The moon passed its zenith, its glow illuminating the chessboard and the stone-mill-sized pieces upon it.
Around the board stood the withered remains of chess masters, their presence not eerie but dignified, like towering mountains and deep waters.
These skeletons had all reached at least the Outer Scenery realm in life—otherwise, they would have long since turned to dust.
Under their silent gaze, an air of solemnity permeated the scene.
The summoning cultists held their breaths, their eyes fixed on Li Mo, who stood with his hands clasped behind his back.
Li Mo stood before the chessboard, seemingly waiting for something—though in truth, he was pondering what kind of special effects he should conjure to make this look like a grandmaster’s duel.
At the same time, he was waiting for the "Ice Block" to decipher the game.
"Brother Black Soil, can you break this game?"
Luo Yexian wiped sweat from his brow. Earlier, when he had glanced at the board, he felt dizzy, his mind reeling, and had to quickly avert his gaze.
"Hopefully."
Tan Zhuyin didn’t even look at the board.
As long as one didn’t engage in the game, they would eventually be sent out. The real trouble was for those skilled enough to play but not skilled enough to win.
He had promised to repay the other party with the power of the masses—but only after success. No loss either way.
"The Go youth strives ever forward, on the board, qi flows with heaven and earth~"
"Trials~ trials~"
"Who’s singing? This is a serious game, show some respect!"
Luo Yexian frowned, scanning the group of summoning cult priests.
The cultists exchanged glances, but with their hoods pulled low, hiding their faces, it was impossible to tell who had sung.
"My apologies. The mood just... took me."
Li Mo coughed lightly.
Hadn’t he just been humming in his head? It must have slipped out.
"Good! Well sung! Truly befitting Brother Black Soil—a single verse captures the peril and profundity of this game!"
Luo Yexian led the applause, clapping enthusiastically.
The other cultists followed suit, cheering as if they had already won—even though the match hadn’t even begun.
Their momentum alone was overwhelming!
Though it wasn’t clear who exactly they were overwhelming...
Tan Zhuyin: "..."
Li Mo: "..."
Old Luo, this guy... he’s just too eager to climb. Instead of joining a cult, he should’ve taken the imperial exams and become an official.
"Ice Block, ready yet?"
"Mm. Go ahead."
With Ying Bing’s confirmation, Li Mo stepped onto the stone platform before the massive chessboard, looking down.
His expression was calm—after all, he knew nothing about Go.
The skeletal masters watched him, and Li Mo exuded unshakable confidence.
Because standing behind him now was the Phoenix Heavenly Empress, Ying Bing!
He gripped the Mirage Spirit Pearl!
Tap—
A footstep echoed as an elderly man ascended the opposite platform, his demeanor transcendent, like an immortal of the Dao.
"Huh? Is this... a chess spirit?"
Luo Yexian muttered.
Tan Zhuyin frowned cautiously. "The cult’s records never mentioned a chess spirit existing here..."
Staring at the unfamiliar "chess spirit elder," the two exchanged a glance, both thinking the same thing:
Had the chess spirit always existed, but no one’s skill had ever been worthy enough to summon it? Only now, with the arrival of the exalted Black Soil, had the spirit deigned to appear?
Well, of course it was unfamiliar.
After all, they’d never watched The Go Master...
If there really was a chess spirit, it would be baffled—it hadn’t even made its entrance yet! Who was this old man?!
"After you."
The elder clasped his hands in salute, taking black.
"After you."
Li Mo nodded slightly, taking white.
White was at a ten-point disadvantage.
Qinghe County.
Ying Bing observed the game through the Moon God’s will, the board before her mirroring the one a thousand miles away.
"Li Mo, place the stones exactly as I say. Do not make a single mistake."
This game was a labyrinth of traps. A decent player would assume the key to turning the tide lay in rescuing the white stones in the lower left.
But the more they tried to save them, the deeper they’d sink, until the entire board was lost.
To reclaim the ten-point gap, they had to fight for dominance in the center...
"Ninth column, thirteenth row. Jump."
Li Mo spoke simultaneously.
Click—
A beam of starlight suddenly illuminated the board, lighting up the designated spot with a radiant white glow, a pillar of light shooting skyward!
It nearly blinded the cultists.
The white-robed elder remained silent, placing his own stone—a black streak soaring upward in response!
Well, actually, the pieces were moving on their own.
"The lower left can be used as bait."
"Our goal is to connect the center when they take it."
"Tenth row, third column."
A clear, composed voice gave him the answer—a move no ordinary player would make.
This move abandoned the seemingly salvageable stones in the lower left entirely!
Creak, creak—
The skeletal figures seated around the enormous board slowly rose to their feet, an inexplicable ripple of emotion emanating from them.
"What do the skeletons mean?"
"They seem... confused?"
Tan Zhuyin dared not focus on the game directly, relying instead on the reactions of the chess masters’ remains to gauge the situation.
"So, this move by the Black Earth Immortal is beyond their comprehension?"
Luo Yexian wasn't sure how to respond.
If the masters of the chess path couldn't understand it, then clearly, in their eyes, it wasn't a good move.
But from another perspective, if they could comprehend it, they wouldn't have remained here in meditation until their demise...
So, was it a good move or not?
Tap—
Tap—
Streaks of starlight descended, illuminating the chessboard and casting reflections onto the night sky.
While Ying Bing was engrossed in the game, Li Mo certainly wasn't idle either!
Whoosh—
The mist churned as a pure white fish-dragon burst through the fog, as if formed from the clearest qi of heaven and earth, spiraling through the air.
Opposite it, a black fish-dragon surged upward, shrouded in swirling yin turbidity.
The two entwined in combat—sometimes separating, sometimes clashing, sometimes dancing in harmony, sometimes locked in relentless battle.
The Dance of Black and White Fish-Dragons!
"There's no sign of external phenomena manifestation," Tan Zhuyin murmured to himself, recalling what a Dharma King had once told him.
This meant the duel between the black and white fish-dragons in the sky wasn't some kind of domain or external projection!
"Could it be that the chess match itself is resonating with heaven and earth?"
"Unheard of! Absolutely unheard of!"
"They say the Sword God of the Heavenly Mountain Sword Manor once wielded his blade without a trace of qi, parting the clouds and filling the world with clarity—his skill bordering on the Dao itself."
"Could it be that the chess path, when elevated to sainthood, can achieve the same?"
"Exactly! The predecessors of the Yin-Yang Hall never triggered such resonance with heaven and earth. No wonder they ultimately failed to break the chess formation."
Listening to the discussions among his sect members, Luo Yexian smiled faintly.
It seemed that those elders were not even remotely comparable to his elder brother, Black Earth.
"Those cartoons weren't a waste after all," Li Mo mused, gripping the Mirage Spirit Pearl.
As a child, his family had always forbidden him from watching cartoons, calling it a distraction.
And now? It's paying off!
"Ying Bing, how much longer until we win?"
Li Mo wanted to end this with a grand finale.
After a brief silence, the voice of the Moonfrost Divine Will responded:
"At this rate of play, about fifteen minutes."