Chapter 82

The cultivator who had spoken earlier smiled slightly, "Interesting, let me give it a try."

He leaped forward, approaching the stone wall, and with his spiritual energy, he forcefully placed a piece on the chessboard.

Buzz!

The piece landed!

On the chessboard, a piece also spontaneously formed, and after an unknown number of years, they began to play across time.

However, after just three moves, the cultivator's confidence turned to confusion, his eyes turned red, and his spiritual energy began to fluctuate wildly.

"Spit!"

He spat out a mouthful of blood, took five steps back, and his eyes instantly lost their light, a sign that his Dao heart had been severely damaged.

"Dao heart test?!"

Everyone's faces changed, and they all looked at Elder Qingyang with unfriendly expressions, "Elder Qingyang, you didn't mention that this was a Dao heart test."

Elder Qingyang frowned and said, "Since it's a secret realm, how could the entrance test be simple? Do I need to explain this to you?"

No one spoke, maintaining a facade of harmony while harboring ulterior motives.

In the secret realm, anything could happen, and only the one who obtained the final opportunity would be the true winner. Preserving strength and reaping the benefits was the best strategy.

The essence of cultivation was summed up in one phrase: "Let the Dao friend die, not the poor Daoist!"

For a moment, no one stepped forward, and the scene became a stalemate.

At this moment, a hoarse voice laughed coldly, "Tianyan Daoist, if you don't make a move, this secret realm will never be opened!"

Tianyan Daoist?

Everyone was slightly taken aback and followed the speaker's gaze to a black-robed old man.

This old man had a goatee, with half-black and half-white hair and beard, a gaunt face, and had been standing at the back of the group without speaking.

Lin Mufeng also turned his head in surprise, "Tianyan Daoist, is he the chess fanatic?"

"I didn't expect Elder Qingyang to invite him as well," Old Sun was also extremely surprised.

Tianyan Daoist was famous for his obsession with chess, almost dedicating his life to it.

It was said that his talent was unparalleled, and he achieved the Great Success of the Yuan婴 stage at just forty years old. However, after that, he seemed to be possessed by some kind of madness, becoming obsessed with chess. Not only did he stop cultivating, but his cultivation also regressed, becoming a laughingstock, to the point where his sect almost expelled him!

At the time, this incident caused a great stir, and the world of cultivators, which had few gossips, suddenly had a peculiar figure, making Tianyan Daoist a well-known figure.

Now, over four hundred years later, Tianyan Daoist's name had gradually been forgotten, and no one expected it to be mentioned again today, let alone to see him in person.

Lin Mufeng curiously extended his divine sense and was immediately surprised, "Hmm? Early Out-of-the-Corporeal stage? Could he have broken through to the Separate Spirit stage by relying on chess?"

"There's a possibility, after all, the path of geniuses is usually different from that of ordinary people," Old Sun nodded, "If it's him, this secret realm's entrance might really be opened."

Tianyan Daoist did not speak; he just stared at the chessboard, slowly approaching the stone wall, his eyes never leaving it.

It seemed that nothing in this world could interest him except for the chessboard.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, he raised his hand and forcefully placed a piece on the chessboard.

Buzz!

The light on the stone wall became even more brilliant, as if it had been waiting for years to finally meet its match.

"There's a chance!" Old Sun's eyes lit up, "It looks like someone is helping to carry the sedan chair."

"You're wrong," Lin Mufeng shook his head and sighed, "There's only one solution to this chessboard. One wrong move, and the whole game is lost! It will only get deeper and deeper!"

Old Sun looked at Lin Mufeng in surprise, "Old Lin, I didn't know you? Don't pretend to know what you don't."

"I naturally don't understand, but I have a great person behind me!" Lin Mufeng said calmly, "I've seen this chessboard before with the great person and was fortunate enough to learn the solution."

Old Sun's pupils dilated in disbelief, "Is this true?"

"Of course it's true," Lin Mufeng nodded, then shook his head with a bitter smile, "According to what I know, this chessboard is just the most basic one for the great person, seemingly used for beginners to learn."

"Basic... basic chessboard?"

Old Sun's hair stood on end, utterly shocked.

If this is just a basic chessboard, what would a high-level chessboard be like? How astonishing would it be?

Then, he suddenly thought of a possibility and his face turned pale with fear, almost trembling as he spoke, "Wait! You said you saw it with the great person, could it be a coincidence? Or... did the great person intentionally show it to you?"

Lin Mufeng's face was filled with reverence, and he said solemnly, "It's probably not a coincidence. The great person likely knew that the chessboard in this secret realm could not be solved by our generation of cultivators, so they specifically gave me a hint!"

No mistake!

This is true no mistake!

Old Sun felt his heart constrict, his scalp tingle, as if there were eyes in the void watching him, and an invisible hand was guiding everything.

Lin Mufeng and Old Sun looked at each other, seeing the intense reverence in each other's eyes.

The words were on the tip of their tongues, but they couldn't bring themselves to say them.

Using the world as a chessboard, and all beings as pieces!

This is the realm of the great person!

Every experience they had only made them realize more and more that the realm of the great person was like a towering mountain, with no end in sight!

Unimaginable, unpredictable!

Lin Mufeng couldn't help but look at Tianyan Daoist, his tone complex, "There are myriad paths to the Dao, and no one knows which is right and which is wrong. Chess Dao, Chess Dao..."

"I don't know which path is right, but I know that following the great person is never wrong," Old Sun looked at Lin Mufeng with envy, "If you don't want to be the great person's piece, why don't you let me take your place?"

"You?" Lin Mufeng glanced at Old Sun and smiled proudly, "Do you deserve it?"

At this moment, Tianyan Daoist's face had turned extremely pale, and large beads of sweat were falling like rain. Finally, his whole body trembled, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

"I was wrong, where did I go wrong?" His eyes were filled with confusion and madness, staring intently at the chessboard, his Dao heart almost at the brink of collapse.

"Ah, let me try."

Lin Mufeng stepped forward to support Tianyan Daoist, raised his hand, and forcefully placed a piece on the chessboard. The moment the piece landed, the entire chessboard changed, as if the game had come to life.

With just this move, the outcome seemed predetermined. The stone wall did not place another piece but instead, the entire chessboard disappeared, and with a "rumble," the stone wall began to slowly rise!