The Dao Chessboard

The small door swung open. Revealed to their eyes was a cavernous, empty hall. It was devoid of virtually any furnishings, save for a single meditation cushion that immediately drew their gaze. Both Li Hao and Xunhan instantly fixed their eyes upon it. A treasure? The core of all Dark Demon Ridge? And where had the voice just now come from? The moment they looked at the cushion, a figure manifested. Xunhan was startled, while Li Hao took a few quiet steps back. "The Dark Demon Sovereign?" Xunhan asked nervously. Could this be that eighth-rank Sovereign? "There is no need for alarm, gentlemen." The phantom figure materialized with an aura of nobility, yet it seemed insubstantial, its features hazy. Its voice drifted through the air: "I am not the master of Dark Demon Ridge. I am merely an artifact spirit!" An artifact spirit! The pair immediately looked back at the cushion. Had the meditation cushion attained the Dao? The chaos universe held all manner of wonders; an artifact spirit attaining the Dao was hardly unheard of. However, it was actually harder for the weapons of powerful experts to achieve the Dao. On one hand, there was the suppression from the expert; on the other, the weapon's intrinsic grade was simply too high. An overwhelmingly powerful origin made it difficult for a spirit to be born. If this was merely an artifact spirit, it was far safer. The Dark Emissary was an eighth-rank expert, but his meditation cushion surely could not be overwhelmingly powerful, could it? The phantom’s aura was difficult to gauge. The cushion seemed to keep its divine radiance thoroughly concealed within, yet boundless dark energy seeped outward from it. That much was palpable. It was clear that all the dark energy throughout Dark Demon Ridge originated from this very spot. This was indeed the core of Dark Demon Ridge. Li Hao remained silent. Xunhan was tense, but took the initiative to speak: "Senior, we have passed the first trial. What is the meaning of this second trial?" The phantom looked at them, in no rush to reply. After a moment, it asked, "Do you hail from the Absolute Darkness Great World?" Xunhan gave a slight start, but answered, "I do." "The Absolute Darkness Great World..." The phantom seemed somewhat wistful, pausing a long while before asking, "Seeing that you bear no connection to a Great Dao Universe... has the Absolute Darkness Great World been destroyed?" "Yes." Xunhan grew even more nervous. Yet the phantom chuckled. "No need to be anxious. Many years ago, the Dark Emissary himself hailed from the Absolute Darkness Great World." "What?" Xunhan was astonished. How was that possible? An eighth-rank Sovereign! If he had come from the Absolute Darkness Great World, how could there have been no word of it whatsoever? Li Hao was inwardly startled as well. The Dark Emissary came from the Absolute Darkness Great World? That was troublesome! He had just killed several Sovereigns from that world. Why would an emissary of the Tianfang Great World originate from the Absolute Darkness Great World? In the next instant, the phantom continued, "It is all ancient history now. In truth, the Dark Emissary had a grievance with the World Lord of the Absolute Darkness Great World in the past. Back then, the Great Dao of Absolute Darkness had no master. The Dark Emissary and the Lord of Extreme Darkness clashed, both seeking to seize control of the Great Dao Universe... During the struggle, an unforeseen event occurred, and the Dark Emissary was ultimately defeated and forced to retreat. He was brought to the Tianfang Great World by the Lord of Tianfang, and later became the Dark Emissary." At these words, Xunhan—who had just been excited—instantly tensed up again. A feud? A moment ago he had been thrilled that they shared the same native world, but now his heart was gripped by intense anxiety. A fifth-rank Sovereign was being swayed back and forth by a few simple words. Li Hao was also secretly on guard. This phantom was clearly doing it on purpose. The phantom turned its gaze toward Li Hao. "Where do you hail from?" Li Hao's thoughts stirred, and he replied, "The Haoyue World! It is merely a minor world..." "A minor world?" The phantom seemed to smile. A minor world? Indeed, the young man bore no aura of a Great Dao Universe. Yet... not only did he carry the auras of multiple emissaries, the phantom had actually glimpsed Li Hao's River of Life and Death. That River of Life and Death showed signs of a Dao Lord. Yet it was not a Great Dao Universe. Being knowledgeable and experienced, the phantom had formed an assessment: it was likely a self-forged Dao river centered around one primary Dao while gathering the power of myriad Daos. Opening a Dao river was not the same as creating a Great Dao Universe. It could only be considered an embryonic form of one. Did such people exist? Yes! In the vast chaos universe, geniuses were beyond count. Some had pioneered their own Dao rivers; among them, certain individuals achieved immeasurable greatness, while others proved to be mere flashes in the pan, soon fading into mediocrity. A Dao river was indeed an uncommon thing, and anyone capable of pioneering one was extraordinary. However... to high-rank Sovereigns, it was nothing extraordinary. Was wielding a mature Great Dao Universe not superior to cultivating an incomplete Dao river? It was merely a matter of personal choice. Regardless, Li Hao could not possibly come from a minor world. That was the phantom's firm judgment. Someone from a minor world would never possess the fortune or the breadth of vision required to pioneer a Dao river. He must have entered a Great Dao Universe before, or perhaps even controlled an unrefined one. As long as a Great Dao Universe was involved, it had to be a great world. The phantom did not press further; everyone had their secrets. Looking at the two of them, the phantom said, "This place was once the Dark Emissary's cultivation grounds. While the emissary was still present, no one was permitted to trespass! Now, countless eras have passed since he departed Tianfang. This place has gradually eroded over time. In a few more years, it may collapse entirely and become ordinary ground. "Since the two of you possessed the fortune to breach the first trial and pass the test today... consider it our shared fate." The phantom continued slowly, "What are your purposes in coming here?" Xunhan hesitated for a moment, then spoke quickly: "I hope to borrow some of Lord Dark Emissary's insights to strengthen the Dao of Absolute Darkness, so that we may restore our Great Dao Universe! The Absolute Darkness Great World suffered an attack by a powerful enemy; our Great Dao Universe was shattered, the Great Dao severed, and our inheritance broken... Now that Senior mentions the Dark Emissary himself originated from our world, our hopes are even greater!" "And you?" The phantom turned to Li Hao. Li Hao gave a light cough. "I don't have much interest in the Dao of Absolute Darkness or the Dao of Darkness in general. Rather, I am quite interested in methods concerning domains, spatial pockets, and self-contained worlds!" The phantom was somewhat surprised. Domains and self-contained worlds? Indeed! The terminology might differ, but the phantom understood his meaning: the entirety of Dark Demon Ridge was itself an isolated domain. The phantom fell silent for a moment before replying, "For the Sovereign from the Absolute Darkness Great World, I can fulfill your wish. As for what you seek... to be frank, whether domains or self-contained worlds, the Dark Emissary himself understood very little about them. In truth, it was the Lord of Tianfang who helped the Dark Emissary establish Dark Demon Ridge all those years ago." In short, those methods pertained to the Lord of Tianfang. The Dark Emissary had never specialized in such arts. Li Hao frowned slightly. The Dark Emissary did not understand them well? His stated desire to learn about them was sincere; it was crucial for perfecting his own Great Dao river, including perfecting a world and refining a Great Dao Universe... Opening one's own world—all of this was vital. Beside him, Xunhan was also startled. The Lord of Tianfang? A ninth-rank Sovereign! Across this entire region, the Lord of Tianfang was the only ninth-rank Sovereign explicitly recorded in known history. Perhaps he was the sole ninth-rank Sovereign in the entire chaos universe. Of course, the chaos was boundless. Even the lord of a great world might spend a lifetime without traversing its entirety, so it was impossible to say whether other life, other worlds, or other ninth-rank lords existed elsewhere. Yet the Lord of Tianfang was the only ninth-rank Sovereign whose existence was undeniably confirmed. To think Dark Demon Ridge had been built by him for the Dark Emissary. Meanwhile, this Haoyue fellow possessed quite an appetite and a keen eye. Xunhan understood a bit about the domains Li Hao mentioned, but those were concepts typically pursued only by world lords. Of course, the lord of a minor world might know a superficial smattering as well. It was not enough to confirm Li Hao’s true identity or strength. The phantom did not elaborate further, stating plainly: "If you pass the second trial, I can grant you both an opportunity. You may contemplate the Dao resonance left behind by the Dark Emissary—his original Dao resonance!" Hearing this, Xunhan was instantly thrilled! The phantom then looked at Li Hao. "If you pass the second trial, I can grant you an opportunity as well... Since you recognize the structure of this place, you should know that an intrinsic core exists here. You may contemplate that treasure. Whether you gain anything from it depends entirely on you. "The Dao is like this... I cannot give it directly to you, and even if I did, you might not comprehend it. The Dao springs from the heart, and realization comes from within; how much you gain depends on how much you comprehend." Hearing this, both men were excited, but they also understood the prerequisite: the second trial. Li Hao asked, "May I ask Senior, what is this second trial?" "It is simple!" The phantom spoke with ease. "This place was where the Dark Emissary cultivated and comprehended the Dao, so naturally everything relates to the Dao! We will not have you slaughter each other to determine a victor and decide who passes; that would be far too crude. "What you must do is quite simple!" With a wave of the phantom's hand, a chessboard suddenly materialized before them. Though called a chessboard, it was unlike any ordinary game. Lines crisscrossed the board, yet across the entire surface sat only a single piece. The phantom chuckled. "Do you see? There is one piece upon the board, representing yourselves. From the starting square to the finish, there are 9,999 squares in total. So long as you can advance your piece across one thousand squares, you will have passed the trial!" Pausing, the phantom added leisurely, "If you traverse two thousand squares, you may make an additional request; if I can grant it, I shall! Traverse three thousand squares, and you may do so again, and so on..." "In bygone days, the experts of the Tianfang Great World loved to play this game. It is called Dao Chess!" Li Hao and Xunhan both looked at the board. A grid of 9,999 squares. Traversing one thousand squares meant passing? Li Hao probed it briefly, and his expression shifted slightly. Xunhan's face changed even more. Both were Sovereigns, hardly naive juniors. At a glance, they could see that every single square on the crisscrossing board seemed to embody an entire Great Dao. How was this playing chess? This was an ordeal of Daos! A battle of Daos. Xunhan's expression flickered. He specialized in the Dao of Darkness, and only the Dao of Darkness. With an unsettled look, he asked, "Senior, it seems one must be proficient in many Daos to have any hope of finishing this..." "Not so!" The phantom gave a negative answer. "If your Dao is strong, then when one Dao is strong, all ten thousand Daos yield to it! Overpowering ten thousand Daos with one will naturally allow you to advance smoothly! The Dark Emissary also specialized only in the Dao of Darkness, yet back then, he was able to travel very, very far!" Very, very far? Not all the way through? Li Hao asked in puzzlement, "Could even the Dark Emissary not clear the entire board?" "He could not," the phantom said with a chuckle. "Strong though he was, he could not walk the entire path. Before leaving Tianfang, the final time the Dark Emissary played Dao Chess, he crossed eight thousand squares! According to the Lord of Tianfang, clearing eight thousand squares signifies the strength of an eighth-rank Sovereign. At the very least, the Dark Emissary's comprehension of the Dao had not lagged behind, reaching that level! "If one were to clear it completely... that would be the level of the Lord of Tianfang!" Li Hao paused, startled. "Does Senior mean that a third-rank Sovereign could at most cross three thousand squares?" "Not necessarily!" The phantom smiled. "A fifth-rank Sovereign might only cross three thousand squares, or even fewer... The key lies in your comprehension of the Dao. Meanwhile, a third-rank Sovereign might cross five thousand squares... It all depends on your perception of the Dao. "One thousand squares marks a pass, which also means... one thousand squares cannot necessarily be cleared by any first-rank Sovereign. Otherwise, what purpose would this test serve? If even a first-rank Sovereign could walk across, what would be the point of Dao Chess? "Dao Chess is imbued with great wisdom. It is by no means the case that greater raw strength guarantees greater distance." The phantom grew wistful. "I still recall that many years ago, someone came here to play against the Dark Emissary. Possessing only the strength of the sixth rank, that person traversed nine thousand squares, even drawing the attention of the Lord of Tianfang..." At these words, a figure came to Li Hao's mind. The Emperor of Battle Heaven! Of course, it was merely a stray thought; they did not belong to the same era. The Emperor of Battle Heaven was hailed as the greatest genius of the Yin-Yang World. His influence extended beyond a single era, affecting the entire Yin-Yang World and reaching all the way to the Silver Moon World. However, their eras were far apart. The era of Battle was only a little over a hundred thousand years ago. The experts of Tianfang, on the other hand, had vanished hundreds of thousands or even millions of years ago. Crossing nine thousand squares at the sixth rank—did that mean his comprehension had reached that of a ninth-rank Sovereign? And the Lord of Tianfang clearing the board... did that represent the peak of the ninth rank, rather than an ordinary ninth-rank Sovereign? Of course, this measured only comprehension of the Dao, not combat prowess. A sixth-rank expert who crossed nine thousand squares would not necessarily defeat a seventh-rank Sovereign. For Xunhan and Li Hao, trials resolved through martial force were relatively straightforward. A seemingly simple trial like this, however, was far from easy. Xunhan felt conflicted. Li Hao asked, "Is there danger involved?" "A little... but as long as you do not move the piece recklessly, there is little issue. However, once you make a false move... you can easily suffer a backlash from the Dao!" The phantom did not mince words. "If you cannot advance but stubbornly force your way forward, you will be prone to backlash if your strength and Dao marks are insufficient. You might endure it once or twice... but repeatedly, your Great Dao will suffer injury! Therefore, if you cannot advance, do not force it." Both men harbored their own thoughts at this warning. At this moment, Xunhan was considering something else. *Since this being is merely an artifact spirit and not the Dark Emissary, and I am a fifth-rank Sovereign, what of him? Do I truly have to play this chess game according to his whims? What if I take it by force...* The thought flashed and vanished. In the end, he suppressed it. He could test the waters first. If he truly could not pass, he certainly would not leave empty-handed. If he could pass, all the better; he would comprehend the dark Dao resonance first. After all, it was still impossible to judge the true strength of this artifact spirit. Li Hao looked at the board again and asked, "It is not as simple as moving the piece by hand, is it?" "Naturally not." The phantom chuckled. "You must condense a Dao mark and drive the piece with it! You should both understand what a Dao mark is: it is a Dao heart formed from your comprehension and perception of the Dao..." Li Hao nodded. In truth, it was similar to his life and death stars, representing one's capacity to comprehend the Dao. In that case, this was a pure contest of Daos. And that made it easy to suffer injuries. Injuries to the Great Dao! For people like Li Hao, physical wounds were not overly severe. But if the Great Dao were injured—for instance, if Li Hao's life and death stars suffered heavy damage—a drop in rank would be the least of it; death was a real possibility. Killing a Sovereign worked the same way. Destroying their physical body was only the first step; wiping out every trace of their Dao marks was what truly slew them. Driving the piece with a Dao mark carried genuine danger. Li Hao kept silent. The shot hit the bird that poked its head out first. Xunhan was stronger than him. Li Hao was actually wondering if this fifth-rank Sovereign might consider resolving the matter with brute force. As for playing chess... how boring was that? Just attack him! Li Hao thought to himself that it would be wonderful if he could reap the fisherman's spoils. This phantom was most likely an artifact spirit with the strength of a middle-rank Sovereign. It shouldn't be high-rank. If it were a high-rank Sovereign, Dark Demon Ridge wouldn't need external energy at all; a high-rank Sovereign, even as an artifact spirit, could achieve something akin to opening a Great Dao Universe. Such an existence would be entirely self-sufficient. In that case, Dark Demon Ridge would not be in its current state. Therefore, the entity was most likely middle-rank. As for being weaker... that was improbable. The artifact spirit of a supreme weapon, born beside an eighth-rank Sovereign and possessing complete intelligence, would be at least middle-rank. These thoughts surfaced in Li Hao's mind. They arose in Xunhan's mind as well. The phantom, seemingly oblivious, spoke once more: "Do the two of you wish to challenge the second trial? If not, you may leave now. Step out of the Dark Demon Hall, and you may depart Dark Demon Ridge." Li Hao was waiting. Xunhan was waiting as well. After waiting for a long time only to see Li Hao remain silent, Xunhan was exasperated. He couldn't accurately gauge Li Hao's strength and worried that Li Hao might reap the benefits of their clash. In the end, he spoke up: "Very well! I accept the challenge!" At that moment, Li Hao let out a soft sigh. The sigh was heard by both the Sovereign and the phantom. Both seemed to understand his intention. Xunhan cursed inwardly. *This bastard was hoping I'd make the first move, wasn't he? What wicked intentions!* The artifact spirit was at least fourth-rank, and sixth-rank was entirely possible. If it was sixth-rank, it would mean immense trouble. Why should he stick his neck out? Could he, a dignified fifth-rank Sovereign, fail to cross a mere thousand squares? Once he walked across, he would comprehend the Dao resonance directly. Li Hao said no more, offering a bow: "This junior is also willing!" Since the fifth-rank Sovereign wasn't stepping forward, it was better for a third-rank practitioner like him to keep a low profile. Playing Dao Chess... he would make a move first; who knew how far he could go? A moment later, Li Hao condensed a Dao mark resembling a star. The phantom glanced at it and said meaningfully, "It is best to pour all of your comprehension into it to form your strongest Dao mark. Otherwise... it can be easily shattered. For the chess player, a shattered Dao mark will leave wounds upon your Great Dao. And wounds upon the Great Dao are the hardest to heal." Li Hao did not reply. He would see how it went first. If he poured everything into it and this chessboard turned out to be a trap, wouldn't he be finished? Xunhan did not speak either, clearly harboring similar thoughts; he too condensed only a portion of his strength. Both men merged their Dao marks into the chessboards before them. The solitary piece upon each board seemed to transform into a living figure, standing vividly atop the grid. At that instant, the chessboard seemed to awaken. Across all 9,999 squares, powers of Dao resonance surfaced. Forward, backward, left, right—one could move in any direction. The board was intriguing. One could travel in all four directions. There were ten thousand squares in total, a hundred across and a hundred down. Aside from the starting square, which held no Dao resonance, every other square did. Yet the phantom had said traversing 9,999 squares was required for completion, which meant visiting every single square. Of course, traversing one thousand squares was enough to clear this trial. Li Hao remained silent, his consciousness merging into the Dao resonance. In that moment, he felt as though he had stepped into a world surrounded by countless other worlds on all sides. Metal, wood, water, fire, earth—elements of every kind were manifested. All around lay the resonance of Great Daos. Li Hao's eyes flickered. What an extraordinary place! Where had this chessboard come from? Containing the intent of myriad Daos, it somewhat resembled a Great Dao Universe. Could it be... that the chessboard itself was an extraordinarily formidable treasure, and the ones before him and Xunhan were merely projections rather than the true artifact? Was this phantom the artifact spirit of the chessboard, or of the meditation cushion? At this moment, doubts arose in Li Hao's mind. Previously, having seen only the cushion, his immediate assumption had been that the spirit belonged to it. But now, upon entering the chessboard, he realized that if the true board were here, it would be a terrifying weapon. *More importantly, with so many Dao resonances contained within, this board must have been refined by a supreme expert. What is the chessboard... intrinsically made of? Could it have been refined from an actual Great Dao Universe?* Li Hao drew a sharp breath. He couldn't help but suspect it. Who among ordinary cultivators could truly comprehend ten thousand Daos? Only a Great Dao Universe encompassed them all! Refining a chessboard from a Great Dao Universe would certainly be an ingenious concept, and it would reduce the difficulty of refinement. Otherwise, relying on an expert's personal crafting would require deep mastery over every single Dao. A person's energy was limited. Even though Li Hao considered himself talented, having reached the third rank, he primarily studied only a few Daos; he hadn't truly mastered ten thousand. His so-called swords of a hundred Daos or a thousand Daos were largely superficial touches, with only a few core Daos serving as their backbone. *A treasure trove!* Li Hao thought, suddenly exhilarated. A sacred ground for comprehending myriad Daos. He had controlled a Great Dao Universe before and had attempted to comprehend ten thousand Daos, but it had been overwhelmingly complicated; everything was tangled together, and merely separating them was a monumental undertaking. Li Hao had tried in the past, eventually forging the Chaotic River, which he later handed to Hong Yitang. But back then, the power of those myriad Daos was too weak. Converted to his current standard, they had only been at the Mountain-Sea or Sun-Moon level, with barely any reaching the Dao Integration Realm. Here, however, the Dao resonance was potent enough to injure a Sovereign, meaning the Daos within possessed Sovereign-level power. Utterly terrifying! Even if they only held a trace of that power and were not truly stronger than a Sovereign, it still meant these Daos were of an exceptionally high tier. Putting idle thoughts aside, Li Hao swiftly moved his piece into an adjacent square. In an instant, flames surged. A world of the Fire element! Fire... Li Hao allowed his piece to be scorched by the flames in the square. A moment later, he shook his head slightly. It was decent, but far inferior to the exposition of the Fire element given to him by that seventh-rank Sovereign earlier. There was little to gain here. Lingering would only waste time. He soon advanced to the second square. This time, ten thousand bolts of lightning descended—a domain of lightning. Lightning marks appeared on the piece as it was struck by thunderbolts. Li Hao already possessed a profound understanding of lightning. Although the chaos lightning tribulation was destructive power in essence, it was still a form of lightning. As the most terrifying tribulation under the heavens, it made this ordinary lightning trial offer little insight or benefit to him. He understood this well. Li Hao continued forward into the third square. Beside him, Sovereign Xunhan was doing the same. As a fifth-rank Sovereign, even if he did not deeply understand other Daos, he still possessed some measure of insight. His speed was even faster than Li Hao's, sweeping through more than a dozen squares in the blink of an eye. In some squares, he had little comprehension of the erupting Dao power, but relying on his formidable Dao mark, he simply barreled straight through. In this manner, he cleared them without hindrance. *** Above, the phantom watched in silence. One fifth-rank, one third-rank. Under normal circumstances, both had a good chance of crossing a thousand squares. If there were no hope, it would be an unfair trial. Yet this place was not meant to make things impossible. Although the Dark Emissary was a master of darkness, it did not mean his heart was truly sinister; he simply believed that the Dharma should not be passed on lightly, so he had left a slight test in this realm of Dao resonance. Passing the first trial meant one could generally pass the second... provided one was not genuinely useless. If someone were truly incompetent, failing was only natural. Judging by their current performance, both seemed capable of succeeding. The phantom glanced at Xunhan, frowning slightly. *This man is too impatient.* Barreling through with brute force was hardly wise. Under normal conditions, as a fifth-rank Sovereign, he ought to have considerable comprehension of the Dao. Even with darkness as his primary path, it didn't mean he knew nothing else. If he paused briefly, many squares wouldn't require forceful breakthroughs; by balancing, countering, or generating different Dao powers, one could clear them smoothly. Doing so not only reduced consumption and minimized injury, but also yielded benefits. For example, crossing a square of vitality allowed one to absorb some life force to replenish oneself. That was the proper way to clear the trial! Craving quick success was not a good trait for a powerful expert. As a traveler of the shadows, one needed to be cautious. Even after reaching the eighth rank, the Dark Emissary had remained a prudent man. *This man is too hasty, likely due to the psychological pressure from the destruction of the Absolute Darkness Great World,* the phantom deduced. It then looked toward Li Hao. Li Hao was advancing methodically. His performance wasn't poor, but neither was it extraordinarily brilliant. As for breezing through the Fire element, that was simply because he had received the inheritance of a powerful expert. The phantom could detect the auras of the three emissaries of Fire, Water, and Physical Body on Li Hao. To him, those sixth- and seventh-rank insights made crossing the water, fire, and physical body squares effortless! Similarly, crossing darkness-aligned squares was child's play for Xunhan. Yet Dao Chess was not meant merely for clearing squares. The phantom glanced at Xunhan again. Xunhan seemed to have noticed something and was now deliberately choosing squares related to the dark attribute: darkness, shadow, concealment, screening, aura suppression... Such squares were exceptionally easy for a darkness practitioner. The phantom’s brow furrowed. Dao Chess was a supreme treasure to many Sovereigns. Clearing the trial was secondary; the true prize lay in gaining insights within the board. Just as Li Hao suspected, Dao Chess was extraordinarily profound. It had indeed been refined from a great world. Not merely a Great Dao Universe, as Li Hao imagined, but an entire great world combined with its Great Dao Universe, thoroughly refined together. The master of Dao Chess was not the Dark Emissary, but the Lord of Tianfang. In the past, the Lord of Tianfang had not been born at the ninth rank. He had faced enemies and rivals, and had once slain an eighth-rank Sovereign, refining that Sovereign's great world and Great Dao Universe directly into Dao Chess. Thus was the treasure born. Later, the Lord of Tianfang left it here, partly to aid the Dark Emissary in his comprehension. For an artifact to assist even an eighth-rank Sovereign, one could imagine its immense power. Of course, what the two men were using now was not the true Dao Chess. Yet even if it wasn't the real board, neither of them was an eighth-rank expert like the Dark Emissary; it was still of tremendous benefit. *** Meanwhile, Li Hao did not deliberately avoid unfamiliar Dao systems. Even when encountering systems he didn't know well, he was willing to step inside and observe. Instead of moving in a straight line, he traced along the perimeter, exploring an entire section square by square. After completing a circuit, Li Hao did not continue advancing. Instead, he sat cross-legged, gazing around in deep thought. As someone who had once controlled a Great Dao Universe, refined the Chaotic River, and even woven a Dao river with his own hands, Li Hao possessed a foundational understanding of the ten thousand Daos. He quickly arrived at an assessment. The various Dao resonances filling these squares were not distributed at random. They were... ordered! The chaos was originally disordered. The Great Dao was originally disordered. A cultivator's task was to weave the disordered Daos into an orderly pattern, interlacing them to reconstruct a river of the Great Dao. Yet within this process, the repulsion, generation, and harmony among Daos formed an unimaginably vast undertaking. It required a comprehensive understanding of all ten thousand Daos. Who among the cultivators of the realm would dare claim mastery over every single Dao? Perhaps... the Lord of Tianfang could. Perhaps the supreme expert who refined this Dao Chess could. Li Hao's expression shifted slightly as he looked around once more. Could this Dao Chess have been refined according to the principles of ordered Daos? If so... the person who crafted it was beyond imagination! "Mutual generation and restraint, mutual repulsion and fusion, the duality of polarities..." Li Hao suddenly levitated. He wanted a broader view, to see whether any Dao resonances clashed in certain regions of the board. If there were none... it would be utterly terrifying. This Dao Chess most likely did not belong to the Dark Emissary. The Dark Emissary had only been able to cross eight thousand squares, meaning he couldn't have refined such an artifact. It was very likely the work of the Lord of Tianfang. After observing for a while, Li Hao's heart stirred. Gritting his teeth, Li Hao—whose true body had remained outside until now—suddenly leaped directly into Dao Chess. One could enter the board in person as well. The moment he entered, his River of Life and Death manifested. In the starry expanse above the river, stars appeared one after another. Exactly 360 of them! The life and death stars sat at the center, matching Li Hao's position on the board. In the next moment, following the layout of Dao Chess, he began rearranging his Great Dao stars one by one. *** Outside, the phantom's gaze shifted. *A Dao river!* *Imitating the layout of Dao Chess, centered on stars of life and death—a cultivator of the Dao of Life and Death.* *He finally noticed?* The phantom smiled. This was only natural; Li Hao was not the first to discover this secret. However... how far he could go, how much he could align, and how much he could perceive depended entirely on his own efforts. Only by walking the path could one discover what Dao lay in the next square. Dao Chess could be said to embody the Lord of Tianfang's lifelong lineage... That might be an exaggeration, but it was certainly a physical manifestation of his comprehension of the Great Dao. Dao Chess was an opportunity in itself! Passing the first trial was merely the prelude; the second trial was the true fortune. It all depended on whether one could seize it! As for Sovereign Xunhan... The phantom glanced at him and frowned slightly. This man sought to cultivate the Dao of Darkness and strengthen it, and an opportunity lay right before him: if he could unify all darkness-related lineages according to the arrangement of the chessboard, his fortune would arrive! There was no need to pursue the Dark Emissary's Dao resonance; that resonance belonged to the emissary alone. Everyone's Dao was distinct. Even if Xunhan crossed a thousand squares and obtained the Dark Emissary's Dao resonance, it might not offer greater gains than Dao Chess itself. Instead, it would be limiting; one could not simply copy the Dark Emissary's Dao wholesale. One had to grasp the core essence. Dao Chess demonstrated the arrangement of order and chaos among myriad Daos. Across the vast universe, perhaps only the Lord of Tianfang possessed the ability to achieve such a feat. Xunhan was truly dropping the watermelon to pick up sesame seeds! *** At this moment, Li Hao's eyes shone brightly. He had entered in person, manifesting the River of Life and Death to rearrange its structure. Arrangement... many people had spoken of this. The Supreme of New Martial had mentioned it in his educational records. The sister of the New Martial Human King had left behind the *Records of Yuanping*, which employed this very method. And the source of these methods traced back to the Emperor of Battle Heaven. The Emperor of Battle Heaven was the first in the Yin-Yang World to expound upon the essence of the Great Dao, demonstrating that it was, fundamentally, the ordering of myriad Daos. Li Hao had never read the Emperor of Battle Heaven's writings, but New Martial had been shaped by the emperor's influence, and Silver Moon had been shaped by New Martial. Across the boundaries of time, Li Hao had absorbed much of that legacy. The order and chaos of ten thousand Daos was essentially a form of arrangement. The method of the Emperor of Battle Heaven, his Dao... at its core, it was likely an arrangement. And upon this Dao chessboard, Li Hao once again sensed that universal truth shared by supreme experts! The ordering of myriad Daos! Furthermore, the Sword Venerable's unity of ten thousand Daos and the fusion of his Longevity Sword Intent were also forms of ordering the Dao. All of this proved that this path was pivotal and far-reaching. The stronger one became, the more clearly one could perceive it. The Supreme of New Martial, the Human King, the Sword Venerable—they all utilized this method. And today, in the Tianfang Great World, within the Dao resonance grounds of an eighth-rank Sovereign, atop a chessboard likely forged by the Lord of Tianfang, Li Hao encountered this method once more. To Li Hao, this was a profound validation. A validation of New Martial, and a validation of the Emperor of Battle Heaven, for even a ninth-rank Sovereign expounded the Great Dao through this very approach. In Silver Moon, Li Hao had constantly experimented with this method. The combination of divine characters, the composition of rivers—be it the Chaotic River, the River of Life and Death, or the River of Time... he had always sought to achieve his goals through combination, fusion, and arrangement. Thus were born the River of Life and Death, the Bridge of Life and Death, and the harmony of life and death... "Fascinating!" "My opportunity has arrived!" Delighted, Li Hao began advancing into subsequent squares. Even when battered uncomfortably by the Dao power within some of them and suffering considerable exhaustion, he did not withdraw, continuing his study. He wanted to understand how to soothe these Dao resonances. Doing so would be of immense help in the future, allowing him to stabilize his river! Whether the River of Time or the River of Life and Death, both required stability. A turbulent river was decidedly unsafe. As a result, Li Hao's progress slowed. In half a day, Li Hao crossed fifty squares. Meanwhile, Sovereign Xunhan had already cleared two hundred squares, relying on formidable Dao power to barrel straight through. Growing bolder with every clash, he breezed past the two-hundred-square mark. Above, the phantom observed both men. Li Hao's path was quite correct. It wasn't that Xunhan was entirely wrong, but... The phantom thought to itself that if Xunhan were walking the path of breaking the Dao through sheer force, there would be no issue. Yet if he hoped to carry forward and glorify the Dao of Darkness... forget it! Go home and sleep! He was only fifth-rank, not ninth-rank. If he were ninth-rank, smashing straight through to the finish would be perfectly valid. But he wasn't, which made him look somewhat inept in the phantom's eyes. The phantom turned its attention back to Li Hao. Though he moved slowly, Dao Chess did not track time. No matter how slow he was, it did not matter. All that remained was to see whether he could eventually cross one thousand squares by pursuing his own path. *** Time trickled by. Li Hao moved slower and slower. By the time Xunhan in the neighboring sector had crossed five hundred squares, Li Hao had only reached one hundred. The gap grew wider and wider. Li Hao paid it no heed, his excitement mounting by the moment. Above the River of Life and Death, the arrangement of stars in the sky had undergone a colossal transformation, appearing far more harmonious than before. Among them, one hundred stars had experienced subtle evolutions. Within the river, Er Mao looked up for a moment, glanced at Li Hao, swished its tail, and went back to sleep. The corners of its mouth curled slightly. Here, it seemed to catch a glimpse of the teacher again! That method, that approach—the teacher had been best at it. Er Mao remembered clearly that the teacher loved playing this sort of game, arranging disordered things one by one into all manner of amusing shapes. It had been so entertaining! And now, this annoying brat seemed to be walking the same path. Er Mao felt a sense of fond familiarity. As for disturbing the river and causing unending turbulence... it decided not to hold that against him.