The scene before him was dark and terrifying, sending shivers down his spine.
"What is going on?"
"Are there not only my many clones in this place?"
"Why are there these ghostly beings?"
Chen Jiuyang's brow furrowed. Why had he not discovered these ghostly beings before? Or did they only appear after this chess piece was placed?
More unclear information emerged.
Chen Jiuyang was unsure if only he could see them.
He approached the aged 'Chen Jiuyang' sitting on the threshold, basking in the sun with a lazy demeanor. "Can you see those ghostly things outside the village?"
The aged 'Chen Jiuyang' slowly opened his eyes, glanced outside the village, then looked at Chen Jiuyang. His voice was hoarse and ancient, "I don't see them."
"Village Chief, when will you let that person be buried and bring peace back to the village?"
Hmm, as expected, he doesn't recognize me. It seems that coffin is peculiar.
Chen Jiuyang slowly replied, "Soon. If he doesn't agree to be buried willingly, there's nothing we can do."
"Alas," the aged 'Chen Jiuyang' said, "Village Chief, you must persuade him soon. The villagers have been agitated these past few days, and even those from Dead Land Village and Ghostly Village have come to cause trouble."
"If it continues like this, we don't know when we'll be free."
"Free?" Chen Jiuyang suddenly pondered a question: what was the purpose of these 'Chen Jiuyangs'? To confuse him?
Or something else...
But this might be a smokescreen from the Dao Fruit, meant to deceive him.
Chen Jiuyang said, "I will go negotiate with Ghostly Village."
The aged 'Chen Jiuyang' sighed, "Be free soon, and I can go see my granddaughter. Village Chief, don't you miss your children?"
Chen Jiuyang's heart skipped a beat. Following his lead, he said, "We'll see."
Currently, they had entered the observation phase. Princess 'Shi Le' had said this was the most dangerous phase, and Chen Jiuyang absolutely could not let his guard down.
Then, Chen Jiuyang sat beside him and, beating around the bush, sighed, "Sometimes, I wonder what the meaning of my existence is."
The aged 'Chen Jiuyang' sighed, "When you become me, you'll naturally know."
Chen Jiuyang's heart sank. It seemed he wouldn't get any useful information.
Chen Jiuyang stood up. Now that he had transformed into the Village Chief, he needed to go to Ghostly Village.
Both Dead Land Village and Ghostly Village wanted to scheme against the real him. Therefore, even providing fragmented or misleading information would be better than the lack of information from the Living Village.
Progress would be made in some way.
The immediate priority was to understand this chess game and truly reach the stage of observation.
Observation meant understanding the meaning of the chess game.
But looking at the approving ghostly figures outside the Living Village, Chen Jiuyang felt his scalp tingle, unsure if these ghostly things would attack him.
Chen Jiuyang braced himself and walked towards Ghostly Village.
The moment he stepped out of the Living Village and into Ghostly Village.
"Roar!"
"Wuwuwu~"
Howling ghost winds assailed him.
The ghostly figures in the shadows stared at Chen Jiuyang with immense malice but did not attack him.
It was as if the 'Chen Jiuyang' before them was not the Chen Jiuyang they were truly looking for.
Chen Jiuyang's heart sank. This feeling seemed to suggest that the Chen Jiuyang in the coffin of Dead Land Village was scheming against him.
He could go to Dead Land Village unharmed, but if he had followed the advice of the Chen Jiuyang in the coffin of Dead Land Village to go to Ghostly Village earlier, he would likely have been attacked by these ghostly beings.
Upon entering Ghostly Village, Chen Jiuyang saw something that astonished him.
This Ghostly Village was located next to the City of Ten Thousand Ghosts within the Nine Nether Myriad Graves.
Illusion and reality, illusion and reality...
"What... what is going on..."
"Brother Chen!" Suddenly, someone called out to Chen Jiuyang. It was Bai Ri Yue, who was already with Qi Wu Shuang.
A dark and terrifying withered bone hand landed on Chen Jiuyang's shoulder, making him shudder.
The voice contained a magical quality, as if urging Chen Jiuyang to turn his head and look.
Chen Jiuyang immediately broke out in a cold sweat.
If this were within the Nine Nether Myriad Graves, then he must not turn back; turning back would mean death.
Chen Jiuyang immediately ignored it and continued to walk forward.
This aura was indeed Bai Ri Yue's aura, but he was unsure if this was a Dao Ghost or Dao Slave like 'Luo Xing Chen'.
He was currently the Village Chief 'Chen Jiuyang' of the Living Village, not the Chen Jiuyang who knew people like 'Bai Ri Yue'.
Chen Jiuyang walked straight ahead, stepping into Ghostly Village. This village did not only contain other 'Chen Jiuyangs'.
Instead, it was filled with various types of strange and ghostly beings.
This meant that Ghostly Village was not a unique special creation by Immortal Emperor 'Zhuang Wu's' Dao Fruit.
Rather, it was a place for many Dao Fruit refiners? They shared the same origin Dao power.
The moment Chen Jiuyang stepped into this place, the 'Ghostly' Chen Jiuyang of Ghostly Village sensed him and appeared. He was completely black, cold, and terrifying, not like a living person. He looked at Chen Jiuyang and said, "What are you doing here?"
Chen Jiuyang immediately feigned the Village Chief's tone and said, "When will you be able to deal with 'him'? Once we are free, I can go see my granddaughter. Village Chief, don't you miss your children?"
The 'Ghostly' Chen Jiuyang was silent for a moment and said, "Soon. You don't need to interfere anymore. Just wait. When he seeks his own exploration, and the second power descends, he will bring about his own demise."
Chen Jiuyang frowned.
Wait...
This 'Ghostly' Chen Jiuyang doesn't recognize him, and he is indeed the former Village Chief of the Living Village.
More misty information flooded in, but one thing Chen Jiuyang was certain of.
The chessboard laid out by Immortal Emperor 'Zhuang Wu's' Dao Fruit had begun, and the rules of the chessboard could not be changed. In other words, even Immortal Emperor 'Zhuang Wu's' Dao Fruit could not act as it pleased.
The words of the 'Ghostly' Chen Jiuyang confirmed Princess 'Shi Le's' statement: once Chen Jiuyang successfully reached the 'breaking the game' stage, the second origin Dao power of Immortal Emperor 'Zhuang Wu' would appear.
Chen Jiuyang frowned and said, "Village Chief, you must persuade him soon. The villagers have been agitated these past few days."
"If it continues like this, we don't know when we'll be free."
Chen Jiuyang was his true self, while the other 'Chen Jiuyangs' were 'other selves'. Their stances were clearly different. Using the words of an 'other self' to deal with an 'other self' would not reveal any flaws.
It was clear that Chen Jiuyang throwing the Village Chief into the coffin was merely one way to enter the game, and there were still several other ways to enter.
The 'Ghostly' Chen Jiuyang said, "To assimilate him also takes time. Otherwise, 'I' can only destroy him, not be reborn in his stead."
Chen Jiuyang's heart chilled. At this point, he slightly understood the sinister intention of Immortal Emperor 'Zhuang Wu's' Dao Fruit. The Dao Fruit wanted to refine him, and then, once again, become Immortal Emperor 'Zhuang Wu' and be reborn.
And 'Zhuang Wu' was currently a Dao Fruit and had to abide by the rules of the Nine Nether Myriad Graves.
It was truly a battle of wits and courage; victory could not be achieved by brute force.