Chapter 17: Myriad Phenomenon Chessboard 

【Formation Fragment】 39 books.

It was another fragment, but unlike the previous one with only a single book of the 【Heavenly Dao Fragment】, this one seemed to be more practical. Chen Xi stared at the pile of skill books that covered the bed and felt a bit confused. Then, he picked one up and carefully read the description on it.

【Formation Fragment】: Originating from the Heavenly Dao, mastering the Heavenly Dao. After reaching great mastery, every flower and leaf, every grain and speck of dust can become part of a formation. Requirements: 【Heavenly Dao Fragment】 ×1

It seemed a bit powerful?

Looking at the system’s explanation of the 【Formation Fragment】, Chen Xi still couldn’t quite grasp what this skill was about, but he could vaguely confirm that it was a very useful skill. However, the item he finally drew made him instantly happy. It was a new category he had never seen before—an Item.

It was a chessboard, slightly larger than the size of his palm, just the right size to rest in his hand. The warm material was neither stone nor jade, but it had a soft luster and felt warm to the touch. What was most astonishing was the constantly changing scenes on the chessboard. It seemed that the world itself could be used to set up formations, drawing all things into its embrace.

How magical!

Seeing such a sight for the first time, Chen Xi couldn’t help but exclaim in awe. At the same time, the system aptly provided the introduction for the 【Myriad Phenomenon Chessboard】.

“Legacy of the first formation master from ancient times. This can be used as a medium to arrange formations with one’s thoughts. Once a formation is completed, even from thousands of miles away, one can take the head of another. After recognizing the master, there are no requirements for the user to use the object. It is a divine artifact.”

So, even though he was a mortal, it wouldn’t affect his ability to use it.

Following the system’s explanation, Chen Xi recognized the chessboard as his own artifact and tried to communicate with it using his thoughts. Sure enough, in less than a second, the small chessboard landed in his palm. The scenes on the chessboard began to change, displaying his current cave mansion. It was as if a 3D, fully interactive model had appeared out of nowhere. Chen Xi could now use his thoughts to control and move individual objects, setting them up into formations.

At the moment, his 【Formation Fragment】 wasn’t enough to create a full formation, so he could only set up basic ones. As for moving objects to use in the formation, they were limited to tangible items. It wasn’t as free as the system described, where everything could be used as a medium.

Even so, it was enough—it was at least a way to ensure his survival. Chen Xi thought to himself as he attempted to set up a killing formation, wanting to test the effect.

“Living spirit of the rhinoceros, the exquisite chessboard captures the hidden dragon.”

A spell he couldn’t fully comprehend suddenly appeared in his mind, and the atmosphere in the cave grew heavy. As the objects on the chessboard were moved by Chen Xi, the oppressive aura also grew stronger. Finally, at the moment the formation was completed, silver lightning appeared out of thin air, like a spirit snake, striking into the ground with a loud crash. Immediately after, a deep pit, about the width of a finger, appeared on the ground. Chen Xi estimated it and found that it had dug down more than ten meters into the earth.

This truly is a great skill!

Chen Xi felt a surge of joy in his heart, finally feeling at ease. Upon closer calculation, he realized he had already been in the Immortal Realm for several months. Although life had been decent, thanks to the Moonlight Celestial Beast, he still lacked decisive self-preservation skills. Now, with the appearance of the 【Myriad Phenomenon Chessboard】 and 【Formation Fragment】, his greatest concern had been solved. These items finally gave him the true power to directly confront immortals.

Lying back on the bed, Chen Xi was extremely excited. At the moment, he still had fifty thousand vitality points left, but he didn’t plan to keep rolling the dice. He intended to save them for emergencies.

Chen Xi knew very well that in these past few days, his live-streams had stirred up quite a lot of attention, making a lot of enemies. The immortals would definitely not let him off easily. So, he needed to prepare more. The formations were his secret trump card, and he couldn’t reveal them easily. Therefore, the celestial beasts on the island were still his most important support.

As Chen Xi thought about these things, he eventually fell asleep. After he had fallen asleep, the large cat that had been sneaking food earlier quietly appeared again.

Standing at the spot where Chen Xi had set up his formation, the cat tilted its head and quickly understood everything.

This crafty mortal can use formations too? A trace of curiosity appeared in its deep eyes. Unable to resist, it approached Chen Xi, raised its paw, and cautiously touched his face. However, it was unexpectedly caught by its tail.

Let go, let go! How could the Chef behave so frivolously with the Emperor?

Immediately, it pulled its tail out of Chen Xi’s hand, and the sensitive cat jumped onto the windowsill, turning its back on him in anger. As for its tail, it wrapped it around its body protectively. Meanwhile, the sleeping Chen Xi didn’t notice anything and simply shifted to a different sleeping position.

The cave once again returned to silence.

After an unknown amount of time, the night wind pushed open the window, bringing in a chill. Chen Xi curled up and instinctively hugged the blanket tighter. The large cat glanced over, and its expression became even more disdainful. How stupid! No immortal spiritual power and still not knowing to close the window. If he catches a cold, how will he serve this Majesty tomorrow?

Disdainfully twitching its ears, it carefully closed the half-open window. Then, after watching Chen Xi for a while and confirming he was unharmed, the cat disappeared into the cave. When the Moonlight Celestial Beast returned late, the cat did not appear again.

—

Chen Xi now had another secret, but the immortals were completely unaware of it. Their minds were focused on the upcoming Beast Island Evaluation. As for Immortal Wuyi and Wang Luo, they both instinctively avoided Chen Xi’s sharpness, falling into silence and secretly scheming.

Thus, in the next few days, Chen Xi had an unusually calm period of time. And it was in this subtle atmosphere that the much-anticipated Beast Island Evaluation was about to begin.

On this day, as Chen Xi was preparing meal materials in his Zefeng Cave Mansion, a trusted aide of Immortal Wuyi came to visit.

“Master Chen, the Beast Island Evaluation will soon begin. Here is an invitation, one for everyone. Please take it.”

“Evaluation?” This was the first time Chen Xi had heard this term.

“It’s the three arbiters of the Lower Three Immortal Realms, as well as the leaders of the major sects and families, who will be evaluating the immortals on Beast Island. If they pass, they can earn the right to leave the island. Some may even be taken in as inner disciples, which is a rare and valuable opportunity.”

The messenger immortal explained this in great detail, his face filled with longing. However, Chen Xi smiled and shook his head, politely declining: “What does this have to do with me? I’m just a mortal, staying here on Beast Island is fine for me.”

Ha, short-sighted. The immortal smiled on the surface, but in his heart, he was filled with sarcasm.

Whether to stay or leave wasn’t something a mere mortal like Chen Xi could decide. Even if he wanted to go to the Lower Three Immortal Realms, it wasn’t guaranteed that any of the arbiters would take him in.

Recently, the trouble Chen Xi had stirred up was immense. He had caused quite a disturbance in the Lower Three Immortal Realms, and the elders of those sects were utterly embarrassed and dissatisfied with him. The ultimate goal of this evaluation was to punish Chen Xi.

The immortal secretly sneered in his heart but kept a polite tone, advising, “Whether you stay or leave is entirely up to you, but participating in the evaluation is the rule. Please keep the invitation. I’ll take my leave now.”

“Got it.” Chen Xi didn’t refuse any further. He took the invitation, and a subtle sense of alertness suddenly arose within him.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that this evaluation seemed to be a well-designed trap by the immortals, specifically targeting him. However, as the saying goes, ^[1]“when the soldier comes, the general stands, and when the water comes, the earth damns it” (兵来将挡，水来土掩) is a Chinese proverb that means facing challenges with appropriate … Continue readingwhen the soldier comes, the general stands, and when the water comes, the earth damns it. Chen Xi wasn’t overly worried.

—

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye, and the Beast Island Evaluation finally began.

On this day, Beast Island was exceptionally lively. Almost all the immortals on the island were already gathered by the teleportation array. Soon, people from the Lower Three Immortal Realms arrived. This scene was completely different from the low-key arrival of the Beast-Taming family. This time, it was the three arbiters of the Lower Three Immortal Realms.

Speaking of the Lower Three Immortal Realms, it was essentially a gathering place for scattered immortals and small sects in the Immortal Realm, with each immortal acting independently. The reason the three arbiters had been able to establish themselves and gain absolute power was largely due to the strong backing behind them. Interestingly, the leader of these three arbiters was none other than Immortal Wuyi’s master, Qingyun Sect’s Master, Immortal Lingyun.

“I heard that the evaluation was brought forward because Immortal Lingyun himself suggested it. I wonder how many will actually be selected in the end.” One immortal couldn’t help but speak in a low voice to his companion, gazing admiringly at Immortal Lingyun, who stood by the teleportation array, his bearing graceful and ethereal.

“Ah, Immortal Lingyun is always magnanimous. Whether or not we are selected, it is our blessing to have this chance.”

“That’s true. But if we are chosen as inner disciples of Qingyun Sect, then our future will be worry-free,” the two continued, their faces filled with anticipation.

Meanwhile, Chen Xi, who stood nearby, listened to their words of admiration, and his sense of danger grew even stronger. He even faintly smelled the scent of a conspiracy.

—

At this time, in the main hall of Beast Island, Wang Luo and his father, the head of the Beast-Taming family, had already met in secret and discussed Chen Xi’s situation in detail.

“So, Father, according to my investigation, Chen Xi most likely possesses a priceless treasure. It seems to be a legacy passed down from the ancient Beast-Taming family. If we can obtain it, combined with the family’s years of dedicated research, all the celestial beasts in the Immortal Realm will be at our disposal.”

“No need to say more, I’ve already made arrangements.” The head of the Beast-Taming family interrupted Wang Luo, taking out a communication staff and quietly giving some instructions. Of course, he knew that Chen Xi possessed special skills. The reason he had come this time was to try to seize those skills. He had remained inactive before because he was concerned that there might be a family backing Chen Xi. However, after observing for so long, he was certain that Chen Xi was isolated in the Immortal Realm, with no support. Therefore, he had made up his mind this time to seize Chen Xi’s treasure and use it for himself.

On the other side, Immortal Wuyi and Qingyun Sect’s Master Lingyun were also calculating the same thing.

Amid this atmosphere, the Beast Island Evaluation finally began.

The evaluation consisted of two parts: one was a test of immortal spiritual power, where the immortal power would be injected into a testing stone to reveal the cultivator’s level. The second part was a performance of one’s most proud immortal technique. As long as the immortal attracted the attention of a noble person or demonstrated something special, gaining the favor of at least two of the three arbiters, they would have the chance to leave Beast Island and go to the Lower Three Immortal Realms.

All the immortals were excited and eager, hoping to amaze everyone with their abilities. However, for Chen Xi, it was rather dull. He even thought it might be better to go back home and play with his little kittens. But the list of those who passed the test made him uneasy.

“Chen Xi!”

The last name on the list was, to his surprise, his own.

This was impossible. He hadn’t even participated on stage earlier. Chen Xi instinctively looked up at the stage, and the surrounding immortals also shifted their puzzled gazes toward him. At the same time, Immortal Wuyi suddenly spoke up and announced, “The final part of the evaluation begins. As usual, those who fail can challenge those who succeed. The life-and-death arena, no refusal allowed!”

It was like a thunderclap that exploded among the crowd. Chen Xi’s heart instantly became chaotic. Meanwhile, in the corner, Wang Luo cast a disdainful glance at Chen Xi. The malice that had been suppressed deep in his eyes was now fully revealed, without the slightest attempt at concealment.

—

Author’s note:

Chen Xi: I heard someone wants to kill me and then inherit my cats ╭(╯^╰)╮