221: The world is like a chess game

After the two left, Gu Liangyuan, in a trance, saw a phantom chess board again.

The Chess Scripture says: Golden corner, silver side, grass belly.

Mo Emperor placed his black pieces, occupying two-fifths of the Central Continent's territory.

He, holding white, placed two pieces on the edge of the world, in a corner of the Eastern Continent.

One piece was Supreme, and one was Jade Pool.

The two echoed each other from afar, and although they seemed insignificant compared to the vast Ancient Mo.

They still had Qi protecting them, unmoving like mountains!

"Next, let's see how you make your move."

After muttering a sentence, Gu Liangyuan turned and headed towards the Enlightenment Tower.

The development of the two forces could not be achieved overnight; Gu Liangyuan had arranged everything that needed to be arranged.

What Gu Liangyuan needed to do now was to improve his strength as much as possible, in preparation for the upcoming Cult Leader Immortal Assembly.

Of course, Gu Liangyuan was not going to cultivate, but to complete his idea within the Jade Pool Forbidden Area.

To manifest more of his Primordial Spirit, so that all Dao fruits would have a vessel to bear them.

Taking a step, he arrived at the highest level of the Enlightenment Tower.

He instructed the artifact spirit:

"If anyone comes looking for me, wake me up."

"If no one comes looking, wake me up three days before the Cult Leader Immortal Assembly."

After the artifact spirit received the order, Gu Liangyuan took out the True Enlightenment Cushion and sat cross-legged on it.

Then he took out the Enlightenment Tea Leaves, brewed the tea, and placed it on the tea table beside him.

All the Enlightenment items he had obtained from Xuan Hu that day were piled up next to him.

After doing all this, Gu Liangyuan's mind immersed itself in the Taiqing Immortal Scripture within his Sea of Consciousness.

Gu Liangyuan never doubted his Comprehension Ability, but in the past, it had always been passive enlightenment; actively comprehending was a first for him.

Coupled with the fact that the Taiqing Immortal Scripture's Rank was too high, Gu Liangyuan had to be extremely focused.

He was also unsure whether he would succeed.

Gu Liangyuan began his closed-door cultivation journey, and Song Rentou and Elder Sha also went about their separate ways.

After leaving the Supreme Sacred Ground, Song Rentou headed straight for the teleportation array.

Elder Sha found Tianyi Old Man's residence on the summit of Forget-Love Peak.

This was Elder Sha's first time here, and Tianyi Old Man's residence was completely different from what he had imagined.

He had thought that the dwelling of an Undergoing Tribulation mighty figure would surely be of the utmost luxury, but to his surprise, there was only a simple thatched hut before him.

At this moment, Tianyi Old Man and Chess Maniac were playing chess under an old pine tree in front of the thatched hut.

During this period, under Tianyi Old Man's guidance, Chess Maniac's chess skills had improved by leaps and bounds, and his cultivation had also Advanced from Void Refining Middle Stage to Late Stage.

Seeing Elder Sha, Tianyi Old Man only vaguely knew that the person in front of him was an Elder of Forget-Love Peak, but he didn't know his specific name or what he did.

So he spoke: "You are..."

Before Tianyi Old Man could ask, Elder Sha proactively spoke:

"Senior, my surname is Sha."

"My parents wanted me to be a paragon of benevolence and righteousness, so they named me Renfan."

Tianyi Old Man laughed heartily:

"Elder Sha, Song Rentou, both are good names."

Elder Sha also smiled along: "Senior Brother Song was named Rentou because his parents wanted him to distinguish himself, and they weren't very cultured."

After laughing, Tianyi Old Man spoke:

"Tell me, what did the Peak Master send you to me for?"

Elder Sha gave a thumbs-up: "Senior is indeed a brilliant strategist."

Saying that, he handed the half-scroll of the Chess Scripture in his hand to Tianyi Old Man:

"Junior Martial Uncle asked me to tell Senior that I trouble you to descend the mountain and protect the core Disciples of Forget-Love Peak."

Tianyi Old Man took the Chess Scripture, and with a sweep of his Divine Sense, its contents were fully revealed.

He laughed heartily: "The Peak Master is truly generous, good, I'll go now."

Having said that, without waiting for Elder Sha to reply, he vanished in a flash.

Only Chess Maniac and Elder Sha were left, staring at each other.

After bidding farewell to Chess Maniac, Elder Sha returned to the Elder Hall and began his daily routine.

At this time, dozens of Elders were seated in the Elder Hall.

Seeing Elder Sha enter, Elder Wang spoke, asking:

"Old Sha, what's going on with you? You're only just arriving at this time. Didn't we agree to have the Elder meeting today?"

Someone else chimed in: "That's right, where's Old Song?"

Elder Sha said: "Today, the Peak Master called us to do something, so we're late."

Upon hearing this, the Elders all cast envious glances at Elder Sha.

The Peak Master was very generous when he acted; those who followed him for a long time would more or less receive rewards.

Although their current treatment was already the best among the Elders of the Seven Peaks, who would dislike having more spiritual items?

Someone couldn't help but say: "Look at your radiant face, you must have received a reward."

None of the Elders asked Gu Liangyuan what he had asked them to do; they all knew their place and never asked about things they shouldn't.

They knew that their current treatment and status were not due to their own superb strength, but because of Gu Liangyuan.

If Gu Liangyuan had not been nostalgic and kept them, they would probably be muddling along, waiting to die, in some corner of the Supreme Sacred Ground at this moment.

So they were usually extra cautious, afraid of causing trouble and messing up Gu Liangyuan's affairs.

Among them, Elder Sha's feelings were the deepest; he had a mixed Spiritual Root of water, fire, metal, and wood.

It took him thirty years to advance from a Utility Disciple to an outer Disciple.

It took him another sixty years to successfully achieve Foundation Establishment from an outer Disciple and enter the inner sect.

He barely managed to enter when his Lifespan was about to run out.

It took another one hundred thirty years to form a Golden Core and become an elite Disciple.

He used every means he had to barely reach Nascent Soul.

Elder Sha knew that Nascent Soul was the limit for his mixed Spiritual Root; with no hope for his Dao, he then stayed in the outer sect and became an Elder.

He had thought that being transferred to Forget-Love Peak by Lü Qingmei also meant muddling along and waiting to die.

But he never expected that Gu Liangyuan would achieve enlightenment overnight, and he himself directly became an old-timer of Forget-Love Peak.

During this period, Gu Liangyuan had supported these old-timers multiple times.

Relying on Gu Liangyuan's rewards, his mixed Spiritual Root, whose Dao was already exhausted, actually Advanced further and successfully achieved Soul Transformation!

All of this was the Peak Master's grace!

All sorts of thoughts flashed through Elder Sha's mind. Seeing everyone looking at him, Elder Sha felt a desire to show off to these old friends, so he flipped his hand and took out the immortal jade bestowed by Gu Liangyuan.

Sensing the Immortal Qi within the immortal jade, Elder Wang said sourly:

"Although the Immortal Qi in this immortal jade is only one-fifth of an ordinary immortal jade, it can still be exchanged for two hundred thousand Top-Grade Spirit Stones."

"Two hundred thousand! That's fifty years of my monthly salary."

The other people also cast envious glances.

Elder Sha smiled triumphantly and put away the immortal jade:

"Hehe, after the Cult Leader Immortal Assembly, our Forget-Love Peak will become the main branch of the two Holy Lands, and our monthly salary will definitely increase then."

Upon hearing this, everyone's faces also showed smiles.

Yes, Forget-Love Peak was thriving now, and all these things would come in the future.

Elder Wang spoke:

"Forget it, let's not talk about this. Since Old Song isn't here, I'll take the lead."

"The main reason for calling everyone together this time is the issue of recruiting new Disciples."

"Speaking of which, Junior Martial Uncle truly has good foresight. Ever since Junior Sister Bai Qing took over the finances, our Forget-Love Peak's industry income changes day by day, almost doubling."

"I heard she's recently researching something called a bank..."

Elder Sha added: "Bank."

Elder Wang nodded: "Right, right, that's it. It's similar to a money house, but more Advanced than a money house."

"They say Junior Martial Uncle taught her that if this bank can be established, it can gather the wealth of the world for our own use."

"But the prerequisite is that our Supreme Sacred Ground's prestige must be reached. Currently, we don't have the conditions yet, so she plans to experiment within our own Ranks first."

"After the Cult Leader Immortal Assembly, it will be promoted on a large scale."

Elder Wang Bunsan sighed with emotion: "I don't know how Junior Martial Uncle's brain works; he can come up with such profound methods."

Zhao Busi echoed his cousin: "That's right, I heard Junior Martial Uncle recently improved the explosive pills again and wants to create some kind of war cannon."

Elder Wang lightly coughed: "These are all matters for later. Let's continue to discuss the recruitment of Disciples."

...