Secret Buyer-Chapter 251 - 190: The Vast Realm, Merely Pieces on the Board (1/6)
Golden City.
Cui Qingyi draped a white scarf over her shoulders, swayed her hips gracefully, and walked to the small pavilion in the center of the lake, quietly sitting down.
On the stone table in the pavilion lay a luxuriously beautiful chessboard of immeasurable value.
"How are the arrangements going on Chongyang City’s side?"
She asked nonchalantly.
"No leads for now." Old Master stroked his long beard and spoke calmly, "But I suggest that your Cui Family shouldn’t meddle with Chongyang for the time being."
"Oh? Why?"
Cui Qingyi extended her slender fingers and picked up a white chess piece, placing it down gently.
Facing a person whose cultivation far exceeded her own, even on the same level as her ancestor, she could remain calm.
Old Master was not concerned, placing a black piece, then said:
"There possesses the Sea-Stabilizing Divine Needle Iron, and there’s also a potential Dimensional Overlap Point that might appear."
"If it was just a Dimensional Overlap Point, that would be one thing, but the Sea-Stabilizing Divine Needle Iron could serve as a bridge."
"In other words, with the aid of the Sea-Stabilizing Divine Needle Iron, that Dimensional Overlap Point could ensure that a Celestial Human becomes divine."
Cui Qingyi gazed at the chessboard and spoke softly:
"So all the Celestial Humans involved with those evil cults within the Golden Province will compete for it, right?"
"Exactly."
Old Master agreed openly:
"The ancestor of the Cui Family is too severely injured to participate in this contest, so I advise you to give up."
Cui Qingyi remained indifferent, continuing:
"But what if I simply wish to take control of Chongyang City, now under martial law due to special circumstances?"
Old Master laughed, then countered:
"Girl, do you even believe your own words?"
Cui Qingyi didn’t answer but rather questioned:
"Will you also contend for the divine position?"
"I will not." Old Master spoke calmly, "The Governor likely has caught wind of something. I’m concerned the Federation might wipe us out entirely."
"I am now the president of Golden University. Risking exposure to compete for this divine opportunity is unnecessary."
After a pause, the old man gazed at this little girl only at the level of a Grandmaster, at this descendant of the Cui Family:
"And yet you, close to becoming the Book Holder, set to head to Qinghe Province, why remain so entangled in the matters of this high-class Cui Family?"
Cui Qingyi was silent for a moment:
"I might not succeed, so I need to prepare a fallback."
Old Master shook his head:
"With the full backing of our Ancient Saint Sect, how could you not succeed? Even our Venerates and Great Powers are aware of you and have agreed to assist."
Cui Qingyi met his gaze:
"Don’t those other Cui Family members with innate talent for wielding the Book of Life and Death also have evil cult support from behind?"
She sneered slightly:
"Who among the various sects and factions doesn’t want to take this chance to extend their hand into the Qinghe Cui Family? Perhaps even the big figures in the Cui Family know this at heart."
Old Master nodded openly:
"At least this time in the competition for the Book Holder, the Qinghe Cui Family didn’t block information like in the past, proceeding quietly, but rather are being ostentatious - which gives us an opportunity."
During the conversation between the old and young, the chessboard filled with more pieces, old master’s black pieces forcing Cui Qingyi’s white pieces into a dead end.
Old Master asked nonchalantly:
"Why do you think the Qinghe Cui Family is allowing the Four Great Religions to intervene in the struggle for the Book Holder?"
Cui Qingyi replied calmly:
"They merely intend rebellion."
Old Master smiled in satisfaction:
"You truly are perceptive. Nowadays, out of the forty-nine provinces, at least half harbor rebellious intentions, Qinghe Province included. And our Governor in the Golden Province too, isn’t it so?"
"Chaos is looming."
He sighed, shaking his head.
Cui Qingyi twirled a white piece, seemingly contemplating how to break this deadlock, but delaying before placing it, she spoke in a low tone:
"This is a good thing. In times of chaos, everything gets reshuffled, and resources and power are redistributed."
"Therefore, I must compete."
"I need the ancestor to become divine so that when I reach the Qinghe Cui Family, I’ll have enough influence, and even..."
She placed her white piece down on the chessboard, instantly turning the deadlock into a living one.
"Even let our branch become the new main family; the high-class Cui Family overtakes the Qinghe Cui Family."
"Then dominate the Qinghe and Golden Provinces, seize control of the two provinces, and then... vie for supremacy."
The game was completely reversed; the white pieces pressed relentlessly.
Old Master suddenly looked up, gazing at his student, also his collaborator from the Ancient Saint Sect, Cui Qingyi.
He marveled:
"You, a mere Grandmaster, dare to aspire for the world?"
"Divine Spirits are human too."
Cui Qingyi dropped the last piece, wiping out old master completely:
"If they are human, they can be schemed against."
"Human hearts can be seized and manipulated, so why not divine hearts too? What if my cultivation is low?"
She smiled rarely:
"Let one deity deal with another, have Celestial Humans oppose each other, why should I show face? So long as I can seize this chance of becoming the Book Holder to usurp the Cui Family’s position."
"This needs my dying ancestor to become divine to counter the Qinghe Cui Family’s deity."
"This requires me to take control of Chongyang."
Old Master looked at his disciple, his lips trembling as if to say something, but ultimately, he remained silent.
For a long time.
"Schemes are based on a foundation of enough strength," he reminded, "Without formidable power, you could be killed with a single punch."
"Isn’t there you and the Ancient Saint Sect?"
Cui Qingyi stated flatly:
"To control Chongyang, I first need to control three people, Governor Zhang Wenting, Director of Investigation Chen Daoling, as well as."
"Director of the Public Security Bureau, Zhang Fusheng."
She looked up, gazing at Old Master:
"Teacher, Zhang Wenting and Chen Daoling both wouldn’t dare defy the Cui Family’s authority, but Zhang Fusheng is different... he hung up on me."
"I hope to see him, here, in this pavilion."
Old Master massaged his forehead.
"Wasn’t the news that he got trapped in the Twin Cities Little World? Do you want me to go personally? Many eyes could be watching me."
Cui Qingyi whispered:
"I will have the ancestor divert those attentions - besides bringing back Zhang Fusheng, please help me leave my nephew there forever."
"Cui Wenda?"
"Yes, he also has a talent for mastering the Book of Life and Death."
"... Very well."
Old Master rose and departed, leaving Cui Qingyi alone in the lake pavilion.
"The world is vast..."
She swept the chessboard clean, then quietly began placing pieces anew, dropping forty-nine pieces in succession.
Then she spoke to herself:
"It’s all on the chessboard."
Just then.
On the wilderness outside the Golden City.
A figure cloaked in a black robe emerged.
Then a second, a third, a fourth...
A total of thirty-two figures stood silently in the desert, the leader among them removed his hood to reveal a crimson skull.
"This is the Golden City?"
Zhang Fusheng gazed at the distant, magnificently towering [large city], softly exclaiming.
Finally arrived.
"No rush..." he murmured, manipulating the plague ghost to lead thirty-one Grandmaster skeletons, stealthily concealing them in the mountains.
Main consciousness returned to the body.
......
Twin Cities Little World.
Mountain forest.
"Phew..." The pickup truck stopped in front of a lushly wooded mountain ridge, not far from where the Western Sect believers were gathered.
Wei Lingzhu stretched lazily, speaking cheerfully:
"Being far away from that esteemed person of the Cui family, to be honest, I feel a bit more at ease."
Zhang Fusheng leaped down from the truck bed, smiling as he said:
"Is he that intimidating?"
Wei Lingzhu nodded earnestly:
"Before he arrived, even though there was a Grandmaster from the Pantheon in the camp, they would never kill recklessly due to the various relationships involved."
"But this esteemed person of the Cui family is different; he doesn’t care about sects... A person who can easily decide my fate being nearby, the pressure is naturally intense."
Zhang Fusheng paused, involuntarily recalling the terrifying pressure Niu Dali had exerted on him back when he was just a Martial Artist of seven or eight refinements.
He nodded in agreement, sighing:
"Indeed, that is why power is the premise of everything; the fate of the weak is merely at the whim of the strong."
Wei Lingzhu, Wei Qingshan both responded, and Wu Shangpin also stepped out from the driver’s seat, laughing:
"Weren’t we supposed to relax a bit, why are we getting so sentimental? Here, take this."
He retrieved some firearms from the pickup truck and tossed them to the three:
"Let’s do some hunting, we can have an extra meal tonight when we get back."
There were quite a few wild beasts in the mountain forest; standing at the foot of the mountain, the roars of tigers and howls of bears could be heard.
The four of them walked casually in the forest, gun after gun, and within half an hour, they had harvested plenty.
"Those Western Sect guys aren’t hunting, huh?"
Wei Qingshan casually remarked:
"Haven’t heard any noise... What are they doing? Should we go take a look?"
Wei Lingzhu glared at him:
"Why go? Are you courting death?"
Wei Qingshan shrank his neck, gave an awkward laugh, raised his rifle, squeezed the trigger, and a black bear fell to the ground in response.
Zhang Fusheng’s heart stirred.
Yeah, what was Uncle Yu and the others doing?
A thought crossed his mind, and he stealthily sent out his Divine Thought. In this wilderness, there was no need to worry about encountering those special materials, so he could scan freely.
On the other side of the mountain, his thought caught sight of the Western Sect’s group.
They were...
Building an altar?
Zhang Fusheng raised an eyebrow, while hunting with Wu Shangpin, the Wei siblings, he quietly observed the movements on the side of the Western Sect.
On that side of the mountain.
Twenty to thirty Western Believers, under the leadership of four Stewards, simultaneously slit their palms, the blood flowing into a makeshift altar.
Yu Chengzhong and Li Qiuhua began chanting something in low voices.
The altar glowed faintly, then dimmed again.
"It won’t work," a Steward furrowed his brows: "Even the Little Sacrificial Priest cannot contact the outside world... The problem with Twin Cities might be more serious than we thought."
He looked up at the black torrent blocking the sky, and everything was dark and obscure.
Yu Chengzhong took out a thick stack of Talismans from his bosom, saying in a deep voice:
"Even the Talismans cannot be used, which means we can’t borrow power from the Venerate through the Talismans. The key is..."
He took a deep breath, speaking solemnly:
"Yesterday, even this morning, the Talismans were still usable."
"From a few hours ago, all connections with the outside world have been completely severed. I have a feeling... Something major is about to happen."
The Divine Thought scanning this area made Zhang Fusheng’s heart skip a beat.
Taoist Talismans, he knew, could borrow power from a Venerate of Taoism,
He had witnessed it on the train from Jiangzhou to the Dragon Boat.
The Talismans and that Venerate’s connection were cut off?
And it happened today?
He had a foreboding feeling. This meant that today something secretive had happened once again in the Twin Cities bubble.
But the problem was, his Spiritual Sense had not alerted him.
Either the change posed no threat to him,
Or, the change came from an entity beyond the Innate Realm.
As his thoughts reached this point, Zhang Fusheng’s expression suddenly tightened.
He thought of the so-called Exotic Treasure Land, thought of the Celestial Human from the Celestial Principle Sect sleeping, hiding there.
Could it be... related to this person?
Something’s wrong.
Zhang Fusheng’s left hand trembled slightly, his five fingers twitched distracting like a disorderly dance—he was trying to imitate Lin Shiquan’s actions and rhythm back then,
At that time, Lin Shiquan used this method, supplemented with the altar and drum sounds, to communicate with a Divine Statue stained with incense in his own Divine Realm.
Zhang Fusheng was also quietly attempting something, just without setting up the altar.
After a while.
Zhang Fusheng heard a confused voice in his ear—a voice only he could hear.
"Young Master Zhang?"
"Is this... the Prayer Technique? You actually know such an Ancient World Dharma Gate?"
Zhang Fusheng let out a sigh of relief.
Indeed, he was able to directly communicate with Miss Mingyue far away in the starry sky with this method!
His slightly suspended heart was completely at ease.
"Why are there more cars coming?"
Wu Shangpin’s voice suddenly rang out, as he stood halfway up the mountain, looking into the distance.
A convoy was speeding over, kicking up a long trail of dust.
