The life puzzle’s Go board appeared to be made of white jade with gold thread inlays forming its lines. There were twenty-nine line pairs, and many black and white Go stones were already placed on it. Gu Hai recognized it with one glance. This was the high-difficulty Twenty-Nine Line-Pair World Go Puzzle.
With one look, Gu Hai immediately recognized the complexity of this Go puzzle. It was more than ten times more difficult than the one at the Dragon Pinning Sect.
“Hey? Why are there three kinds of Go stones in the death puzzle?” Gu Qin suddenly appeared somewhat confused.
Gu Hai turned his head to check.
The death puzzle’s Go board looked extremely strange, like a deep, square-shaped abyss with many Go stones floating there. A golden thread connected every Go stone to the depths of the abyss.
The abyss’s mouth had close to one hundred thousand Go stones floating there. One-third was white, one-third was black, and the remaining one-third was colorless and transparent, looking like glass Go stones.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Suddenly, some of the Go stones shattered.
“They’re those Go stones. They all turned into those Go stones!” Long Wanqing said worriedly.
“They turned into Go stones?” Gu Hai said, still feeling doubtful.
“Adoptive Father, is this a Go board? Why are there no lines? Furthermore, there are one hundred thousand Go stones on it?” Gu Qin said, feeling confused.
“This square Go board should be the Twenty-Nine Line-Pair World. Old Mister Guan Qi altered it, using people as Go stones. Everyone is a Go stone. There should be one hundred thousand people who entered it and are fighting in the Go puzzle world,” Gu Hai said with a frown.
Just at this moment, Meng Tai’s furious roar came from the black Go board. “You beast! My Great Feng Mafia Family might have internal conflicts, but it is not the place of a beast like you to be unruly!”
“Fu Xue! You have no part in this inheritance! Humph!” Wei Yang’s sneer rang out.
Boom!
“Ah? Meng Tai, Wei Yang, don’t you master-disciple pair have a death grudge with each other? You bastards, why are you always targeting me?!” The flood dragon Fu Xue’s furious roar came from the black abyss.
“They are alive. They are alive in that deep abyss?” Long Wanqing said nervously as she clenched her fist tightly.
However, Gu Hai frowned. After all, this was his first look at this place, and he could not guess what exactly was going on.
“Division Master Gu, Venerable Liu Nian is in there. This humble one is also very worried. I’ll enter the death Go puzzle for Mister Gu to observe. I hope that it will be useful to Mister Gu!” one of Long Wanqing’s servants said seriously.
“Oh?” Gu Hai revealed a trace of surprise.
That servant turned around and tried to leave the peony flower.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a strong suction appeared. That servant could not resist at all and immediately got drawn into the abyss.
As that servant flew over, his figure suddenly twisted and turned into a black Go stone. The Go stone floated above the square-shaped abyss, and a golden thread came out of the black Go stone, heading into the depths.
“He really became a Go stone?” Gu Qin exclaimed.
“That’s not right!” Gu Hai shook his head.
“Huh?”
“He did not turn into a Go stone. Instead, he entered the Go puzzle world. That Go stone should be a clone that the Go puzzle world formed for him. As it floats at the entrance of the deep abyss, it will show the position and state of the true body in the Go puzzle world. For example, the shattering of the three Go stones at that side means that their true bodies died in the Go puzzle world,” Gu Hai said.
“So, they did not turn into Go stones?” Long Wanqing said in shock.
Gu Hai nodded and said, “Back then, while the Go puzzle world made Go stone clones for you and Venerable Liu Nian, Venerable Liu Nian used the Dragon Fixing Hoop to push you out. Then, you saw a Go stone take Venerable Liu Nian’s place, so…”
“What is going on, then?” Long Wanqing said, feeling confused.
Gu Hai remained silent for a while before saying, “Old Mister Guan Qi probably prepared two plans for his inheritance.”
“Oh? Old Mister Guan Qi’s inheritance? Not the dragon vein?” Long Wanqing said in shock.
“Hey! Wei Yang mentioned the word ‘inheritance’ earlier?” Gu Qin felt slightly startled.
Gu Hai nodded and said, “It is an inheritance, Old Mister Guan Qi’s inheritance. The dragon vein is only a part of the inheritance. However, I’m not aware of what other things are there. Since Old Mister Guan Qi wants to pass on his legacy, he wants someone like him, possessing extraordinary Go skills. If one can solve the ‘life puzzle, one can obtain his legacy.”
“Life puzzle?” Long Wanqing raised her eyebrows and shook her head. “No one has managed to solve the life puzzle. All who failed died, shredded by the Go puzzle. A large number of Divine Strategy Battalion disciples died to the life puzzle’s shredding. Given its complexity, even Venerable Liu Nian did not dare to try.”
“That is because their Go skills were insufficient and could not directly obtain Old Mister Guan Qi’s inheritance. Old Mister Guan Qi probably thought of this, that perhaps no one could solve it, so he also set up the death puzzle. Perhaps one does not need to be as skilled at Go for the death puzzle,” Gu Hai analyzed.
“The death puzzle? That is supplementary?” Gu Qin frowned.
“Perhaps. Anyone who entered the peony flower and gave up on the life puzzle would enter the death puzzle’s world. Then, they would fight for the opportunity to gain the inheritance based on their capabilities. I’m not sure what’s happening in there, but it might not be a good thing.” Gu Hai frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“In the life puzzle, if you lose, you will die. What do you think will happen if one cannot win in the death puzzle?” Gu Hai frowned.
“Then, they can only die?” Gu Qin said, mildly startled.
“However, there is only one inheritance. In that case, only one person can win; the rest are losers!” Worry flashed in Gu Hai’s eyes.
“Aside from the only winner, the rest would die fighting each other inside?” Long Wanqing’s expression changed.
Gu Hai nodded and said, “I guess so!”
“Doesn’t that mean that only one person who enters this gigantic peony flower can obtain the inheritance; the rest will die? The one hundred thousand cultivators in there will die?” Long Wanqing appeared worried.
“This is also why the fifty thousand cultivators outside do not dare to enter, right? Perhaps they have camped outside for a long time already, but only people went in, not out. At first, it did not matter. However, after this continued for a while, they became afraid and no longer dared to come in?” Gu Qin said as his face sank.
Everyone’s expression changed. This flawless, pure-white peony flower with white fog surrounding it no longer looked that beautiful in everyone’s heart. Instead, it appeared as sinister as the asura hell.
Was this a carnivorous peony flower?
Gu Hai nodded.
“Adoptive Father, can you solve the life puzzle?” Gu Qin asked while looking at the Go board.
“I can try!” Gu Hai nodded.
Everyone looked at Gu Hai in anticipation.
Then, they saw Gu Hai sit on one side of the Go board, across from Old Mister Guan Qi’s puppet.
“The Go board has been reset. Please make your move and begin solving the puzzle!” The white-haired old man smiled faintly.
Gu Hai nodded and lowered his head to scrutinize the Go board. However, he did not make a move. Instead, he continuously simulated the puzzle in his mind.
“The Great Feng Mafia Family has the easy difficulty, the Dragon Pinning Sect has the intermediate difficulty, and the Peony Sect has the high difficulty. Although the three puzzles are difficult, they form a progressive process. If I had not seen the easy and intermediate difficulties, it would not be easy to make a start on this puzzle. How complex!” Gu Hai frowned heavily.
This was the first time Gu Hai found a Go puzzle complex.
Gu Hai slowly immersed himself in studying the Go puzzle.
Long Wanqing, Gu Qin, and the others patiently waited. Although they felt incredibly anxious, they did not dare to interrupt Gu Hai. Thus, after Gu Hai sat down, he ended up sitting there without moving for an entire day.
——
Outside, the fifty thousand cultivators paid attention to the peony flower. Gu Hai’s entry had filled them with anticipation.
Although a dense fog covered the place, they could still see the rough situation through the haze.
“Gu Hai has sat there for an entire day already. Why has he not made a move yet?”
“Exactly! Could it be that he does not dare to make a move and is purposely delaying?”
“That’s not right. Someone did the same thing ten days ago, trying to delay for time. In the end, the Go puzzle shredded him after four hours.”
“Why can Gu Hai delay time like this? This is not fair!”
Countless cultivators could not accept this.
Even so, no one dared to enter.
Countless people had already died trying the life puzzle. One hundred thousand cultivators had entered the death puzzle, but not a single person emerged alive yet.
That peony flower was a place of absolute death. It would be over if they entered.
Although everyone wanted to obtain the dragon vein, they still needed to survive to enjoy it. Old Mister Guan Qi made it too dangerous to receive his things.
This Go puzzle was indeed complex. However, Gu Hai gained plenty of comprehension from its complexity. While he sat there, many thoughts occurred to him; many things filled his mind in an instant.
The black Go stone floated high, like a sovereign looking down at its land, in Gu Hai’s forehead space like before. White crystal shards floated at the side, and one hundred thousand Go puzzles were merging below. Now, half had already merged. However, when Gu Hai comprehended many things, the Gu puzzles below started merging at an unusually fast speed.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Many Go puzzles successfully merged. Soon, eighty thousand Go puzzles had formed twenty thousand Go puzzles after merging in sets of four. The remaining twenty thousand Go puzzles appeared complex and could not merge.
It seems like they can be condensed? Gu Hai thought.
The large merged Go puzzles suddenly shrank, eliminating some useless Go stones and losing some lines. They slowly turned back into nineteen-line-pair Go boards. However, these Go puzzles now looked different from their initial sets of four. Nevertheless, they still held the shadows of those four Go puzzles. It seemed that the essence of the initial four Go puzzles had condensed into the resulting merged Go puzzle.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
Condense! Condense! Condense!
The twenty thousand large Go puzzles quickly shrank. After one day, they returned to their original size.
All of the merged Go puzzles were again nineteen line-pairs. Adding the Go puzzles that could not merge, there were forty thousand Go puzzles now. Every Go puzzle was extremely complicated.
“Once the thoughts and rules in the Go puzzles increase, they can form ritual arrays?” Gu Hai felt slightly startled.
While Gu Hai pondered the Twenty-Nine Line-Pair World Go Puzzle, he also studied the forty thousand Go puzzles in his forehead space. He sensed that these Go puzzles could be connected to each other. If I can condense my forty thousand Go puzzles further, might I be able to use them to lay ritual arrays?
Perhaps this was how Old Mister Guan Qi’s Twenty-Eight Line-Pair World Ritual Array and Twenty-Nine Line-Pair World Ritual Array were formed?
Merging, condensing, eliminating the useless parts, extracting the essence, making the rules more concise, and making perfection even more perfect? Is this the Go Dao?
Boom!
Suddenly, four of the forty thousand complex Go puzzles merged and formed a large Go puzzle.
My guess was right! Are merging and condensing of the Go puzzles the foundation of constructing a ritual array, the start of creating a world? Gu Hai’s eyes brightened.
The merger of the forty thousand complex Go puzzles could not be completed immediately. Gu Hai could only work on those slowly. He then gradually became immersed in the Twenty-Nine Line-Pair World Go Puzzle.
As Gu Hai’s mind sank into the Twenty-Nine Line-Pair World Go Puzzle, his consciousness suddenly entered the Go puzzle.
He seemed to be standing on a vast land. The sky and ground were white. There was nothing there but himself.
Suddenly, a female figure appeared not far away.
“Xianer?” Gu Hai felt slightly startled. He knew that this was an illusion.
Gu Hai saw a strand of golden thread connecting himself to Chen Xianer. The golden thread seemed to have the word “love” around it.
After that, four young children suddenly appeared not far away.
“Gu Qin, Gu Han, Gu Tang, and Gu Ming?” Gu Hai looked at the four children, feeling suspicious.
Then, he once again saw golden threads connecting himself to the four children. These threads seemed to have the word “family” around them.
Suddenly, azure smoke appeared not far away. A group of people with indistinct faces stood there. The leader gave off a scary aura. Just one look made Gu Hai’s heart thump heavily.
The golden thread linking Gu Hai to this group had the word “hatred.”
More people appeared out of nowhere in the vast land. Everyone had a golden thread connecting Gu Hai to them. These golden threads stated Gu Hai’s relationship with these people.
As Gu Hai stood in this vast land, he entered deep thought, comprehending something.
After a long time, Gu Hai suddenly looked at the sky and let out a long breath. “I understand now. The world is a Go board, and everyone is a Go stone. The love and hatred between people are like invisible line-pairs, connecting the various Go stones and keeping them struggling within the Go board, unable to shake free. Everyone is a Go stone. The world is heartless; everyone is a Go stone!”
Buzz!
Gu Hai seemed to have comprehended a supreme principle in an instant. His body gave off beams of golden light, and his consciousness slowly emerged from the Go puzzle.
——
Gu Hai looked up at Old Mister Guan Qi’s puppet across from him.
“Why is Adoptive Father not making a move yet?” Gu Qin asked worriedly.
“Indeed, it has been three days. Is Gu Hai still thinking?” Long Wanqing also felt incredibly worried.
Countless cultivators outside looked at Gu Hai in confusion. It had been three days since Gu Hai sat down. That was very annoying. Was he playing Go?
“Congratulations. Up to now, you are the only person to solve this puzzle!” Old Mister Guan Qi’s puppet suddenly spoke.
Old Mister Guan Qi’s puppet’s voice was not loud, but strangely it reached everyone’s ears.
The fifty thousand cultivators watching outside broke out immediately in a huge commotion.
“How can that be possible? Gu Hai has not even made a single move!”
“How did he solve it? He must be cheating!”
“That’s not fair! He only sat there for three days, and he solved the Go puzzle?! I can do that too!”
Long Wanqing and Gu Qin also looked at Old Mister Guan Qi’s puppet in confusion. Gu Hai solved it like that? However, Gu Hai had not moved at all!
“You have already solved the Go puzzle. Please make your move and prepare to receive my inheritance!” Old Mister Guan Qi’s puppet spoke again.
