Chapter 1420: Enter the Board

The Ancestral Dao was overwhelmed with sorrow, and he cried harder and harder until tears streamed down his face.

He had once been the strongest existence in a Tier Ten Universe, but everything he had was reduced to someone else's stepping stone.

If it were merely that, he could accept it. After all, he had lost fair and square. But why was it that everyone was revived with their cultivation base restored, except for him? Why? Wasn't that discrimination?

It was just too unfair.

Sui Gujin looked at him. "What do you know? Speak."

Her understanding of Ye Guan was actually quite limited, as he had taken the Other Shore World and Ten Desolate Universe into his pagoda.

Fortunately, one loose end remained.

Hearing her words, the Ancestral Dao quickly wiped his tears away and perked up. "He cultivates the Dao of Order. If you want to kill him, don't hold back. Send out your entire civilization's strongest forces. Don't give him the slightest chance..."

Sui Gujin gave him a look. "He's just a Supreme Emperor. Isn't mobilizing an entire civilization's forces a bit excessive?"

The Ancestral Dao frantically waved his hand. "No, no, it's not excessive at all! This guy is a complete monster. His intelligence alone makes him incredibly dangerous.

"If you don't kill him, he will become a massive threat in the future. Do not underestimate him. You must hit him hard with everything you've got. Everyone should attack him together, and don't give him even the slightest room to breathe."

Sui Gujin narrowed her eyes. "Is he alone?"

The Ancestral Dao hesitated for a moment before answering, "No, he has an aunt, but don't worry about her. She's not that strong. Your Old Lands Civilization can definitely handle her."

Sui Gujin said no more.

The Ancestral Dao studied her, puzzled. Had she believed him?

Sui Gujin asked, "He has an aunt?"

The Ancestral Dao nodded. "Yes."

Thinking of that terrifying lady in the plain skirt, a deep fear flickered in his eyes, but he hid it well. He couldn't let this woman realize that the lady in the plain skirt was anything extraordinary. Otherwise, she might hesitate to go after Ye Guan.

Sui Gujin asked, "What's her cultivation level?"

The Ancestral Dao replied calmly, "In your terms, probably around the peak of the Immortal Emperor Realm... Or maybe just a little bit higher."

Sui Gujin nodded. "I see."

The Ancestral Dao sighed in relief.

She's so easy to fool.

"Are you interested in joining the Old Lands?" asked Sui Gujin.

"I can?"

"You have talent, and we're currently recruiting talents."

"If I were to join, what position would the Old Lands offer me?"

"Your strength hasn't recovered yet?"

"My cultivation hasn't, but my mind is still sharp."

"That much is clear."

"If you're planning to deal with Ye Guan, I can help. I lack the strength to do so, but no one understands him better than I do. His biggest weaknesses are his emotional attachments and his lust. We can target him from another angle."

"Tell me everything you know."

"Alright."

Before long, he had spilled everything about Ye Guan.

Sui Gujin listened carefully, analysing the figures that the Ancestral Dao mentioned. When she heard about Fan Zhaodi and Ye Guan being mortal enemies, she abruptly opened her eyes.

"You said that Fan Zhaodi is his mortal enemy?"

"Yes."

"Explain in detail."

The Ancestral Dao glanced at her and then recounted the events that had taken place in the Ten Tiers of Civilization. Once he was done, the place fell into deathly silence.

Sui Gujin said, "For now, you will take on a clerical position. Once your cultivation recovers, I'll give you a better role. How does that sound?"

𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Although a little disappointed, the Ancestral Dao knew his place. He had no strength right now, so even a clerical job was already a decent opportunity for him.

"Alright," he said, nodding.

Sui Gujin said, "You may leave. Someone outside will make the arrangements."

The Ancestral Dao nodded, stood up, and left.

"Fan Zhaodi and the Great Daoist Brush Master..." Sui Gujin muttered. Then, she turned to the woman beside her and said, "I want to know everything there is to know about that so-called Great Daoist Brush Master."

She had heard of him but only through rumours. She had never encountered him personally.

The woman nodded before vanishing into thin air.

Sui Gujin slowly closed her eyes. She had extracted an enormous amount of useful information from the Ancestral Dao—the Great Daoist Brush Master, Fan Zhaodi, and the details of that great battle. Now, she was almost certain that the Great Daoist Brush Master was one of the masterminds pulling the strings from the shadows.

As for Fan Zhaodi... Virtuous and Evil were actually coexisting in her? That was truly surprising. She suspected that Fan Zhaodi and Ye Guan were connected.

There was something amiss here. Sui Gujin's eyes flew open. Something was off.

The Ancestral Dao said that Fan Zhaodi had the upper hand in the battle, but for some unknown reason, she lost at the critical moment. Her cultivation was absorbed by Ye Guan, allowing him to become a Supreme Emperor.

However, that wasn't the most important part. The real key was what happened after Ye Guan scattered his cultivation... Fan Zhaodi got her cultivation back again!

In other words, the cultivation that Ye Guan had given up somehow returned to Fan Zhaodi. Those two details were connected!

Sui Gujin's expression darkened.

Could they be working together to plot against the Old Lands?

No, that didn't make sense. If they truly were conspiring together, then Ye Guan would know everything about the Old Lands. Yet, when he arrived, he was unfamiliar with everything. Was he just pretending?

Sui Gujin frowned deeply, but she quickly dismissed that thought. If Ye Guan had really been working with Fan Zhaodi, he wouldn't have been so passive from the start.

He also wouldn't have been completely unaware that the three civilizations had already formed an alliance.

She tapped the armrest of her chair, sinking into deep thought for a long time. Then, all of a sudden, an idea struck her, and her eyes lit up.

I'm so dumb! Why not think about this from a different angle? A scheme... A scheme!

This had been a scheme from the very beginning. What if... Fan Zhaodi was actually working for Ye Guan's father or aunt, without Ye Guan knowing about it?

Sui Gujin was aware of the terrifying strength of Ye Guan's aunt and father. They were far beyond Fan Zhaodi's level, but despite having clashed with Ye Guan multiple times, Fan Zhaodi was still alive.

Moreover, she kept growing stronger... that was highly unusual. When Ye Guan had the chance to kill her, she ended up surviving. As Sui Gujin dove further and further into that train of thought, things became increasingly clearer for her.

In the end, she came to three conclusions—First of all, Fan Zhaodi was still alive because Ye Guan's father and aunt deliberately spared her, leaving her for Ye Guan to deal with, essentially using her as a stepping stone.

Secondly, Fan Zhaodi was already working for Ye Guan's father and aunt, and her purpose was to serve as Ye Guan's stepping stone.

Thirdly and lastly, Fan Zhaodi was already one of their people, but Ye Guan was unaware of it.

She was almost certain it had to be either the second or the third one. The first conclusion was just impossible, as when Ye Guan scattered his cultivation, the Ancestral Dao hadn't received any of it.

In other words, it was being controlled. Since it was being controlled, it meant someone was controlling it. It was intentionally withheld from the Ancestral Dao and given to Fan Zhaodi instead.

If Fan Zhaodi weren't on their side, why would they go through all that trouble? Wouldn't it be easier to return all of it to Ye Guan? Looking at it from another angle, Fan Zhaodi was indeed a Life Fruit, and she belonged to the Suiming Civilization.

Once she returned to the Suiming Civilization, her goal would be obvious, which was to take control of the Old Lands not just the Suiming Civilization.

What was Ye Guan's Dao? Order. And what were the Dao of Order's prerequisites? The faith and belief of countless beings. In other words, Fan Zhaodi's real purpose could be to help Ye Guan seize control of the Old Lands and to strengthen his position in the Great Dao Contest.

However, there was a huge problem here. The three rulers of the three civilizations were also contenders in the Great Dao Contest. In other words, direct conflict was inevitable.

If she could foresee that inevitable clash, then Fan Zhaodi had to have foreseen it, too, which meant... she was already planning to eliminate all the rulers of the three civilizations.

Sui Gujin closed her eyes. At this moment, she didn't know how much the Suiming Civilization meant to Fan Zhaodi. Was it completely insignificant? Or did it hold some value?

If it held even a little importance, then Fan Zhaodi, like her, had chosen to follow Ye Guan for the sake of the Suiming Civilization. But if it meant nothing to her...

After a moment, Sui Gujin slowly stood up and walked outside. She gazed into the deep void, worry thick in her eyes. She had only managed to analyze Ye Guan's side of things. But what about their opponents?

Thus far, she still hadn't been able to step outside the chessboard and observe the game from an outsider's point of view. She was still a part of the game, and being a part of it meant she was constantly on the defensive, always a step behind.

Just like now, the Great Daoist Brush Master's next move was unknown to her. She didn't know if Fan Zhaodi truly cared about the Suiming Civilization, and even worse, she had no idea how many hidden pieces were still on this board.

After a long, long time, Sui Gujin laughed. She thought of everything and replayed every detail in her mind before realizing that she had overlooked the most important detail.

Ye Guan had willingly scattered his own cultivation for the sake of the Ten Tiers of Civilization and his friends.

Whether Fan Zhaodi cared about the Suiming Civilization or not didn't matter; it did not matter at all.

What mattered was that Ye Guan

had

to care about the Suiming Civilization.

As long as his heart cared about the Suiming Civilization, then even if Fan Zhaodi couldn't care less about it, she would have to care about it in the future.

In this entire game, Ye Guan was the real key. This game existed only because Ye Guan was willing to be a chess piece. If he were to refuse to be one, who would dare treat him as one?

"Since all of you enjoy playing chess so much, I shall enter the board myself and play a proper game with you," Sui Gujin said.

Just then, a shadowy figure appeared behind her and said, "Lady Sui, among the four Immortal Domains, only the Domain Master of the Tianfu Immortal Domain has agreed to the meeting."

Sui Gujin narrowed her eyes slightly. "They've started making their moves."

The shadowy figure asked, "Should we inform Young Lord Ye?"

"No need." Sui Gujin shook her head. "These are just minor matters; there's no need to trouble him."

With that, she vanished into thin air.