Chapter 465: Chapter 289 Chessboard Artifact_1

Geniuses, especially unparalleled geniuses, invincible geniuses, those who overshadow their generation, are proud, pride ingrained in their bones, pride instilled in their souls.

For them, cultivation is as simple as drinking water, advancing realms is just a matter of time, and defeating stronger enemies is as effortless as breathing.

When they see divine spirits ahead, they naturally believe they can easily reach such realms; this is without a doubt.

He was sure to become a god.

Emperor Tianyu was such a person and thought the same, yet despite countless years passing by, the Divine Spirit Realm was before him, but he just couldn’t grasp it, couldn’t step into it.

Visible, yet intangible.

A vain call to the unreachable.

The frustration and helplessness in his heart remained unspoken.

“Do you really wish to become a god?” Jiang Ming suddenly spoke in a deep voice.

Emperor Tianyu fell silent.

“You wish to, and so do I, as do countless strong men at the Twelfth Realm across the world, but you probably have guessed…” Jiang Ming continued, “No matter how many brilliant and exceptional individuals there are in the world, none can become gods. Yet divine spirits do exist, and divine children descend. Combine that with my situation; what do you think that implies?”

Emperor Tianyu’s pupils constricted.

“But what can be done!” He had speculated before, especially after knowing about Jiang Ming and other Descenders. With his wisdom, he naturally could infer a lot of things but sighed, “I have witnessed the power of the gods, and it is truly formidable, surpassing imagination and defying all reason. No matter how brilliant or rebellious you are, even if all the One Hundred and Eight Provinces rebelled, it would not change the ultimate outcome.”

“Are divine spirits that powerful?” Jiang Ming was surprised.

In his understanding, even if divine spirits were powerful, they progressed step by step through cultivation, with only one realm difference from the Twelfth Realm.

A hundredfold difference?

A thousandfold difference?

Ten thousandfold must be the limit, right?

Even a millionfold he could barely accept!

But according to Emperor Tianyu, that was not the case at all.

“A strength beyond your imagination,” Emperor Tianyu paused for a moment, but his insinuation was clear.

Considering the deeds of the Imperial Clan, they must have angered many powerful beings, so why does the Great Qian Dynasty still stand unshaken?

The key lies in possessing absolute power.

Just look at Emperor Tianyu to understand; such a proud figure had to submit without any thoughts of rebellion even to this day.

This sank Jiang Ming’s heart to the depths; he had an even more terrifying guess: the divine spirits did not leave the Holy City not because they couldn’t, but because they disdained to do so.

Back then, Master was struck when he spied upon them, not being pursued was not due to inability, but also due to disdain.

He is a divine spirit, high above, looking down upon the struggles of the mundane world, watching the seas become mulberry fields change, even if everything is thrown into chaos, they can always restore order with ease. “What exactly is the nature of a divine spirit’s existence?” Jiang Ming inquired. This was crucial.

If it was just breaking through the shackles of the Twelfth Realm, following common sense, it shouldn’t result in a despairing level of power.

“Unfathomable!” Emperor Tianyu’s spirit shook, dispelling the messy thoughts. Staring intensely at Jiang Ming, he said, “You, an unparalleled genius, and I, a pride of my generation, might inspire potential and break through barriers if we fight. Jiang Ming, let us battle. A fair fight first, a fight with all our might, a fight free from all burdens!”

As he spoke, he threw out his hand and a chessboard flew out, spinning and radiating endless divine light. It connected heaven and earth, sealed time and space, and in the blink of an eye vanished without a trace, yet appeared beneath their feet.

The surrounding environment had already changed.

The scorching sun disappeared, replaced by an infinite starry sky.

Beneath their feet was clearly the pattern of a chessboard.

The greatest change was the pressure, which was more than ten thousand times heavier than on the outside, Jiang Ming felt a great heaviness.

“Is this your fair fight?”

Jiang Ming’s expression was ice-cold.

He operated his divine skills, and carefully sensing, he also discovered the situation.

The pervasive aura here made the power of physical bodies go dormant, the Blood Qi sluggish, nearly impossible to mobilize. Yet, the power of the soul, the power of the mind, and the power of Martial Art were unaffected.

Jiang Ming somewhat understood that the divine artifact was designed to restrain physical power, perhaps knowing that his physical outburst was extremely terrifying, it was specifically targeted for him.

“Your physical outburst is too terrifying, I cannot resist it,” Emperor Tianyu sighed, “In this aspect, I truly am inferior to you. Out of desperation, I can only resort to such despicable measures, Brother Jiang, among those of the same level, you are the first person for whom I have felt guilt.”

“This is a divine artifact, a true divine artifact. Its functions are not many, but once activated, it will evolve into a Chessboard World. Inside it, you will be restrained, with immense pressure, internally dividing yin and yang, friend and foe, only when one side is victorious will the Chessboard World open up.”

“The Chessboard Artifact restrains physical power, without interfering with other divine skills.”

“It was also retrieved from the treasury specifically targeting you!”

Emperor Tianyu explained succinctly.

Divine artifact, restraining the physical body, dividing friend from foe, dividing win or lose.

“Does this divine artifact, while determining victory or defeat, also determine life and death?” Jiang Ming asked.

He secretly spurred his Blood Qi, attempted to wield the Law of Heaven and Earth, but it did not work.

He tried to use Inch Fist to unleash its secret power, but he couldn’t shake off the restraints from the unknown forces.

This caused his spirit to plummet.

“Is the divine artifact really this powerful?”

Jiang Ming squinted his eyes and as a first step, his heart surged. It was a forbidden law that suddenly enlivened a bit of the dormant power of Blood Qi. Inch Fist’s internal shock, the slightly revived power boiled intensely, but the mighty force from the unknown also suddenly strengthened.

Inside him, it was as if ten thousand volcanoes erupted, or as if a million nuclear bombs detonated, the boiling power was terrifyingly immense.

If it exploded, a hundred thousand miles of land would sink.

But still, it was not enough to stop it!

“Battlefield!”

As thoughts flickered, the Body Divine Ability couldn’t expand beyond his body, but it could further strengthen the power of Blood Qi.

He faintly felt capable of shaking the Chessboard Artifact, but it was not enough, far from enough.

But thinking that he had not yet wielded the Law of Heaven and Earth and the reinforcement of Infinite Rules, he breathed a slight sigh of relief, yet he did not continue.

Now was not necessary.

He also wanted to fight with Emperor Tianyu, to see what the real pride of this world was made of.

“The divine artifact is strong, very very strong, but the Chessboard Artifact has a single function, it restrains the physical body, evolving a battlefield. However, for those who specially train their physical body, it is indeed an invincible great weapon,” Emperor Tianyu said, with patches of light spreading around him.

Patches of light, no, those were condensed into feathers of divine radiance, each one containing power like ascending to the heavens, making Jiang Ming feel as though he was approaching a transcendent sublimation.

“Ascension Skill, Supreme Tao Tribulation Aura, Brother Jiang, here I come,” Emperor Tianyu roared, turning into a streak of light and rushing over, with both palms radiating divine light, unleashed an unparalleled divine skill, “Before ascension, there must be a great catastrophe. This is something I created inspired by my many years of unattained enlightenment in the Divine Way. The greatest catastrophe is the failure to achieve enlightenment in the Divine Way.”

Obsession turns into catastrophe, power immense.

Underneath the feather divine brilliance, Jiang Ming felt as though a great catastrophe was looming over him. His figure flickered, becoming dense and numerous shadows.

Ten Thousand Threads, at this moment, burst forth with unprecedented dazzling might.