"What?!"
These few people were instantly stunned.
This Great Sage of Qianyang actually didn't want this Dao Fruit.
The middle-aged Martial Saint, the beautiful woman Martial Saint, and the wicked monk Martial Saint all had their eyes turn red.
Daoist Can Zhen's body trembled with excitement. If he brought this news back, he would definitely receive a reward from his Ancestor. "Thank you, Ancestor 'Qianyang', for your bounty. Your disciple will immediately return to the Holy Land to deliver the news."
The Three Ao Dragon Lords frowned. "'Qianyang', since you are from the mortal realm, and the great era has not yet begun, why do you not refine the Dao Fruit as soon as possible? Do you not wish to participate in the final chess game?"
"The final chess game? What is that?" Chen Jiuyang's brows furrowed slightly.
The Three Ao Dragon Lords sneered, "You don't even know about the final chess game."
"Don't you know about the great battle tens of thousands of years ago?"
Chen Jiuyang frowned and said, "Of course, I know. The one who broke open a corner of the Immortal Realm was a predecessor on the path of the Human Emperor."
A flicker of uncertainty flashed in the eyes of the Three Ao Dragon Lords. He slowly said, "The power accumulated by the mortal realm over countless years in the last great battle almost shattered the Immortal Realm. Even the supreme and invincible Immortal Emperors were reduced to only two, one in the Heavenly Court and one in the mortal realm."
"The Immortal Realm suffered greatly due to the struggle for the Book of Life and Death."
"It was then that the final chess game was set tens of thousands of years ago."
"The Immortal Emperor of the Heavenly Court used the Book of Life as a wager, and the unspeakable Immortal Emperor of the mortal realm used the Book of Death as a wager, to initiate the final chess game and play a grand game."
"And to become a chess piece, to escape the Book of Life and Death, one must possess a Dao Fruit. With it, one can plunder the fortune of the Immortal Realm or the mortal realm and begin this game."
"!!!"
Chen Jiuyang had never heard such earth-shattering secrets, not even from the old village chief.
He could not determine the truth of this matter based solely on the words of this old mudfish.
"This matter..." Chen Jiuyang said calmly, "I will judge its truth after I visit the minor Immortal Realm."
"Now that this matter is concluded, everyone may leave."
The Three Ao Dragon Lords sneered, "Then you must hurry. If someone like you has awakened, the Heavenly Court of the Immortal Realm will likely break through the realm barrier and send Immortal officials to make their moves in advance for this chess game."
"Before the conflict between the Immortal Emperors, even our Lord, the Immortal King Huang, could only become cannon fodder and perish."
"Although the chess game has not yet begun, both sides will make their moves in advance. If you are still at this cultivation level when the selection of chess pieces begins, you might not even have the chance to become a chess piece before you perish."
Gong Liexian couldn't help but ask, "Is it really that terrifying?"
The Three Ao Dragon Lords scoffed, "Our Lord is an Immortal King. This Dragon Lord is also a overlord in the Immortal Realm. If not for this final chess game, how could our Lord willingly become cannon fodder and perish? How could this Dragon Lord abandon his immortal body and willingly become a guardian of the secret realm with his true spirit?"
"Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Spirit Transformation, Void Returning, Dao Integration, Tribulation Crossing, Mahayana, Loose Immortal, Profound Immortal, Golden Immortal, Grand Unity, Immortal Lord, Immortal King, Immortal Emperor. This is the path of the Great Dao. With so many realms, our Lord is an Immortal King, an Immortal King."
These words sent a chill through everyone present.
...
The words of the Three Ao Dragon Lords stirred up a storm in Chen Jiuyang's heart.
It made Chen Jiuyang ponder the true meaning of the existence of these major forbidden grounds in the mortal realm.
Now, through the words of these Three Ao Dragon Lords, Chen Jiuyang had a vague guess.
Although he was now a free man, if an Immortal Emperor existed behind the Old Village, wouldn't he have already formed a great karma with the Immortal Emperor behind the forbidden ground of the Old Village and become a chess piece?
His family could be protected, but he would become a chess piece.
Chen Jiuyang felt a chill in his heart.
Previously, Emperor Yan had said that the next time would be the last battle.
Could it be that the final chess game had already been set, and the battle that tore apart the Immortal Realm last time was a catalyst for this game?
Thinking back to what the Human King Sword 'Ri Yue' had said before, that the guardian of the mortal realm had problems and had fallen into a deep slumber.
Could this also be related?
A chessboard, so vast it sent a shiver down his spine, seemed to appear before Chen Jiuyang.
Carrying Gong Liexian back to the Jialing River, he said, "Report today's information truthfully to the Guardian and the Masters of Jixia Academy. I also have something to confirm."
"Alright, see you next time, Brother Chen."
Then, Chen Jiuyang tore through space and stepped into it, returning to Qingzhu City.
The peaceful Qingzhu City, after only an hour's absence, made Chen Jiuyang feel as if he had experienced a lifetime.
Gong Jingmeng, Zhou Fangzun, and the others were still living their lives leisurely.
Chen Jiuyang returned to the martial arts hall as if nothing had happened and found that the Human King Sword 'Ri Yue' had awakened, emitting a faint light that ordinary people could not see.
Chen Jiuyang spoke, "Ri Yue, you've awakened?"
"Indeed," the Human King Sword 'Ri Yue' said. "Just now, when you entered that Dao Fruit secret realm, a surge of Immortal Realm destiny was refined, which caused me to awaken."
Chen Jiuyang asked, "What went wrong with the Guardian system?"
'Ri Yue' said, "The destiny of the Immortal Realm and the destiny of the demon race are eroding me and trying to confuse me."
Chen Jiuyang's heart sank. It seemed that what the Three Ao Dragon Lords had said was not entirely false, but to verify the truth, he still had to return to the Old Village.
'Ri Yue' said, "I have sensed a destiny related to the Immortal Realm here."
Chen Jiuyang was surprised and said, "You can sense it?"
'Ri Yue' said, "Deep underground, beside the spiritual spring, there is an unspeakable bamboo."
Chen Jiuyang fell silent. It was the Qingzhu Lingxian, no, now it should be called the Qingzhu Dao Fruit.
It seemed that after countless years, she had not been refined or left, but had hidden herself below. Could she be waiting for him to return?
This possibility could not be ruled out. He would wait until he returned to discuss it.
Chen Jiuyang, holding the Human King Sword, tore through space and arrived outside the surging river.
This was outside the Old Village.
Chen Jiuyang stepped across the river and entered the Old Village.
Immediately, an boundless darkness descended. To this day, Chen Jiuyang still could not understand what this boundless eternal night that swallowed all things was.
Even the armless old sword emperor, who could break open a corner of the Immortal Realm, had to abide by this.
Who was the being that caused this anomaly in the forbidden ground? An Immortal King? Or an Immortal Emperor?
Many questions resurfaced in his mind.
In the first village of the Old Village, the old village chief, who looked like a young girl, was drinking. Seeing that it was getting dark, her expression couldn't help but change. "Who came in?"
Her divine soul spread out, and after sensing, her expression became astonished. "When did this kid manage to get out?"
Then, her figure flickered, moving at extreme speed, and she appeared before Chen Jiuyang, looking at him with a smile. "You kid found a way to sneak out and didn't tell your village chief. I also want to go out and see the prosperous world."
Chen Jiuyang raised the Human King Sword in his hand and frankly said, "I am the sword master of this generation's Human King Sword, which is why I can leave the Old Village."
"Old Village Chief, I want to ask about the final chess game."
Upon hearing about the final chess game, the old village chief's usually lazy expression became unprecedentedly solemn.