In Ji Yuan's perception, the elixir energy in his own artistic conception alchemy furnace was no longer flowing towards the chess pieces bit by bit at this moment, but a large amount of elixir energy emerged from the artistic conception alchemy furnace, flew into the air and merged into the chess pieces. This situation had occurred before, but the number of times was very small. The earliest one was caused by Yin Zhaoxian who was teaching in Ning'an County at the time.
The changes in the chess pieces this time affected Ji Yuan's mind. He was distracted by the artistic conception and could see the more conspicuous chess pieces among the stars in the sky. The white pieces were bright and clear, while the black pieces were dark and deep. The chess piece representing Monk Huitong was surrounded by Dan Qi and flashed with golden light. Several chess pieces in the sky also responded with light, some white and some dim, most of which came from the more solid chess pieces.
When these lights flashed across the artistic conception sky, Ji Yuan could see many vague "chess stars" in the air. Their number was far more than the black and white chess pieces hanging in the sky. When the light faded, these phantoms also disappeared one after another.
Ji Yuan’s towering image stood in the artistic conception of mountains and rivers, and all the stars seemed to be within reach. He looked up at the “stars” with a calm gaze, a thoughtful look on his face.
This time, the good fortune represented not so much the Buddha's light of Monk Huitong as it did the wisdom of Bodhi. There was no distinction between light and darkness, and no opposition between good and evil. Under the guidance of the chess light, Ji Yuan saw many "hidden stars".
These are sentient beings who have had conflicts with Ji Yuan and have a certain affinity with him, some deep or some shallow, in Ji Yuan's opinion. They are humans, demons, spirits, and monsters...
Perhaps all they need to become true chess players is a promise between Tong Jiyuan, or something more symbolic, but this does not affect their growth at all. Even a "hidden star" can feel the difference.
Ji Yuan actually had some guesses about this a long time ago, but this time he just saw it more clearly in his artistic conception. He didn't have any fluctuations in his heart, nor did he have the idea of forcing them to become chess pieces immediately. He let things take their natural course. As the saying goes, the yin and yang of chess give rise to all things, and vice versa.
In the past, Ji Yuan believed that the so-called chess piece represented a person or an object, and that the chess piece could be viewed, raised, held, or placed on the ground. However, the situations of some chess pieces were slightly special, such as the case of Zuo's family representing a chess piece.
Now Ji Yuan sees things more and more clearly. The so-called chess pieces can represent one person or one thing, but the chess pieces can be divided and not necessarily divided. The way of life follows the wonders of nature. For example, the chivalrous men like Du Heng and Yan Fei, even if they have become chess pieces, how long can ordinary people live? Even if Yan Fei may be able to break through the limit and step onto a martial arts path, what about others
The answer came to Ji Yuan when he saw Zuo Wuji. Just as the father and son of the clan are the continuation of life, so is this move. Perhaps there will be no Du Heng, Wang Ke or even Yan Fei a hundred years later, but a hundred years later, the traces of their people in the martial arts world will still be there. In the martial arts, there may still be Zuo Wuji, who will carry on the past and forge ahead, step on the old and establish the new.
In just a moment, Ji Yuan's thoughts were faster than lightning, and then he slowly opened his eyes and looked a little further away. The evil spirit in the Pixiang Palace had dissipated, all of it was sucked into the golden bowl formed by the Golden Bowl Seal. The evil spirit of the military formation there had not yet subsided, and the Buddha's light was still hazy.
Ji Yuan reached into his sleeve, took out a blank paper scroll, and opened it against the wind. A moment later, obscure black lights flew in from inside and outside the palace. They were the small characters who had flown out to set up the formation. As the small characters came back, Ji Yuan was surrounded by their lowered but still excited noises.
"Master, are we awesome?" "Master, we will help you catch the monster!"
"Master, I was the one who bounced that fox demon back."
"And me, and me!" "Master, did you see us turning the golden light around?"
Ji Yuan read every small word carefully, smiled and nodded in agreement with them.
"Yes, yes, that's awesome... Well, you guys have done a great job... I see, I see..."
After more than ten breaths, all the small characters returned to the "Sword Intent Post" and Ji Yuan's side became quiet again. These little guys had worked hard tonight and were tired. The mental excitement could not offset the physical fatigue. Once they entered the "Sword Intent Post", they all practiced in their sleep.
The little paper crane also flapped its wings and came back, landing on Ji Yuan's shoulder. Ji Yuan looked at the little paper crane and said softly with a smile.
"I want to see everything and learn everything, so why not learn to speak?"
The little paper crane looked at Ji Yuan, stretched out one of its wings and touched its paper beak. Ji Yuan shook his head.
"You can't speak because you feel you have no mouth? Your practice is not enough."
After laughing, Ji Yuan stepped out of the roof and left the palace in the breeze.
Outside the Pixiang Palace, the fox demon had been captured. The Emperor of Tianbao Kingdom felt a little disappointed, but he only kept it in his heart. He was still very grateful to the monk Huitong for subduing the demon. In front of thousands of imperial guards and the people in the harem, he expressed his gratitude to Huitong and invited him to stay overnight in the palace. But of course Huitong would not accept this proposal and insisted on going back to the post station to rest.
Although half of the people in the capital were woken up tonight, most of them were because of the toad croaking outside the city, which was loud and noisy when it reached the city, like thunder in a winter night. At this moment, it has gradually calmed down, and there is not much damage outside the city. Therefore, when Monk Huitong returned, the city was still quiet and peaceful.
In the post station near the palace, Chu Ruyan, Lu Qianyan and Gan Qingle, who was bandaged but still lively, did not sleep. Although they knew that Mr. Ji was there, Master Huitong's late-night entry into the palace to eliminate demons still kept them awake. Because of the word formation, in their perception, the entire palace was silent, and they had no idea what was going on inside.
Just when he was getting anxious, Monk Huitong, wearing a white monk robe and a red cassock, had already arrived outside the post station. But before he entered the post station, he saw Ji Yuan who was standing there waiting. Huitong hurriedly stepped forward and bowed to greet him.
"Good be to the Great Ming King Buddha, Mr. Ji. Fortunately, I have fulfilled my mission and have captured the fox demon."
As he spoke, Monk Huitong stretched out his arm under his monk's robe, and a golden bowl appeared in his right hand. However, this time the bowl did not look like the shining Buddha's light, and its color was rather dull.
Ji Yuan bowed to Monk Hui Tong as a return gesture, then took a step closer to look inside the bowl. With his Dharma eyes, he could vaguely see the shadow of a six-tailed fox, and even a "卍" character fixed on it. In this way, the remaining vitality of the fox demon was dissipated along with the evil spirit and hostility. Hui Tong would also recite sutras to the bowl every day, which in a sense was a way to help Tu Yun to reincarnate, and he did not break his promise.
"The golden bowl seal used by Master Huitong is truly exquisite. You can't tell it's the first time he's used it."
Even though he is a monk, Monk Huitong was still a little excited at this moment.
"Sir, you are too kind. If it weren't for the Dharma money you gave me, I would never be able to use this golden bowl seal. Sir, these are the remaining five Dharma coins. I have received a great benefit from this golden bowl and practice diligently. I dare not keep the Dharma money for myself."
Looking at the large copper coins in Huitong's hand, which were gilded with brilliant gold, Ji Yuan reached out and took three of them.
"You can keep these two. It's late at night. Go back to the post station and have a rest. The emperor will reward you tomorrow. Daliang Temple has become famous in Tianbao Kingdom this time."
Ji Yuan said this, and he and Monk Huitong entered the inn. They would just sleep on a bed in the inn today. There was no need to sleep in the bell tower. After all, someone would go to ring the bell early tomorrow morning, which would not be a pleasant experience.
…
In fact, there are still demons from the Apocalypse League or related to the Apocalypse League in Tianbao Kingdom. Some of them have already sensed that something is wrong, while others are still unaware of it.
In the Tomb Hill outside Lianyue City, Shi Jiu, who was sleeping in the mountain, suddenly had his heart skip a beat, opened his eyes and woke up, then started counting with his fingers. As a corpse evil, he still had the ability to calculate. It has to be said that he still had some abilities in the immortal way that can be used.
'Tu Yun is finished...'
After knowing this, Shi Jiu immediately escaped underground and went directly to the garden inside Hui Mansion in Lianyue City.
Not long after, Mrs. Hui Liu Shengyan hurried into the garden and saw the zombie with a strange red light in the depths of his eyes standing in the darkness of the garden. A sense of fear subconsciously arose in her heart.
"Master Shijiu, why are you here?"
Shi Jiu pretended to know nothing and said with a look of doubt.
"I don't know why I feel uneasy tonight. I tried to calculate and I feel that Tu Yun is under the spell of bad luck. I'm afraid she is in danger. She lives deep in the Tianbao Palace and is protected by the emperor. Why did she encounter such a disaster? What do you think, Madam Liu?"
"Ah? I, this concubine, didn't know. Did Sister Tu Yun really get into trouble?"
Liu Shengyan was panicked for a moment but immediately concealed it, or rather, she transitioned and expressed this panic into the fear of the unknown because she heard that something had happened to Tu Yun. From Liu Shengyan's perspective, Shi Jiu, Tu Yun and others didn't know that Ji Yuan had been here, nor did they know that she had betrayed Tu Yun.
"Yes, although I practice corpse cultivation, I am also good at divination. I'm afraid I've met a powerful character this time. I'm afraid Tu Yun didn't escape, and I don't know which expert came through. You'd better retreat first. Given your relationship with Tu Yun in the human world, it's easy for an expert to predict it. I'm just here to remind you."
Liu Shengyan's face was uncertain, as if she was thinking, and suddenly she felt cold all over and trembled subconsciously, because when she reacted, Shi Jiu's red eyes were already behind her neck, and a pair of fangs were already against her fair neck.
"Huh... Why do I feel like you were the one who revealed Tu Yun's whereabouts?"
"No, how could that be! Sister Tu Yun treats me very well. We are both from the fox clan and have great plans together. How could I possibly harm my sister!"
Liu Shengyan's arms were also restrained, and she felt cold all over. The feeling of having the fangs of a terrifying zombie pressed against her neck was like an animal being held under the claws of a wild beast.
"Fox blood is too strong, humph, I hope you didn't lie to me."
Shi Jiu let go of Liu Shengyan and slowly retreated into the darkness. Liu Shengyan did not see clearly how he escaped, and when she looked into the darkness again, Shi Jiu was no longer there.