Chapter 1 The Chess Fanatic, My Name is Gu Ziyuan

Above Jinao Island, colorful clouds filled the sky.

Cranes cried out, and Spiritual Qi transformed into substantial white mist wandering through the mountain ravines.

Treasure light soared from the direction of Biyou Palace; the grand spectacle of ten thousand immortals paying homage was unfolding.

Below the remote Siguo Cliff, however, there was a deathly silence.

Gu Ziyuan wore a washed-out green robe and sat cross-legged on a bluestone.

An ancient stone chessboard was placed in front of him.

He held a black piece in his hand, hesitating to place it.

Occasionally, sword light flashed nearby, bringing bursts of air-piercing momentum.

Several Outer Sect Disciples rode auspicious clouds past Siguo Cliff.

The leader, Zhao Ming, lowered his cloud and stopped mid-air.

"Look, Senior Brother Gu is comprehending his Chess Immortal Great Dao again." Zhao Ming pointed at Gu Ziyuan below and laughed loudly.

Li Qing, beside him, curled his lip.

"Ten thousand years, and this waste is still stuck in the Heavenly Immortal Realm. Any watchdog we pull out from the Outer Sect would have a higher cultivation than him."

"Exactly. A few days ago, Junior Brother Wang just obtained an Acquired Spirit Treasure, and his cultivation directly broke through to True Immortal. Gu Ziyuan, on the other hand, spends all day playing chess with a broken stone."

Zhao Ming intentionally raised his voice.

"Maybe one day he'll ascend to heaven in a single step and prove his Dao to become a Saint! Then we'll have to kneel and beg Saint Gu for protection!"

Laughter echoed above Siguo Cliff.

Gu Ziyuan didn't even lift his head.

His hand holding the black piece remained motionless.

These fools, still complacent even when death is at their doorstep.

The Investiture of the Gods Calamity is about to break out in full.

When that time comes, let alone a Heavenly Immortal, even a Grand Unity Golden Immortal will be reduced to ashes.

Right now, the Jie Sect looks prosperous, like oil on fire, with ten thousand immortals paying homage.

In reality, it's a giant powder keg.

Entangled in Karma, that old man, Sect Leader Tongtian, still talks about teaching without discrimination.

He takes any Tom, Dick, or Harry onto the island.

This isn't recruiting Disciples; it's clearly stockpiling calamity ash.

Once the investiture of the gods comes out, they'll all have to fill the Sea Eye.

The higher they jump now, the faster they'll die.

Reckless cultivation and making friends everywhere will only speed up the rate of being tainted by Karma.

Laying low is the only way out.

As long as one doesn't touch Karma and quietly deduces the world's overall situation, one can always find a sliver of life.

Gu Ziyuan exerted force with two fingers, pressing the black piece heavily onto the star position of the chessboard.

[Ding.]

[Day 3650 of observing the Heaven and Earth Chess Game.]

[Way of Chess comprehension +100.]

[Current Chess Skill: Ninth-Grade Mortal Chess Saint.]

Emotionless notification text flashed in his mind.

A surge of pure Primordial Spirit power flowed through his fingertips into his limbs and bones.

Gu Ziyuan stretched his muscles and bones.

His on-paper Heavenly Immortal Perfection cultivation was merely a disguise he used to fool outsiders.

This Heaven and Earth Board was not an ordinary stone at all.

It was the materialized carrier of the System.

Every piece placed was deducing the heavenly secrets of the Primordial World and analyzing the three thousand Great Daos.

White pieces represented the Yao Court, and black pieces represented the Wu Race.

The piece he just placed happened to cut off the operational trajectory of a Formation eye in the Yao Race's Starry Sky Great Formation.

His current Primordial Spirit strength had long surpassed that of an ordinary Grand Unity Golden Immortal.

Seeing Gu Ziyuan's lack of reaction, Zhao Ming's rage had nowhere to vent.

He descended from his cloud and landed three steps away from Gu Ziyuan.

He pulled a shimmering Flying Sword from his Storage Pouch and deliberately waved it in front of Gu Ziyuan.

"Gu Ziyuan, are you deaf? Your Junior Brothers are talking to you."

Gu Ziyuan pinched a white piece.

"You're blocking the light. Get lost."

Zhao Ming was stunned.

A waste who hadn't progressed an inch in ten thousand years actually dared to tell him to get lost?

He was an Inner Sect Candidate who was about to break through to Profound Immortal.

Zhao Ming stepped forward, raising his hand to flip the stone board.

"Stop acting so aloof! Today, I'll smash this piece of junk of yours and see what you use to pose then!"

Gu Ziyuan stopped his movement.

Three sandbox deductions were instantly completed in his mind.

Directly release Primordial Spirit pressure to crush Zhao Ming?

No, it would expose his strength, attract the attention of the Jie Sect's higher-ups, and involve him in the calamity prematurely—a dead end.

Trap him with a chess Formation?

Too much commotion, likely to attract law enforcement Disciples, leading to endless trouble.

Trigger a sliver of the Heaven and Earth Board's counter-shock force to make him suffer a hidden loss.

This method is good. Reasonable and fair, it can establish authority without exposing his trump cards.

Zhao Ming's palm was half an inch away from the Heaven and Earth Board.

Gu Ziyuan gently placed the white piece on the edge of the chessboard.

Snap.

A crisp sound.

A very faint layer of golden patterns emerged on the surface of the chessboard.

Zhao Ming's palm suddenly froze in mid-air.

A massive force surged back up his arm.

Bang!

Zhao Ming's body was instantly sent airborne, flipping three times in the air before crashing heavily against the rock wall of Siguo Cliff.

Rubble tumbled down.

Dust rose everywhere.

Li Qing was startled and quickly ran over to help Zhao Ming up.

"Senior Brother Zhao! Are you okay?"

Zhao Ming clutched his chest and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

He gasped for air, his legs trembling as he stared fixedly at Gu Ziyuan.

What just happened?

He hadn't seen Gu Ziyuan cast any spell at all.

That power was ancient, vast, and even carried a hint of Heavenly Dao pressure.

Impossible.

Definitely an illusion.

How could a Heavenly Immortal waste possibly hurt him!

It must have been some residual Formation Restriction on Siguo Cliff that was triggered.

"Gu Ziyuan, you dare to plot against me!" Zhao Ming gritted his teeth.

Gu Ziyuan unhurriedly packed away his chess containers.

"The wind on the cliff is strong; Junior Brother Zhao had better be careful when walking. Breaking a leg is a small matter, but if you lose your life, there'll be no one to listen to your reason."

Li Qing swallowed hard, a hint of fear appearing in his eyes as he looked at Gu Ziyuan.

He grabbed Zhao Ming's sleeve.

"Senior Brother, forget it, why bother with a waste. This Siguo Cliff feels strange; let's leave quickly. The Inner Sect Assessment is coming up soon, don't let side issues crop up."

Zhao Ming brushed off Li Qing's hand.

"No! I can't swallow this insult!"

Gu Ziyuan looked up toward the distant sea of clouds.

A faint grey line, invisible to the naked eye, was spreading from the void and wrapping around his wrist.

karmic thread.

His face twitched slightly.

The peaceful days in his deductions were coming to an end.

This small conflict shouldn't be enough to trigger such obvious Karma.

A bigger trouble is approaching.

Zhao Ming pushed Li Qing away and pointed at Gu Ziyuan, cursing loudly.

"Stop playing tricks here! If you have the guts, come to the Martial Arts Arena and fight me! Today, I'll definitely skin you alive!"

Gu Ziyuan exhaled a breath of turbid air.

What a hassle.

Should he find a deserted place and bury these two fools?

Anyway, there are tens of thousands of Outer Sect Disciples; no one would care if one or two went missing.

His fingertip once again gripped a black piece.

The patterns of a Killing Formation were faintly visible at the bottom of the Heaven and Earth Board.

Just as he was about to activate the chess game's Killing Formation.

A mass of sunset clouds suddenly ignited in the sky.

The surrounding temperature rose sharply.

Zhao Ming, who had been shouting, instantly shut his mouth, shrunk his neck, and retreated repeatedly.

Li Qing was so scared his legs went weak, and he knelt directly on the ground.

Red flames burned in the sky.

A fireball tore through the clouds, heading straight for Siguo Cliff.

Before the person arrived, a highly penetrating delicate shout had already crashed down.

"Gu Ziyuan! How much longer are you going to play dead here!"

The wild wind howled.

Several thousand-year-old ancient pines by the cliff were snapped in half.

Upon landing, the fire light dissipated, revealing Bixiao's figure.

She wore a fiery red dress, its hem fluttering loudly in the wind.

Carrying a suffocating sense of pressure.

Gu Ziyuan's hand holding the chess piece paused in mid-air.

Bixiao.

Why did this crazy woman come?

The girl in the red dress landed steadily opposite the Heaven and Earth Board.

She stepped one foot onto the bluestone and leaned forward.

She held a longsword burning with fierce flames.

The tip of the sword pointed directly at the tip of Gu Ziyuan's nose.

The sword tip was only half an inch away from Gu Ziyuan's nose.

The high temperature curled a lock of hair on his forehead.

Gu Ziyuan held a black piece between his fingers, paused in mid-air.

He lifted his eyelids, his gaze passing over the sword's edge to land on Bixiao's face, which was flushed with anger.