Your Spell Version is Too Low!

Chapter 269: Chapter 257: Domain Expansion

"Hooo..."

Letting out a long breath, Qi Yun slowly concluded his cultivation.

He looked up at Xuan Ping Master, who stood silently nearby, guarding him.

"Zhe Cheng," Qi Yun said, his voice calm. "With all that Demonic Qi cloaking you, you’re far too conspicuous on this chessboard. It’s no longer appropriate for you to remain hidden out in the open.

Return to the banner and recuperate for now. Once the storm here has passed, we can find another opportunity for you to act. It won’t be too late."

Hearing this, Xuan Ping Master bowed and replied:

"I shall obey my Lord’s command."

With that, his form flickered, transforming into a condensed streak of pitch-black demonic light that shot directly into the jet-black Human Emperor Banner floating nearby.

The banner’s surface rippled slightly as a profound light flowed across it.

Without its master, the three-layered sealing Grand Array on the periphery silently dissipated.

Qi Yun made a beckoning gesture, and the Human Emperor Banner transformed into a streak of black light, flying into his sleeve and vanishing from sight.

He acted cleanly and efficiently. The area, which had just witnessed a fierce battle and the fall of a Foundation Establishment Master, quickly returned to the eternal, deathly silence of the Valley of No Life.

Only a few faint, barely perceptible traces remained, blending into the already chaotic background of the valley’s Spiritual Mechanism.

After taking care of everything, Qi Yun finally raised his head. His gaze was profound as he looked toward the gray, hazy Celestial Vault above the Valley of No Life.

Deep within that Celestial Vault, the phantasmal image of an immense, semi-corporeal "chessboard" hovered faintly.

The board had nineteen lines running vertically and horizontally. It radiated an ancient aura, its material neither gold nor jade, appearing both illusory and real, and emitting the cold, absolute air of rules.

At this moment, a few scattered pieces dotted the board.

Twenty-six black pieces, thirty-three white pieces.

The black pieces were as deep as ink, faintly wreathed in Demonic Qi. The white pieces were as pure as snow, shining with either a sharp or a righteous Spiritual Light.

Each and every piece represented a Foundation Establishment Master currently within the Valley of No Life!

Black for Demon, white for Righteous.

The numbers clearly showed the current balance of top-tier power between the Righteous and Demon factions in the valley.

Just as Qi Yun was focused on observing the board.

A sudden change occurred on the board!

In the area of white pieces representing the "Righteous Dao," the light suddenly flared. Ten brand-new, phantasmal white pieces—their light somewhat uniform yet exceptionally solid—materialized simultaneously and without any warning.

The appearance of these ten white pieces was abrupt.

Then, in the very next instant after these ten new white pieces appeared.

On the other side of the board, three previously stable black pieces began to flicker violently, their light wavering.

They lasted for less than a breath before—PUFF!—their light extinguished, and they vanished completely from the board!

Following the annihilation of these three black pieces.

The ten phantasmal white pieces with the uniform light, as if their mission was complete, swiftly dimmed and faded, also disappearing from the board as if they had never been there.

The entire process was so fast it felt like an illusion.

Qi Yun’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

"Three Demon Daoist Masters, instantly killed..." he murmured to himself, a grave look flashing in his eyes. "The Nanyin Dynasty truly came prepared."

The number of Masters on the Righteous and Demon sides was originally twenty-six to thirty-three, with the Demon Dao already at a disadvantage.

After this incident, the number of black pieces plummeted by three, leaving twenty-three.

Twenty-three against thirty-three.

The gap in top-tier power between the two sides had widened to a full ten people!

And that wasn’t even counting the terrifying hidden methods of Nanyin.

’It’s the World-Suppressing Army’s Emperor’s Extreme Slaughter Array...’ Qi Yun realized, his mind as clear as a Bright Mirror.

During his time infiltrating the Righteous Camp, his understanding of Nanyin’s ace army had deepened considerably.

The strength of the World-Suppressing Army didn’t lie solely in the bravery of its soldiers; its core was an ancient Secret Skill known as the Emperor’s Extreme Slaughter Array.

This array could gather the blood qi, battle intent, and even a sliver of the Dynasty’s esoteric fate from hundreds of thousands of elite troops. Through a complex and precise array and the commander’s coordination, it forcibly shattered individual limits, allowing them to break through their boundaries.

To temporarily possess the might of a Master.

’To use the strength of the masses to temporarily wield the might of a Master... wherever the army array points, it crushes all individual bravery. The Nanyin Dynasty’s dominion over the south is truly no fluke.’

Qi Yun mused, involuntarily comparing this array to his own newly acquired Array Transformation technique.

’In a way, this Dynasty’s army array and my path of Array Transformation do share some similarities,’ he thought, his eyes glinting.

Qi Yun’s gaze returned to the illusory chessboard above, looking at the twenty-three somewhat lonely black pieces and the thirty-three white pieces, each with its own distinct light.

For the Demon Dao’s side, the situation had taken a sharp turn for the worse.

Nanyin not only held the advantage in overt strength, but they also possessed a trump card like the Emperor’s Extreme Slaughter Array, which could shatter the local balance of power at any moment.

’The Great Masters of the Northwest Four Sects... If you don’t make a move soon, the ’black pieces’ on this board will likely be devoured one by one.

When that happens, Nanyin will ride the momentum of a great victory to search for the Imperial Soldiers. Will you ’orioles’ still be able to sit back and watch so calmly then?’

Just as Qi Yun’s thoughts were racing, weighing the ebb and flow of the Righteous and Demon factions on the chessboard.

Deep within his Sea of Consciousness, the Daluo Heaven—vast and boundless, constantly operating and deducing the origin of the Ten Thousand Laws—trembled, ever so slightly and without any warning!

A sudden whim, a near-instinctive flash of insight originating from the depths of his comprehension of the Dao, faintly connected to the very key to his advancement to the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, the one he had sought for three years without a single clue: the Four Seasons wondrous object!

"Hm?" Qi Yun’s gaze sharpened, a clear look of surprise flashing across his face.

’A clue to the Four Seasons... a sign of it has actually appeared? Right here, right now, in the midst of this chaotic killing field?’

He immediately suppressed all distracting thoughts about the chessboard, the Imperial Soldiers, and the outcome of the battle between the Righteous and Demon factions, his Heart and Spirit calming completely.

Like an ancient mirror wiped clean of dust, clearly reflecting his own self.