Chapter 214 : Great Rewards and Risks Together
214: Great Rewards and "Risks" Together
The heavy rain continued. They said the thunderstorm season in this far eastern region of the Prison Abyss could last for months once it started.
It was still morning. Lianyue and Hua Yuanjing had naturally left at dawn for their training, probably returning very late, perhaps not even coming back tonight.
Yuyin looked out the stone window and thought, why not try this God-Devouring Chess's Chess World Battlefield? According to the female will, this was a critical upgrade.
"How do I select the chess pieces to battle?" Yuyin asked.
"Simply decide through consciousness. The pieces you select will gather on the cliff to await your final decision, then they will enter the Chess World Gate. Your consciousness can follow them in to prepare for battle." The female will guided Yuyin.
"I don't need Xiaoyuan?"
"No need. Even without Xiaoyuan, other pieces can form a battle team."
"Then... if I lose, what exactly is this so-called punishment wave?" Yuyin probed.
"It's hard to describe. No need to ask."
"This is my first battle. With no experience, do I have almost no chance of winning?"
"Not necessarily. Your chances aren't high, but as they say, every chess player meets their match. Your Chess World Core has just ascended, so the opponent you meet won't be very strong either." The female will said, "So, girl, ready for a round?"
"Mm... yes!"
Though somewhat apprehensive, Yuyin had braved life and death adventures throughout the Prison Abyss. Why fear some punishment wave? Victory granted massive Primordial Energy, and defeat wouldn't actually cost cultivation. The opponent might profit, but she couldn't lose, right?
Following the female will's guidance, Yuyin selected six pieces. These were the six relatively strongest among her current few hundred pieces.
Though this was Yuyin's first battle, she naturally understood that six pieces fighting required coordination. It wasn't simply about picking the six highest star ratings and grades.
This time, she chose two four-star, three three-star, and one two-star piece.
They were:
Four-star Purple Grade, Dao Soldier.
Four-star Blue Grade, Ox Ghost.
Three-star Purple Grade, Sword Maiden.
Three-star Blue Grade, Lu.
Three-star Cyan Grade, Medicine Maiden.
Two-star Orange Grade, Han Chan.
This Han Chan was the alien beast lord Yuyin had defeated when she left that forest surrounded by heavy mountains, a very powerful type of ancient alien beast, and the only orange-grade piece Yuyin had obtained later. Though only two-star, Han Chan's combat power wasn't the strongest, but the eyes on its back possessed illusion abilities. Yuyin felt it could play a major role in team battles.
With her team ready, Yuyin's will moved, and the six pieces charged into the Chess World Gate with imposing momentum. If they weren't God-Devouring Chess pieces, the sight of a celestial beauty and fierce alien beasts coexisting peacefully would have been rather visually strange.
Yuyin's consciousness followed them into the Chess World Gate.
Within the Chess World Gate was an entirely different world.
It was an ethereal, mystical mountain-sea realm. In the center of the sea stood a small isolated island barely a hundred meters in circumference.
Yuyin's six pieces landed on one side of this island. Around them, a white circle was drawn with ancient brushstrokes. Several dozen meters away, another white circle of the same size was drawn, about ten meters in diameter.
For a moment, the surroundings were calm, nothing happening. The strong yet somewhat foolish Ox Ghost walked to the edge of the line, wanting to step over with its hoof.
Suddenly, a golden-red blazing firewall ignited along the line. An unquestionable force bounced the Ox Ghost back, inflicting minor injuries.
"Not good, can't touch or cross this line." Yuyin immediately realized.
The Ox Ghost might be foolish, but not brainless. After suffering once, it naturally didn't dare touch the white circle again.
Yuyin saw that the opposite circle contained nothing.
And so Yuyin and her six pieces waited, not knowing what would happen.
Suddenly, winds and clouds gathered in the sky, the heavens changing color. The female will's voice descended again, but now it sounded colder and more merciless, as if it didn't know Yuyin at all.
"The chess battle is about to begin. The opponent will arrive in ten breaths. Please prepare."
A massive yellow banner descended from the clouds. Written on it was a thick black cross that changed approximately every breath.
"Nine, eight..."
"Need to prepare quickly." Yuyin hurriedly commanded with her will, placing the Ox Ghost and Dao Soldier, these two tough-skinned pieces, in the front row. The Sword Maiden, Lu, and Han Chan formed the second row, and the Medicine Maiden stood in the third row. After they formed their formation, the countdown was almost done.
The final character appeared on the banner, then the entire banner burst into flames, tearing into scattered fragments.
At the same time, six pieces appeared in the opposite white circle. There was only one Red Ghost that Yuyin recognized, one massive White Ape she had seen before. The other pieces she didn't know. Two pieces were so bizarre Yuyin couldn't even describe what they were.
"Chess World Battle, Mountain Sea Island."
"Round One."
"Begin!"
With the female will's merciless, cold voice, some kind of restraint in heaven and earth was lifted. The circles under both sides' feet disappeared. At this moment, Yuyin discovered she could no longer control the six pieces in any way.
Both sides' pieces were driven by an innate consciousness, instantly erupting with power and charging toward each other.
The Ox Ghost and Dao Soldier charged at the front, immediately colliding with the opponent's massive White Ape, Red Ghost, and another strange piece covered in tentacles.
Great axes, cleavers, the White Ape's powerful strikes, the Red Ghost's flaming claws... both sides engaged in a life-and-death struggle the moment they clashed!
In the rear, Yuyin's Sword Maiden burst forward with speed, circling to the opponent's relatively vulnerable back line to launch an assault. But the opponent also had a muddy, filthy, terrifying creature lunging at the Sword Maiden, wrapping tentacles of sludge around her body.
A green-faced demon ghost with two curved blades jumped over and defeated the bound Sword Maiden with two strikes.
The Sword Maiden's tattered clothes fell to the ground. To avoid being humiliated by the enemy, she transformed into rainbow starlight and dissipated once she lost combat ability.
"What? My Sword Maiden sister!" Yuyin was shocked.
At this moment, Han Chan in Yuyin's formation erupted. Though only two-star, it knocked down the tentacled alien monster. Then, its body surged with intense blood-colored demonic energy. It turned its back, and two massive human eyes on its back opened, emitting an illusion.
Instantly, three of the opponent's pieces fell into sluggishness...
Seizing the opportunity, the Ox Ghost, Dao Soldier, and Lu unleashed a flurry of attacks, while the Medicine Maiden in the rear threw spirit medicines and used mysterious medical arts to heal the pieces, accelerating their wound recovery.
Thud! The Ox Ghost's great axe severed the White Ape's head, red blood spraying.
But the Red Ghost's flames engulfed the Dao Soldier, only to be sent flying by Lu's charge, its ox horn piercing the massive Red Ghost's chest...
The dual-blade green-faced assassin was ferocious. It saw through the illusion and heavily wounded Han Chan, but didn't expect the Medicine Maiden to sneak attack and sever its hand with a sword, then be gored to death by Han Chan's massive ram horns.
In the end, only the Medicine Maiden with tattered clothes barely covering her body and the heavily wounded Lu flopping on the ground remained on Yuyin's side. All six of the opponent's pieces were killed.
Yuyin won by a narrow margin.
"Huff... so intense, so dangerous..." Yuyin panted heavily. This battle was truly heart-stopping. Both sides fought desperately without regard for death the moment they clashed. Killing the opponent's pieces was the innate nature hidden in all pieces.
The merciless female will spoke at this moment: "Chess World Battle, Mountain Sea Island, Round One, Victory!"
Hum!
On the flat island, the opponent's dead pieces transformed into streams of golden and silver brilliant starlight that surged toward Yuyin.
"Ah!"
At this instant, the impact of each starlight was almost more than Yuyin could bear. Too much Primordial Energy, too pure...
Wave after wave of impact nearly made Yuyin lose consciousness, leaving her in a state of drifting, blurry, semi-consciousness...
Endless Primordial Energy essence poured into Yuyin's Purple Source Palace. If Yuyin's Purple Source Palace hadn't already been quite powerful, she might not have been able to handle it!
After the long, continuous influx of Primordial Energy, Yuyin gradually calmed down.
Her consciousness and the surviving pieces were transferred out of the Chess World Battlefield, back to the God-Devouring Chess's Initial Territory. The dead pieces needed time to revive, just like when they died in the chessboard world.
Yuyin opened her eyes. Her entire body was covered in a layer of fragrant sweat. Fortunately, she was alone here. If her Senior Sisters had been present and seen her suddenly like this, they might have thought she had some indescribable dream...
Yuyin panted, her hair sticking to her cheeks, white breath escaping her moist cherry lips. Outside, the cold wind rustled, but Yuyin only felt heat throughout her body.
She sensed the Jade Pool within her Purple Source Palace. Its water level had clearly risen significantly.
"This... winning one round, though the process of receiving the Spirit Source was somewhat unbearable, the improvement is too much!"
Fortunately, losing only meant suffering some unknown wave punishment. If she lost this much cultivation, Yuyin would cry herself to death.
Even with Yuyin's excellent physique, she currently felt somewhat drained and weak, wanting to rest.
Yuyin slowly lay down, comfortably resting for a good while before recovering.
By evening, the pieces had revived. Yuyin entered the Chess World Battlefield again for another great battle.
However, this time, she lost.
An indescribable force appeared out of nowhere, mercilessly striking Yuyin's chest, knocking her onto the bed. An invisible force seemed to press down on her, preventing her from getting up for a while.
Only after about ten minutes did she gradually recover.
"Just like this?" Yuyin felt her body hadn't suffered any injury. Though the wave was irresistible, no matter where it struck, it seemed harmless to the body.
"Punishment is just punishment, I guess. I just don't know if each wave will attack the same place on me..." Though this punishment was somewhat harsh, Yuyin could completely endure this level of suffering. Cultivation was about enduring hardship, after all.
"I just need to be careful. After defeat, there might be a period where I can't move... so this Chess World Battle training must be done in a safe place." Yuyin lay on the bed, her chest heaving as she reminded herself.
But compared to the massive rewards, Yuyin felt this level of risk was completely acceptable.