Chapter 911 - 635: Sword Master
Chen Sheng nodded lightly.
He had traversed many lifetimes, seldom choosing to explore with companions. Yet now, with his skills high and courage bold, he feared no danger.
After a moment of contemplation, he calmly asked:
"If that is the case, how should the opportunities within the Secret Mansion be distributed? Speak openly, there is no need to hold back."
Saint Master Lingxiao pondered briefly and then readily replied:
"Fellow Daoist, rest assured. Should we succeed in solving this, all opportunities, treasures, and cultivation techniques in the Secret Mansion will be split fifty-fifty between you and me. How does that sound?"
Chen Sheng raised his eyes to Saint Master Lingxiao, his gaze calm and steady, and after a moment, he nodded slightly:
"Alright, as you said, fifty-fifty it is. When do we set off?"
"The longer we delay, the more changes might occur. If you have agreed, then let us set off immediately!"
Saint Master Lingxiao’s eyes flashed with a hint of joy and he promptly rose.
The two wasted no time, moving simultaneously, breaking through the void, and traversing through the spatial crevice towards the Ancestral God Liuxiang’s Secret Mansion.
...
Ancestral God Liuxiang’s Secret Mansion was suspended within a yet-to-be-opened chaotic spatial crevice, surrounded by a myriad of ancient restrictions, flashing with flowing light, dense with Dao patterns, imposing a vast ancient aura, and exuding an oppressive might akin to a slumbering primordial beast.
In the depths of the mansion, an immense boundless cosmic chessboard hovered in the void, without ordinary black and white pieces, only countless flowing patterns intertwined, each pattern madly deducing, circulating incessantly, as if billions of universes were simultaneously being born and destroyed, containing infinite space-time laws and causal loops.
Saint Master Lingxiao gazed at the cosmic chessboard, his expression growing heavier, as he pointed to the board and said to Chen Sheng:
"Fellow Daoist Xu, this is the cosmic chessboard."
"This chessboard requires extremely high comprehension; every move deduces endless space-time branches, transformations of laws, and causal loops, with no margin for error."
"This game has a total of 10,081 endgames, becoming increasingly bizarre as it progresses, with deduction amounts geometrically skyrocketing; one wrong move, and all previous efforts are lost, with no chance for another attempt."
"I have tried several times, each time overwhelmed by the infinite changes within the board, ultimately unable to advance a single step."
Chen Sheng slowly stepped forward, his gaze falling on the board, and as his Divine Thought gently probed, he instantly discerned the vast mysteries within akin to the cosmos.
The laws deduced within the board, the circulation of causality, though complex, were traceable to him.
He spoke not a word, sitting directly before the board, surrounded by Dao rhyme, raising his hand to place a white piece softly on the board.
With this, the match began.
A month passed, the game opened, laws circulated, Chen Sheng calm, placing pieces with deliberation;
𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢
Ten years, the endgame gradually emerged, causality intertwined, he closed his eyes with focused attention, his Heart Spirit immersed;
A hundred years, transformations of the board, space-time distorted, he sat still, responding with composure;
A thousand years, chess paths interwoven, cycles of birth and annihilation, he remained undistracted, deducing endlessly.
On the chessboard, pieces rose and fell like the rotation of the starry river, black and white colors colliding, transforming into the life and death of endless realms, the circulation of sun, moon, and stars.
Every move affected the Heaven and Earth Laws, each match seemed to be deducing the rise and fall of the universe.
Chen Sheng closed his eyes in deep concentration, his Heart Spirit fully immersed in the match, as external time flowed, the world changed, seemingly unrelated to him, for he had only the chessboard.
One game lost, he was neither annoyed nor impatient, reviewed and deduced, discovering flaws;
In the next game, he composed his Heart Spirit anew, placed with ease, strategizing steadily;
Another game, he integrated his understanding, broke through the game, entering a favorable situation.
Upon losing, he reviewed, upon disorder, he restarted, Chen Sheng focused solely on the match, indifferent to gain or loss, merely following the Dao rhyme of the board, deducing, dissecting, breaking the game, integrating his comprehension of the Heaven and Earth Laws into each move placed.
In the blink of an eye, 2,999 games had passed.
On the chessboard, murderous intent gradually appeared, the void warped, causal chaotic currents roiled, formidable chess momentum surged forth.
Saint Master Lingxiao stood by, watching in trepidation, his palm sweating with cold sweat.
He dared not make a sound to disturb, merely watching silently at the side, attentively observing each change on the chessboard.
On the three-thousandth game, Chen Sheng suddenly opened his eyes, a fleeting vision of star river demise flashing in his eyes, surrounded by rapidly increasing Dao rhyme, a boundless and unmatched force erupted from within, merging into the chessboard.
He raised his hand, placed a piece lightly, precisely on the core position of the board.
One move to settle the cosmos.
Boom—
The cosmic chessboard shook violently, a deafening roar echoed through the entire Secret Mansion.
All black and white chess pieces on the board simultaneously rose into the air, transforming into a rain of light that nourished the entire Secret Mansion.
The previously obscure and perilous chess board instantly cleared, Yin and Yang harmonizing, myriad laws converging, as a light portal spanning the heavens slowly opened from the center of the chessboard.
The game was broken!
Saint Master Lingxiao was first stunned, and then his face erupted into uncontrollable joy, his body trembling slightly:
"It’s broken! It’s really broken!!"
Chen Sheng merely rose slowly, his expression indifferent:
"The game is broken, the gate to inheritance has opened, go inside to seize the chance."
"Of course, certainly!"
...
Simultaneously, beyond the Vast Continent, within a dead silent void devoid of causality and where myriad Dao were annihilated.
In this place, time neither came nor went, even years seemed stagnant, without Heaven and Earth Laws, without Spiritual Qi circulation, only boundless darkness and silence.
A few blurred and towering figures sat quietly in the void, the aura emanating from them was exceedingly terrifying, capable of easily crushing a universe and twisting space-time.
Among them, one cradled the Black and White Dual Swords, the sword bodies silent like an ancient cold abyss, without a trace of edge, yet containing endless slaughter Dao principles, enveloped in a faint sword mist, suddenly and without warning opened his eyes.
As his eyes opened for a moment, the void cycled through birth and demise, countless sword patterns blossomed in the void and then vanished as if they had never appeared.
Beside him, a figure clad in dark gold feather armor and bearing wings that stretched a thousand lengths with seven-colored brilliance at the tips sensed something and slowly opened his eyes, the wings’ tips shimmering with prehistoric light:
"What’s the matter, Sword Master? Is there some disturbance?"
The Sword Master slightly lifted the corners of his mouth with a smile, his gaze directed toward the direction of the Vast Continent, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes:
"No problem, no need to be tense. Just an inheritance I once left in the outside world was taken by someone."
"A mere Saint Realm yet possessing such Dao insight, quite a rare and fine seedling indeed."
The ancient feathered god slowly shook his head, the flowing light on the feather armor dimming slightly, his voice carrying an ancient tone, his speech low:
"It is already the end of an era, the great tribulation is approaching, no matter how fine the seedling, if we fail this time, the ’heavens’ will have no more time for them to grow."
Upon hearing this, the Sword Master’s gaze dimmed slightly as he looked toward the endless annihilated void, a complex expression crossed his eyes.
He ultimately let out a sigh:
"Indeed, let us hope... this time, we succeed."