I Have A Dual World Seal

"What the hell?!"

Lu Zheng shivered, his eyes narrowed, and the hand gripping the mountain wall almost let go, nearly causing him to fall.

He tightened his hand once more, gripping the cliff again. Lu Zheng blinked and took a careful sensory check. Apart from the mountain wind carrying the moisture and grassy scent of the junction of spring and summer, he didn't perceive any other aura.

But that voice had clearly sounded in his mind, indicating a master! Their spiritual cultivation was incredibly deep!

Lu Zheng's eyes flickered. He had been here six or seven times, and the other person never spoke before. It was only this time when the water wasn't completely fetched that they spoke, which reduced Lu Zheng's vigilance by at least half.

If that's the case... let's go take a look!

Thus, Lu Zheng advanced instead of retreating, climbing higher while loudly saying, "Thank you, senior!"

Climbing further up along the cliff, he soon reached a small platform. This platform was halfway up the mountain, with dozens of meters of rocky cliff both up and down. However, the vegetation near the platform seemed to have been cleared, revealing a cave nestled against the mountain wall.

This is it!

Another cave!

Lu Zheng first clasped his hands at the cave entrance, then stepped inside. Although his pace was not slow, he was mentally alert, his blood Qi circulating, vigilantly protecting himself.

The cave passage sloped downward, and it wasn't very deep. After just two turns, he arrived at a spacious cave area.

This cave space wasn't large, only a few dozen meters in circumference. The cave ceiling had dozens of gaps connecting to the outside, allowing sunlight to stream through. The scattered sunlight illuminated the surroundings, revealing many stalactites tinged in verdant hues to Lu Zheng's eyes.

But what caught Lu Zheng's attention wasn't the cave's environment or the stalactite spring water pooling in various depressions, but rather the area on the inner side of the cave where a beam of sunlight was perfectly shining.

An old man in a brown robe, with a lean face and black beard and hair, sat quietly before a stone slab two feet square. His gaze remained on the slab until Lu Zheng entered the cave, finally lifting his head with some stiffness to glance at him.

Their eyes met, and Lu Zheng felt as if the old man's eyes held black brilliance like a deep abyss, the radiance flowing, seemingly concealing a universe.

This is a master!

"Lu Zheng, an outer disciple of the White Cloud Temple, greets the senior!" Lu Zheng bowed and said.

"Hmm." The old man seemed somewhat absentminded, as if lost in other thoughts. After a moment, he gestured towards the stalactite spring inside the cave, "Go fetch some."

"Yes, thank you, senior!" Lu Zheng bowed again before moving towards the center of the cave.

Inside the cave, stalactites shaped like inverted cones dripped droplets of emerald-green spring water, which pooled collectively from the tips before dripping down.

Below, low-lying areas on the ground formed small puddles filled with these stalactite springs. The springs were a clear jade-like green, pure and bright, with a fragrant aroma, a quality finer than the spring water he had gathered at the mountainside.

Lu Zheng took out two more empty bottles and placed them in the puddles, filling them both.

During the water collection, the old man seemed to come to his senses, surprisingly saying, "Even outer disciples have this level of Dao practice, has the White Cloud Temple become so powerful now?"

Lu Zheng gave an embarrassed smile, "You flatter me, senior!"

"Hmm." Perhaps Lu Zheng's cultivation wasn't truly at par to astonish the old man, so the old man nodded and didn't speak further, simply watching Lu Zheng fill the bottles and put them back into his backpack before asking, "Do you play chess?"

Lu Zheng turned back, seeing the two-foot stone slab before the old man was indeed an engraved chessboard filled with black and white pieces, appearing to be a game of Go in a deadlock.

"A little," Lu Zheng replied.

"Take a look," the old man said.

"Yes," Lu Zheng nodded and approached the old man, lowered his gaze to examine.

This was a square stone slab, two feet in each direction, with thirty-eight scored lines crisscrossing it. At the intersections were stone chess pieces. Although they seemed evenly divided in half, Lu Zheng immediately discerned that the black pieces had a significant advantage, almost entirely enclosing the white pieces.

"Be careful," the old man reminded.

"Be careful?" Lu Zheng blinked and upon looking at the board again, felt his vision blur.

Instantly, the black pieces filled his vision, transforming into a pitch-black universe that wrapped around him, leaving him unaware of time, direction, while the white pieces like blades, slashed towards him, making his soul feel a piercing chill, as if it were about to vanish along with his Dao practice.

Whoa!

With a firm grip on his spiritual consciousness, the "Nine Heavens Golden Palace True God Transformation Technique" rapidly circulated, and Lu Zheng felt a sudden clarity of mind, returning to the stone chessboard.

"Oh?" The old man glanced at Lu Zheng again, "Your spiritual cultivation is impressive."

Lu Zheng felt a drop of cold sweat trickle down his temple, sensing an unusual heaviness in spirit, and upon looking at the board again, there was no abnormality, "What a bizarre chess game."

"An old friend left this endgame, I've pondered over it for thirty years," the old man said faintly, "It carries some of my comprehensions. You managed to break free so quickly, not bad at all."

Thirty years of pondering... terrifying...

Lu Zheng smacked his lips, then once more examined the board. He stood for a while, focusing intently, trying several approaches, reasoning forward dozens of moves, yet consistently resulting in inevitable defeat for the white pieces.

"Can the white pieces truly win?" Lu Zheng frowned, asking. With his current level of skill, he still couldn't see a victory for the white pieces and was doubting the possibility.

"They definitely can," the old man nodded, giving Lu Zheng a curious glance, "How many moves did you reason out?"

Lu Zheng's eyes twinkled, and he answered honestly, "Four strategies, each twelve or thirteen moves."

"Oh?" The old man's eyes brightened, gesturing for him to sit, "Give it a try."

"I shall show my incompetence." Lu Zheng courteously bowed, then sat cross-legged across from the old man, picking up a white piece, contemplating briefly, and placing it on a position.

"Not bad," the old man nodded, placing a piece in response.

The two exchanged moves swiftly, each taking a turn, moving seven rounds quickly, clearly within their previous strategic reasoning, responding promptly.

At the eighth move, Lu Zheng noticeably slowed, with the old man's response going beyond his predictions.

By the fourteenth move, the old man also slowed, as Lu Zheng's responses surprised him slightly.

Nevertheless...

Despite Lu Zheng's efforts, the black pieces' initial advantage remained overwhelming. Given the old man's remarkably skilled play, Lu Zheng conceded defeat at the nineteenth move.

"Good!" The old man's eyes glistened brightly, a mix of surprise and joy, "You have three more strategies?"

Seeing Lu Zheng nod, the old man lightly swept his hand over the board. The black and white pieces returned to their starting positions, and the stone chessboard reverted to its initial state, "Let's go again."

Lu Zheng took a deep breath, picked up another white piece, pondered for a moment, silently strategizing, and finally placed it gently onto a different spot.