https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-430-Challenge-True-Venerable-Tower/13451689/
Chapter 429: Chess Dao Sainthood Immersion, Yama's Display
Chapter 429: Chess Dao Sainthood Immersion, Yama’s Display
"Spear Path, could it be Lin Sheng?"
"Is that the primordial true meaning of the Spear Path?"
The sudden eruption of powerful Spear Intent made everyone on the zabuton open their eyes in surprise.
Even though the Dao Domain enveloped the area, blocking out some external disturbances, this Spear Intent that touched the primordial true meaning still penetrated the Dao Domain’s barrier, startling many who were deeply immersed in their enlightenment.
On one of the zabutons, a figure was floating in mid-air, holding a pitch-black Divine Spear with a blinding silver tip.
In the virtual space behind him, a heaven-reaching spear faintly condensed, giving the impression that Heaven and Earth were shaping a spear.
The spear, the ancestor of all weapons, was invincible!
Everyone felt the blinding sharpness and the sea-like steadiness from him, a blend of domineering sharpness and unassuming composure.
"He actually condensed the primordial true meaning. I remember he hasn’t been here for long, right?"
"Lin Sheng’s talent is also very high. When he first arrived, he had a heaven-grade dao heart, and he’s only been here for ten thousand years."
"To comprehend the Spear Path of the Ten Thousand Battles Immortal Technique to this extent, Elder Wang said that if he becomes a True Immortal, he would be an elite in the same realm, able to hold his own against a hundred!"
Everyone gazed at the tall and straight figure of Lin Sheng, their expressions complex.
After the Pastoral Sage and the Bright Sage, the third person capable of challenging the True Venerable Tower had finally appeared, but it wasn’t them. This realization left them feeling a mix of loneliness and bitterness.
Lin Sheng had a youthful appearance, dressed in black, with an extremely cold and strikingly handsome look. His eyes, with their unique double pupils of dark purple and black, had caused celestial phenomena at his birth, making him a prodigious genius from a young age. He had accidentally fallen into this place, hence his disappearance from the All Heavens.
He slowly opened his eyes, his aura retracting, and the sharp Spear Intent around him dissipating.
Feeling the gazes of the others, he remained calm, his expression unruffled. He slowly descended onto the zabuton and put away the Dao Tribulation Imperial Weapon in his hand.
Then, he glanced toward the distance, where he saw a young man standing in front of a cottage, also looking in his direction. Their eyes met.
Lin Sheng’s expression remained calm, and he gave a slight nod, acknowledging the greeting.
This sudden enlightenment was partly due to the stimulation from the young man, but the other seemed to have chosen a shortcut.
He could understand that, after all, although the young man’s dao heart was extremely high, dao heart and cultivation talent were two different things. Given his late arrival, the best way to catch up was to take a shortcut.
Unfortunately, that path was not viable.
"Congratulations, Lin Sheng. You’ve also reached the second step trial and can challenge the True Venerable Tower."
The other sages nearby offered their congratulations.
Though they felt a sense of urgency, they maintained a harmonious surface.
Lin Sheng nodded slightly and then met the gazes of two figures, the Bright Sage and the Pastoral Sage.
Both of them nodded slightly at Lin Sheng, their expressions inscrutable, and their nods were a form of congratulations.
They then exchanged glances, withdrew their gazes, and continued to sit in meditation, comprehending the dao.
Lin Sheng faintly sensed that, unlike before, he had entered the sights of these two sages.
A smile tugged at the corners of his lips, giving him a sense of exhilaration.
Although his cultivation time was shorter than theirs, he felt he could still rise and surpass them.
He turned and walked toward the cottage.
In front of the cottage, Li Hao had already retracted his gaze, continuing his thoughts on the spirit light he had caught from the chess game.
Elder Wang, seeing that Li Hao was still pondering the chessboard, couldn’t help but chuckle. He didn’t disturb Li Hao but instead smiled warmly at the approaching Lin Sheng and said:
"Very good, very good. Keep it up and strive to surpass them."
A cold smile appeared on Lin Sheng’s usually icy face, and he bowed slightly, saying, "Elder Wang, I have comprehended the Ten Thousand Battles Immortal Technique to perfection and wish to undergo the second step trial."
"Very well, go ahead."
Elder Wang nodded with a smile, allowing him without requesting a demonstration.
Just now, he had clearly perceived the overwhelming aura. The other party had cultivated the Spear Path of the Ten Thousand Battles Immortal Technique to Perfection.
Upon hearing this, Lin Sheng glanced over and saw a young man sitting on a small wooden stool, his head lowered as he stared intently at the Chess Board, seemingly oblivious to his arrival.
His expression was indifferent, and he said nothing, then turned and left.
Before leaving the house, he headed straight for the Challenge True Venerable Tower.
His actions naturally drew the attention of some Sages, and someone immediately took out incense to time his challenge.
Not long after, Lin Sheng's figure emerged from the black tower, with only one-tenth of the incense burned.
Despite this, it still made quite a few people look at him with a bit of surprise.
"His initial challenge time is a bit longer than when the Pastoral Sage and the Bright Sage first challenged."
"It seems Lin Sheng's combat awareness is quite strong. He might be able to catch up to the Pastoral Sage and the Bright Sage in this second step trial."
"His master is the Spear Saint, but he has already surpassed his master here."
The crowd watched with complex expressions. Lin Sheng's progress was too fast, creating a strong sense of urgency among them.
Many people stopped their discussions, lowering their heads and closing their eyes to meditate.
The Flower Sage and the Wander Sage exchanged a glance, both feeling a bit of pressure. They looked toward the house but saw that Li Hao still had his back to them, as usual, engrossed in his game with the Chess Board.
The two sighed inwardly and closed their eyes, beginning to comprehend on their own.
Elder Wang noticed that the group sitting on the zabuton had grown quiet, a faint smile appearing on his lips. He could sense the urgency in those young minds.
His gaze returned to the Chess Board in front of him, where he saw Li Hao in deep thought, lifting a piece to place it.
"You sure have a lot of patience."
Elder Wang chuckled, casually picking up a piece to counter, but suddenly let out a light "hmm" as he stared at Li Hao's move.
His eyes flickered slightly, focusing on the position of the piece. This move seemed to deliberately cross into his formation, essentially offering a piece, but not obviously so. With his chess skills, it was quite clear.
However... he saw that it was an offering, but he also sensed that it was a deliberate offering.
If he took the piece, that one slow move would give Li Hao a slight reprieve on the other side. If Li Hao could seize that opportunity, it might create a hole in his formation.
But could this young man see that?
Elder Wang pondered for a moment, then chose to take the piece. He then looked at Li Hao with a faint smile and said, "This move is a freebie for me."
"Hmm."
The young man didn't even lift his head, just gave a light "hmm", and quickly placed another piece.
The position where he placed it was exactly where Elder Wang had just gambled. When he heard Li Hao's "hmm", his heart had already skipped a beat. Seeing Li Hao's move, he immediately realized that the previous piece was indeed a deliberate move, but it didn't align with Li Hao's usual cautious style.
The opponent had changed his style!
"Good kid, you're digging a pit for me, huh!"
Elder Wang couldn't help but say.
Li Hao looked up slightly, showing a toothy smile, and said, "It only counts as a pit if you play along. Otherwise, it's just a wasted move."
Elder Wang rolled his eyes at this smug expression.
"This move won't reverse the tide. The game isn't over yet. While this move creates a hole for you, this side is about to become a dead formation!"
As he spoke, he placed a black piece across to Li Hao's chest, sealing the boundary line and confining Li Hao's small dragon formation.
Li Hao smiled, as if he had anticipated this, and continued to place pieces, tearing open Elder Wang's hole.
After several moves, Li Hao's small dragon formation was completely killed, while Elder Wang's grand chess formation had a significant gap.
This was completely different from Li Hao's previous cautious and defensive style. Elder Wang raised an eyebrow. Now, Li Hao's style had become fierce and sharp, like a sword drawn from its sheath, willing to shatter like jade rather than remain intact like a tile!
Elder Wang chose to defend, otherwise his favorable position would be lost.
But Li Hao continued his relentless attack, abandoning all his other formations and pressing forward aggressively.
Elder Wang's expression grew serious. He defended step by step, but as Li Hao's pieces fell, he began to sense something amiss. The formations Li Hao had abandoned began to connect as he pressed forward relentlessly!
In an instant, it was like being surrounded on all sides. A single hole in the Great Dao had turned into leaks on all four sides!
Elder Wang fell into deep thought.
Li Hao, on the other hand, found himself with some free time. Seeing that the other side was still deep in thought and hadn't made a move, he went to brew tea and drink it.
After finishing three cups of tea, the other side still hadn't moved, so Li Hao strolled to the fields, admiring the immortal herbs he had cultivated, which were growing well.
As the sun set and the evening sky turned brilliant, Li Hao returned to the Chess Board. The other side finally emerged from his deep thought, giving Li Hao a glare before placing a piece and saying:
"You little brat, I don't even want to compete with you in this game. You win!"
With that, he made his move, and Li Hao quickly sat down on the small wooden stump, following suit.
After both sides made several moves, Li Hao did not make any mistakes, and Elder Wang sighed in resignation, conceding the game.
Li Hao counted the points. Although he won, it was by only half a point.
Elder Wang had already seen this coming. In terms of chess skill, he was still far superior.
Li Hao had managed to win by a slim margin through a sudden insight, and Elder Wang had taken the gamble on this opportunity.
As the game concluded, Li Hao's mind buzzed, and a notification flashed before his eyes.
[You have comprehended the Chess Dao Mindset: transcend the mundane and enter the sacred]
After three years of playing chess, his Chess Dao Experience had long been at the Ninth Rank.
Now, a surge of information flooded his mind, indicating that his Chess Dao had broken through to the Tenth Rank!
The Ninth Rank is the Entry to Dao, while the Tenth Rank is the Sacrificial Dao, touching the true meaning of the great Dao!
Initially, Li Hao had treated each Go stone as a single stone.
But as the game progressed, he began to treat a cluster of stones as a single unit.
On the chessboard, everything is a Go stone. This is a return to simplicity after experiencing the complexities of various strategies.
It is like seeing a mountain as a mountain, then seeing it as not a mountain, and finally seeing it as a mountain once more.
Since they are Go stones, they can be "sacrificed", or rather, it is not a true sacrifice because sacrificing is also a move!
Using them to their ultimate potential is the essence of chess.
If they are of no use, they are merely waste stones.
With the breakthrough in Chess Dao, Li Hao gained the Chess Dao Mindset of transcending the mundane and entering the sacred. This means he can now elevate a combat technique to the Tenth Rank.
He had already integrated the Cooking Dao, Art Dao, and Carving Dao Mindsets of transcending the mundane and entering the sacred into the Flesh Dao, Yu Dao, and Sword Dao, respectively.
Now, with this fourth Chess Dao Mindset of Sainthood Immersion, Li Hao planned to integrate it into his Body Movement Techniques.
This way, his Ninth Rank Body Movement Techniques could be elevated to the Tenth Rank, the Sacrificial Dao!
In the All Heavens, there were very few who had achieved the Sacrificial Dao in Body Movement Techniques, and Li Hao only knew of Old Feng.
Although Li Hao had learned boxing first and then Body Movement Techniques, the latter now played a more significant role compared to Fist Dao.
During the Sage Battle with the Supreme Sage, Li Hao had struggled due to the weakness of his Body Movement Techniques, relying on extreme states to barely survive.
If his Body Movement Path reached the Tenth Rank, his Body Movement Techniques alone would be enough to place him among the top ranks of the Thirty-Three Heavens.
Combined with the Ultimate Realm, his speed would be even faster, placing him at the very pinnacle of the same realm.
However, Li Hao did not rush to integrate the improvement.
"Elder Wang, in the True Venerable Tower Challenge, if one experiences a sudden enlightenment during the challenge, will the projection also be enhanced accordingly?"
Li Hao asked.
Elder Wang was picking up the Go stones from the chessboard, clearly preparing for another game. He casually replied:
"Of course not. The projection in the True Venerable Tower is made before you start the challenge. Any sudden enlightenment you experience during the challenge is a form of quick thinking in battle, and it is one of the ways to pass the True Venerable Tower."
He looked up at Li Hao and added, "But don't think you can half-comprehend something and then challenge the tower at the critical moment. Once the True Venerable Tower Challenge begins, it won't give you any breathing room. The projection of yourself has a very strong desire to attack and won't waste any words with you."
Li Hao understood that achieving Sudden Enlightenment during a battle was extremely rare, especially at higher Realms. While it occasionally happened at lower Realms due to accumulated potential, reaching a level where one could Sudden Enlightenment at higher Realms was exceedingly difficult, making such occurrences extremely rare.
"I can give it a try."
Li Hao said.
For others, breaking through a bottleneck and taking on the Challenge was extremely difficult, but for him, it was relatively easy. Moreover, this seemed to be a loophole in the True Venerable Tower Challenge?
"You want to try?"
Elder Wang was taken aback by Li Hao's words and then said irritably, "You little brat, even if you win at chess, I won't cut you any slack. You must first Cultivate either the Yanluo Immortal Art or the Ten Thousand Battles Immortal Technique to Perfection before you can qualify."
"I have already grasped the Yanluo Immortal Art."
Li Hao said.
"Sure you have."
Elder Wang rolled his eyes slightly and said, "Although your Soul Spirit is strong, surpassing other Sages, making Cultivation easier for you, you haven't even started Cultivating it yet."
"..."
Li Hao was speechless. He immediately began to channel the three combat techniques of the Yanluo Immortal Art. This was indeed his first time using them. Although he had already comprehended them, and the Experience was deeply ingrained in his mind, he had never actually executed them.
Nevertheless, he didn't feel any unfamiliarity.
As his Soul Spirit rotated, dark flames seemed to ignite on Li Hao's body. His Soul Spirit soared from his nine-grade mixed origin divine flesh, enveloped in dark flames that exuded an asura-like aura of destruction and killing intent. Behind his Soul Spirit, the flames faintly outlined a sinister shadow, as if a demonic figure stood behind him.
This was the Yanluo Outer Image combat technique.
"Hmm?"
Elder Wang was taken aback by the sight. The Yanluo Outer Image, like an asura descending, radiated terrifying killing intent. It was indeed the Yanluo Outer Image combat technique, and it was at the True Intention Perfection level!
At this moment, Li Hao was carefully sensing the power brought by this combat technique. Previously, when he battled ancient demons, he only used his Soul Spirit and the Soul Spirit combat techniques he had developed himself, which were very rudimentary. However, the Yanluo Outer Image combat technique was different. It was not only an Immortal-grade combat technique but also highly advanced.
Although he currently mastered only the first level of the Yanluo technique, known as Withered Desolation, which included three combat techniques, Li Hao already felt that if he were to battle the Soul Spirits of True Immortal Realm ancient demons again, he wouldn't need to burn his divine meridians to defeat them!
As the black flames gathered, a black Yanluo Blade slowly formed in Li Hao's Soul Spirit's palm. This blade, condensed from yan force, could inflict severe damage on Soul Spirits!
In the next moment, Li Hao's Soul Spirit raised his hand, and the black flames condensed into six Diluo Shields around his body, moving according to his will.
The Diluo Shield Technique could block the killing blows of True Immortal Realm Soul Spirits.
As Li Hao executed the techniques, he carefully savored and felt their power. Unlike the familiarity that existed only in his mind, personally executing the techniques allowed him to truly understand their strength.
If he encountered True Immortal Realm ancient demons again, he could swiftly defeat them!
After all, the Sword Dao of the Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Art had also reached the True Intention Perfection level. Even with incomplete Immortal weapons, the power of the Sword Dao would significantly enhance their sharpness, allowing him to quickly destroy the physical bodies of True Immortal ancient demons and swiftly obliterate their Soul Spirits with the Yanluo Blade!
(End of Chapter)
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