Chapter 3085 - The Pawns and the Players, Overturning the Board

But Old Lord Gouchen didn’t explain.

In truth, he hadn’t guided Heavenly Sovereign Qingyi for one simple reason: he didn’t want to violate the boundaries of the Big Boss’s reincarnation or make him suspect he had ulterior motives for guiding Heavenly Sovereign Qingyi.

If that happened, it’d put him at a disadvantage.

Better to let Su Yi decide Hua Qingyi’s next steps. That was the safest way to handle this!

Ruo Su couldn’t help but tease, “You act like me doing you a favor is a matter of course!”

Su Yi laughed. “We’re all on the same side, so the more favors we do each other, the better.”

Heavenly Sovereign Qingyi took a moment to steady herself, then lowered her voice and whispered to Su Yi, “Thank you.”

She was naturally well aware that Ruo Su was only giving her this opportunity on Su Yi’s account.

Su Yi froze, stunned. He wasn’t used to the haughty Miss Baa Baa Black Sheep speaking with such politeness.

He naturally wouldn’t be polite back. He transmitted, “What’re you thanking me for? I still need you to kill a bunch of people for me later!”

Heavenly Sovereign Qingyi paused, then nodded; a rare smile arose on her icy, beautiful face.

Old Lord Gouchen bade farewell and led the Secluded Ones away shortly after. The entire area was suddenly quiet and empty.

River Ancestors Luo Yu and Hu Chan sighed in relief. Even though the Secluded Ones had withdrawn their presence, revealing little of their divine majesty, they still put formless pressure on the two River Ancestors.

They were like deer surrounded by tigers. Even if the tigers didn’t do anything, their mere presence was enough to make the deer’s hearts shake.

In truth, Su Yi wasn’t at all calm, either.

This grand battle had started with the six Heavenly Sovereigns. They’d been working with the middle-aged Daoist, Ling Jue.

None of them had anticipated that things would reach this point. Guan Shui and Zhi Yue had arrived, killing Mo Hanyi and going so far as to break the rules, all to target Su Yi.

Then, Ruo Su rushed over and turned the tide, killing Guan Shui and Ling Jue before turning her focus toward the Secluded Ones.

Then Grandmaster Song Lan of Three Purities Temple showed up, followed by Old Lord Gouchen...

But it was the Little Boss of Sword Sovereign City who’d really decided the outcome today. He was just one person, but he’d defeated Song Lan’s clone and killed Zhi Yue!

Moreover, the Secluded Ones could only avert their gazes respectfully before him. None dared recklessly take a stand!

When Su Yi thought back to this, he really did feel like his anger had been sated, but his hatred lingered.

Still, this was different from the stand-off that followed the Struggle for Heavenly Fate. At the very least, now he could fight back somewhat.

Even if he couldn’t determine the outcome, and even if he was stuck in the role of “bystander,” unable to contribute, this was still better than after the Struggle for Heavenly Fate.

“The six Heavenly Sovereigns fled,” Ruo Su said casually. “Someone intervened and warned them to escape.”

Su Yi’s eyebrows rose. “Who?”

Earlier, Ling Jue arrived, then gave each of the Heavenly Sovereigns a pile of treasure. He also told them to leave, but it was obvious even then that they hadn’t, not really. They’d simply decided to watch and wait from elsewhere in the Sea of Fate.

All of that was immediately obvious to Su Yi.

But he hadn’t realized that someone had later warned the Heavenly Sovereigns, and that all of them had since left.

Ruo Su shook her head slightly. “It was most likely one of the Secluded Ones, but I couldn’t tell you exactly who.”

Su Yi sank into thought.

He’d initially assumed that Heavenly Sovereign E was backed by Three Purities Temple, but now, it seemed obvious that that wasn’t the case. There were other Secluded Ones behind him, too!

“No need to worry about all that. It’s true that anyone capable of becoming a Heavenly Sovereign is an unparalleled figure blessed with good fortune, but to the Secluded Ones, they’re no different from pawns on the chessboard,” Ruo Su said casually. “Of course, even being considered their pawn is an honor most cultivators could never hope to receive.”

Su Yi shook his head slightly. “I dare not look down on Heavenly Sovereigns. After all, I’m not yet strong enough to truly defeat one on my own.”

He wasn’t at all dejected about it. Those were simply the facts.

“They must have had a reason for choosing to use the Heavenly Sovereigns as pawns. I’m curious. What exactly were those Secluded Ones after?” Su Yi asked.

Ruo Su’s gaze was a bit strange. “They had two goals. One of them involved you.”

“They wanted to kill me?”

Ruo Su nodded. “Yes, and not just because of reincarnation or the ability to Bring Order to the River of Epochs. It also involves your first incarnation.”

Su Yi couldn’t help but sink into thought. He’d reincarnated nine times, each time facing endless adversity. Some of his past lives had died in battle, while others had died for love or lost themselves to obsession...

There were a few exceptions, but most of his past lives had died bitter deaths.

Over the course of this lifetime’s cultivation, Su Yi had repeatedly fused with their Dao Imprints. Looking back on it now, it seemed that although most of the adversity he’d faced in this life was connected to reincarnation and the Epoch Spark, wasn’t his first incarnation involved, too?

Perhaps it was because he’d anticipated these difficulties that his first incarnation had made so many arrangements and backup plans for him before he died, like hiding the Dark and Gold Star Realm and arranging for the River Lord and Gongye Futu to guard the River of Epochs. Then there was the Little Boss and Gui Nian, who guarded the Cavern of Swords... and numerous similar examples. All were part of his first incarnation’s plans!

Even reincarnation, the Sword of the Nine Hells, the rusted sword sheath, and the heart devil in it could all be traced back to his first incarnation.

Tracing all of these superficially complicated, tangled threads back to their source made the answer clear. Every difficulty he’d faced in this lifetime was connected to his first life—and to his enemies. They were the ones who’d destroyed Sword Sovereign City and broken the Eternal Pact!

These included Three Purities Temple, the other progenitor-level factions of the All-Profound Dominion, and... many of the Secluded Ones!

In entering the cycle of reincarnation in search of greater heights, his first incarnation had effectively begun a game of chess. Su Yi and his other past lives were his pawns, and his “opponent” was naturally all of the enemies he’d had in life.

If his enemies were to make moves, they naturally needed pawns of their own. Now, the Heavenly Sovereigns were filling that role!

Even after grasping all that, Su Yi couldn’t help but rub his forehead. “Being someone’s pawn isn’t the least bit pleasant.”

Ruo Su smiled and said gently, “Both you and your past lives are ultimately the same person. You might be the pawn now, but you’ll be the player later.”

Su Yi smiled. “I don’t like chess. If I find myself in the role of the player, I’ll simply overturn the table and end things with my own strength.”

Ruo Su froze, stunned. Su Yi’s seemingly inadvertent comment had given her a glimpse of his transcendent, extraordinary spirit and deep-seated confidence.

He’d overturn the table and end things with his own strength! Then, he'd surely end things with his enemies on the Far Shore, winner-take-all!

This was both an ancient grudge and a struggle for the Grand Dao!

But then, Su Yi changed the subject. “What was their other goal?”

“As you know, those with Eternal Thrones are called Heavenly Sovereigns, and they enjoy destiny’s favor here on the River of Destiny. Should they manage to break their shackles and step onto the Path to Ancestry, their accomplishments will far transcend others of the same level. Proving their Daos and becoming Ancestors won’t be difficult, either.”

According to Ruo Su, there were countless cultivators in the All-Profound Dominion, but even at the same level of cultivation, most were far inferior to former Heavenly Sovereigns, those favored by destiny itself.

Every Heavenly Sovereign who reached the Far Shore had a chance to become a Dao Ancestor!

Such opportunities were far, far too hard for most others to seize. The overwhelming majority would live and die without ever succeeding.

Ruo Su then shared some concrete numbers to demonstrate her point. On the Far Shore of Destiny, about half of Dao Ancestors had once been Heavenly Sovereigns on the River of Destiny!

Most Dao Ancestors had broken the shackles of destiny in the early days of the Primordial Era, reached the Far Shore, and then proved their Daos.

Of course, becoming a Dao Ancestor was difficult. Even Heavenly Sovereigns had to expend an enormous amount of time and effort to achieve this goal, and they had to overcome seemingly endless tempering and adversity first.

One look at the Heavenly Sovereigns of the present day, and you’d see that none had stepped onto the Far Shore in a long, long time.

Heavenly Sovereign Qingyi had tried, but she’d been unfortunate enough to encounter Old Lord Gouchen of the Secluded Ones in her search for the Far Shore.

Only now did Su Yi understand why the progenitor-level factions of the Far Shore attached such importance to Heavenly Sovereigns, and why the Secluded Ones would bother using them as pawns.

Simply put, Heavenly Sovereigns’ foundations and potential were far too terrifying. They were ideal candidates to one day become Dao Ancestors!

“This is the Sea of Fate, huh...?” Ruo Su silently scanned her surroundings. Something occurred to her. “Did the experts of Three Purities Temple come here for the Untethered Boat?”

Su Yi inclined his head. “That’s most likely the case.”

Ruo Su looked enlightened. “No wonder they were willing to risk breaking the rules. That little boat really does hide an enormous stroke of good fortune connected to the Source of the River of Destiny.”

Su Yi couldn’t help but look surprised. “You know about the Untethered Boat, Senior?”

Ruo Su inclined her head. “I went into seclusion on the River of Destiny a long, long time ago, relying on the forces of Divine Reverence Pavilion to gather information. Thanks to them, I’ve known about the Untethered Boat for a long time now.”

Here, she stopped to warn him. “The Untethered Boat is strange. Those who board it might well be transported to the Source of the River of Destiny, but they’re highly likely to meet with disaster and perish, too. I urge you not to touch it.”

Su Yi was instantly solemn. “Aren’t you interested in the boat, Fellow Daoist?”

Ruo Su shook her head slightly. “At my level, I’m not looking for opportunities to break through, but rather to avoid disaster.

“The Untethered Boat’s secrets are connected to the Source of the River of Destiny, and that makes it unpredictable. For my daughter’s sake, I cannot risk touching it.”

Su Yi’s gaze focused. Ruo Su is a Dao Ancestor, but she still isn’t willing to touch the Untethered Boat? Just what kind of dangers are lying in wait at the Source of the River of Destiny?

The two of them didn’t hide their conversation, so Heavenly Sovereign Qingyi and the two River Ancestors heard every word.

Their hearts churned. They see Heavenly Sovereigns as pawns? And the mysterious Untethered Boat hides mysteries connected to the Source of the River of Destiny?

It was no wonder they were so astonished; anyone in their shoes would have felt the same way.

“I’ll help you claim this Past Karma Blood Lotus,” said Ruo Su. She flipped her palm, and a mountain-sized lotus floated into the air and hovered before them.

Heavenly Sovereign Ku Xuan and Fei Yunzi, the founder of Crimson Kite Daoist Court, were trapped inside.