Chapter 569 - 28: The Madly Taunting Primordial, The 6 Seats Are Filled Again

Chapter 569: Chapter 28: The Madly Taunting Primordial, The 6 Seats Are Filled Again

Following beside Amitabha Buddha with Xiaohuo’Er in tow, Lu Xuan had no idea how long they had been walking. Here, time itself was meaningless.

After all, this place was Above the Years.

Finally, just as Lu Xuan was about to lose his footing and fall back into the River of Time,

the scene before him suddenly changed. An ancient chessboard was placed in the middle of the Chaos, surrounded by six Great Dao Meditation Mats, dim and indistinct within the swirling void.

"Fellow Daoist, please."

Amitabha Buddha gestured toward one of the Great Dao Meditation Mats.

Lu Xuan’s expression was calm as he gave a slight nod.

Although his own power was nearly depleted—and Profound Clarity, Profound Yellow, and Nine Nether, who were desperately supplying him with Essence, Qi, and Spirit from within the Years, were almost exhausted—he still appeared outwardly serene. He strolled casually to the mat and, under Amitabha Buddha’s gaze, slowly sat down.

The first instant he sat upon the Great Dao Meditation Mat,

Lu Xuan found that the terrifying pull, which had been desperately trying to drag him back into the River of Time, had vanished. His entire being felt lighter.

The second instant,

he sensed the boundless and terrifying Dao Rhyme within the mat beneath him. The "Myriad Daos" he had gathered were far greater in quantity, but in terms of quality...

One was the Cyan Celestial Realm, the other was an ant.

By the third instant, Lu Xuan’s gaze fell upon the ancient, time-worn chessboard, and he felt a slight daze.

He seemed to see all of ancient history. The board itself appeared to be the Great Heaven and Earth, while the Celestial Realms and all worlds were points upon it.

And Years, time, history, fate, and Cause and Effect were the lines crisscrossing the board!

With a single glance, Lu Xuan seemed to see all things. He saw Taiyi ascending to the imperial throne in the most ancient of years,

he saw Fu Xi creating the Eight Trigrams, he saw Emperor Xin immolating himself while holding Daji, he saw Profound Clarity abolishing the West Pole Celestial Court...

Everything was on the board, and everything was within the board.

"This is the Dao Fruit Chess Game."

Amitabha Buddha slowly sat down beside Lu Xuan, shoulder to shoulder with him, and said calmly,

"It can also be called the Great Dao Chess Game or the Transcendence Chess Game."

"What do you mean?" Lu Xuan’s heart skipped a beat, but he quickly calmed himself and asked.

Amitabha Buddha glanced sideways at Lu Xuan, a meaningful smile on his face.

"This is the second game. The winner of the first game was named... Nuwa."

Countless doubts arose in Lu Xuan’s mind, stirring up a tempest within him. He asked again,

"Wa Huang achieved Transcendence because of this game? That seems unlikely. Her Transcendence could have been due to creating the Human Race, or leading the Demon Race, or perhaps mending the rift in the Celestial Vault. It might even have been the ultimate leap born from a combination of many factors..."

"But it definitely wasn’t because of this one game."

Lu Xuan spoke with great certainty. He had met ’Wa Huang’ and discussed the matter of Transcendence with her. Even if that Wa Huang was a fake, she had to be inextricably linked to the original!

At this, Amitabha Buddha shook his head and said with a smile,

"The Dao Fruit Chess Game determines the future. And since Wa Huang won, a period of the future became hers to shape. That’s why when the Heavenly Dao and Earthly Virtue of the Great Heaven and Earth collapsed, she was the one to mend it. She was the one in control. She was the one who created the Human Race... All because she was the winner."

Lu Xuan was shaken.

Amitabha Buddha continued,

"If I had been the winner, I would have been the one to create humanity, and I would have been the one to mend the heavens... Though I don’t know the exact reason for Wa Huang’s Transcendence, it was certainly related to these events. Hence, after that, this game also became known as the Transcendence Chess Game."

After a pause, he glanced sideways at Lu Xuan with profound meaning.

"Fellow Daoist, if you wish to achieve Transcendence, you must... win!"

"Win against all of us, including... The Three Pristine Ones!"

Lu Xuan narrowed his eyes and was about to speak when Xiaohuo’Er, who was behind him, leaped three feet into the air.

"You old bald donkey, you’re spouting nonsense! Whether it’s The Three Pristine Ones, you, or Bodhi, you’re all beneath my master!"

Amitabha Buddha narrowed his eyes, glanced at the Daoist Child, and chuckled.

"This child of yours is quite interesting, Fellow Daoist. Even I cannot see through him..."

In fact, Xiaohuo’Er’s strange trait of being unreadable even to Enlightened Ones was the main reason they believed the Purple Cloud Palace Master might be on par with an Enlightened One.

They didn’t know that this trait of Xiaohuo’Er’s had been personally bestowed upon him by Supreme...

The Little Daoist Child now stood with his hands on his hips, his eyes wide.

"You bald donkey, isn’t it normal that you can’t see through me? Let me tell you, my master has two Daoist Children in total. I’m one of them. Guess who the other one is?"

Lu Xuan’s smile froze. He knew this little rascal was about to spout more nonsense and was about to stop him, but then he saw Amitabha Buddha’s expression shift as he asked,

"Who?"

"Yuqing Primordial!"

Amitabha Buddha’s expression changed drastically. His heart stopped, and he whipped his head to the side. Lu Xuan, however, could only look on, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"Nonsense. Fellow Daoist, please don’t blame the little one..."

Amitabha Buddha was still filled with shock and suspicion. Just as he was about to speak, footsteps echoed from the depths of the Chaos.

Ancient Bodhi Buddha approached from one side, and three Daoists from another.

The Blind Daoist spoke indifferently,

"Who calls my name?"

"Me!"

Xiaohuo’Er waved his hand and shouted,

"Daoist Child, get over here! The master is over here!"

The Blind Daoist’s face darkened. He winced and couldn’t be bothered to deal with the little rascal.

Seeing the Primordial Great Celestial Venerable’s dark expression and his lack of a retort, Amitabha Buddha’s heart hammered in his chest, and his head swam!

’It’s impossible,’ he thought, yet he couldn’t stop a sliver of doubt from forming. ’But what if...?’

Amitabha Buddha silently filed this away in his mind.

The Three Pristine Ones had now approached. Lu Xuan rose gracefully, maintained his dignified air, and performed a salute.

"Greetings, Master. Greetings, First Senior Uncle, Third Senior Uncle."

The Blind Daoist’s dark expression vanished, replaced by a wide grin as he responded enthusiastically. The Lame Daoist rolled his eyes slightly. And as for Supreme?

The Blind Daoist’s dark expression had flown right onto Supreme’s face...

His face fell. He remained silent, wincing again, and kept telling himself, ’This is an act, this is just an act...’

The next moment.

The Blind Daoist walked up, patted Lu Xuan’s shoulder, and boomed,

"Good disciple! Not bad! You can already stand shoulder-to-shoulder with your master!"

Supreme’s old face darkened another shade.

The Blind Daoist clapped Lu Xuan’s shoulder heavily again, pulling him in close with a broad grin.

"Come, greet your First Senior Uncle again!"

He heavily emphasized the words "First Senior Uncle." Lu Xuan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but he had no choice but to follow his instructions and offer another salute.

"Greetings, First Senior Uncle..."

Supreme’s old face darkened yet another shade.

"Good disciple! Good disciple!" the Blind Daoist roared with laughter. In the span of a few breaths, he had already called out "disciple" no less than ten times, each call louder and clearer than the last.

A certain old Daoist’s face grew darker and darker...

"Sit down!"

he said stiffly. He pressed a palm on the Blind Daoist, forcing him down onto the meditation mat. The Blind Daoist looked as if he had been struck by lightning.

After a long moment, the Blind Daoist recovered, fuming with indignation. He glanced to the side and shouted,

"Good disciple, hurry and sit! Sit right here beside your master!"

As he spoke, he moved Supreme’s meditation mat, which had been next to him, to the opposite side and shifted Lu Xuan’s mat over...

Supreme’s fists, hidden within his wide sleeves, clenched even tighter.

Lu Xuan’s expression was strange. ’Second Master is truly a tiger...’

In the end, he didn’t say anything more and slowly sat down. The other Enlightened Ones also took their seats one by one. As they settled, the Blind Daoist kept patting Lu Xuan’s shoulder and chatting away, presenting the very picture of a harmonious master and disciple...

HUM!

The chessboard trembled, and a crack appeared.

"Supreme, why would you do such a thing?!" Amitabha Buddha exclaimed, looking over in shock and anger. His heart pounded as he watched the old Daoist who had just squeezed a crack into the chessboard, a board that possessed Transcendent Traits.

The latter stared at Primordial and coughed once.

"An accident."

As he spoke, Supreme reached out and stroked the board. The crack slowly healed, and he finally sat down properly.

The six seats were once again full.

The Dao Fruit Chess Game began to glow!