The Opening Move: Horse

Today, the Heaven Pill Gate is closed for business as they discuss matters inside.

At a table of moderate size, three individuals stand together, with Chen Xia at the forefront, addressing Daoist Suppressing Heaven.

"How do you plan to set this up?"

The puppet's stiff smile turns towards the two others and answers, "The layout is simple; it's just about disrupting Martial Emperor's plans. Whatever scheme he has going, I will ensure it doesn't succeed. That's all."

"Alright, second question," Chen Xia's brows lift slightly as he continues, "Why should we follow your layout?"

The puppet responds, "Because of the Lord of the Divine Realm. When he returns after a millennium, you definitely won't be able to withstand a full-powered move of his. Therefore, East Jia State will inevitably be ceded. If you don't want to lose East Jia State, then cooperating with me in this layout certainly won't be a loss for you."

"Why does East Jia State draw the Lord of the Divine Realm's desire and competition? Are these big states in the Immortal Realm all that different?" Chen Xia asks again.

"Well, it's an old, trivial past story, but I might as well tell you," the puppet says with a stiff smile, lifting a finger to lightly tap the space in front of him, unfolding an image that, when looked at closely, reveals the entire Immortal Realm.

"The myriad heavens and realms are divided by the Way of Heaven into the Great Heaven and the myriad realms, all under the Way of Heaven's jurisdiction. Among them, the Great Heaven is close to the Way of Heaven and is naturally directly supervised by it."

"But the myriad realms are different. This place is the primordial ground of the myriad realms, containing the origin of all things. The nine great states are essentially nine primordial dao. The state you stand on, East Jia State, represents the Supreme Dao, embodying the best of all things, hence the name 'Jia.'"

"Treasure Ring Scale State represents the dao of treasures and dragons, which the Lord of the Divine Realm naturally doesn't covet. He only wants his divine dao to reach the pinnacle. So from the beginning, he has been eyeing East Jia State."

After hearing Daoist Suppressing Heaven's puppet explanation, Chen Xia's brows furrow, confused.

"Is it really that mystical? I've held East Jia State for so long, and I haven't experienced any pinnacle growth. Moreover, if these nine states of the Immortal Realm are really that formidable, why doesn't Martial Emperor take them?"

"Martial Emperor's combat power already rivals the Way of Heaven, so naturally, he doesn't need these primordial daos that rely on the Way of Heaven to extend. If he were to occupy them, he would instead be shackled by the Way of Heaven."

"And in reality, no one has ever truly occupied this primordial ground. What is now called the Immortal Realm could have been any interface tens of thousands of years ago."

"To truly take over this primordial ground, three conditions need to be met."

"First, the Way of Heaven must be dormant and disengaged from worldly affairs, naturally unable to control who leads this territory. Second, there must be a supreme pull to steal this place from the Way of Heaven's control, returning it to unclaimed territory."

"Third, a great power must fall, scattering significant fortune across this primordial ground, reviving it once more from the separation from the Way of Heaven's control."

After finishing, the puppet stiffly smiles again and says, "Let me test you with a question; see if you're a fool. Why would Martial Emperor go to such great lengths for this? He gains no benefit from this primordial ground. Can you guess why?"

"Who cares," Inner demon rolls his eyes disdainfully, exhibiting an air of arrogance.

Chen Xia strokes his chin, contemplates for a moment, then confidently answers, "Martial Emperor must be quite fond of helping others."

"... " The puppet already begins to question the decision of collaborating with these two. He then looks at Chen Xia and shakes his head, asking, "You really can't guess?"

"Stop guessing already," Inner demon interjects, annoyed. "We two are notorious for not using our brains. If you really want to play guessing games with us, we won't oblige. We don't have that kind of time."

"Well, actually, I've guessed it," Chen Xia chimes in.

"Huh?!" Inner demon's surprised gaze turns to Chen Xia, bewildered. That wasn't the agreement – shouldn't both of them dislike thinking?

"Go ahead," the puppet prompts.

"Considering Martial Emperor's previous goals, this move of his aims to find the next Supreme Being. The Lord of the Divine Realm's descent and occupation of Treasure Ring Scale State – if Martial Emperor is behind the scenes, then the Lord of the Divine Realm is one of Martial Emperor's pre-selected future Supreme Beings."

"Correct," the puppet nods in satisfaction, relieved that Chen Xia isn't dumb after all, and then smiles.

"Actually, Martial Emperor's pre-chosen Supreme Being candidates were only two before you, Emperor Witch, but unfortunately, there were some incidents. Now it's you, but it seems the time frame might be a bit tight, forcing Martial Emperor to make this decision."

"He selects the next Supreme Being with the primordial ground, and whoever succeeds becomes his ally in the battle against the Way of Heaven. Of course, there might not be just one Supreme Being..."

"Such a complicated and grand scheme may also signify that Martial Emperor wants to select multiple Supreme Beings at once."

"Isn't he afraid that too many Supreme Beings might betray him?" Chen Xia curiously inquires.

"He isn't afraid," the puppet's stiff tone takes on an extraordinary certainty.

"He's the limit of the Supreme Being, as well as the limit for all cultivators. Because of him, the designation Supreme Being exists; otherwise, it would just be called Great Sovereign."

"Since he can stand shoulder to shoulder with the Way of Heaven, the number of cultivators doesn't matter much to him; he can wipe them all out."

"He's that strong, huh?" Chen Xia narrows his eyes, then suddenly realizes that Martial Emperor isn't the only powerhouse – each of his future reincarnations can also match the Way of Heaven's power and have even threatened to slap the Way of Heaven twice.

Comparing them, he's the really formidable one.

The puppet chuckles lightly and then adds, "Heh, there's no need to dwell on Martial Emperor’s matters. He might be unbeatable, but his schemes aren't flawless. Moreover, even he isn’t completely unrestrained with the Way of Heaven above, so he has to keep his actions in check."

"And this is the second reason you and I team up – Martial Emperor's goal is an equal world, to bring about the fall of the Way of Heaven itself, eliminating all fortune and luck in the world. If he succeeds, there's no telling how cultivators’ destinies will turn out in the future."

"He no longer has anything to lose, so he can act recklessly. Do you?"

Chen Xia nods, "Fair point, indeed."

The puppet then firmly says, "Why not join me in this game and break through this chessboard, not for anything else, but for yourself!"

"Alright, let's do it!" Chen Xia agrees, figuring even if he doesn't oppose Martial Emperor, he needs to resolve the urgent issue of the Lord of the Divine Realm coming knocking after a millennium.

The puppet chuckles once more, then nods.

"Now, the three of us have entered this game within the Immortal Realm; we are both players and pieces on the board. Let's make this chessboard even larger and messier."

"So, the first thing we need to do is provoke the Lord of the Divine Realm, making the situation chaotic. How do you think we should go about provoking him for the best effect?"

"Oh, this I'm good at!" Chen Xia's spirits rise, finally talking about something he's proficient in. When it comes to outwitting and pranking with strategic moves, nobody tops him. He immediately replies,

"Like starting by taking knights in chess, let's do it similarly – take the fight straight to his face, provoke them head-on. Oh yeah, let's go and knock down his Divine Realm! Let’s see this old fogey lose his cool!"

"Let's do it!" Inner demon agrees.

The puppet blinks, bewildered. He had originally thought they would only annoy the Lord of the Divine Realm by the outskirts of Treasure Ring Scale State.

But oh no, oh no.

No one can match Chen Xia in making the start of a game as infuriating as possible.