Translator: Henyee Translations  Editor: Henyee Translations

Speaking of the quotation, “it's never easy to find a good friend!”, the very source of the poem was not very far away.

Ting! Ting! Ting!

Water was flowing down from a high mountain.

An old human being who wore a green long robe was playing guqin on a rock with his legs crossed.

“Moo, moo, moo…”

Around him, a dozen tall Minotaurs, with splendid b.r.e.a.s.t.s or brawns, were seated. They were exactly the Minotaurs who intended to leave for Mechanical City after the split-up at the Blackwood Cliff!

“Playing guqin to bulls and cows” was supposed to be a derogatory expression, but it was surprisingly fitting in this scenario.

It was because the Minotaurs didn't attack like those in the canyon. Instead, they all listened to the performance attentively and breathed out air when they truly enjoyed themselves. It was truly a beautiful picture together with the pleasant music.

“Gulu?”

However, the harmonious picture was broken very quickly.

“Gulu, gulu, gulu…?”

Another alien group pa.s.sed by and made noises that resembled bubbles.

“Minotaurs, what are you doing? Didn't you agree to attack the city together with us? Are you purposefully staying behind to take advantage of us?”

They also sent out a telepathic message.

They were a kind of aliens called Gollum, which looked identical to their namesake in The Lord of the Rings. The bone spear that they were holding even carried some scalped human skulls as spoils and food!

“Gulu (a human being)!”

Because they were too short, they didn't notice the guqin performer in green who was surrounded by the Minotaurs until they drew close.

By partic.i.p.ating in the “Legendary advancement test”, the aliens could gain huge returns too.

As long as Dragon City was defeated, they could carve up its power of providence according to their contribution, to strengthen their own species and civilization.

Therefore, different groups of aliens weren't as united as Dragon City thought.

While seeking revenge against Dragon City was still their primary target, the aliens had compet.i.tions amongst themselves when they had absolute advantages.

“Gulu, gulu (kill that human being and chop off his head as food)!”

One of the Gollums instantly brutally leaped and dashed forward.

However, when the Gollum jumped above the Minotaurs towards the guqin player and stabbed its long spear at his head, attempting to behead him, its head was suddenly caught by a hand that was also half a hoof.

Whoos.h.!.+

“Moo! Moo!”

The Minotaurs' eyes turned bloodshot, and they breathed heavily in fury. They surrounded the Gollum and stampeded on it while it screamed until it was reduced into a pulp of meat.

“Gulu, gulu (d.a.m.n you, Minotaurs, what are you doing)?”

The other Gollums all seemed angry. Who would've thought that these innocent-looking Minotaurs would stab their allies in the back?

“Moo! Moo!”

The Minotaurs, however, gazed at the Gollums with their red, widened eyes and inhaled. Their bodies expanded like balloons and they charged at them!

Bo Ya, the Guqin Saint and a Legendary hero, had the talent of transforming anyone who heard his performance into a friend who considered him the closest person to themselves.

Yes, his name was just Bo Ya, not Yu Boya!

The Guqin Saint's family name was Bo and his given name was Ya. “Yu” wasn't in it at all.

That his name was Yu Rui and his courtesy name was Boya was just made up by Feng Menglong, a novelist in the Ming Dynasty, in his fiction.

Speaking of Feng Menglong, he was a hero who had Legendary talent too and could've arrived in Dragon City, but Ji Ye declined him!

It was because Feng Menglong, who had essentially created “web novels” of his age, had the bad habit of making ancient celebrities the protagonists of his stories and made up a lot of stuff.

Changing the Guqin Saint's name was just one of the examples. For better sales, he even made up a lot of demeaning stories about the dignitaries such as Su s.h.i.+, Zhuangzi, and w.a.n.g Ans.h.i.+. Many unwise modern people considered his stories facts and cursed those dignitaries!

For that reason, when Ji Ye performed a ritual with an offering that was related to him, he requested that Feng Menglong and Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng shouldn't arrive.

After all, for many people in the past, their dignity was more important than anything else, and they wished to be respected by future generations. If Feng Menglong did arrive in Dragon City, a lot of people would probably fight him!

Therefore, for the harmony of the settlement, those two guys probably shouldn't come.

“Gulu, gulu (it's because of the sound)…”

The Gollums were evidently smarter than the Minotaurs and soon realized that the guqin was the source of the problem. So, while fighting the Minotaurs, they knocked the drums made of human skulls and tried to wake up the Minotaurs!

However, they couldn't cause any sound when they hit the drum.

[Howling Bell]

[Level: Transcendent Rank-6]

[Rarity: Legendary]

[Description: One of the four most famous guqin in ancient times. Its sound is as loud and soul-stirring as a tolling bell. It can suppress the sound of all the other musical instruments in an area!]

“Moo, moo, moo…”

The Minotaurs and the Gollums fought hard. In the middle of the spilling blood, the old man was still playing the guqin casually. The pleasant music echoed on the mountain!

At the same time, higher on the mountain, clouds that covered several square kilometers were surging.

At the center of the mists, there were two trees: one of them was a date tree and the other was also a date tree.

Underneath the two date trees, there was a gray 19×19 go board, and two men were playing go.

“My thoughts and mind travel across this board!”

On the right side, a middle-aged man who had bright blue hair and wore an azure cloak put a white piece on the board.

Whoos.h.!.+

When he put the piece down, the clouds roiled violently as if they had been stirred.

The person on the left side wore a yellow cloak that didn't have any decorations. He held a black piece in his hand.

Whoos.h.!.+

When the man in yellow put the black piece on the go board, the surging clouds seemed to be hit and were slowed down a lot.

Looking at the middle-aged man in blue, the man in yellow said, “My friend, you pressed forward recklessly and fell for the Dense Fog race's trap. You're now their puppet and can only carry out 80% of your go skills. How can you beat me?”

“I can still beat you with only 80% of my go skills.

“Besides, I don't have to beat you. I only need to play against you and exhaust your talent ability and power of providence. Then, your 'Heaven and Earth Go Board' will be destroyed, and they'll help rip you apart.”

A white fog was spreading in the eyes of the man in blue, and he put a white piece down again.

In the middle of the surging fog, one dark shadow appeared after another. There was Cyclops that was more than a dozen meters tall, a spider with 32 legs, a stone creature that looked like a statue, and even human beings.

They were all puppets that had been controlled by the Dense Fog race, a species that Dragon City was rather familiar with.

The person on the left side of the board was named “Zongheng Zi”, known as Evil Genius. He was incautiously ambushed when he attacked the aliens.

At this moment, he had fallen under the control of the Dense Fog race, and he was trying to resolve the go game barricade that the other player had set up!

“I'm afraid that they can't reach me at all.”

While talking, the man in yellow considered for a moment and put another piece down.

Pa, pa, pa, pa…

As they put more and more pieces down, the shadows approached the go board one after another.

A Cyclops extended his hand that was as huge as a desk and tried to kill the man in yellow who was playing the game. However, his arm was quickly wrinkled when it reached for the board.

Whoos.h.!.+

When his hand almost hit the man in yellow, his entire arm was rotten like wood and turned into a pile of dust.

On the man in yellow, however, a translucent yellow dragon appeared and blew away the dust, preventing it from falling to the board.

Not just the Cyclops, the other puppet creatures were slowed down and aged too as they approached the board. Their hair withered quickly.

It must be noted that, even though the creatures swallowed by the Dense Fog were transformed into puppets, they were, in fact, still living creatures and unlike the undead creatures such as the Soul race. The quick withering suggested that this go game had some sort of Transcendent power that could manipulate time!

[Board of the Rotten Axe Handle]

[Level: Transcendent Rank-6]

[Rarity: Legendary]

[Description:

1

Huang Longs.h.i.+ was the Go Saint. His given name was Qiu, his courtesy name was Yuetian, and his t.i.tle was Longs.h.i.+.

He was one of the three best go players in the Qing Dynasty, along with Fan Xiping and s.h.i.+ Xiangxian. His style was creative and unrestrained.

As the two parties put pieces down one after another, the result of the game was obvious.

The white pieces were winning, and the surging fog was only one step away from the two go players!

“Haha, are you uneasy because of them?”

The Evil Genius put another piece down and constructed a “long dragon” that contained more than one-fourth of the white pieces. He sneered at Huang Longs.h.i.+.

In the fog, several puppet humans had already approached the board. They were aging and decaying due to the changed time speed.

In order to rescue them, Huang Longs.h.i.+ had to take his moves faster, and he accidentally made a mistake.

Although he was still considering a remedy, it was hard for him to turn the tables.

“Roar!”

The surging fog had already gathered into an almost concrete dragon, which opened its mouth behind Huang Longs.h.i.+, ready to swallow him when he failed the game.

Whoos.h.!.+

Exactly at this moment, Huang Longs.h.i.+, after a long time of consideration, put another black piece down.

The “long dragon” made of white pieces was cut apart in the middle, which instantly changed the battle. Because the game was already half-finished, nothing could be done when this dragon was butchered!

“Roar!”

Correspondingly, the dragon made of fog screamed and tried to swallow the two men who were playing. However, an invisible power had arrived when the black piece was put down and destroyed the dragon unstoppably!

The Evil Genius closed his eyes and stopped moving the moment the dragon was butchered.

Several minutes later, the Evil Genius opened his eyes again. The fog in his eyes was already gone, and he had even been strengthened to Extraordinary power Rank-6.

“Fellow Daoist, you allured the Dense Fog race to come to this place with yourself as bait. That was truly a dangerous move!”

Huang Longs.h.i.+ remarked with mixed feelings.

“A man who has died once is less scared of death.

“Besides, I was quite certain that the Dense Fog race was not good at go, and I had to keep my consciousness intact in order to crack your Heaven and Earth GO Game. With that in mind, I could lure it into this fatal trap that we had rehea.r.s.ed earlier and make use of its power after it's killed!”

The Evil Genius seemed so casual that it sounded like giving his life away to an alien was an everyday routine for him.

“The aliens are rampant. There are other settlements that need reinforcements. I'm leaving.”

Nodding at Huang Longs.h.i.+, the Evil Genius roared and a crane flew close and carried him to the clouds.

On the same mountain, a big party was going on in a certain place!

There was a river flowing in this bamboo wood, and a wine cup floating in the river. Whenever the cup stopped in front of someone, he would have to pick up the cup and make either a toast or a poem!

“The year is Yonghe Year 9, and the season is the end of spring…”

In a pavilion on the mountain, a middle-aged scholar in black clothes was pouring wine into his mouth with one hand and writing something with a brush with the other hand.

“Great! Well written! Well written!”

“This is worth a huge toast.”

“Singing when drunk gives you the greatest pleasure!”

People were exclaiming noisily around him.

They were also scholars, who wore different clothes and weren't all gorgeous.

They were either reciting their poems or playing drinking games.

However, in the eyes of the viewers on Earth, those people actually had different looks.

For example, a scholar, who had nine braids on his head and who was eating fruits, was actually a nine-headed snake demon whose nine heads were competing for the fruits.

Another scholar, who wore a black cloak and who was waving a fan, was actually a Transcendent lich surrounded by a creepy wind… There were also creatures that seemed to be made of mud and even air… This looked like a party of the demon kings in Journey to the West!

Those creatures were all aliens, but they thought they were humans. Obviously, it was the work of the middle-aged scholar in black who was drinking and writing.

He was w.a.n.g Xizhi, a Legendary hero whose talent ability was named “Calligraphy Saint”. He created illusions with his works. Until his power of providence ran out, the enemies couldn't get rid of the illusions unless they were stronger than him!

Together with Preface to the Lanting Collection, a Legendary masterpiece, he was able to keep almost thirty aliens occupied.

However, there was nothing else he could do. Even though w.a.n.g Xizhi was Transcendent Rank-5, he couldn't fight twenty aliens at the same time.

“Brother Wu, I can't hold on much longer. How much more time do you need?”

In the party that was full of demons, there was only one human being apart from w.a.n.g Xizhi.

He was a middle-aged man wearing a gray robe. His hair and beard were hard, and he held a brush that was half as tall as a human. He drew paintings on the ground and the rocks, and he looked different from the common scholars!

“It's fine. I've already prepared a few paintings that will hold them back for a while if necessary.”

“W-Wait…”

When they talked, a scholar who had a glowing face and wore a feather-made cloak looked confused. There was glittering light in his eyes.

The environment created by the Preface to the Lanting Collection was very convincing, but not all aliens were idiots. This creature, named “Bird of Light”, looked like a raven and could unleash the brilliant power of light. Its wings were as white and pure as those of angels.

With the sacred power, it could resist illusions!

“Hey, Brother Light, it's your turn to write a poem.”

At this moment, people exclaimed from nearby.

Indeed. The cup had stopped in its front. According to the rules, it should write a poem or deliver a performance!

“Wait, wait…”

The scholar, who was really a Bird of Light, seemed even more confused.

The light in his eyes became more and more powerful. He even rose from his spot!

“Brother Light, you're drunk.”

All of a sudden, the middle-aged man who had a rough-looking face stopped drawing paintings and gave him one of those he had already created.

“Here, take a look at my work!”

“Out of my way!”

The Bird of Light roared with a headache and laid his hands on the table, as if he were about to throw it away.

However, in the process, he unconsciously looked at the middle-aged man and the painting the middle-aged man just created!

After looking at it, he suddenly trembled.

It was a Painting of Celestials. In the painting, the n.o.ble Heavenly Emperor stood in the center, and a lot of sacred angels were serving him!

However, when the Bird of Light gazed at the painting, the picture changed.

The background changed from heaven into h.e.l.l, and the monsters in this h.e.l.l were all fallen angels.

Yet the master of the h.e.l.l was the high and mighty Heavenly Emperor!

For the Bird of Light who wors.h.i.+ped light, this caused a collapse of faith and instantly traumatized him.

“No, I don't believe it!”

In his mind, the creatures who had fallen to h.e.l.l from heaven aggressively surrounded him before they tore off his feathers and ripped him into shreds!

“Brother Light, you're truly drunk!”

In the eyes of the other alien scholars, this man who was about to act crazily due to alcohol had pa.s.sed out due to too much alcohol.

“Wait a minute…”

“Something is wrong!”

Whenever an alien was about to break free from the illusion of calligraphy, the man whose surname was Wu would give him one of his paintings.

For example, a White Snake that was entirely made of ice saw the picture of a divine general suppressing a demon that was itself!

An alien that had a fiery dog head saw the picture of a Buddha that released G.o.dly light and Buddha power.

There was also a ghost king that looked like a ma.s.s of smoke. It saw the picture of Zhong Xu, who was chewing all sorts of monsters including itself.

It was hard for the aliens to resist such pictures.

They were either killed or suppressed!

“Oh, we've been tricked!”

“Ho, it's an illusion!”

“S*it!”

When w.a.n.g Xizhi's talent was exhausted, the Transcendent aliens got rid of the illusions and roared in fury.

“Right on time.”

The man whose surname was Wu stopped using the tall brush. The ground, the rocks, and even the sky of the battlefield had been filled with enormous paintings.

All kinds of G.o.ds and Buddhas that were banes to the evil creatures opened their eyes and flew away from the paintings, charging at the alien monsters!

“I know who he is now! He's Wu Daozi!”

Some of the viewers on Earth had realized the person's ident.i.ty.

He was Wu Daozi, the Painting Saint and a Legendary hero. He was good at painting people, monsters, and birds. He was especially good at ma.s.sive paintings.

Splas.h.!.+

[2. It has been enhanced by Huang Longs.h.i.+ with his talent ability, “Heaven and Earth Go Board”. The players of the game cannot go ten kilometers away from the board until the game is over.