Chapter 134: A Deadly Game on the Cosmic Chessboard
by xennovelCrack!
A crisp sound—a thunderclap behind the clouds.
No sooner had it erupted than it fell into deathly silence.
It marked the extinguishing of a spark of life, the last journey of a lost soul.
Shangguan Qinglei’s neck twisted grotesquely, his eyes flashing with shock and a near-death disbelief as if he had seen the ultimate truth.
Deep in his pupils burned both anger and pleading.
Before those emotions could erupt, his life was snuffed out.
He never imagined that the one who would kill him… would be this person!
This man had appeared suddenly—like a ghost—and stolen his life away!
It was Li Nuǎnxi’s father!
That gentle, refined young man.
That utterly inconspicuous man.
That bumpkin who had come out of Feilei City!
In his dying moments, Shangguan Qinglei’s mind was consumed by one thought…
This is…
Kids taking over from adults?!
Li Che looked on impassively as he had snapped Shangguan Qinglei’s neck, showing not the slightest trace of pity.
After all, Shangguan Qinglei had nearly slain his daughter—there was no room for mercy.
Does he expect to only harden his heart after weeping over her corpse?
Must one suffer immense pain to become cold inside?
That was never Li Che’s style.
His rule was unyielding…
Whoever dares harm his daughter, he will kill them!
From the highest heavens to the depths of the underworld…
They must all be eliminated!
Even if they can’t be killed immediately, once they grow up, he will finish them off!
Li Che…
Has never been known as a good man.
Though Shangguan Qinglei was young, his collusion with the Corpse God Sect had made him a deadly blade hidden within the Divine Sect, bent on harming XiXi.
Li Che would never show any leniency.
Who could have foreseen that sparing Shangguan Qinglei’s life might later turn him into a ticking time bomb?
Sometimes one risk is all it takes.
For someone harboring such deep resentment against XiXi, the chances of becoming an explosive threat were very high.
Thus, the only way to neutralize this danger was to cut its lifeline before it could ever explode.
Glancing coldly into Shangguan Qinglei’s unyielding eyes, Li Che flicked his finger at his brow. In an instant, every internal organ in Shangguan Qinglei’s body shuddered violently before his eyes and organs dissolved into nothingness.
Yet his body remained visually intact.
But that was enough—no power, not even Fear Inducing Radiance, could trace his actions now.
This was Li Che’s first time executing such a clean, calculated kill before witnesses.
After ending Shangguan Qinglei’s life, Li Che took his Qian Kun Jade. Even if it held little value, it was only natural to take whatever he could.
As for his divine essence, Li Che generously let it go, since it meant so little.
Once he finished looting the corpse, Li Che scanned his empty surroundings. Satisfied that no one was watching, the Cosmic Chessboard spread open.
With his thumb pressed against his forefinger as though tossing a coin, he snapped his fingers.
The white Feilei Chess Piece shot off, tumbling high into the sky.
The moment it fell and landed in his palm, Li Che had already vanished into the room Li Qingshan had prepared for him.
In and out without a trace, moving like a specter.
……
The Healing Chamber lay in profound silence.
A dark shadow, enveloped in a perception-blocking black mist, appeared soundlessly, moving as if suspended in air. Even potent Divine Perception could not detect him.
The newcomer drifted silently to the spot where Shangguan Qinglei’s body lay, looking as though he were in a deep sleep.
Yet, as he approached, his eyes suddenly narrowed beneath the swirling black smoke.
“Huh?!”
He abruptly swished his sleeve, and in that instant…
Shangguan Qinglei’s corpse deflated like a punctured water balloon.
His eyes and every innermost organ had dissolved into a pool of blood.
A dense stench of blood permeated the Healing Chamber.
“Who is it? Who dared to silence me early?”
“So ruthless… a method so devious that it dissolves flesh and even obliterates divine essence, leaving not a trace for Fear Inducing Radiance to follow…”
“Which expert of the Corpse God Sect performed such a flawless execution?”
The newcomer murmured under his breath.
Then, as if coming to himself, he even began to praise the technique.
“Who is it?”
The work was so immaculate that no one could tell who it was…
At that moment, outside the Healing Chamber, powerful waves of divine aura erupted like a tidal surge.
Sensing the blood energy of Shangguan Qinglei’s death, they raced to the scene.
The figure cloaked in black mist glanced at the fallen Shangguan Qinglei, shook his head, and then, with a hissing sound, dissipated into a wisp of black smoke.
Once the dark figure vanished…
Several figures dressed in white from the Divine Sect’s Healing Chamber quickly arrived.
They beheld the ghastly, lifeless body of Shangguan Qinglei on the bed.
“The thugs of the Corpse God Sect… have come to silence him!”
“Hurry!”
“Quick, alert the Sect Master!”
……
……
Li Che returned to his room.
His expression remained as calm as ever, showing no sign of the inner tumult following the kill.
Even if his target were a seven-year-old, a child could be just as vicious as an adult.
They were merely unsophisticated villains.
Yet, Li Che showed no hint of relaxation; his brow furrowed and his eyes flared with an ever-shifting fierce intensity.
Because Shangguan Qinglei was nothing more than a disposable blade—a tool to be discarded at any moment.
The true culprit was the hidden expert of the Corpse God Sect who had incited Shangguan Qinglei by providing him with that cursed wooden carving.
His identity remained shrouded, still undisclosed.
Remember, within the Divine Sect there stood masters like Nan Lihuo—a cultivator of the Yuan Xiang realm—at the pinnacle of divine cultivation in the Capital.
Yet even such strong figures had been kept in the dark.
This proved that the Undead Curse Seal wielded by the enemy was of an exceptionally high rank!
For if a force like Nan Lihuo—or one carrying the Nine Suns Undead Curse Seal—appeared before them, even with Divine Perception, something would have seemed amiss.
Even the Eight Extremes Corpse Curse Seal, if not concealed perfectly, would draw the attention of a Yuan Xiang master like Nan Lihuo with even a hint of its presence.
“Could it be that the enemy, hidden within the Divine Sect, is of high rank? Or perhaps just an ordinary disciple? No… it must be someone from the upper echelons. Without sufficient cultivation, an opponent with the Seven-Gen Corpse Curse Seal would be exposed immediately…”
“Thus, the enemy’s cultivation must be at least that of a Xū Xiang practitioner!”
Li Che narrowed his eyes.
Li Qingshan had once suspected there was a big fish within the Divine Sect, but even he couldn’t pinpoint who it was.
The enemy’s concealment was simply too perfect.
Now, his suspicions were undeniably confirmed.
The Corpse God Sect… had indeed infiltrated the Divine Sect!
“The Seven-Gen Corpse Curse Seal?”
“Earlier, I had only suppressed the Eight Extremes Corpse Curse Seal, so its spread went unnoticed. But now, things are different…”
Li Che’s eyes flared, heavy with murderous intent.
“You’re… giving away your handle!”
With a sudden surge, he manipulated his unsullied heart divine chess pieces, slamming them down in a crushing assault.
……
Li Che’s spirit sank deep into the Cosmic Chessboard within his 【Chess Sage】 Dao Fruit.
The Level 3 【Chess Sage】 Dao Fruit now wielded even greater suppressive power.
The skeletal white hand created by the Seven-Gen Corpse Curse Seal was pinned at the center of the chessboard, surrounded by unsullied heart divine chess pieces that held it in check!
The oppressive aura of corpse and death emanated from that white skeletal hand, and even the unsullied heart chess pieces trembled as if being shaken apart.
Every single piece quivered!
“The suppression is extremely challenging… no wonder it is the Seven-Gen Corpse Curse Seal. If that curse were embedded in XiXi, she would suffer unbearable agony—her body and mind would be overtaken by corpse and death energies, descending into madness beyond human or ghostly limits.”
“Damn it!”
At this thought, Li Che’s anger surged uncontrollably.
Thinking of his daughter’s potential torment, Li Che’s murderous intent swelled as he realized his strike on Shangguan Qinglei had been too mild.
He should have made him taste the sting of Thousand Spider Silk!
Li Che seethed with internal hatred!
Yet, his deepest loathing and vigilance were aimed at that hidden Corpse God Sect expert who had orchestrated Shangguan Qinglei’s actions!
Buzz, buzz, buzz—
Suddenly, Li Che’s spirit stiffened.
He saw the skeletal white hand on the Cosmic Chessboard tremble violently.
Those five bony fingers snapped like razor-sharp spears, ready to pierce the void and shatter the bindings of the chessboard!
“Remote manipulation? Trying to reclaim that Undead Curse Seal?”
“Dream on!”
Li Che grew solemn, eyes cold as lethal intent swirled within them.
With a surge of spirit, he commanded his unsullied heart divine chess pieces to crash down with force.
……
……
In a pitch-black secret chamber…
A figure shrouded in black mist suddenly trembled.
From within the darkness, a pair of ghostly eyes flashed with murderous intent.
“I’ve been discovered?”
“Who… dares suppress my ‘Bone-Piercing Claw of the White Bone Bodhisattva’?”
A cold glimmer passed through those eerie eyes.
“Then… let’s see you fight me!”
The dark mist figure thrust out his hands from beneath his black robe; instantly, ten gleaming bronze fingers intertwined, exuding a thick aura of death as they formed bizarre hand seals.
Around him, countless ghostly figures materialized.
Crack, crack, crack—
Bony claws emerged from the ghostly apparitions, slowly reaching toward the swirling vortex of darkness before the mist figure.
Densely clustered skeletal hands reached out in unison.
As if emerging from the bridges of hell—the countless white bony palms of the dead, filled with the unresolved anguish and wails of the departed.
They grasped at the attacker’s feet in an effort to drag him into the depths of the underworld.
“Come on, let’s see what you’ve got!”
The figure in the black mist let out a low, crazed laugh, twisted and mad.
“Mother-Child Undead Curse Seal—my maternal seal remains intact. What can you do to suppress the child seal?”
“Mother calls.”
“Child returns—!”
……
……
Above the Shangguan Family Residence…
A surge of red clouds roared in, as a magnificent divine aura swept over, its intense heat warping the very air!
Within these red clouds, Zhu Hongdou’s eyes blazed like twin infernos. Behind her, a twisted divine entity emerged, engulfed in scorching flames—a beastly form with a human face that was unmistakably real.
Zhu Hongdou’s jet-black hair instantly turned fiery red, cascading down as she donned armor forged from red crystal. Gripping a long spear, two ethereal dragon silhouettes spread from her feet.
She carried the aura of the Fiery Emperor!
In an instant, it was as though a brilliant sun hung over the Shangguan Residence.
Zhu Hongdou roared, “Old man Shangguan Jie, come out now!”
She threatened, “Or I’ll break in myself!”
Inside the Shangguan Residence, after a moment of silence, Shangguan Jie leapt up, every hair on his head standing on end, his anger barely contained.
A palpable aura of terror spread through the air.
“You’ve gone too far! My son is dead, and you, Zhu Hongdou, dare act so brazenly?”
“Are you planning to annihilate the entire Shangguan Family?”
Shangguan Jie’s divine presence surged like dark clouds, overwhelming him with terror.
His hair whipped wildly as he glared coldly at Zhu Hongdou—his gaze even more fierce than hers.
Yet, Zhu Hongdou wielded a divine technique learned from the Golden Temple Divine Tower at Golden Light Peak—a lower-level Six Ministries Divine Technique that, while not the highest, still surpassed his own method.
Thus, the gap between their divine visages was not as vast as one might have assumed.
“Your Shangguan heir—Shangguan Qinglei—used a Corpse God Sect wooden carving during the Divine Sect’s monthly assessment against our divine prodigy. This connects you directly to the incident!”
Zhu Hongdou’s eyes burned red, like twin blazing suns.
Without further ado, she clenched her fingers, and a spear of flame roared into existence.
She had no more words—the attack would speak for itself!
“How dare you bully our XiXi…”
She spat, “Why waste time with words?”
In one word!
“Strike!”
Shangguan Jie froze for a moment upon hearing this, but as Zhu Hongdou advanced without hesitation, his fury boiled over.
That mad woman, once roused, lost all sense of reason!
Damn it!
Shangguan Jie roared in anger and tried to explain, but…
Zhu Hongdou became like a woman who refused to listen, covering her ears as her spear sliced through the sky and flames cascaded like a torrent.
Shangguan Jie was overcome with humiliation!
He hurriedly elevated the battlefield high into the air.
Otherwise, the Shangguan Residence below would be reduced to smoldering ruins.
……
……
During the Divine Sect’s monthly assessment on the arena, the divine prodigy was attacked by theCorpse God Sect’s methods!
The news spread like a raging storm.
In less than half a day, it swept through the entire Divine Sect, reaching even many forces in Jingguang City.
Among the Five Major Families, aside from the beleaguered Shangguan Family, the Patriarchs of Divine Visage from various families emerged, their expressions turning grave.
“Has the Shangguan Family gone mad? They dare target the divine prodigy—the once-in-sixty-years prodigy, the hope of Nan Lihuo! Has Shangguan Jie lost his mind?”
“Perhaps Shangguan Jie was framed. Maybe a Corpse God Sect expert manipulated the seven-year-old Shangguan Qinglei—too easily influenced to be expected.”
“It’s safe to say the Shangguan Family is in dire straits. They’ve just lost their family head, Shangguan Zhengheng, and now another divine child is on the brink of destruction…”
……
Many powerful cultivators conversed from afar, their tones filled with lament.
Some even began to suspect that the Divine Sect was deliberately targeting the Shangguan Family, aiming to suppress the major families’ power in the Capital one by one.
But with Shangguan Zhengheng’s cultivation of Cursed Copper Corpse, no deception could stand—the moment the sins of the Corpse God Sect were exposed, the Divine Sect’s response was inevitable.
Yet, everyone was most concerned about the condition of the Divine Sect’s hidden prodigy.
Ultimately, it seemed nothing catastrophic had occurred.
Had something truly dire happened, it wouldn’t have been just Zhu Hongdou making a move.
Sect Master Nan Lihuo, that formidable Yuan Xiang master, would likely leave the Shangguan Family half-destroyed.
……
……
By the banks of the Jiulong River at Cliff Treasure Tower.
The tower’s eaves curled gracefully, shrouded in mist from the river’s spray.
At its pinnacle, the melancholic strains of a two-stringed fiddle resonated endlessly, carrying sorrow and an unspoken pain.
Monitor Lin Xiu strode forward, his robes billowing. Even before reaching the top, he caught the mournful tune played by the monitor.
The stirring sorrow nearly brought tears to Lin Xiu’s eyes, and he quickly tried to block out the sound.
Yet the soulful fiddle melody, so heart-wrenching, seeped into every corner.
After a while, the sound slowly faded.
“Master Monitor… the thugs of the Corpse God Sect manipulated a seven-year-old during the Divine Sect’s monthly assessment, unleashing the Seven-Gen Corpse Curse Seal to try and destroy the divine prodigy.”
Lin Xiu respectfully clasped his fists as he said.
The monitor’s appearance was heralded by the two-stringed melody; his hair flew and his plain clothes billowed.
“A divine prodigy—who wouldn’t be drawn to that? In all of Daocheng, geniuses abound. To encounter the Corpse God Sect here in the Capital… who could resist?”
“That hidden figure in the Divine Sect has finally lost his restraint…”
Upon hearing this, Lin Xiu suddenly raised his head, his eyes narrowing.
“Inside the Divine Sect… as Li Qingshan once suspected, might there really be a Corpse God Sect expert hidden among us?”
Monitor adjusted a small stool and said gently, “Do not underestimate the Corpse God Sect. They are a force capable of laying waste to a realm, turning Jizhou into a living hell. Even when the King of Pacification, Ji Mo Li, led countless expeditions, he could not subdue this cult…”
“With even one of the six divine beings from the Corpse God Sect on our side, our Jingguang City would be defenseless. Otherwise… the situation would become far more dire.”
Lin Xiu trembled all over and took a deep breath: “The divine beings of the Corpse God Sect…”
“To see, hear, smell, taste, touch, and desire… each one is terrifying beyond words.”
“What secret does the bizarre temple, the origin of the Corpse God Sect, hold that could create such a formidable cult?”
Monitor stretched leisurely.
“However, I doubt that Ji Mo Li alone could suppress all six corpse gods. Too many things in this world remain unfathomable.”
Monitor shook his head, his voice thundering into Lin Xiu’s ears.
Lin Xiu shuddered uncontrollably…
“Teacher…”
Monitor shook his head, “Divine essence may change, but can human nature really be altered?”
“By the way, isn’t the Divine Sect’s prodigy actually Nan Lihuo’s own doing?”
Monitor stroked his chin in thought.
Lin Xiu shivered once more.
“Teacher, what are you saying?! Is the world really that complicated?!”
Monitor smiled faintly, “It probably isn’t… Nan Lihuo…”
“Yeah, it probably isn’t…”
……
……
At the Divine Temple of Golden Light Peak.
Sang Guanyin transformed into a streak of light, dashing at breakneck speed to the front of the temple.
But he was blocked by someone.
It was an old servant, hunched over as if burdened by a heavy load.
At the sight of him, Sang Guanyin’s heart sank.
For whenever Master Nan Lihuo entered seclusion, this servant was summoned for protection—a man who had watched Nan Lihuo grow up and was said to be from the same family.
He was the person Nan Lihuo trusted above all else, surpassing anyone else in the Divine Sect.
Even the disciples paled in comparison to Yuan Bo.
“Yuan Bo, XiXi has been attacked! A Corpse God Sect expert manipulated an inner disciple and unleashed the Seven-Gen Corpse Curse Seal… XiXi barely escaped!”
“This matter must be reported to Master immediately! There is a Corpse God Sect expert among our ranks who can manipulate disciples!”
Sang Guanyin, in an apricot-colored long skirt that should have given her an ethereal air, now wore an expression of urgency and seriousness.
The old servant, bent over like an ancient turtle with a broken back, sat at the temple entrance and slowly lifted his cloudy eyes.
“XiXi was attacked… this is no small matter.”
His voice was hoarse, and his hunched back added to his aged appearance, like an elderly tortoise.
“But since the Young Master is in seclusion and has ordered me to guard him, I must not disturb him,” Yuan Bo rasped.
Sang Guanyin had watched XiXi grow up from a five-year-old into a graceful young lady.
Yuan Bo thought of XiXi and remembered how, like young Sang Guanyin, she had blossomed over the years…
He could only shake his head in resignation—childhood growth signified that he was aging with every passing day.
How much longer could he protect the Young Master?
Yuan Bo shook his head sadly.
“Yuan Bo!” Sang Guanyin cried out urgently.
“Wait a moment, young lady,” Yuan Bo replied wearily, closing his eyes.
Sang Guanyin looked anxiously at the tightly shut temple door, feeling utterly helpless.
What else could be done?
Should they force the door open?
……
……
On the Cosmic Chessboard.
Li Che’s spirit hovered as he manipulated 36 unsullied heart divine chess pieces, pressing down on the trembling white skeletal hand.
He aimed to suppress that skeletal hand.
Yet, the suppression was extremely difficult—the Seven-Gen Corpse Curse Seal hidden within that skeletal hand seemed to possess a will of its own.
Li Che realized that the owner of the curse was still manipulating it, planning to reclaim it now that his scheme had failed.
A chill ran down his spine as his eyes darkened with murderous intent and a trace of fear.
That the enemy could actually summon the curse seal back… if it were to be implanted into XiXi, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Little XiXi’s frail body could never endure it; she would be completely at the mercy of the enemy!
How vicious!
How ruthlessly cruel!
The Corpse God Sect… resorted to such diabolical methods against a three-year-old child!
The entire Corpse God Sect deserved to die!
Li Che’s eyes turned cold as his spirit trembled, and the divine aura within his Unsullied Heart Dao Fruit shone brightly.
It was as if a mighty river were roaring, cascading down in a torrential flow.
Divine chess pieces forged from unsullied heart divine essence began to accumulate and fall onto the Cosmic Chessboard one after another.
Thud!
As they landed, the bombastic sound of divine energy reverberated outward in concentric circles.
Sixty-four pieces!
Then another 32 unsullied heart divine chess pieces tumbled down like sharpened blades, slicing toward the white skeletal hand!
The white skeletal hand writhed and cracked violently as dense black energies oozed out.
The unsullied heart divine chess pieces transformed into chains, entwining the skeletal hand.
Suddenly, Li Che’s expression changed!
He saw that above the skeletal hand, the oppressive aura of death and corpse energy intensified, as if countless white bony claws were reaching out to tear the suppressed hand away!
“Is it time to act?”
Li Che’s eyes turned icy.
The owner of the Undead Curse Seal—the hidden Corpse God Sect expert within the Divine Sect—was battling him over the Seven-Gen Corpse Curse Seal.
“I have drawn the curse seal into the Cosmic Chessboard, and he can sense it—this isn’t just a matter of Divine Perception.”
“It seems the curse seals themselves may have a mother-child connection?”
Li Che closed his eyes, then reopened them with an expression of ruthless resolve.
If that curse were to be imprinted, XiXi would end up not recognizing her own parents—only the maternal seal!
How presumptuous!
Damn it! Is that bastard trying to snatch custody of his daughter?!
What kind of trick is that!
Feeling the terrifying tug of the skeletal hand and the thick emanation of death energy threatening to consume him, Li Che decisively unleashed every unsullied heart divine chess piece stored within his 【Unsullied Heart】 Dao Fruit.
All in!
To suppress!
But before the thought could be fully executed…
That dark gold chess piece, quietly resting in a corner of the chessboard, suddenly trembled, its latent divine aura manifesting.
Then, it shot out laterally, warping and twisting the grid lines of the Cosmic Chessboard wherever it passed!
When the dark gold chess piece hovered above the skeletal hand, it resembled an ancient deity looking down in disdain.
Thud!
Bold and wicked spirit!
The dark gold chess piece vibrated violently, as if an enraged god had bellowed a rebuke!
A surge of oppressive force, as if condensed into a golden glazed pagoda, cascaded downward!
The pagoda slammed onto the skeletal hand.
Li Che thought he heard bones shatter…
Along with a heart-wrenching, ghastly wail, as the skeletal hand burst into countless tiny bone fragments.
Accompanied by dissipating corpse and death energies, everything vanished into nothingness!
……
……
Inside the quiet, dark secret chamber,
the dense black mist trembled violently before surging like boiling liquid.
The figure entangled in the mist shuddered, and soon the heavy scent of blood wafted through the chamber.
Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump—
The countless floating white bony claws…
Exploded in a cacophony of shattered fragments!
Eerie wails echoed, wild winds howled, and swirling drafts convulsed.
The black mist roiled violently, within which a pair of eyes appeared, glowing red as if about to bleed.
“Heavenly King’s Tower…”
“Heavenly King!”
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