My chess skills are the best in the world. Who says I am not her match?”
“I must break it to show you!”
He was defiant, with anger blazing in his right eye.
The somber corpse looked at the seven-move chess formation for a long time before saying,
“If you insist on dying before my eyes… then try breaking it.”
“You can activate this formation plate first, and then we can join forces to deal with this twenty-eighth variation.”
After a pause, he added,
“As for whether we can break it or not… that will be up to fate.”
“`
…
At this moment,
in a small mountain village,
having finished breakfast, many disciples are going about their own business.
Meanwhile, Li Fan is in the small courtyard,
and Nan Feng is playing the zither; having stepped into the Soul Awakening Realm, her strength has greatly increased, but now as she plays the zither, there’s a sense of uncertainty in her music.
The Soul Awakening Realm is supposed to inspire the Three Souls and Seven Spirits, allowing one to comprehend the Dao with the eyes of the Three Souls and Seven Spirits.
However, inside her Divine Fire, there are no Three Souls and Seven Spirits, so when facing the new realm of zither music… she actually becomes somewhat clumsy.
Indeed, it’s not just her, Long Zixuan, Dugu Yuqing, and others are in the same situation.
Without the Three Souls and Seven Spirits, how can one glimpse the grand Dao?
Li Fan is petting a cat at the moment; upon hearing Nan Feng’s music, he can’t help but speak up:
“Are you searching for the true essence of the path of chess?”
He can sense that Nan Feng’s music carries a hint of confusion, as if she’s questioning her own thoughts.
“Why search at all? The path of chess is like water, it naturally has a direction; the notes are like the wind, circulating through heaven and earth.”
“To experience the state of forgetfulness, the mindlessness, is the only way to feel the higher realms of musical intent.”
He speaks lightly.
With regards to the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, Li Fan has long since studied them, so he understands that these seemingly minor skills present all sorts of problems during the learning process.
As the mind changes, so does the music of the zither.
The current Nan Feng, it seems, is lacking a certain tune, asking herself.
But actually, this is unnecessary.
The true path ultimately reaches the state of forgetfulness and mindlessness.
Upon hearing this, Nan Feng instantly has a thought.
“No need to seek the true self, but instead directly enter forgetfulness, mindlessness…”
She murmurs to herself, suddenly, a light sparks in her heart.
“The Soul Awakening Realm, the Three Souls and Seven Spirits, can help me discover the Dao more quickly, find the Dao… but the Dao has always been there.”
“Why rely on the Three Souls and Seven Spirits? When forgetting oneself, the Dao appears, when there is no self, there is the Dao!”
She instantly understands, the master is teaching her the deepest method of enlightenment.
No need for the Three Souls and Seven Spirits to comprehend the Dao!
She feels like a sudden enlightenment strikes her, so she no longer cares about the Three Souls and Seven Spirits, moving freely as she desires, feeling the intent of the Dao with a heart of forgetfulness!
Suddenly, her music becomes free and pleasing to the ear, free from obstruction, free from the sound of confusion!
She makes even further progress in the Soul Awakening Realm!
At the same time, the other disciples around her also have sudden realizations.
“The master is not only teaching Sister NanFeng, but also telling us… forgetfulness and selflessness are the grand Dao!”
Dugu Yuqing murmurs, as he writes with his brush, no longer overthinking!
Long Zixuan smiles slightly, seeming very pleased, continuously slapping the icy water, while the small black fish leaps joyously in his hands.
They’re letting go of the discomfort of lacking the Three Souls and Seven Spirits, seeking a more direct and more profound method of enlightenment.
Seeing this, Li Fan also smiles.
This group of his disciples finally show their perceptiveness.
They catch on with just a hint.
With that, he can’t help but look towards another direction.
He sees Yun Xi sitting obediently under the Peach Tree, studying the chessboard, resting her head on her hand, her big eyes blinking as she contemplates.
The Seven-Piece Chess Game, she had already deduced all of it, knowing the twenty-eight variations by heart without difficulty.
What she’s pondering are Li Fan’s words, when it turns into eight pieces, nine pieces… and even more.
The variations seem endless.
Now, having thought through the variations of eight pieces, she begins to calculate the changes when there are nine pieces.
The chessboard remains still, just as it was when Li Fan placed seven pieces.
Even Jiang Li is watching and contemplating by the side.
The path of chess has its differentiations; the path of chess that Yun Xi is considering is not the same as the one he’s following, but it holds great reference value.
“Hmm?”
Suddenly Jiang Li’s gaze shifts slightly, because he senses that there appears to be a certain fluctuation emerging from within the chessboard.
“In the chessboard… why does it feel like someone is solving the game?”
He feels it!
“The games laid out by the master have already cast their projections into reality, and when someone in reality is solving the game, that can be sensed as well.”
The voice of the Peach Tree resounds in Jiang Li’s heart.
Jiang Li is instantly alert.
True to being the master’s move… the game actually reflects reality.
And the solution in reality can feedback onto the chessboard?
This… is too powerful.
He watches the chessboard closely, trying to grasp with his heart.
For a moment, he seems to see the flow of the pieces, the changes in the game…
He effortlessly senses the thoughts of the person solving the game in reality!
“The thoughts of the person solving the game seem strangely familiar…”
Jiang Li can’t help but murmur.
…
Finally back.
Today, after sorting out my thoughts, I feel that I will definitely rise in January 2022!
I swear, I will definitely post three chapters in January 2022!
If I can’t do it, I’ll swear again!
Good night.
“`