Chapter 276: 276: Layers And Layers To Unravel In This Game

On a certain obscure corner of the Salted Fish Mountain Peak, inside a deserted grove, dense waves of toxic fog seeped through the invisible barriers between superimposed space. A minor extension of the visible world was hidden there, its existence covered by layers of formations, as if space were a folded fabric and formations formed its seams.

Tendrils of fog flooded into the heart of this hidden space, where a withered black hut sat like an ancient fossil, covered in green moss and gray vines. The fog circled around the borders of this hut, but a mysterious force seemed to repel its advances, gradually creating a pitch-black vortex.

On the patio of the hut sat two young women, facing each other, their appearances nearly identical, both intently staring at a chessboard on the floor.

On this chessboard, there were only six pieces, standing in a seemingly random arrangement.

Two of them were white, one queen and one knight.

The other four pieces were black; one pawn, one rook, one knight, and one king. However, the black pieces did not have a uniform appearance.

The color of the black knight wasn't quite the same as the rest, touching a shade of gray.

The black king seemed to be an ethereal figure, phasing in and out of existence like a ghost.

And the body of the black pawn carried an unusual polish, almost like a mirror, reflecting the scenery around it faintly.

"This is truly enlightening. Such an interesting game!" One of the girls remarked, rubbing her temples, looking exhausted.

"...Biz-Bizarre," the other girl said, stuttering. If one looked closely, they'd find her appearance a touch more youthful than her partner's.

"One cannot win this game if they have a sincere heart, nor if they see their allies as honest friends," the older girl said pensively.

"But at the same time, one must proceed with absolute trust in their allies in order to emerge victorious!"

"Very dif-difficult..." The stuttering girl nodded. "But... It proves.... me... cor-correct."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Zi Wei. You think these incidents are replicable? Do you have a strategy to take control and move these pieces as you please in order to prove your Dao? Don't be delusional!"

The older girl pointed at the black pawn. "This one mystery is enough to leave us stumped, let alone dealing with the other pieces. Look at him, look at how he mirrors his enemies' identity!"

"I... know."

"Using wind to command wind, using rain to strike rain, killing foes with their own weapons, revealing nothing about oneself. It's so interesting to see someone so weak stick to such principles. Do you dare say that he's doing it unconsciously?!"

"He de-denied... it... the last ti-time. So... a co-coincidence?"

The older girl rolled her eyes. "Coincidence, my ass! The last time he came here, you forced him to play chess, and what did he do? His very first move was to break the most basic rules of the game. Was that a coincidence, too?

How many people in this world know that we once pursued the Dao of Law Annihilation? Who on this planet, apart from Xuan Zi, has heard of the Ten Thousand Laws Burial Matrix? Who could possibly come up with the idea to warn us with such a simple move? Who would be so bold?

"It was... d-dark that day. Maybe a mis-mistake...?" The younger girl suggested defensively. "As you... said, no-nobody would... be so bold. Not... an ex-expert... who's hiding."

"Fine, then. Let's say he was just an ordinary little brat messing around without any awareness, or perhaps an expendable pawn of an expert who wanted to warn us not to be nosy. Then how do you explain the other anomalies?"

Counting on her fingers, she began to list them one by one.

"In this contest, he had two definite enemies. That white Knight named Chen Yan, who seems to be carrying an inexplicably powerful bloodline, was the first and primary threat.

He was brimming with a certain type of evil karmic energy since his breakthrough, exuding overconfidence and overflowing with greed. His Dao heart reflects a sense of disdain towards order and a distinct tendency to violate all rules. If I had to guess, his bloodline could have some ties to certain ferocious entities of the primordial ocean.

But facing him, how did our 'innocent' Black Pawn fare? Blatant violation and exploitation of rules, a display of reckless greed, and overconfidence so extreme that it appeared comical... That's the exact summary of the Black Pawn's deeds in this contest.

Even if you were to look deeper and trace back karmic ties, you can see him punishing the loyalty and righteousness of those connected to his opponent, and rewarding those who betrayed their fellow disciples.

This is a reflection of the principle: 'Punish the good and reward the evil!' Who comes to mind when you think of such a principle?"

The younger girl blurted out, "Qi-Qiong Qi?!"

"Exactly!" Her partner slammed a fist on the floorboards. "Do you not see the pattern? It's no wonder that the White Knight was suppressed in such an overwhelming manner!"

At this point, a calculating look came over her face. "Now that I think about it, the White Knight's Dao roots perfectly fit the domain of Qiong Qi, right? It's as if the Black Pawn saw through the secret of that bloodline and adopted the most optimal plan to suppress the White Knight by exhibiting a superior version of the same characteristics..."

"That... That's too ex-extreme-"

"Let me finish," the older girl interrupted her. "This is hardly the only instance of Black Pawn mirroring his opponent's identity!"

Pointing at the white queen, she started analyzing once more.

"Black Pawn's other enemy was that Sect Elder, who has half a foot over the threshold of the Dao of Deception. He excels in disguising the truth as falsehood and falsehood as truth, substituting identities and karmic effects between the two states and confusing the opponent.

Facing that cunning old man's setups, what was the Black Pawn's approach?

He also substituted himself with other people from the very beginning. He disguised his true motive, which was to rob the White Knight's voidboat ticket and give it to the Black Knight, as a mere secondary goal.

He even set up Miss Black Knight to violate a major law of the sect to poison the White Knight and turn him into an Abomination, even though Miss Black Knight has no grudge against the White Knight!

From that perspective, the deception, the substitution of identities and karmic effects... All respond perfectly to the Sect Elder's Dao roots!"

At this point, she directly began to address the chess pieces by their real identity, as if she didn't fear being traced by masters of the Cause and Effect Dao.

"What Han Xuhan should have done, was accomplished by Qing Hua. What Qing Hua wanted, was disguised as something Han Xuhan wanted.

In everyone's eyes, what Han Xuhan achieved was disguised as a scheme orchestrated by Miss Qing Hua! The punishment he should've suffered thus also fell on her!

Tell me, Zi Wei, if this person isn't some old monster's seedling, what else could he be? Can you still insist that these are all coincidences?!"

"I am not... de-denying that... he's some-someone's... seedli-ling," the younger girl said softly. "Just... not our en-enemy. Worth le-learning from..."

Groaning, the older girl turned away from the chessboard and leaned against the wall of the hut, listlessly staring at the vortex of black fog outside .

"Zi Wei, can't you see that he's warning us to steer clear of his business?" She finally said after a long sigh.

"Despite knowing our Dao of Law Annihilation, he's actively conspiring to revive the Legalist Path right next door.

Upon encountering an enemy who is similar to us in terms of Dao Roots, he mercilessly destroyed his cultivation, fate, and even life.

Be it a result of his own schemes or the handiwork of the old monster behind him, do you dare to face him again?"

Zi Wei cocked her head to one side, and after a moment, her lips curved up into a thoughtful smile. For the first time, she spoke without stuttering.

"You say he did all that to warn us. But why do I feel like he gave us some guidance as a gift?"

"Huh?"

Facing the older girl's look of incomprehension, Zi Wei explained, "Our Celestial Ascension failed because of the imperfections in our Dao. We pursued the Dao of Law Annihilation. A game of chess was the core of our Dao Matrix.

But facing a game where the rules were set to lead us to inevitable defeat, we couldn't advance. Facing a game where the judges were conspiring against us, we couldn't win. Facing opponents who could overpower us in all aspects, we had no moves to go for.

Does that not summarize this contest we just witnessed?"

Both of them glanced simultaneously at the abandoned chessboard on the floor.

"If we face the same peril in the future, our tactics must begin long before the game of chess opens. Layers and layers of deception beyond the knowledge of the opponent must be arranged in a sequence, giving the impression that we are prepared to win by any means.

But our goal must never be victory inside the game; rather, our goal should be winning outside the scope of the game, in an entirely different game of chess.

And that game must be disguised as our invisible move, while the real invisible move must be hidden from all eyes except one, the target. Three different games of chess, three different goals, each of which must be beyond the reach of the enemies... a design like this could indeed get us past some basic hurdles."

"...It's easy to say these things to sound cool and mysterious. But is it easy to follow a strategy like that practically?" the older girl said grudgingly.

"Why not?" Zi Wei shrugged. "If you think about it... It's the very essence of that game of Blind Chess we forced Han Xuhan to play that day.

Today, his true target was neither Chen Yan, nor Shen Haoran, not even Qing Hua. They were all chess pieces. The target of the game was us, and his message was sent in a manner that only we would understand, because only we played that game of Blind Chess."

This time, for some reason, the older girl began to stutter. "That-that's too extreme, Zi Wei. You're overthinking it..."

"Am I? Are you sure?" Zi Wei asked, her gaze drilling into her partner's uncertain eyes.

"Coincidence... De-definitely a co-coincidence... That lo-logic is too far-fetched."

With a faint smile on her face, Zi Wei reached down and slapped the chess pieces away, throwing them into the pitch-black vortex of poisonous fog outside the hut.

"I guess we will never be certain if we don't join the game, then? Hahahaha!"