He became the True Lord of Ten Thousand Laws starting from Liaozhai.

Sleeping for eight hundred years? What kind of joke is this...? Master Xiyue's first reaction was disbelief. He even wondered if Yan Chixia had been fooled.

Master Xiyue believed he possessed a pair of eyes that could see through illusions. He planned to find the so-called Xu Yi with Yan Chixia and take a good look at this Xu Yi to see what was really going on.

"Let's go, Brother Yan, let's hurry on our way."

Master Xiyue only believed what he saw, and no matter how much Yan Chixia boasted, he still didn't really believe it.

"Okay, let's go."

Knowing his old friend's temperament, Yan Chixia simply stopped mentioning it; getting on the road quickly was the most important thing.

There is also the City God of Wude Prefecture in Wuyou Realm. If the tree demon really absorbs the incense offerings of the City God of Wude Prefecture, that would be a really bad thing.

I just don't know why the City God was arrested. Is it really that simple?

Yan Chixia had many thoughts in his mind, but he didn't say them out loud. In his opinion, the three of them were capable of destroying the Worry-Free Realm.

Three cultivators at the Three Qi Convergence stage can't even destroy you?!

Thinking of this, Yan Chixia thought of Xu Yi again. This man should have condensed four divine abilities, or perhaps five. He wasn't sure, but just thinking of Xu Yi made Yan Chixia feel much more at ease.

With this senior colleague around, things shouldn't be too complicated.

Thinking this, Yan Chixia watched as Master Xiyue increased the speed of his cloud-riding, and he also used magic to speed up. It was better to arrive early in case something else happened.

......

Dao Palace.

After Xu Yi and Lao Niu ascended the cloud ladder, they arrived at the second level of the Heavenly Palace. Xu Yi was surprised to find that although this was on a floating island, the Heavenly Palace seemed to have a full thirty-six levels!

This is a Daoist temple of true immortal level. Who exactly is the Dao Ancestor? What kind of great power does he possess? Why did the Dao Palace go into seclusion? And why did the disciples of the Dao Palace also go into seclusion?

Various mysteries surfaced in Xu Yi's mind. Since there was no way to leave for the time being, he might as well explore these secrets here first.

Xu Yi didn't plan to leave anytime soon. It seemed that this Dao Palace was deliberately waiting for him. Since his supernatural powers were useless against this Dao Palace, he might as well not bother.

The sword spirit also said that he was the destined one. The Dao Ancestor must have realized that someone would come to take the sword spirit away hundreds of years later. So today's events must have been foreseen by the Dao Ancestor.

Xu Yi believed that true immortals had the ability to predict the future. At least, that was the impression he got from the Dao Ancestor. It seemed that he had already calculated everything that would happen in the future. It was very strange. Just how great was this supernatural power?

Unable to figure it out, perhaps due to his limited knowledge, Xu Yi dismissed the thoughts in his mind and decided to explore the second level of the Heavenly Palace first.

It can only be said that it is indeed the Taoist ancestral temple. It is said that there are thirty-six heavens in the Taoist Heavenly Court.

This Dao Ancestor is quite something; his ideas are quite novel. He actually came up with something called the Thirty-Six Heavenly Palaces. Is there any connection between the two?

A nonsensical idea popped into Xu Yi's mind. There must be a connection between the two, but Xu Yi hadn't noticed anything wrong with it yet.

The second level of the Heavenly Palace didn't have any palaces or anything like that, which surprised Xu Yi. Clearly, the scenery he saw outside the Heavenly Gate was not like this.

What kind of strange magic is this? To change the scenery within the Dao Palace at will, what exactly does this Dao Ancestor mean by?

The scene before my eyes changed rapidly, soon transforming into a dense bamboo forest, with each bamboo stalk seemingly reaching towards the sky, stretching as far as the eye could see.

The bamboo grove parted on its own, creating a path that led directly to Xu Yi, as if inviting him to enter.

The first level is like this: a strange sound of swords being sharpened lured Xu Yi, and this time it was another small path.

Xu Yi already knew that the person behind this was Dao Zu, but he couldn't fathom Dao Zu's thoughts. What exactly did Dao Zu want to do?

All he knew was that the Dao Ancestor must have had his reasons for doing this. If Xu Yi were useless to the Dao Ancestor, he would probably have been easily eliminated by the Dao Ancestor long ago.

Therefore, Xu Yi's current thought is: he must be of great use to the Dao Ancestor, otherwise the Dao Ancestor would not have sent him these opportunities.

Xu Yi led the old ox without hesitation and stepped into the bamboo forest path. The bamboo forest was shrouded in the same mist as when they first entered the Boundless Sea, making it impossible to see the road ahead. Only when they got close could they see clearly what was going on.

The bamboo forest was very dense, and it was impossible to see what was hidden inside.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, the fog finally dissipated completely, and they arrived at a large open space. Xu Yi could faintly hear the sound of pieces being placed not far away.

Are people playing chess in the woods?

Xu Yi followed the sound of the stone being placed. Although the area was more open, there was still a huge rock separating the area.

The sound of the piece being placed came from behind this boulder.

moo~

Moo moo~

The old ox hummed softly a few times, and to Xu Yi, his moo was automatically translated as: "Should we go over there and take a look? I don't sense any danger."

"Let's go take a look; there's no other way."

Xu Yi shrugged. Indeed, at present, apart from exploring these places, he had no other options.

The man and the ox arrived behind the boulder, where they found themselves in a vast, desolate landscape, unlike the previous one. Behind the boulder, however, lay a patch of green grass.

In the very center, there is a square stone table with four low stone pillars, which are for people to sit on.

There were exactly four short stone pillars, which seemed to have been prepared for the two of them.

The other two stone pillars were already occupied by people sitting facing each other: an elderly man with white hair and a young man.

Neither of them seemed like ordinary people.

Especially the young man holding the black chess piece; the indifference in his eyes was something Xu Yi had never seen before.

The white-haired old man held a white chess piece, hesitating to place it. He was pondering, even in a position to place the piece, motionless.

Xu Yi felt there was something wrong with this chessboard.

"Interesting," Xu Yi thought to himself.

Xu Yi felt a strange sense of familiarity with this chessboard. It was quite peculiar. Xu Yi took another look at the chessboard.

In an instant, it seemed as if a tremendous suction force pulled Xu Yi's consciousness in.

Soon, another dizzying sensation struck, and Xu Yi felt as if he could see further and perceive more things.

Xu Yi opened his eyes... Where was the bamboo forest anymore? Where was the chessboard anymore?

Before him stretched an endless expanse of sky and earth...

Xu Yi had a sudden thought; he remembered Ping Shui Temple.

With his perspectives rapidly shifting, Xu Yi parted the clouds and mist, revealing Little Chongshan and Ping Shui Temple.

They saw the monk Xinjing giving a lesson to Yun Song and Li Jiangyuan.

Xu Yi was dumbfounded. What kind of divine artifact was this? What exactly did the Dao Ancestor want to do...?

Withdrawing his divine sense, Xu Yi felt his body sway again as his consciousness returned to his physical form.

After feeling a dizzying sensation and a wave of lightheadedness, Xu Yi finally regained his senses.

He noticed that the young man who had just finished making his move was staring at him expressionlessly, which made him feel a little uneasy.

"You've arrived." The young man suddenly spoke, as if he had known Xu Yi would come. He greeted Xu Yi as if they were old friends.

The white-haired old man remained motionless in the position of placing a piece, his mind seemingly absorbed by the chessboard.

The young man was wearing a blue Taoist robe with his hair tied up. The robe was embroidered with cloud patterns, and he had a jade pendant with two fish hanging from his waist.

The young man approached Xu Yi with his hands behind his back, amidst Xu Yi's puzzled gaze.

"Xu Yi, how long has it been since we last met? Almost a thousand years, hasn't it?"

The young man came to Xu Yi's side, and when he saw the old ox, he suddenly smiled.

"You old ox, you haven't changed at all."

As he spoke, the young man reached out to touch the old ox's head.

For some reason, the old ox felt a strong aversion to the young man. He took a step back, avoiding the young man's hand that was trying to touch him.

The young man's hand froze on the spot. He paused for a moment, then laughed and said, "Heh, all these years, I can't even touch you."

The young man looked at Xu Yi again. He didn't know why Xu Yi didn't react at all after hearing this. Why was he ignoring him?

"Oh right, young man," he slapped his forehead as if he had just remembered something.

"Hehe, I forgot, you two probably don't remember anything at all."

The young man suddenly realized, and he said with a smile. Then, he turned to look at Xu Yi, and his expression became very serious.

He said, "Well then, let's get to know each other again. I can't remember my name anymore, but they all call me 'Qingming'."

Hearing what Qingming said, Xu Yi felt a strange sense of panic. What was that? A thousand years ago?

No, when he transmigrated here, he clearly didn't feel anything, and this body was gone. Only this "Ten Thousand Demons Record" came with him.

How did this all come up to a thousand years ago? What is this thing, Qingming? So arrogant, isn't this the will of the Azure Heaven?

In a short moment, Xu Yi had a brainstorming session, trying to figure out what the young man wanted to do, or what the young man wanted him to do.

"Senior Qingming?" Xu Yi asked tentatively.

"Hahahahahaha!" Qingming seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world, and he could no longer maintain his aloof image on the chessboard.

"I never expected you would call me senior. That's interesting. But we should treat each other as equals."

"I feel a little uncomfortable when you call me senior."

Qingming was very polite to Xu Yi, even respectful.

"Fellow Daoist Qingming, alright, then let's call him Qingming." Xu Yi nodded, then asked again, "Fellow Daoist Qingming, do you know how to leave this place?"

"I stumbled into this place by mistake; perhaps I shouldn't have come here."

Xu Yi's tone was very sincere. This Qingming was clearly a living person, and the chessboard could be used to observe the heavens and the earth.

These two used heaven and earth as their chessboard, so it goes without saying what these chess pieces are.

"Shouldn't have come? Heh, Xu Yi, it's time for you to come. This place is where you belong."

Qingming said something else that Xu Yi found incomprehensible. These words made Xu Yi very uncomfortable, and he couldn't understand a word of them.

Xu Yi felt that Qingming always spoke in a mysterious and rambling manner, unwilling to explain himself clearly. What level of cultivator was he? A True Immortal?

Xu Yi couldn't sense any aura from Qingming; he seemed like an ordinary mortal.

"Let's go, I'll take you to see the Heavenly Palace."

Qingming glanced at the white-haired old man behind him.

He spoke again: "This person has been playing chess for at least three or four years, and sometimes decades."

"So just ignore him and let's go."

"Even if he wakes up, he can still find us."

Qingming easily guessed what Xu Yi was thinking.

Indeed, Xu Yi had been worried that the old man might suddenly wake up, but now it seemed that all his worries were unfounded.

"How do you know what I'm thinking?" Xu Yi asked in confusion. Qingming hadn't attacked him, so Qingming must have goodwill towards him.

Of course, these are all just Xu Yi's guesses.

Qingming made no move. A halo of light emanated from beneath his feet, encompassing him, Xu Yi, and Lao Niu.

"Hehe, that's not hard to guess. Everyone knows you're a pushover. You're not selfish at all, which is why you didn't succeed in your previous life."

"Hehe, but it's precisely because of you that none of us have any fun anymore. There are many people waiting for you in the heavens, Xu Yi."

"If it weren't for my Heavenly Palace blocking the breach, you would probably have been reduced to ashes long ago, your true spirit forever fallen, unable to enter the cycle of reincarnation."

As Qingming spoke, he turned his head and looked deeply at Xu Yi, a hint of reminiscence flashing in his eyes. His feelings for Xu Yi were also very complicated.

Hearing this, Xu Yi began to make some guesses. The Heavenly Palace belonged to Qingming, so Qingming was the Dao Ancestor.

But what does Qingming mean by that? Is someone waiting for me from beyond the heavens?

Or perhaps it is "me"?

Xu Yi was certain that the former "Xu Yi" was dead, and the one who survived was himself.

So, what exactly did I do in the past? One mystery after another began to appear before Xu Yi, and he had no clue about any of them.

Qingming said that he failed a thousand years ago, which seemed to mean that he ruined the game and prevented everyone from playing.

No wonder others hate me so much; it's only right. I didn't eat well and instead smashed the pot.

Why are these people waiting for him outside the heavens, unable to come in? The Heavenly Palace blocked the breach, so how come those who blocked him were expelled from this world in the first place?

"Hehe, Fellow Daoist Qingming, I really don't understand what you're talking about." Xu Yi shook his head helplessly, not knowing what to say to this Dao Ancestor.

Qingming frowned, unsure whether Xu Yi truly didn't remember or had genuinely lost his memory.

It's hard to guess, but a thousand years ago, Xu Yi tricked everyone.

Now, it would be easy to deceive this junior again.

Qingming dared not gamble. When he embarked on his cultivation journey, Xu Yi had already attained enlightenment many years prior and was universally recognized as the foremost immortal in the world...

......