The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 327 Fellow Daoist, Allow Me to Exchange Pieces (3k)

The moment the words "Zou Zi of the Yin-Yang School" fell over Kyoto, the expressions of the cultivators still in the city changed drastically.

"The founder of the Yin-Yang School?!"

"Insane! Utterly insane! This kind of person is not fit to show their face in this day and age!"

"Could it really be Zou Zi, one of the philosophers of the Hundred Schools of Thought?!"

"It's over, it's over!"

"Greed, greed, greed! All things are ruined by greed!"

The cultivators' voices were filled with panic. The people of the capital were still completely unaware, staring blankly at this strange event.

And it just felt like the sky was getting closer and closer?

The cultivators on the mountain were deeply shaken—they knew all too well the weight of those words.

The Yin-Yang School was originally one of the Nine Schools and Ten Schools, and in the past, it was even a force that dared to rival the Three Religions!

Although it later lost momentum and failed to squeeze into the ranks of the top three or four, it was never because its own foundation was insufficient, but because its opponents were too domineering.

After all, who can truly stand up to the combined power of the three religions?
The only lineage with any hope of trying—the sword cultivators—had its backbone broken long ago.

If it weren't for Li Shiyi's final dance before the great calamity, which barely mended the broken spine of the sword cultivators, the sword cultivator lineage would be laughable, let alone compared to the Nine Schools, or even compared to novelists who were kicked out of the Ten Schools and relegated to the status of "not even in the Nine Schools".

But the Yin-Yang School is different—it was they who kicked novelists out of the ten schools back then, making the latter no longer count among the nine classes!
What made the cultivators even more uneasy was that the appearance of the Yin-Yang School was one thing, but in this chaotic world, it was an open secret that various schools of thought were secretly interfering with each other.

But why is it someone like Zou Zi who has to personally get involved?
Compared to Zou Zi, their previous boasts of being "reclusive masters" and "geniuses of extraordinary talent" and their self-important methods were simply childish and childish.

But none of that was the worst part—what truly sent chills down their spines was the final command, "Make the first move!"

The meaning couldn't be clearer: this founder of the Yin-Yang School is currently "playing chess" with someone else!
For a master to say "make a move," the opponent must be someone of equal skill.

In other words, Kyoto, the city beneath their feet, had long become a chessboard for the two "celestial beings"!

As for these cultivators who aren't even considered pawns, once the two celestial beings really start fighting, how will they have any chance of survival?

It's just a matter of dying sooner or later!

So, those who left early actually took the only path to survival?
In an instant, those cultivators who had stayed in Kyoto hoping to find some opportunities were filled with regret—they had hoped to wait for an opportunity, but instead they had trapped themselves in a deadly situation!
As for those who want to break free, they are not few; in fact, almost everyone does.

They had barely reached the edge when they all melted away.

Indeed, everything falls apart because of greed!
-
As Kyoto gradually rose into the sky, Du Yuan, leaning on the old sword and standing in front of the white jade bridge, frowned deeply.

'The Yin-Yang School, Master Zou?'

This must be the strongest person he has encountered on his journey, right?
Moreover, he is probably tens of millions of miles stronger than anyone he has ever seen before.

Another thing is, if I'm not mistaken, I should also be being targeted by the other party, right?

Du Yuan could clearly sense that ever since the words "place the first piece" were uttered...

He was completely enveloped by something indescribable!
"Since the move has already been made, why not face it directly?"

Du Yuan asked the heavens.

The surrounding monks were all terrified.

"We've really run into this guy!"

"A Confucian scholar who can play chess with Zou Xi? Is that difficult? Could it be?"

"There's no mistake. It can only be that one!"

At this moment, countless cultivators unanimously converged on one thought—could it be a Confucian sage who has attained the highest rank?!

As this thought slowly took hold of them, they were all utterly shocked to see the old man standing before the palace gate, sword in hand.

His imposing aura surged wildly!
"It's over, it's over! Runwei Sage, one of the philosophers. How can a small capital city like the capital tolerate these two fighting like this?"

"My life is over!!!"

"Damn it! How could the celestials appear at this time! God, you're being unfair!"

Alas! Alas!

The monks were as panicked as stray dogs.

Zou Zi, who was sitting upright in the sky, was also carefully observing the person holding the sword below.

This was the only 'variable' he couldn't predict, and it was the 'most unpredictable' he had ever witnessed in his life!

After gazing at him for a moment, he smiled and said:

"Fellow Daoist is an unpredictable and unfathomable variable for me. It would be best if we did not meet!"

He and novelists of that kind still have something in common: they try to avoid troublesome causes and effects as much as possible.

Du Yuan looked around and saw that Kyoto was still rising and the sky above her head was slowly evolving.

Although the people on the mountain probably couldn't see anything at the moment, Du Yuan saw 'one or two fireworks' in the evolution of the sky.

It was just a moment's thought.

Du Yuan then looked up and asked:
"You intend to use heaven and earth as a furnace to refine this capital city?"

A soft laugh drifted down from the sky:
"Why ask a question you already know the answer to, fellow Daoist?"

Du Yuan tried to find the source of the sound, but felt that the entire sky was the source.

We can't find this person anywhere. "Haven't we both come here seeking the same thing?"

Du Yuan sneered:

"The same? You just thought that way yourself and then imposed it on me!"

Du Yuan continued searching for the other party's location.

If we can't even find the person, what's the point of fighting?

"Hehe, so be it. But if that's the case, then it seems that we can only have a game of chess between us?"

How about playing hand-to-hand combat?
Du Yuan looked around; countless people still didn't understand what was going on.

They swarmed around like headless ants, their faces uniformly filled with bewilderment, not understanding what was happening, even their cries were full of confusion.

"So many people, so many lives, all for nothing but a game of chess?"

"Heh, hasn't it always been this way since ancient times?"

"Fellow Daoist, you seem to pity these straw dogs." The laughter from the sky faded slightly, replaced by an abundance of coldness. "Since the separation of Yin and Yang and the establishment of the order of Heaven and Earth, which Great Dao has ever been deduced without using mountains and rivers as the scales and all living beings as the pieces?"

"Their bewilderment about life and death is nothing more than dust stirred up by the flow of vital energy."

"Life and death are fate, rise and fall are fate. Their life, death, rise and fall are all part of the great trend of heaven and earth. I am just one or two steps ahead. So, fellow Daoist, you are too attached to fate, and you can't see through the trend."

Du Yuan stood silently, searching for his location.

Seeing this, he sighed deeply and then said:
"Since you still feel this way, then let me give you a word of advice: if you want to take on this game, you should first think clearly about everything you want to protect. They have always been pieces on my chessboard, with their positions already predetermined."

Finally, the voice descended from the heavens:
"Fellow Daoist, is it possible to slay my Great Dragon within the deadly trap I have created?"

Du Yuan placed his hand on the sword hilt, and countless rusts were ground off by him in that instant.

Then, he suddenly looked in one direction.

Then, the old man I had met once before, standing below the restaurant behind me, suddenly came into view.

The two stared at each other for a moment, then he exclaimed in surprise:
"Fellow Daoist, your cultivation seems to be entirely focused on offense and conquest, doesn't it? I reckon even the first patriarch of military strategists wasn't as extreme as you!"

Du Yuan gripped the almost completely worn-out sword hilt tightly and shouted to the sky:
"Enough of your words, you old fool! I'll ask you one question: do you dare to take a blow from my sword?!"

The other party shook their head repeatedly and laughed:

"Fellow Daoist, I've already told you, everything you want to protect has always been my children!"

A chessboard then appeared beside the old man, with white pieces in front and black pieces on his body.

He picked up a piece from the chessboard and said:

"Fellow Daoist is a variable I cannot fully comprehend; therefore, you are of paramount importance on my chessboard!"

When he looked at Du Yuan while holding the white piece, a sense of unease suddenly flashed through Du Yuan's heart.

"Unless absolutely necessary, I do not wish to engage in a duel with you, fellow Daoist. Therefore, I request that you exchange weapons!"

Then, he threw the white piece into the human world, and it fell directly past Du Yuan. Just as Du Yuan tried to reach out and grab the white piece...

Under the clear blue sky, the world had been completely transformed!
The old man was nowhere to be seen, and even the ground beneath Du Yuan's feet was no longer the brick and tile of Kyoto. Instead, it was a damp sandy area.

In the distance lies a vast ocean that stretches as far as the eye can see—no, it's not an ocean, but a swamp!
Otherwise, where would you find a vast ocean that is entirely shallow water or freshwater?
Du Yuan tried to grasp the white piece, but her attempt failed.

Then it tore the sky apart and stirred up the marshland.

Looking at the completely different world before her, Du Yuan felt a sense of unease.

The two seals, depicting mountains and water, are constantly being used.

One step forward, and the landscape changes dramatically.

The cultivators were so shocked that they craned their necks to look, wondering what kind of great power he was who dared to disregard the laws of heaven and do such a thing.

Deep within the Great Swamp, before a majestic divine court, dozens of powerful cultivators paled and fled the court one after another.

The next moment, endless lightning fell from the sky, shattering all the countless arrays and millions of mechanical puppets they had set up in the surrounding fields!

But the target of this endless thunder was not their arrangement at all, but the depths of the Divine Court!
That person they've always wanted to release!

For a moment, the expressions on the faces of all the cultivators were uncertain.

They couldn't figure out what had happened, but they knew that all their hard work and efforts had almost come to an end!
After gazing mournfully for a long time, a cultivator finally sighed:

"The slightest disturbance is met with such divine punishment. So which deity has caused this celestial event and yet hasn't been punished and sent back to the mortal realm?"

Du Yuan also slowly came to a stop.

It seems Zou Zi sent him to another world?!
-
After seeing off Zou Zi, the biggest variable, he continued to sit on the cloud, watching the sky evolve into Yin and Yang.

Then it gradually became a furnace!

He couldn't even figure out what they were looking for, so he simply refined the entire capital city.

Thus, whatever it may be, it is all within one's grasp!

Above his head, seemingly endless calamities, akin to those of the divine court, could unfold and fall at any moment.

However, it always remained solid but never quite materialized, falling just short.

(End of this chapter)