"Senior, what do you mean by that? How is there anything wrong with me?"
"Looking across the entire Xuanhuang Realm, aside from me, there's probably no one else willing to play a thousand games of chess with you, is there?"
The sacred embryo smiled, placing a stone as he countered with a question.
This first move was placed directly on Tianyuan, the center of the board.
The untidy old man's expression changed. He glanced at the sacred embryo, his demeanor turning exceedingly solemn.
"You rascal. You clearly only possess Nascent Soul cultivation, yet your deductive calculation ability is frighteningly formidable. What's more, you didn't disguise it at all, sitting down right beside me."
"You completely came prepared!"
"At first, I was rather pleased—after all these years, I could finally satisfy my itch for a game. Only when we reached halfway did I realize that I had fallen into your trap!" the old man sighed faintly.
The sacred embryo merely smiled without answering.
The untidy old man was named Daoist Qianxun. He was an old-timer Dao Integration expert whose cultivation had fallen due to injuries.
For whatever meritorious service he had once rendered to the Alliance, he actually carried a Law-Audience Jade Plaque on him.
Of course, at this point in time, few in the world knew about this.
In everyone's eyes, this Daoist Qianxun was merely an ordinary cultivator who was a bit mad.
Only more than a decade later would a mortal named Xiao Shengke encounter Daoist Qianxun by chance.
After accompanying Daoist Qianxun through a thousand days of begging together, he was gifted the Law-Audience Jade Plaque.
With a mortal body, he had an audience with the Yanfa Jade, obtained a Dao Integration cultivation technique, and soared smoothly into the immortal path from then on.
This matter was often spoken of with relish by later generations.
Sacred Embryo Li Fan sought out Daoist Qianxun naturally for his Dao Integration Law-Audience Jade Plaque.
However, begging for a thousand days was far too long. Thus, he intentionally used words to provoke the other party into playing chess with him.
Daoist Qianxun—his name was inextricably linked to his cultivation technique.
Everything had to be accomplished through a thousand, and required a companion.
His playing chess with the sacred embryo was actually his form of cultivation as well.
The sole restriction was that he could not actively explain the reasons behind it to anyone, and once he completed a round of Qianxun cultivation, his appearance and aura would become like an entirely different person's.
So everything depended on fate.
Yet Sacred Embryo Li Fan had been able to learn of this in advance.
When the final stone was placed, Sacred Embryo Li Fan fell short by a single move, ultimately losing to Daoist Qianxun.
"You little brat, at least you still knew to yield one game to me."
Daoist Qianxun cursed angrily. Although he had won, he could not feel happy in the slightest.
He overturned the board once more, but this time, the black and white stones dissolved into the air on their own.
Meanwhile, a surging aura emanated from the old man's body.
"Congratulations, Senior! You aren't far from re-integrating with the Dao!" Sacred Embryo Li Fan said with a smile.
"What do you want?" Daoist Qianxun cut to the chase, asking directly.
"The Law-Audience Jade Plaque."
"Scram!" Daoist Qianxun tossed the jade plaque straight over.
Without waiting for Li Fan to reply, his figure vanished without a trace.
The sacred embryo stowed the jade plaque, paying it no mind. Anyone who had lost nine hundred and ninety-nine games in a row—and in every one of them, seemed to have narrowly lost by just a hair—would certainly harbor some temper.
That he hadn't raised a hand to teach him a lesson was already a testament to Daoist Qianxun's restraint.
"With the Dao Transformation Stone deducing the moves, truly few in this world can beat me at chess."
The sacred embryo shook his head slightly and made his way to a secluded, deserted spot.
He directly activated the Law-Audience Jade Plaque.
Prior to this, he had already sorted out his identity within the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals.
Therefore, no unexpected hitches occurred throughout the entire process.
As usual, a cultivator arrived to guide him, and a doorway appeared out of thin air.
Yet after a bout of dizziness, he arrived once more at the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals headquarters...
"Hm?"
Looking around, what met his eyes was not the sight of the Alliance headquarters.
Within a hazy sphere of light stood several silhouettes.
Intermittent dialogue drifted out from within.
"On this departure, how much certainty do you have?"
"I do all that is humanly possible and leave the rest to heaven's will, that is all."
"That doesn't sound like something you would say."
"The disparity in strength is far too vast; there is only risking life and limb in a desperate gamble."
"Forget it, go on then. Who knows whether it will bring fortune or calamity."
...
The voice of one of the figures sounded somewhat familiar to Sacred Embryo Li Fan, yet it was not entirely identical to anyone he knew.
He knew this was a hallucination caused by the influence of the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable when entering the Alliance headquarters for the first time.
Yet for some reason, what he saw this time differed from what his original self and avatar had seen before.
"One of those figures... was it Chuanfa?"
"What does this signify?"
Before Li Fan had time to ponder, he felt the world shake violently, and the scene shattered layer by layer.
He left the illusion and appeared inside the Alliance headquarters.
The escorting cultivator was accustomed to this, offered a brief explanation in a couple of sentences, and led Li Fan toward the Yanfa Jade's location.
Familiar with the route, everything was identical to what he had experienced in previous lifetimes.
It was not until he entered the interior of Protector Hall headquarters that an announcement chimed in his ears, leaving Li Fan utterly astounded.
"Applicant for Yanfa Jade usage: Fan Li."
"Designation: 005. Clearance Level: Dao Integration."
"Please wait patiently here. Estimated remaining wait time: three thousand six hundred twenty-three days and six shichen."
At first, Sacred Embryo Li Fan thought he had misheard. Only after hearing it a second time did he startle to his feet.
"How could the wait be this long?"
Shocked and suspicious in his heart, he put on a matching expression and could not help asking the empty space.
"If you are unwilling to wait, you may depart on your own."
"Warning: departing signifies forfeiting the right to use the Law-Audience Jade Plaque on your own initiative."
Only after a long silence did a voice respond from the space.
"My designation is 005, yet I have to wait nearly ten years? What kind of sense does that make?"
"Do you take me for someone who has never used the Yanfa Jade? How long can deducing a cultivation technique take? Someone must be using public resources for private ends!"
Sacred Embryo Li Fan did not back down at all, instead raising a clamorous fuss.
He looked determined to demand an explanation.
Seemingly unable to tolerate Li Fan's troublemaking, the voice sounded again after a moment, cold as ice:
"Due to force majeure, the deduction capabilities of the Yanfa Jade have suffered severe disruption."
"Therefore, the waiting time has also been drastically extended."
"We ask for the cultivator's understanding and cooperation."
"Warning: this matter is classified top secret by the Alliance. Do not disclose it under any circumstances."
The voice warned.
Sacred Embryo Li Fan's expression shifted slightly, but he did not rein himself in at all.
Instead, he shouted exaggeratedly, "What?! The foundation of the Alliance, a wonder of Heaven—the Yanfa Jade has actually malfunctioned?!"
"What the hell is your Protector Hall doing?!"
"When such a serious incident occurred, not only did you not think of how to solve it, but you're intentionally covering it up?!"
"There must be a traitor among you!"
"No, I will definitely make this matter public!"
...
Amid Sacred Embryo Li Fan's loud outcry, a figure slowly materialized before him.
Expressionless, the figure looked at Sacred Embryo Li Fan as if looking at a dead man.
Li Fan, however, instantly turned solemn. "Why not let me take a look? Perhaps I might have a way."
Hearing this, the figure froze on the spot.
Chapter 939