Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
A gigantic illusion of a chessboard had emerged out of thin air, and the terrifying knife spirit that had entered its range had been blown apart instantly.
A figure floated by quietly, by the edges of the chessboard. He did not step within the range of the chessboard.
He seemed rather serious, rather fearful.
Ye Shoudao’s black robes were in tatters, and one of the sleeves had been torn clean off and was drifting in the wind. Despair was written all over his face, and he looked rather intense as well. He held onto a large blade with a single hand, and his Qi was wild and uncontrollable, hitting at the air as it pleased.
“Your Excellency, the demon has possessed this body because she wants to use it to break the shackles and go one step further. If she were to escape or succeed with the possession, then the consequences will be dire,” Ye Shoudao said.
He stared at the other end of the chessboard. He knew who had made the move.
It was the mysterious, powerful being who had stolen Du Longyang’s Heavenly Calamity at the start.
He was also the one who had warned him, someone from the Supreme Knife School who was at the Nascent Soul Realm, and now he had appeared again.
Although Ye Shoudao did not know where the person was…
However, the moment Ye Shoudao spoke, the surroundings grew eerily silent. There was no response at all.
He was being disregarded—rather, Lu Fan had paid him no mind at all!
Ye Shoudao’s face turned cold as he stared at the chessboard.
He held onto a blade with a single hand, and he swung it toward the chessboard.
His Knife Qi was like a wave, bringing along with it a horrifying power to wipe out everything.
The waves stacked upon one another!
After seven swings, the waves of Qi had reached the sky!
“Tidal overflow!” Ye Shoudao called out lowly.
Boom!
The illusory image that the Spirit Pressure Chessboard had formed looked like it was on the verge of destruction.
However, a mild chuckle sounded out from within the chessboard.
After the laugh faded…
There was the sound of a Go piece being placed on the board again.
Clack!
Ye Shoudao’s tides of knife spirit had been blown apart with the placement of this piece.
The Spirit Pressure Chessboard disappeared.
Ye Shoudao was suspended in the air. He looked at the expanse in front of him that was empty as could be, and he thought that there was something overwhelming about this entire situation.
He had not expected the demon, who was trapped in the valley, to use possession as a means of escape.
Conflict swam in Ye Shoudao’s eyes for some time. Ultimately, he flew off and disappeared from where he stood.
******
Beiluo.
Lake Island.
Lu Fan leaned back in his wheelchair. He took a sip of the green plum wine, his face indifferent.
He picked up the Go pieces he had placed onto the Spirit Pressure Chessboard one by one and placed them back into the bowl.
He came back to his senses, only to realize that Beiluo was exceptionally crowded today.
Throngs of cultivators were gathered in Beiluo City as if they were on a pilgrimage.
On Beiluo Lake, a great number of cultivators were rowing boars. They were waiting in line to enter the Book House.
Ever since the first cultivator stepped into the Book House and realized that it was filled with books about cultivation and fighting techniques, all of the cultivators had gone crazy.
Although cultivation was not a secret these days, an array of cultivation techniques was being presented to them in one go. There were all sorts of functions, and inside the Book House was a very comprehensive collection, which meant they could have their pick.
As such, every cultivator was greatly looking forward to finding a cultivation method from the Book House that would suit them.
It was not just that. There were also combat techniques—combat techniques used by cultivators.
To the cultivators whose techniques were still stuck in the era of martial arts practitioners, this was great news.
The Book House was crammed with people every day.
Some people would devote all of themselves to studying and reading the moment they found a combat technique that matched them and worked for them, completely forgoing sleep and food.
Some of the greedier people wanted to memorize these techniques and methods forcefully and then write them out from memory after they left the Book House. However…they realized that the moment they left the Book House, all of the content they had memorized would be wiped clean from their memory.
Lv Dongxuan could not be bothered to maintain order any more.
Before, he felt that no one would dare go against the rules and regulations set by White Jade City while they were in the Book House.
And because of that, Lv Dongxuan had only been there to fish.
Mo Beike was here.
Lu Changkong welcomed him, and the two of them talked quite a bit.
Mo Beike did not choose to interrupt Lu Fan when he realized the latter was in seclusion.
Instead, he walked into the Book House.
The moment he stepped foot in there, it was as if he had opened the door to a whole new world. He fell into the world of books and could not pull himself back up to the surface.
Boom!
Behind the Dragon Gate.
Loud noises reverberated.
The little Responsive Dragon shot out like a ball, stirring up waves on the surface of the lake.
Lv Dongxuan rubbed his hands together. He had just been preparing to feast on the fish he had grilled.
However, before he could reach for it, a yellow beam of light shot forward. Lv Dongxuan realized the fish he had grilled had just disappeared.
He grew furious. There was no doubt about it—that cheeky dragon had returned.
Zhu Long strode out of the Dragon Gate. She tugged Li Sansi along by his head, taking one step after the other forward.
Lv Dongxuan was stunned.
He sucked in a breath when he caught sight of the terrible state Li Sansi was in.
Was it that dangerous in the forbidden area?
So much so that someone as powerful as Li Sansi would be in such a terrible state after spending just a bit of time in the forbidden area?
“To the island.”
Lu Fan’s voice drifted over.
Zhu Long was a little conflicted as she dragged Li Sansi along, but in the end, she stepped on the island anyway with him in tow.
In the far distance, the little Responsive Dragon, who was hugging the grilled fish and nibbling on it, pretended he did not hear anything, as if to say he had been eating fish this whole time.
“Shall I turn you into grilled fish as well?”
Lu Fan’s gentle coughing drifted over from the island.
The little Responsive Dragon’s body froze. He shoved the entire fish—bones and all—into his mouth, crushing all of it between his teeth, and dragged himself toward the island reluctantly.
On the island.
Li Sansi looked incomparably miserable when he was passed out like this. His body was riddled with wounds, and he looked like he had just been subjected to extreme torture.
Zhu Long stood to the side, eyes closed; she was somewhat reserved.
The sound of a wheelchair traveling across the floor rang out.
Lu Fan sat in the Thousand Blades Chair, and he slowly made his way over.
He looked at Li Sansi and then at Zhu Long, before his gaze finally landed on the little Responsive Dragon.
The little Responsive Dragon’s meaty wings flapped, and an innocent, childlike smile bloomed on his face.
Lu Fan smiled gently.
He raised a hand.
Three Spirit Rings made of Spirit Qi had appeared to restrain the little Responsive Dragon.
The little Responsive Dragon’s face blanched. He started struggling nonstop, bent on ridding himself of the Spirit Rings.
“This is your punishment. Take your time and keep struggling, because there will be Spirit Rings to bind you every day. You can fool around if you get yourself out of them, but you’d better be ready to sit quietly if you can’t,” Lu Fan said with a smile.
The little Responsive Dragon was stunned. After a while, he fell onto the ground and rolled about like a ball, wanting to remove the three Spirit Rings from his body.
The three Spirit Rings designed by Lu Fan were actually not very strong. The little Responsive Dragon would be able to break free from them once he was forced to his limit.
In the next few days, Lu Fan would adjust the foundation of the Spirit Rings to make them stronger.
The little Responsive Dragon had to become stronger now. The little Azure Dragon from Wentian Peak of the neighboring Tai Mountains was almost strong enough to take him on now.
The little Responsive Dragon was livid. He had mustered all his energy and tried to break out of the rings. His face was almost running from yellow to purple from all of that effort, but he was still unable to break free from the rings.
At first, he had been angry and then felt despair. Finally, he stayed calm…
The little Responsive Dragon had given up on struggling. He lay on the ground with his legs raised and his feet trembling, lost in his own fun yet again.
Lu Fan was speechless.
This dragon was beyond help.
Lu Fan had not expected that this dragon would give up on his freedom and choose to indulge in his own fun.
One foot was enough for him to play with!
Lu Fan was rather exasperated with him for not living up to expectations.
With a raise of his hand, Lu Fan installed some functions on the Spirit Rings.
If the little Responsive Dragon were not going to struggle anymore, the Spirit Rings would continue to constrict and bind him tighter and tighter.
Lu Fan refused to believe that the little Responsive Dragon would still choose not to do anything and allow himself to be strangled to death.
He cast the little Responsive Dragon aside. He could not be bothered with the dragon for now.
He turned to look at Zhu Long.
Zhu Long’s lips were pursed into a flat line. She looked rather anxious.
Lu Fan did not feel like admonishing her anymore when he saw how pitiful she looked.
“Don’t concern yourself with Li Sansi anymore.”
“Return and work hard on cultivating,” Lu Fan said.
Zhu Long nodded in acknowledgment obediently.
She heaved a sigh of relief and dashed off quickly, heading into the Dragon Gate and disappearing…
As if worried that Lu Fan would change his mind.
In the end, Lu Fan’s gaze landed upon Li Sansi.
Whoosh.
A bamboo boat was rowing toward them.
Lv Dongxuan, wearing his bamboo hat and straw raincoat, stepped onto the island.
He saw the little Responsive Dragon, who was restrained by three Spirit Rings and struggling with his teeth grit. Not only was Lv Dongxuan unsympathetic, but also the dragon’s misfortune was actually delightful to him.
“So your time of reckoning is here, you brat!” Lv Dongxuan huffed.
After that, he turned to look at Li Sansi, who had collapsed on the ground.
“Young Master… What happened to him?” Lv Dongxuan asked.
“He’s been possessed, and he’s fighting it now. He’s refusing to let his soul get consumed,” Lu Fan responded.
Lv Dongxuan was stunned. “Possessed?”
“Is the forbidden area so dangerous that evil spirits will possess you?”
Lu Fan glanced at Lv Dongxuan. “It’s not that dangerous. He’s an example of sorts. He’s just unlucky.”
“Why don’t you call the head of the Daoist Pavilion over?”
“Li Sansi’s spirit is too weak. This battle of possession is not one I can intervene in, because his spirit will disappear the moment I do, even if I win.”
“As such, I can only draw up a formation to assist him that will increase the power of his spirit. As for whether he lives or dies, that’s entirely up to his Creator,” Lu Fan said.
Lv Dongxuan bowed. “Understood.”
After that, he turned to leave.
Lu Fan waited for the other to leave before raising his hand. Spirit Qi gathered in the palm of his hands and continually weaved into a formation, and then the symbol of the Eight Trigrams appeared.
Under the control of Lu Fan’s Spiritual Sense, it turned into a formation.
Lu Fan shrank the formation to be small enough for him to support with his index finger, and then he placed it between Li Sansi’s eyes.
Boom!
A brilliant beam of light surged from Li Sansi’s body.
After finishing all this, Lu Fan realized that Li Sansi started struggling even more.
Evidently, he was now more qualified to contend against that woman’s soul with the help of the formation, and he was not as passive as he had been before.
But winning was still too difficult to achieve.
After all, Li Sansi was just a soul at the Internal Organs Realm, while that woman—if Lu Fan was not mistaken—was at the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm, bordering on the Soul Transformation Realm.
The gap between the two of them was just too insurmountable.
Just as Lu Fan had said, if Li Sansi wanted to live, he could only wish for luck.
Lu Fan waved his hand, and Li Sansi’s body floated over to land under a Heaven Facing Spiritual Chrysanthemum, continuing the fight for his soul.
And Lu Fan returned to the second floor of the pavilion.
The next day.
Li Sansui came to Beiluo through the Dragon Gate. She saw Li Sansi and saw that he was still alive and breathing.
When Lv Dongxuan informed her about Li Sansi’s situation, her heart could not help but seize.
Xie Yunling and quite a few of the Daoist Pavilion disciples had rushed over. When they saw this scene, they felt conflicted.
They had originally come for the cultivation books in the Book House, but the sight of Li Sansi in this state had caused them to lose the heart to read. They brought Li Sansi back to the Dragon Gate of the Cloud Dragon and returned to the Daoist Pavilion.
The large field under the Catching Stars Peak.
Li Sansi’s body was placed in the center of the huge field.
At this moment, all of the blood had drained from his face, and he was not unlike a cold corpse.
Xie Yunling and the Daoist Pavilion disciples surrounded his body. They sat cross-legged and formed a circle around him, and then they began meditating.
They wanted to know what Li Sansi was going through.
And so they used a method like this to support Li Sansi, to help him tide over this crisis.
Li Sansui, on the other hand, fell into seclusion the moment she returned to the Daoist Pavilion. She was drawing and writing and painting nonstop in her study as if she had gone mad, drawing up a bunch of strange magic talismans and formations.
Li Sansi was her only relative, and she was not willing to let him die like this.
And so she wanted to find a way to help him.
Young Master Lu might have said that this was entirely dependent on Li Sansi, but she was still going to do her best nonetheless!
******
Outside Wudi City.
A bonfire flickered in a cave not too far from the Bodhisattva temple.
Snow fell in heaps outside the cave.
Nie Changqing sat by the bonfire, Spirit Qi lingering around him.
Mo Tianyu was also cultivating, relying on his copper coins. The three copper coins in front of him were spinning without stopping.
Suddenly.
Nie Changqing opened his eyes.
He stood up suddenly, and Mo Tianyu too followed him after collecting his copper coins.
They walked out of the cave and looked up at the skies. There was an army of gigantic flying birds heading in the direction of Wudi City.
“What are those?” Nie Changqing frowned.
“Looks like an army from the Great Qian Matriarchal Empire…” Mo Tianyu said. He had come to learn quite a bit after spending quite some time in Wudi City.
“The Great Qian Matriarchal Empire?”
“I heard they’re powerful existence than Du Longyang!”
Nie Changqing sucked in a breath.
Were they starting to make their move?
Nie Changqing knew what Du Longyang and his people were planning. They wanted to slay the Immortals and wanted to join forces with the Young Master to rid the world of its Immortals.
Nie Changqing did not know if they would succeed, but just the thought of it was exciting.
Slaying the Immortals, huh…?
The Immortals had always been lofty existences, and few mortals dared challenge them.
Nie Changqing exhaled slowly. He felt how small he was.
Even the Young Master was planning to slay the Immortals, but he could barely win in a fight against the inner-order disciples of Wudi City.
“Old Mo, I’m making the preparations to challenge the disciple ranked 15th in Wudi City,” Nie Changqing said.
Mo Tianyu’s eyes lit up.
“Then wait for me. Let me tell your fortune with the trigrams,” Mo Tianyu said.
“All right.” Nie Changqing nodded.
Mo Tianyu gripped on to the three copper coins and fished out the tortoiseshell. He flung the copper coins violently, and the tortoiseshell glided over to capture the three copper coins, spinning about rapidly within it.
The ringing sound did not cease.
Mo Tianyu’s Spirit Qi surged, and then the three copper coins floated and spun around like three beams of golden light.
Mo Tianyu extended a hand, and the three coins landed on the back of it.
They were stacked in a pile.
Mo Tianyu squinted and shook his head.
“Old Nie, this divination…is a small blessing. Let’s not challenge him. Let’s keep practicing,” Mo Tianyu said.
“Small blessing? That’s a good sign. What are you so afraid of?”
Nie Changqing put his hand on the Dragon Slaying Knife and smiled.
He strode off, planning to head to Wudi City.
“Don’t.”
“Don’t be fooled by this divination!”
Mo Tianyu stopped Nie Changqing.
“Listen to me. Don’t go!” Mo Tianyu said seriously.
He could not tell him his divinations always foretold the opposite of what would happen, could he? He could not say something like this that would ruin his reputation, so he could only do his best to remind Nie Changqing.
Nie Changqing smiled in the face of a serious Mo Tianyu.
Having Mo Tianyu tell his fortune had been but a formality.
How accurate could his divinations be?
Back then, at Beiluo, not a single one of his divinations had been accurate.
Nie Changqing had never once trusted Mo Tianyu’s divinations.
His opponent this time was an inner-order disciple ranked 15th in the whole of Wudi City, a third-level Golden Elixir being.
Nie Changqing was now in the second section of the Heavenly Lock Realm, and he felt rather confident.
And so Nie Changqing left…
Under the emotional and concerned gaze of Mo Tianyu who had a hand over his own mouth.
He waved a hand and disappeared in the snow.