The Maze of Chess, Sacrificing Oneself to Break Through the Dao

Outside Yanyu Mountain, there is a pavilion ten miles away.

The wind swirled withered leaves against the pavilion pillars, making a rustling sound. On the stone table, two cups of cold tea had long since gone cold. Two people sat on either side of each other, their auras deliberately concealed, even the surrounding wind seemed to swirl around them.

The person on the left was dressed in a dark brocade robe with a dark gold three-legged jade toad embroidered on the hem. His face was sinister, and he was none other than Chan Jiuyuan, the vice sect leader of the Jade Toad Sect.

He tapped his fingertips lightly on the stone table, a hint of confidence in his voice: "The Xuan Chan Maze is set up, with Toad Boy personally overseeing it. That girl Shen Lingxi definitely won't escape."

The person opposite him wore a wide-brimmed bamboo hat, with a black veil hanging down, completely obscuring his face. Only a hoarse voice came from behind the veil: "Sect Leader Toad, what I want is not 'not being able to escape,' but absolute certainty."

In his hand, the man was playing with a jade pendant with cloud patterns, the intricate designs vaguely resembling a crape myrtle flower.

This is a unique token belonging to the three chief commanders of the Sword Pivot Academy of the Heavenly Palace Sect!

Chan Jiuyuan chuckled, "Don't worry, Commander. Chan Tong has set up a moving illusion array. Even if that old bastard Bai Xuan were here, he wouldn't be able to find a trace! What's surprising is that the boy in blue actually possesses a complete innate curse seal!"

The man in the straw hat paused abruptly: "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely true." Chan Jiuyuan nodded, a glint of greed flashing in his eyes. "Wu Heng saw it with his own eyes; there's no mistake."

A brief silence fell over the pavilion. After a long while, the man in the bamboo hat spoke again: "Excellent! A naturally born sword-seal body and an innate incantation seal make for a perfect pair of sacrifices. At midnight, we will offer the sacrifice, using the sword seal as the catalyst and the incantation seal as the medium, to completely break the restrictions on the Qilin altar and obtain the method to control the incantation seal."

Upon hearing this, Chan Jiuyuan burst into laughter, his eyes filled with madness: "Once we control the Burning Fortune Golden Scale, the Central Plains will be ours for the taking! Hahaha..."

The cold tea trembled slightly in the stone cup, while the mountain rain fell, pattering against the pavilion roof.

Within the Xuan Chan Maze, white mist surged.

When Xiao Yunsheng opened his eyes, he saw a huge chessboard floating in the white mist.

The chessboard has nineteen lines, with black and white jade pieces scattered on it. The four corners of the chessboard are engraved with three-legged jade toad patterns, and in the center, at the Tianyuan position, is a lifelike golden cicada totem!

The chessboard is divided into four areas: "Life Gate", "Death Gate", "Locking Toad Position", and "Sacrificial Piece Position". Each square is glowing with a cold, eerie light and is firmly bound to the souls of the four people.

Beside him, Shen Lingxi, Qin Feng, and Li Yan also woke up one after another, stood up, and were full of vigilance and confusion.

"A soul trapped in a formation?" Shen Lingxi frowned.

Just then, a clear child's voice came from the top of the chessboard: "You do have some knowledge. Your souls are trapped in my game right now."

A boy with his hair in twin buns and holding a jade toad scepter slowly walked out of the white mist. He glanced at the four people and sneered, "Don't even think about using brute force to break the formation. If you want to break out of the formation, it's simple: win this round with me—the Mysterious Toad Soul-Locking Formation."

Qin Feng's face darkened, and he was about to draw his sword when Shen Lingxi raised her hand to stop him.

"It's no use. This game is bound to our souls. Every move on the board requires someone to step into the square. When a piece is placed, a person moves! When a piece dies, a person dies."

The toad boy grinned: "The rules are simple: I play black, and you play white. If the black pieces fill all the locked toad positions, you lose, and your souls will be trapped in the formation forever; if the white pieces break the black toad lock and open the gate of life, you win, and your souls will return to your bodies."

He raised his hand and waved, and a black piece landed steadily on the center position of the chessboard. In an instant, a series of ko fights was formed on the chessboard!

The black pieces on the board instantly formed an encirclement, completely blocking the white pieces' path to survival!

Shen Lingxi's fingertips trembled slightly. She had been learning chess from Shen Qingzhu since childhood and instantly saw the fatal flaw in the game—it was a series of kos. White had to sacrifice two pieces in the first three moves and use the divine soul as a trigger to create a gap, otherwise it would be impossible to break the deadlock!

"I'll take the first move." Shen Lingxi took a deep breath, looked up at Xiao Yunsheng, and asked, "Can you keep up?"

Xiao Yunsheng nodded slightly: "You make your move, and I'll follow suit."

Shen Lingxi no longer hesitated, picked up a white piece, and placed it steadily on the dangerous left side of the chessboard: "First piece, Heavenly Nine!"

Before he finished speaking, Xiao Yunsheng swept across the chessboard and stepped precisely into the corresponding square.

The chessboard trap was triggered instantly, with countless ice spikes shooting out from the chessboard. However, Xiao Yunsheng cleaved the trap with a backhand sword strike, his body as steady as a mountain, without the slightest deviation.

A hint of amazement flashed in Shen Lingxi's eyes. She had anticipated the trap, but she hadn't expected Xiao Yunsheng to be able to defuse it so perfectly.

The Toad Boy snorted coldly and placed the second black piece: "I'd like to see how long you can last."

The game was incredibly close, and within just a dozen moves, it had reached its most dangerous point!

The gate of life is now occupied by the black pieces. Only by sacrificing two pieces and using the soul of the person in the chessboard as a catalyst can the gap in the locked toad position be blown open!

Shen Lingxi's fingertips held the white piece, her palm trembling uncontrollably, unable to make a move for a long time.

Once you step into the sacrificial position, your soul and spirit will be annihilated!

Qin Feng and Li Yan exchanged a glance, then bowed deeply to her. Qin Feng said decisively, "Junior Sister, make your move! Be extremely careful on the road ahead!"

"No!" Shen Lingxi shouted sharply to stop them!

"Junior sister, don't hesitate!" Qin Feng grinned, looking at Xiao Yunsheng. "Junior brother Xiao, I'm entrusting my junior sister to you!"

As soon as they finished speaking, the two of them leaped into the air and quickly hovered above the two sacrifice positions!

"Place your piece!" Qin Feng's voice was firm and resolute.

Shen Lingxi closed her eyes, tears streaming down her face, and pressed down the two white pieces hard.

boom--!

The moment the two white pieces landed, the gap in the locked position exploded instantly!

The two senior brothers in red robes were annihilated, their souls and bodies destroyed!

And finally, a glimmer of light appeared at the gate of life.

"The last piece, the center position! Break the deadlock!" Xiao Yunsheng's voice boomed like thunder in Shen Lingxi's ears.

Shen Lingxi snapped out of her daze and pinched the last white piece between her fingers. But just as she was about to place it on the center position, a sudden change occurred!

Suddenly, the Heavenly Origin Position erupted with a soft light, and a gentle female figure slowly condensed, bearing a striking resemblance to Shen Lingxi!

"Xi'er..." the woman called softly, "Don't make a move, Mother misses you so much. Don't step into this dangerous place again. Come with Mother, let's go home."

Shen Lingxi shuddered, and the white piece on her fingertips almost fell!

Her mother suffered from a curse for many years, which was her deepest obsession and the root of her determination to go into the mountains.

"Hehehehe..." The toad boy's laughter was seductive, echoing in the white mist. "Shen Lingxi, once you make a move that breaks the game, you will lose the chance to see her forever."

The woman stepped forward again: "Xi'er, come to your mother."

Shen Lingxi's eyes were full of struggle. She knew this was an illusion, but the words "Come with your mother" instantly shattered all her defenses.

Just as her Dao heart was about to collapse, a hand firmly pressed down on her wrist, which was holding the white piece.

It's Xiao Yunsheng!

He didn't look at the illusory figure; his voice was calm yet carried immense force, striking her heart clearly.

"Shen Lingxi, wake up."

"What your mother truly wants to see is that you can uphold your principles!"

"The breach your two senior brothers blasted open with their lives wasn't meant for you to turn back here!"

"Once the pieces are used to break the deadlock, no matter how dangerous Yanyu Mountain may be, I'll be there to help you!"

His voice acted like a calming injection, instantly stabilizing Shen Lingxi's mind.

She looked up at Xiao Yunsheng and met his firm and calm eyes, instantly finding her footing!

Her mother's torment, her senior brother's sacrifice—all of these awaited her to unravel.

Shen Lingxi took a deep breath, pinched the white piece between her fingertips, and smashed it down hard towards the Tianyuan position!

"Walk!"

Xiao Yunsheng responded immediately, his sword flashing like a rainbow, heading straight for the Tianyuan chessboard!

The woman in the illusion let out a shrill scream, and countless illusions pounced on him!

The Toad Child's restrictions were unleashed at full power, but Xiao Yunsheng's sword remained unmoved by the illusions and undisturbed by the bewitching!

As Shen Lingxi's white piece landed steadily at the center position, Xiao Yunsheng stepped into the center of the chessboard!

The white pieces have been placed, and the human pieces are in harmony!

boom--!

The entire chessboard trembled violently, and the black pieces instantly crumbled!

The Toad Boy staggered back a step, his face filled with disbelief: "Impossible! How could my scheme be broken!"

"You've calculated every move, every scheme, but you've overlooked the human heart," Shen Lingxi said coldly, looking at Xiao Yunsheng beside her with eyes full of trust and gratitude.

The white mist suddenly surged, and the entire formation began to collapse.

When I opened my eyes again, it was already reality.

In the cold, damp cave, Xiao Yunsheng and Shen Lingxi lay on the stone floor, their hands and feet bound. Not far away, the bodies of Qin Feng and Li Yan were already cold.

At the entrance of the cave, two guards from the Jade Toad Sect were chatting idly against the stone wall.

Xiao Yunsheng flipped his wrist, skillfully breaking free of the ropes, and flicked two pebbles from his fingertips, accurately hitting the tendons of the two guards.

The two guards collapsed to the ground instantly.

The two picked up the longsword from the ground and carefully buried Qin Feng and Li Yan's remains deep inside the cave, erecting a wooden plaque. Shen Lingxi stood before the grave, silent for a long time.

"Let's go," Xiao Yunsheng said in a deep voice.

Shen Lingxi nodded and followed him out of the cave.

Outside the cave lies an unnamed valley deep within the Yanyu Mountains, with a dense, impenetrable black forest stretching out before it.

They had only taken a few steps when they realized something was wrong!

The path beneath my feet is clearly moving forward, but the cave behind me is always just three zhang away, and I can never truly get close to the Black Forest!

Even more terrifying, Xiao Yunsheng discovered that the image of his father in his mind was gradually becoming blurred!

Shen Lingxi's expression also changed drastically. She could hardly remember why Qin Feng and Li Yan had died!

What they didn't know was that the dark forest before them was called the Forest of Oblivion!