Heavenly Continent.
Snow-viewing Pavilion.
"Have you come to admire the snow with me today, Saint Venerable?"
"To make friends. How about it?"
"Your thoughts are difficult for me to fathom, Saint Venerable. I thought you had some other business. I was measuring a gentleman's heart by my own."
"Oh... do you mean the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion recently replacing Endless Heaven as the world's foremost intelligence organization?"
"Isn't that it?"
"That concerns Han Chen and Xisha. I came only because I admire your grace, Heavenly Diviner Wuyan, and wish to make a friend."
Amid the boundless snow stood an olive-yellow pavilion, where two people played Go. Ye Yuan chatted and laughed at ease, deftly picking up a black stone between his right index and middle fingers and setting it lightly on the board.
His opponent had picturesque features and a serene bearing. She wore a smoky-gray dress with a silver-gray crane cloak over it, noble and elegantly understated, a sight that made one forget the mundane world.
Her face was pale. Holding a bronze Fate Cauldron, she tilted her snowy-white neck slightly and gazed out at the vast snowy landscape.
A thin gray veil covered her eyes. Though her physical eyes could not see, a heavenly diviner's discerning heart perceived all things in the world even more clearly than ordinary people did.
"Your turn," Ye Yuan said.
Qi Wuyan placed a stone, her pale lips parting slightly. "I hear the Saint Venerable of the Azure Cloud Holy Land has quite the air of a recluse and is ordinarily nowhere to be seen. Why have you suddenly taken an interest in socializing? And with me, of all people?"
Ye Yuan smiled softly. "The Heavenly Secrets Pavilion has much business to attend to. It was presumptuous of me to invite you here so abruptly, Heavenly Diviner Wuyan."
Wasn't it all because someone forced me...
Every last one of them is shrewd as can be. I don't want to deal with them.
Why did I choose you?
Because you look as though you might have social anxiety too...
He grumbled inwardly.
Qi Wuyan smiled instead, sighing softly. "Such lovely snowy scenery calls for a warmed pot of wine."
"Next time, I shall certainly warm some wine." As Ye Yuan spoke, he glanced at her exceedingly pale face. "But your health..."
"A cup of wine would do no harm.
"There is no point continuing this game. I have lost again.
"I studied Go from childhood and could be considered well versed in the Dao of Chess. I once traveled the world and won a hundred games of divine Go, and thought my mastery quite high.
"Yet your skill has reached the realm of perfection, Saint Venerable, sublime beyond measure. It inspires admiration. Perhaps I should have met you sooner, so I could better study the Dao of Chess."
Qi Wuyan lowered her eyes to the utterly wretched state of the board. After her disappointment, she could not help praising him.
Ye Yuan sighed. "Yet in this world, there is someone whose skill at Go leaves me ashamed of my own inferiority."
"What do you mean?"
"I have always prided myself on my exceptional skill, yet against that person, in no more than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, I made countless foolish mistakes and suffered an utter rout! Ah, that is what it truly means to be unrivaled beneath heaven."
"Who is he?"
"Xie Feng."
"You mean the one ranked first on the Heavenly Ranking."
Qi Wuyan's delicate brows lifted slightly, revealing a trace of surprise. "First on both the Aptitude Ranking and the Dharma Artifact Ranking. To think he is also a supreme master of the Dao of Chess!"
"Perhaps not merely the Dao of Chess..." Ye Yuan said.
Qi Wuyan fell silent. She seemed somewhat tired, her smooth, jade-like fingers stroking the bronze Fate Cauldron as her thoughts drifted beyond the heavens.
Heavenly Continent.
After leaving Guixu, Changying wanted to find Sushang, but did not know where she was. Since this was also her first time entering the world and she was curious about everything outside, she decided to enjoy the world first, searching as she traveled.
Her white robes were like snow, her figure like bamboo, her long hair gathered into a single bundle. She held a scroll of green bamboo slips. A moon-white sachet and a wine gourd hung at her slender waist, the scents of flowers and wine intertwining and keeping her perpetually tipsy.
She was like an immortal maiden.
Fresh and elegant, beyond the mundane, untouched by worldly dust.
Changying strolled through the woods, her heart brimming with joy. These mountains and rivers, these signs of human life, gave her a special feeling.
Having lived apart from mortal life in Guixu for so long, she had now entered the world and seen a landscape different from that boundless sea, experiencing another kind of delight.
Suddenly!
Something stirred in her mind, as though she had sensed something, and her expression gradually chilled. Turning her starry eyes behind her, she said calmly, "Come out."
As her words fell!
Space rippled, and two people emerged.
The first was tall, with a face like a white fox and an effeminate look.
"Xun Ji!"
He introduced himself.
The second was powerfully built, with a thick black beard covering his face, and looked exceedingly vicious.
"Cheng Lian!"
He followed immediately, calling out loudly.
The moment they appeared, terrifying pressure surged out with them, bearing down on Changying!
Changying's bearing was like drifting clouds, her expression unruffled. Holding her jade-green bamboo slips, she quietly studied the two with a shifting gaze.
Xun Ji, Mahayana Realm fourth stage!
Cheng Lian, Mahayana Realm sixth stage!
With cultivation like that, whether in an ancient great clan or a holy land, they were more than qualified to hold an elder's position!
These were absolute powerhouses!
They had not come with good intentions!
Xun Ji snorted, curling his fingers delicately as he smoothed the dragon-whisker bangs fluttering before his forehead. "You came from Guixu, so you must be one of its people."
Cheng Lian glared. "Guixu has declined, with only two people left in its lineage. The master of Guixu is a man, so you must be his disciple, Changying!"
Xun Ji chuckled. "Changying, fourth on the Aptitude Ranking, possessing the Immaculate Body! The Grace Ranking is about to open. If we kill you today, we will surely leave our names on the Heavenly Ranking!"
Cheng Lian narrowed his eyes. "Killing a descendant of an ancient immortal will absolutely earn us first place!"
Changying glanced back languidly, her cherry lips pursing slightly. "You certainly know quite a lot about me. It seems you put no small amount of effort into investigating behind the scenes when the Heavenly Ranking appeared.
"But I have no interest in you. I have only just entered the world, and I don't want your blood to sully my eyes. I'll spare you."
Xun Ji and Cheng Lian exchanged a look.
"What is she saying?"
"She says she has no interest in us and will spare us!"
"Haha, what an arrogant woman!"
"You and I are both in the Mahayana Realm. Though her cultivation is shrouded in mist, a little woman on the Aptitude Ranking could be in the Spirit Transformation Realm at most!"
"Attack! This is our last chance at glory!"
The two reached an agreement. Each conjured his weapon, heaven-shaking pressure erupted, and powerful moves shot forth, shaking the entire space!
At such a critical moment, Changying remained unhurried. She untied the sandalwood-colored wine gourd from her slender waist and took a small sip. A faint rosy flush instantly bloomed across her fair, delicate face.
Yet deep within her pupils, frost spread and killing intent surged!
Her appearance was captivating.
The killing aura in her eyes was terrifying!
Changying unfurled the green bamboo slips, and billowing Spiritual Qi erupted. That tremendous power almost brought heaven and earth crashing down!
Xun Ji and Cheng Lian had taken only two steps when space froze, leaving them unable to move!
An ominous premonition rose in their hearts.
"How is this possible?!"
Xun Ji cried out involuntarily, utterly terrified!
Defeated before the battle had begun!
Their bones chilled, and their scalps prickled!
As the two struggled desperately, the world around them suddenly changed. Mountains towered, crimson clouds were about to emerge, and mist surged in vast waves. Looking down, they saw an immense expanse of mountains and rivers stretching for countless miles!
"W-where is this?!"
"It seems she has trapped us inside a space!"
"What? But I'm in the Mahayana Realm!"
"Shut up!"
Xun Ji's voice cracked with panic. That piercing, grating sound made a vein throb on Cheng Lian's forehead, and he roared angrily.
Just then, an enlarged, lovely face appeared on the horizon. Her features were exquisite and refined, her deep-blue eyes like an ocean, mysterious and vast, possessing a fatal allure.
She suddenly narrowed her eyes and laughed very softly, very gently. Her entire face grew even more vivid and picturesque, making one unable to resist gazing at her in a trance, gazing until death.
Yet Xun Ji and Cheng Lian trembled all over!
In the woman's eyes, they saw killing intent as deep as an abyss!