Immortality: Starting with the Fruit of Taiyin

Above the Nanyun Mountains, above the vast expanse of clouds.

In the world of cultivation, flying on magical artifacts is not uncommon.

If we don't consider the consumption of mana, even a cultivator in the early stage of Qi Refining can fly several miles, but their speed may not be as fast as that of a spirit steed on the ground.

At the Foundation Establishment stage, a cultivator's own magical power is enough to transform into a beam of light, allowing them to fly through the sky and descend into the earth.

Therefore, throughout the millions of years, there has never been a shortage of cultivators curious about what the sky above is like, and whether there really is a netherworld beneath the nine earths.

However, above the clouds are nine layers of celestial energy; beneath the earth are hidden celestial demons, which cannot be traversed without great magical power.

So gradually, heaven and earth became the sacred grounds of immortals in legends, places that mortals could not set foot in...

On this day, above the Nanyun Mountains, in the lowest level of the Gangtian realm, a place even Core Formation cultivators dared not easily set foot in.

A series of fierce winds, almost like those of a fake elixir, howled past, inspiring fear in all who beheld them.

Amidst the raging winds, two figures were sitting facing each other, playing chess.

Between black and white, crisscrossing and interwoven, various mysteries are revealed.

Unlike the rules of Go in the common world, this game called "Shanheqi" may look similar, but it is actually fundamentally different.

In the same game of chess, with the exact same pieces placed, the outcome can be completely reversed for both sides.

This is highly illogical, yet it aligns perfectly with the rules of the immortal path.

Because the outcome of a game of Go in the mortal realm is determined by the "liberties" of the four sides of the stones.

If the "breath" is exhausted, the piece is doomed; make "eyes" to survive.

But this game of mountains and rivers merely borrows the black and white chess pieces of the mortal world to depict the changes in the energy of mountains and rivers, and the celestial phenomena and the roots of the earth.

Its "qi" is the "pulse" of heaven and the "root" of earth.

It is not created by human hands, but by nature itself.

Therefore, immortals might be able to calculate all the victories and defeats in the mortal world by using the method of exhaustive search.

However, within the confines of mountains and rivers, one can transform into a city or a region, or even a world or a continent, entirely depending on the player's skill level, thus creating the atmosphere of the real world.

In this way, even if ancient immortals descended to earth, they could not possibly know the workings of all things and the transformations of the heavens.

Therefore, among cultivators at the Core Formation stage and above, the existence of the Mountain and River Chess is extremely popular.

It is also a way for high-level cultivators to determine the winner through "literary debate" rather than "martial arts".

After all, those who have reached the Nascent Soul stage or the Divine Transformation stage have long lifespans. If they had to fight to the death every time, they would have died long ago, no matter how many tricks they had up their sleeves.

……

Sun rises and moon sets, sunset and moon rises.

In the blink of an eye, three days and nights have passed.

Snapped--

As the game neared its end, Black placed another stone.

The mountains and rivers in the plate seemed to connect into one in an instant, faintly transforming into a snake shape, with the image of swallowing the sky.

Upon seeing this, the long-haired red-haired boy couldn't help but burst into laughter.

He looked at the old man in brown opposite him, his words barely concealing his self-satisfaction:

"Hahahaha... Fellow Daoist Huachen, how about it? You've lost, haven't you?"

"Shouldn't you be the one to create this barrier-breaking talisman?"

"snort--"

Snapped--

He snorted coldly and slammed the chess piece in his hand onto the table.

The old man in brown didn't look too good, but he couldn't back out, so he could only make a sarcastic remark.

"That's right, I lost this round."

"Lord Chilian's chess skills are superb, unlike the demon race that is born from wet eggs. Instead, he is no different from my human race. This is truly surprising."

"Haha... Fellow Daoist, what are you saying?"

"I have cultivated since childhood and have never considered myself a demon."

"What? Do you think I am some kind of demon king from the wilderness?"

The red-haired youth laughed it off, showing no anger at all at the old man's veiled sarcasm.

As a guardian beast who grew up in a human sect, he had long considered himself a member of the human world.

They have also learned many human habits, such as not being ungrateful after getting a good deal.

It should be noted that although the costs incurred by everyone during this operation can be deducted from the gains in advance, they are not at a disadvantage.

However, if it involves a fourth-order barrier-breaking talisman, that's a different story.

After all, in this cultivation world, many Nascent Soul level resources are not a matter of value, but rather that there is simply no place to exchange them.

Even among the renowned fourth-tier talisman masters in the Southern Cliff cultivation world, few could draw such a large talisman, let alone the treasure trove of a mere Core Formation sect.

So being mocked a couple of times isn't a big deal; it won't hurt you.

Being able to save this one talisman is the real gain.

"Alright, Fellow Daoist Huachen, take it easy."

"You know why we are taking this action."

Shaking his head slightly, the red-haired boy, known as "Red Ripple Lord," said with a faint smile.

"That old bastard from the Tianshan Sect probably sensed something, and he's been hiding at the mountain gate, refusing to come out."

"But that's for the best. If we really attack him, not to mention whether we can destroy his physical body and then kill his Nascent Soul, many things will become very troublesome afterward..."

"Fortunately, our target wasn't him to begin with, but rather those Core Formation cultivators who had passed through that area..."

"To find that portal, we'd rather kill a thousand innocent people than let one guilty person go free!"

"Fellow Daoist, prepare to make your move."

His face wore a smile, yet it concealed a chilling murderous intent.

The red-haired youth looked down at the earth from the heavens, gazing at the majestic and magnificent main peak of Nanyun.

Nearly ten years ago, the mysterious Blood River True Monarch arrived in the country and was pursued by several True Monarchs from neighboring countries who discovered his foreign aura. In the end, he had no choice but to escape using the Blood Path Secret Technique.

Several True Lords searched in vain and eventually gave up.

But after going around in circles, the news eventually ended up in the hands of the Nine Paths of the Demonic Sect.

A True Monarch from beyond the realm... After learning of this, the high-ranking members of the Demonic Path no longer cared why this Blood Dao True Monarch had come to the Southern Cliff Continent, or why he was discovered before he could even conceal or dispel the aura of someone from a different continent.

What they really cared about was how this outsider got to Nanya.

Is it based on a spatial rift that cannot be reused and has a very random probability of occurrence?

Is it a fragment of some ancient treasure, or a celestial talisman of the fifth rank or higher, containing traces of the Dao of Void?

Or is it a space node that spans continents and can stably connect both sides?

No one knows the answer, but generally speaking, the probability of the first three is over 99%.

Therefore, when the neighboring kingdom's several true lords failed to retain the visitors even after joining forces, they decisively chose to give up.

The probability is too low; there's no need to expend too much effort.

When a being of the same realm is determined to escape, it is almost impossible to stop them.

However, unlike them, after repeatedly confirming the truth using certain special methods, the True Lord of the Nine Paths of the Demonic Sect finally discovered that the least likely latter was actually the truth.

That Blood Dao True Monarch of unknown origin... actually came from the other side of a stable spatial passage.