RNP Chapter 40 The Chess Game of Heaven and Earth
Chapter 40 The Chess Game of Heaven and Earth
Qing Cang and Shang Zu stood side by side in the boundless starry sky, their robes fluttering in the wind. The starlight around them was dispersed by their invisible aura as they looked down upon the starfield battlefield, which had long since become scorched earth. Four colossal divine figures, supporting the heavens and the earth, were fiercely clashing in the ruins spanning billions of miles. Each clash of fists and palms caused the Milky Way to reverse, and divine passages tore through the void, weaving together a desolate wasteland of life. Even light was crushed by the violent divine power, and only the blazing light of the colliding laws illuminated the entire starry sky, making it flicker between light and darkness.
"Qing Cang, tell me, who will have the last laugh in this battle?" Shang Zu's voice boomed, his gaze fixed on the battlefield, his tone carrying a hint of inquiry.
Qing Cang's face was ashen, his eyes calm and still, and he said in a deep voice, "Mingde, you are about to break through."
Shang Zu's expression suddenly hardened, and his body trembled almost imperceptibly. If Mingde were to break through to the next realm, his spiritual power would be at its peak, making him a true top powerhouse in the universe. Currently, there are only seven people at the peak of spiritual power in the universe. Previously, the most favored to break through were Yuan Juren of Xing Tianya and Jiu Tian, the eldest disciple of Qing Cang and the youngest son of the Rebellious God Heavenly Venerable. Who would have thought that Mingde would surpass them? If the Heavenly Court Realm had another supreme spiritual power, the cosmic order would likely be thrown into turmoil once again.
In the center of the battlefield, the fighting raged fiercely. The ferocious deity, with a human body and a bull's head, his bones covered in scorch marks, his left arm severed at the shoulder, divine bone exposed at the break, black blood gushing out, yet he still roared incessantly: "Mingde! I see you've exhausted your skills! If this continues, how long can your spiritual strength last?"
Dingzu was in no better shape. His divine armor was shattered, most of his body was cracked, and one of his divine eyes had been blinded by the Heavenly Brush. Hot divine blood streamed down his face, making him look ferocious and terrifying. Yet, he still gritted his teeth and said fiercely, "Mingde! When you are defeated, I will drink your flesh and blood and destroy your soul!"
Only the God of War of Xuantian, from beginning to end, did not exert any effort. With the Xuantian Blood Tablet above his head, he merely wandered around and watched, clearly intending to conserve his strength.
Mingde understood his thoughts and did not list him as a primary target. Therefore, his divine body was unharmed and his condition was still good, but there was a hint of vigilance in his eyes. He had already been thinking of fleeing at any time. Previously, when Taiwei God Venerable self-destructed, Gong Xuanzang, Death God Venerable and other powerful figures from the Hell Realm who were besieging Taiwei were all affected and severely injured. He did not want to follow in his footsteps. If someone wanted to fight to the death, wouldn't he suffer for nothing?
"Fierce and Ancestor Ding, so what if you outnumber me? Fighting to the death with me will only benefit those lurking in the shadows!" Mingde's voice shook the universe, and the divine image of the Confucian Ancestor suddenly appeared around him. Although the divine image had become slightly illusory after several fierce battles, it was still majestic and awe-inspiring, bursting forth with righteous energy. He struck out with his palm, and the profound mysteries of Confucianism condensed into billions of golden rays, directly blasting the three—Fierce, Ancestor Ding, and the God of War Xuantian—back tens of thousands of miles away. The starry sky was even dented by this palm strike.
The Ferocious God was shaken, his blood surging. His heart sank, and he pondered: "Kuiliang Emperor sent a message ordering me to kill Mingde. Luo Ding's sudden appearance in the Taiwei Starfield must also be a member of the Liang Organization, but I don't know his true identity. Should I really fight Mingde to the death like this? If he takes me down with him, wouldn't all my millions of years of painstaking cultivation be in vain?"
Unexpectedly, Mingde's combat strength was so strong. He was selfish by nature and had a keen understanding of the coldness of human nature. The organization always knew how to seek profit and avoid harm. If he was really seriously injured by Mingde, it would be a blessing if they didn't kick him while he was down. How could they help him? Thinking of this, the fierce god's attack suddenly slowed down, and the flaws in his divine skills gradually became apparent.
Dingzu was also quick-witted. He was obsessed with seizing the position of chieftain of the Rakshasa clan. His dream had not yet come true, so how could he be willing to die here? His offensive gradually subsided, and he turned to a passive defense. He used his divine sense to search around, hoping to find a chance to escape.
Seeing this, the War God Xuantian retreated to the edge of the battlefield, his divine weapon hovering above his head, as steady as Mount Tai, merely observing from the sidelines. The three had been fighting Mingde for a long time without gaining the upper hand, not only failing to ascertain his strength, but also suffering heavy casualties themselves. Fear had already arisen in their hearts, and the desire to retreat spread like a tide.
Mingde witnessed all of this, a cold smile curving his lips. As members of the Liang organization, Xiong Hai and Luo Zu were each fiercely protective of their lives; how could they willingly gamble with their very existence? This was the moment he had been waiting for! Taking advantage of the three's demoralized state, he secretly channeled all his divine power, his spiritual energy spreading out in a devastating burst, preparing to deliver a fatal blow. He wanted to kill one of them first to establish his authority. Since the Liang organization dared to attack him, he would let them know that he, Mingde, was not someone to be trifled with!
"Buzz—"
The divine image of the Confucian Ancestor suddenly burst forth with boundless divine light. Mingde formed hand seals and chanted Confucian and Taoist mantras. Vast and boundless righteous energy surged from his body, condensing into a phantom realm tens of millions of miles in length and width in the starry sky. As soon as the realm took shape, it suddenly enveloped the unsuspecting Dingzu, instantly dragging him into it.
"not good!"
The pupils of the Ferocious God and the Xuan Tian War God shrank drastically, their souls nearly leaving their bodies. They dared not linger any longer, their figures flashing as they desperately fled the area covered by the realm. The illusory realm rapidly solidified under the impetus of the Bright Virtue Divine Power, and countless chains of divine order formed from righteous energy burst forth from the ground, coiling around Ding Zu like writhing dragons, imprisoning his divine body tightly. No matter how much he struggled, he could not budge an inch.
"I will show you the divine power of the progenitor of Confucianism and Taoism!" Mingde's prestige was unparalleled, his divine power surging like a tsunami, and the profound mysteries of Confucianism and Taoism within him surged wildly, pouring into the divine image of the Confucian ancestor.
"The universe is but a chessboard throughout eternity!"
A sharp shout echoed through the galaxy. The Confucian Ancestor's divine form clenched his fist, and the domain that had imprisoned the Ancestor trembled violently, being forcibly ripped out of the universe! Within the domain, Confucian and Daoist divine patterns intertwined with righteous energy, the yin and yang energies of the universe surged, and the yin and yang orders crisscrossed, forming a network of meridians. The incomparably powerful divine rules erupted, tearing the Ancestor's divine body apart!
The realm evolved into a giant chessboard spanning the star field, with black and white, yin and yang clearly distinguished. Dingzu was trapped in the center of the chessboard, his divine body constantly being torn apart by the power of the rules. A mournful and desperate roar came from within the chessboard, making the fierce and terrifying God Venerable and the Xuantian War God tremble and feel a chill run through their bodies.
"This is the ancestral divine power of the Second Confucian Ancestor!" Qing Cang's gaze was solemn, his tone filled with apprehension. "The chessboard takes shape, encompassing heaven, earth, time, space, yin and yang—truly living up to its name! Even when the Third Ancestor and Murong Ru were alive, I never saw them use such a divine power!" Although there are four Confucian Ancestors in the Kunlun Realm, the Second Confucian Ancestor possesses the highest cultivation. It was he who, single-handedly, promoted Confucianism to the supreme holy realm.
Given Mingde's ability to unleash such supernatural powers and the rapid progress of his cultivation, Qingcang believes that Mingde must have received the inheritance of the Second Ancestor, and may even have taken control of the Second Ancestor's Ancestral Realm.
A glint of light flashed in Shang Zu's eyes, and he nodded, saying, "It seems that Mingde has grasped the essence from the sacred book of the Confucian Ancestor. The Second Confucian Ancestor is too far removed from our time, and now only the Kunlun Realm still preserves his legacy."
On the battlefield, the Ferocious God was extremely anxious upon seeing this. He suddenly unleashed his own battle prowess, channeling all his divine power, and unleashed a barrage of terrifying divine techniques at the starry chessboard. However, the chessboard was like a microcosm of the universe, and no matter how many divine techniques it struck, it only rippled, completely swallowing up the power without even a crack appearing.
"Give me your life!" Mingde sneered, manipulating the Starry Sky Chessboard, which resembled an ancient divine mountain, and crushed towards the Fierce God Venerable, intending to take him into the chessboard as well.
The ferocious god was terrified and dared not resist. His enormous human-bodied, bull-headed skeleton suddenly shrank and fled in a sorry state in the starry sky. His appearance was extremely incongruous with his status as the master of a palace in the Temple of Destiny, and the scene was even somewhat comical.
The God of War Xuantian was so frightened that he turned around and fled back to his temple. He flew far to the edge of the battlefield and looked at Mingde, who was walking on the chessboard and chasing after the ferocious Mingde. He was secretly glad that he hadn't fought to the death earlier. This man's spiritual power seemed to be inexhaustible. He was still full of divine power after hundreds of rounds of fighting. At this moment, he could even activate the ancestral divine power. He was truly terrifying!
Within the chessboard, Dingzu's roars gradually weakened. His divine body was being torn apart by the rules of Yin and Yang, and his divine blood had long since drained away, flowing slowly along the grooves of the chessboard, becoming nourishment for it. The War God of Xuantian watched with a sigh. He knew that once Mingde completely obliterated Dingzu's divine soul, this starry chessboard would one day become an unparalleled weapon that would shake the universe.
"Mingde! You've gone too far!" The Ferocious God was struck by a golden divine light shooting out from the chessboard, his chest bone was pierced through, leaving a hideous hole that ripped through his body, and his divine energy was leaking out wildly. Since breaking through to the Boundless Realm, he had never been so humiliated. As the master of the Ferocious God Palace of the Temple of Destiny, this humiliation made his eyes bloodshot with rage.
"This is outrageous!" Mingde's voice was icy. "Today, I will use your and Luo Ding's divine bodies to refine this Starry Sky Chessboard! I imagine that in the future, it might even rival the Second Ancestor's Heavenly Chess Platform!"
As Dingzu's divine body was completely disintegrated by the chessboard, its primordial divine power and fragments of divine soul were absorbed by the chessboard. Mingde's already near-perfect divine soul began to slowly grow. He knew in his heart that the day the starry sky chessboard was fully formed would be the day he broke through to the perfect state of spiritual power!
As soon as he finished speaking, several divine rays shot out again. The ferocious God Venerable swung his blade to block, and the divine blade collided with the divine rays, producing a piercing cracking sound. He shouted sharply, "Mingde! Don't be so smug! I am far superior to Luo Ding. The foundation of my Temple of Destiny is beyond your imagination!"
After saying this, he suddenly summoned the Gate of Destiny. The gate was ancient and desolate, and as soon as it appeared in the world, it emitted endless mysterious ripples, rapidly transmitting a distress message into the depths of the void.
In the Taiwei Realm battlefield, the Wrathful Heavenly God was locked in fierce combat with the Buddha of the Joyful Zen Sect of the Flower Realm. His divine fists shook the heavens, and his Buddhist chants resounded throughout the world. Suddenly sensing an urgent message from the Gate of Destiny, he sighed softly, knocked back the Buddha of Destiny with a single punch, and instantly stepped into the void, breaking through the spatial barrier, rushing towards the battlefield where the Fierce and Terrifying God was located.
The other deities of the Temple of Destiny—the God of Joy, the God of Misfortune, the Judge, the Destiny, and others—sensed the call of the Gate of Destiny and immediately ceased their duties, riding divine light and tearing through the starry sky to rush over. The deities of the Heavenly Court, though unaware of the reason, dared not delay and followed closely behind. If these supreme beings of the Hell Realm were allowed to escape and destroy the starry sky defenses, they would have no way to explain themselves even upon returning to the Heavenly Palace.
"Mingde! The powerful forces of my Temple of Destiny will arrive in an instant! Let's see how arrogant you will be then!" Upon receiving the replies from the Venerables, the Fierce God Venerable's confidence surged, his back straightened instantly, and he roared as he launched a counterattack.
Mingde gazed into the distance and saw several imposing figures traversing billions of stars, rapidly approaching. However, he was not afraid at all. Instead, he looked at the chessboard at his feet and laughed, "You do value your life. When you're in trouble, you call for reinforcements. Unfortunately, he doesn't have your luck."
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw that within the chessboard, Dingzu's divine body had been completely torn apart by the laws of Yin and Yang. Fragments of his divine soul struggled bitterly in the ravines of the chessboard, barely clinging to life with his boundless and powerful vitality, but he was no longer able to resist.
Seeing this, the Fierce God Venerable felt a pang of sympathy, as if he were a rabbit mourning the death of a fox. Mingde had been hiding his true strength far too well! His spiritual power was nearing the pinnacle of perfection, and he could wield Heavenly-level divine abilities with ease. Now, he could even unleash the Primordial Divine Power. With the blessings of the four Confucian Ancestors of the Kunlun Realm, even if Xu Fengjin, the strongest in their Temple of Destiny, were to personally come, he would likely struggle to subdue him. The only option now was to gather the strength of the masses and suppress him before he broke through to the pinnacle of perfection. Otherwise, the universe might see another terrifying being like the Lord of the Fallen God Island!
Recalling the terrible price paid to suppress the Lord of Fallen God Island, the Ferocious God Venerable was deeply shaken. If Feng Caiyi hadn't been severely injured by the self-destruction of the Taiwei God Venerable, and if the others had joined forces, they wouldn't have been forced into this predicament by Mingde!
"Wishful thinking! Today, I will suppress you first!" Mingde's mind was made up to keep the ferocious beast alive, so he did not hesitate to burn his own pure spiritual power, and golden divine flames instantly ignited around his body. He raised his hand and waved, and the already illusory image of the Confucian Ancestor transformed into billions of golden rays of light, completely merging into the starry chessboard stained red by the blood of the Ancestor.
As the scholar's robe unfurled, the Milky Way stirred. With a soft shout from Mingde, billions of stars within the star field shifted dramatically, transforming into a surging river of stars that flowed majestically into the chessboard. The stars were then divided in two by the yin-yang rules of the chessboard, becoming black and white chess pieces, arranged in a staggered pattern on the board.
With his spiritual power ignited and the divine image of the Confucian Ancestor merged into it, the Starry Sky Chessboard was fully activated. The divine mysteries of the Second Confucian Ancestor flowed within the chessboard, and Mingde poured more than ten percent of his own temporal mysteries into it. In an instant, the chessboard transformed into a terrifying black hole that devoured everything, its gravity surging. The Fierce and Terrifying God Venerable had no time to react before being forcefully sucked into the chessboard by an invisible force!
"Chess determines the universe, and heaven and earth are in harmony!"
Mingde stood on the chessboard, and with a thought, billions of black and white pieces moved accordingly. The entire chessboard transformed into an ancient killing formation, the game changing in an instant, evolving into a scene of birth and death of heaven and earth. Star pieces bombarded the ferocious god, not only eroding his divine power but also his soul and will. In the blink of an eye, tens of thousands of star pieces surrounded him. In the center of the chessboard, a phantom dragon formed from the grand scheme of the starry sky roared, its dragon might shaking the universe.
Despair filled the eyes of the ferocious god, his roar abruptly stopped, and he was swallowed whole by the illusory dragon. Even his soul could not escape and he was completely suppressed.
At this moment, in the distant sky, several powerful auras had already arrived. The roar of the Wrathful God, the exclamation of the Joyful God, and the stern shout of the Judgment God intertwined, rapidly approaching this place. Mingde stood on the starry chessboard, his clothes fluttering, his righteous aura soaring to the sky. His divine eyes swept across the distance, a calm smile playing on his lips. He felt his divine soul, which had grown to its limit, was now perfectly round and close at hand.