الشطرنج الخالد - Book 08 Chapter 022
Book 08 Chapter 022: Beneath the Great Battle
Divine Continent, Six Paths Immortal Firmament:
A duel of titanic proportions was taking place between Ji Dihong and Gu Hai. Their breathtaking speed and immense strength garnered the attention of many experts. A few experts flew into outer space even though they could not compare to the two’s speed. Some had unique abilities that allowed them to gaze upon the edge of time and space.
The ultimate clash between Ji Dihong and Gu Hai was crystal clear to all. Everyone knew that once Gu Hai stepped out of the Six Paths Immortal Firmament, his death would be inevitable.
They had harbored hopes and expectations of various kinds earlier, but ultimately, Gu Hai exited.
The moment Gu Hai left, a collective gasp of shock arose from the powerful onlookers. As they gazed at Borderless Heavenly Capital, a tinge of regret appeared on every face.
Gu Hai’s exit from the Six Paths Immortal Firmament signaled his impending defeat.
However, this was just the popular opinion; the actual outcome remained uncertain.
Long Wanqing and Chen Xianer exchanged anxious glances. They had been prepared by Gu Hai’s prior instructions; hence, their worry didn’t escalate into panic. Gu Hai had mentioned his plan to enter the void with Ji Dihong.
——
Xuanyuan City:
Emperor Kong and the others bubbled with joy.
Emperor Kong exclaimed ecstatically, “Hahaha! Gu Hai is dead for sure! Without the blessings from the Six Paths Immortal Firmament, he stands no chance against His Holy Eminence, no matter his capabilities!”
The euphoria was infectious, and everyone appeared certain of the battle’s outcome.
Cangjie’s duel with the Unborn Man was yet to reach a conclusion. Nevertheless, Cangjie sighed in relief.
“Perhaps His Holy Eminence no longer needs the plan we put in place. He seems to have victory within his grasp,” Cangjie murmured with a slight smile.
“What plan? What are you referring to?” Emperor Kong inquired out of curiosity.
Cangjie did not respond, only gently flicked his finger to summon a circular blue light screen before him. In the middle of the screen was a small red dot.
“What? Impossible!” Cangjie suddenly cried out in shock.
Staring at the screen, he momentarily lost his composure. In this moment of distraction, the Unborn Man seized his opportunity and unleashed a powerful technique on Cangjie.
Blargh! Cangjie spewed a mouthful of blood.
“Mister Cangjie, are you alright?” asked Emperor Kong in surprise.
Stabilizing himself, Cangjie shook his head. “I am fine. I was momentarily distracted, and the Unborn Man took the opportunity to strike me. Nothing serious.”
Although Cangjie claimed to be unharmed, his eyes remained fixed on the screen before him, his heart clearly anxious.
Curious, Emperor Kong peered at the blue light screen. “Is this a map of the Divine Continent? That red dot, is that Eight Trigram Mountain, where Chiyou’s corpse is sealed? What’s going on?”
Cangjie gave no explanation, fearing he might disturb the hearts of his fellow officials.
The blue light screen did indeed display the map of the Divine Continent, but the red dot did not represent Eight Trigram Mountain but an individual who should have exited the Six Paths Immortal Firmament. So why was he still in the Divine Continent?
“How can this be? Gu Hai, you are truly a strange one. Your Holy Eminence, it’s good you prepared meticulously, otherwise…hah… Well, at least we have His Holy Eminence’s contingency plan,” Cangjie said with a sigh of relief.
Eight Trigram Mountain lay west of the former Chiyou City. Heavy fog shrouded it, concealing a portion of Chiyou’s sealed corpse.
——
Not only Cangjie’s gaze was directed here; Jiangchen was also watching from Deity Seizing Hall.
“Long Aotian, I can give you the answer you seek. You may wish to visit the place where Chiyou is sealed,” said Jiangchen calmly.
“Yes, thank you, Veritable Lord!” replied Long Aotian excitedly.
——
Outside the fog of Eight Trigram Mountain:
A man dressed in black dragon robes appeared here. This man was none other than the center of attention, Gu Hai.
Another Gu Hai?
No, this was his true body. The Gu Hai battling Ji Dihong was his skeleton clone.
The true body wielded the Life Executioner Saber, and the skeleton clone, the Life Killer Saber. The skeleton clone, having achieved the consummation of the Upper Heavenly Palace Realm through Void Energy, was like a fish in water in the void.
Nobody noticed that the one who had opened the passageway to the eighteen layers of hell was this inconspicuous true body of Gu Hai.
Everyone focused on Gu Hai’s skeleton clone, oblivious to the mastermind’s actual location.
Gu Hai’s true body reached the foot of Eight Trigram Mountain.
At this point, nearly all of Ji Dihong’s elites were engaged, even Ji Dihong himself was tied up. For Gu Hai, Eight Trigram Mountain was at its most vulnerable.
The corpse of Chiyou was sealed here.
Despite forcing Gu Hai into a sworn brotherhood, Chiyou had always treated Gu Hai well. He had even gone against the Heavenly Demon Holy Land to save Gu Hai. How could Gu Hai forget such kindness?
Standing at the edge of the heavy fog, Gu Hai looked at the battle in the sky with a resolute gaze.
Regardless of the traps ahead, he was determined to retrieve Chiyou’s corpse.
Phew!
Gu Hai turned his head back and stepped into the fog without hesitation, walking right into Ji Dihong’s trap.
A lifespan ritual array encompassed this place, making it impossible to travel between the nether realm and here. Gu Hai had already asked the Unborn Man to test it, so he was extremely cautious.
In the blink of an eye, Gu Hai disappeared into the thick fog.
——
Apart from a select few, the people on the Divine Continent remained oblivious to the existence of two Gu Hais. Their eyes were all fixed on Borderless Heavenly Capital.
The ostensibly serene Borderless Heavenly Capital seemed to be waiting for its final judgment. The experts looked at the Han Nation citizens with a hint of pity, especially Gu Hai’s relatives.
Everyone understood that if Ji Dihong won this battle, the people of Borderless Heavenly Capital would be doomed.
They thought there would be a period of waiting.
However, a man with a Daoist topknot appeared out of nowhere at that moment, outside Borderless Heavenly Capital. He wore broad, gold-colored Taoist robes, and his demeanor was coarse and cold as he hovered in the air.
Under the gaze of countless eyes, his lone figure stood, seemingly ready to annihilate the entire Borderless Heavenly Capital.
“Who is that man? Is he here to attack Borderless Heavenly Capital?”
“Could he be an agent sent by Ji Dihong?”
“Ji Dihong has too many contingency plans! To think he finds pushing Gu Hai into a dead end insufficient. He even wants to eradicate the problem at the root?”
…
Countless experts appeared shocked.
In the distant Xuanyuan City, Cangjie caught sight of the man in the golden Daoist robe and sighed, “His Holy Eminence does indeed leave no stone unturned. The people from the Heavenly Demon Holy Land have finally arrived!”
Emperor Kong, intrigued by the light screen before Cangjie, asked, “Is that someone from the Heavenly Demon Holy Land? Who is it?”
“Who do you think?” Cangjie smiled in response.
Not everyone in the crowd was unfamiliar with the man in the Daoist robes; someone recognized him and exclaimed in horror, “It’s the third-ranked peak master of the Heavenly Demon Holy Land, the Bellowing Griever Heavenly Demon! That poison maniac!”
Afraid that the Bellowing Griever Heavenly Demon heard him, the man quickly covered his mouth and ducked out of sight.
Of course, the Bellowing Griever Heavenly Demon was unmindful of the noise around him as he coldly surveyed Borderless Heavenly Capital.
“The Heavenly Demon Holy Land’s Number Three, the Bellowing Griever Heavenly Demon?” Chen Xianer’s face darkened.
Gu Han had provided some insights into the Heavenly Demon Holy Land, as well as portraits of all the peak masters.
Ranked third in the Heavenly Demon Holy Land, the Bellowing Griever Heavenly Demon was clearly far more formidable than the Divine Scorpion Heavenly Demon. Such a being now suddenly appeared at Borderless Heavenly Capital. Was this one of Ji Dihong’s contingency plans?
“Be careful,” Chen Xianer cautioned. “The Bellowing Griever Heavenly Demon is the closest to achieving consummation of the spiritual souls in the Heavenly Demon Holy Land!”
“The closest to achieving consummation of the spiritual souls?” Long Wanqing’s face sank.
“Indeed, he’s a step away from achieving it. Little Han warned us to be careful of this centipede spirit. He is invulnerable to blades and spears, extremely proficient in poison, and has concocted countless types of poison. Even the Divine Scorpion Heavenly Demon’s poison cannot match his. Furthermore, Little Han said he still has some strange techniques that he has never shown anyone before,” Chen Xianer explained.
Long Wanqing’s face sank further at the realization they faced a formidable enemy.
Holding the Life Trapper Saber, Gu Qin said, “Imperial Mother, Imperial Father left instructions for this son to use the Life Trapper Saber to coordinate with you.”
“Alright!” Chen Xianer nodded.
Outside, the Bellowing Griever Heavenly Demon turned his icy gaze towards Chen Xianer. “Number Four mentioned there was a grandmaster of the Poison Dao in Borderless Heavenly Capital. That’s you, isn’t it?”
Chen Xianer did not respond but merely looked back coldly.
The Bellowing Griever Heavenly Demon tilted his head to the side and sneered, “Your answer doesn’t matter. Borderless Heavenly Capital will be no more after today. Use your poison techniques soon, or you won’t get the chance.”
Suddenly, the Bellowing Griever Heavenly Demon emitted waves of black poison gas outside Borderless Heavenly Capital. The gas was so deadly it killed all the living creatures in its path and started corroding everything it touched.
The black gas was highly toxic; just the slightest contact nauseated the surrounding experts. They did not even get enough time to flee, falling to the ground after taking two steps.
The Poison Energy at the center of the black gas even corroded space, which showed how potent this poison was.
The poisonous mist then began to envelop Borderless Heavenly Capital.
Many citizens goggled in horror as if seeing the impending end of the world.
In mere moments, the vast black fog swallowed up Borderless Heavenly Capital.
——
Back in Xuanyuan City, the Huang Nation officials were overjoyed.
“So, this is the Bellowing Griever Heavenly Demon? Impressive, indeed!” declared Emperor Kong.
“Let’s hope so,” Cangjie agreed, gazing expectantly at the distant Borderless Heavenly Capital.
Yet another thrilling battle was about to commence before the others had ended, sending shivers down the spines of the distant spectators. The Huang Heavenly Dynasty’s attack was truly destructive. The Han Imperial Dynasty was undoubtedly doomed this time.
——
Divine Flame Hall’s entrance, Great Desolation City:
Ba looked towards the distant Borderless Heavenly Capital and said indifferently, “It’s time for us to go.”
The worried Xingtian asked, “Your Holy Eminence, should we not assist the Han Imperial Dynasty against the Bellowing Griever Heavenly Demon?”
Ba responded coldly, “Gu Hai didn’t ask for help, which means he’s confident. Let’s follow the plan. We’ll retrieve Chiyou’s corpse, and you head straight for Xuanyuan City to annihilate it.”
“Yes!”
The three immediately took to the sky.
Whoosh!
Ba turned into a beam of light streaking to the south of Chiyou City, one of the ambush locations sealing Chiyou’s corpse.
Xingtian and Hou Yi stepped forward and shot towards Xuanyuan City.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The moment the three left Great Desolation City, Cangjie discovered it. He suddenly turned his head and saw where the three were heading. His expression changed immediately.
“Oh no!” Cangjie exclaimed in shock.
Novel Notes