Chapter 1342: A True Immortal's Gambit
Chapter 1342: A True Immortal's Gambit
"The method for using this Myriad Images Yin-Yang Scroll is also quite simple. It acts like a mirror, reflecting the essence of an object onto the blank canvas. Of course, the revelations may be more symbolic than literal. It might require some further interpretation..."
"But in any case, it should be a great deal easier than trying to study this grey chess piece directly," Zhong Daogong explained, his lips moving as he slowly unfurled the blank scroll.
It hovered above their heads, unfurling like a great dragon.
"Go!"
The grey chess piece floated gently toward the Myriad Images Yin-Yang Scroll. The moment it drew near, it vanished from sight. At the same time, the blank scroll began to swirl with color, as if splashed with countless pigments, and a storm of strange, phantasmagorical images began to appear.
It was like a tempest of fusing paints, where different colors intertwined, clashed, separated, and merged anew.
"To be able to analyze an object from the Immortal Realm... could this Myriad Images Yin-Yang Scroll also have come from there?" Li Fan inquired casually, his eyes fixed on the ever-shifting display.
"Not at all," Jian Daosheng replied with a smile, resolving Li Fan's doubt. "This scroll is, without a doubt, an artifact of the lower realms."
"This cultivator's ancestors were once direct disciples of the illustrious Star Dao Sect, a renowned power in the Star Sea. In ancient times, the sect's influence covered several neighboring cultivation worlds. Their wondrous techniques were said to grant them mastery over the Dao of the Star Sea, perhaps even a cut above the Taijia Divine Art you taught us, fellow Daoist."
Li Fan raised an eyebrow. "How did such a magnificent sect fall into ruin?"
"That is a mystery for the ages. Even back then, opinions were divided, and no one knew for certain. Some claim they angered a True Immortal, who brought down celestial punishment. Others say the Star Dao Sect attempted to refine and control the Heavenly Dao of the Star Sea, only to suffer a catastrophic backlash..."
"Whatever the reason, it was as if the sect's upper echelons and core members all vanished overnight. The lower-ranking disciples, left in a state of confusion, waited a short while before realizing the situation was hopeless. They scattered to the four winds, not forgetting to plunder every valuable item they could carry on their way out."
"In less than a month, that great sect, at the zenith of its power in the Star Sea, simply disintegrated," Jian Daosheng recounted with a touch of melancholy.
"This Myriad Images Yin-Yang Scroll was one of the treasures of the Star Dao Sect. It is said that the Star Communion Hall, where their cultivators connected with and comprehended the Star Sea's Heavenly Dao, was filled with such scrolls."
"Each time the Star Sea's Heavenly Dao interacted with a cultivator, it was like an invisible brush leaving its mark upon a scroll. Over time, these scrolls came to hold an imprint of the Heavenly Dao itself."
...
At this point, Li Fan couldn't help but interrupt, "Even if it's an imprint of the Star Sea's Heavenly Dao, how can it reveal the nature of an object from the upper realm?"
Though he feigned ignorance, Li Fan already knew the answer in his heart.
Zhong Daogong chuckled. "The Star Sea, the lower realms... they are the cornerstone of all things."
"They are where the projections of the Great Dao ultimately manifest. The Immortal Realm, for all its loftiness, is not a castle built in the air. By looking from the bottom up, one may not glimpse its true face, but one can perceive the shadow of its Dao."
Upon hearing this, Li Fan feigned a look of profound shock, as if hearing this theory for the first time, and fell into deep thought.
The transformation on the Myriad Images Yin-Yang Scroll continued.
An invisible immortal seemed to be painting with bold, fluid strokes, the brush dancing like a dragon.
Finally, the storm of color settled into a single image, and all became calm.
Li Fan gazed at the painting above, his pupils shrinking slightly.
It was not a photorealistic depiction but a rather abstract, expressive piece that captured the essence of a scene.
A towering figure, occupying nearly half the frame, looked down from on high.
Its face was indistinct, its long arms outstretched.
Below the figure, there seemed to be a chessboard.
But the pieces laid out upon it were not grey stones.
They were distinct and different cultivation worlds.
They appeared as mere clusters of blended colors, yet when one tried to peer deeper, images of countless different beings flooded the mind.
They lived, aged, sickened, and died within their worlds, cultivating and clashing.
The stories of these beings, together with their worlds, constituted a single piece on the board.
Rumble...
After displaying the scene for a few breaths, the Myriad Images Yin-Yang Scroll suddenly began to flutter violently, as if caught in a gale.
Even the pigments on the canvas were swept up in the storm.
The image gradually disintegrated.
The grey chess piece slowly emerged from the painting.
"The scroll's analysis has reached its limit," Zhong Daogong said gravely. He and the other elders then solemnly rolled up the Yin-Yang Scroll.
Afterward, they stared at the grey chess piece floating silently in the air, falling into an eerie silence.
"If I'm not mistaken, this grey chess piece is a cultivation world after all life has been extinguished and all things have withered. And that towering figure... must be a True Immortal from the upper realm?" It was Li Fan who spoke first, breaking the silence.
No one answered.
After a long moment, Elder Jian Daosheng shook his head, offering his own perspective. "Though the scroll's analysis points to the essence of the matter, it is rarely so straightforward."
"Inside the Medicine King Cauldron, there is practically a self-contained world. It can generate its own spiritual energy, nurture herbs and spirit plants..."
"How could a world devoid of all life accomplish that?"
Zhong Daogong concurred. "Indeed. I believe that this world, represented as a chess piece, does not signify death. Rather, it is a piece that has lost its purpose on the board, a discarded piece that has fulfilled its mission."
As he spoke, he gestured, illustrating a board with intersecting lines. Black and white pieces were played one after another, until a group of black pieces surrounded and captured a cluster of white ones.
These captured white pieces were removed from the board, with no chance of returning.
They turned grey, no longer participating in the contest between black and white.
"Elder Zhong's explanation seems more plausible." The exchanges between the Immortal Boat elders were rarely filled with intrigue; they tended to speak their minds.
Zhong Daogong's interpretation of the image on the scroll won the approval of the vast majority of the elders.
"A True Immortal plays chess, with worlds as pieces descending into the lower realms."
"If that's the case, what is the purpose of this game? And is there a final winner?"
With that, an even greater enigma took root in their hearts.
"Let's not delve too deeply into matters concerning True Immortals for now. What we know is that this grey chess piece is likely a world refined into an artifact by a True Immortal's hand. Even without the infusion of immortal spiritual energy, it can be considered a half-immortal artifact."
"And it's part of a complete set. If a grey piece, one that's already out of the game, possesses such miraculous properties, it's hard to imagine what the black and white pieces still on the board must be like!" Lu Yuzhi remarked, his voice filled with yearning.
"Heh, don't forget, the Immortal Realm has already been shattered. Even the player might have perished, let alone the pieces on the board. They probably vanished along with the Immortal Realm. It's these grey pieces, which left the game early, that managed to survive as artifacts by a stroke of luck."
...
The Immortal Boat elders debated animatedly.
After half a day of discussion, they reached a preliminary consensus.
Since its essence was a world, they would refine it using methods for refining worlds.
The elders nominated five among them, including Jian Daosheng and Zhong Daogong, to merge their consciousnesses and refine it together.
Li Fan was not among the five.
To avoid any offense, the elders made a point of explaining their reasoning to him.
Although Li Fan had earned their trust, he had been with the Immortal Boat for a relatively short time. The most crucial reason, however, was that his "great limit was approaching."
If he participated now, he would pass away in less than twenty years, forcing them to re-refine the artifact all over again.
It would be a delay.
...
Li Fan waved his hand, his expression nonchalant.
He stared intently at the grey chess piece being refined by the group.
"This object is a contingency left by Sun Piao Miao. If anything unusual happens during the refining process, it means he is still alive..." Li Fan mused inwardly.
But he was disappointed.
The elders' refining process was surprisingly smooth.
Soon, the refined piece seemed to lose some of its greyish hue.
However, the color did not fade completely.
"Is Sun Piao Miao truly dead?"
The question flashed through his mind, but Li Fan suppressed it for the moment and asked Zhong Daogong and the others about their experience.
"Marvelous! The Heavenly Dao of a world, once orderly and majestic, feels as though it has been hammered and reforged. Such a method is truly divine, absolutely divine!"
"It's not just forged into a single form. It has been forged with hundreds of possible future states. After refining it, we can manipulate it, allowing it to freely transform between these states..."
"Ah, but these transformations seem to require a vast amount of energy. Spirit qi is not enough to support it."
"I tried, but even the power of the True Immortal Scripts is insufficient," Nangong Lie added, his tone tinged with regret.
Like children with a fascinating new toy, the Immortal Boat elders began to study the grey chess piece with joyous fervor.
"Acquiring this artifact is of monumental significance to our Immortal Boat!"
"Perhaps for a long time to come, our resource problems will be greatly alleviated!"
"To think such a priceless treasure was hidden deep within our vaults all this time! If not for Brother Li's reminder, who knows how much longer it would have remained forgotten!"
Amidst a mix of delight and chagrin, the elders once again changed the form of the grey chess piece.
It was no longer the Medicine King Cauldron, capable of nurturing spirit plants.
Instead, it took on a form most suitable for the current needs of the Immortal Boat.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
It was as if a series of invisible, heavy hammers were striking the grey chess piece.
The once small object began to unfold its spatial structure.
It spread out, covering the exterior of the Immortal Boat.
Before Li Fan's eyes, the Immortal Boat seemed to grow a tough, gray carapace.
This new layer not only served as protection.
It could also provide a continuous supply of spiritual energy and resources to the interior of the boat.
"Clad in the protective shell of a world, our Immortal Boat's defensive capabilities have more than doubled. Even its stability has seen a qualitative leap."
"We no longer have to worry that the stray power from a single True Immortal Script could bring about our doom!"
"The millennia of life force accumulated within the grey chess piece has now been fully transferred to the Divine Tree."
"The effect is remarkable! Barring any special circumstances, the Divine Tree won't need to feed for at least a century."
...
The elders of the Immortal Boat were all beaming with joy.
Just then, Li Fan's voice cut through the air, cold as ice. "Gentlemen, with such a great harvest, you're not thinking of abandoning your plans to cross the High Wall, are you?"
The lively atmosphere instantly chilled.
The elders instinctively avoided Li Fan's gaze.
Finally, it was Zhong Daogong who stepped forward to appease him. "You need not worry."
"Crossing the High Wall is a strategy we decided on long ago. It will not change simply because our resources are now abundant. You can rest assured on that point."
"However..."
"The more preparations, the better. Based on the resonance between these grey chess pieces, there are at least eleven others like it in the Darkest Star Sea."
"Just one has brought about such a world-altering change for our Immortal Boat. If we could gather the entire set..." Zhong Daogong's eyes gleamed.
"What do you think, fellow Daoist? By then, we might not need any other assistance. With layers of worlds protecting us, we could simply crash right through the High Wall!"
"Moreover, the resonance gives us a clear direction. At our speed, even if we have to traverse the entire Star Sea, it would take no more than three years at most. And traveling will not interfere with our other preparations..."
Zhong Daogong's explanation was perfectly reasonable.
Li Fan pondered for a moment before giving a slight nod, indicating his approval.
The somewhat tense atmosphere finally returned to normal.
"In that case, let's not delay. We should set out at once."
"I am also quite curious to see what will happen when this entire set of grey chess pieces is assembled," Li Fan said calmly.
The elders exchanged glances, then held a brief council.
They first reached a consensus: "The Mysterious Immortal Boat itself definitely cannot be moved lightly."
"Indeed. The hull's current strength is still insufficient to withstand the pressure beneath the High Wall."
"And collecting the grey chess pieces doesn't require all of us to go. That would be cumbersome. It would be far more convenient for us to go alone or in small groups."
"We can use the resonance to command and guide from here. The others can disperse to various parts of the Star Sea to collect the pieces."
"That should be more efficient."
"We should travel in groups of at least three, to prevent any accidents."
"There are seven or eight pieces not far from our current location, seemingly near the Realm Fragment Great Wall. Let's collect those first."
...
During the elders' discussion, Li Fan spoke up in a deep voice, "I can also contribute. With my escape arts, even crossing the Star Sea would take but a day."
This time, the Immortal Boat elders had no reason to refuse Li Fan's proposal.
A preliminary decision was reached. The first mission to retrieve the grey chess pieces would be undertaken by Li Fan, Nangong Lie, Lu Yuzhi, and another elder from the Dao Proving Academy named Xu Gongding.
"First, scout the situation. If you encounter any danger, your personal safety is the top priority," Zhong Daogong instructed before their departure.
(End of Chapter)
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