Ever since awakening several years ago, Gu Qingfeng had constantly heard people say that countless fraudsters in the world today were impersonating him and his successors. He hadn't paid it much mind, until Old Man Liu mentioned the so-called 'Ten Greatest Cases of True and False Successors of the Monarch.' Only then did he realize the situation was far more serious than he had imagined.
Moreover, he truly couldn't understand what the purpose of those people impersonating him was.
Just to swindle Spirit Treasures?
No!
From what the old man meant, those people each possessed remarkable abilities, among them even reincarnated mighty beings. Such individuals fundamentally couldn't lack for treasures, and there was no need for them to impersonate him and go around deceiving people.
If it wasn't for treasures, then what was it for?
Unclear.
Gu Qingfeng really couldn't figure it out. In his view, he was just a sinner. Putting aside everything else, the Immortal Court alone would never let him off, not to mention besides the Immortal Court, there was also the Nine Heavens. On top of that, back in the day, he had offended many hidden mighty beings from all directions.
Why would these people, taking such great risks, still wave his banner? What was the reason?
He truly couldn't fathom it.
But he knew this matter definitely wasn't that simple. One or two impersonators could be understood, but ten or eight impersonating him... there must be some secret he was unaware of behind this affair.
Could it be someone wanted to use this opportunity to see if he had truly reincarnated?
To see if he was still alive?
Or perhaps they already knew he was alive and wanted to use this method to lure him out?
It wasn't impossible.
In fact, it was highly possible.
At the very least, Gu Qingfeng knew that many people were looking for him. Among them might be enemies, or perhaps... lovers.
Gu Qingfeng pondered that after finishing his business in the Great Northwest, he must investigate what conspiracy lay behind this matter.
He wasn't in a hurry.
Even if he was, it wasn't urgent right now.
His plan was to meet all the people he should see in the borderlands of the Great Northwest, repay all the debts of gratitude he owed from back then, and then investigate Feng Zhuyue's whereabouts. He always felt Feng Zhuyue couldn't have vanished without reason. Most importantly, he wanted to clarify whether his acquaintance with Feng Zhuyue back then was a mere coincidence, or like Yun Nichang, another meticulously arranged strand of Karma.
Ever since encountering that remnant wisp of Yun Nichang's consciousness, he had already decided to cease seeking out Karma, and had already given up.
Precisely because he had given up, he must sever it.
He didn't want to wade into the muddy waters of Karma anymore. He only wanted to sever the Karma he had tied in this lifetime.
That night.
The moonlight was gentle, the starlight bright.
Some of the people who had come early for the Wuse Flower Festival were quietly cultivating in their guest rooms, while others sat in twos and threes in pavilions, drinking, chatting, and shooting the breeze. The topics were none other than the prominent figures of the Great Northwest, speculating on who would come to participate in the Wuse Flower Festival.
Things like the Nine Dragons and Eighteen Elephants of the Chizitou Branch's Changhong Sub-branch.
Or the Nine Yin and Nine Yang of the Hunyuan Sect.
And the Twelve Tiger Sons of the Tiger Might Wang Family.
The Thirteen Full Moons of the Demon Moon Palace.
And the Twenty-Four Immortal Prodigies of the Immortal Mansion.
Gu Qingfeng listened for a while, then found it uninteresting. With nothing better to do, he strolled alone through the gardens.
The gardens were vast, filled with five-colored flowers everywhere, with a pavilion situated not far from each other.
Gu Qingfeng walked deeper into the gardens. Along the way, he saw two people sitting in a pavilion playing chess, and he stopped to watch.
The chess players were two Elders. One was dressed simply, seemingly not too particular, laughing and drinking wine.
The other appeared much more fastidious, dressed neatly and properly, holding a teacup in his hand, taking occasional sips.
The two were playing black-and-white chess. This thing was also called Heaven-Earth Chess, also known as Qiankun Chess.
Don't underestimate this black-and-white chess; it contained endless mysteries, endless variations, endless possibilities. The two pieces, black and white: black represented Yin, white represented Yang. They could derive the Three Talents, could derive the Four Symbols, could derive the Five Elements, could transform into the Six Harmonies, and could also transform into the Eight Trigrams, the Nine Palaces...
This thing looked like it was about chess skill, but in reality, it was about strategy, and also about the Great Dao.
The two chess players seemed evenly matched in skill. However, the tea-drinking Elder's playing style was relatively more traditional, while the wine-drinking old man's style was ever-changing, fond of setting traps and tripping people up. In just this short while, the tea-drinking Elder had lost three games.
It seemed the two were also playing for stakes, and the stakes weren't small—they were betting Mystic-Grade Spirit Treasures.
In this world, Spirit Treasures could roughly be divided into four grades: Heaven, Earth, Mystic, and Yellow.
Each grade was further divided into Low-Grade, Mid-Grade, High-Grade, Top-Grade, and Rare-Grade.
Yellow-Grade Spirit Treasure resources were relatively common. For example, various Crystal Ores were all Yellow-Grade Spirit Treasures. Most resources of this grade were formed through the gradual accumulation and nurturing of heaven and earth's spiritual energy.
Mystic-Grade was different.
Although Mystic-Grade was also nurtured by heaven and earth's spiritual energy, besides that, it also contained the natural Yin-Yang and Five Elements. This stuff was something one could encounter but not seek. It couldn't be formed just by the gradual accumulation of spiritual energy; it required the right timing, geographical advantages, and human harmony—all three were indispensable. Therefore, this kind of Spirit Treasure was also called a Natural Treasure. For example, the seven-colored Crystal Ore the Blackwind Twin Fiends had given Gu Qingfeng earlier was a Mystic-Grade Spirit Treasure, and a High-Grade one at that.
Generally speaking, possessing a single Mystic-Grade Spirit Treasure was enough to establish a sect and found a school.
Like the spiritual veins occupied by various major sects, they were all slowly derived from various Mystic-Grade spiritual veins, the only difference being the grade.
As for Earth-Grade Spirit Treasures.
That stuff was even rarer, usually things like earth-essence primordial stones.
For these two Elders to bet a Mystic-Grade Spirit Treasure per game, the stakes were absolutely not small.
One must know that for ordinary cultivators, a single Mid-Grade Yellow-Grade Spirit Treasure was already a luxury item, let alone High-Grade, Top-Grade, or Rare-Grade. As for Mystic-Grade Spirit Treasures, that was something they didn't even dare to dream about. For cultivators like Li Pangzi and Old Man Liu, whether they had ever seen a Mystic-Grade Spirit Treasure in their lifetimes was an unknown.
Gu Qingfeng watched for a while. The tea-drinking Elder lost another game—another Mystic-Grade Spirit Treasure.
"I'm not playing anymore, not playing anymore..." The tea-drinking Elder sighed with a huff, saying somewhat gloomily, "Old Monster Jin, your lad's chess tactics get more despicable year by year. This old man won't play with you anymore!"
"What do you mean despicable? It's just that you lad don't know how to adapt when playing chess."
The old man called Old Monster Jin toyed with the Mystic-Grade Crystal Ore he had just won, laughing, "Idle time is idle time. Let's play a couple more games."
"Still play?
If I keep playing, what little family wealth this old man has will all end up in your lad's pocket!"
"Tch, how much family wealth do you lad have? Don't I know?"
Old Monster Jin took a sip of wine, stroking the goatee on his chin, grinning slyly, "I heard you lad obtained a precious cauldron a few years back...
Heard it's even a High-Grade Mystic-Grade one?"
Before he finished speaking, the tea-drinking Elder pointed at Old Monster Jin and started cursing, "You good-for-nothing Old Monster Jin! With your Wuse Mountain so busy, I was wondering how you lad still had the leisure to play chess with this old man. So you've been eyeing this old man's precious cauldron all along!"
"Don't be hasty. This old man didn't mean it that way. Besides, in chess, there are wins and losses. What if this old man loses this game?"
As he spoke, Old Monster Jin flipped his wrist, and a Crystal Ore radiating colorful light appeared in his palm. He said, "This is a five-colored Crystal Ore. Haven't you always wanted one?
I'll stake this thing. How about it?"