Chapter 8 Welcome to My Chess Game

"Zhenlong Chess Game, please enter the trap!"

Eight words, like a heavenly decree, boomed within the Primordial Spirit of Long-eared Dingguang Immortal.

The moment the words fell, the world before his eyes changed.

Siguo Cliff, Bixiao, those terrified Outer Sect Disciples... everything receded like a tide in an instant.

In its place was a boundless, silent space of only black and white.

The sky was a chessboard, and the earth was a chessboard as well.

Countless black and white chess pieces, as massive as mountains, floated quietly in the Void Realm, emitting an aura that was cold, silent, yet contained endless killing intent.

He had been pulled into a separate dimension outside the Honghuang World!

"Is this... a Formation?!" Long-eared Dingguang Immortal's heart shook violently, and he immediately activated his Primordial Spirit, attempting to see through the reality of this world.

However, as soon as his Divine Thought left his body, it was ruthlessly suppressed by an invisible and indestructible force of rules.

That feeling was like an ant trying to shake the entire firmament.

The vast, sea-like magic power of the Taiyi Golden Immortal Realm circulating within his body actually became incredibly sluggish, as if stuck in a ten-thousand-year swamp. His full power was suppressed until less than ten percent remained!

"Welcome to my chess game."

Gu Ziyuan's voice, devoid of any emotion, came from all directions, as if it were the will of the Heavenly Dao of this world.

"Here, time, space, and Laws are all determined by me."

"Your life and death are also decided by where I place my pieces."

Long-eared Dingguang Immortal looked up abruptly but could not see Gu Ziyuan's figure. Only that cold voice remained, constantly striking his nearly collapsing Dao Heart.

"Cowardly rat hiding your head! Get out here for this seat!"

He roared, forcibly suppressing the fear in his heart. The dignity of a Taiyi Golden Immortal did not allow him to wait for death with tied hands.

"This seat is one of the Seven Attendant Immortals under the Saint Tongtian! How can I allow a demon like you to be so insolent!"

Boom!

He summoned his innate Divine Ability—the Dingguang Divine Needle!

In an instant, billions of brilliant golden lights erupted from his body, turning into indestructible divine needles that shot in all directions, covering the sky and earth in an attempt to tear this false world to pieces.

Each divine needle contained the sharpness of the Law of Gengjin, enough to easily pierce through an ancient divine mountain!

However, facing this world-destroying strike, that high and mighty voice did not waver in the slightest.

"Foolish."

As those two words fell.

Above the firmament, among the countless floating chess pieces, nine massive black pieces moved.

They were like nine black stars falling from beyond the heavens, carrying a terrifying momentum that could crush everything as they smashed down silently.

There was no earth-shattering roar, and no dazzling light from Law collisions.

The billions of Gengjin Divine Needles, the moment they touched the black chess pieces, melted and disintegrated silently like snow under sunlight, turning into the most primitive energy and being completely swallowed by the pieces.

It was total destruction!

Poof—!

His Divine Ability was broken, and his internal energy recoiled. Long-eared Dingguang Immortal spat out a spray of blood, his face instantly becoming as pale as paper.

The anger and pride in his eyes were finally completely replaced by an emotion called 'fear.'

"What... what kind of ghost thing is this?!"

He was afraid.

He, a dignified Taiyi Golden Immortal, had his strike of fury resolved so effortlessly by the opponent.

This was no longer a gap in cultivation, but a crushing defeat at the level of existence!

Meanwhile, the System panel that only Gu Ziyuan could see was clearly listing cold data.

[Target: Long-eared Dingguang Immortal]

[Race: Jade Rabbit (Innate Exotic Species)]

[Cultivation: Early Stage Taiyi Golden Immortal (Suppressed to Early Stage Profound Immortal level by 'Zhenlong Chess Game')]

[Current Status: Unstable Dao Heart, surging blood and Qi, magic power draining...]

[Magic Power Consumption Rate: 378/sec (Consumption rate increased due to intense emotional fluctuations)]

[Chess Game Solution: None (Unless the attack intensity exceeds the array master by one major Realm, or 361 Formation nodes are broken simultaneously within three breaths)]

[System Comment: A rabbit that hasn't figured out the situation yet; it is recommended to increase the voltage.]

Gu Ziyuan's Primordial Spirit perspective hung high above the chess game, coldly watching the tiny, terrified figure crashing around within the board, like watching a prey that had fallen into a trap.

"Escape!"

This was the only thought in Long-eared Dingguang Immortal's mind.

He turned into a golden light, fleeing frantically in one direction.

But after flying for a full incense stick's time, feeling as if he had crossed hundreds of millions of miles, he looked back and found himself still at the original spot where the nine black chess pieces had fallen, never having moved an inch!

Space was infinite here!

"I don't believe it! Break for me!"

Long-eared Dingguang Immortal had gone completely mad. He no longer fled, but instead frantically attacked the 'boundaries' of this world.

He burned his essence blood, activated his magic power, and smashed Acquired Spirit Treasures one by one into the void, trying to forcibly break an opening.

However, all attacks were like a stone dropped into the ocean, vanishing without a trace.

Immediately afterward, a force several times stronger than his attack suddenly rebounded from the spot he had struck!

Boom!

Unable to dodge in time, Long-eared Dingguang Immortal was struck hard in the chest by his own power. He flew backward like a kite with a broken string, the sound of shattering bones clearly audible, and blood stained his long robe red.

"Energy is conserved here."

Gu Ziyuan's emotionless voice rang out again, as if explaining the most basic physical rules to an ignorant child.

"Every bit of force you exert will become a sturdier part of this cage."

Poof..."

Long-eared Dingguang Immortal spat out another mouthful of blood, this time from pure rage.

He couldn't break it, couldn't escape, and even his magic power was being frantically drained by this bizarre space!

He fell into complete despair.

He lifted his head, his handsome face now covered in blood, no longer possessing any immortal grace. He pleaded hoarsely, "Gu... Junior Brother Gu! I was wrong! I admit defeat!"

"I'll give you the immortal binding ring! I'll give you all the Magic Treasures on my person! Please... I beg you to let me out!"

He began to beg for mercy.

However, what responded to him was an even colder sentence.

"Too late."

"The chess game has begun; there are no regrets once a piece is placed."

"From the moment you intended to kill me and overturned the chessboard, the only stake in this gamble was your life."

The voice fell.

Above the firmament, another eighty-one white chess pieces lit up.

They were like an inescapable net, slowly descending with an awe-inspiring killing intent to purify and strangle everything, completely enveloping Long-eared Dingguang Immortal's last sliver of life!

...

Outside the chess game, on Siguo Cliff.

Bixiao and all the Outer Sect Disciples could only see the front enveloped by a mass of chaotic thick fog. No matter how they activated their Divine Thoughts, they couldn't penetrate it in the slightest.

Time passed, breath by breath.

That thick fog was terrifyingly quiet.

What exactly was happening inside?

What was the result of Long-eared Dingguang Immortal's world-destroying palm strike?

Was Gu Ziyuan alive or dead?

Everyone's hearts were in their throats.

Zhao Ming and Li Qing were trembling even more, constantly praying in their hearts that Long-eared Dingguang Immortal could completely crush that malevolent star, Gu Ziyuan.

Just then.

"Ah—!!"

A scream, shrill to the extreme and filled with endless pain and fear, suddenly erupted from within the thick fog!

It was Long-eared Dingguang Immortal's voice!

Following that was a burst of loud noises from intense Magic Treasure collisions and frantic Divine Ability explosions, but that sound lasted for less than three breaths before coming to an abrupt halt.

Afterward, the entire world fell back into a deathly silence.

Everyone was startled by that scream, a chill rushing from the soles of their feet straight to the crowns of their heads.

Dead?

Or...

The unknown was the most terrifying.

Bixiao Fairy's pretty face was now completely bloodless. She stared fixedly at the thick fog, her beautiful eyes filled with unprecedented shock and... a hint of fear she hadn't even noticed herself.

Suddenly, the thick fog that enveloped everything began to slowly shrink inward.