Chapter 140: The Chessboard Obtained, First Meeting with the Pavilion Master, Secluded Cultivation

With your peak eighth-stage chess skill, nearing the ninth stage, you easily won the endgame and successfully claimed the Chessboard and the Chess Sage's inheritance.

Your goal had been achieved, so there was no need for you to remain in the Holy City any longer. The moment you left the City Lord's Mansion, you saw people you had not expected.

Outside the City Lord's Mansion, you saw people from the Immortal Treasure Pavilion: the Nascent Soul stage cultivator Zhang Wuji! And beside Zhang Wuji, a woman in white!

Though her face was veiled, you recognized her at a glance. This person was none other than the General Pavilion Master of the Immortal Treasure Pavilion's Northern Region! A legendary Fusion realm powerhouse!

Your gaze rested on the two of them for only an instant before you immediately withdrew it and headed for the Holy City exit.

The current you had no Old Monster backing you, so you could only act cautiously and avoid unnecessary trouble.

You left the Holy City without a hitch, then flew through the air toward the Martial Sect's location.

If I remember correctly, the Rhinoceros Sect should be around here, right? On your way back, you stopped. After casually grabbing a cultivator and performing a soul search, you learned the location of the Rhinoceros Sect.

"True Person Liyang, get out here!!!"

You had just arrived at the Rhinoceros Sect when you heard the furious roar of Ye Fan, Eldest Senior Brother of the Martial Sect.

"And here I thought who it was. So it's a piece of trash from the Martial Sect!" True Person Liyang appeared above the sect on his sword, looking down at Ye Fan with eyes full of disdain.

"Haven't you given up yet? Do not bring ruin upon yourself!"

"Where is the Rhinoceros Sect Master? Will you truly give my Martial Sect no explanation for this matter?" Ye Fan no longer paid True Person Liyang any attention, instead shouting toward the interior of the Rhinoceros Sect.

"Who is making such a racket before my Rhinoceros Sect?" An old man suddenly appeared before Ye Fan, frowning as he spoke.

You hid in the shadows, watching Ye Fan try to reason with them, and frowned slightly, somewhat displeased.

I gave you a Spirit Transformation puppet, and you not only don't use it, you're still trying to reason with them?

A Spirit Transformation puppet is the truth! You felt a sense of disappointment at his failure to meet expectations, though you knew Ye Fan had still been a mortal ten years ago. It was only natural that his mindset could not turn around so quickly.

"Good, good, good!!!" Ye Fan was about to explode with rage. He laughed in his fury. "You forced me to do this!"

"Senior, please act. Cripple this man's cultivation!" Ye Fan performed a respectful bow toward the Spirit Transformation puppet, then pointed at True Person Liyang and gave his instructions.

"Don't kill him. He's still useful to me back at the sect!"

"Heh!" True Person Liyang sneered in disdain. In the next instant, his whole body was sent flying backward, his Golden Core shattered. He lay on the ground like a dead dog, unconscious.

"This…" The Rhinoceros Sect Master's eyes widened drastically as he looked at the expressionless puppet beside Ye Fan, waves of shock surging in his heart.

"Senior, do you have anything else to say?" Ye Fan looked at the Rhinoceros Sect Master and grinned.

The Rhinoceros Sect Master, a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, looked at the honest-faced, utterly harmless-looking Ye Fan before him, secretly swallowed, and said, "No… True Person Liyang is yours to deal with, young friend. This one has some matters to attend to, so I will take my leave first."

"Sigh, I originally wanted to reason with you properly. Why did you have to force me to get rough?" Watching the Rhinoceros Sect Master flee in a panic, Ye Fan shook his head and sighed.

"But come to think of it, Sect Master's puppet is really strong. Even a sect master fears it so much. I wonder just what level of strength it actually has."

"Well done." Your figure suddenly appeared before Ye Fan, and you clapped him on the shoulder.

"Sect Master, why are you here?" Upon seeing you, Ye Fan hurriedly performed a respectful bow and said respectfully.

"Passing by, thought I'd take a look." You said casually. "But next time, there's no need to reason with them."

"In the Cultivation World, only the weak reason and follow rules. True powerhouses speak with their fists. Whoever's fist is bigger, that one is the rule!"

"Your disciple will remember!"

You nodded, your figure vanishing. A moment later, you said to Ye Fan, "Let's go, back to the sect!"

"Sect Master, what did you go do just now?" On the way, Ye Fan asked curiously.

"Nothing much. Just made the Rhinoceros Sect pay some compensation, that's all." You waved your hand dismissively.

"Uh, your disciple has an epiphany." Ye Fan thought for a moment, then his eyes widened in sudden understanding.

"You've had an epiphany? What exactly did you realize?" You glanced at Ye Fan, somewhat speechless.

"Next time I run into something like this, I absolutely must demand compensation from the other party!" Ye Fan said with firm conviction.

You rubbed your temples, said no more, and sped up a few more notches.

Back at the sect, you first observed the cultivation progress of the newly recruited Outer Sect disciples, then took an extra look at Xiao Yan before entering seclusion.

You took out the Chessboard obtained from the Holy City, channeled all your spiritual power into it, and began to play chess.

Within the Chessboard, you used the Great Dao as the board and the laws of heaven and earth as the pieces, playing against yourself.

With every piece placed, a law of heaven and earth surged into your body, lingered briefly, and then vanished.

Your comprehension of the laws of heaven and earth gradually deepened. The laws of heaven and earth you had grasped gradually increased.

This game of chess, you played for a full ten years, until your spiritual power dried up and your Primordial Spirit was exhausted, making it impossible to continue. Only then did you force yourself to stop.

Half a month later, your spiritual power recovered to its peak state, and your Primordial Spirit had recovered considerably as well.

No wonder cultivation grows slower and slower the further you go. These laws of heaven and earth really aren't so easy to comprehend! You looked at the three law imprints condensed in your hand, filled with endless emotion.

A full ten years. Even with such a heaven-defying item, I've only barely grasped two laws.

Five years for one law. Three thousand laws would be fifteen thousand years!

You suddenly felt that specializing in a single law might not be so bad after all?

Somewhat doubtful about life, you decided to leave seclusion to relax a bit, and incidentally check on the Martial Sect's development.

With your cultivation concealed, you walked through the Martial Sect on foot.

"The decennial disciple Grand Tournament is about to begin. How has your cultivation been going?" Someone behind you struck up a conversation.

"Ugh, don't even mention it. This Martial Way is really slow to cultivate. Ten years. A full ten years and I've only reached the tenth heaven!"

"Fuck, you're showing off, aren't you!"

"Showing off? You know Xiao Yan, the one who joined the sect with us?"

"The one from Wutan City who had his engagement broken off?"

"That's him. I hear he's already cultivated to the twentieth heaven of the Martial Way!!!"