On an inconspicuous small hill.
Two people sat on the ground.
One was a man with a strip of Black Cloth over his eyes. He had the face of a youth and wore a robe of black.
The other was an old man with a face full of wrinkles, a bulbous red nose, and a body as gaunt as kindling. He wore a cloth robe covered in grease stains.
"In this game, victory and defeat were never decided within the Chess Game itself. The Ancient Xi Clan are chess pieces, but are Xun Hong and those people from the Three Purities Dao Court not chess pieces as well?"
The old man was brewing tea. Fragrance drifted in all directions from the small stove.
"Wrong."
The blindfolded youth said, "In my view, if this grand Chess Game is to determine victory or defeat, it must enter the game itself. Unless you churn these troubled waters into chaos, you can never tell who is playing the game and who will become a chess piece."
As he spoke, the youth picked up a cup of tea and drained it in one gulp. "Just like at this very moment, who knew how many old guys like you and me were hiding in the shadows outside Ming Kong Mountain?"
"Some belong to the same camp as the Three Purities Dao Court."
"Some came to seize reincarnation."
"Some came from Space-Time Forbidden Lands that do not belong to this era, each harboring their own designs."
"Others merely wanted to see whether they could fish in troubled waters during this storm, rob a burning house, and reap the profits without lifting a finger."
"Those people are hidden in the dark, making it impossible for you to know whether they are human or ghost, god or devil, or