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Chapter 374 The World as Your Chessboard
The others were speechless. It seemed like Lu Ping was disregarding the Luo Sect. However, they were not in the position to comment. After bringing in so many bosses, it was only right for Lu Ping to see them off. They could not exactly charge ahead and fight to the death.
Hua Wudao was the last one to leave the holy land. He did not say much. He merely cupped his fists at everyone else before rising into the air.
Yun Tianluo cupped his fists and said, “Brother Ji, we shall meet again.”
“We shall meet again.”
The two bosses looked at each other from a distance.
At this moment, Lu Ping replaced Mingshi Yin and manned the helm in his stead. The cloud-splitting chariot passed through the barriers via another route. Eventually, the cloud-splitting chariot vanished in the horizons.
The disciples of the Three Sects felt relieved.
The patriarch, Yun Tianluo, shook his head with a sigh. “Nan Gongwei, Yun Wuji, Feng Yizhi…”
The sect masters were startled. They hastily went up to their patriarch and fell to their knees.
The other disciples dared not say anything. They merely stood at the side respectfully.
“Are my words… meaningless now?” Yun Tianluo asked.
“Never, patriarch!” Nan Gongwei said.
“Do you know what was sealed within that chessboard?” Yun Tianluo’s voice was gentle now.
The three of them shook their heads.
Yun Tianluo looked at the three of them and could not help but shake his head.
“I don’t know.” Nan Gongwei had been watching while the two of them were having the match. He saw the energy blades in the skies and the brightness of the veins on the ground. He merely felt that it was an exchange of ordinary skills. He did not think that it was anything special. Yun Tianluo shook his head again. He looked at the three sect masters and sighed heavily. “This is the reason why I’m not passing the chessboard to you. The thing that’s sealed within is my secret of attempting the Nine-leaf stage.”
“Patriarch!” Nan Gongwei, Yun Wuji, and Feng Yizhi cried out in unison and shuddered. They prostrated themselves and kowtowed. To think that their patriarch had given such an important thing to an outsider instead of the Three Sects. Imagine the thoughts in these three individuals’ minds.
“Why?” Nan Gongwei rose to his feet abruptly with a complicated gaze.
“Because… you lot aren’t worthy!”
Yun Tianluo waved his sleeve and turned around. He looked energetic, as though he had a surge of strength before his death.
Yun Tianluo said, “Throughout the years that I’ve cultivated in seclusion, I’ve been thinking about what went wrong… I considered everything that I could think of and even sealed my memories. After fussing over it for a millennium, I suddenly understood something in a blink of an eye…” He paused slightly before continuing, “Difficult questions should be solved by intelligent men.”
Many cultivators disliked revealing their own insights and experiences of breakthroughs to the others. Many a time, the cultivation notes of grand cultivators would be more precious than high-tier cultivation methods.
However, Yun Tianluo had been enlightened. It was extremely simple. Since he could achieve the breakthrough, why should he hoard his knowledge instead of giving it to someone who might have a chance?
‘It was like what Brother Ji said. Who says that everything is absolute? There has to be a way. There was nothing impossible!’ This was the reason he chose to have the match with Lu Zhou. It was not complicated at all. In fact, it was simple.
If he had given the chessboard to the three sect masters, he would not be giving them a great gift; he would only be granting them a quick death!
“Patriarch, is that why you chose to have the match with the Evil Sky Pavilion?” Nan Gongwei asked, puzzled.
“That’s right.” Yun Tianluo turned around slowly and said, “Do you know why I told you to kowtow and apologize to Brother Ji?”
The three of them shook their heads again.
This time, even the Sword Saint Luo Shisan who had a sour expression and was sitting nearby looked in their directions.
Yun Tianluo continued, “I have a feeling… Perhaps, he’ll find a way to attain the Nine-leaf stage.”
When he said this.
The entire holy land fell silent.
Everyone looked at their patriarch, Yun Tianluo, with a shocked expression on their faces. If anyone else had said this, no one would take it seriously. In fact, they would even ridicule the person. However, the person who said such words was Yun Tianluo, the Patriarch of the Three Sects.
“How’s that possible?” Nan Gongwei asked incredulously. “Brother Ji is older than I am… However, when we had a match earlier, I could see an endless source of energy from him. This shouldn’t be possible for someone whose great limit is approaching.”
Waves of fear rose in the hearts of the three sect masters. They were reminded of how the Sword Saint Luo Shisan, who launched an attack with a force that could shock the heavens and the earth and made gods and devils cry, was easily defeated by a single move from the Evil Sky Pavilion’s Master. This… Was this something that someone whose great limit was approaching was capable of?
“You were in the wrong. Even if you’re right, you still have to swallow your pride!” Yun Tianluo said before he turned around and walked to the edge of the holy land.
The three of them were perplexed.
The other disciples said in unison, “Rest well, patriarch!”
The cloud-splitting chariot passed through dozens of barriers. It left the 20 peaks behind and was out of the sea of clouds that obscured their sights.
Little Yuan’er scratched her head. She was thinking about what Mingshi Yin said earlier. She asked, “Master… if Fourth Senior Brother has a point, why didn’t we wipe out the Yun Sect?”.
Lu Ping stumbled, he nearly lost his footing.
The cloud-splitting chariot jolted slightly.
“I’m sorry…” Lu Ping wanted to slap himself. ‘Why did I volunteer to send these bosses off? Did my brain go on a holiday? However, if I had stayed back, those dumb Luo Sect’s elders would certainly blame me for this incident. It’s not too bad to leave and listen to the bosses’ golden words.’
Little Yuan’er suddenly added, “Take this man at the helm, for example… Shouldn’t he be chopped into tiny pieces?”.
The flying chariot jolted again. Lu Zhou stroked his beard as he looked out at the sea of clouds.
“The little girl has indeed matured compared to before. At the very least, she understood Mingshi Yin’s words.’ If she understood the words, it meant her principles were right.
Without waiting for a reply from Lu Zhou, Mingshi Yin said with a smile, “Little Junior Sister, that’s the Three Sects’ territory… There are dozens of barriers and many elites. There’s no need to have a complete fallout with them. What must be said, must be said… Otherwise, if words of this go out, everyone might think that the Evil Sky Pavilion is just a big pushover.”
“Oh.”
“Also, we must consider Yun Tianluo’s pride. The heavens and the earth had been transformed into the chessboard on which they pitched their skills against each other. He spent 20 years of his life to answer master’s question. We’re a reasonable bunch, aren’t we?” Mingshi Yin said.
Little Yuan’er nodded like a chick pecking on grains. “I get it now… Thank you, master.” Mingshi Yin scratched his head. ‘Shouldn’t it be ‘Thank you, senior brother’?’
Lu Ping was puzzled. ‘Aren’t the bosses supposed to be discussing the Nine-leaf stage or the great limit? Why are they talking about these things instead?’
“Ding! Instructing Ci Yuan’er. Reward: 100 merit points.” Lu Zhou turned to look. He nodded slightly. At this moment, Lu Ping pointed to a black area below the flying chariot and said, “Something’s not right.”
Mingshi Yin swiftly leaped to the edge of the flying chariot. He peered over the edge. After he had taken a look, he said, “Master, there’s a huge area with withering greeneries.”
Lu Zhou stood up with his hands on his back as he walked up to the side and looked down.
Leng Luo, Pan Litian, and Hua Wudao peered over the edge as well.
The trees on the mountain had withered… The landscape seemed devoid of life.
“Slow down.”
“At once.” The flying chariot slowed down. It lowered its altitude as well. It flew slowly among the withered trees.