Chapter 462: Rolling Up

In late June, at the end of summer, it was still cool on Yuding Mountain.

Mountain sparrows chirped on the roof of the Sect Master's courtyard; seemingly sensing that the person below had things to attend to and would not pay them any mind for a while, they stopped after chirping for a bit, standing in a row on the roof and staring down at the two people below with their dark, glossy eyes.

It was dusk now, which was usually their feeding time.

"That is about all I can tell you," the newly appointed Sect Master said to Chen Shu. "One cannot be too detailed, nor too rigid. The birth of the Blazing Sun World-Extinguishing Divine Art was a miracle in itself; for thousands of years, it has been full of vitality. Every outstanding Spirit Cultivator who learns the Blazing Sun World-Extinguishing Divine Art should have their own unique understanding of it. Perhaps many years from now, you will be able to make improvements to it based on this unique understanding, and after receiving the sect's approval, your improved version will be the next version of the Blazing Sun World-Extinguishing Divine Art."

"So it has been changing for thousands of years," Chen Shu could not help but show a look of surprise.

"Yes, it has never stopped for a moment."

"Who made the last modification?"

"My master."

"I see..."

"Go back now."

The Sect Master stood up and fished a handful of millet out of his pocket: "I have to feed the birds."

He tossed it onto the roof, and a golden shimmer filled the air.

Although the millet was small, it made a faint clinking sound as it landed on the tiled roof, and the mountain sparrows immediately jumped up to peck at it or flapped their wings to compete for it.

"Wait!"

The Sect Master suddenly called out to him, fell silent for a moment, and a sense of boldness suddenly rose in his heart: "Come over in a few days for a game."

"Me?"

"You..."

The Sect Master looked at him with a smile and urged: "Remember to bring your guardian."

"Are you sure?"

"I want to witness the style of the Secret Sect."

"Sure."

Chen Shu left the Sect Master's courtyard.

Having studied the Blazing Sun World-Extinguishing Divine Art for nearly a month, relying on his previous understanding of the Small Blazing Sun Art and the Great Blazing Sun Art, and under the Sect Master's guidance for half a month, Chen Shu had barely managed to grasp the Rune structure of the Blazing Sun World-Extinguishing Divine Art, knowing how it operated in every part and how the conflicts between them functioned. At this point, even if he forgot the Spell structure of the Blazing Sun World-Extinguishing Divine Art, as long as he remembered these things, he could barely restore it given time.

Although there was still a long way to go before fully mastering it, it could be considered a phased achievement.

At the very least, he had learned this Spell.

The dusk grew dim, and the lamp posts lit up.

Countless firefly-like lights appeared on Yuding Mountain, and the evening breeze faintly carried the bustle from the foot of the mountain, making one's mood improve as well.

"The wind is still blowing tonight, thinking of how gentle you are, the days with you are exceptionally relaxing..." Chen Shu hummed a song as he walked along the road.

Just as he reached the entrance, the courtyard gate opened.

Ning Qing stood inside the gate, looking at him calmly.

Chen Shu immediately stopped singing and asked her with a smile: "Did you come out to welcome me today?"

Ning Qing remained calm, eyeing him up and down:

"Who were you thinking of?"

"You, of course."

"Whose days are exceptionally relaxing?"

"You're acting cute on purpose."

Chen Shu stepped past her into the courtyard.

Ning Qing followed behind him:

"Keep singing."

"My dear one~ my intimate dwarf~ thank you for accompanying me for such a long time~" Chen Shu paused, "Oh, that line wasn't for you, it was for Xiaoxiao who has accompanied me for a long time; I sang 'intimate dwarf'."

"..."

"Come on, come on, I'll sing for you..."

Chen Shu pulled Qingqing's hand all the way, ignoring the stunned little girl with clenched fists, and went upstairs to return to the room.

"Qingqing, I missed you so much~"

"You aren't missing me." Ning Qing remained calm, quietly eyeing him, "You're having a withdrawal."

"That's also missing you."

Chen Shu corrected her earnestly.

Ning Qing eyed him, no emotion visible on her face; after a few seconds, she whispered: "You seem to be in a very good mood today."

"Haha."

Chen Shu could not help but laugh out loud: "I finally learned the Blazing Sun World-Extinguishing Divine Art today."

"..."

Ning Qing was silent for a moment, then said coldly: "I thought you were singing to sleep with me, but it turns out it was because you learned a Spell."

"We're already an old married couple; why would I need to sing a song just to sleep with you now?"

"?"

"What's wrong?"

Ning Qing did not answer, but turned to look at him, one hand affectionately pinching his cheek, a smile gradually appearing on her face.

She looked so beautiful when she smiled.

That night, when the little girl went downstairs with a water glass to get water, she found her brother-in-law using Taozi as a pillow, sleeping alone on the sofa, looking very pitiful.

Three days later.

Chen Shu sat in the Sect Master's small courtyard, where a chessboard had been carved into the stone table.

Behind him, on the left was Protector Qing, and on the right was Protector Xiao holding Taozi; the Sect Master sat opposite him, looking grave.

The Sect Master let Chen Shu take the black stones to move first, while he himself took the white stones he was more proficient with.

Under the suggestion of Protector Qing, Chen Shu used the star and 3-3 point opening, followed by a corner approach; the Sect Master followed suit. For the first few moves, both sides played similarly, but as more stones were placed, the fighting gradually became intense, blooming in multiple spots, with the entire board filled with combat.

Such a chess game required extremely high computational power.

The Sect Master was skilled in this Daoist art, having played for two hundred years; his Ninth Stage cultivation made him tireless, with near-infinite energy, which gave him the confidence to challenge the Secret Sect.

In this game, he also displayed an extremely high level of skill, with four large dragon formations, decisively initiating a ko fight to lure and kill Chen Shu. Every move was made with absolute decisiveness, and for the first hundred moves, almost every one was the optimal solution, with no flaws to be found; yet, the one sitting opposite him was Chen Shu of the Secret Sect, who held the answers to the world.

Gradually, he thought for longer and longer, and his moves became slower, yet he was still inevitably led astray.

Looking at Chen Shu opposite him, he was either drinking tea or petting the cat, occasionally even yawning, relaxed and at ease, needing only to wisely choose to adopt the suggestions coming from behind him.

Time passed quickly, and the Sect Master's situation took a sharp turn for the worse; his large dragons were slaughtered one after another, and all his stones were forced into dead ends. When he realized it and looked at the overall situation, he found he could no longer find a single living stone, though the other party had spared his face and not wiped him out completely.

The Sect Master sighed long and hard, having no choice but to concede.

"The Secret Sect is well-deserved of its reputation."

"Sect Master, you flatter me."

Chen Shu withdrew his hand and sat up straight, acting as if he were truly that Secret Sect Practitioner: "I concede, I concede."

Ning Qing stood behind him, expressionless.

The Sect Master shook his head repeatedly and pointed a finger; the black and white stones flew up automatically and fell into the stone bowls:

"When are you leaving?"

"Today."

"So urgent."

"A lot of flowers were planted over in Yujing, and with the weather being hot recently, I had the neighbor help water them; I heard two have already been watered to death." Chen Shu said helplessly, "Anyway, it's cultivation wherever one is, and research wherever one is."

"You have a refined taste."

"Life is boring, after all."

"Then go."

"Farewell."

Chess Saint Chen Shu led the two great protectors and one attachment back to the courtyard, tidied up a bit, and then took a flying vehicle back to Yujing.

It was already July by this time.

In the month of flowing fire, Yujing was also slightly cooler, especially since it was already evening when they arrived, and the breeze felt very comfortable.

The first thing Ning Qing did upon returning to the courtyard was to check her two flowers that had been watered to death.

One was a David, one was a Zhaojun; the leaves had all withered, the stems had all slumped, and the roots had begun to turn black—they could not be saved.

The neighbor surnamed Zhang heard the noise and revealed half of their body from the top of the wall, saying to them with an embarrassed face: "One day before, maybe I watered them too little, and the sun was big, so their leaves got scorched and wilted. I saw they were about to die, so I hurriedly watered them a lot and even gave them fertilizer, but in the end, they still couldn't be saved."

"Haha..."

Even Chen Shu knew that if a flower's condition became poor, one could not give it extra fertilizer. Especially in summer.

However, he only laughed and said to the neighbor: "It's normal, it's normal; flowers often die in the summer."

"Is that so?"

"Two died last year as well."

"Emmm..." The neighbor surnamed Zhang didn't believe him and turned to look at the other side, "Qingqing, is that so?"

"This isn't your fault; I should thank you."

"Phew..."

The neighbor surnamed Zhang immediately let out a long sigh of relief—

She had been quite anxious these past few days.

Immediately after, Qingqing pulled out the two flowers, preparing to use the unique online-shopping resurrection method to revive them.

Chen Shu stood in the courtyard, looking up, chatting with the strange neighbor on the wall: "What kind of work did you find this time? Lao Zhangtou."

"Substitute playing."

"What kind of substitute playing?"

"Game substitute playing."

"Boosting?"

"That's it, that's it." Zhang Dailian lay on the wall, looking down, nodding repeatedly, "This only requires working from home."

"Why? Dislike the heat?"

"Pretty much."

"Then I'll make your meals every day?"

"This..."

Zhang Dailian on the wall hesitated: "We'll see... My Rest and Recovery Cycle is a bit chaotic; sometimes I sleep during the day, and sometimes I sleep at night."

"Hm?"

"Uh..."

"?"

"..."

The two of them, one looking up and one looking down, stared at each other.

Chen Shu suddenly gave a brilliant smile: "Zhang Dailian, you wouldn't have secretly used the Samsara Rest and Recovery Cycle technique just so I wouldn't catch up to you, would you?"

"..."

Zhang Dailian did not make a sound, but half of their body slowly sank, as if the other side of the wall were the sea; soon only a head remained. In the blink of an eye, only a pair of eyes remained silently staring at him, then the top of the forehead slowly sank down, and finally, the two hands gripping the wall also disappeared.

"How strange..."

Chen Shu withdrew his gaze, unable to help but chuckle.

It seems everyone is starting to compete now...

Chen Shu felt not a hint of panic inside.

He even couldn't help but take out his Mobile Phone to share the news in the group chat that Zhang Suannai, who had the highest cultivation in the entire group, was using the Rest and Recovery Cycle technique.

You all compete, and I shall watch you compete.

And so, for the period that followed, Chen Shu continued his regular Daily Cultivation, studied the Blazing Sun World-Extinguishing Divine Art, bought groceries and cooked, and whenever he was truly free, he would take out his Mobile Phone to search for news about himself, sing songs for Qingqing, or call over his neighbors and Chen Banxia to play games together, quietly enjoying his own life.