Book 2: Chapter 100: Pressure from Gu Hai
Book 2: Chapter 100: Pressure from Gu Hai
“Gu Hai?” Li Haoran shouted furiously, scowling. He even stopped draining Venerable Liu Nian of energy.
If it were in the past, Li Haoran would not have cared about an insignificant person like Gu Hai. However, he now had to be careful of Gu Hai. The various scenarios set by Old Mister Guan Qi—from the Innate Puzzle World to Nine-Five Island—had something to do with Go.
Furthermore, during this period, Gu Hai had proven to have extraordinary Go skills. His momentum seemed unstoppable, and he could not be underestimated.
Previously, Meng Tai fully grasped the situation in this death puzzle’s world. However, Gu Hai easily sent in Long Wanqing and two of her servants, using three Go stones to flip defeat to victory; Meng Tai had failed at the last moment, losing everything.
Using just three Go stones to flip defeat to victory?
Now, Gu Hai is here in person?
“Ha! Hahaha! Gu Hai? Gu Hai?” Meng Tai, who was gasping for air in the distance, seemed to go crazy when he saw Gu Hai arrive.
Speaking of which, Meng Tai never underestimated Gu Hai. He had always seen Gu Hai as a strong enemy. Despite guarding against Gu Hai with all his might, he eventually could not defeat Gu Hai when Gu Hai placed just three Go stones.
Now that Meng Tai saw Gu Hai again, he no longer had any thoughts of fighting Gu Hai. However, he was still unreconciled with his situation. My schemes were brilliant. Why did a person even more scheming than me appear?
Would I have succeeded if Gu Hai was not here?
Since there is already me in this world, why is there a Gu Hai as well?
“Mister Gu, you finally arrived!”
“Mister Gu, save me! Please solve this puzzle quickly!”
“Mister Gu, you possess extraordinary Go skills. You can solve this death puzzle, right? Mister Gu, save us!”
“Mister Gu, be careful of that great demon, Li Haoran!”
Countless cultivators showed great anticipation when they saw Gu Hai. Although most of them came to Nine-Five Island to snatch Gu Hai’s Century Lifespan Immortality Peach, they had given up on that long ago. Now, they only hoped that Gu Hai could save them.
“Venerable Liu Nian, are you alright?” Gu Hai turned his head to look at the nearby Venerable Liu Nian.
“Ptooey! I won’t die. Hahaha!” The nearby Venerable Liu Nian spat out a mouthful of blood as he guffawed.
“Gu Hai, sorry. I messed things up!” Long Wanqing said while crying.
“Alright, it’s fine. I’m here!” Gu Hai smiled faintly and gently put Long Wanqing down.
“Hall Master!” Long Wanqing’s servants ran over.
After venting her feelings, Long Wanqing now felt much better. She wiped away the tears in her eyes as she looked at Gu Hai with gratitude, relieved that Gu Hai did not blame her.
“Go to Venerable Liu Nian later. He will tell you what to do,” Gu Hai said.
“Alright.” Long Wanqing nodded.
After giving Long Wanqing instructions, Gu Hai stepped forward and smiled at Li Haoran. “Divine Strategy Battalion Commander, unexpectedly, you are a player as well. How about we have an exchange?”
“Humph? Are you worthy? So what if you are good at Go? You are just a Go stone now! Rise!” Li Haoran extended his hand towards Gu Hai.
“Argh!”
The figures of countless cultivators in the surroundings twisted. They became like puppets being swayed around.
Everyone was horrified at the loss of control over themself. Only Gu Hai stood there without moving.
“What?” Li Haoran’s expression changed.
Li Haoran controlled the golden Go stones to find which thread connected to Gu Hai. He would use that to control Gu Hai. Once Gu Hai fell under his control, then he could do whatever he wanted to Gu Hai.
However, Gu Hai was not affected at all. Instead, he walked towards Li Haoran.
“Battalion Commander Li, is it fun? Should I let you continue playing for a while longer?” Gu Hai smiled.
“That’s impossible. You are not within my control? You are neither a white Go stone nor a black Go stone?” Li Haoran’s face sank.
“You finally figured it out? Since I entered the puzzle, why would I choose to be your Go stone? So, how about an exchange?” Gu Hai smiled.
“Humph! So what if you are neither white nor black? A Go stone will forever be just a Go stone!” Li Haoran said coldly.
As Li Haoran spoke, he extended his palm towards Gu Hai. This palm strike made use of sixty thousand-odd cultivators’ energy, trying to crush Gu Hai in one go.
Rumble…!
Sixty thousand-odd manifested palms suddenly appeared, rushing towards Gu Hai as they blocked out the sky.
Upon seeing this scene, countless cultivators felt like closing their eyes. Gu Hai was incredible at Go. However, he seemed to be only an Innate Realm cultivator. How could he possibly block this attack?
“No!” Long Wanqing, who had already walked far away, suddenly exclaimed.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
A string of explosions rang out as sixty thousand-odd manifested palms attacked. However, Gu Hai, in the center of it all, was unmoved. Then, he continued walking forward step by step.
“What?” Li Haoran’s expression changed.
Even Venerable Liu Nian could not endure such an attack. How could Gu Hai?
Countless cultivators goggled. They noticed what seemed to be a barrier around Gu Hai, a thirty-meter-wide barrier.
“Barrier? A protective barrier?” someone suddenly exclaimed.
“A player? Gu Hai is also a player? How can that be?” The weak Meng Tai goggled in disbelief.
Aren’t the two golden Go stones in Li Haoran’s hand? Li Haoran should be the only player. How could Gu Hai have a protective barrier as well?
“Mister Gu is also a player!”
“This is great! Mister Gu also has a golden Go stone!”
“Mister Gu has a protective barrier, the protective barrier of a player!”
Countless cultivators immediately cheered.
Li Haoran looked at the two Go stones in his hand and goggled. “This is impossible! Why do you have a golden Go stone as well? Why are you a player? I control both the white Go stones and black Go stones!”
Then, Li Haoran was startled. His expression changed as he said, “The transparent Go stone? You control the transparent Go stones? However, the transparent Go stones’ golden Go stone was destroyed. Didn’t Wei Yang destroy it?”
“How can it be destroyed before the game is over?” Gu Hai countered while smiling.
Li Haoran’s face sank as a ferocious look flashed in his eyes. He was no longer the only player. There is Gu Hai? There is still Gu Hai? I have to compete with Gu Hai?
——
Outside the death puzzle, around the gigantic peony flower:
When Li Haoran became a player, an image of him materialized. His arrogance immediately set the countless cultivators outside the gigantic peony flower abuzz.
No one had expected Li Haoran to be so ruthless. After he tricked Long Wanqing, he wanted to kill everyone. All for the sake of Old Mister Guan Qi’s inheritance?
Furthermore, Li Haoran nearly killed Long Wanqing earlier.
“Li Haoran is truly sinister. To think that he started lying to Long Wanqing so long ago!”
“To think that he could be this unscrupulous for the dragon vein!”
“He is really seeking death. If he killed Long Wanqing, her maternal grandfather would not spare him!”
“Fortunately, he stopped. However, it is over for the others!”
“Look! Gu Hai also became a player!”
“Gu Hai and Li Haoran are going to clash. Gu Hai is also a monster!”
“Indeed. Those thirty thousand-odd spirit-assimilated cultivators all got slaughtered by him. They are all ruthless people!”
“Gu Hai is a little better. After all, he killed spirit-assimilated cultivators. If the spirit-assimilated cultivators had come out, they would eat people. Gu Hai was eradicating evil!”
“Look! They are going to fight. Li Haoran is going to draw everyone’s energy again!”
“Gu Hai is a player, so will his defensive barrier block that attack?”
Countless cultivators goggled. The situation in the death puzzle world changed rapidly; the cultivators could not bear to shift their gazes away.
——
Under a large tree midway up a mountain:
The Unborn Man watched silently like before.
“Li Haoran? I did not believe that he had the guts at first,” the Unborn Man muttered, looking like he was talking to the air.
“Let’s continue observing. The lass’s death must be resolved. Let’s see this Li Haoran’s capabilities!” The Unborn Man continued speaking to the air.
——
On the gigantic peony flower:
As Li Haoran held two golden Go stones, his image no longer stood at the north or south of the Go board. Instead, it moved to the center before shifting to the west. His image showed an icy expression as he looked at the other side.
Gu Hai’s image slowly materialized at the east of the death puzzle. At this moment, he showed a cold smile as he looked at Li Haoran, who was opposite himself.
To the people outside, it looked like these two controlled this Go board and were facing off.
“First Young Master, Milord is facing off with Li Haoran. While Li Haoran controls sixty thousand-odd white and black Go stones, Milord does not have any Go stones left, right?”
“Indeed, Milord already killed all the transparent Go stones. Right now, Milord is empty-handed. What should we do?”
The evil men fretted aloud.
However, Gu Qin shook his head and said, “There’s no need to worry. No one understands Go as well as Adoptive Father does. Just watch carefully. Adoptive Father will be fine!”
“Yes!” Everyone nodded.
——
In the death puzzle’s world:
Li Haoran could not immediately grasp Gu Hai’s situation. Because of this, he felt less confident. This was a Go puzzle, after all. In the end, this was still a Go puzzle.
If it were a pure fight, not even one hundred Gu Hais could match Li Haoran. However, who knew what the results would be in this Go puzzle’s world?
On the other side, Long Wanqing reached Venerable Liu Nian.
“Venerable, are you alright? How are you now?” Long Wanqing asked worriedly as she helped up Venerable Liu Nian.
“Quickly leave. We should hide somewhere!” Venerable Liu Nian said with a frown.
“Ah?”
“Gu Hai sent you to me so that we could hide together. I don’t know what means Gu Hai has, but we are either black Go stones or white Go stones, Li Haoran’s Go stones. Li Haoran is a vile person. It would be fine if he could defeat Gu Hai. However, if he cannot, he will definitely use us as hostages against Gu Hai!” Venerable Liu Nian said while coughing blood.
“Ah? Right!” Long Wanqing’s expression changed.
She no longer hesitated, bringing her servants along to hide somewhere far away.
“Battalion Commander, Long Wanqing and Venerable Liu Nian are running away!” a Divine Strategy Battalion disciple suddenly cried out.
“Huh?” Li Haoran raised his eyebrows as he looked into the distance.
The expression of Long Wanqing, who was fleeing in the distance, froze.
“Battalion Commander Li, are you already admitting defeat and preparing to use a woman as a hostage against me?” Gu Hai suddenly burst out laughing.