Chapter 23 Dead Wood Grows

Liang Yan repeatedly failed to attack the bottleneck. He had great hopes for the barrier-breaking pill, but he did not expect that he would fall short in the end. Under the repeated blows, his mood almost collapsed.

He took a long breath and walked out of the cave. It was already late at night, and there were almost no people in the mountain road. Liang Yan looked up at the sky and saw that the night sky was as dark as ink, with the waning moon half hidden and half visible, and not even a few stars, which suited his depressed and bitter mood.

The great road of heaven and earth is far away. Liang Yan didn't know where he should go or what he should do.

He was confused and unconscious, wandering aimlessly in the valley. When he came to his senses, he realized that he had unknowingly walked to Cangmu Peak again.

Liang Yan sighed, smiled slightly and said: "It seems that I still can't forget this game in the mountains."

Although he knew that "Senior Sister Tang" would never come again, he still couldn't help but climb up the mountain path. When he reached the top of the mountain and looked under the tree, it was indeed empty and there was no one there.

Liang Yan laughed at himself. He was really out of his mind. Not to mention that Senior Sister Tang said she would never come again. Even before, he had never played chess with her at such a late hour.

He strolled under the big tree and saw a chessboard with black and white chess pieces on top of the boulder.

"Huh?" Liang Yan was confused. Could there be someone else playing chess here at this time?

He looked at the chessboard intently and was suddenly stunned. Wasn't this the endgame he saw on the first day he came to Cangmu Peak?

On the chessboard, Heizi was still showing his teeth and claws, looking arrogant. Bai Zi is restrained everywhere, like a trapped dragon still fighting, lifeless.

Liang Yan stared at the chessboard and suddenly felt that the white piece was like the true energy and spiritual power in his body, which was limited by his own qualifications; while the black piece was like a bottleneck that suppressed him and was invincible.

He stared at it for a long time, and suddenly felt a strange attraction that attracted his entire mind. He turned into the white dragon, with billowing black clouds roaring on his head.

The sky is full of stars, and all the stars in the sky have also transformed into these nineteen vertical and horizontal ones. When you are in it, you feel that every step around you is an opportunity, and you are shocked to realize that every step is a murderous intention!

"Ang!" He let out an unwilling roar in his body, and slowly glanced around, but his heart gradually calmed down. Since he met the girl in white, he has studied chess day and night, and his chess skills have improved rapidly. It is no longer the time when he first saw this mess.

At this moment, Liang Yan transformed into a white dragon and was immersed in the situation, only to realize that although the black cloud was powerful, it was not a piece of iron. It seemed to be all-encompassing, but in fact it was powerful on the outside and powerful on the inside.

"If you are willing to abandon your own city and penetrate directly into the heart of this black man, you may not be able to create a new world."

Thinking like this, Liang Yan raised his hand and picked up a white piece, bang! A sound landed on the chessboard.

When the child fell, it was like the clouds parting and the sun rising, and Liang Yan's mood suddenly brightened. On the chessboard, I saw the white dragon roaring and rising into the sky. From now on, the sky and the earth are big and free!

Liang Yan looked at the chessboard and sighed after a long time. Bai Zi was reborn, but what about himself? Thinking of this, he couldn't help but shake his head and smile bitterly.

Just when he came to his senses from the chessboard, he suddenly felt alarmed and looked towards the other side of the big tree. I saw an old man standing there, with green clothes and white hair, and a rosy face, looking at me with a smile that was not a smile.

Liang Yan was extremely horrified. He had been here for such a long time, but he didn't notice that there was another person beside him. When exactly this person came here, he had no idea at all.

Before he could think more, the white-haired old man said, "Who are you? How did you find Cangmu Peak?"

Liang Yan saluted respectfully and said, "This junior was brought here by a senior sister."

"Oh? What does the senior sister you talk about look like?"

Liang Yan gave a brief description based on the impression in his mind. The white-haired old man nodded secretly and said to himself: "It turns out to be that girl from Butterfly Immortal. That girl is weird and eccentric. This seems like something she would do."

Thinking like this, the old man turned his gaze to the chessboard under the tree and said with a strange expression: "Which chess master are you a disciple of?"

"This junior is not a chess disciple. In fact, this junior is a formation servant disciple." Liang Yan replied awkwardly.

Unexpectedly, the old man burst out laughing after hearing this: "Common servant disciple? Hahahahaha! What a formation-line servant disciple, wonderful, wonderful!"

After laughing for a while, the old man seemed to be in a good mood. He looked at him and said, "Boy, would you like to play two games of chess with me?"

At this time, Liang Yan was no longer the young boy who didn't know the heights of the sky. He also knew that the old man in front of him must be an unfathomable senior. He just handed over his hands and said, "My junior's poor chess skills may ruin my senior's elegance."

"It doesn't matter. We are destined to make friends here. We talk hand in hand regardless of age. All the past is gone. The trivial matters in the world are all contained in this square inch."

"Okay, in that case, I dare you not to obey my orders."

The two sat on the ground and started playing chess under the tree. Both sides concentrated their attention, and after three games, the sky was already turning white. As expected, Liang Yan was completely defeated.

Liang Yan smiled bitterly and said to the old man: "The junior's chess skills are so bad that he is not even qualified to be an opponent for the senior. It really disturbs the senior's enjoyment."

Unexpectedly, the old man was twirling his beard, staring at the chessboard, and seemed to be quite satisfied with the smile: "No, no, your 233rd move in the last game actually hid something evil. It's a pity that you think about it. Ignoring the consequences will ruin this good game in vain."

Liang Yan looked back at the chess game and found that it was indeed as the old man said, except that he couldn't take care of it unless he ignored it. Just because the old man was precise in his moves, echoed back and forth, and anticipated the enemy's opportunities and often stood in the corner of the formation before him. No matter how he changed his moves, he would be one step ahead of him and lose the opportunity.

"Actually, with your talent and your third-level Qi training, you are qualified to participate in the trial training for chess disciples. Why not give it a try?"

Liang Yan felt a chill in his heart. This was the first time someone had seen through his cultivation in person, which showed how unfathomable the old man was. He did not dare to be negligent and answered truthfully: "It's not that I won't go, but that I can't. My qualifications are too poor and I have been stuck at the peak of the third level of Qi training for a long time. Even if I borrow the barrier-breaking pill, I can't break through. I'm afraid I won't be able to do it again in this life." It’s hard to get even an inch in.”

After hearing what he said, the old man was silent for a while and said leisurely: "Boy, do you know my name?"

Liang Yan was stunned for a moment, not knowing what he meant by this, so he could only reply: "Disciple, I don't know."

"My name is Kuchikisheng."

Liang Yan has stayed in Yi Xin Pavilion for more than three years. He has heard the names of some famous elders in the sect, but no matter how hard he racks his brains, he cannot remember any "Kuchishi Sheng". This number one person.

"You must be wondering who this rotten tree is born from?" The old man seemed to have understood what he was thinking, and he laughed and said:

"It's just because when I first set foot on the path to immortality, even though I became a master of chess, I was stuck at the third level of Qi training for ten years. At that time, all the brothers and sisters around me were ahead of me, which made me embarrassed to face my respected master. , he named himself 'Rotten Wood', which means that rotten wood cannot be carved, and it is not my master's fault."

Liang Yan didn't expect that he still had such a past, but the old man sitting in front of him now had an aura as deep as the sea, and he had obviously been reborn.

"Later, when I achieved the golden elixir, Master added the word '生' after the rotten wood for me. From then on, my name was rotten wood, which means that rotten trees can be reborn, and diseased trees can also have spring."

After the old man finished speaking, he remained silent and just looked at Liang Yan with bright eyes.

Liang Yan took a deep breath, like a wake-up call, and the gloom in his heart was swept away. He stood up and bowed slightly to the old man.

"Thank you for your guidance, senior!"

Kuchiki smiled and waved his hand: "I'm just telling you a story. To practice, you still have to rely on yourself. Especially to break through the bottleneck, you need to take one step at a time, otherwise the foundation will be unstable in the future and a disaster will come. .”

As he spoke, he seemingly casually took out a roll of bamboo slips from his sleeve and handed it to him, "This is a skill I created myself. You, a handyman disciple, are not qualified to go to Chuan Gong Pavilion to borrow the skill. You must have done it randomly on your own." To practice, why not just watch this one of mine."

Liang Yan stretched out his hand to take it, and saw five large characters written crookedly on the scroll: "The heart has no determination."

He was overjoyed, "I have been practicing the old monk's Hunhun Kung Fu for so long, but I still can't break through the third level of Qi training. It is said that stones from other mountains can attack jade, and this 'Intentional Uncertainty Technique' may help me break through." maybe!"

Thinking of this, Liang Yan took a deep breath and bowed respectfully to Kuchiki. The Kuchiki student looked quite happy and said with a smile: "From now on, on the eighth day of every month, if you want to learn chess, you can come here to find me at midnight, and we will be chess friends forever."

Liang Yan also smiled and said, "Young man, you must obey your orders!"