Questioning the Dao, huh?
Fang Chen nodded thoughtfully. Then, he looked toward Fang Zhentian, his expression complex. "Senior Brother Qingmu, the one playing chess with Senior Yun He is…."
"Just call him Master; don't use fancy titles. Although Master may not have formally accepted you, as long as he imparts you with techniques, he is your Master," Ancestor Qingmu firmly corrected Fang Chen’s wording.
Then, he glanced at Fang Zhentian, looking slightly nostalgic.
"That senior has a vast background. I only know that many Immortal Kings in the world refer to him as an anomaly, much like Master. The difference between him and Master is that he’s completely clear-minded.
"He usually keeps a low profile; unless he chooses to appear, no one can find him. I suspect he and Master might have been friends in the past, which is why Master always sits down for a game of chess with him whenever they meet. It is only when they meet the Master seems to regain some clarity."
"Do you know this senior’s name, Senior Brother?" Fang Chen asked.
"I don’t know his full name, just that he is surnamed—"
Just as Ancestor Qingmu was about to answer, he heard Senior Yun He laugh heartily, his voice ringing out like a bell in everyone’s ears.
"Is the game coming to an end?"
Excitement spread across the faces of the tens of thousands of cultivators nearby.
"You heard it. This senior is surnamed Fang. Just like you, Junior Brother," Ancestor Qingmu said with a smile.
Fang Chen fell into deep thought.
He is surnamed Fang and looks exactly like the old man… Could such a coincidence really exist?
He couldn't help but look over at that senior, feeling a twinge of hesitation. Should he send a message through his divine soul? But the temperament of someone like that was unpredictable. If his guess was wrong, he could end up inviting disaster.
Meanwhile, Fang Zhentian smiled lightly upon hearing Yun He’s words.
"Friend Yun, your strategies are quite ingenious. I admit defeat in this game, but to truly determine a winner would take some years. How about we call this game a draw?"
Yun He nodded with a smile. "That works too."
The crowd barely had time to react before the chessboard in the void vanished, and the pieces transformed into streams of light, returning to their original spots and taking their former shapes back, becoming towering mountains.
Upon witnessing this scene, the pupils of Heavenly King Zhen and others constricted. Such a feat... They believed they could not accomplish anything like it with their abilities.
Yun He sighed softly, looking around with a complex expression. "It’s been many years since I’ve seen this place properly."
"Then take a good look; in a while, you'll forget all about it," "Fang Zhentian" chuckled.
The crowd became even more excited, and everyone started stretching their necks forward in hopes of the two seniors noticing them.
They were uncertain about the identity of one of them, but according to legends, the other person was the Heavenly Cloud Emperor. He was an expert known for his generosity with the juniors. As long as they could catch his eyes, they surely wouldn’t be walking out of this place empty-handed.
Fang Chen didn’t know whether his eyes were playing tricks on him, but he had noticed the two experts’ eyes drift toward him for a moment. However, when he focused on them again, the two were seemingly already gazing into the void.
"Nothing? Perhaps there is, but our cultivation levels are too low for us to see," Qingmu replied.
Amidst the crowd's confusion, two Immortal Boats slowly emerged from the void. Seeing the flags above, everyone gasped in shock.
These were not the ships of the royal heirs; the flags represented the East Continent's Heavenly King Zhen and the West Continent's Ninth Generation King!
The Immortal Kings have arrived!
Those cultivators who were still speculating about the possibility of a Profound Immortal being present were now entirely certain. If Immortal Kings were here, how could there not be several Profound Immortals accompanying them?
Having activated the Primordial Immortal Eyes, a hint of surprise flashed in Fang Chen's eyes. Although the images he saw were different from those of ordinary people, the world constructed of lines was the most real. He could perceive both the essence of the living and non-living.
However, he now found that the lines on some of the people in his sight were very chaotic. He could only make out their general shapes but could not discern their faces through the lines’ outlines.
But among them, there was one person he saw clearly: Wang Zhenlong from the Void Immortal Sword Sect, his master.
Ancestor Qingmu smiled and listed, "East Continent's Heavenly King Zhen, Qing Xiang Monarch of the Green Elephant Sect, Mister Zhao from the Desolate Academy, Ouyang Xuanzhen from the Great Expansion Dao Gate, and Wang Zhenlong from the Void Immortal Sword Sect.
"Only when our master appears can so many significant figures be drawn in, huh? The relationship between the Divine Dao Sect and the Desolate Academy is indeed as rumored. They have joined forces, and what do the Immortal Worshiping Sect, the Incense Sect, and the Spirit Blood Sect have to do with this?"
As he spoke, Ancestor Qingmu's gaze shifted to another Immortal Boat, where three figures stood.
In the center was a middle-aged man with a mustache, dressed in a well-fitted scholarly robe. To his right stood a figure resembling a dragon, about ten feet tall, with dragon horns and a beard. To his left was a woman at least eighty feet tall, her massive form exuding an oppressive aura just by standing there.
Fortunately, the Immortal Boat was large enough that even someone of her stature didn’t seem out of place on it.
A faint cold smile appeared on Ancestor Qingmu's face. "The West Continent's Ninth Generation King, Dragon Sovereign of the Morning Star Dao Sect, and Emperor Su Mo of the Giant Immortal Sect… Tsk tsk… Both Immortal Kings from the Great Expansion Dao Gate and the Morning Star Dao Sect are here. I wonder where the Immortal King of the Innate Dao Sect is hiding? Ah, right, the Innate Dao Sect tends to be cautious and calculating; they rarely show themselves."
When Fang Chen heard him recount the origins of this group, he finally understood why he couldn’t see their faces.
Those individuals were undoubtedly Immortal Kings! Powerful beings in the Ascension Realm! If placed in ancient times, they would be the kind of existence that could ascend to the Immortal Realm and become immortals.
"Wait, if I can’t see the appearance of the Immortal Kings, then why can I see Senior Yun He and that individual’s features?"
A hint of doubt arose in Fang Chen’s heart. He wanted to project his soul and have a look at the true identities of these Immortal Kings but found Ancestor Qingmu’s hand gently resting on his shoulder.
"Junior Brother, your soul is special, so it’s best not to exit your body in such a setting. A legacy from Master is enough to drive these Immortal Kings to do some disgraceful things behind the scenes," Ancestor Qingmu said lightly.
Fang Chen bitterly smiled. "So, you noticed it long ago, Senior Brother…."
Perhaps Qingmu had already noticed his unique soul from their very first meeting. However, he clearly misunderstood that his special soul was a result of a technique Daoist Yun had imparted to him.
He had already encountered a figure resembling an immortal way before he had met Yun He. Unfortunately, as the years went by, he found that his memories regarding that time had become increasingly hazy. What remained of that figure was only an outline now.
‘Fang Zhentian’ glanced over the two Immortal Boats with a half-smile.
Heavenly King Zhen and others couldn’t help but show a hint of embarrassment.
The last time an event had happened... they had not yet qualified to converse with these two.