Chapter 221: Four Palace Chess Valley
Having prepared everything, a stalk of Dark Horn Flower was tossed into the furnace. The moment the petals touched the sword qi, they were instantly shredded into fine powder, impurities flung from the domain like black sand.
The remaining supplementary herbs were added one by one, their impurities decomposed while the residual medicinal liquid hovered at the furnace’s core.
Under the scorching heat of the flame-like burning fire, it gradually contracted, condensing into a emerald-green droplet.
Song Yan’s brows furrowed slightly as his divine sense perceived the medicinal power dissipating too quickly. He immediately adjusted the intensity of his sword qi, and the furnace emitted a humming tremor.
He flicked a finger, sending half a Celestial Lotus Seed into the furnace.
The lotus seed, upon encountering the sword qi, quivered as though alive. Its outer husk peeled away, fully revealing the moonlight-like core within.
Song Yan’s sword incantation shifted abruptly. The sword qi inside the furnace transformed from rigid to gentle, drawing out the essence of the lotus seed with the delicacy of a spring breeze brushing willows.
The lotus seed merged with the earlier Dark Horn Flower’s medicinal liquid, instantly erupting in silver light. Strange hissing sounds echoed through the sword qi domain.
This was the sign of clashing medicinal properties.
“This is bad.” Song Yan shouted in a low voice, his sword fingers slashing rapidly.
The sword qi within the furnace divided with sudden precision, splitting the silver light into countless fine streams, as though a master butcher were carving an ox.
At the same time, the toad-shaped furnace lid trembled violently, ejecting a stream of cool sword qi on its own to forcibly suppress the chaotic, rampaging medicinal power.
This was the furnace’s self-regulating function, and it was what Song Yan considered the most ingenious aspect of Chen Yi’s design.
This pill furnace, specifically designed for alchemy on the Sword Dao, could not only capture ambient sword qi to reduce the pressure on a cultivator’s own sword qi output, but also store a portion of it, using it at critical moments to automatically suppress dissipating medicinal power.
It gave cultivators ample time to react and make corrections or adjustments.
Once the medicinal liquid gradually stabilized, Song Yan seized the moment and withdrew all of his sword qi at once.
The temperature of the medicinal liquid plummeted. Four pills gradually took shape.
Within the Sword Dao furnace, faint wisps of gray mist could be seen.
As the smell of scorching filled the air, four pills tumbled out. Only one was a low-grade successful pill; the remaining three were all failed pills.
This was only thanks to the furnace’s efficacy. Otherwise, the entire batch would have been wasted once again.
Song Yan’s divine sense, though not yet at the level of Foundation Establishment, had already far surpassed the ninth layer of Qi Refining.
Even someone like him had to expend such effort. He could not help but marvel once more at the difficulty of the alchemical path.
Song Yan first retrieved the single successful pill, examined it carefully for a time, then set it aside.
He then turned his gaze to the three failed pills. Their surfaces were riddled with cracks, and in the brief span of a moment, nearly all of their spiritual energy had dissipated.
He picked one up and studied it closely. “The sword qi was too fierce, and the lotus seed’s medicinal properties had not been fully activated…”
The toad atop the furnace let out a “croak” and released a wisp of green smoke.
The scene felt somewhat mocking.
Song Yan curled his lip.
Over the following month, he continued alternating between cultivation and alchemy.
With the worry of searching for the True-Fallen Vine no longer weighing on him, Song Yan’s state of mind grew much more open, and his alchemy success rate rose rapidly.
In a total of four attempts, the first went awry and everything failed.
The second produced only a single pill, but the third and fourth each yielded three pills.
In all, he obtained seven Unthought Pills.
This success rate was approaching fifty percent.
He had one Celestial Lotus Seed remaining. Song Yan planned to attempt two more times before truly beginning to refine the Foundation Establishment Pill.
During this period, one more event occurred.
Xiao Ju finally broke through to the fourth layer of Qi Refining, officially becoming a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator.
While this was cause for celebration, Song Yan once again considered in his heart that after achieving Foundation Establishment, he would pass the Seed Planting Technique to Xiao Ju.
“I feel Xiao Ju is even cleverer than I am. Passing this sword technique to her would be like finding a fine candidate disciple for the Sword Sect.”
When Song Yan had previously identified himself as a disciple of the Sword Sect, he always felt quite solitary.
It was as if this long road ahead, with all the karmic ties and mysteries belonging to the Sword Sect, had to be unraveled by an ordinary person like himself.
This feeling had been especially strong after he had entered the Sword Sect ruins under the guidance of the Straw-Cloaked Elder.
“Now that the Sword Sect has fallen so low, each additional seed of the Sword Dao opens one more path.”
“The path of the sword cultivator is sharp and conspicuous, inevitably drawing envy and covetousness. If I perish on the path of seeking immortality, at least Xiao Ju can carry on this legacy. The lineage will not be severed.”
Song Yan thought thus.
…
This day, at the entrance of Mist Stream Cave.
Song Yan and Wang Ke were already waiting there, with Xiao Ju standing behind the two, as though expecting someone.
Seeing the figures approaching in the distance, she stepped forward and said softly, “Senior Song, Brother Liang and the others have arrived.”
At the turn of the mountain path not far away, Liang Feng and Hu Qing walked over at a leisurely pace.
The Liang couple had long planned to attend the spectating. To secure a seat for Hu Qing, Liang Feng had called in many favors.
Song Yan had also remembered the matter that day and specifically mentioned it to Liang Feng, arranging to travel together.
“This must be Daoist Wang Ke?”
Seeing Wang Ke nod, Liang Feng spoke warmly, “My wife is very fond of the Way of Chess. When she heard that Daoist Wang had actually advanced to the finals of this grand tournament, she was full of admiration.”
Hu Qing said nothing, only offering a gentle bow.
“Not at all. It is merely a hobby.”
The party set off from Mist Stream Cave.
Liang Feng was naturally talkative, and Wang Ke was no introvert. The two chatted idly along the way.
Hu Qing and Xiao Ju also conversed with laughter.
Since Xiao Ju had learned some Go, whenever Song Yan was in seclusion for cultivation or alchemy, he would play chess with Hu Qing.
Over time, the two had grown quite familiar with each other.
In stark contrast to the relaxed atmosphere, Song Yan himself felt slightly apprehensive.
He had rented a flying artifact.
Today was his first time using it.
Only Xiao He knew about this, so she kept silent.
In truth, after leaving the Wing River, Song Yan possessed a considerable fortune of spirit stones.
He had originally saved them, hoping to purchase the True-Fallen Vine by chance.
Now he had more than enough wealth to buy a flying artifact without affecting his refinement of the improved Foundation Establishment Pill.
But the human heart was a curious thing.
Now that he had received heaven-sent fortune and obtained the spirit treasure he had dreamed of without cost, he found himself unwilling to part with his spirit stones for a flying artifact.
He had saved a large sum of spirit stones, so he might as well save even more.
He wanted to use all of them for cultivation, to assault the realm of Foundation Establishment.
The flying artifact he had rented was called the Red Dust Chariot, a crimson-lacquered, gold-trimmed flying vehicle.
Finding an open space, Song Yan gave a light cough and produced the control jade talisman of the Red Dust Chariot.
As spiritual energy poured in, a flying vehicle several zhang long materialized out of thin air.
Madder-colored gauze curtains hung from the roof, and golden bells dangled at the four corners.
It was quite grand, though somewhat… flamboyant.
But there was no help for it. The flying artifacts available for rent here all tended toward extravagant appearances.
The Red Dust Chariot was the cheapest among the artifacts he could tolerate.
“It will take approximately three hours to reach North Watch Mountain,” Song Yan said. “Though the Red Dust Chariot is not as swift as some flying spirit beasts, it excels in stability…”
He glanced over to see Xiao He crouching beside the vehicle, scratching at the gold patterns on its surface with her small hand.
He went over and gave her a flick on the head.
Everyone boarded the vehicle. Song Yan, following the shopkeeper’s instructions, infused spiritual energy into the jade talisman, arranged the spirit stones one by one, then tossed three more into the central slot of the driving platform.
The Red Dust Chariot slowly rose into the air.
“Phew…”
Song Yan exhaled in relief. Controlling this flying artifact was not as troublesome as he had imagined.
Xiao He leaned against the window.
Watching Guard Yang Mountain gradually shrink below, she suddenly turned and asked, “Yan Yan, what happens if we run out of spirit stones while we are flying?”
The interior of the spirit vessel fell silent in an instant.
Song Yan silently slipped another spirit stone into the driving formation plate.
The Red Dust Chariot was indeed not fast, but it flew with perfect steadiness, with virtually no swaying.
With nothing else to do, the group set up a chessboard inside the vehicle.
Hu Qing and Xiao Ju played against each other while the other three watched.
Song Yan was still studying the controls of the Red Dust Chariot. After all, it was his first time piloting it, and he felt uneasy unless he kept watching.
Fortunately, after two hours of “excitement” without incident, they finally arrived within the vicinity of North Watch Mountain City.
They encountered no ambushes along the way. It seemed the cultivators eyeing Wang Ke had seen him traveling in a group and wisely backed off.
The Red Dust Chariot descended slowly, and the party disembarked one by one.
Having come from the direction of Mist Stream Cave this time, Song Yan was not very familiar with the area. Fortunately, Liang Feng and Hu Qing were locals and could guide the way without difficulty.
To avoid encountering people from Cold Flower Valley and triggering unnecessary trouble, the two had disguised themselves carefully.
With the Go tournament approaching, many local cultivators were receiving visitors.
A male and a female cultivator, both wearing the robes of North Watch Mountain City, approached them.
The man appeared to be in his early thirties, wearing an indigo robe. The woman looked to be in her twenties, dressed in a light gauze skirt, her eyes smiling.
The male cultivator cupped his fists first, his voice deep. “Greetings, fellow Daoists. I am Zhou Ming, steward of North Watch Mountain City. This is my junior sister, Tian Mei.”
“Greetings.”
Xiao He, currently in human form, mimicked the gestures and offered a bow of her own.
“Might I ask what brings you here…”
Even without the Go tournament, North Watch Mountain typically saw considerable cultivator traffic.
As the man spoke, his gaze swept across the group, lingering for a moment on Wang Ke’s coarse cloth garments.
A mortal?
Wang Ke straightened his collar and produced a name card from his robe. “I am Wang Ke, of Cloud Dream Mountain. I have come to compete in the finals of the Go tournament.”
As the name card unfolded, the phantom of one black and one white chess piece rose into the air — the tournament’s specially crafted proof of entry.
“So it is Daoist Wang!” Tian Mei’s eyes lit up.
She produced a bamboo scroll from her Cosmos Bag and unrolled it. Information immediately surfaced upon its surface.
Zhou Ming also seemed to have heard this name.
This man was no ordinary person. While compiling the roster of competitors, he had heard many speak of this formidable dark horse with extraordinary chess skill.
Rumors claimed he was a disciple of some reclusive sect whose cultivation had been sealed by an elder.
Others said he had been injured by villains, losing all his cultivation.
No one knew for certain.
Liang Feng stepped forward and produced two jade talismans. “I am Liang Feng of Mist Stream Cave. This is my wife, Hu Qing. The two of us have been invited to spectate. These are the viewing credentials issued by the cave.”
The spirit patterns of Mist Stream Cave flowed across the jade talismans.
After inspecting the credentials, Zhou Ming’s demeanor grew even more cordial. “As one of the eight finalists, Daoist Wang, and as specially invited spectators, Daoist Liang and his wife are entitled to stay at the Shanyang Villa, per regulations.”
Song Yan had heard of Shanyang Villa from Yan Xun before. It was a top-tier estate under the Yan family’s name, used for receiving distinguished guests.
If the Eastern Abyss Sect delegation had not stayed at Cold Flower Valley previously, they too would have gone to Shanyang Villa.
Tian Mei smiled sweetly. “The finals will be held at Four Palace Chess Valley in five days. Would you all prefer to visit the tournament venue to familiarize yourselves with the environment, or go directly to the villa to rest?”
Wang Ke was somewhat impatient, but he turned back to glance at Song Yan. “Shall we go see the venue first?”
Song Yan, who had been lost in thought at the back of the group, suddenly found all eyes fixed on him, somewhat bewildered.
He waved his hand. “As you wish.”
Who cared about the Go tournament or not — Song Yan only wanted to obtain his True-Fallen Vine.
Liang Feng exchanged a glance with his wife and said gently, “My wife and I are weary from the journey and would like to settle in at the villa first. If Daoist Song is inclined, you might accompany Daoist Wang to the venue.”
Song Yan considered briefly, then nodded, offering a polite acknowledgment to Zhou Ming and Tian Mei. “We shall trouble you to lead the way.”
Zhou Ming and Tian Mei were both people of keen perception.
Though they could not gauge the depth of Song Yan’s cultivation, his bearing left no doubt that he was the leader of this group. They naturally dared not be remiss.
Zhou Ming immediately formed a hand seal and summoned a cloud steed. “Please follow me. My junior sister will escort Daoists Liang and Hu to the villa.”
Four Palace Chess Valley was not within the city but nestled in a nearby spirit mountain.
The cloud steed flew only a short while before descending upon a mountain path.
Surrounded by mountains on all sides, a secluded valley lay quietly within.
At the four corners of the valley stood four stone chess pavilions, their eaves carved with the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise. Each pavilion housed its own set of chess implements.
At the center rose a massive stone wall, its surface etched with nineteen vertical and horizontal lines that glowed with a faint spiritual light. Below it sat a special white jade chessboard.
This was the special chessboard to be used in the decisive match. The game played below would be projected onto the towering stone wall, visible even from a distance.
“This is Four Palace Chess Valley,” Zhou Ming said, pride in his voice. “Legend has it that this valley was constructed by the second city lord of North Watch Mountain City using the Four Symbols formation.”
“This spirit jade chessboard at the center is quite remarkable. The images on the stone wall shift in accordance with the players’ moves. You will see for yourselves on the day of the finals.”
At present, some twenty to thirty people occupied the valley.
Beside the eastern pavilion, several stewards in North Watch Mountain City attire were channeling spiritual energy, constructing something.
Wang Ke wandered about, and Song Yan followed along.
Xiao He and Xiao Ju, also feeling a sense of novelty, paused for a while beneath the towering stone wall near the central spirit jade chessboard.
Not far away, a cultivator in a green robe noticed Zhou Ming and approached at a leisurely pace.
Song Yan glanced up casually, but his heart jolted with surprise.
“Daoist Rong?”
The man turned at the sound, looked at Song Yan, and a look of delight appeared in his eyes.
“Daoist Song!”
This was none other than Rong Xiaofeng, the companion of Wu Huaguo.
Since their parting at the tomb of Lin Qinglong years ago, Song Yan had not seen the couple again.
He had intended to visit during the Flower Festival at North Watch Mountain, but various matters had delayed him.
Never had he imagined that their reunion would take place in this chess valley.