Chapter 100: The Chessboard Spans the Firmament

Zhao Wuyang walked along, his heart filled with confusion. Although the Second Cave was not very bright, Zhaoming Zhenren had just cast witchcraft, so it should have been reasonably illuminated. Yet, why did everyone, upon entering, seem unable to see anything? Some were even reaching out to grope for things; it was truly bizarre...

As he walked, he suddenly saw Xinyi standing before a pedestal with his head bowed, motionless, as if he had fallen asleep. He hurried forward, only to see that Xinyi's eyes were wide open, and his face was streaming with tears.

Zhao Wuyang was greatly alarmed. In his view, Xinyi was an extremely resilient and steady person; such incessant weeping was something he had never even imagined.

"Xin... Xinyi Dage... what is wrong with you?"

He asked cautiously, but Xinyi gave no response at all, simply standing there and weeping silently.

This was somewhat unusual. Zhao Wuyang reached out and tugged at the corner of Xinyi's robe, calling his name, but no matter how loudly he shouted, Xinyi simply ignored him.

At this, Zhao Wuyang grew anxious. He looked around and discovered that everyone else was just like Xinyi; though they were not weeping like him, they were all standing still with their eyes wide open.

Could it be that there was something in this cave that could bewitch one's mind? But why was he unaffected?

Just as Zhao Wuyang was at a loss for what to do, he turned his head and saw a chessboard on a pedestal not far away, and the black and white pieces on that board were floating and constantly changing positions.

This object was very strange; could it be that everyone was like this because of it?

Zhao Wuyang hurried forward to examine it, only to see that the chessboard was different from those he saw in daily life.

The chessboards seen in daily life were formed by thirty-eight intersecting lines, with three hundred and sixty-one intersections for placing pieces and laying out strategies; the center of the board was the Heavenly Origin, with four corner stars and edge stars as markers. However, there were no grid lines on the surface of this board; instead, many dots were carved into it, with the central Heavenly Origin dot being larger than the others.

This was strange; how could such a chessboard be used for a game? Even stranger were the black and white pieces floating above the board.

The pieces visible to the eye were all illusory images. Zhao Wuyang reached out, but he touched nothing at all, and no pieces had fallen onto the board.

Zhao Wuyang was astonished. He reached out to touch the chessboard again, thinking the board itself might also be an illusion, but he felt something solid.

Before he could think further, he suddenly saw ten thousand stars flashing before his eyes. The stars changed so rapidly that he felt a splitting headache, and unable to endure it, he let out a roar.

The stars shifted constantly, battering Zhao Wuyang's consciousness. He was in extreme pain, yet his consciousness remained clear, and he could not lose consciousness.

Just as Zhao Wuyang felt as if his body were about to tear apart, the stars suddenly became still. The surrounding stars twinkled, and he felt as if he were placed within this brilliant, cosmic river of stars.

At this moment, a voice suddenly rang in his ears, melodious and ethereal, yet somewhat playful.

"I wondered why you were not bewitched by the various vengeful spirits of Xuancang Cave; so, you are a Heavenly Star Spirit Root."

Zhao Wuyang was greatly alarmed: "Who is it? Who is speaking!?"

He looked all around, but all he could see was a expanse of brilliant starlight.

Just then, a white light flashed before his eyes, accompanied by a burst of laughter, and the voice spoke again:

"A mere mortal body, yet able to withstand such shifting of the stars; curious, truly curious."

Zhao Wuyang looked in the direction where the light had streaked past and saw a blinding radiance. The light seemed like a person, sitting or perhaps crouching in this void of the universe.

He covered his eyes with his hand and asked: "You girl, who exactly are you? Why are you here?"

Hearing him ask this, the person actually laughed: "Girl? I don't know how long it has been; the last person to call me that has likely long since returned to this vast dust." As she spoke, the light drifted toward Zhao Wuyang as if floating on water.

"Hmm... this old one is quite bored. You look decent enough; why not keep me company for a few days to pass the time."

Zhao Wuyang did not react to the meaning of the words for a moment, but was confused by the person's self-reference—the figure looked no more than six or seven years old, and the voice was so pleasant, so why "this old one"?

While he was struggling with this, the light-person leaned in and raised a hand to tap Zhao Wuyang on the forehead.

In an instant, the still stars began to fly, and the river of stars flowed.

Zhao Wuyang's vision was dazzled, as if the entire universe were flowing into his body, and all that passed before his eyes were the vicissitudes of life.

After a fleeting moment of change, a point of light flashed on his forehead, and Zhao Wuyang lost consciousness, while the chessboard that had been on the pedestal vanished without a trace.

Just as Zhao Wuyang was about to fall, a dark shadow flashed out and caught him. The shadow had hair like a waterfall and a face like jade, but those eyes were golden.

It was Ajin!

When Zhaoming Zhenren saw Ajin, his face was full of astonishment. He saw him holding the unconscious Zhao Wuyang and walking out of his Spirit-Attachment Array with ease, yet he did not know when he had entered the cave.

Zhaoming Zhenren bowed to Ajin, but his eyes were fixed on Zhao Wuyang in his arms: What is this child's background, to be protected by the Divine Envoy in such a way?

Ajin nodded to Zhaoming and hurriedly took Zhao Wuyang out of the cave to find Lingxiang.

Lingxiang was just telling Banxia about the various benefits of the Judge's Pen when she saw Ajin walking toward her carrying Zhao Wuyang.

"Something entered Wuyang's body just now, and he fainted like this. You must take a look at him quickly."

Lingxiang was shocked upon hearing this and hurriedly felt Zhao Wuyang's pulse. The pulse was steady and calm, with nothing strange about it.

When Qianyuan Zhenren saw his beloved disciple like this, he did not bother with formalities toward Ajin and hurriedly reached out to touch Zhao Wuyang's forehead, but the moment he touched him, an invisible force pushed him away.

"Eternal Firmament!"

Qianyuan Zhenren shouted out, and the Elders were greatly alarmed, hurriedly gathering around.

"It is actually the Eternal Firmament!" Donghui Zhenren had thought his disciple's Dao fortune was extraordinary, but he never expected that in this lifetime he would encounter someone who could be chosen by the Eternal Firmament; that was the power of the stars of the heavens!

"Eternal Firmament?" Chengxin Zhenren was also shocked. According to his knowledge, the Eternal Firmament had only appeared once in the long river of history, and it was that very time that Chaos came into being.

Just as everyone was stunned, they heard Lingxiang say nonchalantly: "Ah~ that chess array; little Wuyang was actually able to resonate with that fellow. I don't know if that is a joy or a sorrow."

Ajin heard this and hurriedly asked what she meant. Lingxiang paced back and forth while holding her chin, and only after a long while did she reply: "The pulse is nothing to worry about, but the power of this Eternal Firmament is too strong and has no historical precedent. Whether Wuyang can withstand it is hard to say," she said, walking to Ajin's side to look at Zhao Wuyang.

"Whether he will still be Wuyang after he wakes up is also unknown; after all, what he saw was the ten thousand truths..."