All Under Heaven, Vast and Boundless, Yet All Upon the Chessboard

Golden City.

Cui Qingyi changed into a white shawl, swayed her waist, walked to the small pavilion in the middle of the lake, and sat down quietly.

On the stone table in the pavilion sits a magnificent chessboard of priceless value.

"How are the arrangements going in Chongyang City?"

She asked casually.

"We don't have any leads yet." The Old Master stroked his long beard and calmly said, "However, I suggest that your Cui family refrain from interfering in Chongyang's affairs for the time being."

"Oh? Why?"

Cui Qingyi extended her slender fingers, picked up a white chess piece, and gently placed it down.

She was able to remain calm in the face of a powerful figure whose cultivation far surpassed her own and who was even on the same level as her ancestor.

The Old Master didn't seem to mind, placed a black piece, and then said:

"There's Sea-Calming Divine Needle Iron' there, and it's also suspected that a [Dimensional Convergence Point] might appear."

"If it were just Dimensional Convergence Point, that would be fine, but the Sea-Calming Divine Needle Iron can be transformed into a bridge."

"In other words, if reinforced with the Sea-Calming Divine Needle Iron, that Dimensional Convergence Point could definitely allow a Celestial Person to Becoming a God."

Cui Qingyi gazed intently at the chessboard and spoke calmly:

"So all the Celestial Person from various heretical sects in the Golden Province will fight over it, right?"

"That's right."

The Old Master was quite calm:

"The Cui family's ancestor is too badly injured to participate in this battle. I advise you to give up."

Cui Qingyi didn't take it to heart and continued:

"What if I simply want to take control of Chongyang City, which is under martial law and in a special situation?"

The Old Master laughed and asked in return:

"Girl, do you even believe that yourself?"

Cui Qingyi didn't answer but asked a question in return:

"Will you also try to Becoming a God?"

"I won't go," the Old Master said calmly. "The governor has probably heard some rumors, and I'm worried the Federation will wipe us out in one fell swoop."

"I am now the president of Golden University. There's no need for me to risk exposing my identity to compete for this opportunity to Becoming a God."

After a moment, the old man gazed intently at the young girl who was only at the Grandmaster level, at this descendant of the Cui family:

"As for you, since you're about to become a 'Book Holder' and are about to head to Qinghe Province, why are you still so fixated on the affairs of the High Gate Cui Family?"

Cui Qingyi was silent for a moment:

"I'm not sure I can succeed; I need to prepare a backup plan."

The Old Master shook his head:

"With the strong support of our Ancient Sage Faction, how could it not succeed? Our Venerable Ones and even the Great Powers are already aware of you and have agreed to help."

Cui Qingyi stared at him:

"Aren't the other Cui family members, who are born with extraordinary talents and qualified to control the [Book of Life and Death], supported by a cult?"

She scoffed.

"Which sect or faction wouldn't want to take advantage of this opportunity to extend its reach into the Qinghe Cui Clan? Even the bigwigs of the Cui family are probably aware of this."

The Old Master nodded calmly:

"At least this time, in the competition for the Book Holder, the Qinghe Cui Clan did not keep the news secret and proceed quietly as they had in the past, but instead made a big show of it—which gave us an opportunity."

As the old man and the young man talked, more and more pieces were placed on the chessboard, and the Old Master's black pieces forced Cui Qingyi's white pieces into a dead end.

The Old Master asked casually:

"Why do you think the Qinghe Cui Clan allowed the four major sects to interfere in the dispute over Book Holder?"

Cui Qingyi said calmly:

"They're just planning a rebellion."

The Old Master smiled with satisfaction:

"You are indeed quite clever. At least half of the forty-nine provinces now want to rebel. If Qinghe Province is like this, then why is our Governor-General of Golden Province no different?"

"The world is about to descend into chaos."

He sighed and shook his head.

Cui Qingyi held the white pieces, seemingly pondering how to break this deadlock. She hesitated to make a move, then spoke in a low voice:

"This is a good thing. With the world in chaos, everything is being reshuffled, and resources and power are being redistributed."

"Therefore, I will fight for it."

"I want to make our ancestors Becoming a God, so that when I go to the Qinghe Cui Clan, I will have enough say, even..."

She placed her white piece on the board, instantly turning what was a dead end into a winning situation.

"Even more, a branch lineage became the new main lineage, with the High Gate Cui Family replacing the Qinghe Cui Clan."

"Then we'll take control of Qinghe Province and Golden Province, and then compete for supremacy."

The situation on the board has completely reversed at this moment, with the white pieces pressing forward relentlessly.

The Old Master suddenly looked up and stared at his student, Cui Qingyi, who was also a 'collaborator' of the Ancient Sage Faction.

He exclaimed in amazement:

"You, a mere grandmaster, dare to dream of ruling the world?"

"Gods are also human."

Cui Qingyi made her final move, utterly eliminating the Old Master:

"Anyone can be manipulated."

"If the human heart can be grasped and manipulated, why can't the divine heart? So what if my cultivation is low?"

Her rare smile:

"Let the gods deal with the gods, let the Celestial Person deal with the Celestial Person, why should I show my face? As long as I can take advantage of the opportunity to hold the book, I can usurp the Cui family's position."

"This requires my dying ancestor to Becoming a God in order to fight against that deity of the Qinghe Cui Clan."

"This requires me to seize control of the Chongyang Festival."

The Old Master stared at his disciple, his lips trembling as if he wanted to say something, but ultimately remained silent.

For a long time.

"Scheming is based on sufficient strength," he cautioned. "Without great power, someone can kill you with a single punch."

"Isn't there you and the Ancient Sage Faction?"

Cui Qingyi said calmly:

"To control Chongyang, you need to control three people first: Chief Minister Zhang Wenting, Investigation Bureau Chen Daoling, and..."

"Zhang Fusheng, Public Security Bureau."

She raised her head and gazed at the Old Master:

"Teacher, Zhang Wenting and Chen Daoling dare not defy the Cui family's authority, but this Zhang Fusheng is different. He hung up on me."

"I hope to see him here, in this little pavilion."

The Old Master rubbed his forehead.

"Didn't the news say he was trapped in the Twin City Small World? What, you want me to go there myself? A lot of eyes are on me."

Cui Qingyi whispered:

"I will have our ancestors divert those attention—when you go to Shuangcheng, besides bringing back Zhang Fusheng, please also help me leave my nephew there forever."

"Cui Wendao?"

"Yes, he also has the talent to manage the Book of Life and Death."

". All right."

The Old Master got up and left, leaving Cui Qingyi alone in the pavilion by the lake.

"The world is vast and boundless."

She swept the chessboard clean, then started placing her pieces again by herself, making forty-nine moves in a row.

Then he muttered to himself:

"But they're all on the chessboard."

Just then.

On the wasteland Golden City.

A figure shrouded in a black robe emerged.

Then came the second, the third, and the fourth.

Thirty-two figures stood silently in the desert. The leader, a man in black robes, removed his hood, revealing a scarlet skull.

"Is this the Golden City?"

Zhang Fusheng gazed at the magnificent [Large City] in the distance and sighed softly in amazement.

We've finally arrived.

"No rush," he muttered to himself, manipulating the plague demon to quietly hide the thirty-one skeletons of grandmasters in the mountains.

The main consciousness returns to its original form.

Twin City Small World.

Mountains and forests.

The pickup truck stopped in front of a densely wooded mountain, with followers of the Western Sect not far away.

Wei Lingzhu stretched and said cheerfully:

"To be honest, I feel much more at ease now that I'm away from that important person from the Cui family."

As Zhang Fusheng tumbled down from the truck bed, he said with a smile:

Is it really that scary?

Wei Lingzhu nodded seriously:

"Before his arrival, although there was a Grandmaster of the Myriad Gods Cult in the camp, he would never kill anyone indiscriminately due to the relationships between various parties."

"But this esteemed member of the Cui family is different; he doesn't care about any particular sect. Having someone who can decide my life at will by my side naturally puts a lot of pressure on me."

Zhang Fusheng was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help but recall the terrifying pressure Niu Dali had put on him when he was just Seventh or Eighth Refinement martial artist.

He nodded in agreement and remarked with emotion:

"Yes, that's why strength is the prerequisite for everything. The fate of the weak is merely a matter of a single thought for the strong."

Wei Lingzhu and Wei Qingshan both responded, and Wu Shangpin also got out of the driver's seat and smiled:

"We agreed to come here to relax, so why are you starting to feel sentimental? Take everything."

He retrieved some firearms from the pickup truck and tossed them to the three men.

"We can go hunting and have an extra meal when we get home tonight."

There are quite a few wild animals in the mountains and forests; standing at the foot of the mountain, you can hear the roars of tigers and the howls of bears.

The four men strolled casually through the forest, firing shot after shot, and within half an hour, they had all reaped a considerable harvest.

"Those Western Sect Christians don't hunt, do they?"

Wei Qingshan casually said:

"We haven't heard a sound from them. What are they doing? Shall we go take a look?"

Wei Lingzhu glared at him:

"What are you going there for? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Wei Qingshan shrank back, chuckled twice, raised his rifle, pulled the trigger, and a black bear fell to the ground.

Zhang Fusheng's heart skipped a beat.

Yes, what are Uncle Yu and the others doing?

With a slight thought, he quietly extended his divine sense. This place was a wilderness, so there was no need to worry about encountering any special materials. He could scan the area without restraint.

On the other side of the mountain, Nian Si caught sight of a group of people from the Western Sect.

They are there.

Set up an altar?

Zhang Fusheng raised an eyebrow, hunting with Lao Wu Shangpin and the Wei Siblings while secretly observing the movements of the Western Sect.

On the other side of the mountain.

Twenty or thirty West Cultist, led by four stewards, all slashed their palms, and their blood flowed into the makeshift altar.

Yu Chengzong and Li Qiuhua both began to chant something in a low voice.

The altar glowed faintly, but then dimmed again.

"No." One of the stewards frowned. "Even the Minor Sacrifice can't contact the outside world. The problems in the two cities might be more serious than we think."

He raised his head and looked at the black torrent that blocked the sky; everything was dim.

Yu Chengzong pulled out a thick Talismans from his robes and said in a deep voice:

"Even Talismans are unusable, which means we can't borrow the Venerable One's power through Talismans. Most importantly..."

He took a deep breath and said in a low voice:

"The Talismans was still usable yesterday, even this morning."

"Starting a few hours ago, all contact with the outside world was completely cut off. I have a feeling that something terrible is about to happen."

Zhang Fusheng's heart skipped a beat as he scanned the area with his divine sense.

He knew about Daoism Talismans and could seek help from a certain revered Daoism master.

I witnessed it on the train from Jiangzhou to Longzhou.

The connection between the Talismans and that venerable one has been severed?

And this happened today?

He had a bad feeling, which meant that something secret had happened in Twin City Bubble today.

The problem is, my intuition didn't give me any warning.

Or perhaps this change poses no threat to them.

Alternatively, the change may have originated from a being who transcends the Innate Great Realm.

At this point in his thoughts, Zhang Fusheng's expression suddenly froze.

He thought of the so-called Land of Exotic Treasures, and the Celestial Person of the Tianli Faction who were sleeping and hiding there.

Is this person involved?

There's a problem.

Zhang Fusheng's left hand trembled slightly, his five fingers seemingly jumping erratically—he was trying to imitate Lin Shiquan's movements and rhythm back then.

At that time, Lin Shiquan used this method, along with the altar and the sound of drums, to communicate with the deity statues in his own divine realm that were imbued with incense.

Zhang Fusheng was also quietly trying something, but he didn't set up an altar.

After a while.

Zhang Fusheng heard a confused voice ring in his ears—a voice only he could hear.

"Young Master Zhang?"

"This is... Art of Prayer? You actually know such an Old World Method?"

Zhang Fusheng felt a sense of relief.

It turns out that this method can actually be used to directly communicate with the Miss Mingyue is far away in the starry sky!

His slight anxiety completely subsided.

"Why is another car here?"

Wu Shangpin's voice suddenly rang out. He was standing halfway up the mountain, gazing into the distance.

A convoy is speeding towards us, kicking up long plumes of dust.