Wandering Gods of Day and Night

Hesitation and conflict weighed on Mo Ya Monk's thoughts.

Before he attained enlightenment, he used to play Go against himself in the Mo Ya Cave, engaging in twelve matches daily for sixty years.

The Go board became Mo Ya Monk's world, a realm of black and white only. He considered his will refined to the point of being as calm as an ancient well, capable of maintaining the most serene and clear judgment when confronting any complex situation.

Later trips to the Buddha Country confirmed this,

Whenever he arrived in a new nation, he would spread the flames of war, with countless beings consumed by it. He would watch coldly from afar, neither angry nor compassionate, only filled with endless decisions.

"The World Honored One spoke of the complete annihilation, yet my heart's flower blooms... What's happening today? I can't make my heart's flower bloom."

Mo Ya Monk struggled to restrain his agitation, imagining "my heart's flower blooms" in his mind.

A pure lotus bloomed in his heart's ocean, and a heart as red as blood replaced the flower's core, beating at an extraordinarily slow pace,

contracting and releasing, occurring only infrequently, but each beat exuded a remarkable sense of power.

Mo Ya Monk's agitated frequency was led by that rhythm, gradually calming down, compressed to a very subtle degree.

From within that heart, he saw himself intently studying Go patterns,

focused and meticulous, each stone he placed brought a look of enjoyment to his face.

"I came to play Go; I came to play Go," Mo Ya Monk repeated firmly within himself.

His slightly trembling hand returned to its former steadiness and gently placed a black stone.

Zhou Xuan recognized Mo Ya Monk's resolve after observing the move, understanding that he intended to continue the dragon-slaying, and he calmly smiled, saying, "Demon Monk, you are still resolved to slay the dragon?"

"The brief pause allowed me to reason out something."

"Reasoned out what?"

Zhou Xuan asked.

"Since entering the game, I've always contemplated how to utilize the strategy to enhance our side's strength. I used the Shell Leaf Tree formation to enhance Junior Brother Bao Shu, and the Six-Eye Well technique to strengthen Zhao Qingxiao... This has been my obsession, an obsession that went too far, causing me to forget—I'm simply here to play Go with the grand master."

"Huangyuan Demon, Fire Sect, Seeking Wave Monk, Star Covering, Qingtian Dao, so many forces, we've already laid down enough groundwork, and our strength surpasses Mingjiang and Pingjiang Prefectures' You Shen by far. Even if I don't enhance these back-ups, I won't dare to say they can annihilate Mingjiang's populace within the game, but at least they can extend the life-and-death victory to the game's conclusion."

"Since that's the case, why should I set up a strategy within the board? I might as well focus on playing Go earnestly."

Mo Ya Monk finally gained confidence and said, "The grand master is wise and crafty; I feel inadequate next to him, but I've gained considerable insight into the grand master's Go prowess."

"How is my skill?" Zhou Xuan asked.

"The grand master has decent Go skills. In the street alleys, against some older Go enthusiasts, you naturally could defeat them, leaving them scattered, but...against a national player like myself? The skill falls short."

Mo Ya Monk evaluated the game with sincerity, saying.

Zhou Xuan nodded and said, "Your eye for Go is indeed sharp."

As for his Go-playing experience, the last time Zhou Xuan played Go was during his youth at the cultural palace...

After that, he mostly watched renowned players compete, understood the games well, but never played himself. So, he observed with insight but was quite inept at playing, akin to a novice chess box player.

Regarding Mo Ya Monk's evaluation of his skill — defeating the elderly chess players on the street...wasn't a wrong assessment. After all, in white's camp, there isn't just Zhou Xuan, there's also Zhao Wuya, who had a very faint presence all along...

"Your skill falls short, mine is strong; I might as well quickly manifest it on the board, demonstrate prowess and decide the match with the grand master. Why linger on the various mystical strategies, enhancing my side's core strength?"

Mo Ya Monk regained the ease he felt when first entering Mingjiang Prefecture, saying, "One power surpasses ten strategies, powerful enough to break bricks... I can't match the grand master in tactics, so I can only delve deeper into my strengths, seek breakthroughs."

"This time, the demon monk's thinking has turned quickly."

Zhou Xuan placed another white stone, pursuing the "cultivating Big Dragon Formation" to its end.

…

The battle in Mingjiang Prefecture was in full swing,

With the Blood Well Society joining, the painter commanding, Day and Night Wandering God and disciples of various Tangkou advanced like a hot knife through butter, surgically removing Fire Sect believers and the infiltrating Qingtian Dao disciples from the alleys and nooks of Mingjiang Prefecture.

This was essentially a defense of life and death for Mingjiang Prefecture,

Fire Sect, Qingtian Dao, Star Covering, all came to obliterate Mingjiang Prefecture, the disciples of various Tangkou fought fiercely both to defend their homeland and for survival,

As the three altars broke free from a two-thousand-year bond and moved in flying star form, enticing the worship of sixteen Evil Gods, the Yingtang Mountain Barbarians, traditionally adverse to Mingjiang Prefecture City, heightened their bloodthirsty desires,

Tens of thousands of cultivators assumed the role of primitive hunters, using spears and wooden sticks to encircle from all directions, cornering their prey step by step to Li Garden Street, in front of the God Traveling Department.

The civilians of this region had long been arranged by the painter, led to hide in the wild forests of Miyang Wooden Pier, Axin Wooden Pier, and other deep areas,