A large gate connected to the core area of Eastern Deity Island lay inside the Illusory Sky Domain. The gate was called the Eastern Deity Gate.
At that moment, multiple powerful cultivators had gathered in front of Eastern Deity Gate.
The Eastern Deity Gate was a gate for deities. It extended high into the sky. Clouds hung around it, creating an ethereal atmosphere.
In front of the Eastern Deity Gate was a magnificent building that stood upright like a wall. Many people stood on the wall. They were looking at a giant matrix in front of the Eastern Deity Gate. The matrix was a large chessboard, and there were 36 spots on the chessboard. At that moment, 36 practitioners stood on the board, and all around each of them were many Great Path chess pieces hovering around.
Among the 36 cultivators on the board, there were elderly, middle-aged, as well as some young ones. There were men and women alike. Even though the cultivators were at different plane levels, they all stood upon the same chessboard.
When Ye Futian and his group arrived, they saw many cultivators from all sides standing on the wall-like building. Everyone gazed at the chessboard in front of them. At that moment, an intense battle had just begun on the chessboard; however, the battle was not between humans; it was a clash between chess pieces.
Apart from that, on the left and right of the chessboard were nine platforms. Several people were already seated on these platforms. Each of them had an unusual sense of class and elegance. They were all remarkable and extraordinary characters.
“So, this is the Great Path Chess?” Ye Futian mumbled. He already knew what it was by the time he had arrived. A Great Path Chessboard was in front of the Eastern Deity Gate. Every game required 36 participants. Every participant would get 36 Great Path chess pieces. The participants could pour their great path energies into every chess piece.
The 36 cultivators would then battle it out in a battle royale on the Great Path Chessboard. The winner would move on to the platform. There were nine platforms. So, when nine victors emerged, another battle royale would ensue. The winner of this nine-way battle would obtain the right to step through the Eastern Deity Gate.
The Eastern Deity Island also promised that every person who passed through the gate would receive a pill of the Great Path as a reward.
As such, many strong personalities would come and test their strength. As long as they could win, they would be able to get their hands on an extremely valuable pill of the great path. It was, without a doubt, not a common item. This was the reputation of the Eastern Deity Island. Moreover, the winner could also reap other benefits.
Ye Futian’s group landed on top of the building. Gazing forward, they saw that many people also stood on top of the building like them. Also, many were subsequently arriving behind them. Many people would first try their luck in encountering a Great Path Opportunity in the Illusory Sky Domain before arriving here to challenge the chess game.
After all, while a pill was valuable, the benefits of those Great Path Opportunities were also incredibly helpful in increasing a practitioner’s strength. So, it was natural that they would not miss it.
Jun Qiuyan being brought along as a captive by Ye Futian also attracted the gazes of several practitioners from the Penglai Continent. The faces of people who recognized Jun Qiuyan distorted after they saw the scene. They glanced at Ye Futian. Then, at the person standing beside him, and noticed that it was actually the lady of the Shangguan clan, Shangguan Qiuye.
Could it be that the Shangguan clan had joined hands with outsiders to fight against the Jun Family?
It looked like the peace on the Penglai Continent was coming to an end.
Did their conflict begin while they were within the territory of the Eastern Deity Island?
Shangguan Qiuye caught up to Ye Futian from behind. She also wanted to see what Ye Futian would do here. She thought, With his talent, unless he encounters an extremely powerful opponent, he should be able to get through the Eastern Deity Gate easily.
“The chessboard is also a matrix. The moment the 36 participants step on it, 36 Great Path chess pieces will appear. You can inject your Power of the Great Path into the pieces and battle against the others. Here, the gap between one’s plane level is ignored. The strength and durability of every chess piece are the same. The key is the strength of the path. Of course, a person whose plane level is higher would have a more profound understanding of the Great Path. Thus, even if the chess piece would reduce the gap between plane levels, a person of a higher plane level still has some advantages,” Shangguan Qiuye explained to Ye Futian.
Then, she continued, “After defeating everyone else on the chessboard and if the victor still has remaining chess pieces, he or she will be able to move to one of the nine platforms on the sides and watch the remaining battles. Once the nine platforms are filled, the next battle will take place and decide who among the nine would go through the East Deity Gate.
“To you, this shouldn’t be too hard. At least the first round will be no problem.”
Clearly, Shanggaun Qiuye was very confident with Ye Futian’s strength. She had seen his strength before, and naturally, Ye Futian’s path was very powerful. His battle strength was the manifestation of his Power of the Great Path.
Ye Futian scanned and looked at the nine platforms. Only two were not yet filled. This meant that after two more rounds of battle, one person would obtain the right to enter the Eastern Deity Gate.
At that moment, an extremely intense battle began on the chessboard. It was a chaotic battle between multiple sides. Everyone joined, and after a moment, a cultivator achieved victory and walked onto the platform. However, he did not seem all that happy. On the contrary, he seemed very solemn. His gaze moved towards a particular location, and in his eyes was fear.
On the platform, a young man sat with his legs crossed. His eyes were closed as he cultivated. He seemed a class different from others, and Ye Futian also discovered that many others were also looking at him. Ye Futian looked at the man and noticed that he had seen the young man before. When he entered Eastern Deity Island, this was the young man who made the Flowering Tree react. Based on the guesses of many, this person most probably had an extraordinary background.
“Next round,” said a deity standing in front of the wall-like building. She was a deity of Eastern Deity Island, and she was the host of the battles of the Great Path over there.
However, after she spoke, no one seemed willing to enter the chessboard.
“Since there’s no hope anyway, might as well give it a try,” said a practitioner lightheartedly with a smile. Then, he went straight onto the chessboard. After that, many others followed suit with a similar mindset and entered the round.
After hearing the discussions of the people around him, Ye Futian understood why no strong or powerful character took part in this round.
“They are wary of someone.” Shangguan Qiuye also realized it. After winning this battle, the winner would still have to battle the other nine on the platform. So, if an overwhelming character were already on the platform, the others would start to hesitate.
“That’s right. I am afraid that everyone who joined this time is just here to take part. There are no strong characters,” said an old man who was beside them.
“Could the elder help explain?” Shangguan Qiuye asked the old man.
“Look at him.” The old man pointed at the young man who made the Flowering Tree behave peculiarly and said, “This person entered the chessboard and completely dominated the other cultivators with nine chess pieces. In the 36-way battle, he used nine pieces, and yet no one could defeat him. In the end, he managed to get on the platform with a perfect battle record of losing only one piece. How could someone compete with that?”
“Using only nine chess pieces?” Shangguan Qiuye mumbled lightly.
The old man nodded. “36 chess pieces and he only used nine pieces. He did not even touch the remaining pieces. He only lost one piece, which means that he will have 35 pieces remaining in the subsequent battle. And up until now, all the remaining chess pieces of the other seven on the platforms totals to 41 pieces. This means that even if they include the last guy, the eighth guy, they would still not have that many chess pieces. Do you understand now?”
Shangguan Qiuye raised her head slightly and said, “Thank you very much.”
Naturally, she understood. The winner preserved his chess pieces for the subsequent nine-way battle. In the first round, the frightening thing was that he was able to sweep his opponents away with just nine chess pieces. Moreover, he only lost one piece.
The result was extremely daunting. Who would dare go up?
No wonder many people were talking about it earlier. Taking part in the battles meant that they joined to participate. They did not bear any hopes of entering the Eastern Deity Gate.
Avoiding strong cultivators was a technique. After all, many wanted to pass the Eastern Deity Gate. Naturally, no one would want to encounter such a strong opponent who would affect one’s ability to get through that Eastern Deity Gate.
One out of 36. After that, one out of nine. This meant that only one out of 324 people would enter through the Eastern Deity Gate. This was also with the least number of battles. If a person achieved victory but lost all his or her chess pieces, another group of 36 would have to hash it out again.
From this, one could only imagine just how difficult it was. This time, practitioners from continents from everywhere had come to the Eastern Deity Island. No one knew the real strength of others. So, it was natural to observe and learn.
Ye Futian looked toward the battle on the chessboard. It was as expected. The battle was not very exciting. It was even inferior to the previous battle. After some time, the winner was finally decided. The winner stepped onto the platform. And now, nine people stood on the platform.
The Eastern Deity Island host deity looked at them and said, “Please enter the chessboard.”
The nine of them walked down and landed on the chessboard. The young man who was the prime focus of many cultivators also opened his eyes. He got up slowly and began walking toward. Then, he landed on the chessboard.
Nine people. All stood in nine different locations.
Great Path Chess pieces appeared subsequently and hovered around their bodies.
The number of chess pieces surrounding most participants was in the single digit. Only that young man had 35 Great Path chess pieces hovering around him, radiating bright and pretty lights. Moreover, each of his chess pieces illuminated brighter than others.
The other eight cultivators fixed their gaze on him. They seemed to have reached an agreement as they became in sync and wanted to deal with the young man first. Otherwise, they would have no chance.
“Do it,” said a person. The moment he finished speaking, the eight of them initiated their attacks. Chess pieces after pieces flew around looking for blood. Every single chess piece contained a strong and forceful Great Path of attack.
The young man watched everything calmly. He moved his palms lightly, and suddenly, bright divine light flashed n front of them. The 27 chess pieces shone simultaneously and flew all around him, creating a light screen. The blinding and beautiful divine light shot out of the light screen like a Matrix of the Great Path.
Crack, crack, crack…
One after another, the Great Path chess pieces were crushed and fell on the ground. The cultivators’ expressions changed. They learned that the young person had actually preserved his strength and did not go all out. After all, one is disqualified if they run out of chess pieces. So, it was natural for anyone to feel a little greed.
“Cheeky bastard!” roared an elder. To actually preserve one’s strength, even in a situation like this?!
Vuong! The light screen made from chess pieces surrounding the young man became larger. A vague yet frightening illusory shadow then began to loom in.
