Inside the cave where red light and white light intertwined, on the jade couch.
Deng Tianyu and Ning Wan were locked in an embrace. Amidst a bout of tender intimacy and lingering affection, feeling each other’s presence, they slowly closed their eyes.
Because of the eruption of the Profound Cold Curse that night, both were mentally and physically exhausted and soon breathed evenly in sleep.
At this moment, Ning Wan, now changed into a plain dress, held her precious disciple’s waist, letting him bury his head against her full, soft bosom.
Her long, plump, jade-like legs tightly entangled his legs, the corner of her mouth curving into a sweet smile.
Conversely, Deng Tianyu, who had become a human body pillow, occasionally frowned slightly. Clearly, because he was trapped in the crevice, his breathing was somewhat labored.
Of course, this didn’t stop him from playing chess with Fourth Aunt in his dreams.
Compared to before, during their game on the Starry Net Chess Game, Deng Tianyu’s speed in placing pieces was no longer as excruciatingly slow as before. Instead, it was filled with fluidity, faintly possessing a sense of natural, flowing ease.
“You lost.”
A slightly cool, clear voice came. Deng Tianyu was stunned before he realized the white pieces on the board had, at some unknown point, connected five in a line. He immediately smiled bitterly:
“Fourth Aunt, I’ve been losing all night long. Can’t you let me win just one game?”
He was clearly the one who taught Fourth Aunt Gomoku, but whether it was because he was bad, or because Fourth Aunt’s control over the overall situation was too terrifying, he had been losing constantly recently.
As a result, Deng Tianyu was now utterly sick of the three words “Five-in-a-Row,” and couldn’t even write the word “win” anymore.
Opposite him, Fourth Aunt, wrapped in a water-blue palace dress, lifted her phoenix-like eyes and looked at him: “If courtesy is required, even if you win, what meaning would it hold?”
As she spoke, with a wave of her plain hand, all the starry chess pieces on the board returned to their original positions.
Deng Tianyu sighed deeply: “How about we switch to a different game?”
He naturally knew that if Fourth Aunt intentionally lost and he won, it would be meaningless. But losing constantly was also frustrating.
It was like playing a video game; no matter how zen you were, you wouldn’t want to be forever seeking defeat!
Fourth Aunt asked with interest: “Switch to what game?”
Compared to traditional matches, she preferred novel ways of playing.
Like this Gomoku, it was simple, easy to pick up, and quite interesting.
It was just that after playing it for a number of days, it started becoming a bit dull!
Deng Tianyu pondered for a moment before speaking:
“Alright, Fourth Aunt, remove most of the crisscrossing lines on the board, leaving only nine parallel vertical lines and ten parallel horizontal lines, separated by a river of stars in the middle.”
“With the Starry River as the boundary, one side belongs to you, the other side belongs to me.”
“Then reduce the number of black and white pieces, keeping only sixteen of each. Engrave on one side’s pieces: General, Advisor, Elephant…”
“And on the other side’s pieces: General, Advisor, Minister…”
Although somewhat curious, Fourth Aunt did as instructed.
Before long, a chess set using stars as pieces appeared before him.
“The rules are very simple. The horse moves in an ‘L’ shape, the elephant moves diagonally two steps and cannot cross the river, the chariot moves in a straight line…”
Deng Tianyu smiled slightly and explained the gameplay.
Back when he was bored in the Purple Cloud Sect, he had also tinkered and come up with Chinese Chess and Gomoku.
With Gomoku, playing against the Big Loli Li Shishi, he basically never lost.
And with Chinese Chess, playing against Shizun, he basically never won.
Of course, Ning Wan beating him wasn’t because, like Fourth Aunt, she had an exquisitely profound control over the big picture.
It was because she played too wildly!
One moment, she’d say her Cannon was her magical artifact, and one blast meant a straight line, wiping out everything, friend or foe alike.
The next moment, she’d say that Horse was a Spirit Crane raised by the Purple Cloud Sect, capable of soaring into the heavens and burrowing into the earth, omnipotent, so it rampaging across the board was also perfectly logical and reasonable!
Even more excessive was that Ning Wan actually treated the “General” piece as herself. With her cultivation, she simply performed a thousand-mile solo charge and instantly slew Deng Tianyu’s “General”!
Anyway, in games against Ning Wan, her pieces could always pull off some wild stunt, dominating every time!
It left Deng Tianyu with absolutely zero gaming experience.
Could you say she wasn’t following the rules? But she always made it sound so reasonable.
At the time, Deng Tianyu was utterly dumbfounded and directly didn’t know how to play anymore.
As his thoughts circulated, Deng Tianyu found the chess setup was ready and said:
“Fourth Aunt, you go first!”
Fourth Aunt nodded. With a flick of her plain finger, a Cannon leaped out.
“Bang!” Instantly, Deng Tianyu’s Horse was gone!
Deng Tianyu: (￣△￣；)!
What the heck was this?
Did Fourth Aunt know he was good with Horses and intentionally killed it?
“Take!” Deng Tianyu’s expression was serious. Using the Four Seasons Sword Intent and the Five Elements Sword Arts, he controlled his Chariot to capture her Cannon!
“Bang!” The next instant, Fourth Aunt’s Cannon descended from the sky again… Deng Tianyu’s other Horse was gone!
What was this, losing both Horses right at the start?
Did Fourth Aunt have a grudge against his Horses?
Deng Tianyu’s mouth twitched. He captured her Cannon again.
Instantly, in the back-and-forth, the battle raged fiercely, hard to determine a victor. The entire chessboard was filled with a cold, chilling aura of slaughter.
…
The next day, early morning!
Deng Tianyu and Ning Wan left Crimson Flame Mountain, speeding towards the Purple Cloud Sect’s location.
Before leaving, Deng Tianyu also packed several Fire Crab legs to bring back.
After all, within the sect, there were the Big Loli Li Shishi and the Little Fox Yingying, two greedy little gluttons.
“Tianyu, starting today, I will go into closed-door cultivation.”
“The matter of the Purple Cloud Sect’s cooperation with the Spirit Treasure Pavilion will be left entirely in your hands.”
“If there is any important matter, you may consult the Grand Elder!”
Approaching the Purple Cloud Sect, Ning Wan looked at him and spoke softly.
“Alright, I understand, Shizun!” Deng Tianyu nodded.
Just like before, every time after the Night of the Full Moon passed, Ning Wan would go into closed-door cultivation for a period, healing her wounds while using secret arts to suppress the Profound Cold Curse within her.
Thinking that she wouldn’t see her precious disciple for another period of time.
No bathing together, no embracing each other to sleep.
Ning Wan felt an indescribable sadness in her heart and vented this feeling in an appropriate way.
Her voluptuous body leaned forward. Her sleek, snowy arms hooked around Deng Tianyu’s neck, and her full, dewy red lips fiercely kissed his lips.
“Mmph…”
Before Deng Tianyu understood what was happening, he could no longer speak.
The daytime sun had just risen, its warm, comforting light shining upon every corner of the world.
Beneath this light, a handsome youth and a seductively mature woman stood on the flying Dharma Boat, locked in a tight embrace and kiss.
This scene was both heartwarming and beautifully picturesque, like a poem or painting.
As a clear breeze blew past, the clouds parted. Spirit cranes flew by, casting curious glances.
But this master-disciple pair paid no heed, still entangled together, like an immortal couple, so enviable!
This beautiful tableau lasted for a long time, only being broken when the Dharma Boat approached a valley.
Before them was precisely the location of the Purple Cloud Sect: the Hundred Flowers Valley, a land bursting with vibrant, colorful blossoms.
Ning Wan reluctantly let go of her precious disciple and gently wiped the glistening rouge from the corner of his mouth. Full of tender affection and charm, she said:
“Tianyu, I will be in seclusion for some days. Cultivate diligently.”
“Especially the Primordial Yang Reflux Art. When I come out of seclusion, I will be sure to check thoroughly!”
“If Tianyu slacks off, there will be punishment!”
Having said this, she steered the Dharma Boat into the sect.
