Chapter 1146: Three Competitors from the Great Houses, Nine from the Noble Houses, and Only One from the Lesser Houses (II)

Standing next to a babbling stream, Luo Chen watched as Fu Qinglan handed an invitation to an Adept.

His gaze then wandered to the surroundings. The stream flowed gently, without a hint of haste. The area ahead was quiet, but behind him, spirit energy was surging—a clear sign that quite a few people were heading this way.

Go Saint Ke Lianshan was going to face off against Master Daoyin in a match of Go, which had garnered the attention of practically everyone. This event was in a league of its own; it could be said to be the biggest event before the Ascension of the Saint Alchemist and the five-hundred-year grand competition.

Luo Chen sighed to himself. To think that someone who started at the bottom, like I did, can have a seat at this gathering... It truly makes me feel emotional!

"Senior Brother Luo, we can go in."

"Mmhm."

This was the first time Luo Chen had set foot upon the true land of the Heaven Origin Dao Sect.

Peach Garden, the cultivation place of Go Saint Ke Lianshan, was a blessed land with a top-grade fourth-tier spirit vein. After Luo Chen passed through the formation at the end of the stream, the magnificent scenery of the garden instantly came into view.

He had a very clear image in mind: peach blossoms in full bloom, turning the mountains crimson. Yet the place turned out to be crisscrossing field paths and spirit farmlands stretching as far as the eye could see. Luo Chen was rather bemused by this sight.

Sensing his confusion, Fu Qinglan advised him, "Senior Brother, try using your divine consciousness to observe this land."

Luo Chen hesitated. "Wouldn't that be impolite?"

"No, as long as you avoid people. Focus only on the terrain."

Luo Chen understood and released his divine consciousness. In seconds, the topography of Peach Garden was projected in his mind, and he immediately noticed its wonders.

From a bird's-eye view, the crisscrossing paths and patches of fertile farmland actually sketched a grid of perfectly square plots. A spirit energy spring had been strategically placed at every intersection of the grid lines. Meanwhile, the great numbers of flowers, grasses, and trees planted in the spirit fields looked like Go pieces conducting a game against one another.

Sword lilies with sword-like leaves displayed unmatched sharpness; ghostly trees spread their shade and provided defensive covers... The seemingly tranquil garden suddenly gave off a sense of battle fervor and brilliant grandeur.

As Luo Chen withdrew his divine consciousness, he couldn't help but take a deep breath. "The Go Saint uses Peach Garden as his board, the fields as his lines, and the spirit plants as his pieces to construct a massive game!"

Fu Qinglan smiled. "Excellent eyes, Senior Brother. My first time here, I didn't notice anything either; I only realized Senior Brother Ke's ingenuity after a senior of mine pointed it out. While Senior Brother Ke was acknowledged as a Saint through his extraordinary mastery of Go, he also has great skill in growing spirit plants. He combined these two skills to arrange this Go board. The competition among the different plants lets the game unfold in a natural way... I heard that when this game concludes, Senior Brother Ke will have a huge chance of comprehending some related Laws and advancing to the Divine Transformation Realm!"

Luo Chen blinked—he felt rather skeptical. He admitted that this Go game was incredibly ingenious, but could something man-made truly be called natural? He didn't know, but right now, neither did he intend to pursue the answer. He just followed Fu Qinglan farther into Peach Garden.

The deeper in they went, the more frequently they saw other cultivators. Fu Qinglan took the opportunity to introduce some of them to him.

"That's Xiang Qi, the most outstanding genius of the juniors in the Xiang family. He's also one of the brightest prodigies of our generation. He started cultivating at age twelve, reached Qi Refinement at sixteen, and Foundation Establishment at twenty-six. By age one hundred, he successfully condensed his Golden Core, and ten years ago, he entered the Nascent Soul Realm. Right now, he's not even 250 years old. His cultivation aptitude is better than mine. On top of that, his family is at the top of the Thirty-Six Noble Houses!

"He'll be entering the Mirage Dragon Pocket World as well. As for his Dao Protector, I heard it's a newly promoted Sage known as the Wrathful Vajra that his family invited from a Buddhist force in the Western Deserts. But I don't see that Wrathful Vajra around here today; I suppose he isn't particularly interested in this Go event."

Luo Chen watched from afar as a young man flew across the sky, followed by a big group of attendants who surrounded him like stars clustering around the moon.

The Xiang family?

Luo Chen had heard of this family and even had dealings with one of their affiliated organizations, the Myriad Manifestation Tower. They certainly had the qualifications to be at the top of the Thirty-Six Noble Houses if they were capable of establishing their own banner outside the Heaven Origin Trade Alliance and doing businesses in the Northern Sea.

He couldn't just probe Xiang Qi with his divine consciousness, but judging by the latter's almost imperceptible mana resonance with heaven and earth, he had only reached the Nascent Soul Realm recently, like Fu Qinglan.

"That one is Liu—"

"Dragon Abyss!" exclaimed Luo Chen. His gaze turned sharp.

Fu Qinglan was a little surprised to be interrupted like this, but she quickly realized what he meant.

"Right... Senior Brother Liu Yuan did use Dragon Abyss as his Dao title while he traveled the Northern Sea. I assume you had contact with him during your time there?

The corner or Luo Chen's mouth twitched; he neither confirmed nor denied it.

Dragon Abyss used to be one of the Seven Great Sages of the Myriad Immortal Society, and the only rogue cultivator who had enjoyed the Society's preferential treatment as a nine-star demon hunter and used its resources to advance to the Nascent Soul Realm. Apparently though, he was never a rogue cultivator at all; instead, he was a sect disciple who had gone out into the world to gain experience.

With a serious expression on her face, Fu Qinglan said via divine consciousness transmission, "Among the thirteen Sages of the Dao Sect who will go into the Mirage Dragon Pocket World this time, Senior Brother Liu is the only one who comes from a Lesser House. He could have elevated the Liu family to the Noble rank long ago, but he kept delaying it. He's definitely hoping to win big in the Mirage Dragon Pocket World and secure more resources for his family's future promotion.

"We normally don't pay much attention to a contestant from a Lesser House, but Senior Brother Liu is special. He has been a Sage for nearly a century, the longest among all of us. Since forming his Nascent Soul, he has never engaged in combat, and he has been using some secret art to suppress his cultivation, which is why he barely managed to qualify for Mirage Dragon. I heard that he faced many life-and-death situations in the Northern Sea and came out with plenty of fighting experience. His Dao Protector is a major threat in the competition, and he himself is a force to be reckoned with too!"

Luo Chen solemnly nodded. He had heard plenty about Dragon Abyss, and the very fact that he could become a nine-star demon hunter was the best proof that he was not to be underestimated.

At the Myriad Immortal Society, none of those high-rank demon hunters had been easy to deal with. Figures like Angler and Purple Empress weren't any weaker than upper sect disciples, and they were merely eight-star demon hunters. Since Dragon Abyss's rating was above theirs, it was obvious that he was even stronger.

Combining the information from Fu Qinglan and the intelligence he'd gathered earlier, Luo Chen gained a more thorough understanding of the general situation surrounding the grand competition.

Competition from the lower cultivation realms was basically negligible, so their competitors were the other thirteen Sages. Three were from the Great Houses, nine were from the Noble Houses, and only one came from a Lesser House. That lone standout was Dragon Abyss!

After a mental calculation of his chances in a direct confrontation with Dragon Abyss, Luo Chen casually asked, "I wonder who his Dao Protector is. Is it that frail-looking woman by his side?"

Just as Fu Qinglan was about to answer, a hearty laugh rang out behind them.

"Oh, Wilderness Hermit, is that you? Long time no see!"

"Fellow Daoist Luo!"

Luo Chen turned around to see two familiar faces: Wintermount and Lu Qiuzhen. He smiled and greeted them as well. "It's been a while, Fellow Daoists. How have you two been?"

Although the three of them were just casual acquaintances, they had all come here from the Northern Sea. Now that they had all joined the Star Gate's Heaven-Earth Peak, it was only natural to keep in touch from time to time.

Fu Qinglan greeted them indifferently, completely unlike how she treated Luo Chen. After all, she had her own pride as a Holy Land disciple. When it was not about matters related to Go, she always presented herself as aloof and lofty to outsiders. Luo Chen, of course, was an exception. Given the importance of the competition, they needed to foster a good relationship and so she took the initiative to tone down on the aloofness and build rapport.

The other two didn't mind her cold demeanor. They joyfully chatted with Luo Chen about old times in the Northern Sea and shared with him some of the latest news. As official guest elders of the Star Gate, they had the authority to access relatively recent intelligence, unlike Luo Chen, who still had to rely on the Fu family’s connections.

Luo Chen learned from Lu Qiuzhen that the war in the Northern Sea had been escalating. The Ghost Immortal Tower had grown even more powerful and even more brazen; two late-stage Sages from the Righteous Blue Sea Alliance had been unable to stop it in a head-on clash.

Aside from that, the ever-elusive Ascendant Li Canghai had begun to make frequent appearances in the Northern Sea over the past two years. Strangely enough, he was not there to join the war in any way, but to take away spirit mountains and waters.

His behavior confirmed Luo Chen's speculation from years ago: Li Canghai used the spirit lands of the Northern Sea to refine his treasure! The only question was whether the Heaven Origin Dao Sect had any clues of this.

Luo Chen and Fu Qinglan then moved forward, this time with Wintermount and Lu Qiuzhen in tow. In no time at all, they arrived at the venue.

Finally, they had stumbled upon the eponymous peach grove! Amidst a flurry of falling peach petals, an old figure and a young one sat upright across from each other, surrounded by a sea of people. The atmosphere was fervent yet at the same time oppressive due to the absence of conversation.

Before Luo Chen could direct his attention to the players, he felt his divine soul tingle. He sensed a gaze fixed upon him... and Fu Qinglan. At that same instant, he distinctly felt the woman beside him shiver slightly.

Luo Chen openly looked over. In the section of the peach grove that was best suited for watching the match, there was a luxuriously dressed man with an outstanding presence. He was holding a white fan and staring at them with great interest. When he met Luo Chen's gaze, the young man's lips curled up slightly.

"Who is that?" asked Luo Chen.

Fu Qinglan lowered her head. Her dark hair obscured her eyes, and her fingers unconsciously fiddled together. "Shi Ju, from the Shi family!"