Chapter 71: Dance of Divine Chess

Snowflakes were instantly torn apart, exploding into powder.

Wearing a cat-face mask and hunched over, Li Qingshan exited the Bizarre Temple.

He sprang onto a stately, verdant pine, standing as straight as a spear.

Beneath the black cat-face mask, two eyes glimmered with a mysterious light.

“Little Li Che’s focus has driven his spirit inward. Two hours of divine observation—let’s hope the kid can endure without his mind suffering from the Temple Spirit’s power…”

Li Qingshan muttered under his breath.

Then he turned toward the distance and saw a figure in a white robe and mask slowly emerging from the snowy forest, loose hair fluttering in the storm.

The smooth, flawless white mask displayed no distinct features.

The newcomer had several palm-sized statues hanging from his waist, each carved in the likeness of a child—some praying, others weeping—with varied, lifelike expressions.

Yet few possessed true divinity; none were the work of a master.

“You show up again…”

“Again? Are you planning to challenge me to another duel today?”

The white-masked man replied, his voice tinged with raspiness.

Li Qingshan narrowed his eyes as he stared at the wooden carvings at the man’s waist. “Worshipping the Temple Spirit… you really dare, huh?”

The man sighed softly and shook his head. “I’m merely resorting to desperate measures in a pinch… If you were in my shoes, wouldn’t you do the same?”

“We’re just humble rural cultivators—not the prodigies of the Divine Sect with endless resources, nor the elite of the Dajing Temple Authority backed by the imperial armory. Everything we have, we must earn ourselves.”

“Even worship is a battle.”

Li Qingshan shook his head, saying no more.

Everyone who commits misdeeds clings to their own justification, one that no other can shake.

“Come on then. Though most of my divinity remains unmanifested, I have enough to spar with you.”

Boom—!

Countless clumps of snow burst from the ground as divine energy swirled around Li Qingshan, while behind the white-masked man a grinding-wheel-like Divine Foundation emerged.

The two clashed.

Meanwhile, Li Qingshan subtly drifted from the main battle, heading deep into the forest to engage in combat.

……

……

Inside the Bizarre Temple.

The candle flames flickered incessantly.

Li Che’s heart pounded; this was the boldest act he’d ever attempted.

It was even bolder than his first decision to take a life.

Yet his impulsiveness wasn’t a mere whim—after all, he possessed the “Feilei Chess Sage” Dao Fruit. Sensing something amiss, he activated it and teleported to a chess piece anchor point in the city.

Li Qingshan had mentioned that the Temple Spirit of a tenth-tier Bizarre Temple was equivalent to the Divine Foundation realm—vastly superior to ordinary cultivators.

However, Li Che believed that the Divine Foundation’s domain couldn’t nullify his Dao Fruit ability.

At that thought, Li Che’s eyes burned with determination.

His fingers spread and slowly closed.

They descended upon the furious visage of the “Three-Eyed Furious True Lord Prodigy Statue.”

In an instant, an intensely scorching sensation spread from his palm, as if he were grasping not a statue but a searing, red-hot branding iron forged through countless trials!

Li Che’s brows furrowed as he maintained utmost caution.

A jade-hued mist began swirling around his arm.

The embryonic form of his divine technique: Thousand Analysis Hand!

In a hazy manner, strands of divine essence seemed to be drawn from the carved image of the Temple Spirit, gradually coalescing into shapes resembling chess pieces.

However…

It was far more difficult than when he had extracted Divine Chess Pieces from the late Zhao Xuanhai.

It was as if…

It was like trying to pull a deeply entrenched wooden branch from the soil—the tangled roots making extraction agonizingly hard.

Yet despite the difficulty, Li Che was patient, steadily and incrementally drawing it out.

It felt like a tug-of-war with a slumbering Temple Spirit.

A robust and unyielding divine essence was drawn from the statue, lingering around the tips of his Thousand Analysis Hand.

Two hours passed in what felt like a mere instant to Li Che.

As dusk began to settle,

Li Che immediately released his grip.

He stepped back and leapt off the altar.

Inside the Bizarre Temple, dim candlelight illuminated wooden statues painted red, as though they were eerily watching him.

Oblivious to their gaze and with his heart in turmoil, Li Che raised his hand.

A jade-like glow spread as half a chess piece materialized in his palm.

The piece, forged from an intensely dark divine essence, was only half-formed.

Yet the sheer intensity of this divine energy startled Li Che—it was even more formidable and terrifying than the Divine Foundation Fragment given by the Si Family Patriarch.

He narrowed his eyes and lifted his hand as the Pure Heart Dao Fruit began to pulsate.

The next moment, the unsullied divine essence he exhaled coalesced into a white chess piece.

As his divine cultivation advanced, the number of Unsullied Divine Chess Pieces he could form steadily grew.

Li Che concealed the Divine Chess Piece beneath the altar, using it as a coordinate anchor.

Now that he was sure he could absorb the Temple Spirit’s divine essence…

then he’d have to find every chance to indulge in it repeatedly.

Setting an anchor first made shuttling back and forth much easier.

The sky darkened, yet Li Qingshan had yet to appear.

Li Che decided not to wait any longer.

Glancing at the Three-Eyed Prodigy Temple Spirit atop the altar, he suddenly pushed off with force, launching himself out of the Bizarre Temple.

……

……

Back in the Inner City, Li Che shed his disguise, stowing his mask, clothes, and other items into his Qiankun Space.

Later, he headed to Jinhuang Pavilion to order some food and drinks, then returned to his own courtyard.

His wife, Zhang Ya, was diligently practicing martial arts in the courtyard. Ever since Li Che began training her, she had been practicing relentlessly, determined to catch up despite her late start.

“Husband.”

Dressed in her training attire with a slim belt accentuating her curvaceous figure, Zhang Ya called out.

A smile played on Li Che’s lips as he approached her from behind and wrapped his arms around her. “My dear, would you like me to show you some boxing techniques?”

Zhang Ya’s lovely face flushed softly.

After lingering for a while, Old Chen—seated under the eaves and sipping gourd wine—could hardly hold back. “Ahem, ahem… Li Che, this old man is still around!”

“Could you lovebirds stop showing off in front of an old man?”

Old Chen, clutching his gourd, looked furiously indignant.

“Oh, you’re still around? Didn’t you go for a stroll?” Li Che turned, feigning surprise.

“Why not shift a little? Then you wouldn’t be in sight.”

Old Chen’s anger flared; he thought this place was unbearable—Li Che was no longer the obedient lad of old!

Fuming, Old Chen clutched his wine gourd, ready to leave home.

“Old Chen, why don’t you swing by the Xu Family Divine Cultivation Institute to pick up XiXi and Lu Chi?”

Li Che’s calm, smiling voice drifted over.

Old Chen grew even more irate. “Oh man, I just can’t stand this life!”

Nonetheless, Old Chen quickly set off for the Divine Cultivation Institute, collecting XiXi and Lu Chi. Cradling XiXi in his arms, his affectionate smile made his thoughts of leaving vanish.

Li Che might not have been the most filial, but Old Chen had his beloved XiXi.

The next day.

After seeing XiXi and Lu Chi off at the Divine Cultivation Institute, Li Che headed to the Private Workshop.

Once martial cultivation reached the Qi meridian stage, it was customary to train by circulating internal Qi and blood, storing energy in the organs, and running the small circulating cycle—this was the main focus of that phase.

It was a painstaking effort.

His divine cultivation wasn’t neglected either. By practicing the “Fen Nu Mi Tuo” divine technique and refining Zhao Xuanhai’s Divine Chess Piece, Li Che’s divine prowess grew at an astonishing pace.

Within the Neiwán Inner Scene, the divine stream continuously strengthened.

After completing his daily essential practices,

Li Che donned a conical hat and the Cute Cow Mask, transforming into the Ogre. With his spirit stirred by the Chess Sage Dao Fruit, he observed the Bizarre Temple via the anchor beneath the altar before activating the Feilei Chess Sage’s teleportation.

Clenching his fist, Li Che grasped a white chess piece.

In an instant, his form arrived in the dim, nearly pitch-black ‘Three-Eyed Furious True Lord Prodigy Bizarre Temple.’

The temple was eerily quiet, the sharp scent of candles lingering in the air.

Li Che rubbed his hands and gracefully ascended the altar to begin absorbing the Temple Spirit’s divine essence.

It took roughly two hours to extract half a Divine Chess Piece.

A full chess piece could only be consolidated over two days.

This efficiency was worlds apart compared to when he absorbed Zhao Xuanhai’s divine essence.

Day by day, time passed relentlessly.

Ten days slipped away like sand through one’s fingers.

Regarding the wooden carving promised to young City Lord Cao Qingyuan, Li Che had no intention of even lifting a knife.

Once he understood the true purpose behind the City Lord’s requisition of master carvers, Li Che lost any desire to carve.

Inside the Bizarre Temple.

With practiced ease, Li Che leapt onto the altar and studied the “Three-Eyed Furious True Lord Prodigy Temple Spirit,” whose expression was both enraged and aggrieved, for a moment.

“Old friend, I’ve returned…”

His goal was to condense the fifth Divine Chess Piece of the Temple Spirit today.

“I’m nearly done refining Zhao Xuanhai’s Divine Chess Piece… and my current ‘Fen Nu Mi Tuo’ divine power has at last barely reached the ‘Yangxing Ruhe’ level. Once that’s achieved, I won’t have Zhao Xuanhai’s piece to refine any longer.”

“Fortunately, this Temple Spirit’s divine chess piece also hails from the ‘Divine Fury’ lineage…”

“I just wonder how much of its divine essence I can still coax out—will it be enough to forge a Divine Foundation?”

Li Che flashed a dazzling smile, revealing bright white teeth.

With practiced familiarity, he moved his hand toward the Prodigy Temple Spirit’s head, its surface coated with a thick patina.

……

……

Dark clouds gathered in layers.

The atmosphere felt oppressive and cramped as flickers of lightning danced like dragons.

Icy raindrops cascaded from the heights, pummeling the ground into a misty spray.

In the Inner City, the Xu Family.

Outside the Divine Cultivation Institute.

Lightning revealed imposing black silhouettes—they wore dark clothes, conical hats, and child masks, silently striding through the downpour.

“At Xu Family Divine Cultivation Institute… there are still two prodigies.”

“The Xu Family Old Ghost has already struck a deal with the City Lord’s Residence… choosing to look the other way…”

One burly figure adjusted his conical hat.

“Heh, two prodigies? Since you’re here… we might as well take all the prodigies from Xu Family Divine Cultivation Institute.”

“Move quickly—grab them and deliver them to the City Lord’s Residence.”

“Once this is settled, we Yang Family can immediately mobilize and evacuate Feilei City.”

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