Chapter 550: Immortal Chess Game

From the lips of the Immortal Fairy, Lu Yang had long known of the Celestial Emperor Ying Tian, well-acquainted with his various deeds from before his rise to fame until after his ascension to immortality.

Yet, to stand face-to-face with the Celestial Emperor Ying Tian like this was truly a first.

The Celestial Emperor Ying Tian wore a light blue robe with wide sleeves, its lapels embroidered with patterns of ocean waves; he was of magnificent bearing and extraordinary charisma, his molten-gold pupils lending him a martial and majestic aura, much like a sovereign ruler.

“According to the Immortal Fairy, it was the Celestial Emperor Ying Tian and the Celestial Qilin playing chess, so does that mean the one sitting opposite is the Celestial Qilin?”

Lu Yang looked toward the other chess player.

Atop the Celestial Qilin’s head rested a pair of coral horns, while red scales dusted his cheeks and the backs of his hands; his eyes, resembling both dragon and tiger, exuded a fierce and ominous aura, which was not a sign of incomplete transformation, but rather where his dignity as a Qilin resided.

He was the unique Qilin of the world, and taking human form was merely for the convenience of communicating with the other four celestials; since that was the case, there was no need to become fully human, and retaining his Qilin characteristics was his pride.

The Celestial Qilin wore a black robe, and upon closer inspection, one would find the Pattern of Ten Thousand Beasts embroidered upon it—a garment only he, the Celestial Qilin who reigned as the immortal of all beasts, was qualified to wear.

“A reflection of history?”

Lu Yang was startled; this was almost exactly identical to the story recounted by the Elder of Lineage Inheritance, of wandering into a celestial realm by mistake and witnessing two immortals engaged in a game.

Although immortals stood at the apex of the cultivation system, it was not to the point where their every move left behind a reflection of history, otherwise, would the entire world not be able to see immortals?

The reason a reflection could be left behind here was that this game involved a century of time for three immortals, and their might had interfered with space.

“Wait, that is not right either; the Elder of Lineage Inheritance said Master Tiankui only saw the immortals, but their faces were blurred, so how can I see them with absolute clarity?”

“Could it be that I have some connection with these two immortals...”

“Of course it is because this immortal is present.” The loud and careless voice of the Immortal Fairy rang out, and Lu Yang turned his head to see the yellow-skirted Immortal Fairy appearing right beside him, her body floating slightly in the air, level with Lu Yang's height.

This was a reflection of history, so her appearance would not be discovered by Qiu Jin'an and the others.

“Fairy, you are here too?”

On second thought, Lu Yang realized it made sense; if he could see the reflection of history, there was no reason the Immortal Fairy could not.

“What a thing to say, without this immortal, could you see these two wretched chess players? It is because this immortal resonated with the reflection of history they left behind that this current scene exists.” The Immortal Fairy pointed and gesticulated at the Celestial Emperor Ying Tian and the Celestial Qilin.

The moment the Immortal Fairy appeared, the reverence Lu Yang had just felt toward the immortals instantly vanished into thin air.

“What happened with Master Tiankui then? Did he just happen to catch the final re-enactment of the historical reflection?”

“Presumably, it was orchestrated by the Celestial Emperor Ying Tian.”

“The Celestial Emperor Ying Tian?” Lu Yang’s expression grew bizarre; saying this right in front of the Celestial Emperor Ying Tian seemed rather inappropriate.

The Immortal Fairy cared nothing for such things; never mind a mere illusion, even if the real Celestial Emperor Ying Tian came, she would dare to say it.

“You have one thing reversed; it was not because Master Tiankui could see the historical reflection that he comprehended the Five Elements Combat Method, but because he was capable of comprehending the Five Elements Combat Method that he was qualified to see the historical reflection.”

“The fact that no one saw the historical reflection afterward was not because the reflection faded, but because later generations could comprehend nothing from the chessboard, and letting that get out would not elevate their prestige.”

“...”

Once again, Lu Yang felt the profound and painstaking calculations of the Celestial Emperor Ying Tian.

The Celestial Emperor Ying Tian and the Celestial Qilin continued their game, and with each piece that fell, a soft click resounded.

Merely listening to the sound, Lu Yang felt a sensation of spiritual cleansing, as though his soul were being sublimated.

“Playing chess so quickly?”

At the speed these two were playing, they could last a hundred years?

Even twenty minutes would be a stretch.

“What interest is there in watching these two wretched chess players play? This immortal speeded up the process.” The Immortal Fairy said lazily.

Who would be like that fool Tiankui, watching a chess game for a hundred years.

“So you two are playing chess here, I have finally found you.” A third ancient celestial voice came, precisely that of the Nine-Fold Celestial, the creator of Gobang.

The Nine-Fold Celestial was plainly dressed, wearing hemp clothes and a straw raincoat as he walked in dripping wet, as if it were raining outside at that time; he held an axe in his hand and carried freshly chopped firewood on his back, the very image of an old woodcutting peasant.

The only difference was that the firewood he carried was dry.

“Oh, is this not the parasol wood? Did the Celestial of Time tell you to chop it?” The Celestial Emperor Ying Tian smiled.

“You two still have the nerve to speak; the Celestial of Time asked me to call you two to eat, yet you two hid here to play chess, and several years have passed already, yet you still have not finished!”

“What is the hurry? It is rare for the two of us to have a chance to decide victory and defeat, so shouldn't we have a proper match? Every step must be pondered over, do you understand?”

“Go and eat first, the two of us will arrive shortly.”

The Nine-Fold Celestial curled his lip; shortly, at the speed you two play chess, fifty years would not be enough to finish.

And asking if I understand, Gobang was created by me, so you two understand it better than I do?

“Forget it, I will watch from here, lest you finish one game and start a second.” The Nine-Fold Celestial found himself a reason to remain, comfortably settling down to watch the game.

“The Celestial of Time?” Lu Yang furrowed his brows, murmuring to himself; how could it be the Celestial of Time who told the Nine-Fold Celestial to chop wood, and told the Nine-Fold Celestial to call the Celestial Emperor Ying Tian and the Celestial Qilin to eat?

Should it not be the Immortal Fairy?

Lu Yang was suddenly startled, coming to a realization.

Indeed, the ancient mastermind had used unknowable means to erase all traces of the Immortal Fairy, and even historical reflections were no exception, destined to be erased and replaced.

For instance, Master Tiankui might have learned of the Immortal Fairy’s existence from the historical reflection.

Directly erasing the Immortal Fairy was too difficult and prone to logical loopholes that others might notice; the best method was to replace her with an existence of the same tier.

Thus appeared the scene in the dialogue where the Immortal Fairy was replaced by the Celestial of Time.

However, judging from how Master Tiankui did not know who these chess-playing and wood-chopping immortals were, he likely could not understand the ancient language.

Lu Yang had the guidance of the Immortal Fairy to learn the ancient language, whereas the cultivation world had experienced a historical fault line, making it hard enough just to translate the ancient language, let alone speak or understand it by ear.

Lu Yang used his peripheral vision to stealthily observe the Immortal Fairy’s reaction, only to see the Immortal Fairy grinding her teeth in anger: “Which bastard is it that covered up this immortal’s existence!”

As she spoke, she even loosened up her body, prepared at any moment to have a grand battle with the mastermind behind the scenes.

“Who is it!” The Nine-Fold Celestial suddenly shouted, turning his head to stare intently at the position of Lu Yang and the Immortal Fairy.

Lu Yang even felt that for a fleeting instant, his gaze locked with that of the Nine-Fold Celestial.

Spurred by the Nine-Fold Celestial's shout, the Celestial Emperor Ying Tian and the Celestial Qilin also snapped to alertness, looking toward where Lu Yang and the Immortal Fairy stood.

Though they could see no figures, they could vaguely sense that someone was here!

The three of them were avoiding the Immortal Fairy, which was precisely when they felt guilty; at this moment, with someone hiding in the shadows, their reaction was naturally intense.

“No, with the strength of the three of us, if someone were hiding, how could we fail to see them? Even the Celestial of Time could not achieve this. Could it be that the Celestial of Time is using the Time Dao Fruit to look at us from the future?”