Great Snow Mountain, Great Wheel Temple.
Below the mountain city, preparations for the Three Vehicles Dharma Assembly were in full swing.
The Great Xiye Kingdom and the Buddhist sects of the Western Regions had joined forces to host this grand event. At this moment, the ancient thousand-year-old Buddhist city at the foot of the mountain was packed both inside and out, with countless Buddhist scions and disciples from every corner of the continent gathered here.
Experts from the Buddhist sects of the Western Regions stood guard at every city gate. Even the elite soldiers of the Great Xiye Kingdom had been deployed here, along with powerful members of the royal family who possessed celestial bloodlines, to defend the city.
While this ancient city of Great Snow Mountain was bustling with such immense activity, Great Wheel Temple atop the mountain seemed exceptionally quiet. There were barely any people in the entire temple, for most of its monks had gone to maintain order at the Three Vehicles Dharma Assembly, leaving the temple unusually cold and desolate.
Outside the iron tower containing the Lotus Demon-Trapping Well, two figures in broad robes with flowing sleeves were playing a game of chess.
Black and white pieces crisscrossed the board as the two traded moves, contending for dragons upon the checkerboard. It was an extraordinarily riveting game.
Yet besides the two players, a man and a woman stood nearby, watching the match.
The players were Dragon-Elephant Sage Buddha, the foremost figure among the Buddhist sects of the Western Regions, and his opponent, who was no ordinary man: Ying Wuji.
As for those watching them play, the woman was Princess Jialing of the royal family, while the other was a spirited young man.
This young man possessed an exceptionally robust build and exuded an imposing, heroic air.