Chapter 677
The sedan chair stopped in front of the main entrance of the academy. The veil automatically opened to the sides, revealing a figure inside - a man who looked to be in his early thirties, wearing a purple robe embroidered with the stars of the celestial sphere, with a handsome face but a somewhat sickly paleness. The most eye-catching thing was his eyes, which seemed to have a Milky Way flowing in their dark pupils, so deep that it was frightening.
"The leader of Tianji Pavilion, Mo Tianji, is here to pay a visit to Qixia Academy." The man's voice was as gentle as jade, but it carried a majesty that could not be refused.
Fu Shaoping and Nangong Yue saluted at the same time. The dean walked slowly from the back, his white beard fluttering: "Master Mo has come from afar, I am sorry for not welcoming you in person."
Mo Tianji smiled and walked down from the sedan chair slowly. He seemed to be walking calmly, but in fact, each step was in line with some mysterious rhythm, as if he was walking on invisible star tracks. "I heard that Qixia Academy has become famous recently, and even Yaowang Valley has fallen into trouble with your academy. Mo came here to congratulate you."
The dean's eyes gleamed, "Pavilion Master Mo is well-informed. The news about Medicine King Valley has reached Tianji Pavilion in just three days?"
"There is nothing in the world of cultivation that Tianji Pavilion doesn't know." Mo Tianji chuckled, but his eyes fell on Nangong Yue, "Especially the news about the Nangong family."
Nangong Yue felt an inexplicable chill, but her expression remained unchanged: "Master Mo, thank you for your praise."
Everyone moved to the main hall of the academy. After the tea was served, Mo Tianji got straight to the point: "To be honest, I came here to make a deal with your academy." He waved his hand, and the disciple behind him immediately brought a gilded wooden box, "This is the intelligence support of Tianji Pavilion for ten years, in exchange for a look at your academy's Xuanji formation diagram, how about it?"
The hall was instantly silent. The intelligence support from the Tianji Pavilion was priceless, but the Xuanji Formation Diagram was the most precious treasure of the academy. The dean was silent, but Nangong Yue said, "The Xuanji Formation Diagram is the foundation of the academy. I'm sorry that I can't obey your order."
Mo Tianji seemed to have expected this, and took a sip of tea calmly: "Why not try another approach - a chess game to decide the winner. If I win, I'll let you take a look at the formation map; if your institute wins, I'll provide you with intelligence support for ten years, free of charge."
As soon as these words came out, everyone in the room was shocked. The chess game of the heart is different from ordinary chess games. It is one of the most dangerous contests in the world of cultivation. Both sides use their spiritual consciousness as chess pieces and their Tao heart as the board. The loser will suffer damage to his Tao heart at best, or even complete destruction of his cultivation at worst.
The dean looked solemn: "Master Mo, this proposal is unacceptable."
"I accept the challenge." Nangong Yue suddenly spoke, her voice as cold as broken jade.
Fu Shaoping turned his head to look at her, his eyes full of worry. Nangong Yue gave him a reassuring look, then looked directly at Mo Tianji: "But the conditions need to be changed - if I win, in addition to ten years of intelligence support, Tianji Pavilion also needs to answer three questions of mine."
Mo Tianji's eyes flashed with surprise, and then he laughed: "Interesting! The girl from the Nangong family is really courageous. Okay, I promise you."
The dean wanted to dissuade him, but Nangong Yue stood up and saluted: "Please help me, dean. I will keep the Xuanji formation diagram, and I will bear this responsibility."
Seeing that she had made up her mind, the dean sighed and said, "That's fine. But remember, the game of conscience is extremely dangerous. If you lose, admit defeat immediately."
"Disciple understands."
Soon, a bronze chessboard was set up in the center of the academy square. This chessboard was said to be a relic from ancient times and was called "Xingluo". The 19 vertical and horizontal lines on it were not engraved marks, but flowing starlight. There was a cushion on each side of the chessboard, and Nangong Yue and Mo Tianji sat opposite each other.
The onlookers were arranged to stay ten feet away, and only Fu Shaoping and the dean were allowed to watch the game from close up. Mo Tianji took out a handful of crystal clear jade chess pieces from his sleeve and said, "Miss Nangong, please choose the first move."
Nangong Yue shook her head and took out three ancient copper coins from her waist: "I'll use this."
Mo Tianji raised his eyebrows and said, "The Nangong family's Zhantian copper coins? Interesting." He took back the jade chess piece and said, "Then let's get started."
As the two men closed their eyes at the same time, the chessboard suddenly became bright with stars. The onlookers only saw the two men sitting still, but in fact their consciousness had entered the chessboard space and started a dangerous contest.
-
Nangong Yue felt a flash before her eyes, and she was already in a vast starry sky. Under her feet was a criss-crossing chessboard of stars, and across from her was the looming figure of Mo Tianji.
"The first level of the chess game of self-examination is to understand one's mind and see one's nature." Mo Tianji's voice came from all directions.
Countless images suddenly emerged in front of Nangong Yue: the scene of learning skills in the Nangong family when she was young, the frustration when she failed to refine the elixir for the first time, and the shock when she found out that her father was secretly practicing evil arts. These deepest memories in her heart were materialized one by one, turning into chess pieces falling on the chessboard.
"I see." Nangong Yue understood. The first thing to test in the chess game is the heart. If there is a flaw in the heart, the opponent will immediately catch it. She took a deep breath and threw three copper coins into the air.
The copper coin fell, just blocking the most vulnerable part of those memory scenes. At the same time, she also saw some memory fragments of Mo Tianji - a thin boy practicing astrology in a dark room, and was whipped for making a wrong prediction.
"It turns out Pavilion Master Mo also has a past that he cannot bear to look back on." Nangong Yue said softly.
Mo Tianji's voice was a little colder: "The little girl is sharp-tongued. The second level - densely packed with stars!"
In an instant, the starry sky changed, and countless stars turned into chess pieces and pressed towards Nangong Yue. Each chess piece carried a heavy pressure, as if to crush her consciousness. Nangong Yue felt a splitting headache, but she still maintained the seal posture, and the three copper coins rotated around her body, dissolving most of the offensive.
"Using copper coins as the center of the formation, is this a variation of the Xuanji formation?" Mo Tianji snorted coldly, "The third level - the secrets of heaven are unpredictable!"
The chessboard space changed again. This time, Nangong Yue found herself standing in a chaos, with various voices coming from all directions:
"Do you think you can really defend the Xuanji formation?"
"The Nangong family has long been in decline, you are just trying to survive"
"Your mother did that because she didn't know her own limitations."
Nangong Yue was shocked. Her mother's story was the deepest pain in her heart. When she was ten years old, her mother disappeared after going out to look for elixirs and never returned.
"Oh, I found the weakness." Mo Tianji said with pride, "Why did your mother leave? Don't you want to know?"
Nangong Yue suppressed her inner turmoil and spun the coin faster: "The chess game is a contest of spiritual consciousness. Why does Pavilion Master Mo play such a trick?"
"This is not a trick, it's the truth." Mo Tianji's figure emerged in the chaos, "Your mother, Nangong Qing, went to investigate the remnants of the old man Jinchan, but...
“Shut up!” Nangong Yue shouted, and three copper coins suddenly burst into dazzling light, forming a triangular formation in the air, “Xuan Ji’s first transformation - Fixed Star!”
Wherever the light reaches, the chaos retreats. Mo Tianji is slightly surprised: "It can actually break my 'Heavenly Secret Chaos'? Not bad. Then... the fourth level!"
The game continued to escalate, and the two sides had fought for more than fifty rounds. From the outside, the starlight on the chessboard became brighter and brighter, even forming a small vortex. Fu Shaoping clenched his fists, cold sweat oozing from his forehead - Nangong Yue's face had begun to turn pale, which was a sign of excessive consumption of spiritual consciousness.
In the chess game space, Nangong Yue has indeed reached her limit. Every move of Mo Tianji is exquisite, attacking and saving. Her three copper coins have cracked, and her consciousness is oppressed by a heavy burden. "Give up, little girl." Mo Tianji's voice is full of praise, "You have been able to hold on until now, which is amazing. Hand over the formation map, and Tianji Pavilion will not treat Qixia Academy unfairly."
A trace of blood oozed from the corner of Nangong Yue's mouth, but she smiled: "Master Mo, do you know why the Xuanji formation is called 'Xuanji'?"
Without waiting for the other party to answer, she suddenly pressed three broken copper coins on three specific positions on the chessboard: "Because the real Xuanji formation is not in the picture, but in——"
"The 72nd move, Xuanji's martial arts performance!"
In an instant, the three copper coins shone brightly and turned into three dazzling stars. All the positions of the chess pieces on the board suddenly connected in a line, forming an extremely large array pattern. This pattern continued to rotate and expand, swallowing up all the killing games that Mo Tianji had set up before!
"This is..." Mo Tianji's expression finally changed, "You actually integrated the Xuanji formation into the chess game?!"
Nangong Yue endured the severe pain and stood up straight: "Not bad. Seventy-two moves in a row, each move is a part of the formation. Pavilion Master Mo, you lose."
The chessboard space began to collapse. Mo Tianji groaned, and a trickle of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth. Outside, the starlight on the bronze chessboard suddenly exploded, and Mo Tianji's body swayed and almost fell down; Nangong Yue fell backwards and was supported by Fu Shaoping.
"Nangong Yue!" Fu Shaoping anxiously checked her pulse and found that it was weak but still stable. He felt relieved.
Mo Tianji took a breath and slowly opened his eyes. He looked at Nangong Yue who was supported by Fu Shaoping with a complicated expression: "What a great 'Xuan Ji Martial Arts' Qixia Academy, it really lives up to its reputation."
Nangong Yue raised her head weakly but firmly: "Master Mo, do you still admit your mistake?"
Mo Tianji laughed, and there was a hint of joy in his laughter: "Of course I admit it! Ten years of intelligence support from Tianji Pavilion, plus three questions, waiting for you at any time." He stood up and looked at Nangong Yue deeply, "Nangong family girl, you are more courageous than your mother."
After saying this, he turned around and left without waiting for a response. The Tianji Pavilion disciple placed the gilded wooden box on the ground and followed the Pavilion Master away.
-
Three days later, Nangong Yue finally recovered from the loss of her spiritual consciousness. Fu Shaoping had been guarding her bedside, and when he saw her wake up, the worry in his eyes disappeared: "You are taking too much risk."
Nangong Yue forced a smile: "It's worth it." She looked at the gilded wooden box on the table, "Have you seen it?"
Fu Shaoping nodded, his expression solemn: "The information is very detailed, especially about the remnants of the Golden Toad." He hesitated, "but some of the content is about your mother."
Nangong Yue propped herself up and said, "Tell me."
Fu Shaoping sighed and took out a secret letter from the box: "It says that your mother Nangong Qing tracked down the remnants of the Golden Toad to the snowy plains of the northern border fifteen years ago and discovered a shocking secret - the old man Golden Toad may still be alive, or in other words, exists in some form. She disappeared after sending back this message."
Nangong Yue clenched the corner of the quilt tightly with her fingers, her knuckles turning white: "What else?"
"What's even stranger is..." Fu Shaoping frowned, "Intelligence shows that the Nangong family seems to have some kind of connection with Old Man Jinchan. The specific content has been encrypted and requires a special method to decipher."
Nangong Yue was silent for a long time, and suddenly said: "Three questions. I still have two left." She looked at Fu Shaoping, "Why do you think Mo Tianji gave up so easily?"
Fu Shaoping pondered and said, "I find it strange too. With his strength, even if you used the 'Xuan Ji Martial Arts', he shouldn't have been defeated so easily."
"Unless he did it on purpose." Nangong Yue's eyes flashed with a gleam of light, "He deliberately lost to me and deliberately left this information. He wants to lead us to discover something."
Fu Shaoping stood up suddenly: "What do you mean"
"Old Man Jinchan, Nangong Family, Tianji Pavilion," Nangong Yue said slowly, "There must be some connection between these three that we don't know about." She threw back the quilt and got out of bed, "I need to see the dean and check the ancient records of the academy."
Fu Shaoping hesitated to speak, and finally just nodded: "I'll go with you."
The two walked out of the room and found that the academy was unusually lively. After asking, they learned that since the news of Nangong Yue's victory over Mo Tianji spread, there was an endless stream of people coming to learn from him, and Qixia Academy became famous.
But Nangong Yue and Fu Shaoping knew very well that the real storm had just begun.
Deep in the bamboo forest behind the Qixia Academy, the crisp sound of metal colliding was heard from a secluded courtyard.
Fu Shaoping pushed open the gate silently, and the scene in front of him made his pupils shrink slightly - Aning, who was only ten years old, was standing in the middle of the yard, with seven or eight Mohist mechanical parts floating around her. Those metal parts assembled and disassembled themselves in the air, and changed their shape as if they had life with the slight movement of the girl's fingers.
"How is this possible?" Fu Shaoping muttered to himself. These mechanisms were defective products he brought back from the black market three days ago. He originally planned to study them and teach the children how to identify them, but he didn't expect that Aning could control them without any instruction.
Aning was concentrating on watching the gears spinning in the air, not noticing anyone approaching. Her face was full of concentration, and her dark eyes reflected the cold light of metal. Suddenly, a copper component with a strange shape seemed to lose control and shot towards her face.
"Be careful!" Fu Shaoping took a step forward, unsheathed his sword, and accurately knocked the component away.
Aning finally woke up from her dream, and the mechanical parts floating around her suddenly fell to the ground with a clang. She looked at Fu Shaoping timidly: "Fu, Mr. Fu, I didn't mean it."
Fu Shaoping sheathed his sword and squatted down to look her in the eye: "When did you find out that you could control the mechanism like this?"
"It was the night before last." Aning twisted the corner of her clothes, "I dreamed of many strange figures. When I woke up and saw these parts, I felt like they were talking to me."
Fu Shaoping frowned slightly. Aning was the most taciturn of the twelve orphans. He rarely communicated with others, but he showed an unusual interest in various mechanisms. He originally thought it was just a child's curiosity, but now it seems that is not the case.
"Take a rest first. I'll teach you these mechanisms another day." Fu Shaoping said gently, but his heart was already in turmoil. He needed to discuss this matter with Nangong Yue immediately.
——(End of this chapter)