Life-and-Death Chessboard

Although he had comprehended the [Four Symbols Illusion Formation], one of the [Sixty-Four Heavenly Evolution Formations].

The [Life-and-Death Chessboard] before him was clearly a formation of an even higher level.

For the moment, he could not quite make heads or tails of it.

And with a name like [Life-and-Death Chessboard], it was very likely a formation that could kill.

Thus, Su Fang did not dare try it rashly.

He could only wait until the system's comprehension attempts refreshed tomorrow before challenging the chessboard.

Having made his decision, Su Fang began cultivating where he stood.

Meanwhile, Jiang Chen, still trapped within the [Four Symbols Illusion Formation], had long since been exhausted. As though resigned to his fate, he lay atop a glacier and no longer struggled.

Soon, another day passed.

Su Fang's comprehension attempts refreshed once more.

With the system's support, he naturally had the confidence now.

He walked straight toward the massive chessboard and stepped onto it.

At once.

The winds and clouds changed color.

Cries of battle erupted from all directions!

When Su Fang came back to his senses, he was already standing upon a bloody, horrifying ancient battlefield.

"Fated one, I admire your courage. Welcome to the Gods-and-Devils Battlefield!"

"The rules of the challenge are simple. You will face the Outer Heavenly Demons as the commander of the Human Race."

"Kill the Heavenly Demon side's commander, and you win!"

"Conversely, if you are defeated by the Heavenly Demons, you die!"

An aged voice echoed throughout the entire space...

After hearing the rules clearly, Su Fang realized the gravity of the situation.

This [Life-and-Death Chessboard] truly wagered lives!

Fortunately, he had been cautious enough to wait until his comprehension attempts refreshed before entering.

Otherwise, he really might have died atop this chessboard.

"Heh, heh, heh, human, die..."

While Su Fang was distracted, a pitch-black, incorporeal demonic shadow suddenly descended from the sky and charged straight at him...

"Damn! We're starting already?!"

Su Fang cursed angrily.

He had only just entered the chessboard, yet a Heavenly Demon had attacked him directly. It did not even give him time to understand the situation, catching him completely off guard.

"Creation Flame!"

After throwing a ball of fire at the Heavenly Demon, Su Fang immediately turned and fled without looking back.

With no idea what was going on yet, he was truly unsuited to fighting a Heavenly Demon the moment he arrived.

Boom!

The Creation Flame struck the Heavenly Demon, but it seemed to have little effect. It only delayed it briefly before dissipating.

Still, it had bought Su Fang some time to escape.

"Heh, heh, heh, human, you cannot escape..."

That Heavenly Demon mocked him without restraint.

Then it charged at him again.

"Damn it!"

"Am I going to die with my ambitions unfulfilled the moment I get in here?" Su Fang said unwillingly.

Watching the black shadow draw ever closer, he gripped the Soul-Slaying Sword tightly. In that instant, he decided to fight to the death.

But just then, a figure suddenly appeared and blocked the Heavenly Demon's path.

"Heavenly Demon! You deserve death!"

The figure snarled furiously.

Then he slashed out with his sword, instantly cutting the Heavenly Demon apart and turning it directly into black mist.

Only after doing all this did that figure slowly walk toward Su Fang.

He was a cold-faced man clad in a blood-red robe.

"You should not be here," the man in the blood-red robe said.

At the same time, he cast Su Fang a cold glance.

"This is the front line of the battlefield. You should go to the rear and command."

After speaking, the cold man in the blood-red robe pointed Su Fang in a direction.

That was evidently the "rear" he had mentioned.

Having received the guidance, Su Fang was just about to ask for more information when he saw the man in the blood-red robe leave at high speed without pausing in the slightest.

Seeing this, Su Fang could only let it go helplessly.

He could only head toward the "rear" indicated by the man in the blood-red robe.

Very soon.

Su Fang saw people again.

This time, he had learned his lesson and directly approached one of them to ask.

"Fellow Daoist, where are you headed?" Su Fang asked politely.

When the middle-aged man he stopped saw Su Fang's face, he was startled at first. Then he immediately answered Su Fang's question with the utmost respect.

"Reporting to the Commander, I am preparing to reinforce the front-line battlefield."

Upon hearing the middle-aged man's reply.

Su Fang was initially puzzled.

Commander?

What commander?

Was he talking about me?

Then he recalled the challenge rules that had sounded by his ears when he first entered the [Life-and-Death Chessboard].

"So the [Life-and-Death Chessboard] has directly replaced my identity with that of the Human Race's commander."

Su Fang thought, feeling that he was gradually beginning to understand how this [Life-and-Death Chessboard] worked.

Thinking of this, Su Fang asked the man again, "Where is the command center?"

"Huh?"

The middle-aged man was stunned upon hearing the question, then quickly understood.

"The Commander means the central army camp, right? It is not far from here."

As he spoke, the middle-aged man pointed Su Fang in another direction.

After getting the information he wanted, Su Fang said nothing further. He thanked the man and hurried toward the central army camp.

Soon, he saw a massive tent enveloped in the radiance of countless formations.

That should be the central army camp, Su Fang thought.

He then walked toward the enormous tent.

Along the way, he encountered many cultivators of all kinds, dressed in the robes of various sects.

Su Fang even spotted the attire of Violet Star Palace elders among them.

"It seems this demon-slaying war reflects some major event that truly happened in reality..." Su Fang guessed inwardly.

Before long, he arrived outside the central army camp.

When the various formations protecting the camp saw Su Fang approach, they immediately opened a passage one after another.

Seeing this, Su Fang did not hesitate and walked directly inside.

What met his eyes was a massive sand table that displayed every image from the battlefield in real time.

At the center of the sand table, a battle of immense scale was taking place.

Countless Heavenly Demons were besieging a group of Human Race cultivators.

The Human Race side was being beaten back step by step and could only defend passively.

Seeing this, Su Fang understood how dire the situation on the Gods-and-Devils Battlefield was.

The Heavenly Demons outnumbered the Human Race cultivators by several dozen times.

If not for several mighty Human Race cultivators holding the line at the front, the Human Race would likely have collapsed the moment battle began.

But the current situation was not much better.

Though the several mighty cultivators were powerful, they would eventually run out of strength.

Once that happened and the Heavenly Demons swarmed forward, the Human Race cultivators would undoubtedly suffer a crushing defeat.

Having understood the urgency of the situation.

Su Fang's mind began racing at high speed.

However, he was not particularly proficient in military strategy, and the gap in raw strength also made it difficult for him to reverse the situation through tactics.

What should I do? Su Fang was anxious.

The battle at the front was critical. If he still could not provide support, then once the main force was wiped out, this game of chess would truly be over.