Chapter 797

Aside from the entangled fate-lines between the little blue man and the statue people, a thicker, chain-like line wound around the little blue man's back, while the little blue man and the statue people also emitted countless fine threads, dense as a spiderweb, intricate and tangled; all the extending lines were blocked by white mist, making it impossible to see anything further.

This vast web of intertwined fate-lines made Fang Yue's own seem like a dwarf beside a giant—there was no comparison at all.

No wonder the parchment had been astonished enough to exclaim: what a massive game of chess…

【Understood? That guy's trying to reel you in. What exactly he plans, we'll have to wait and see how the fate-board changes.】

【What do you want to do?】

Fang Yue's expression darkened—he had no intention of becoming someone else's pawn; cutting it off was the best choice.

【Got it, watch me!】

A mournful flute note sounded, and a slash twisted through the air, appearing out of nowhere and slicing from afar.

Crack! It cleanly severed the pale blue thread above Fang Yue's head, severing the connection to the cloud-dwelling little blue man.

The little blue man still wore his calm smile for a while, then suddenly changed—as if infused with a soul—becoming as vivid and lifelike as Fang Yue's little black man. His expression flickered with surprise, he glanced downward, then looked around bewilderedly, as if utterly confused about what had just happened.

A mournful wind howled, and the little blue man instantly changed expression, reverting to his previous mysterious smile, the soul fading away.

【Done… Using its power drained far more than I expected.】

You're not going to fall asleep again, are you?

【No no, just feed me more stones!】

Fang Yue's mind conjured the parchment's adorable head-toss, then its pleading gaze fixed on him.

【Fang Yue, Yueyue, Yueyueyue! I remember you still have one Golden Stone…】

"No way! I'm keeping this one—I'll give it to you only after we safely reach Jingcheng."

【Stingy! Stingy-poo!!】

【I'm not talking to you anymore!】

And just like that, she stopped talking—the 【Fate-Board】 image shattered like a broken mirror, scattering across the floor. Fang Yue snapped back to reality, realizing he was still standing on the deck, originally headed to the stern to clean up the red-eyed monster fish.

"Ye Ge?"

"Ye Ge, what's wrong? You've been staring blankly for ages."

Jing Yan and Chen Qing stared at Fang Yue in confusion; he shook his head.

"I'm fine."

Saying that, he led the two toward the stern.

He'd wanted the parchment to foresee whether the Han Jiang giant-ship could reach Jingcheng safely—or the Flame Sect's mountain gate.

But the parchment was still sulking, so he'd leave her be for now.

Compared to the parchment's new 【Fate-Board】, luck and other such mystical things, Fang Yue still found the parchment's foresight the most practical.

And… the parchment absorbed the 【Linglong Eight-Image Jade Flute】 and grew stronger—could it now break through from Rain-grade anomaly?

If the parchment could ascend to Immortal-grade, I could harness its Immortal-grade power—then many things would become far easier.

In Qing Guo's Capital, there are surely Rain-grade old monsters—but Immortal-grade experts? Not necessarily.

No… there are probably still some. Even if no true Immortal-grade exist, there must be beings wielding Immortal-grade-level power; otherwise, Qing Guo couldn't have thrived so long.

Immortal-grade experts haven't vanished entirely—they've just gone silent, and no new Immortals have emerged in ages. That's two different things.

Regardless, the only path forward is to grow stronger and reach Jingcheng as soon as possible.

Thinking this, Fang Yue led the others to the stern.

Compared to the chaos on the main deck, the stern simply had more red-eyed monster fish.

But upon closer inspection, Fang Yue quickly noticed something odd.

He saw… some of the red-eyed monster fish clinging to the stern's wooden planks, fused like chewed gum, indistinguishable from the wood, merged into one.

Fang Yue didn't know what this meant, but he sensed something ominous.

They were on the Han Jiang—if the giant-ship failed here, everyone aboard would die; no one could survive the Han Jiang.

Without hesitation, Fang Yue shouted and charged forward. His black wheel opened behind him, black silk erupting like tentacles in all directions, sweeping through the red-eyed monster fish like a clearing storm.

Jing Yan roared and joined the attack, hoping to land some auxiliary hits to boost his stats.

Only Chen Qing, upon seeing the fusion of wood and monster fish, grew excited. Ignoring Fang Yue and Jing Yan's frantic clearing, he rushed straight to the fused spots, eyes gleaming as he studied them intently.

…

Qing Cheng, city gate.

Qing Cheng, the Capital of Qing Guo, commonly called Jingcheng, was the most prosperous place in Qing Guo.

And the city gate of Qing Cheng was one of its busiest districts.

The reason was simple.

It was Qing Cheng's only open entrance and exit, with enormous foot traffic.

And nearly all were outsiders, unfamiliar with Qing Cheng.

Under such information imbalance, locals could easily exploit outsiders with all sorts of tricks.

Yet such a prime location wasn't open to just anyone for setting up a stall.

Oddly enough, an unassuming old man with a thin white beard had set up a chess endgame here, waiting for fools to walk into his trap.

The old man's endgame was masterful—challenge after challenge came, yet none succeeded.

The current challenger before the old man was a newly recruited disciple of the Flame Sect, apparently named… Tianlong?

He claimed to be a refugee.

"Refugee" was a newly coined term in Qing Guo—a trendy label; anyone who called themselves a refugee gained extra attention.

Tianlong had mediocre talent and had barely been accepted into the Flame Sect thanks to this identity and some luck.

Today's entry into the Capital seemed to be for a mission from his sect.

The exact details? The old man didn't know, and didn't care.

It's just that the moment this little fellow entered Jingcheng, he was drawn in by the old endgame on the board, itching to give it a try.

Strangely though, every move this little fellow made, he would space out for a long while before placing the next piece, mumbling words like "Alpha" and "artificial intelligence" that no one could make sense of.

The white-bearded elder didn't mind either; after all, the person he was waiting for had yet to appear.

The people around pointed and gossiped, most of them just watching the commotion.

All of this had been within the white-bearded elder's expectations.

But suddenly, as if sensing something, his expression shifted rapidly several times.

The luster faded from his eyes, and he became like the Tianlong refugees before him, standing dumb as a statue.

Within the Fate Plate.

The little blue figure representing the First Prince, Qing Qianyang, was suddenly infused with a soul.

He looked down in confusion at the fishing line in his hand—it had already snapped.

And the reason left him completely baffled; looking down, there was only a vast expanse of white, utterly lacking the clarity and freshness from when he had cast the bait earlier.

"This shouldn't be. With my Fate Body cultivation, I should be fully able to see the movements below—why can I not catch even the slightest trace of that person?"

(End of chapter)