CHAPTER 487: 0296 ZHU PINGNIANG’S TEST (2-IN-1)_2

But Xu Chang’an let her down.

She was talking to him about Ah Bai, yet he was only focused on the chessboard.

From Zhu Pingniang’s perspective, Xu Chang’an was biting his lip in thought, staring intently at the board, trying to carve out a path to victory against her.

What kind of fool is he?

A man like him, I’m afraid, truly just drinks when drinking with girls, and only plays chess when playing chess, completely unaware of what "socializing" means.

However...

Zhu Pingniang watched the boy earnestly trying to break through the game, her eyes gentle.

It is precisely because of this black-and-white nature that Li Zhibai accepted him as a student, and the young women are willing to play chess with him.

"Hey, you brat." Zhu Pingniang said helplessly, "Are you a child? Is your will to win really that strong?"

"..." Xu Chang’an raised his head, somewhat puzzled, and asked, "Isn’t the purpose of playing chess to win?"

He always had a strong will to win in unusual areas, which was also thoroughly displayed when dealing with Miss Yun.

"That’s true, but when there’s absolutely no chance of winning, shouldn’t you listen to me?" Zhu Pingniang picked up a white piece and placed it on the board with a "snap."

This crisp sound completely killed Xu Chang’an’s momentum for a comeback.

He suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the woman.

"I lost." Xu Chang’an looked at the game.

From start to finish, he never managed to escape Zhu Pingniang’s rhythm.

"Losing to me isn’t shameful." Zhu Pingniang reached out and disrupted the chessboard, completely taking away Xu Chang’an’s means of distraction, and then said.

"Are you done avoiding me? If you keep distancing yourself and not listening, I’ll really get angry."

Xu Chang’an: "..."

Indeed.

Using these little tricks to avoid Senior Zhu’s lecture, how could she not notice?

"Speak." Xu Chang’an obediently sat upright.

"I just said I need to keep an eye on her, you heard me, right?" Zhu Pingniang leisurely tidied up the chessboard, picking up a white piece once more, gently pinching it between her fingers.

"I heard." Xu Chang’an nodded. This senior might as well have carved her possessiveness for her teacher into her expression: before he dared not listen, and now he dares not ignore.

"As long as you understand. Now then..."

As Xu Chang’an looked up slightly dazed, Zhu Pingniang suddenly dropped the white piece into the center "Celestial Essence Position" of the chessboard.

!!!

The time within the Flower Moon Building seemed to come to a halt.

"Buzz."

As the piece landed, the sound was no longer crisp but instead gave off a strange hum.

Ripples expanded from the central piece on the board, and if someone were looking down from above Beisang City, they would see the entire sky had transformed into a densely packed chessboard, with the position of Flower Moon Building being the "Celestial Essence" where Zhu Pingniang had placed her piece.

This was Zhu Tongjun’s [Celestial Essence Child].

The Celestial Essence, the central star position of the chessboard, corresponds to the highest celestial body, symbolizing transcendence and the origin and beginning of all things.

As the piece fell, Spiritual Power stirred Zhu Pingniang’s stray hairs beside her face, as a chaotic and vast storm of Spiritual Power gathered in her eyes.

After many years, she once again went all out, exerting her full strength to drag someone into her chessboard Inner Realm.

——

Above the Frosty Heaven, the fierce wind was enveloped by the shadow of the Heaven-Reaching Chessboard, and even those above the Chaoyun Sect could sense its might.

Muyu Peak’s Sword Hall.

"...Hmm?"

Li Zhibai stepped out from the Alchemy Room, looking in the direction of Beisang City, frowning.

Tong Jun?

What trouble has she gotten into now?

This grand setup, could it be the Demon Sect people coming to sabotage Beisang City’s Array Hub?

But shortly, Li Zhibai felt out the message Zhu Pingniang left within the Inner Realm.

She said it was not dangerous.

"You really are troublesome, creating trouble even when there’s none." Li Zhibai sighed, lightly pressing his fingers against his brow.

Knowing Tong Jun’s cultivation, it would be difficult for anyone below the Qiankun Realm to resist in such unprepared circumstances.

Even for himself, knowing she wouldn’t attack him within the Inner Realm, there was still a risk of falling into her trap... And yet, she’s using it on a boy who has just stepped into cultivation?

Using an ox-cleaving knife to kill a chicken doesn’t even begin to describe her actions.

Next time they meet, he must have a good talk with her.

Hmm.

Li Zhibai, although not seeing, guessed who this Inner Realm was used on.

Who else but Xu Chang’an?

Who else, if not Ms. Yun?

——

Shi Qingjun and some women aware of Xu Chang’an possibly being an Immortal Reincarnation also guessed what Zhu Pingniang was doing... They weren’t surprised at all.

Seeing a person suspected of being an Immortal Reincarnation, probing them was only natural, though Zhu Pingniang made quite the commotion.

Hot spring.

Shi Qingjun, appearing as a gardener, bent over to water the flowers, then tilted her head to look down.

Even as Zhu Tongjun encompassed the entire Beisang City along with Xu Chang’an within her Inner Realm, Shi Qingjun didn’t find her actions over the top. For that boy, no display was excessive.

However, she paid no mind to the outcome.

Because it was bound to be ineffective.

No matter how powerful Tong Jun was, could she really withstand the Heaven-Reaching Thunder Tribulation that stands timeless through history?

She continued to water the flowers.

——

In truth, many people could guess Zhu Pingniang targeted Xu Chang’an.

But no one expected that Zhu Pingniang not only targeted him, she also...

Ambushed him.

First weakening Xu Chang’an’s vigilance with words, then suddenly activating the Inner Realm as he got distracted.

Zhu Pingniang felt indifferent to being spoken of using such unsophisticated means.

She is naturally such a person.

She had clearly explained it all to Xu Chang’an just now.

All those so-called Immortal Reincarnations are records found in books, and all that’s recorded before and after doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. Who knows what those so-called "Immortal Reincarnations" really are.

At least she doesn’t believe in Immortal Reincarnations, and even... a Zhu Pingniang, who is vaguely aware of cultivation’s extreme being a dead end, doesn’t believe Immortals ever existed.

Even if she likes Xu Chang’an, a mysterious origin and unknown identity "Immortal Reincarnation" staying beside her Ah Bai... How could she not mind?

So she set up such an array.

The Inner Realm is inherently different from a typical Illusion Realm, as it fuses reality with fantasy, and those dragged within face dire consequences if not careful, its terrifying nature nearly rivalling a Heart Demon on the path of cultivation.

This is an actual test, incomparable to one of Dusk Rain Melody long ago.

Upon casting the spell, Zhu Pingniang wondered.

If Xu Chang’an could struggle just a little, then she might consider believing he is some Great Power using Secret Technique to cultivate from scratch.

If not, then she would have every reason to explore Xu Chang’an’s Sea of Consciousness carefully for a thorough check.

Don’t get her wrong; she never doubted Xu Chang’an, that beloved young man of hers.

Her fear was if the Demon Sect had planted something within him, so she sealed off the world with the Inner Realm encompassing Beisang City to investigate.

Currently, having always dealt with the Demon Sect, Zhu Pingniang suspected: has someone hidden something unknown within Xu Chang’an’s Sea of Consciousness, trying to disrupt the Chaoyun Sect’s Array Hub in Beisang City?

After all, there’s nothing more suitable for such deeds than an inconspicuous young man who significantly connects with her.

This could also explain why Xu Chang’an’s Spirit Platform is steadier than others’, to avoid detection.

Though she knew these thoughts were wild.

Yet to Zhu Pingniang, these were much more plausible than Xu Chang’an being an Immortal Reincarnation.

For the world is full of things beyond comprehension compared to those that can be understood.

"..."

Zhu Pingniang watched the youth before her in a daze.

Xu Chang’an showed no abnormalities, not even being dragged into the chessboard Inner Realm.

In Zhu Pingniang’s eyes, Xu Chang’an seemed oblivious to the grand array, unaware, unfeeling——

No, he felt something.

Xu Chang’an looked down at the chess piece in the center of the board with a somewhat complex expression.

"..."

Senior, you...

While the Celestial Essence is a noble position at the center, it’s useless, often said as "Golden corners, silver sides, grass belly"—a virtually empty move.

Xu Chang’an felt Zhu Pingniang had "insulted" him.

Understanding she intended to let him win, but this was over the top.

At least make it look convincing.