For a moment, Ji Yuan’s spiritual avatar wanted to pluck down that star to examine it, but his hand, reaching towards the sky, stopped. Not only did it feel impossibly distant, but he also didn’t want to actually grasp the chess piece.
In the sky of his spiritual landscape, stars shone brightly. Among them, those representing chess pieces were particularly conspicuous to Ji Yuan, including the newly appeared, unfamiliar one.
What was the deal with this chess piece? Did it appear on its own, or was it wielded by someone? If it appeared spontaneously, why? If not, did it mean there was another player?
Ji Yuan had originally believed he could wield both black and white pieces, and since his spiritual landscape implicitly merged with the heavens and earth, allowing him to perceive this cosmic chessboard within his mind, he thought he must be the sole player.
Now, however, Ji Yuan suddenly felt that might not be the case.
Ji Yuan’s spiritual avatar merely shook its head, gazing at the star representing the chess piece. It perceived its composition and tried to ascertain, through this perception, when and where this piece had been placed.
At the same time, a faint sense of anxiety arose in Ji Yuan’s heart.
‘Why did this piece appear now? Is there a special reason?’
Ji Yuan’s attention was divided: his spiritual avatar watched the celestial chess piece in his inner world, while his external eyes turned to the "cooing" infant beside the unconscious Madam Li.
‘Is it because of him?’
Ji Yuan quickly walked to the bedside, his gaze sweeping over the unconscious Madam Li and a maidservant slumped by the bed, before finally settling on the infant. The baby was very robust and full of energy. Seeing Ji Yuan approach, it curiously reached out, grasping at the air towards him.
"Ooh-ah… ah…"
Behind Ji Yuan, the old Monk Moyun, seeing Ji Yuan’s unusual reaction earlier, nervously asked a question.
"Mr. Ji, is something wrong?"
Ji Yuan didn't turn around, simply replying.
"I'm afraid the matter of this young master of the Li family is far more troublesome than I imagined."
As he spoke, Ji Yuan flipped his hand, producing his wolf-hair brush. The profound Xuanhuang energy, previously contained and unreleased, now filled his mouth as he prepared an incantation, and the tip of his brush gathered a shimmering aura of Xuanhuang.
After a brief moment of preparation, Ji Yuan wielded his brush, writing nine characters for "conceal" in quick succession about a foot above the infant.
These nine characters formed a vertical golden line extending downwards. Ji Yuan's wolf-hair brush then lightly tapped the uppermost character, and he uttered the incantation.
"By Imperial Decree, Shift Stars and Change Constellations."
The area in front of the infant instantly brightened. All the "conceal" characters merged into one, dissolving into the infant's body along with Ji Yuan's incantation. A special halo of light radiated from Ji Yuan's mouth, permeating throughout the Li residence, merging with the family's qi, and then quickly fading away.
Monk Moyun, behind Ji Yuan, tensed his entire body. Ji Yuan's voice just now had been as mighty as heavenly power, completely unlike any incantation methods he knew, making him afraid to even breathe.
However, after realizing that the true demon had already been subdued by Mr. Ji, Monk Moyun's estimation of Ji Yuan's cultivation had risen to a considerable height. He was no longer surprised by any mysterious divine abilities Ji Yuan might employ.
After receiving Ji Yuan's incantation, the infant's entire body emitted a faint luminescence, which gradually faded after some time. The infant had also fallen into a deep sleep.
"I have used the incantation to conceal the child's unique aura and sealed a significant portion of his innate talent. He should not be exposed for the time being."
Speaking, Ji Yuan turned to look at Monk Moyun.
"Master Moyun, from now on, try not to reveal anything special about the young master of the Li family. Also, inform the Emperor, but don't erase everything. Just say that the Li family has given birth to a child of great spiritual sensitivity, and nothing more."
"Amitabha, I understand!"
Monk Moyun uttered a Buddhist chant, indicating he would follow Ji Yuan's instructions, while his peripheral vision cautiously scanned the infant by the bed. The baby still had a faint spiritual glow, but it no longer gave him an unsettling feeling, nor did it simultaneously attract both malevolent and benevolent energies as it had before.
Ji Yuan composed himself for a moment, rubbing his forehead as his thoughts branched out. Madam Li's three-year pregnancy was certainly strange, but it was confined to the mortal realm and hadn't even spread to mainstream official circles. Such mortal rumors were relatively minor. Moreover, he had not hesitated to expend Xuanhuang energy and a significant amount of magical power to disrupt heavenly secrets, which should largely succeed in concealing the child.
From the current situation, it seemed the true demon hadn't been lurking at the Li residence beforehand; otherwise, Ji Yuan would have encountered it upon arrival. Even if the true demon had been observing the Li family for a long time, this incantation would still be effective. Besides, that true demon was quite unlucky to encounter Ji Yuan again this time, being directly entrapped like a turtle in a jar.
Ji Yuan silently offered a blessing for the true demon in his heart, sincerely hoping it would be thoroughly dead after being swallowed by the Xiezhi.
Monk Moyun quietly chanted scriptures, and a gentle spiritual energy swept through the Li residence. The Li family members who had fainted gradually regained consciousness. After they awoke this time, Monk Moyun directly bade farewell to the Li family, while Ji Yuan had already vanished.
A month later, still in Kuinan Commandery City, Ji Yuan was temporarily staying in an old temple called "Nichen Temple." The temple's old abbot had specially cleared out a clean monk's cell for Ji Yuan's accommodation and instructed his two disciples not to disturb Ji Yuan's peace.
The old abbot only told his disciples that Mr. Ji was an esteemed guest, but he didn't reveal that the Grand Preceptor Master Moyun had personally escorted him to the temple, nor that the Grand Preceptor treated Mr. Ji with extreme deference, even to the point of profound respect.
Although the temple was old and dilapidated, it was meticulously clean inside and out. The entire temple housed only three monks: the old abbot and his two young disciples. The old abbot was not a true Buddhist cultivator, but his understanding of Buddhist teachings was profound. Whenever he chanted scriptures in the morning or evening, Ji Yuan could discern the deep Zen meaning within.
At this moment, Ji Yuan lay in the meditation room, eyes closed in contemplation, his mind immersed in his spiritual landscape. He was observing the mysterious chess piece in the sky for what felt like the umpteenth time.
The chess piece glowed brightly now; its color, whether black or white, was indiscernible, yet it gave Ji Yuan a weighty, substantial feeling.
‘If I can see this piece, and if there are other players, can they see my pieces?’
Suddenly, a thought stirred in Ji Yuan’s mind. He opened his eyes and looked towards the meditation room window. A faint stream of light streaked across the horizon. He quickly calculated with his fingers and sat up.
Not long after, a white-haired, long-bearded old man landed outside the temple. He looked up at the temple's old plaque and its half-open gate, then, after a moment's thought, pushed the door open and peered inside, just in time to see a young monk sweeping the grounds.
The temple gate, opening and closing, let out a slightly jarring creak. The sweeping monk naturally looked towards the sound and saw the old man outside.
"Benefactor, how may I help you? If you wish to offer incense, please bring your own; our temple does not sell it."
Not only did this temple not sell incense, but there were also no vendors nearby. This was mainly because the location was too remote and rarely frequented by pilgrims; most vendors gathered on the streets in front of larger, more popular temples.
"Oh, young master, is there a Mr. Ji staying in your temple? I've come to find Mr. Ji."
The sweeping monk scratched his head, eyed the old man up and down, and nodded.
"Yes, a Mr. Ji is staying here. Would you like me to take you to him?"
"That would be wonderful!"
The old man stepped into the temple and thanked the monk. Although he knew Ji Yuan was inside, Mr. Ji's presence was immeasurable; he hadn't felt anything even outside the temple.
Led by the monk, the old man soon arrived at the monk's cell where Ji Yuan was staying. Ji Yuan was already waiting, seated on a small stool in front of the dwelling.
"Lian Baiping greets Mr. Ji."
The old man bowed to Ji Yuan, who patted a small stool beside him.
"Daoist Lian, please take a seat. Thank you, young master."
"You're welcome. Please take your time chatting. I need to get back to cleaning the temple, so I'll be off. Call if you need anything."
With that, the monk hurried away. The temple was large but short-staffed, so there was much cleaning to be done.
Once the monk had left, Lian Baiping walked over to Ji Yuan, sat down on the small stool, and got straight to the point.
"Mr. Ji, a month ago, following your message, we performed a divination using the Heavenly Mechanism Wheel to calculate the celestial movements. We assisted with the spellcasting... but the heavenly secrets were utterly dark and chaotic; it seemed very inauspicious. My senior brother asked me to personally explain the results to you."
"Hmm."
Ji Yuan had already anticipated this, but Lian Baiping then added,
"By the way, Mr. Ji, half a month ago, the Qianyuan Sect sent a message to my Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion, hoping that with the reopening of the Pavilion's grotto-heaven, my senior brother could perform divination to ascertain the positions of Heaven and Earth. They seem to be engaged in a conflict with some demonic or evil cult. Furthermore, the Qianyuan Sect's Nine-鸣 Grand Bell has rung, recalling all disciples abroad, and all cultivators from its subordinate nine sects, thirteen grottoes, and twenty-two islands have returned to their posts. This is certainly no small matter."
"Oh?"
Ji Yuan frowned, looking at Lian Baiping.
"Where is the Qianyuan Sect located?"
"It's located on Yuanyuan Mountain in the sea, near Tianyu Continent. The sect's cultivators generally prefer tranquility, rarely concerning themselves with external affairs, and have few conflicts with the outside world..."
Lian Baiping explained in detail, and Ji Yuan listened, repeatedly tapping his knee lightly with his fingers.
In just this short time, Ji Yuan felt a slight throbbing pain in his temples. He withdrew his consciousness to examine himself and found nothing unusual physically. Returning his spirit to his spiritual landscape, he looked up and saw the "external piece" glowing intensely.
‘Someone has made a move!’
A thought flashed through Ji Yuan's mind like lightning. At this moment, he was absolutely certain: this chess piece definitely represented a player behind it!
"Hiss..."
The more he gazed, the more his headache intensified, even eliciting a slight hiss. Yet, Ji Yuan did not stop observing the chess piece; instead, he severed all external perception, pouring all his mental power entirely into his spiritual avatar within his inner world.
"Heavenly Manifestation!"
Within his spiritual landscape, Ji Yuan's voice resonated through the cosmos. His spiritual avatar continuously expanded, appearing to stand between heaven and earth. Its form became increasingly solid, as if the sun, moon, stars, mountains, rivers, and lakes converged upon it. Clouds and Xuanhuang energy swirled around, forming a ceremonial robe along with the landscape.
At this moment, Ji Yuan's face seemed level with the stars. His spiritual eye, which had been half-closed, suddenly opened wide, and his divine sense pierced directly into the piece's faint glow.
‘Spirit... Roam...’
In a daze, Ji Yuan felt as if he had traversed infinite distances and countless eons. Unsure whether he was within or beyond the cosmos, he perceived only streaks of light and chaos all around, with various images flashing by, like someone's thoughts and memories.
At the moment his head felt like it would split open, Ji Yuan faintly heard a blurred voice, a laughter brimming with excitement.
"Hahahahahaha... So many years, so many years... This damned world is finally becoming unstable... I thought I would sleep forever..."
"No hurry, let's test it out."
"I have so few idle pieces left, how can I test it lightly?"
"There are still remnants from back then, worth trying a move! Pivotal one."
The voices were somewhat blurry and intermittent; he could vaguely hear more than one person. As the words "Pivotal one" were uttered, Ji Yuan seemed to see faint light converging in the haze, and a star appeared within a swirling mass of light and shadows.
"Hiss... ah..."
The intense headache finally became unbearable for Ji Yuan. He clutched his head and opened his eyes, startling Lian Baiping beside him.
"Mr. Ji, what, what's wrong with you?"
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