Chapter 174: The Era of the Nine Sages

Immersed in the profound mysteries of the Go board, Saint Yangmei seemed to be awakened by Nan Luo. He raised his head, looked at Nan Luo, and smiled gently, "Little friend Nan Luo has arrived, please take a seat."

Nan Luo hurried forward and bowed respectfully, "I dare not accept such an invitation from a Saint. I have unintentionally strayed into the Saint's Lesser Thousand World, and it is a grave discourtesy on my part."

Saint Yangmei shook his head with a smile and said, "Oh you. I compelled you to come here, leaving you no room to decline. And yet now you claim you merely strayed into my Lesser Thousand World—that is altogether too cautious and prudent of you. Sit!"

Faced with the genuine and candid Saint Yangmei, Nan Luo could only bow respectfully and reply, "Understood!"

Nan Luo sat down on the stone stool opposite Saint Yangmei. As his eyes fell upon the intricate board of three thousand lines and he studied the game played upon it, a sudden jolt went through his heart.

The pieces had originally been arranged in a formation of stars surrounding the moon, but through a few ingenious moves by Saint Yangmei, the layout had instantly transformed into one of stars closing in on the moon.

Gazing at the board and connecting it to the current political landscape of the Primordial World, Nan Luo thought to himself in shock, *The formation of stars surrounding the moon has shifted into stars pressing upon the moon. Could this 'moon' be Saint Hongjun?! And the stars represent all the other Saints?!*

*Could Saint Yangmei be dropping a hint to this Emperor that Saint Hongjun’s momentum is spent and his defeat is sealed?!*

Having transformed the game into the formation of stars pressing upon the moon, Saint Yangmei looked up at Nan Luo and smiled warmly, "Do you know the true meaning of this game?"

With a respectful expression, Nan Luo replied, "The Saint's arrangements are unfathomable. I am dull-witted and fail to comprehend their true meaning."

"Hahaha..." Saint Yangmei suddenly burst into hearty laughter, then said, "Divine Emperor Nan Luo, truly worthy of the name. Nan Luo's mind is as deep as an abyss. Those two prophetic phrases are remarkably accurate indeed!"

Nan Luo’s expression shifted slightly, and he was about to open his mouth to offer a clarification when he was interrupted by a gesture from Saint Yangmei.

Raising his right hand to halt Nan Luo's words, Saint Yangmei continued, "You long ago comprehended the true meaning of this board, so why feign ignorance? It is simply out of fear that I might fly into a rage."

"I tell you now, this game is precisely as you have imagined in your heart—it indeed signifies the various Saints uniting to pressure Hongjun."

Hearing Saint Yangmei's affirmative confirmation with his own ears, composed and detached though he usually was, Nan Luo could not help but experience a drastic change in expression. His eyes flickered rapidly as he calculated the far-reaching implications of the Saints uniting against Hongjun.

"You need not overthink it. My physical presence here today is to impart some very important matters to you," Saint Yangmei said, his expression calm as he interrupted Nan Luo's wandering thoughts.

"Please speak plainly, Saint. I am all ears," Nan Luo hastily and respectfully replied.

Saint Yangmei nodded slightly and asked, "Do you know how many Saints exist in the Primordial World? And where do they originate?"

Having witnessed the Saint's miraculous ability to peer directly into one's soul, Nan Luo dared not indulge in wild thoughts and answered truthfully, "There should be eight Saints. Saint Hongjun, who stands behind the Dragon and Fierce Clans; Saint Yinyang behind the Phoenix Clan; Saint Qiankun behind the Kirin Clan; Amitabha Buddha behind the Lion Clan; the three Ancestral Demons of the Yin-side Demon Realm; and yourself before me."

"As for the origin of the Saints, if I may be so bold as to guess, they must have descended upon the Primordial World from the Chaos."

Aside from the immensely formidable Chaos Demon Gods, who else could be supreme existences within the Chaos?

This was Nan Luo's subtle insinuation that all the Saints were none other than Chaos Demon Gods.

Hearing Nan Luo's reply, Saint Yangmei looked at him with a gaze growing increasingly filled with appreciation. He smiled and said, "You have explained the origins of the Saints correctly. However, the count of Saints is short by one. There is yet another: the Ancestral Beast Shenni. There should be nine Saints in the Primordial World!"

"The Ancestral Beast Shenni?! Nine Saints?!" Nan Luo furrowed his brows slightly, a contemplative look crossing his face as he muttered to himself.

The original eight Saints of the Primordial World were already sufficient to completely divide all authority within the realm.

Now, with the addition of the Ancestral Beast Shenni, how were the Saints to redistribute the authority of the Primordial World?

Furthermore, Nan Luo had never once heard of this Ancestral Beast Shenni, nor did he know what forces Shenni controlled.

Nan Luo vaguely sensed that the mystery of the Nine Saints hinged entirely upon this very Ancestral Beast Shenni.

The Ancestral Beast Shenni was truly the existence that shattered the balance of the Nine Saints.

Ignoring Nan Luo's inner musings, a hint of nostalgia crossed Saint Yangmei's face as he recounted, "At the very dawn of the Primordial World's creation, we eight Saints came from the Chaos and ruled over the world for hundreds of millions of years."

"However, our joint rule over the Primordial World eventually provoked the covetous desires of certain entities within the Chaos."

"They banded together to invade the Primordial World. Unable to withstand them on our own, we eight Saints had no choice but to invite the Ancestral Beast Shenni to join us, and only then did we manage to beat back those interlopers."

"Since then, the Primordial World entered the era of joint rule by the Nine Saints."

Seeing that Saint Yangmei was benevolent and kind-natured with an amiable attitude, Nan Luo, fueled by his surging curiosity, boldly asked, "May I ask how this joint rule of the Nine Saints eventually evolved into the current situation where the various Saints press upon Saint Hongjun?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Nan Luo felt a pang of secret regret, berating himself for failing to restrain his impulses and daring to pry into the secrets of the Saints.

Should Saint Yangmei turn hostile and fly into a towering rage, Nan Luo would simply have to chalk it up to bad luck.

Yet Saint Yangmei did not chide Nan Luo, nor did he hold his bold discourtesy against him.

In any case, he intended to reveal all these secrets of the Saints to Nan Luo today.

Nevertheless, Saint Yangmei still offered a word of admonition, "In the future, never casually inquire into the secrets of the Saints. Unless you attain the Dao and become a Saint yourself, the more you know, the greater the danger you will be in."

"Understood!"

Filled with a deep sense of shame, Nan Luo bowed respectfully before Saint Yangmei.

"After the Primordial World entered the era of joint rule by the Nine Saints, there was indeed a period of peace and harmony among us. However, as time went on, the Ancestral Beast Shenni desired to acquire more authority to aid in his cultivation."

"As it happened, we eight Saints had previously promised to allow Shenni to establish a royal clan, so we ceded the vacant Northern Wasteland Imperial Clan to him."

"Shenni was free to choose whichever race he wished to elevate as the Northern Wasteland Imperial Clan."

At this point, Saint Yangmei looked at Nan Luo and suddenly smiled, "Had Shenni chosen the Northern Wasteland Imperial Clan back then, the Divine Clan would never have been born. In all this vast world, there would have been no place for the Divine Clan to dwell."

Hearing this, Nan Luo smiled awkwardly, not knowing how to respond.

Fortunately, Saint Yangmei did not continue to put him on the spot and carried on with his narrative, "However, Shenni looked down upon the Northern Wasteland Imperial Clan. He set his sights on the Fierce Beast Imperial Clan instead."

"The Fierce Beast Imperial Clan came into being in accordance with the mandate of heaven and perished in accordance with the mandate of heaven. Although they survived for only the span of a single tribulation, they were nonetheless a race that defied the heavens. If he could control the Fierce Beast Clan, the Ancestral Beast Shenni's cultivation would inevitably advance by leaps and bounds."

"And so, Shenni intentionally declared: 'I am the Ancestral Beast, and I should govern the Fierce Beast Clan.' His intention was to pressure the eight Saints into ceding the Fierce Beasts to him."

"However, the Fierce Beast Clan had always been under the control of Saint Hongjun. How could Saint Hongjun ever be willing to yield them?"

"After all, simply by controlling the Fierce Beasts—a race that defied the heavens—a Saint's cultivation would also accelerate at a tremendous pace."

"Saint Hongjun refused to cede the Fierce Beast Clan. Since Shenni could neither defeat Hongjun in combat nor rally the other Saints to pressure him, he had no choice but to drop the matter in frustration."

"The rifts among the Nine Saints were thus born from this."