Chapter 877: The Thirteen Principles of the Go Way: The Formless Go Heart (5K)

Such a scene, Li Hao had never witnessed even when watching his master, Dao Yuan Immortal Emperor, make a move.

The two old men before him clearly possessed a Go realm far surpassing his own, and even surpassing his master—likely already at the Fourteenth or even Fifteenth Level!

Li Hao, transformed into a single stone on the board, could only glimpse endless starry skies, see myriad laws as order, starlands scattered throughout, layered with countless realms, time folding upon itself like a wondrous spectacle.

“Laws and order as threads, time and space overlapping, past and future…”

Li Hao’s gaze grew hazy; the Way of Go, Go mirrors heaven and earth.

A sudden realization struck him: a Go Emperor uses all living beings as stones; a Go Sovereign uses heaven and earth as the board, stars, rivers, sun, and moon as pieces; the ultimate of the Go Way—cosmic chaos, ancient primordial void—all are but a single grain in the ocean, all are mere moves.

His own Go Way reversed yin and yang to alter fate, treating all beings as stones—even the opponent’s stones could be cleverly turned into his allies—but what lay before him was far beyond this, transcending the board entirely, arranging strategy within the chaos of heaven and earth.

“I am the stone…”

Li Hao looked up, seeing himself surrounded on all sides.

He, this single stone, was already dead.

He would be obliterated and erased from the board in an instant.

“A way out, a way out…”

Li Hao’s breath came fast and shallow, his eyes scanning frantically—every direction was sealed; heaven and earth offered no escape—where was the way out?

“Time and space—cross this barrier of time and space…”

In this dire moment, a flash of insight struck Li Hao’s mind—he had reached the Eighth Level of his Time Origin, and perceived a path leading to a moment in the past still unblocked; he surged toward it at full speed.

“Hmm?”

The two old men seated before the board suddenly showed surprise; the Seventh Elder turned to look at the boy standing behind the Eighth Elder—the boy’s expression had gone utterly blank, his eyes locked on the board as if entranced.

Just now, his spiritual sense had touched one of the stones on the board and gently nudged it!

That moved stone carried the power of time, vanished, and reappeared in a past position—barely escaping the blockade.

But this was clearly a violation: a move made, no taking back—how could one move a stone after placing it?

And yet, it was not the true way to break the deadlock.

Still, for a boy whose soul lifespan was merely a few hundred years—less than one percent of those so-called Emperors—to perceive even this much was astonishing to the two elders.

“A true gentleman observes without speaking; this lad says nothing, yet acts directly…”

The Seventh Elder couldn’t help smiling.

…

Before the Ninth Heaven Realm’s landmass.

The lake, once deep and emerald, now stained a dark crimson with blood; the once furious waves had calmed entirely.

The great battle here had ended; in the sky, the snow-haired woman panted heavily, her robes soaked, several wounds on her body, fabric torn, clutching three silver-white orbs tightly in her hands.

“Hmm?”

Suddenly, the snow-haired woman’s expression changed—she sensed a bad omen; without hesitation, she swiftly withdrew from above the lake, dashed out of the landmass, and entered the outer void.

“Miss, are you alright?”

The snow-haired girl rushed to her side, urgently asking.

The snow-haired woman said nothing, immediately absorbing the three orbs of Heavenly Dao Force; then came the sound of tearing air—the Chaos Crimson Demon Clan and other Chaos Ancient Clans had arrived.

“Hmm?”

The Chaos Crimson Demon Clan youths also spotted the snow-haired woman; seeing she had arrived here on the Ninth Heaven Realm before them, their expressions darkened, then worsened as they noticed her wounds—clearly she had fought.

The Chaos Dao Seeds on the Eighth Heaven Realm had already been wiped out by that human; if they lost the Ninth Heaven Realm’s Dao Seeds too, they’d have to return to the Seventh Heaven Realm to search.

But that would leave them far behind the others.

“No wonder the Ancient Immortal Clan moves so swiftly.”

The Chaos Crimson Demon Clan youth sneered.

“Did you see that human?” said another Chaos Ancient Clan youth with black wings.

Sensing the four’s hostile gazes, the snow-haired woman’s expression calmed. “Whether I saw him or not—what’s it to you?”

“You.”

Another Chaos Ancient Clan member’s eyes flashed with cold light—he was about to act; though she was an Ancient Immortal prodigy, the four of them together—even if they risked their Domain Artifacts—could still outnumber her six to one.

As they spoke, a low roar suddenly echoed from the landmass, interrupting them; three massive Chaos Dao Seeds soared toward them—two with bestial, avian bodies, the third a fusion of lion and scorpion, its tail sharp, scaled all over, its head a golden lion’s face.

“Three Chaos Dao Seeds!”

Seeing the three beasts, the Chaos Crimson Demon Clan youths’ eyes gleamed.

The snow-haired woman’s expression darkened; having fought the earlier battle on the lake, she knew not to underestimate the Chaos Dao Seeds of the Ninth Heaven Realm—thankfully she had retreated in time, for in her current state, surrounded by these three, she’d have been forced to use her Domain Artifact to escape.

“You’ve already claimed a Chaos Dao Seed—these three should be ours!”

The youth with black wings said, his gaze threatening.

The other three turned their eyes toward her; clearly, if she dared contest, they’d strike immediately.

Seeing their determination, the snow-haired woman gave a cold smile, her eyes icy. “Before I change my mind, kill me if you can.”

Seeing her yield, the four exhaled inwardly—they didn’t wish to truly fight her; her retreat was best.

“Go!”

Without another word, the four dashed into the Ninth Heaven Realm’s landmass.

As soon as they entered, they were crushed by the Chaos Order’s suppression, and immediately felt the terrifying might of the three Chaos Dao Seeds.

“This aura—so strong!”

“Be careful!”

They suddenly remembered the snow-haired woman’s wounds; their expressions darkened, and they grew solemn, no longer underestimating.

The three Chaos Dao Seeds attacked without mercy, ferocious and brutal; battle erupted instantly.

As the fight intensified, the four felt immense pressure—these three Chaos Dao Seeds were terrifying; their fused twenty-three Chaos Laws were effortlessly torn apart!

“The Chaos energy within these Dao Seeds is too strong—Chaos Laws barely affect them!”

“How is this possible? These are the Chaos Dao Seeds of the Ninth Heaven Realm?”

The four attacked, but to little effect; instead, the Chaos Dao Seeds’ assaults sent them spitting blood within moments—utterly stunned.

In moments, the four were on the defensive; they had no choice but to unleash their bloodline power, revealing their true Chaos Ancient Clan forms—massive, primal beasts—and clashed fiercely with the three Dao Seeds, shaking the earth, shaking the laws.

As they fought, more figures arrived one after another.

“Hmm?”

A youth in dark-gold armor arrived, and upon seeing the fierce battle ahead, paused in surprise.

But he knew he wasn’t the first; his expression remained calm as he silently scanned the surroundings.

He vaguely recalled that ten thousand years ago, he had come here with his junior sister; together, they had slain a few Chaos Dao Seeds, but dared not go deeper, fearing the beasts’ King—death would have been certain.

Now, he came alone—his junior sister was not with him—but he believed his combat prowess from two lifetimes was enough to hunt Chaos Dao Seeds alone, as long as he avoided the King; if he met one, he’d have to use his Domain Artifact to survive—who else had cleared the Eighth Heaven Realm’s Dao Seeds?

“Four against three and still struggling—this generation of Chaos Ancient Clans truly pales compared to the past.”

The dark-gold armored youth thought to himself.

Then his gaze fell upon the snow-haired woman; his eyes flickered.

He moved in a flash, soaring toward her: “You’re from the Ancient Immortal Clan, correct? What is your name?”

The snow-haired woman turned, seeing the dark-gold armored youth; she immediately sensed a faint pressure from him—in her own realm, few could exert such dominance; certainly not those four before.

Yet her expression remained calm. “Xue Fei. And you?”

“Shen Zun.”

The dark-gold armored youth smiled. “I’ve met Lady Xue Ji several times—how is she now?”

“Lady Xue Ji?”

Xue Fei’s eyes lifted slightly—she was a legendary elder of their clan, her great-grandmother.

“Are you a Pretender Emperor reincarnated?”

Her gaze sharpened, fixed on him.

Shen Zun gave no answer; his past cultivation had indeed reached Pretender Emperor level—he perished in that great war, but like his junior sister, his soul-heart remained unextinguished.

“She is well,” Xue Fei said. “But she has long been in seclusion—I cannot disclose details.”

Though she knew this man might have had some shallow connection with her great-grandmother, she showed no warmth, speaking as coldly as ever.

Shen Zun was accustomed to it—the pride of the Ancient Immortal Clan was etched into their bones; even Lady Xue Ji had been the same. Had he not defeated her with his past-life combat might, he could never have walked beside her, fought alongside her for a time.

“The Chaos Dao Seeds of the Eighth Heaven Realm were all cleared—was it your doing?”

“It was that human.”

Xue Fei said, coldly.

Shen Zun froze; Li Hao’s face flashed in his mind; his expression darkened—the Eighth Heaven Realm’s countless Chaos Dao Seeds had all been slaughtered by that boy? He must have gathered enough Heavenly Dao Force already; once he left here, he would break through to Immortal King, and become a prodigy among Immortal Kings, capable of forming a Heavenly Dao Realm.

Within a Heavenly Dao Realm, lifeforms could cultivate and comprehend—thus, the power they contributed to the realm far surpassed that of any other Immortal King.

Moreover, the more Heavenly Dao Force gathered, the greater the chance to attain the Heavenly Heart and become an Immortal Emperor!

“If I find that boy, I must find a way to eliminate him!”

Shen Zun thought grimly.

He turned his gaze to Xue Fei. “The Ninth Heaven Realm is perilous—shall we join forces to explore?”

Xue Fei glanced at him, her eyes thoughtful.

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Earlier, to defeat the three Chaos Dao Seeds, she had used her full strength; another one would force her to use her Domain Artifact—but such an artifact was vital on the Ascension Path, where competition would grow fiercer; without it, she might be eliminated prematurely—she must save it for then.

“Alright.”

After a moment’s thought, she nodded in agreement.

Although she deeply disliked traveling with others, let alone a man, she had no choice but to endure it for the sake of this opportunity.

Seeing the other willing to join forces, the Divine Sovereign exhaled in relief, smiled, and felt fate was truly strange: one hundred thousand years ago, he had once traveled with Xue Ji, the prodigy of the Ancient Immortal Clan; now, he was again partnering with the contemporary prodigy of that same clan to explore the Ninth Heaven Realm. Clearly, he was fated to be closely tied to the Ancient Immortal Clan.

Meanwhile, others who had fused twenty-three Chaotic Laws—Luoning Shuang, Su Wanyi, and more—also arrived in succession.

On the Chaotic Dao Ranking, no more than thirty individuals had fused twenty-three Chaotic Laws, and half of them had already ascended to the Immortal King realm, even achieving the Pretender Emperor realm.

Now, only a dozen or so had come here, though some among them, who had fused only twenty-two Chaotic Laws, had also risked entering.

After all, the Eighth Heaven Realm had been cleared out; they could only come here to see if they could hunt. If they found nothing here, they would have to return to the Seventh Heaven Realm.

“Are those Chaotic Dao Seeds really that strong?”

Luoning Shuang narrowed her eyes, watching the four Ancient Chaotic Clan members being pushed back even as they fought together. She was startled—especially when she saw their Chaotic Laws had no effect on the Dao Seeds. Her gaze grew grave.

No wonder this Ninth Heaven Realm was once considered a forbidden zone, avoided by all. Had the Eighth Heaven Realm not been cleared, she would never have come here first.

“Looks like to hunt inside, I need to find a partner.”

Luoning Shuang’s gaze swept across the area and immediately spotted Su Wanyi, her fellow sect member. Su Wanyi noticed her too. The two women locked eyes, instantly understanding each other’s thoughts, and both nodded.

As they reached an agreement, a figure in black robes darted in from the edge, utterly unremarkable.

But the black-robed figure glanced at the battle among the Ancient Chaotic Clan members, his expression utterly calm. He did not pause, but flew straight in.

He did not join the chaos, but instead flew off toward another direction.

Seeing someone enter the Ninth Heaven Realm, Luoning Shuang and Su Wanyi no longer hesitated. They moved at once, circling around the fighters, heading to explore other parts of the Ninth Heaven Realm.

Though they also wanted to take advantage of the chaos and seize the opportunity, the four Ancient Chaotic Clan members still had their Realm Artifacts unused. To seize anything now would inevitably trigger a Realm Artifact battle here—pointless.

They would save these items for the struggle over the Ascension Path. Each person had three; use one, and you lose one.

“Let’s go too.”

The Divine Sovereign invited Snow Empress, but his gaze flickered to the girl beside her, who looked like a servant.

Anyone who could come here—even if she bowed humbly before Snow Empress—radiated a presence at the peak prodigy level. Far from ordinary.

Snow Empress nodded. She had no interest in watching the battle anymore. With a partner, she could now explore other areas within.

Soon, everyone began entering the Ninth Heaven Realm one after another.

Some who arrived later, having fused twenty-two Chaotic Laws, saw the battle at the entrance. Some chose to retreat; others joined forces and entered the Ninth Heaven Realm.

Meanwhile, deep within the Ninth Heaven Realm.

Before a bamboo grove and thatched cottage, Li Hao stood behind the Eight Elders, his eyes vacant, his consciousness fully immersed in the chessboard.

He became the black piece, feeling blades from all directions. He constantly evaded, shuttling through time and space, yet the killing moves pressed closer with every step. Wherever he fled, death awaited—only fleeting moments of respite.

“This cannot last!”

Li Hao was drenched in sweat, feeling an urge to restructure everything—to reopen heaven and earth, to rearrange all the pieces.

But clearly, he lacked such power. He could only keep leaping between past and future timelines, alternating endlessly.

Yet even as he leapt back and forth, he remained trapped in an inescapable dead end.

“One misstep, and the entire board is lost…”

In his endless flight, Li Hao had lost count of how many times he had escaped. He was weary, exhausted—but the relentless killing intent forced him to keep moving.

Suddenly, he understood: this move had been wrong from the start. His struggles were merely patching a leak, futile self-rescue.

If there had been no beginning, there would be no present.

Fate… if only he could return to the very start, if he had never made this move, he would not need to struggle at all.

He kept leaping, hiding in countless timelines, as the chess pieces’ killing moves converged upon him, seeking to shatter him.

“Fate…”

In Li Hao’s mind, something seemed to sprout. Chaotic threads suddenly vanished, leaving only one line taut and straight—stretching from the heavens, wrapping around his body, yanking him out of his current predicament, pulling him free from this dead-end move.

He leapt free—and suddenly saw: the sky high, the sea vast, the clear sky stretching for ten thousand miles, the starry sea glittering brilliantly. Everything seemed to return to its primal origin.

“Yesterday’s cause, today’s effect. Sever the cause, cut the effect… The chess player’s path is deception, is array. The formless is supreme. The formless is king!”

Li Hao murmured to himself. His eyes, once clouded, now sharpened—as if dawn’s divine light burst from within, piercing through layers of mist, seeing through the alternation of time and space, the entrapment of fate.

Instantly, a prompt appeared before his eyes—but Li Hao ignored it. Instead, countless insights into the Way of Chess flooded his mind.

He had awakened his own Chess Heart—the Heart of the Chess Dao!

From the Twelve-Level Heavenly Chessboard to now, the Thirteen-Level: Formless Chess Heart!

Self-formless, traceless, unfathomable, endlessly shifting!

No cause, no effect. No past, no future. Wherever the piece falls, myriad transformations arise!

At this moment, Li Hao comprehended fully.

On Ji Dao Mountain, he had sought the Dao for a hundred years, and in grief and fury, had awakened the Reverse-Time Painting Heart. Another hundred years passed, and though he mastered the Way of Music, two gaps remained. Now, in the Ninth Heaven Realm, watching a single game of chess, he awakened a single Dao—and shattered the twelve-level bottleneck of the Chess Dao, ascending directly to the thirteenth level!

This was his second thirteenth-level heart insight!

Reverse-Time Painting Heart. Formless Chess Heart.

At this moment, all the vast star rivers before Li Hao vanished. His vision sharply contracted, leaping off the chessboard, returning to his own body.

He still stood within the bamboo grove—not within the boundless starry chessboard. Still behind the Eight Elders—not within the unfathomable chess layout.

Time seemed not to have passed. Everything returned to the moment the conversation ended.

When Li Hao came to his senses, he met the gaze of the Seventh Elder—smiling, slightly surprised. The elder’s lips curved upward:

“Young man, have you awakened?”