Chapter 980: The Universe as the Board, the Stars as the Pieces

Chen Yan withdrew his gaze.

The development of events had exceeded his original expectations.

However, everything that was meant to come would eventually arrive.

If the Mother God did not come, Chen Yan would have to go and find her himself.

He sat cross-legged and began to continue absorbing the Emperor Fruit within his body.

At the same time.

Deep in the vast universe.

Li Zhiyi and the Chen Master stood in confrontation across a vast distance.

"Chen Yan..."

The Chen Master's gaze was extremely complex:

"Back then, I was single-mindedly focused on creating the artificial ancient god Chen Changyuan; I never expected that you would be born within a Cloud Dream."

A glaze-like blood light appeared in Li Zhiyi's eyes:

"I also never expected that the Chen Master, who orchestrated the Ten Thousand Forms Island tragedy, would have such grand original aspirations."

"Hahahaha!"

Chen Yuan laughed out loud.

The two of them looked at each other, but at this moment, there was no hostility; instead, they looked more like old friends who had not met for many years.

"You launched a surprise attack on Ji Province and deliberately sought death—were you worried that I, Chen Yuan, had tampered with the Chen family bloodline?"

Li Zhiyi did not answer, but the Chen Master smiled faintly:

"Indeed, that is so. I have used such methods many times; Chen Fazheng died without ever knowing how much I had prepared just to kill him."

He looked at Li Zhiyi:

"But you did not expect that after I killed you, I would use the Dao-Severing to revive your soul and reshape a physical body for you that lacked the Chen family bloodline."

Li Zhiyi looked at Chen Yuan quietly, then bowed in salute.

"The world may loathe the Chen Master, and I, Chen Yan, have also repeatedly suffered the hardships brought about by the Chen Master."

"Then why do you still bow to me?"

Chen Yuan smiled faintly.

Li Zhiyi's expression was calm:

"Chen Yan of Green Mountain asks the ancestor to die for the human race."

The Chen Master's expression froze, then he smiled faintly:

"A person can be crushed to death, or be framed and killed by others, but one must never commit self-slaughter!"

Chen Yuan's gaze turned cold:

"Chen Yan, you have no path of retreat in your heart; how is it any different for me, Chen Yuan?"

Li Zhiyi's brows lifted slightly, and a faint glow of will appeared all over his body.

Yet, seeing that the Chen Master had no intention of attacking, he said calmly instead:

"Let us play a game of chess; if I lose, I shall be at your disposal."

Li Zhiyi's gaze was calm:

"Yan does not understand the Dao of chess."

"At our level, what is difficult about a game of black and white encirclement?"

A smile appeared in the Chen Master's eyes, and he tapped his toes lightly.

Drip-drop!

In the deep space of the universe, all sounds were silenced!

In the dead silence of billions of light-years, faint lights suddenly lit up one after another, like crushed diamonds scattered across an ink-colored curtain of the sky.

Immediately!

A pattern spanning the galaxy suddenly appeared, as thick as a galactic spiral arm; the lines crisscrossed, dividing into billions of longitudes and latitudes, spreading out in the void to form a boundless chessboard.

Living beings far away in the human realm looked through the endless sky and saw that massive chessboard covering the entire dome.

One by one, they opened their mouths wide.

That god-like method was beyond words.

The Universe Master and other supreme beings of the human race looked on from afar, their minds trembling slightly.

Li Zhiyi and the Chen Master were going to use the universe as a chessboard and the stars as chess pieces to play a great game of heaven and earth that would determine the fate of the human realm.

Chen Yuan, his green robes fluttering, stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Li Zhiyi with a smile:

"Junior, you go first."

Li Zhiyi looked deeply at Chen Yuan, then waved one hand.

Boom!

The power of ten thousand wills formed a giant palm that captured the stars, generating an extremely strong suction force.

In an instant.

A dazzling red star, as if pulled by an invisible giant force, dragged a ten-thousand-foot-long tail of molten gold as it shifted across the sky from a corner of the galaxy.

It landed between the Chen Master and Li Zhiyi.

One piece fell into the Tianyuan position.

Seeing this, the Chen Master's green robes stirred slightly, and he lifted his right hand, which had been behind his back, gently.

Hum!

A light tremor resounded through the universe, and an ice-blue giant star was pulled by an invisible force, breaking free from the shackles of the galaxy and crossing over.

It landed precisely to the side of the Tianyuan black piece.

In an instant.

The moment the piece was placed.

The nebula surrounding the two stars exploded with a boom, transforming into fireflies filling the sky, erupting with endless Martial Dao rules.

Madly colliding, crashing, and strangling.

Chen Yuan's pupils constricted slightly, and the look in his eyes as he gazed at Li Zhiyi changed again and again:

"Interesting!"

Li Zhiyi did not speak, the blood-colored light in his eyes growing more intense, and he waved one hand again.

This time, where his fingertips pointed, he drew upon the stars and placed another piece.

Hum!

On the chessboard, countless pure gold secret scripts suddenly swirled, and the heavenly sound of billions of people chanting in unison resounded.

It was as if the universe were singing the praises of the grandeur of Martial Dao.

Master Chen lightly stroked his chin, waved one hand, and a star traversed across once more.

Boom, boom, boom!

Within the universe, the stars shifted their positions, the power within the endless void was forcibly dismantled, and the entire universe let out bursts of mournful cries.

Li Zhiyi's play was chaotic, yet it landed on the edges of the chessboard in a scattered but orderly fashion.

It looked aimless, but in reality, it faintly formed a surrounding posture.

Between the stars, even more Martial Dao rules spilled out, interlocking with one another and transforming into countless flashing golden secret scripts.

The surprise in Master Chen's eyes rose bit by bit, then gradually vanished.

He looked at Li Zhiyi frequently, but in the end, he did not say a single word.

Boom, boom, boom!

As the two placed their pieces, the universe trembled, and turbulent flows of time and space swept in all directions.

Far away, above the sky of the human world.

Countless living beings saw the stars alternating between brightness and dimness, and one by one they prostrated themselves on the ground, their minds shocked to the point of being beyond compare.

This was already an ultimate Martial Dao that transcended what the human race could imagine.

The human world could no longer contain their battle.

Xia Zhiyang and Lu Xunyang, however, watched with amazement in their hearts.

The match between Master Chen and Li Zhiyi was not just a simple black-and-white encirclement, but also involved the strangulation of thousands of Martial Dao rules.

"Chen Yuan is also a Master of Martial Dao."

Xia Zhiyang sighed with emotion:

"He has created a new path."

"What!"

The Element Lord was incomparably stunned:

"When did Chen Yuan create a new Martial Dao?"

Xia Zhiyang shook his head, then his brows furrowed:

"However, I can faintly feel that the formation might already be dead."

The Element Lord was horrified.

The Master of the Universe was completely numb:

"The struggle between the Five Clans and the Great Xia?"

Ridiculous.

Ever since Chen Fazheng appeared in the world, it has always been a struggle between the Chen Clan and the Great Xia.

The Master of the Universe was incomparably shocked in his heart.

When would the technology path of his Universe Province ever be able to win some dignity?

At this moment.

The Master of the Pool, who had already appeared, watched the great battle above the universe, his heart surging.

Beside him, Xia Hanzhou had already appeared.

The Master of the Pool looked at Xia Hanzhou and narrowed his eyes.

"Why don't you speak?" Xia Hanzhou's voice was extremely cold.

Chi Gan frowned and looked at Xia Hanzhou:

"Could you let me finish watching this game of chess?"

Xia Hanzhou sneered:

"My Great Xia's King Xia Yue naturally would not be in such a hurry to kill you."

Chi Gan frowned, but at this moment Xia Hanzhou had already ascended to the Ninth Rank, and he had no chance to escape.

It was just a pity.

Thinking back to those years.

He and Chen He conspired to ignite the flames of war between Pool Province and the Great Xia, letting Xia Hanzhou bear all the sins.

Unfortunately, Lu Xunyang appeared and blocked the plan of Chen He and him.

Never expected that after so many years, Xia Hanzhou would unearth a Chen Yan.

The next moment.

Boom!

A long spear swept across, and Chi Gan's head exploded directly into a mist of blood.

Xia Hanzhou watched the falling corpse of the Master of Chi coldly.

"As if!"

Xia Hanzhou clenched his fists; at this moment, his great vengeance was fulfilled, and endless cold light emerged in his eyes.

The next moment.

A flash of confusion, however, crossed Xia Hanzhou's eyes.

Everything he had wanted to do was done, and now all that remained was to see just how far this human world could go.

The next moment.

"Lost!"

"The Master of Chen has lost!"

Successive cries of alarm rang out across heaven and earth.

Xia Hanzhou looked up.

Only to see.

The great chess game in the depths of the universe was nearing its end.

Above the cosmic chessboard, stars were scattered, and the laws were intertwined.

The Master of Chen had a calm expression, and in the end, he slowly shook his head.

"I have lost."

PS: My state is really not right, apologies, one chapter.