Chapter 1342: The Immortal Chess Game
"The method of using this [Universal Yin-Yang Diagram] is also simple. It is like a mirror, which can show the essence of things on a blank scroll. Of course, it may not be so straightforward. Perhaps it requires further understanding..."
"But no matter what, it is much easier than studying this grey chess piece directly." Zhong Daogong said this, opening and closing his lips, slowly unfolding the blank scroll.
Like a long dragon, floating above everyone's heads.
"go!"
The gray chess piece slowly flew towards the Yin-Yang diagram. At a certain moment when it approached, it disappeared from everyone's sight. On the blank scroll, as if various pigments were dripped, strange and bizarre pictures began to appear.
It is like a storm of pigments, with different colors interweaving, colliding and separating.
"It can analyze things from the fairyland. Could it be that this Yin-Yang diagram of all things also comes from the fairyland?" Li Fan asked casually as he watched the constant changes on the scroll.
"No, no. This map of all things is indeed a thing from the lower world." Jian Daosheng smiled and answered Li Fan's doubts.
"This map was taken from a down-and-out cultivator by the Xuan Shang Immortal Boat."
"The ancestor of this cultivator was originally a direct disciple of the famous [Xingdao Sect] in the Star Sea. In ancient times, the power of the Xingdao Sect covered several neighboring immortal cultivation worlds. The sect's magic is said to be able to control the way of the Star Sea, which is even better than the Taijia magic that Daoyou taught us."
Li Fan raised his eyebrows: "How could such a great sect fall into decline?"
"This is an eternal mystery. Not to mention now, even back then there were many different opinions and no accurate answer. Some said that it angered the True Immortals of the Upper Realm, who punished them. Others said that it was the Xing Dao Sect that attempted to refine and control the Heavenly Dao of the Star Sea, but was eventually backfired by the Star Sea..."
"In short, for some unknown reason, the high-ranking officials and pillars of Xinghai Sect all disappeared overnight. The remaining lower-level disciples who didn't understand the situation, after waiting for a while and finding that the situation seemed to be completely irreversible, fled like birds and beasts. Before leaving, they did not forget to snatch everything they could take away from the sect."
"In just one month, this great sect that was once so famous in the starry sea collapsed just like that." Jian Daosheng said with a sigh.
"This Yin-Yang Diagram of All Things is a treasure of the Xing Dao Sect back then. It is said that the Xing Dao Sect's Tongxing Hall, where the Xing Dao Sect's monks used to connect and comprehend the way of the sea of stars and heaven, is full of such Yin-Yang Diagrams of All Things."
"Every time the Starry Sea Heavenly Dao comes into contact with the cultivators, it is like an invisible ink pen, leaving traces on the scrolls. Over time, these scrolls will also copy the Starry Sea Heavenly Dao into them."
…
Hearing this, Li Fan couldn't help but interrupt: "Even if it is the engraved portrait of Xinghai Tiandao, how can it show things from the upper realm?"
Although he pretended not to know when asking this question, Li Fan actually already had the answer in his mind.
Zhong Daogong smiled and said, "The sea of stars and the lower world are the foundation of all things."
"The place where the projection of the Great Dao finally manifests. Even though the Immortal Realm is high up, it is not a castle in the air. From the bottom up, although we cannot see its true face, we can still see the shadow of the Dao."
When Li Fan heard this, he seemed to be exposed to this theory for the first time. He was shocked and fell into deep thought.
The evolution of the Yin-Yang diagram of all things continues.
Just like an invisible immortal, he splashes ink and writes with his brush.
Eventually the storm of colors settled on one picture, and everything became calm.
Li Fan looked at the picture above his head and his pupils shrank slightly.
It is not a realistic style with every detail, but a rather abstract freehand style with rough outlines.
The tall figure occupies nearly half of the picture, looking down from above.
I couldn't see his face clearly, but he stretched out his long arms.
There seemed to be a chessboard placed below the figure.
The chess pieces displayed on the chessboard are not gray.
But they are a completely different world of cultivating immortals.
Those seemed to be just clumps of colors mixed together, but when I tried to take a peek, images of countless different creatures emerged in my mind.
They are born, grow old, get sick, die, practice, and fight in this world.
The stories of living beings, together with the world of immortal cultivation itself, create a chess piece on the chessboard.
boom……
After being displayed in front of everyone for a few breaths, the Yin-Yang Diagram of All Things suddenly seemed to be blown by a strong wind, and the scroll itself swayed violently.
Even the paint on the canvas was swept away by the storm.
The picture gradually disintegrated.
The gray chess piece also slowly withdrew from the painting.
"The deconstruction of the Yin-Yang Universal Diagram has reached its limit." Zhong Daogong said in a deep voice, and together with a group of elders, he solemnly put away the Yin-Yang Universal Diagram.
Afterwards, they looked at the gray chess pieces floating quietly in the air and fell into an eerie silence.
"If my understanding is correct, this grey chess piece seems to be the world of immortal cultivation after all living things have become extinct and withered? That tall figure should be the true immortal from the upper realm?" Li Fan was the first to speak.
No one responded.
After a long while, Elder Daosheng shook his head and expressed his own opinion: "Although the analysis of the Wanxiangtu directly points to the essence of the matter, it is not so superficial."
"The Medicine King Cauldron is almost a world of its own. It can spontaneously generate spiritual energy and cultivate medicinal herbs and spiritual plants..."
"How could a world devoid of life possibly do this?"
Zhong Daogong agreed, "That's right. I think this concrete or actual world of chess pieces does not represent death. Rather, it refers to the discarded pieces that have lost their function on the chessboard and have completed their mission."
As he said this, black and white chess pieces fell one after another, with crisscrossing lines. Then the black pieces surrounded and captured a group of white pieces.
These captured white pieces left the chessboard and never had a chance to return.
Transformed into gray, no longer participating in the competition between black and white chess pieces.
"Elder Zhong's explanation seems to make more sense." The communication between the elders of Xianzhou was not full of intrigue, and they often just said what they thought.
Zhong Daogong's deconstruction of the picture of Vientiane won the approval of the vast majority of the elders.
"The True Immortals play chess, and they descend to the mortal world like pieces."
"If this is true, what is the purpose of setting up this chess game? And is there a final winner?"
Subsequently, a bigger mystery arose in everyone's mind.
"For now, there is no need to delve into matters involving the True Immortal level. Now we know that this gray chess piece is probably an artifact formed by a True Immortal who sacrificed the world. Even without the blessing of immortal power, it can be considered half an immortal artifact."
"It's a complete set. The gray chess pieces that have lost the qualification to compete are so magical. It's hard to imagine what the world of black and white twins that are still on the chessboard will look like!" Lu Yuzhi said with fascination.
"Haha, don't forget, the fairyland has long been destroyed. Even the chess players may have perished, not to mention those on the chessboard. They may have disappeared along with the fairyland. Instead, these gray chess pieces that left the chessboard earlier were able to survive by chance in the form of artifacts."
…
The elders of Xianzhou were discussing the matter.
After half a day of discussion, we finally reached a preliminary consensus.
Since the essence is the world, we should refine it using the same method as we treat the world.
The elders nominated Jian Daosheng, Zhong Daogong and other five people to divide their minds and integrate them to refine together.
Among the five people, Li Fan was not included.
In order to avoid causing Li Fan displeasure, the elders of Xianzhou made a special explanation.
Although Li Fan has gained the trust of the elders, he has only been in the Immortal Boat for a short time. The most important reason is that his "death sentence is approaching."
If we let him participate in it now, the ritual will have to be performed again after he dies in less than twenty years.
etc.
…
Li Fan waved his hand with an indifferent expression.
Staring straight at the gray chess piece that was being refined by everyone in the field.
"This thing is a secret weapon left by Sun Piaomiao. If anything abnormal happens during the refining process, it means that Sun Piaomiao is still alive in this world..." Li Fan thought to himself.
But he was disappointed.
The refining process of the Xianzhou elders went surprisingly smoothly.
Soon, the gray color on the refined chess piece seemed to fade a little.
But the gray was never completely removed.
"Has Sun Piaomiao really fallen?"
A doubt flashed through his mind, but Li Fan suppressed it for the time being and asked Zhong Daogong and others about their feelings.
"Wonderful. The originally orderly and solemn laws of the world seem to have been hammered and reforged. This method is incredible, incredible!"
"It's not just one form that has been forged. It has even forged hundreds of possible futures. After refining it, it can be manipulated and transformed into these forms at will..."
"Well, this kind of transformation should require a lot of energy. Even spiritual energy is not enough to support it."
"I tried it, but the power of the True Immortal Seal Characters didn't work." Nangong Lie's tone was full of regret.
As if they had obtained a new treasure, the elders of Xianzhou were extremely delighted and studied the gray chess piece.
"Obtaining this item is of great significance to our Immortal Boat!"
“Perhaps our resource problems will be greatly alleviated for a long time to come!”
"Oh, such a valuable treasure has been hidden deep in our Xianzhou treasure house. If it weren't for Brother Li's reminder, we really don't know how long it would have been buried!"
The elders of the Immortal Boat were filled with a mixture of joy and annoyance, and finally changed the shape of the gray chess piece.
It is no longer the Medicine King Cauldron that can cultivate spiritual plants.
But it is the most suitable appearance for the current fairy boat.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
It was like a bunch of virtual hammers hitting the gray chess pieces.
This originally small object gradually unfolds in the spatial structure.
Directly cover the shell of the fairy boat.
Under Li Fan's gaze, the fairy boat seemed to grow and be covered with a layer of gray hard keratin.
These cuticles not only play a protective role.
It can also provide a steady supply of spiritual energy and resources to the fairy boat.
"After being covered with a protective shell of the world, the protection capability of our immortal boat has increased by more than double. Even the stability has been qualitatively improved."
"No need to worry anymore. The original power of any True Immortal Seal Character can cause a devastating disaster to the Immortal Boat if it spreads!"
"The vitality accumulated in the gray chess piece for ten thousand years has now been transferred to the sacred tree by us."
"The effect is very significant! At least within a hundred years, unless there are special circumstances, the sacred tree will no longer need to absorb food."
…
All the elders of Xianzhou were smiling happily.
At this time, Li Fan suddenly said coldly: "Everyone, this harvest is so great, you won't give up the plan to cross the high wall?"
The extremely lively scene suddenly became deserted.
The elders subconsciously avoided Li Fan's gaze.
In the end, Zhong Daogong came out to comfort her, saying, "You don't have to worry too much."
"Crossing the high wall is a strategy we have decided long ago. It will not change just because of the abundance of supplies. You can rest assured about this."
"but……"
"Of course, the more preparations the better. According to the induction between these gray chess pieces, there are at least eleven more of the same kind in the Darkest Star Sea."
"Just one of them has brought about earth-shaking changes to our fairy boat. If we gather all the chess pieces..." Zhong Daogong's eyes sparkled.
"What do you think, fellow Daoist? By then, I'm afraid we won't need any other help. We can break through the high wall with just the layers of protection on the surface!"
"Moreover, the direction pointed by the sensor room is very clear. At our speed, even if we travel across the entire star sea, it will not take more than three years at most. At the same time, the journey will not affect our other preparations..."
Zhong Daogong's explanation was reasonable.
After Li Fan pondered for a moment, he nodded slightly, agreeing with what he said.
The atmosphere, which was originally a little strange, finally became normal again.
"In that case, let's set off without further delay."
"I am also very curious about what will happen after I collect this set of gray chess pieces." Li Fan said lightly.
The elders looked at each other and then held a simple discussion meeting.
First, they reached a consensus: "The Xuanxian Boat must not be moved easily."
"Yes, the current strength of the boat is not enough to withstand the pressure from the high wall."
"Collecting the gray pieces doesn't require us to go all out. On the contrary, it would be a burden. It's far less convenient than going it alone."
"Rely on induction, take command and provide guidance. The others will disperse to various parts of the starry sea to collect gray chess pieces."
“This should be more efficient.”
"At least three people form a group to prevent any accidents."
"There are seven or eight of them. They are not far from where we are now. They seem to be where the Great Wall of the Remaining World is. Let's finish collecting the ones there first."
…
As the elders discussed, Li Fan said in a deep voice: "I can also do my best. With the help of the escape technique, even crossing the sea of stars will only take a day."
This time, the elders of Xianzhou had no reason to reject Li Fan’s proposal.
A preliminary result was reached after the discussion. The first task of recovering the grey chess pieces would be undertaken by Li Fan, Nangong Lie, Lu Yuzhi, and four elders of the Zhengdao Academy named Xu Gongding.
"Find out the situation first. If you encounter any danger, protecting yourself is the first priority." Before leaving, Zhong Daogong reminded.
(End of this chapter)
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