Chapter 213: The Next Grand Chess Game

Under these restrictions, even if the Ming He Ancestor and other great beings secretly send tripping talismans, dispatching the Asura Race to stir trouble, the Human Race can only have its teeth knocked out and swallow blood.

In the course of speaking, they arrived at the Eight Scenes Palace. Passing through the nine‑bend corridor, they saw the Tai Qing Sheng Ren with eyes closed, contemplating the Heavenly Dao. When the saint opened his eyes, his gaze, like lightning, shot straight at Zhou Yi:

"Sister Nüwa should have already said the Dao Ancestor's arrangement; this matter concerns the order of Heaven and Earth, so remember not to rely on any luck. In this Witch–Undead war you protected the Six Realms of Reincarnation, and you will need to continue to watch over them carefully."

"Disciple will remember; on the return journey I will bring four Quasi Saint‑ranked strongmen to the Ten Thousand Fires Cave." Zhou Yi bowed and replied. Within the palace, violet qi swirled, the incense burner raised curling blue smoke, making the saint's visage appear ever more profound and unfathomable.

Zhou Yi forced a bitter smile and cupped his hands: "The Dao Ancestor this time has placed a tightening curse on me, trapping me in the Ten Thousand Fires Cave as a gate deity; over at the Six Realms of Reincarnation, I truly have the will but no power."

Those words were half true, half false, with a hint of feigned pity, but in fact the Underworld had already set the hidden chessboard long ago.

Tai Qing Sheng Ren didn't even lift an eyelid, casually adding incense to the burner: "Those two bald donkeys will sooner or later cause trouble again; remember, Jieyin Zhunti I will block, and you handle the remaining little brats yourself."

Zhou Yi heard it and ground his back molars; was this old man truly clueless or merely playing dumb? He himself was already confined by the Dao Ancestor—could he possibly be expected to cast spells from afar?

Just as he was pondering how to respond, he looked up and saw that the Elder Jun had already spirit‑traveled to the Grand Void, leaving only the incense ash fluttering down in the hall.

"Damn, I've been played like a monkey again." Zhou Yi bowed and exited the Great Hall; just as he was about to step over the threshold, the Elder Jun floated a remark: "Before heading to the Ten Thousand Fires Cave, take a detour around the Sea of Chaos."

Zhou Yi's hair on the back of his neck stood on end; turning back, he saw the Daoist temple's main gate slam shut. He clenched his sleeve, where two glowing Great Peng Bird soul fragments flickered, and sneered: "I was just lacking an excuse to deal with that old mud eel, and now the knife is offered."

Inside, his heart pounded; how could the Elder Jun know he was still thinking about the Chaos Bell?

That cracked bell had vanished during the Witch–Undead war; he merely wanted to try his luck.

He calculated this errand: not only must he root out and destroy the Great Peng Bird, but also guard against the Chaos Bell's backlash.

Although his Quasi Saint cultivation is sufficient, encountering an innate treasure could still prove disastrous.

What was even stranger was that Tai Qing Sheng Ren's hint came from an uncanny source—could it be that the few beyond the heavens were scheming again?

Zhou Yi felt his fingertips tremble—had all his schemes been seen through by the Tai Qing Sheng Ren? He stared at his palm lines for a while, then shook his head self‑mockingly.

If that saint truly could foresee his later moves, where now could he possibly stand, front and back, outside the Eight Scenes Palace?

"The Sea of Chaos probably harbors hidden stakes beyond our grasp," he muttered, stepping onto a cloud, suppressing all his doubts.

At this moment, in the council hall atop Shouyang Mountain, four figures cloaked in beast‑skin great cloaks paced back and forth, while Sui Huang's torch cast the walls into flickering light.

Sui Huang's torch suddenly shot up three zhang high: "Human Ancestor, give us a clear answer—once we are all trapped in the cave heaven, when the next demon wind blows, shall we let those youngsters in the clan who have just learned to draw Qi take the lead?"

Zhou Yi snapped his fingers, scattering the floating sparks before his eyes: "Do you all recall the thunder calamity that the Heavenly Dao sent three hundred years ago when the Shui Shen toppled Mount Buzhou?"

He raised his hand, sketching in the void, and the earth‑shattering thunder light from that era reappeared before everyone: "The ascendance of the Human Race is the destiny of Heaven; who dares to block it…"

"Boom!"

The council hall trembled, for the thunder gathered in Zhou Yi's palm shattered half of the jade table.

You Chao gazed at the powdered remnants of the table corner and suddenly recalled the scene ten years ago during the Witch–Undead decisive battle, when that Human Emperor shattered the Twelve Ancestral Witches' magical image merely with his imposing aura.

"Furthermore..." Zhou Yi brushed the jade shards from his robe, a mysterious smile curling his lips: "When the Xuanyuan Clan, sword on his back, emerges from the Fiery Mountain, do you think those old guys hidden in the cave heaven will scramble to become his guardians?"

Sui Huang's torch suddenly went out, and the eyes of the four Quasi Saints simultaneously flashed with brilliance.

Only then did they realize that Hong Yuan Lao Zu's overt rise and covert fall was clearly intended to clear space for the Human Emperor's successor to wield his power.

Thinking of this, Zi Yi Clan member burst into laughter, the hundred‑beast bone pendant at his waist jingling.

To put it bluntly, as long as Zhou Yi still roams the Human Race's territories for a day, he is the universally acknowledged uncrowned king of all humanity.

No matter which of the Three Heavenly‑Human Emperors arrives, it makes no difference; the common folk already recognize this lord as their champion.

However, once Zhou Yi retreats to the Ten Thousand Fires Cave with Sui Huang and the other Quasi Saint big shots, the ascension of the Three Emperors and Five Sovereigns to become the decision‑makers will be a natural outcome.

"What talk of prodigies? If it weren't for the Human Ancestor leading everyone to cultivate the Honghuang Continent, we Humans would still be eating dirt! The cultivation techniques were passed down by him, the top masters were trained by him—what up‑and‑coming talent could compare with him?"

The Zi Yi Clan member pounded the table in dissent. Though Hong Yuan Dao Ancestor's power reaches the heavens, he fundamentally does not understand human hearts; the imprint Zhou Yi left on the Human Race cannot be easily erased.

Now the Human Race practices the Zhetian cultivation technique he founded; that alone is enough to be sung of for generations.

Cang Wen bluntly added: "Nowadays, aside from the Human Race, no one else could sit in that chair that the common folk would accept." That's no exaggeration—Zhou Yi is now a living billboard. As soon as he speaks, even the Human Race at the volcano's rim dares to leap inside.

"Enough of that, we're holed up in the Ten Thousand Fires Cave, still able to covertly protect the Human Race; if we truly clash with the Dao Ancestor, we'll be handed a boxed meal in minutes. By then, it won't just be the Human Race we guard—perhaps the entire clan will be doomed."

Zhou Yi's words shut everyone up outright. Though Sui Huang and the others felt stifled, they could only swallow their words.

What truly dropped jaws was that Zhou Yi turned and split the Human Race into tens of thousands of tribes.

The large ones numbered a million people each, the small ones only a few thousand gathered together, all scattered across Honghuang, even reaching the surrounding three thousand minor worlds without omission.

In fact, right after the Witch–Undead war settled, he was already plotting this, though he didn't openly split them at the time.

At first glance this maneuver seemed to fracture the Human Race, but if Zhou Yi's reputation weren't sky‑high, he would have been drowned in slander long ago.

However, a closer look reveals the method: the tens of thousands of tribes are actually spread across two hundred strategic zones, each zone anchored by a million‑person great tribe whose leaders are all Great Luo Golden Immortals.

This is not self‑nullifying martial skill; it's clearly a new grand chess game.

Within the core circle of the Imperial Feather Guard, two hundred top masters who have cultivated the Zhetian Imperial Method to its ultimate stage are active.

These strongmen each guard a specific zone, and around each zone are several small settlements led by Golden Immortal‑rank leaders.

These great powers all once served together in the Imperial Feather Guard, forging deep camaraderie; when crises arise, they always watch over and aid each other.

Zhou Yi innovatively adopted a "divide and conquer" strategy, extending the tribal network to every corner of Honghuang.

Even the remote three thousand minor worlds have frontier outposts guarded by Golden Immortals. This arrangement ensures overall connectivity.

As long as Zhou Yi raises his arm and calls, he can swiftly gather forces, while avoiding the various apprehensions that massive powers provoke.