Outside Purple Xiao Palace, the scene was exceptionally lively.
The same was true of the small island in the South Sea.
Nuwa looked at Cheng Yue before her with an expression that seemed on the verge of tears.
"Master, Master, just let me go out this once. I can truly sense that an opportunity is about to descend upon me."
"Master, this is an opportunity descending upon me. Just let me go. Let me take a look."
"Master, please! Master, wasn't I your favorite disciple?"
Watching Nuwa cling to him and chatter away without end—
It truly was both painful and delightful.
Having a beauty at his side was naturally delightful, but she was his disciple.
And a disciple who was like a sparrow, at that.
Cheng Yue could not help but speak up.
"Didn't you say last time that you wouldn't leave seclusion until you became a Golden Immortal?"
"Also, my favorite disciple is your brother now. Look at your brother—how obedient he is. He never asks to go out and simply cultivates quietly within the dojo."
Upon hearing this, Nuwa's expression changed, and two tears instantly overflowed from her eyes.
"Master truly doesn't love me anymore. I'm a disciple who has fallen from favor. Sigh, I should just leave."
Cheng Yue was helpless and speechless. He then said,
"Look at you. You've been at the dojo for so many years. Back then, I thought my aptitude as your master was already bad enough—I needed a thousand years to go from a mortal to the Golden Immortal realm. Now look at you. Several thousand years have passed, and you're still a True Immortal, yet you still want to run out and play."
"And stop pretending. This trick is outdated. It doesn't work anymore. You've already used it several times."
"When you asked me for Wooden Tokens a hundred years ago, you used this very trick."
"I was wondering why you asked me for so many Wooden Tokens a hundred years ago. So you were preparing to sneak out and play today."
"Xiao Wa, I didn't expect you to be quite the schemer."
Hearing that, the tears vanished from Nuwa's face. It was only a hundred years ago that she remembered Purple Xiao Palace was about to begin its lecture.
Then she thought about how she had suffered a grievance at Purple Xiao Palace last time.
It could not really be called a grievance. She simply had not followed her master's rules for survival.
The more she thought about Purple Xiao Palace, the angrier she became, so she had asked for quite a few Wooden Tokens a hundred years ago.
Now, Purple Xiao Palace was about to begin lecturing.
Whether she listened to the Dao Hongjun spoke of was irrelevant.
What she truly cared about was going there to block the entrance.
Yuanshi and that Zhunti had formed karmic ties with her. This time, they were dead for sure.
And that old man Hongjun—her strength was insufficient right now. Otherwise, she might even beat him up along with them.
After thinking about all sorts of nonsense, Nuwa suddenly remembered something.
She glanced at her master before her, her eyes filled with resentment.
"Master, you have such good aptitude, so could you please stop casually bragging?"
"If we had that kind of aptitude, why would we become your disciples? Back then, I would have been your master."
Cheng Yue had been about to refute her, but the moment he heard that, he froze completely.
The corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
"Wretched disciple, you want to be my master? Are you planning to ride your master and scorn your ancestor?"
As he spoke, he gave Nuwa a sharp rap on the head.
Feeling the pain from that blow, Nuwa looked at Cheng Yue with a wronged expression.
"Master, just tell me—are you letting me go out or not?"
Cheng Yue naturally shook his head. As he sat there, he closed his eyes.
"Before you become a Golden Immortal, don't even think about going out. Last time you went out, you couldn't even beat that old man. If you go out now and run into trouble, what then?"
Thinking of this, he immediately began speaking.
"My disciple, don't think your master is obstructing your opportunity."
"When it comes to opportunities, you received a revelation from the Heavenly Dao—but is the Heavenly Dao really that kindhearted?"
"Let me put it this way: what if you encounter trouble when you go out this time?"
"Opportunities may be good, but you need to be alive to use them. You might as well cultivate properly for now."
Nuwa was helpless. She had pestered him for so long, and it seemed that this time, her master truly would not let her go out.
So she simply gave a cold snort, turned around, and ran toward the side hall.
"Master, I'm ignoring you. I'm leaving. If cultivation is what you want, then I'll cultivate."
"Once my cultivation surpasses yours, Master, I'll hang you from Mount Buzhou."
Cheng Yue's eyebrows twitched upon hearing that.
What the hell had he taken on as a disciple?
No, perhaps he should return this disciple.
Was that any way to speak to one's master?
She even wanted to hang him from Mount Buzhou.
His face darkened.
"Xiao Wa, shall I hang you from Mount Buzhou right now?"
The moment he finished speaking, Nuwa, who had been walking obediently just moments before, directly flew away and entered her own side hall.
Cheng Yue was utterly speechless. How had he ended up taking on such a wretched disciple?
She was usually quite pleasing to the eye, and she occasionally bumped into him with her chest. Though that was against the rules, it felt rather nice.
But today, she truly left him speechless.
"I've spoiled this little girl too much. In the future, I must be fiercer and show some of a master's dignity."
Yet after only a moment, he grew bored again.
Cheng Yue had not cultivated recently. Instead, he had been pondering some matters.
He had only needed a thousand years to go from a mortal to a Golden Immortal.
Logically speaking, even if he were slow, another thousand years should have been enough for him to break through to the Grand Unity Immortal realm.
But several thousand years had already passed, and he was still at the middle stage of Golden Immortal.
He was slowly progressing toward the late stage.
However, the pace was far too slow, so he had simply relaxed lately.
He had not cultivated and had merely idled away his days, calling it gaining insight into life.
Feeling rather bored, Cheng Yue casually waved his hand. Outside the great hall, in the forest, a large tree crashed down. Its shape then shifted, turning into a square wooden board.
After the wooden board flew back into the main hall, intersecting lines slowly appeared upon it.
Nineteen horizontal lines and nineteen vertical lines, interwoven to form three hundred sixty-one intersections.
He then called out toward the side hall before him.
"Fuxi, come here."
After speaking, he closed his eyes and extended his divine sense, selecting countless black and white stones from the island.
There were one hundred eighty-one black stones and one hundred eighty white stones.
They corresponded exactly to the three hundred sixty-one intersections on the board.
The stones slowly changed, eventually becoming round and smooth.
They also flew into Cheng Yue's great hall.
The moment they entered the great hall, they landed before Cheng Yue.
Fuxi also walked out at that moment.
He respectfully bowed.
"Master, may I ask why you summoned your disciple today?"
Cheng Yue arranged the items before him, then beckoned to Fuxi.
"Come. Play a game of chess with your master."
After speaking, Fuxi walked over as well.
He arrived before Cheng Yue.
Then, looking at the scene before him, he asked,
"Master, what is this chess?"
Cheng Yue directly replied,
"This is Go."
The moment those words fell, another stream of Profound Yellow Merit Qi descended from the sky.
It flowed into Cheng Yue, the board, and the stones. Even the fallen, broken tree from which the board had been made received a small share of merit, sprouting fresh shoots.
Seeing this, Fuxi's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
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