Chapter 1484: Chessboard and Game Pieces

A traveler was always on the road.

Walking a path with no known destination.

Chen Changsheng returned to the Mortal World, arriving once more in Qiuyue Fang.

Back inside Liuyun Temple, everything remained exactly as it had been, as if nothing had changed at all.

"Creak..."

He pushed the door open to an utterly silent courtyard. New Branches had sprouted from the dead tree, with small plants taking root and blossoming upon it, as if the withered timber had come back to life.

Tao'er, sitting beneath the tree, turned her head.

She stood up and called out softly, "Mister..."

The sloping ridge of Liuyun Temple's roof shifted in form, and Chenghuang leaped down from above.

"Mister, you've returned."

Chen Changsheng looked at the two of them. His gaze moved past, crossing the Main Hall to look toward the divine statue resting in the Main Hall.

It remained completely spotless.

"Yes," he said. "I'm back."

A steady drizzle blanketed the landscape in a layer of white mist.

Wrapped in a blanket, Chen Changsheng sat in the Main Hall, listening to the rain falling outside.

For this moment, his heart was perfectly at peace.

Countless memories of years past surfaced in his mind, flashing past like riding a horse and viewing flowers.

They brought ripples of emotion, only to fade away in an instant.

He was always tormenting himself with such thoughts, torturing the twilight years of his life.

Yes, his twilight years.

Chen Changsheng considered this the twilight of his life.

It wasn't his body that had grown old, but his mind.

Tao'er sat nearby to keep Mister company. Chenghuang did not say a word, remaining as silent as it had always been.

Mister had fallen asleep.

Chenghuang rarely saw Mister sleep. It seemed that over all these years, he had truly grown tired.

...

Qiuyue Fang was peaceful and serene.

Business was booming at the local Wine Tavern. Autumn Moon Brew had earned an excellent reputation and was now sold far and wide, but the most authentic batch could still only be found right here.

Upon waking, Chen Changsheng walked down the mountain and bought a jug of wine.

The place had changed drastically. Over hundreds of years, many of the old houses had been replaced, and the faces of the people passing through had completely changed.

Chen Changsheng fetched his wine, taking a seat in the Wine Tavern to drink.

He downed cup after cup, leaving as soon as he finished.

He came often these days.

As the Wine Tavern's shopkeeper cleared the empty cups, he couldn't help but glance back at this eternally silent Mister.

Until one day, the man ordered an extra jug.

Seeing this, the Wine Tavern's shopkeeper asked, "Are you in a bad mood today, sir?"

He normally ordered one jug, but today he had asked for three.

"I'm paying my respects to some friends," Chen Changsheng replied.

The Wine Tavern's shopkeeper lightly slapped his own cheek. "That was my loose tongue. Please don't take offense, sir."

Chen Changsheng gave a warm smile. "It's fine."

Chen Changsheng left the Wine Tavern, leaving the shopkeeper to quietly kick himself for asking too many questions.

Chen Changsheng walked out of the settlement and searched the surroundings until he finally spotted two towering pine trees.

The Stone Tablet had vanished to who knew where, leaving nothing behind but a few earthen mounds.

Chen Changsheng gazed at them, slowly pouring out the wine from his jugs onto the earth.

He sat down and, just as usual, didn't say a single word.

The wind rustled in his ears. He slowly drifted off, falling peacefully asleep just like that beneath the two pines.

He had been dreaming a lot lately, caught in long slumbers he struggled to wake from.

He couldn't see these old friends anymore, so he could only share a few words with them in his dreams.

It offered him a small measure of comfort.

...

"Do you want to change this tragic fate?"

"Do you want to live in this world like an ordinary person?"

"Do you want to break free, to escape this kind of world?!"

The inner demon's voice echoed relentlessly in Jiu Fengchun's ears.

Jiu Fengchun's heart trembled. Staring fixedly at the inner demon, he snarled, "Get out!!"

The inner demon paced back and forth before him, a smirk curling at the corner of its lips. "Heh, you do! You want it more than anyone else! But why refuse to accept it? You're running away, you're afraid—you're still a coward just the same!"

Jiu Fengchun took several deep breaths. "You're nothing but a manifestation of my master's inner demon, yet you actually think you're something special!"

The inner demon chuckled. "Zhao Yuqing is a coward, too!"

Jiu Fengchun raised his hand, snapping forward to seize the demon by the throat.

The inner demon gave a sinister smile. "Squeeze! Strangle me to death! Sever your master's path forward! Do it!"

Hearing those words, Jiu Fengchun's grip trembled, and he let go.

"Hahahaha..."

The inner demon burst into manic laughter.

Above them, thunder boomed across the sky.

It illuminated the inner demon's figure.

"Jiu Fengchun," he said, "just because you treat this world with kindness, do you think this world will show kindness to you? It's utterly laughable!"

"Stand up!"

"Look. The heavens are right in front of you. You only need to overturn this Heavenly Dao and rewrite the rules, and you'll be able to live as a normal person. You won't be harmed by the world's prejudice, and you'll never again have to worry about not having a home."

"Why not stand up?"

The inner demon's voice swirled endlessly through Jiu Fengchun's mind.

He clamped his hands over his ears, choosing not to listen any further.

"You must listen!"

The inner demon grabbed his hand. "You must listen! In the world today, only you can reverse this shift. Only you can overturn this injustice!"

"You're not just doing it for all living beings, but for yourself!"

"You have no other choice!"

Jiu Fengchun roared, "I do have a choice!!"

"Boom!!"

Lightning illuminated both of their faces.

The inner demon sneered. "Do you really?"

At those words, Jiu Fengchun fell silent once more.

He didn't have a choice!

The very purpose of his existence was to devour the world's Spiritual Energy and entirely consume every cultivator under heaven.

Jiu Fengchun's mind blanked for a moment, but he suddenly snapped back to his senses.

Shaking his head, he fled from the area.

The inner demon didn't bother chasing him; he would always know exactly where Jiu Fengchun was.

He understood that the current Jiu Fengchun already had the answer in his heart. There was no need to waste any more effort on him.

With a soft scoff, the inner demon departed from the area as well.

There was still one more person he needed to see.

The one who had risen to prominence later on—the Supreme Saint of the Literary Dao.

...

Kong Ru was slightly surprised by the inner demon's visit, but he quickly seemed to guess the purpose behind it.

"The heavens have the Heavenly Dao, and mankind has the Human Dao," Kong Ru said bluntly. "Your desire to remake the world defies reason, and more importantly, it breaks the established rules."

The inner demon said, "Master Kong, haven't you already made your decision?"

Kong Ru replied, "Acting so brazenly, aren't you afraid I'll stand in your way?"

"No one can stand in my way."

The inner demon held his gaze. "Whether it's the three teachings or the vast accumulation of qi destiny, they are all merely window dressing. The one who truly holds the game piece is me."

"And all of you are nothing more than game pieces on the chessboard."

Kong Ru paused for a moment. He shook his head and asked, "What makes you so certain that you are the player?"

A smirk curled at the corner of the inner demon's lips. "Because I say I am!"