Chapter 2688: The Dao's Demonstration

In the quiet bamboo grove, such words echoed from time to time, with the pauses growing shorter.

"Brother Ye, you've lost."

"Again."

In the past few days, it seemed the Sheng Ti had reached the lowest point in his life. He lost every time, and he lost badly. The Hun Dun Ti was like an insurmountable chasm, a heavenly trial he couldn't overcome.

"Great Emperor! Show some spirit!"

"My heavens' Sheng Ti? My human realm's war god?"

"Daddy, Ling Er misses you."

The Feng Shen Bang, that imperial artifact, was equally heartless. It hung beside the chessboard, and voices never ceased—the cries of the common people, the roars of souls from the deepest levels, and the choked sobs of children.

This time, Ye Chen didn't look. His eyes were filled with tears that swirled but never fell. His mind was in turmoil, his vision blurred, so blurred he could no longer see the chessboard clearly.

"Master, you can't push him further."

The Hun Dun Ti's voice was ethereal, certain that Dao Zu was watching.

This kind of heart refinement would either lead to nirvana or become a demonic obstacle. If not handled well, Ye Chen might be stuck at the eighth heaven for the rest of his life.

"The Sheng Ti lineage has never disappointed me."

Dao Zu's words were calm, with a hint of intoxication. He was a peak great emperor, a recluse who had witnessed the glory of the ancient Sheng Ti. They were fierce and unyielding, a savior lineage with beliefs even greater than those of past supreme beings.

The Hun Dun Ti fell silent, waved his hand to place a piece, and once again blocked Ye Chen's path on the board.

For the first time, Ye Chen became truly quiet, like a demonic obstacle, still as a stone statue, only his snow-white hair swaying in the wind. The dim starlight hid his aging appearance but couldn't hide his profound weariness.

He sat there for an unknown length of time.

The Hun Dun Ti didn't disturb him, just sat quietly with his head lowered, occasionally glancing at the Feng Shen Bang. In those moments, even his mind wavered slightly.

Unlike Ye Chen, he had been a solitary figure during his time in the heavens, with no old friends or family, and thus no deep attachments. Although he understood Ye Chen's state of mind, he couldn't comprehend the depth of a Sheng Ti's pain.

That, perhaps, was the legendary emotion, etched into the soul from the very first moment and impossible to erase for eternity.

The deeper the emotion, the more grueling the heart refinement.

Thus, Ye Chen had endured far more hardships than he had.

This was evident from Ye Chen's journey—crossing nine lifetimes, braving the six paths of reincarnation, enduring emotional tribulations, and facing utter despair. Each scar was a bloody testament to his weariness.

"Again."

Ye Chen suddenly spoke, his voice hoarse.

"If you can't achieve that emotionless state, you won't defeat me." The Hun Dun Ti said lightly.

"I'd rather give up my life than abandon emotion."

Ye Chen's words lacked their former irritability, carrying a touch of calm instead.

Once more, he picked up a piece and placed it on the board.

This single move made the Hun Dun Ti's mind blur for a moment. It looked like just a chess piece, but it seemed to transform into a person clad in armor, gripping a war spear, striding over mountains of corpses and bathing in fresh blood.

"Xie Yun."

The Hun Dun Ti murmured softly. The figure on that chess piece was Xie Yun, a disciple of Heng Yue and Ye Chen's good brother. He had seen him more than once in the scenes on the Feng Shen Bang—unreliable in daily life, but on the battlefield, an absolute madman.

The Hun Dun Ti didn't understand how a mere chess piece had become a person.

"Your turn." Ye Chen said calmly.

The Hun Dun Ti regained his focus and placed his piece.

Ye Chen didn't watch; he placed another piece.

From Ye Chen's chess piece, the Hun Dun Ti saw the figure of Si Tu Nan—disheveled hair, bloodied bones, the two pieces standing side by side like the two figures.

Snap!

Snap!

The sound of pieces hitting the board was quite crisp.

This game of strategy was somewhat different.

Ye Chen's moves came faster than expected, so fast that the Hun Dun Ti was caught off guard. As soon as he placed a piece, Ye Chen followed, not with the previous haste but with a kind of calm that the Hun Dun Ti couldn't fathom.

It was this calm that made him sense the change in Ye Chen's state of mind—serene as still water.

Looking at the pieces Ye Chen placed, they were clearly figures: Chu Xuan, Chu Ling, the sovereign of Da Chu, the divine generals of Di Zun... Each one he had seen in the scenes on the Feng Shen Bang, all from the heavens, now fighting bloody battles in the human realm, using their blood and bones to protect the beautiful mountains and rivers and defend the heavens' territory.

This chessboard was no longer just a chessboard; it had become like the battlefield of the human realm.

And Ye Chen was using his pieces to depict those vivid individuals.

In this heart refinement tribulation, he hadn't abandoned his homeland; instead of playing with emotionless detachment, he was engaging in the game with deep emotion.

The Hun Dun Ti frowned, his robes billowing in the wind, his long hair flying wildly.

There was no fierce wind here; the so-called wind came from the chessboard. Each piece, each figure, carried an invincible will to battle, gathering into a belief that blew like a wind, stirring his robes and hair.

Even his heart, usually as still as water, was now roiled by massive waves.

Instinctively, he glanced at Ye Chen.

Ye Chen's stillness made him wary, like a mysterious veil hiding boundless power beneath.

"Your turn." Ye Chen's words were still so calm.

The Hun Dun Ti withdrew his gaze, picked up a piece, but held it suspended in midair, hesitating for the first time.

Ye Chen's chess was too profound; the pieces carried figures, the figures carried will, the will carried belief, and the belief formed mountains and rivers—the vast mountains and rivers of the heavens, every hill, stream, plant, and tree full of life, emotion, spirit, dao, and essence.

In the end, he placed his piece, his brows furrowing even more.

Because in this game, he was gradually falling behind.

They were playing chess, but contending with dao. Falling behind in chess meant falling behind in dao.

He cultivated the Hun Dun Dao, and Ye Chen also cultivated the Hun Dun Dao.

Both cultivating the Hun Dun Dao, Ye Chen's was more mysterious, infused with something called emotion that gave the dao its own spirit.

"The Sheng Ti lineage has never disappointed me."

Dao Zu's words echoed suddenly in his ears.

Indeed, the emperor saw more clearly.

This lineage of Sheng Ti had infinite potential. In this heart refinement tribulation, instead of abandoning his homeland, he had forged a new path, bringing the battlefield of the heavens onto the chessboard, with each piece becoming a warrior.

The Feng Shen Bang showed images, but Ye Chen was depicting true emotion.

And he, it seemed, had been cast as the Hong Huang by Ye Chen; his chess and his dao were under devastating assault.

"Come on."

The Hun Dun Ti smiled; meeting a worthy opponent brought endless joy.

Earlier, Ye Chen's mind had been in chaos, so victory would have been meaningless.

Now, with Ye Chen achieving nirvana and rising above, this was a true contest.

Snap!

Snap!

These crisp sounds now carried a metallic ring.

Ye Chen's chess became even more dominant; he wasn't treating his homeland's people as mere pieces—that was his emotion, and also his dao.

Having transformed against the heavens, he now advanced against them.

Boom! Rumbling!

This small bamboo grove was no longer peaceful.

The Hun Dun Ti's robes fluttered wildly, Ye Chen's white hair danced in the wind, as dao clashed against dao, manifesting visions. Centered on the two of them, layers of halos spread outward, felling swaths of green bamboo at the waist, while the deep immortal pond churned with waves, its waters turning into radiant rain that soared into the sky, dyed with starlight and moonlight, incredibly dazzling.

Gazing into the vast expanse, it was a scene of chaos, with lightning flashing and thunder rumbling, as the visions of all things evolved within, outlining a vast world above the void.

"This chess game is making quite a stir."

The Tong Tian Jiao Zhu sighed, looking up remotely.

"They seem evenly matched." Yuan Shi Tian Zun said with a smile, hands clasped.

"What a remarkable young man." Tai Shang Lao Jun clicked his tongue. Under such circumstances, Ye Chen could actually contend with the Hun Dun Ti to produce such visions—it was truly commendable! If it were him, he certainly couldn't do it.

Tai Gong's expression was dazed, captivated by the visions of all things, his mind hazy.

Dao Zu's disciples and grand-disciples were mostly present, watching the chaotic visions and listening to the heavenly sounds of the great dao.

"The Sheng Ti cultivating the Hun Dun Dao is quite novel."

"In the same realm, only he can push Little Master Ancestor to this level."

"The sovereign of Da Chu is indeed extraordinary."

Throughout the land, discussions buzzed from various peaks, with figures everywhere. Setting aside Ye Chen's temperament, the brilliance of that young Sheng Ti was astonishing. In that instant, some even had moments of enlightenment, and many eyes gained a clarity of insight, their mindsets elevating together.

Boom! Rumbling!

As the world watched, the void grew even more turbulent.

The two Hun Dun Daos now carried a killing aura, with numerous visions intertwining to form two dragons—one a purple divine dragon and the other a golden divine dragon, representing the daos of the Hun Dun Ti and Ye Chen. They were two dao dragons: one with Hun Dun eyes, the other engraved with the six paths of reincarnation. Every scale on their mighty bodies fused with supreme dao principles.

Roar! Roar!

The two dragons, massive as mountains, clashed in the vast expanse.

Perhaps due to their enormous size, the sky was crushed and collapsed; the profound Hun Dun Dao overturned the cosmos, disrupted yin and yang, and every strand of falling immortal light was haloed in chaos, transforming into heavenly immortal rain that, in the night, shone with brilliant colors.

"Such a battle is a first for me."

Dao Zu's young disciples murmured, the dragons being dao dragons yet capable of destroying heaven and earth. A single swing of a dragon's tail could fling them to the clouds, perhaps even across the Nai He Bridge for a bowl of Meng Po Soup.

"What audacity." Xuan Di clicked his tongue again, underestimating Ye Chen once more.

That guy just wouldn't treat him as a normal person—too damn monstrous. The heart refinement was so cruel, yet he had forged a new path. To achieve this, his mindset must be incredibly resilient. No wonder he was the reincarnation of Di Zun; he admitted he couldn't compare.

In the vast expanse above, Dao Zu stood gracefully, finally revealing a smile.

One tribulation, one transformation—Ye Chen would achieve nirvana, take a step forward, and reach the ninth heaven on the spot.

"If your disciple loses, will it be embarrassing?" Xuan Di asked with a smile, hands clasped as he looked at Dao Zu.

"Losing to him is no shame; anyone losing to him is no shame."

Dao Zu's words were full of meaning.

It was unclear whether the "him" he referred to meant Sheng Ti Ye Chen or Xian Wu Di Zun.

As a great emperor, he had accomplishments that covered the universe;

As a Sheng Ti, he commanded awe across the eight desolations.

Nine lives, nine worlds, nine reincarnations—it was the emperor's beginning and his end, forging two heaven-defying figures destined to be eternal legends.