20demayo Chapter 2068 Chessboard World, Demon Pawn Settles
Chapter 2068 Chessboard World, Demon Pawn Settles
Chapter 2068 Chessboard World, Demon Pawn Settles
"Om..."
As Fu Xingjian conceded defeat, a soft golden beam of light descended from above the arena, completely enveloping Chen Fei's figure. At the same time, a clear message entered Chen Fei's consciousness through a beacon.
Victory! Basic reward: 100 Source Points.
Forcing your opponent to concede defeat grants an extra reward of 30 Origin Points.
If you win this match with a personal bet of one million Dao Crystals, you will receive one million Dao Crystals according to the odds.
Total obtained: 130 Source Points, 1 million Dao Crystals.
Sensing the increased number of source points in the beacon and the extra Dao Crystals within the Ruins of Return, Chen Fei smiled slightly. The duel had yielded considerable gains.
However, contrary to Chen Fei's satisfaction, the people in the surrounding spectator area all turned pale when they saw that Fu Xingjian had actually admitted defeat and left the field.
"They actually lost!"
"My origin!"
They all bet on Fu Xingjian to win, and seeing that it was Fu Xingjian, the former ninth on the Heavenly Yuan Ranking, who was making his appearance, many people placed bets at the maximum limit, hoping to make a fortune.
Now they've lost everything, a complete loss.
That's how the betting system works in the martial arts arena; for every winner, there's a loser. Today, they are the majority who lost money.
However, the atmosphere in the spectator area soon underwent a subtle shift. The loss was inevitable, and regret was useless; more people began to turn their attention back to the figure still standing on the life-or-death stage.
"Although he lost, Fu Xingjian's strength is not the problem; it's just that this person is stronger." A voice rang out.
"Indeed, this person's strength is terrifying. He overpowered others with his strength in a fair and square manner. Fu Xingjian's defeat was not unjust."
"I wonder what kind of lineage this is? How can it suppress the Devouring Heaven and Devouring Dao Demon Body in body refinement? Could it be a descendant of some reclusive ancient sect?"
"With such combat strength, why would they need to deliberately conceal all their personal information... coming from a small sect? That doesn't make sense!"
The people in the spectator area watched Chen Fei on the life-or-death stage and discussed among themselves. Their expressions gradually changed from the frustration of losing their bets to a strong curiosity about Chen Fei's identity, background, and lineage.
The fact that this cultivator could defeat the former ninth-ranked genius on the Heavenly Origin Ranking with such dignity only proves that the cultivator before him is even more monstrous.
Even if this cultivator may have cultivated for much longer than Fu Xingjian, strong combat power is strong combat power, which is an indisputable fact and has nothing to do with time.
Moreover, in the cultivation world, time and combat power are often not directly proportional. Some people cultivate for a thousand years and achieve nothing. Others cultivate for a hundred years and are already considered invincible among their peers.
Talent, opportunity, skill, and temperament... these factors are equally important.
However, if one lacks natural talent, no amount of time will allow them to improve their combat strength to such an extent.
On the stage of life and death, Chen Fei did not leave immediately.
With a thought, the Qian Yuan Halberd in his hand shimmered and transformed back into a puppet, quietly hovering beside him.
Then, he started betting again via the beacon. This time, he still bet one million Dao Crystals on winning.
The Dao Ruins Returning to Truth Body technique is already top-tier within the Tai Cang Realm inheritance of the Dan Chen Sect, but it's not strong enough for the wider world. Since the Dan Chen Sect doesn't offer any stronger body-refining inheritances, the only way to obtain a sufficiently powerful one is through the Martial Arts Arena of the Myriad Realms.
The Daoist Void Returning to Truth is a good starting point, but it is by no means the end.
"And the Heavenly Craftsmanship and Spirit Forging Chapter that I redeemed before is also quite ordinary."
Chen Fei thought of another aspect: "In the future, we will need to continuously upgrade the array puppets, and even refine more and stronger puppets. A good forging technique is essential and will also need to be exchanged."
Chen Fei is currently facing a significant shortage of Origin Points. Compared to top-tier 16th-tier inheritances and rare treasures that often possess hundreds or even thousands of Origin Points, Chen Fei's Origin Points are far from sufficient.
Therefore, the duel on the life-or-death stage must continue.
"Om..."
In less than three breaths, the void in front of the arena began to distort, and a new figure materialized and appeared opposite Chen Fei.
This was a tall, thin, middle-aged man with a sinister face, wearing a gray robe. He exuded a distinct aura of demonic cultivation, but compared to Fu Xingjian's domineering and all-consuming nature, he had a more sinister and treacherous feel.
Those in the spectator area carefully examined the newly appeared demonic cultivator, and some of them actually recognized his identity.
"Is that the Poisonous Scholar Liao Huagu? He has already won three consecutive victories in the early stage of the Tai Cang Realm. He is skilled in using poison and unpredictable movement techniques, making him a formidable opponent."
"Liao Huagu? I've heard of him. He's quite strong, but..."
This time, almost without hesitation, all the spectators placed their bets on Chen Fei's side.
Even Fu Xingjian, that former prodigy, couldn't defeat this mysterious powerhouse. How could Liao Huagu, a Tai Cang Realm cultivator with little fame and only three consecutive victories, possibly be a match for him?
In the last match, they misjudged Fu Xingjian by trusting him and lost everything. They won't make the same mistake again.
Chen Fei's absolute strength, which he just displayed, has won over the spectators, making them choose to believe in him without hesitation.
On the life-or-death stage, Liao Huagu looked at Chen Fei, who had a calm and composed demeanor, and the extraordinary-looking puppet beside Chen Fei. He also felt the strange gazes cast from the surrounding viewing area. His expression involuntarily turned somewhat ugly, and a sense of foreboding rose in his heart.
Liao Huagu's attention became highly focused as he intently looked at Chen Fei opposite him.
“Array cultivators…” Liao Huagu thought to himself, “The array cultivators who dare to come to the Martial Arts Arena of the Myriad Realms are all extremely powerful, otherwise they will only suffer losses themselves.”
Liao Huagu did not underestimate the opponent in the slightest, not only because of the strange atmosphere in the surrounding viewing area, but also because of the opponent's identity as a formation cultivator.
In the training grounds, underestimating your opponent often means death or heavy losses. He has survived until now thanks to this caution and prudence.
"Buzz!"
As the arena of life and death trembled deeply, the protective light barrier closed completely, and a new round of duels officially began.
Liao Huagu had no intention of testing him. Facing a powerful enemy whose background was unknown, seizing the initiative was crucial. He suddenly lifted his hands upwards.
On the chessboard, the demon's piece has been decided!
"Boom!"
In an instant, a huge, illusory chessboard appeared above his head.
The chessboard is dark gray all over, with countless glowing lines crisscrossing it. Each intersection shimmers with a ghostly green light, like chess pieces containing eerie power.
In the next instant, the rules of heaven and earth within a radius of thousands of miles centered on this giant chessboard underwent a strange change.
The air became viscous, the light began to distort, and even the infernal blood crystal ground beneath our feet faintly revealed crisscrossing grid-like shadows.
It was as if this area had been forcibly transformed into a giant chessboard in an instant. And Chen Fei and Liao Huagu were the players on this chessboard.
"Come play chess!" Liao Huagu shouted coldly.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
On the chessboard, the intersections that shimmered with eerie green light suddenly lit up, and a series of demonic figures, each ten feet tall, pitch black, with indistinct faces, but exuding a dense demonic aura and killing intent, appeared out of thin air.
These demonic figures, wielding various weapons, let out silent roars and charged towards Chen Fei like soldiers receiving orders. In an instant, demonic energy surged, and killing intent filled the air.
Chen Fei's brows twitched slightly. He looked up at the huge illusory chessboard on Liao Hua's head, then sensed the changes in the rules of the surrounding area that resembled chessboard squares. A look of understanding appeared in his eyes.
A set of rules formed based on one's own Dao domain, very similar to a formation, both alter the local rules of heaven and earth to create a battlefield that is advantageous to oneself.
This is a rather peculiar fighting style, where the opponent is drawn into one's own game, attacked with pieces, while the player remains hidden behind the scenes, controlling the overall situation.
If you don't understand the rules well enough, you can easily fall into a passive position and be worn down by an endless stream of pieces.
However, for Chen Fei, such an opponent is just right.
In his previous battle against Fu Xingjian, he mainly used the power of the Dao Ruins Returning to Truth Body, and was already familiar with its might. Now, he wanted to see just how powerful the Eternal Void Time Array Scripture could be.
"Om..."
The puppet took a step forward, and the vortexes on its chest and limb joints suddenly accelerated their rotation. At the same time, a pale silver halo containing complex spatial textures rapidly spread out from it, combining with Chen Fei's Heavenly Origin Technique to form a unique array domain.
This array's domain appears somewhat ethereal, but its spatial structure is exceptionally complex, as if it contains countless layers of folded space.
Even more miraculously, as this array domain unfolded, countless invisible nodes seemed to be lit up in the depths of the surrounding void, continuously emanating pure spiritual energy and the power of rules from heaven and earth, flowing into the array.
This is one of the core mysteries of the Eternal Void Array Scripture: setting up hidden sub-arrays in the void to leverage power across space.
Formation - Strangulation!
The next instant, the array domain surrounding the array puppet suddenly fluctuated violently.
Countless transparent blades formed from spatial power, stagnation halos created by time fluctuations, and purple lightning mixed with void magnetic power formed a violent torrent of attacks, like a storm, surging fiercely towards the oncoming demonic shadow.
"Boom!"
In an instant, the array attack clashed violently with hundreds of chess demons.
The transparent spatial blades sliced through the demonic shadow, producing a teeth-grinding tearing sound. The stagnation aura slowed and stiffened the demonic shadow's movements, while the purple elemental magnetic lightning directly struck the demonic shadow, erupting into dazzling sparks that continuously dispersed the demonic energy on its body.
However, those chess demons are not to be trifled with. They feel no pain and are not afraid of death. Even if their arms are severed or half of their bodies are shattered, as long as the corresponding chess piece on the board remains lit, they can quickly absorb the power of the board's rules, reform themselves, and pounce again.
Moreover, their attacks carried a strange, corrosive demonic energy that constantly eroded and eroded the power of the formation.
Liao Huagu stood beneath the chessboard, his hands moving constantly, as if playing an unseen grand game of chess.
He wanted to use the rules altered by the chessboard to forcibly suppress a portion of the puppet's Dao Domain, greatly reducing the power of its formation.
However, the moment his rule suppression touched the array puppet's array domain, it was immediately neutralized and resolved by the array puppet using an extremely ingenious composite array of spatial folding and temporal displacement.
It's like punching cotton; the force is dispersed and absorbed by countless layers of soft barriers.
"Hmm?" Liao Huagu's expression changed slightly. "His formation... is strange!"
Liao Huagu astutely discovered that the array power unleashed by the puppet far exceeded the capacity of its own Dao Domain. Moreover, the array operated with extreme smoothness and efficiency, as if supported by an inexhaustible reserve of power.
"Sub-array! He's set up a sub-array in the void to borrow strength!"
Liao Huagu quickly realized the key point and his heart skipped a beat; this was an extremely sophisticated array technique.
"Find it, cut it off!"
Liao Huagu's mind raced as he manipulated the rules of the chessboard, frantically scanning and probing the surrounding void, trying to find the hidden pieces and destroy them.
However, Liao Huagu soon discovered that the void surrounding the array puppet was shrouded by an extremely profound array power, forming one overlapping and ever-changing void maze after another.
Once his investigative power entered, it was as if it had sunk into a bottomless quagmire, either being led in the wrong direction or being constantly divided and weakened until it finally dissipated.
Liao Huagu was unable to locate the true sub-array within the various void mazes set up by the puppet array.
In the short span of time that Liao Huagu was trying to find the sub-formation, the situation on the battlefield had already changed significantly.
The puppets' attacks became increasingly fierce. Although the chess demons could regenerate continuously, their regeneration speed was clearly starting to lag behind their destruction speed.
Moreover, the range of the formation began to quietly expand, gradually encroaching upon and squeezing the area covered by the rules of the chessboard.
The people in the surrounding spectator area watched this scene in astonishment, each with a strange expression on their face.
It wasn't that the battle scene before them was stronger or more intense than the previous one when Chen Fei overpowered Fu Xingjian; on the contrary, this one seemed more refined, lacking the brutal violence of punches landing and spears clashing.
What they didn't expect was that this cultivator who had just suppressed the former ninth-ranked cultivator on the Heavenly Origin Ranking with absolute power actually had such profound attainments in the Dao of Arrays.
Watching the puppet array smoothly set up its formations and engage in offense and defense, steadily suppressing Liao Huagu's rather troublesome chessboard demonic art, everyone felt a strong sense of unreality.
It's not that body refinement and array formation cannot be cultivated at the same time, but once you reach the Tai Cang Realm, every path is as vast as the ocean. Under normal circumstances, being able to cultivate one of them to the top level is already enough to make you an unparalleled genius.
At this level, time and energy become extremely precious. To delve deeper into body refinement, one must constantly comprehend the principles of power.
To cultivate the Dao of Arrays requires expending mental energy to deduce countless array patterns and comprehend the laws of space. Both are vast undertakings, and attempting to cultivate both often means failing to achieve success in either, ultimately leading to mediocrity.
Now, watching Chen Fei effortlessly set up the formation on the stage, they were even more surprised than when they saw Chen Fei overpower Fu Xingjian earlier.
His immense power can be attributed to his exceptional talent and top-notch skills.
To achieve such success on two completely different and extremely difficult paths simultaneously is beyond the realm of ordinary geniuses; this is truly a prodigy among prodigies.
The contest on the life-or-death stage lasted for more than twenty breaths.
The two sides traded blows, with the chess master constantly launching attacks and the formations changing unpredictably.
Liao Huagu used all his skills, even at the cost of sacrificing his own demonic energy, to forcibly activate the chessboard and summon even more powerful general and marshal-level demonic shadows in an attempt to break the stalemate.
However, the overall situation clearly shows that the puppet formation has gained the upper hand, and this is becoming increasingly evident.
The array puppets became increasingly proficient in using the Eternal Void Time Array Codex. Although the power provided by those void sub-arrays was not inexhaustible, it was enduring and stable.
In contrast, controlling such a large chessboard and demonic shadows consumed a great deal of his divine soul and demonic energy.
Finally, around the twenty-fifth breath, the array aura cast by the puppet completely enveloped Liao Huagu and the chessboard phantom above his head.
Countless transparent spatial chains emerged from the void and coiled around the chessboard.
Layers of pale gray stagnation force fields stacked upon each other, slowing down Liao Huagu's movements and thoughts. Purple magnetic lightning nets intertwined to form a cage, blocking all his escape routes.
"cut!"
Liao Huagu roared in frustration, desperately stirring the chessboard in a final counterattack. But as those powerful demonic shadows approached the core of the formation, they were either swallowed up by the suddenly appearing spatial rifts or rapidly aged and disintegrated by the accelerating flow of time.
No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't turn the tide.
Sensing the rapidly depleting demonic energy within his body and the waves of weakness emanating from the depths of his soul, Liao Huagu gave a bitter smile. He knew he had lost, and he accepted it wholeheartedly.
The opponent's mastery of formations is too strong!
"I... admit defeat!" Liao Huagu had no choice but to admit defeat.
A flash of white light, and his figure vanished.
"Om..."
As Liao Huagu's surrender disappeared, the familiar golden pillar of light descended once more, and Chen Fei gained another 130 Source Points.
He did not leave and continued the life-or-death duel on the arena.
In the third match, Chen Fei's opponent was a demonic cultivator skilled in fire-based magic. Chen Fei used a puppet array combined with the Eternal Spacetime Array, employing spatial confinement and magnetic disturbance to easily break through the demon's fire domain, forcing the demon to admit defeat.
In the fifth match… he encountered a body cultivator with astonishing defensive power, but compared to Fu Xingjian, he was undoubtedly inferior. The array puppet directly used arrays to trap him layer by layer, and finally, after more than thirty breaths, it broke through his defenses, forcing him to admit defeat.
The ninth match... the opponent is an extremely strange demonic cultivator who is skilled in mental attacks and spells.
In this battle, Chen Fei simultaneously used the Undying True Light Mirror to stabilize his soul and the Eternal Void Time Array to create an interference formation. After a fierce struggle, he finally located the opponent's true form and broke through it in one fell swoop.
However, after the ninth match, Chen Fei did not continue but chose to leave the arena.
It wasn't that Chen Fei was physically exhausted or had consumed a lot of energy, but rather that the puppet had undergone so many fierce battles, especially the last few against strong enemies. Its body had developed some minor cracks, and the key array patterns had also worn down, requiring repair and nurturing.
"The spiritual materials and the 'Tiangong Kaiwu Forging Spirit Chapter' I used before were indeed a bit too ordinary," Chen Fei thought to himself as he checked the condition of the array puppet.
Faced with increasingly stronger opponents and potentially more intense battles in the future, the materials and forging techniques of the array puppets need to be further improved.
Seeing Chen Fei leave directly, everyone in the spectator area showed expressions of regret.
"Why did you leave? We were really enjoying the show!"
"You're really getting into it, aren't you!"
Because Chen Fei has concealed all his personal information, whether they will be able to face him again depends entirely on luck.
Although the number of cultivators in the Tai Cang Realm within the training grounds is not as high as that of those at the fifteenth level, it is still considerable. The chances of encountering a specific individual amidst countless battles are extremely low.