Chapter 1279: Chapter 1279: Tao Man Lineage, Dao Changgong

Ning Fan was still studying the Barbarian God sacrificial dance.

The campfire flickered, the dance moved with a sense of desolation, and the ancient barbarian song echoed faintly within the room, as if responding to Ning Fan’s summons from the departed barbarians.

The aura of mountains and seas gathered, surrounding Ning Fan like a mist that hadn’t dissipated for a thousand lifetimes; within this mist, countless tiny souls hurriedly passed by, living their lives in an instant; some stronger souls paused occasionally to bow to Ning Fan, then continued on their way.

The war dance suddenly reached its climax, and the flames of the campfire surged fiercely in response.

The surrounding mountain and sea aura also boiled at this moment, like hot oil with clear water dropped into it; or perhaps, not water, but fire, burning with vigorous will.

Firelight projected onto the walls revealed countless ancient ancestors’ shadows, bowing devoutly in the flames.

When the burning reached its peak, when the bowing was at its most devout, Ning Fan’s divine dance seemed to merge with the heavens and earth of the Northern Barbarians Kingdom.

Ghost Eye receded, divine shield hid, a flash of light surrounded Ning Fan, returning him to his original appearance and attire.

The mountain and sea aura gathered around also divided into two distinct spheres between Ning Fan’s hands.

In his left hand was a sphere of clear energy, with countless Shanhai Shadow gathering within, seemingly able to cleanse all worldly calamities.

In his right hand was a sphere of turbid energy, with countless Shanhai Shadow within destroying everything, like calamities.

"So this is the Barbarian God Blessing Technique... Mountains and seas in hand, clear and turbid, blessings and curses at my command..."

"The turbid energy among them can be used to perform the Art of Worm’s Curse, harming others invisibly; as for this clear energy, it’s perfect for purifying human bone chess pieces."

"Hmm? What is this..."

Ning Fan pondered over the clear and turbid energy for a moment, intending to dispel the turbid energy and keep the clear energy to purify the human bone chess. But at that moment, he sensed something unusual within the clear and turbid energy.

Just now, ancient text seemed to flash briefly between the clear and turbid energies.

Ning Fan focused intensely, observing the clear and turbid energies closely.

Soon, more text flashed between the energies, and this time Ning Fan managed to see part of the text clearly.

It was written in the characters of the ancient barbarian clan, connected together, tracing back to a message left by a [North Barbarian God] a countless number of years ago between the mountains and seas.

This message was invisible to ordinary people; even among the Barbarian God-level beings, not everyone could see it. Only those Barbarian Gods powerful enough from Punishment Mountain and whose blessing rituals were grand enough could see this deeply hidden message, clearly indicating its significance which was not meant for everyone’s eyes.

"I am of the Dao Man Lineage... bow... at the request of a friend... guarding the Five Spirit Cultivators... regretting greed... a major mistake has been made..."

"Future Barbarian Gods who see these words... hurry and..."

Ning Fan contemplated.

From the text, the person who left this message seemed to be a Barbarian God of the Dao Man Lineage named Dao Changgong.

This person was entrusted by a friend to guard something but made a grave mistake due to greed. To remedy this error, he left this deeply hidden message within the mountains and seas of the Northern Barbarians Kingdom.

At the end of the message, Dao Changgong hoped that future Barbarian Gods who saw it would swiftly do something, but Ning Fan did not clearly see what needed to be done.

"Interesting, I had merely intended to comprehend the Blessing Technique through the Warrior God Dance, yet inadvertently stumbled upon a hidden secret within the Northern Barbarians Kingdom."

"Dao Man Clan, Dao Changgong. Based on what I know from the Trial World, the Dao Man Shan Senior is of the Dao Man Clan as well but had been forcibly included due to harm from others. The reason for using the Dao Man Clan to harm seems related to some issue within the clan..."

"So, is this information what reveals the source of the issues with the Dao Man Clan?"

"There’s another point that greatly intrigues me, and that’s the name Dao Changgong..."

Changgong, when combined, forms the character Zhang. Does the message left by Dao Changgong among the mountains and seas have a connection to the identity I now assume as Lu Bei? Or is it simply overthinking..."

"If I can discern all the hidden texts, perhaps I can uncover some truths..."

Ning Fan has always been disinterested in ancient secrets unless they involve people related to him, in which case it’s different.

He planned to look over it a few more times to attempt to see all the texts clearly, but at that moment, the entire Trial World’s time and space suddenly halted.

Well done, the Roasted Chestnut Elder finally managed to apply a patch before Ning Fan caused another world collapse!

Thus the scene shifted, and Ning Fan found himself back in front of the roasted chestnut stall, interrupting the Roasted Chestnut Elder before he could question Ning Fan for causing another collapse.

"Why did you interrupt my trial, Senior? If it affects my trial performance, wouldn’t that be unfair to me?" Ning Fan expressed slight dissatisfaction.

Though this dissatisfaction was merely a façade, he clearly understood he might have caused some significant issue leading to this situation, yet admitting fault was out of the question.

As long as the mistake hasn’t occurred yet, I haven’t made a mistake, so naturally, admitting fault is unnecessary.

The Roasted Chestnut Elder initially intended to chastise him but was rendered speechless as Ning Fan seized the conversation.

With a long sigh, he finally understood.

This kid here is the quintessential example of one who never learns, even if chastised a thousand or ten thousand times; come next time, he’d still dare!

So there’s no need to waste more breath on him!

"I must admit, you’re quite special. Throughout the ages, among all who have participated in the Saint Heir Trial, only you require my special treatment." The Roasted Chestnut Elder replied gruffly.

"Predecessor overpraises, this junior is unworthy of such honor."

"To reward your uniqueness, I’ve decided to tailor a solo Saint Heir Trial just for you. Hehe, all changes have taken effect, go experience it, no matter how much chaos you cause this time, it won’t lead to world collapse!"

The Roasted Chestnut Elder bore a strange smile.

Then the scene changed, and Ning Fan was back at the previous time point.

Left hand holding clear energy, right holding turbid energy, within the clear and turbid energies, ancient messages fleetingly shimmered.

"A solo Saint Heir Trial custom-made for me? What does this mean?" Ning Fan hadn’t yet comprehended the Roasted Chestnut Elder’s words.

He speculated that the Roasted Chestnut Elder must have implemented preventive measures within the trial world to deal with a troublesome figure like him, but precisely what these measures entailed, he was still unaware.

"Previously, because I saw Dao Changgong’s hidden information, I nearly caused world collapse. According to the Senior, after he made changes, now whatever I do, no issues will arise."

So...

The subsequent contents of the hidden message can be viewed, right?

If understanding the Dao Man Clan’s causality might aid Dao Man Shan Senior in some way, though in the original history Dao Man Shan Senior has already passed away...

Ning Fan remained silent for a moment before finally making up his mind to once again examine the ancient information between the clear and turbid breaths.

And then.

An unexpected development unfolded.

As he attempted to view the subsequent content of the hidden information, the entire scene of the trial world vanished, turning into a black screen.

In the world of the black screen, lines of text appeared.

[When you danced the Barbarian God Sacrificial Dance, you inadvertently saw the ancient information left by the seniors of the Dao Man Clan.]

[Knowing that the information might trigger a disaster, you still resolved to read the subsequent content.]

[You discovered a startling secret!]

[You touched the roots of the Three Great Realms!]

[You died!]

?

A question mark slowly appeared in Ning Fan’s mind.

What was that, he just died?

What kind of jumble was this?

He didn’t see any ancient secrets at all, he only saw a world of black screens. What were these black screen subtitles?

Could it be...

Was this the Saint Heir trial specifically tailored for him by Roasted Chestnut Elder?

As long as the world collapses during the trial, it cannot proceed successfully? Only to see segment after segment of black screen subtitles?

[You died during the trial, do you want to resurrect?]

[Option one, consume one hundred star points to resurrect; option two, accept your death and end the trial.]

?

What was this?

You completely altered my Saint Heir trial, and now you want to deduct points from me just to resurrect?

Otherwise end my trial?

"How is it? Is the Saint Heir trial I customized for you pretty good?" Amidst the black screen world, laughter from Roasted Chestnut Elder echoed from some unknown direction.

"Is bullying a descendant of Purple Dou in this manner truly appropriate?" Feeling he suffered a significant loss, Ning Fan retorted peevishly.

"How is it bullying? This clearly is the gift of a tremendous bargain for you. Think about it, others in the Saint Heir trials cannot resurrect, yet you can resurrect through a black screen; what an incredible deal." The elder laughed even more heartily.

"But others wouldn’t randomly encounter subtitles and then die to a black screen, right?" Ning Fan countered.

"Hehe, you could choose not to trigger the death mechanism, couldn’t you? Why insist on doing things that exceed the trial’s capacity?" Roasted Chestnut Elder.

"How would I know which actions exceed the trial’s capacity?" Ning Fan.

"No, you must know! This is just a trial, separate from reality, but if it were reality, how would you know which actions could cause overwhelming catastrophy? Like the information you saw earlier, Dao Changgong from the Dao Man Clan, what an astonishingly exceptional figure, yet he made a catastrophic mistake due to a moment’s lapse in judgement. Once a great error is made, even a Reverse Saint cannot remediate it; right now all trial content is just a continuation of that mistake. You touched upon those secrets in the trial world, I can mock you with black screen death; but if you did such a thing in the outside world, who could save you?" Roasted Chestnut Elder stated sternly.

Ning Fan’s eyes narrowed, as if struck by a strong blow, being jolted into alertness.

"Thank you, Senior, for the guidance, I recognize my mistake."

"There’s potential for you to learn. Think carefully as to why I laid the Saint Heir trial at such a critical time, what I’m intending to evaluate."

After speaking, the elder’s voice ceased to resound.

In the world of the black screen, Ning Fan was left alone to ponder.

[Once a great error is made, even a Reverse Saint cannot remediate it; right now all trial content is just a continuation of that mistake.]

Great error?

What catastrophic error did Dao Changgong commit, such that even a Reverse Saint cannot mitigate?

What kind of grand secret could it be, that it touches the roots of the Three Great Realms and forbids others from learning of it?

Everything at present was the continuation of that ancient mistake; therefore, is some great disaster the Northern Barbarians Kingdom is about to face merely a continuation of past events?

Could it be that the Purple Rose Celestial Emperor set the Saint Heir trial using Northern Barbarians Kingdom’s experiences to remind future generations not to commit the same grave errors?

Ant Lord: "Strange, why has your Saint Heir trial suddenly become all dark and empty? Did you fail the trial?"

Duowen: "Not right, even if the trial failed, the failed scenario differs greatly from what I know; why did such a change occur? Strange, too strange, incomprehensible!"

Unlike Ning Fan, as long as Roasted Chestnut Elder wished to keep others unaware, Ant Lord and Duowen remained entirely in the dark about what transpired between Ning Fan and the elder, and thus the two couldn’t grasp the situation.

Being interrupted by the two, Ning Fan couldn’t focus on self-reflection anymore.

Indeed, the primary task is to ensure the continuation of this personally customized trial!

"I choose to pay one hundred star points to resurrect!"

A flash of brilliance passed by, the black screen vanished, and Ning Fan returned to the previous point in time.

Left hand grasping clear breath, right hand grasping turbid breath, ancient information flickered between them, but this time, he decided not to examine it.

It’s not that he’s constrained by trial rules and afraid to look.

It’s because he genuinely absorbed Roasted Chestnut Elder’s warning!

Contained within are secrets that even a Reverse Saint must fear; he cannot probe them, or the consequences might truly transcend the trial and potentially trigger some calamity in reality...

Ant Lord: "You failed the trial yet can resurrect? Are you cheating!"

Duowen: "Not right, I have never seen someone resurrect in a trial before; this surpasses simple cheating, surely there’s a monumental reason behind it, but as for the reason...I think it’s in our best interest not to probe too deeply."

See! Duowen is quite alert, he understands what should be known and what should not be known.

"And yet, I only just realized this truth..."

"I treated this place merely as a trial, my vigilance was lacking. This is a trial, but it’s not just a trial. Here... it’s a reenactment of an ancient disaster."

Ning Fan completed tasks along the way, plus he fiercely played chess against Bai Ling, only earning eighty stars in total.

Later, after winning a chess match against Stone Ghost True Person, he gained an additional forty stars, totaling one hundred and twenty.

Now, reviving once cost him a hundred, leaving only twenty stars remaining.

Twenty stars, too few, if he triggered another death event, he wouldn’t be able to revive, it would end directly.

He must quickly complete the task of finding Stone God Zhenren to earn stable resurrection points.

Speaking of which, Roasted Chestnut Elder’s black screen subtitle predicting his death seems to contain some mysterious divine skills.

A flash of azure spike in Ning Fan’s eyes, although the recent black screen death cost him a hundred points, he still gleaned some mysterious insight from it, yet he kept this from Roasted Chestnut Elder, after all, secretly learning divine skills isn’t without risk.

...

After mastering the Barbarian God’s Blessing Technique, Ning Fan finally dispelled the ominous aura from the human bone chess.

And in the process of dispelling the ominous aura, he vaguely touched upon some hidden secrets.

The source of the ominous aura seemed quite abnormal, but where this abnormality originated wasn’t within reach for someone with only twenty stars.

Without the interference of the ominous aura, Ning Fan easily found the piece belonging to Stone God Zhenren among the numerous human bone chess pieces.

Indeed, one of them was made from the bones of Stone God Zhenren himself!

After expelling the ominous aura, the madness intent within these human bone chess pieces greatly diminished, and it seemed communication was now simple.

Across a distant time and space, using the ability of communicating with all things was difficult for Ning Fan, but for the sake of possibly gaining points, he couldn’t worry about using taboo methods.

Ownership of All Things!

Ning Fan forcibly asserted ownership over a small patch of time and space around him, thus reducing the sense of time-space distance, allowing him to comfortably use the ability of communicating with all things.

"Human bone chess, I ask you, where is your master at this moment?"

[Human... at... five... spirit...]

?

Ning Fan’s gaze sharpened, he instantly severed the communication with all things, listening no further.

Five Spirit... these two words he had just heard from Dao Changgong’s message, ghost knows whether this thing is an option for black screen death!

Thus decisively ending the communication with all things, yet Ning Fan still vaguely realized the disappearance of Stone God Zhenren might relate to the hidden great secret within the Northern Barbarians Kingdom.

Troublesome...

To gain points, he must find Stone God Zhenren to complete the task.

To find Stone God Zhenren, he must approach that great secret, which might trigger black screen death at any moment.

He only had twenty stars left, can’t afford deductions. Isn’t this a dead loop?

The task must surely be completed.

But before completing the task, he must first prepare some stable points to deal with unexpected situations.

So the problem arises, apart from completing the task, how else can he earn points?

Trigger random events? Seems difficult to trigger.

Play chess with Bai Ling, bully the little girl?

Hmm... not impossible, but problem is playing chess with Bai Ling earns points too slowly, like one point per game, far slower than playing chess with Stone Ghost Real Person. The issue is, scoring high with Stone Ghost chess was due to task triggers, now finding Stone Ghost to play chess may not trigger the chess task again...

"Lu Bei, you have considerable knowledge about the Saint Heir trial. Do you know any low-risk, quick-scoring methods?" Ning Fan asked.

"I do know some ways, but those are harmless to others. Your situation is special. Many ordinary things can manifest unpredictably for you, one careless move might trigger those strange black screen issues, therefore I can’t guarantee the risk is low." Duowen answered without confidence.

"Just tell me everything you know. Even if something happens, I won’t blame you."

Thus, Ning Fan learned numerous scoring methods from Duowen’s mouth.

He then left the Snow God Temple, intending to find a place to score points.

Who knew, as soon as he stepped outside, he saw a man shrouded in the light of good fortune waiting there.

That level of good fortune light naturally couldn’t hide from Ning Fan’s eyes, the visitor was a Golden Armored General, his cultivations had reached the Quasi-Saint level.

"Oh? You can see my true appearance!" The Divine General named Xuanji furrowed his brow.

In his eyes, Ning Fan was not Ning Fan, but Lu Bei, the Go prodigy he had seen long ago while traveling in Nanliang.

To think a lowly commoner could even grow to become an Immortal King, but even as an Immortal King, he’s not worthy of receiving the Barbarian God’s invitation!

"Since you can see my true appearance, you must remember who I am!"

"Your chess skill exceeded mine back then, but only because I was merely a beginner at the time, not yet deeply immersed in the art. Unfortunately, when I became proficient and sought you out in Nanliang again, I heard you had been expelled from the Chess Academy for gambling—it was truly a disgrace to Chess Masters!"

"Such trash as you are unworthy of facing the Barbarian God! Lu Bei! I challenge you, a match with me!"

Oh, you wish for a match, do you? In that case...

Ning Fan’s gaze became indifferent, his aura ready to unleash divine skills to meet the challenge.

Though he did not recognize who this provocateur was, since the opponent issued a challenge, he had no reason to retreat.

Yet he saw that Xuanji God General, clearly inviting a challenge, not take out weaponry but rather a set of chess equipment instead.

"A match with me, if you win, I shall grant you the qualification to meet the Barbarian God! If you lose, I require you never again to consider yourself a Chess Master!"

?

You’re challenging me, and it’s not for a fight, but for a chess match?

Moreover, am I even a chess master to begin with? Not regarding myself as a chess master anymore, what kind of punishment is that? And what does it mean to have the qualification to meet the Barbarian God? When did I say I wanted to meet the Barbarian God?

Utterly baffling!

Upon hearing that the other party wanted to play chess instead of fighting, Ning Fan instantly lost interest.

If it were a fight, the opponent provocatively came to the door, and if by chance he killed the opponent, he might gain a great score; devouring the opponent could possibly increase his cultivations.

But for a game of chess, what benefit is there for him? Why should he waste time on this person...

But at that moment, the prompt sound of the Saint Child Thunder Scripture rang out.

[Triggered Side Quest]

[Side Quest: Xuanji God General’s Provocation]

[Winning the midgame can earn twenty to one hundred stars; a small win earns five to ten stars; a draw incurs no loss; losing costs ten stars. Refusing the duel has no punishment.]

Oh? So it turns out he’s a benevolent person bringing me points.

No, perhaps the opponent’s chess skill is far superior to mine, and in this duel, I might ultimately lose and be deducted points. But even if I lose, it’s only ten points, whereas if I win, I can gain much more.

Ning Fan did not immediately accept the opponent’s duel but pondered for a moment and finally nodded in agreement.

"Will the duel take place here?" Ning Fan asked.

"No! I’ve changed my mind! I want to defeat you in front of thousands of chess masters! Defeating you here is hardly an insult!"

This person’s tone is really arrogant, ah, yes, Fried Chestnut Senior reminded me, in this Trial World, one must be cautious in all matters, so...

Ning Fan pulled out the Ten-Thousand Year Chess Strength Dao Fruit he had previously won from defeating Stone Ghost True Person and swallowed it in one gulp.

"Hmph! What use is sharpening one’s spear last-minute?" Xuanji God General sneered.

He naturally noticed that Ning Fan swallowed a Dao Fruit, but he didn’t see the quality of the Dao Fruit clearly. He assumed Ning Fan was just nervous and ate an ordinary Dao Fruit to refresh and concentrate.

Then without further words, he led Ning Fan towards the inner field of the Dao Fruit Convention.

The inner field was originally a place where those without an invitation could not enter, but with the Xuanji God General of Northern Barbarian Kingdom leading the way, no one dared to block Ning Fan.

Thus, Ning Fan muddle-headedly mixed into the inner field.

In the inner field, thousands of chess masters were gathered, and everywhere you could see matches and battles taking place.

And when the news that Xuanji God General was going to have a duel spread, many people stopped their matches, stunned.

"Who dares to challenge Xuanji God General, unaware that Xuanji is a dignified second-grade chess master?"

"First grade reaches divine insights, second grade attains illumination. A dignified second-grade isn’t just an empty name! I once played ten rounds of chess with Xuanji God General and lost all ten. His chess skill is extraordinary, especially during the layout phase, exerting immense pressure from the start, then layering it on, giving no pause to catch one’s breath!"

"I heard it’s not someone challenging Xuanji, but Xuanji initiating the challenge!"

"What kind of person is worth Xuanji lowering himself to challenge, could it be a first-grade chess master?"

"There are certainly many first-grade chess masters among the Three Realms, but among those present, this person is not one of them. Who is he?"

"I recognize him, he’s Lu Bei of the Hunkun Holy Sect."

"Oh? That Lu Bei?"

"So it’s him..."

Upon hearing that the Xuanji God General challenged Lu Bei, some chess masters who had heard the name became even more interested and immediately wanted to spectate.

These people had evidently heard of Lu Bei’s story — in summary, a Go prodigy who became famous young, exiled due to gambling chess, and gained some fame in the Real Realms after a battle at Qixia Temple.

However, years had passed since Lu Bei joined the Hunkun Holy Sect and studied chess with various Buddhas, and his current chess skill was unknown, prompting some to want to observe.

But clearly, more people did not know Lu Bei.

The crowd grew larger, and the coldness on Xuanji God General’s face intensified, and there was an imperceptible black energy gathering at his brow.

At this moment, Xuanji had completely forgotten the Barbarian God’s warning.

[Recently, your delusions grow rampant, which is a sign of calamity, likely someone secretly manipulating your mind, trying to lure you into catastrophe. Before the Immeasurable Catastrophe, those below Saints entering will die; even Saints dare not reveal themselves lest they cause more wear and tear.]

Yes, he had long tossed the Barbarian God’s warning aside, and now possessed just one thought, to humiliate ’Lu Bei’ thoroughly in front of tens of thousands of chess masters, making him a laughingstock!

When such a twisted mindset appears in a Quasi-Saint, everyone would feel it’s strange, but because Xuanji was in the midst of calamity, he couldn’t perceive his own abnormality.

"In this match, I’ll let you have three pieces, and if you win, I’ll chop off my own head here! If you lose, I’ll sever your ten fingers so you can never touch chess again!"

Xuanji God General laughed arrogantly, immediately altering the previously agreed stakes, truly unbecoming of a Quasi-Saint.

Ning Fan frowned slightly, not because he disliked the opponent’s arrogance or changing the stakes, but because... he saw the fleeting black energy at Xuanji’s brow.

His eyes glowed azure, looking not at the black energy itself, but at a mysterious entity manipulating that black energy from an endless distance away.

When he tried to see through everything about that presence, he suddenly felt a slight pain in his eyes, and then two lines of bloody tears flowed from his eyes, splattering onto the chessboard.

"A Saint..." Ning Fan wiped away the bloody tears, his expression heavy.

It seems that the reason this Xuanji God General speaks and behaves so recklessly is due to a plot by some Saint.

Is there an unknown Saint harming Xuanji God General? Or is it through Xuanji God General to harm ’Lu Bei,’ whom he is impersonating?

Or perhaps... the Saint’s real target is the Northern Barbarian Kingdom itself? Is this but a part of the Northern Barbarian Kingdom’s impending disaster...

"Oh? Are you so nervous and scared in front of me that you cried bloody tears!" Xuanji sneered.

Normal people would sense something off, yet he completely failed to see the deeper meaning behind it. At this moment, he was in an extremely subtle state of mind as if everything was from his own mind, but his thoughts seemed influenced by someone else.

Outside the Northern Barbarian Kingdom, in the realm of a Saint, far away.

A dignified Buddhist Saint sat cross-legged between the Golden Sky and Black Sea, as if in eternal silence.

But at the moment Ning Fan’s gaze spied on him, the Buddhist Saint’s golden eyes opened, revealing a look of surprise.

"Namo Amitabha, this child indeed has ties with our Buddha, being able to perceive my existence... yet such fine talent is swept into the Northern Barbarian Kingdom’s affairs, saving him is beyond anyone’s reach, such a pity, such a pity."

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