With an exalted status, profound Dao cultivation, and mastery of all sorts of Dao arts and immortal spells at her fingertips, she held twice as many chips as Wei Yuan. If it had been anyone else, this battle would have been utterly unwinnable.
Yet Wei Yuan was not anyone else. The astronomical volume of data on this realm previously amassed by Flourishing of the Many Realms, coupled with the accumulated data from rebooting heaven and earth, countless exploratory experiments and treatises, and the true spirit authorities over the eight major grotto-heavens, left Wei Yuan having seen almost everything there was to see. At this moment, it translated into an ability that approached partial omniscience.
Thus, Wei Yuan saw the evolution of the Great Dao beneath the surface of her moves on the board, and he also saw the Heavenly Dao rules engraved into the Chaos Sea the moment she uttered the words "a glimmer of hope."
That alone would not have changed anything, but Wei Yuan tried something: deep within his pupils, a bright-red sunlight welled up, and the Evil Sun Heavenly Pillar reacted, astonishingly allowing Wei Yuan to see the Heavenly Dao rules within the Chaos Sea with crystal clarity!
The so-called glimmer of hope meant that she would not enter the fray herself; she would only wage war through the Go board, and once her bowl of white stones was depleted, it would be the end.
If Wei Yuan handed over the star sand, then for a brief period, the immortal arts and Dao spells she bestowed upon her summons would be nullified, thereby weakening her combat power. That was the meaning of offering him another glimmer of hope.
The rules of the Great Dao also revealed that if Wei Yuan sat down before the Go table, she would not lift a hand against Wei Yuan's true body either. Seeing this, Wei Yuan realized he had judged her by his own standards and indulged in overly dark assumptions earlier.
If he had been braver just now and taken a seat at the table, with his prowess as the realm's Divine Go Master... Wei Yuan let out a sigh of regret. Yet he could not afford to take that gamble; if she were an underhanded villain rather than an honorable person, it would be over for him. Wei Yuan never gambled on things where a single mistake meant utter ruin.
Besides, Wei Yuan himself was the greatest combat power in the world beyond the heavens, effectively acting as the logistical nexus and command center, as well as the pivot that converted battle achievements into avatar puppets. The moment he left his post, the battlefront would collapse, so he could not have gone over to play Go anyway.
Wei Yuan calmed his mind and watched as battle fortresses took to the sky one after another, unleashing full firepower in a fierce clash against the first wave of charging armored warriors. A moment later, after casualties mounted on both sides and the data was relayed back, Wei Yuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. With the losses roughly equal, there was still a chance to fight this battle.
The question now had become how to wipe out all of the opponent's chips before exhausting his own. In other words, the casualty ratio had to be at least one to two. In reality, though, such a ratio would cost him even the Tree of the Great Dao, which Wei Yuan naturally could not accept.
Wei Yuan gradually pushed the computing power of Flourishing of the Many Realms to its peak, taking control of every single detail of the battle. Meanwhile, all the avatars he had reserved in Qingming were dispatched in every direction. Rather than heading to the battlefield first, Zhang Sheng departed for the Palace of Grand Beginning. Baoyun, Xiaoyu, and Xu Henshui each rushed off to their respective clans. Cui Yu could not pull himself away, but he sent trusted confidants racing toward the Cui family of Ji and Zhao. Everyone shared a single goal: to seek reinforcements.
Wei Yuan was certainly not someone who would endure torment just to save face. In this moment of life and death, he immediately reached out to every friend he could think of—even former friends. He did not spare Southern Jin or the State of Zhao either, brazenly sending envoys to them as well.
The core aim of this plea for aid was people—Dao Foundation and dharma idol cultivators to serve as expeditionary forces.
***
In Qingming Immortal City, Wei Yuan was hunched over a desk, manually processing Qingming's official business. Of the ten thousand strands of divine sense he possessed, only three hundred remained; the rest had been reclaimed by his true body. The computing power of Flourishing of the Many Realms was down to a mere one percent of its former capacity, making its responses sluggish, so Wei Yuan had to handle important affairs himself.
Just then, the study door pushed open, and a red-robed figure stepped inside. Had it not been for a sword cultivator's innate sharpness, Wei Yuan would have barely noticed someone entering.
Getting a clear look at the visitor, Wei Yuan was both surprised and delighted. "Patriarch Yuanjin? Why have you come?"
Zhu Yuanjin gave a faint smile and said, "According to the rules of the jianghu, you should call me Senior Martial Sister now. But if we go by combat strength, it wouldn't be improper for you to call me Junior Martial Sister either."
Wei Yuan felt a sharp headache, at a loss for how to respond. While he was in this awkward bind, an elegant noble as handsome as jade walked in from outside. Wei Yuan did not recognize him at first, identifying him as Immortal Monarch Zhu Yan only by his immortal power imprint, and hastily bowed in greeting.
At that moment, a strange vibration suddenly rippled through the study. Everything seemed to lose its weight and float upward. Wei Yuan was unfamiliar with this divine ability, yet the aura felt exceptionally familiar and dear. Wei Yuan immediately dashed forward, bowed to the ground, and called out loudly, "Greetings, Patriarch!"
The newcomer was none other than True Monarch Xuanyue. He helped Wei Yuan up directly and chuckled, saying, "I've told you before, there's no need for such ceremony. Between the two of us, we don't fuss over that!"
Just then, a voice dripping with mockery sounded from outside the room: "Old Thief Chunqiu, put away your divine ability already. Everyone knows by now that you've mastered a new trick."
True Monarch Xuanyue laughed heartily. "I've only just completed it, so my control isn't quite dialed in yet. Why be so petty about it, Junior Brother Yanshi?"
Wei Yuan stared at Immortal Monarch Yanshi as he entered, his mind failing to register what was happening for a moment. But immediately after, the Master of the Hall of the Bright King and the other hall masters appeared one by one; even Danming and Zhidan from the Abbey of Creation had arrived.
Of the Palace of Grand Beginning's three abbeys and twelve halls, aside from two hall masters, every single one had arrived.
Zhu Yan said, "We heard you encountered an expert from beyond the heavens, so we drew lots and chose two people to stay behind to guard the sect gate. The rest of us came."
Yanshi added, "Over seventy dharma idols came, along with nine hundred Dao Foundations. The rest truly couldn't get away, and the younger disciples haven't matured yet, so they wouldn't be much help here anyway. Everyone who can fight has been brought along."
Wei Yuan choked up, rendered speechless.
True Monarch Xuanyue gave another hearty laugh. "Junior Brother Yanshi and I both want to see just how tall an expert from beyond the heavens really stands!"
For a moment, Wei Yuan did not understand why True Monarch Xuanyue had suddenly changed how he addressed Yanshi, calling him Junior Brother.
Whether True Monarch Xuanyue truly noticed Wei Yuan's confusion or had intended to say it all along, he explained before Wei Yuan could even ask: "I know you don't get why I'm calling your Martial Grand-Uncle Yanshi 'Junior Brother.' Truth be told, it's like this...
"It's an old rule in our Palace of Grand Beginning: seniority in learning doesn't matter; whoever fights best comes first. Your martial grandfather here just mastered a new divine ability, didn't he? Once I ascend to immortality, I'll definitely hold the upper hand over Junior Brother Yanshi, so I just jumped the gun and changed the title a few years early. It's hardly that early anyway!"
Wei Yuan was naturally both shocked and overjoyed. The display Xuanyue had just shown by making everything in the study float was presumably the new divine ability. An ability capable of manipulating gravity unquestionably ranked among the very finest. In a battle between grotto-heavens, it could even drag and manipulate the opponent's grotto-heavens—pushing away the formidable ones and pulling over the weak ones to gang up on them, an utterly unreasonable power.
Yanshi was suffering in silence, having had no choice but to swallow his pride. Recently, he had gambled with Xuanyue and lost nine out of ten times; the title of "Junior Brother" had been surrendered in just that way. With catastrophe descending upon this realm, his heavenly divination arts had become a liability instead, forcing him to hide within the Palace of Grand Beginning or venture out only in the company of Zhu Yan. Yet the world beyond the heavens was untouched by the catastrophe, allowing Yanshi to unleash his full strength.
Just then, an unruly voice rang out outside the door: "How could such a grand occasion be missing Feng Hanzhou?"
Before the man had arrived, his voice had traveled ahead, and an incomparably sharp streak of sword qi had already drifted into the study. It was none other than the master of the Sword Palace, Feng Hanzhou.
Years ago, when Wei Yuan was afflicted with the great karmic curse and the immortals of the human race shrank back, this sword immortal alone could not stomach it and stepped forward out of righteousness. Feng Hanzhou's arrival was naturally a tremendous, pleasant surprise. Just as Wei Yuan moved to go out and welcome him, Feng Hanzhou pushed the door open and stepped in on his own—only to freeze in astonishment at the sight of the room packed with people.
Behind him, a slick, greasy voice piped up: "Junior Brother Feng, scoot over a bit. Don't block the doorway... Why is it so crowded in here?"
Chapter 1449