Chapter 82 One move into the game, the golden wheel transforms.

The seventh day.

Chen Yuan opened his eyes and exhaled a mouthful of turbid air.

Three floor tiles under the prayer mat had shattered; the repeated impact of magic power being exhausted and then restored left a dull ache in his Meridians.

The Great Dao Golden Wheel rotated slowly in his Sea of Consciousness, its surface covered in cracks as dense as a spiderweb.

But the core barrier at the very center remained as steady as cast iron, not budging an inch.

Six days. Magic power exhausted then restored, restored then exhausted, crashing against it no less than a thousand times.

It was useless.

He looked down at his hands.

His fingertips were trembling slightly.

This was the first time in his two lives that he felt powerless during cultivation.

Bowls and plates were placed on the stone steps outside the door; Yunxiao delivered meals every day, never missing one.

A thin layer of dust had settled on the dishes; they hadn't been touched.

Bixiao and Qiong Xiao took turns keeping watch thirty miles outside the city.

The three Golden Immortal auras of Guangchengzi grew heavier by the day, like three bowstrings stretched to their limit.

Three days left.

Seven days of Emperor Yi's ten-day limit had already passed.

—

Afternoon.

A loud voice suddenly erupted at the courtyard gate.

"Chen Yuan! I've found something, come out!"

The gatekeeper couldn't stop her.

Bixiao dropped silently from the roof beam, blocking the inner gate.

With her hand on her sword hilt, she stared coldly at Huang Yuerong, who had barged in carrying a wine jar.

The two women stared each other down.

One was a Golden Immortal with exposed Killing Intent. The other was a Mortal general, completely unafraid.

Their auras clashed head-on, and the air in the courtyard seemed to grow half a point heavier.

"Let her in."

Yunxiao's voice came from the back hall; it wasn't loud, but Bixiao immediately stepped aside.

Huang Yuerong walked past Bixiao with her head held high, glancing out of the corner of her eye at the maidservant's sword-gripping posture, but said nothing.

She entered the bamboo building.

Chen Yuan sat on a prayer mat, his face pale with a greenish tint and dark circles under his eyes.

Huang Yuerong slammed the wine jar onto the table, slapped open the oil paper of the braised meat, and sat down directly.

"Yin Pobai escaped, but his trail isn't completely cold."

She lowered her voice, speaking very quickly.

"The message-transmission array beneath the abandoned Daoist temple in the east of the city wasn't destroyed; it's been reactivated."

"I had people watch it for three days. Every night at midnight, a spiritual light flashes, heading northwest."

Chen Yuan's brow twitched slightly.

Qiong Xiao had discovered that array long ago, but its reactivation meant Guangchengzi was using it to contact other moles in the city.

"There's one more thing."

Huang Yuerong's tone grew even heavier.

"There's news from the army. Emperor Yi is holding a secret banquet at the Royal Palace in three days."

"Only Grand Preceptor Wen Zhong and the high officials of the Six Ministries are invited. The stated purpose is to 'Purge the King's Side'."

The bamboo building was silent for two breaths.

Purge the King's Side.

Chen Yuan closed his eyes.

Emperor Yi's fifth strike. Also his final strike.

To convict him in front of Grand Preceptor Wen Zhong and the high officials, and eliminate the 'variable' with full legitimacy.

Once the imperial warrant was issued, Guangchengzi outside the city would strike immediately—the King removes a traitor, and the immortals act on behalf of the Heavenly Dao. With both sides working together, the Jie Sect wouldn't even have a pretext for revenge.

Clean and efficient.

He had to admit, Emperor Yi's move was brilliant.

"Why do you look so terrible?" Huang Yuerong frowned.

"A Bottleneck." Chen Yuan didn't hide it.

Huang Yuerong didn't understand cultivation. But she uncorked the wine jar, poured a bowl into a coarse bowl, and pushed it over.

"Take a sip."

Chen Yuan didn't take it.

Huang Yuerong didn't force him.

Leaning against the back of her chair, she suddenly changed the subject.

"Those brothers from the Broken Soul Ravine, do you know how they are doing now?"

Chen Yuan looked up.

"The three hundred or so survivors are scattered across various camps in Chaoge. Whenever they gather for drinks, they always mention the twin gems of chaoge."

"A few old soldiers who lost limbs have carved your and Zi Shou's names onto their sabers."

Her voice dropped lower.

"Zi Shou once told me privately—if he becomes the King in this life, the first person he would appoint as Prime Minister is Chen Yuan."

Chen Yuan said nothing.

Huang Yuerong raised her right arm, her sleeve sliding down to her elbow.

A scar ran from her wrist bone across to the crook of her arm; the scar was pale, an old wound.

"Every time this scar hurts, I think of that youth on the Altar of God who raised his halberd to kill immortals."

She looked at Chen Yuan.

"And the white-robed strategist who stood behind the scenes, orchestrating everything."

"You aren't carrying this alone."

These words lacked her usual boisterousness and were heavy with emotion.

"Those brothers believe in you, Zi Shou believes in you, and I believe in you. If you fall, all that faith is gone."

Huang Yuerong stood up, leaving the wine and braised meat on the table.

"So, you'd better hang in there."

Reaching the door, she turned back.

"Three days from now, no matter what happens, my spear will block the first wave for you."

The sound of footsteps faded.

The courtyard gate closed.

—

Only Chen Yuan remained in the bamboo building.

The wine jar was open, its fragrance drifting through the air.

He stared at the chessboard. Black and white pieces were interspersed, the board filled with Killing Intent.

The words of the Chess Ancestor suddenly surfaced from deep in his memory—

"Chess cannot calculate what you yourself want."

He had been calculating all along.

Calculating Emperor Yi's moves, the Chan Sect's moves, and Grand Preceptor Wen Zhong's attitude.

Calculating the combat power of the Three Xiaos and the optimal solution for every step.

But he had never truly thought about one question.

What did he want?

Whom did he want to protect?

Why?

Not because of the memories of his past life.

Not because of his status in the Jie Sect.

Not because of the System, and not because of the Heavenly Dao.

It was because—

In the eighteen years of this life, someone had sewn winter clothes for him.

Someone had knelt outside the Magic Treasure space for seven days, guarding his hollow Physical Body.

Someone placed dishes at his door every day, even arranging the chopsticks according to his habits.

Someone barged in with wine and braised meat to tell him, 'You aren't alone.'

These things weren't on the chessboard; they weren't part of any calculation.

But they were real.

He wasn't doing this to win.

He was doing it so these people could live well.

At the moment this thought became clear—

The Great Dao Golden Wheel in his Sea of Consciousness suddenly trembled!

A light like never before burst from the core of the Golden Wheel.

It wasn't a surge in magic power, but a qualitative change in his Dao Heart.

The Daoist charm planted by the Chess Ancestor, a century of accumulation from the Shangqing Immortal Arts, and the Fusion of his past and present lives—all his power converged into a single point at this moment, slamming into that core barrier.

It cracked.

Chen Yuan snapped his eyes open.

The bones throughout his body let out a dense series of popping sounds.

The Great Dao Golden Wheel spun at high speed, and the Shangqing Immortal Arts surged through his Meridians like a dam breaking.

Taiyi Peak—that chasm-like barrier shattered inch by inch under the impact of his Dao Heart!

A qualitative change in magic power.

Every inch of flesh and bone, every wisp of his Divine Soul was being reshaped.

The floor tiles of the bamboo building all cracked.

The wine jar on the table tipped over, wine flowing everywhere. On the chessboard, the black and white pieces trembled without any wind.

Grand Unity Golden Immortal.

Early Stage.

—

Outside the bamboo building.

Yunxiao was the first to sense that aura.

She looked up sharply, her eyes widening suddenly.

That was the unique texture of a Grand Unity Golden Immortal's magic power.

She was all too familiar with it.

Bixiao sprang up from the roof ridge: "He—broke through?!"

Qiong Xiao jumped up from beside the fish pond, the golden light from the bamboo building reflected in her eyes; her mouth was agape, unable to speak.

At the same time.

Thirty miles outside the city, atop a mountain peak.

Guangchengzi snapped his eyes open.

That ripple of magic power pierced through all the concealment in Chaoge City, stabbing toward the sky like an invisible sword.

Someone was breaking through to Grand Unity Golden Immortal.

The direction—the north of Chaoge City.

"It's him."

Guangchengzi stood up abruptly, the Killing Intent in his eyes extremely sharp.

At the critical moment of breaking through to Grand Unity Golden Immortal, all Divine Soul and magic power are focused inward, leaving one unable to focus on external matters—this was the best and final window for a kill.

Once he completely stabilized his Realm, the price of taking action would be entirely different.

He wouldn't wait anymore.

Not for the secret banquet, not for Emperor Yi.

Guangchengzi immediately summoned the Heaven-Turning Seal, the Spirit Treasure's light tearing through the night.

"Go!"

Three streaks of Grand Unity Golden Immortal-level immortal light soared into the sky, turning into flashes of light as they lunged toward the north of Chaoge City!

—

Above the Chen Manor.

When Yunxiao saw those three streaks of immortal light tearing through the clouds, her expression instantly became cold to the extreme.

The hunyuan golden bucket flew out from her sleeve.

Golden light shone brilliantly, illuminating half of Chaoge.

"Yunxiao of the Jie Sect is here—"

Her voice was not loud, but it vibrated through heaven and earth like a great bell.

"People of the Chan Sect, dare to take one step closer!"

The three streaks of light suddenly stalled, hovering outside the city.

In the next instant, the light of the Heaven-Turning Seal and the golden light of the hunyuan golden bucket collided violently above Chaoge.

A thunderous boom echoed throughout the entire city.