Tai Lingshan is located three thousand miles outside Xinkai City, it is a ten-thousand-meter-high spiritual mountain. The mountain has evergreen trees all year round, with many ancient trees and strange rocks, cliffs and steep walls, as well as deep valleys and cold pools.

  In the winter days when the whole empire was plunged into a world of ice and snow, Mount Taishan had no trace of snow, still warm as spring, with flowers fragrant all over.

  It was just at sunset, with the sun hanging low on the mountain top, and a few more degrees of gloom added to the evening mist.

  Kuo Yeh stepped down from the White Jade Flying Carriage and then tread on the ancient path, wandering towards the mountain top. This was his first time coming to Tai Ling Mountain, and it might also be his last.

  Guo Lu looked at the desolate and quiet mountain, feeling a bit dizzy, and said: "Young master, I feel like something is off!"

  "What's so mysterious about it?"

  "Taishan Mountain has at least tens of thousands of disciples, how can there not be a single gatekeeper? Moreover, the entire mountain is completely silent, and there isn't even a bird chirping." Guo Lu said.

  "Look, there are two people over there!"

  Guo Lu looked in the direction of Guo Ye's pointing finger and indeed saw two men in white standing at the end of the path. The two men stood stiffly on the ground, motionless, their eyes fixed straight on Guo Ye and his companion.

  The two of them had not blinked their eyes, their facial expressions were stiff, and the body temperature on their bodies had disappeared, just like two sculptures.

  Guo Lu walked forward and carefully examined the two of them. The more he looked, the more shocked he became. "They are disciples of the Tai Ling Sect who guard the mountain gate," he said. "They've only been dead for an hour, but there's not a single wound on their bodies. This is truly sinister!"

  Guo Yiwang looked up at the top of the mountain and saw a large number of ancient houses, then his body slowly rose into the air and floated directly towards the mountaintop.

  Suddenly, the two dead bodies of Tai Ling Zong's disciples shattered and turned into a pool of blood sand. Guo Lu was shocked by the strange scene in front of him and shouted: "What's going on? The way of killing is so bizarre!"

  "Master, wait for me!" Guo Lu also transformed into a long gust of wind and chased after Guo Ye.

  "Hiss, hiss!"

  Guo Yi and Guo Lu successively ascended Mount Tai Ling, and the scene before their eyes suddenly stunned them. They saw that each of the Taizhen Sect's disciples were standing motionless on the ground, as if they had instantly turned to stone. Some were practicing swordplay with a serious expression, some were running along the small path with a smile on their face, and some were sitting cross-legged on the ground meditating and cultivating their skills.

  But these people had already lost their vitality at this time. With a gentle blow from the mountain wind, their bodies turned into a pile of bloody sand and flew away with the wind.

  "How could this be? Could it be that all the tens of thousands of disciples in the Tai Ling Sect were slaughtered, and who is this person?"

  Kuang Ye shuttled back and forth in the old house, but didn't see a single living person. The entire Tai Ling Sect's disciples seemed to have died out in an instant. The killer's method was quite sinister, with no wounds on their bodies, but as soon as they touched these corpses, they would turn into a pile of bloody sand.

  Guo Lu looked at the empty Tai Ling Sect and said, "Is this really the legendary Heavenly Punishment?"

  "Hmph! There's no such thing as heavenly punishment, it's all man-made. I'm thinking about what this person wants to do, I always feel that he hasn't left this place yet, let's go take a look at the Tai Ling Temple."

  Kuo Yeh and Kuo Lu, with trepidation in their hearts, stepped up to the central Tai Ling Temple, and before they even approached, they heard an old man's long laugh: "This is my 106th move, besieging the city, shocking!"

  The two heard the laughter and immediately slowed down their pace, using the wall to block their bodies, looking out towards the Tai Ling Temple, only to see a young girl and an old man sitting in mid-air playing chess.

  The laughter just now was made by this old man, who had a youthful face and white hair, with an immortal wind and bones, wearing a long gown with chess grids printed on it. On his aged face, a root of blue veins appeared, which were also woven into chess grid patterns. The whole person looked like a human-shaped chessboard.

  An old man's body flashed a few black and white light spots, as if they were the "pieces" on a chessboard, the "pieces" wandered around in his body, outlining a magical chess pattern.

  The old man's body emitted a faint, almost imperceptible glow that somehow disrupted Guo Yao's line of sight, giving people a feeling that was both blurry and clear.

  Guo Yi's face turned solemn as he said: "This old man is not simple, I'm afraid he has already surpassed the realm of Nine Palaces Spiritual Communication and is a Law Master-level strongman."

  The Buddha is extremely rare, and each one has great supernatural powers, which are far from what Guo Yi can contend with now.

  Kuo Lu carefully sized up the old man, searching his mind, and suddenly a hint of horror appeared in his eyes, saying: "Could it be that person? Impossible, how could he possibly come to Yunzhou Small World?"

  "Did you see something?" Guo Yi asked.

  Kuo Lu nodded and said: "If I'm not mistaken, this old man should be one of the four great evil masters of Tian Xie Peak, the Evil Chess Master."

  "Tianxie Peak has one main peak, two messengers, three protectors, and four evil masters. The ten are the most powerful experts at the top of the world, each having cultivated for several thousand years. These four evil masters refer to the Evil Zither Master, the Evil Chess Master, the Evil Book Master, and the Evil Painting Master."

  Guo Lu continued: "There are many legends about these four evil masters, among which this evil chess master is known as the number one in the ancient Xuan domain's chess world and the first strategist of the Tian Xie peak, also known as the second wisest person in the ancient Xuan domain. He once played against a hundred famous chess players at the same time and defeated them all with just ninety-nine moves, his chess skills are unparalleled throughout history, it is almost impossible for anyone to play more than a hundred moves against him."

  Playing chess is a great test of one's mental faculties, and those who are more skilled in the game tend to be more meticulous and intelligent.

  Guo Yiwang glanced at the two people playing chess in front of the Tai Ling Temple and said, "Didn't you hear? The old man just called out the 106th move. If he is indeed the Evil Chess Master, then wouldn't the girl's chess skills be terrifyingly high as well?"

  All that can be seen is the girl sitting opposite the chess master, wearing a colorful nine-bird long gown with an icy mask on her face, only revealing her rosy lips and white neck, naturally exuding an eerie beauty.

  Guo Yi had seen many beautiful women, all of whom were stunning and captivating, but none of them had ever given him the feeling that he wanted to get close to her. Even when he first saw Liu Yanran, his instinct was to retreat, and he even thought about eliminating her. But this woman, despite being a complete stranger, gave off an aura that made people want to draw near to her, to be close to her. It was a strange feeling, unrelated to emotions or love, but rather a primal instinct, or perhaps an aura.

  "What's wrong with you, young master?" Guo Lu bumped into the dazed Guo Yao.

  Guo Yi withdrew his gaze and said, "Do you have any impression of that girl playing chess?"

  "What's up?" Guo Lu was taken aback at first, then smiled awkwardly and said: "I think she must be very pretty, but a bit too weird."

  "What's wrong?" Guo Yi asked.

  "Look at her hands, they're so beautiful, they don't even look like human hands; and her hair is so pretty, it doesn't even look like human hair; and, and, the most beautiful thing is her lips, completely..."

  "Didn't you think of her as a human being at all?" Guo Yao slammed an exploding melon on the back of his head, saying: "Emotionally, you didn't treat her like a person, isn't that abnormal? What I'm asking is if you have that kind of desire to get close to her, just...just..."

  Guo Lu looked at Guo Yao foolishly and said: "What is it?"

  "Oh dear! It's just that kind of feeling, wanting to hold her in his arms, I didn't mean anything else! Just a feeling!" Guo Yao emphasized.

  Guo Lu looked at the girl with the ice-carved mask again, nodded seriously, then shook his head and said: "Young master, you'd better give up on this idea. I think her cultivation is quite high, and I guarantee that before you even get in front of her, she'll kill you with one palm."

  "Damn it, I was just saying a feeling and didn't think about actually doing it. Besides, this young master already has someone he loves, and she's not even my type." Guo Yi said seriously.

  "Is that so? Since Young Master Guo has already arrived, why must he behave like a sneaky mouse, hiding his head and showing only his tail?" The woman with the ice-carved mask in her hand said to Guo Yao and the other person who was hiding behind the Tai Ling Great Hall.

  "It's all over, I've been found out." Guo Lu's face turned pale green.

  Guo Yi didn't expect the other party to know his identity, so he no longer hid and walked directly towards the two people playing chess, saying: "You are indeed all-knowing and all-powerful, knowing even the surname of this young master. I wonder if the death of these Taixuan Sect disciples has anything to do with you two?"

  "That's right." The girl with the ice-carved mask placed a chess piece on the board, smiling: "Evil Master, you'd better be careful. This move of mine contains 1,366 killing moves and 3.6 million variations. Don't lose to me again."

  "I only saw 1,363 killing moves and 2.7 million variations, I lost again in this game, the chess skills of the evil lady have far surpassed mine, and her intelligence may have already exceeded that of the first wise man of ancient times." The Evil Chess Master let out a long laugh again.

  The evil princess put away the chessboard and looked at Guo Yi, saying coldly: "Guo Er Shao Ye returned to Yun Xin Empire just to avenge himself on Tai Ling Mountain, didn't you think of another thing that needs to be done?"

  "Oh! I really don't remember what else I need to take care of!" Guo Yi laughed.

  The evil princess sneered: "Guo Er's young master is indeed a romantic figure, have you forgotten that you still have a fiancée who was betrothed to you when she was in her mother's womb? Three hundred and fifty-seven days ago, Guo Er's young master had just turned sixteen years old. According to the laws of the Yunxin Empire, this day is the day you should welcome your fiancée, I wonder where were you at that time?"

  "At that time, my family was exterminated by the Tai Ling Sect in one night, and I escaped to the ancient Xuan domain's great world, so I missed the marriage. " Guo Yao told her the truth, even though he didn't understand why this evil girl was so interested in his family affairs."

  "Hum! The Guo family was destroyed by the Tai Ling Sect, why didn't you go find your fiancée to ask for her help in taking revenge? She is your future wife, and the Guo family is also her family, she will definitely lend a hand to help you. Why didn't you go find her?" The Evil Lady continued.

  Guo Yexiao smiled and said, "Although she is known as the number one talented woman in Xinjing City, it's okay to ask her to play chess or write poetry, but how can she be compared with the mighty Taizong?"

  "Haha! You didn't even go look for her, how do you know she can't help you? Maybe with just a stretch of her finger, she could flatten the entire Tai Ling Mountain!" The Evil Lady continued: "Then I'll ask you again, what did you do after going to the Ancient Xuan Domain's Great World?"

  "Strive for self-cultivation and then return to take revenge."

  The evil princess shook her head and laughed: "Hehe, now the entire ancient Xuan domain knows that Mr. Guo is not only a new rising talent in the world's number one lecherous rogue, but also has the audacity to abduct even one of the three great beauties, Liu Xiānzǐ! Mr. Guo is indeed not only romantic but also shameless!"

  Guo Yemou narrowed his eyes and said coldly: "Who are you after all? Why are you so familiar with my affairs?"

  "Guo Er Shao Ye, you also deserve to ask me? On the day of my wedding, you were absent without reason, which is unjust; behind your wife's back, you had an affair with another woman, which is unfaithful; you let Guo Lao Tai Jun suffer from bone poison on the top of Tai Ling Peak for a whole year, which is unfilial. Do you, such an unfaithful, unjust and unfilial person, have the qualifications to ask me?" The evil girl's tone was extremely indignant.

  Guo Yi also coldly snorted: "I originally didn't have any feelings for her, this time I came back to dissolve the engagement, as for Grandma's black phosphorus poisoning I've already found an antidote and will naturally go save her, it's not up to you an outsider to worry about Guo family matters."

  "What, you want to cancel the engagement?" The evil princess stretched out her white jade-like palm, and with one slap, the entire Taishan Mountain was flattened. She said coldly: "This is an engagement set by your elder brother Guo Shaoyan. Unless you can find him, no one in this world has the qualifications to cancel the engagement."

  The earth was filled with rolling smoke and dust, a great mountain vanished into thin air, turning into flat land, and Mount Tai disappeared from the face of the earth.