CHAPTER 426: CHAPTER 426 THE IMMORTAL CALLS HIMSELF CHI SONGZI

Lu Zheng picked up a white chess piece, scanned the board for a moment, then found a position and lightly placed the piece down.

Wansong Daoist nodded; this move was within his expectations.

However, he still pondered for a moment before placing a black piece.

Seeing Lu Zheng immediately start a game of chess with Wansong Daoist, Song Kaichuan was unsurprised, so he remained silent, sitting beside the two, observing the game attentively.

Soon, Song Kaichuan’s heart spirit sunk into the game, and his view transformed; the board was no longer visible, replaced by a sea of clouds with two divine dragons.

The claws and fangs of the black dragon were sharp, carrying billowing black winds like blades, unstoppable.

The white dragon’s scales were hard, exhaling layers of white mist like curtains, impenetrable.

The current situation had the black dragon on the offensive, the white dragon on defense, but Song Kaichuan could see the black dragon progressing steadily, while the white dragon was gathering strength.

Once the white dragon completes its power accumulation and suddenly erupts, it’s uncertain who will emerge victorious.

However...

Song Kaichuan blinked, noticing the white dragon’s strategy suddenly changed—it was not just purely defensive and accumulating power, but began revealing its claws and teeth in small areas, harassing the black dragon.

"Hmm?" Song Kaichuan blinked, pulling his heart spirit back from the chess game, observing Lu Zheng placing the white pieces in scattered locations. The defense wasn’t as tight as before, yet directly aimed at the weak points of the black pieces, causing them discomfort.

The black pieces could choose to ignore this and continue attacking, but if they did, their defense would be unstable; who knew what the white pieces might achieve by breaking through at this point.

The style of the black pieces was a fierce front offense with strong rear defense.

Thus, the scattered placement by Lu Zheng forced the black pieces to patch up weaknesses, keeping their offensive fierce yet unable to break through the white defense.

The eyes of Wansong Daoist flashed with a hint of surprise.

He didn’t expect Lu Zheng to change the white strategy so quickly, and after two moves, avoid falling into an obvious disadvantage.

Lu Zheng gazed at the chessboard, his mind rapidly calculating the upcoming moves.

He had just deduced the future path of both black and white, knowing that while the white pieces prepared their inner strength, once complete, their full outbreak would be unstoppable.

However, the black pieces attacked fiercely, not just haphazardly attacking, but advancing steadily with solid defense.

Thus, even if the whites burst forth, they would struggle to pierce the black’s offense and further break their defense.

In any case, a stalemate appeared imminent.

Given the situation, Lu Zheng didn’t continue with the current trajectory.

Wansong Daoist alone had deduced such strategies countless times, making it hard for Lu Zheng to overturn the chess game with white pieces like this.

Thus, it was best to change strategy immediately, causing disruptions, cutting off the black’s attacks, dragging delays, harass at every turn, waiting for a change to achieve victory.

Wansong Daoist’s eyes flickered, clearly guessing Lu Zheng’s thoughts.

The idea wasn’t extraordinary, the surprise lay in how Lu Zheng changed strategy effectively—playing seven moves yet white hadn’t been overwhelmed by black’s assaults.

Wansong Daoist nodded, his eyes filled with admiration.

White’s defensive counter-attack had reached halfway; anyone taking over with decent skills could maintain the status for a long time without showing expertise.

Lu Zheng was different, shifting strategies mid-game while ensuring the white defense didn’t collapse, which was much harder than simply following along.

If you want to delay and await change, I’ll attack with grandeur, leaving no flaws, observing how you maneuver.

Wansong Daoist remained unmoving, playing black pieces to fill gaps without giving white any chance for havoc or victory amid chaos.

"Impressive!"

Lu Zheng held a white piece between his fingers, pondering for a long while before placing it down.

Wansong Daoist smiled slightly, placing a black piece in the board.

Lu Zheng clicked his tongue, Wansong Daoist blocked him off again.

Encountering such an evenly matched opponent truly showed that if Lu Zheng had not improved his chess skills through the Jade Seal beforehand, he could have faltered in his initial encounter.

But now...

Lu Zheng placed a piece, thinking, "I still have three fallback moves; can you block them all?"

"Snap!" Wansong Daoist followed with a piece, blocking one of Lu Zheng’s fallback moves.

Lu Zheng, "..."

...

Sunrise and sunset, the chess match between Lu Zheng and Wansong Daoist finally ended after three days.

The result was...

Lu Zheng’s plan to delay and wait for change did not succeed; he didn’t find any flaws in the black pieces.

But Wansong Daoist’s black pieces also couldn’t completely crush the white pieces.

A draw!

Black dragon retracts claws, white dragon folds armor, evenly matched, ceasefire.

"Phew—"

Song Kaichuan exhaled, stroking his beard with a smile, "Old Pine, how is Lu Xiaoyou’s chess skill?"

Wansong Daoist showed a gleaming smile on his wise and ancient face, "I finally have a worthy opponent."

Song Kaichuan’s eyebrows raised, nearly pulling out his mustache.

Darn, I’ve played chess with you for hundreds of years, yet I’m not worthy of being your opponent?

He clicked his tongue, shook his head, calmed his Qi, continuing, "Why not bring out that dream chess match for us to study together?"

Song Kaichuan had tried several times to see that dream chess match; Wansong Daoist hadn’t shown it, leaving him intrigued and restless.

He didn’t expect Lu Zheng could achieve a draw with him; perhaps now he had the chance to witness that chess game?

"No rush, no rush." Wansong Daoist smiled calmly with keen interest, "Just now Lu Xiaoyou joined mid-game yet dueled with me for three days, which isn’t satisfying, let’s start fresh this time."

Lu Zheng’s eyelids twitched, "Senior, forgive me, playing for three consecutive days, I’m quite fatigued and unable to continue."

Playing chess consumes brainpower, especially against such masterful players. Lu Zheng’s cultivation level wasn’t high; finishing this game caused his mind some dizziness, unable to endure another match.

"Indeed, I was too abrupt."

Wansong Daoist apologized, flicking his fingers, a handful of pine nuts magically appeared, piled before Lu Zheng.

"These pine nuts can refresh and stimulate the mind; eat a few, you’ll feel more comfortable," Wansong Daoist said, "The views around Wansong Mountain are worth exploring; feel free and let’s resume tomorrow."

Another handful of Spirit Fruit Pine Nuts—are they really worthless to a Thousand-Year-old Great Demon?

Lu Zheng decisively stored the pine nuts, keeping just one outside, cracked the shell, and ate the seed’s fruit flesh.

The aroma was fragrant, Spiritual Qi infused his body, refreshing his mind, aiding cultivation.

Just one, and Lu Zheng felt his True Qi became subtly light and agile.

"Thank you, senior!" Lu Zheng thanked with folded hands.

Wansong Daoist nodded, "You’re welcome, young friend. Rest first; Old Song and I will have a game."

Lu Zheng rose from his seat, leaving the table, mulling over a thought before asking aloud, "May I know the owner of that dream chess match?"

Wansong Daoist didn’t conceal it, "In my dream, I visited Divine Mountain, and the Immortal called himself Chi Songzi."