Chapter 76: Daoist Rhythms on the Board, a Demon Awakens
How could this be?!
The white-haired old man was stunned.
He had cultivated in the mortal world for a century. Although his powers weren’t earth-shattering, he had rarely encountered an opponent he couldn’t defeat.
But now, he couldn’t see through this seemingly frail scholar, as if a veil of mist obscured his true nature. Upon closer inspection, he still couldn’t detect anything unusual. The man seemed like an ordinary young scholar.
How strange!
As he pondered, Lin Tianlu approached with a gentle smile.
“Did you say… play a game of Go, Old Master?”
“Yes.”
The old man composed himself, his voice still cold and indifferent, despite his surprise. “If you can defeat me in a game of Go, I won’t bother you, and you can have the treasure in the lake.”
Lin Tianlu’s interest was piqued. He glanced at the Go board set up on a stone beside the old man.
It seemed this old man was also a Go enthusiast.
But Hua Shuya, standing behind Lin Tianlu, was on guard, her hand gripping her sword hilt.
This cold and aloof old man, although he hadn’t attacked them, seemed quite strange to her.
Even with her Azure Spirit realm cultivation, she couldn’t sense his aura. If she hadn’t seen him with her own eyes, she wouldn’t have even realized he was there. And as they approached, the air around them grew colder, as if winter had arrived, a chilling mist swirling around them.
If it weren’t for her internal energy protecting her, she might have already frozen to death.
“May I ask your name, Old Master?”
Lin Tianlu asked politely.
“Names are just fleeting titles.” The old man’s voice was still cold as ice. “We barely know each other. There’s no need to exchange names. Let’s play a game first and get to know each other through our moves.”
“You have a point.”
Lin Tianlu set down his bag and sat down on a stone stool. “What game would you like to play, Old Master?”
“Go. It’s a complex and profound game, revealing the player’s inner thoughts. It suits my taste.”
“Alright!”
Lin Tianlu smiled and started arranging the Go board and stones. “But I’m still a novice. Would you mind answering a few questions, Old Master?”
“I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”
The old man picked up a stone, a cold smile on his face. “But first, you have to show me some ‘skill’.”
“I understand, Old Master.”
As they spoke, Hua Shuya stood beside Lin Tianlu, her face serious, her gaze alert.
The old man glanced at her, then his eyes widened slightly, his white eyebrows raised. “This girl is quite interesting. She’s young, but her cultivation is impressive. And there’s a unique aura within her. Her future is bright.”
“You flatter me, Old Master.”
Hua Shuya bowed respectfully. “It’s all thanks to Senior’s guidance and training.”
The white-haired old man nodded thoughtfully.
This scholar was indeed hiding his true abilities.
Lin Tianlu picked up a white stone and chuckled softly. “Let’s start the game, Old Master. Don’t get distracted.”
“Very well. Let me see your skills, Master Lin.”
The old man quickly placed a stone on the board.
Lin Tianlu pondered for a moment, then made his move.
They played back and forth, the only sounds in the air the clicking of the stones and the gentle flow of the mountain spring.
Hua Shuya watched the game unfold, her brows furrowed slightly. The old man’s Go skills were truly impressive. She couldn’t even begin to compare.
But…
The old man’s expression, already cold, was now darkening.
He stroked his beard, his face becoming increasingly serious. He hesitated over his moves, lost in thought.
At first, he had thought this scholar was just an amateur, his moves random and careless, full of flaws. He had assumed he could easily crush him.
But after playing for a while, he realized that the young man was deliberately showing weakness, creating openings and traps, his mind sharp and calculating. He had been lured into a corner, his situation precarious.
As the old man pondered his next move, he said in a low voice, “Ask your questions, young man.”
“How did you learn about the treasure on Jade Peak Mountain, Old Master? And why have you been here alone for five days?”
“I happened to pass by this area and was offered hospitality by the village chief of He’an Village, Lu Ming. He told me about the treasure. So I came to investigate, and it’s true.” The old man gestured towards the lake. “The treasure in the lake is hidden, but its aura is strong, a sign that it’s about to emerge. I’ve been waiting for it.”
Lin Tianlu placed another stone, shifting the balance of the game.
“Are you aware of the rumors surrounding Jade Peak Mountain, Old Master?”
The old man’s face darkened, and he rubbed the stone in his hand. “Of course. But I encountered no danger on my way up here. I didn’t pay them any mind.”
“Have you seen a woman on the mountain?”
“No.”
Lin Tianlu’s gaze was sharp. “Then are you aware… that your life force is fading, your body like a flickering candle in the wind, close to death?”
The old man froze, his pupils constricting. His face turned pale, a deathly pallor.
“How did you—”
Lin Tianlu didn’t answer. He calmly placed his stone on the board.
Click!
The stone landed, creating ripples on the board, a strange aura flowing through the game.
The old man’s expression froze, then he quickly composed himself, falling silent.
He gritted his teeth, trying to regain control of the game.
But no matter what moves he made, even secretly using his spiritual energy, the board felt like a bottomless pit, absorbing all his efforts without a trace.
Profound, mysterious…
Within moments, beads of sweat appeared on the old man’s forehead. His once swift and decisive moves slowed down, until he was frozen in place, clutching a stone in his hand, unable to make a decision.
“You have a weakness now, Old Master.”
Lin Tianlu chuckled softly and placed a white stone on the board.
This seemingly casual move struck the old man like a bolt of lightning. The Go board shimmered, a thunderous roar echoing in his ears. His body trembled, his eyes glazed over.
In a daze, he felt himself floating, standing alone on a towering mountain. He looked up and saw dark clouds gathering in the sky, a display of heavenly might. Purple-black lightning crackled within them, a sign of an impending tribulation!
The old man gasped, his voice filled with disbelief. “This, this is a heavenly tribulation—”
Rumble, rumble!
Deafening thunderclaps echoed through the air, the terrifying power pressing down on him, making his body stiffen and tremble.
He struggled, but he couldn’t move. His back bent, his knees buckling under the weight of the impending doom. He collapsed to the ground, cracks spreading from beneath his knees, shattering the mountain.
He looked up at the sky, feeling the insignificance and helplessness of a mortal.
A bolt of black lightning, a force of unimaginable destruction, tore through the heavens, shattering the world into countless fragments, obliterating his body and soul!
“—Ah!”
The old man screamed, the Go stone slipping from his grasp. He was drenched in sweat, his face pale.
“Old Master?”
A calm voice brought him back to reality.
“I, I—”
He realized that he was still playing a game of Go with the young man before him.
He stared at the board, speechless.
After a long silence, he put down his last stone and sighed deeply.
This game…
There was no point in continuing.
He had already lost.
The old man seemed to release all his worries and frustrations, his face pale, his eyes filled with a bitter resignation. He bowed. “Sir, is this… the end of my journey?”
“Why kneel before fate when you’ve already embarked on the path of cultivation?”
Lin Tianlu chuckled softly. “I don’t know your story, Old Master, but sometimes, even in defeat, one can find a new beginning.”
He took a black stone from the old man’s bowl and placed it firmly on the board.
“To fight with courage, even in defeat, is a victory in itself.”
“…”
The old man was silent.
He looked up and sighed softly.
“I am truly… ashamed.”
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