Chapter 43: Playing Go with an Old Man
Lightly swaying, Li Xiang grabbed the edge of the bed as she attempted to stabilize her body. Clearing her throat inaudibly, she spoke up, her voice trembling from the accumulated fatigue.
"Senior," she called. "Did you bring me here?"
The elderly man didn't move an inch as he continued to affix his gaze upon the Go board, an unsightly glare exhibited on his wizened countenance. With a full head of silvery hair and a long beard, the elderly man wore grey scholar's robes as he toyed with a closed scroll while staring at the black piece held within his trembling fingers.
Observing his figure, Li Xiang suddenly thought that if he ever decided to tour the mortal world, the elderly man would be the perfect Master Scholar or Grand Tutor of a nation. Her vision abruptly grew blurry, and she let out a surprised cry as she fell back on the bed, unable to support her body.
Attempting to fight back the waves of dizziness, she clenched her teeth while curling into a fetal position on the bed. When the numbing waves had receded, Li Xiang had lapsed back into unconsciousness.
When Li Xiang finally woke up refreshed and free from any dizzy spells or blurry vision, she had spent four months in a semi-comatose state. Feeling an uncomfortable sensation on her leg, she saw that it had been bandaged with a slight medicinal fragrance wafting from the gauze.
Everything in the room was the same, except the old man was no longer playing Go, but rather cooking near the fireplace. Detecting Li Xiang's movements, the elderly man poured the final ingredients into a large pot to stew over the fire, before slowly but gracefully striding over to her. Stopping a few meters from Li Xiang, the elderly man directed a scrutinizing glance at her wounded leg before giving a slight nod.
"You're awake," he spoke, his tone garrulous. "Get some broth, and follow me."
With that, he strode off towards the Go board, sweeping the board clean of the black and white stones. Numbly, Li Xiang could only follow his instructions. Limping towards the pot hanging over the fire, she picked up a nearby wooden bowl before giving herself a small serving of the soup.
Gingerly holding it with both hands, she scurried after the elderly man, directing a curious glance as he sat dignified, placing his bowl to his left. His gaze returning to the empty Go board, it suddenly shot towards the still standing Li Xiang, eliciting a soft cluck of dissatisfaction.
"Sit down, have a game of Go."
He spoke, taking a sip from his bowl. Placing the bowl of white stones onto the opposite end of the table, he motioned for Li Xiang to sit.
Sitting down, Li Xiang took a tiny sip from the wooden bowl, before releasing a sigh of satisfaction. The herbal soup was light and refreshing, with White-Stalked Cilantro as the impetus of the soup base. Li Xiang identified several of the decorative herbs to be Dragon-Rice, Thunderleaf Grass, Longyuan Root, and Longevity Grass; all were herbs she recognized as a mortal, and several others that tasted slightly savory with a prickly aftertaste.
Placing the bowl on the large table supporting the Go board, she raised her hand to thumb a white stone when an elderly palm suddenly blocked her.
"One move, one question. One capture, an offering of a memory." The elder spoke calmly. Gazing at Li Xiang's uncomprehending expression, he coughed lightly before explaining himself.
"This Go board acts as a covenant between the playing immortals, one seeking truth. One move warrants the right to ask a single question to the other. Capturing an opponent's stones warrants the authority to demand the truthful retelling of a memory.
Remember carefully, a series of questions must be asked at once, and topics of discussion may not be reviewed in another instance. Moves can be accumulated to increase the number of questions, as well as the number of memories. Any deception results in the cracking of your immortal construct!"
Li Xiang nodded, understanding the words of the elderly. In short, this was an opportunity to increase her pitiful knowledge of immortals and the immortal realm, something not even the library within her Golden Residence could provide.
Observing Li Xiang's dull and placid eyes, the elderly man released a quiet breath before reaching out to select a black stone. Fiddling with it using his fingers, he mused for a slight moment before placing it in the direct center of the board, surveying the world with the position of the central figure of authority.
Staring at the black stone, Li Xiang carefully contemplated before placing her stone on the nearest corner. The old man raised his eyebrow, before placing down his second stone next to the first.
"I shall ask a question." He spoke, his voice unhurried and collected. "Why did you not attempt to immediately cut the stone's range of expansion, instead starting in the corner?"
Li Xiang pondered for a bit, remembering his earlier words on how deception would erode the immortal construct within. Deciding to identify the statement that resounded with herself as the answer, she spoke, her soft voice displaying neither anxiousness nor impatience.
"I thought that if I attempted to cut off your stone's advancements, I would fall to your mental trap and be unable to counteract, only defending." She admitted, causing the elder to nod satisfactorily and display a somewhat pleased expression.
Placing her second stone diagonally from her first, Li Xiang looked directly at the elderly man, her eyelashes flickering before hesitantly asking a question.
"Senior, just what is an immortal?"
"Oh?"
The elder raised his eyebrow, scrutinizing the girl before him. Delicate appearance, highly alluring beauty, but it was clear at first glance that she was a newly ascended immortal simply from her inability to mask her divine essence trace. Such naivety would result in her getting scammed or outsmarted by an insidious individual.
"An immortal is simply an everlasting directive. A cognition frozen in space and time, forbidden from disintegrating into background noise of the immortal realm's collective consciousness, but also unable to expand beyond its predefined limits. Immortals are simply existences that can exist forever unless directly slaughtered by the Divine Script. However, the Divine Palace has forbidden the killing of immortal entities, only permitting damage be dealt until the wounded immortal lapses into a recuperative slumber."
Placing his third stone, Li Xiang immediately noticed that he was building a wall of stones in the center of the board, which would provide a massive advantage later if a cross was finished. Picking up her stone, Li Xiang also began constructing a diagonal wall traversing from the corner to the center where the elder's stones lay in wait. As the elder placed his fourth stone onto the Go board, he raised his head.
"I would like to ask you, immortal girl," he spoke. "How did you ascend into the immortal realm?"
"…I didn't ascend. Rather, the World Tree forcefully summoned me here for a reason I am unaware of."
Li Xiang replied, expressing her hidden confusion and doubt. The events of that day, she had no idea why she had been selected by the World Tree to become an immortal, only that it was far too sudden and hastily done.
There had been no further explanation nor condemnation from the World Tree, as they had directly kicked her towards the gates of the Golden Residence with only a single glance of the World Tree's antitheater. Hearing her answer, the elderly could only gaze in shock.
A mortal forcefully transmuted into an immortal being without consent or any prior cultivation nor merit? That was truly odd, there had to be a background force premediating such an event. As Li Xiang placed her fourth stone, she gazed at the elder before asking another question troubling her.
"Senior, how are immortals separated and categorized in the Immortal Realm?"
The old man smiled, taking a sip of the broth to moisten his throat before speaking. Li Xiang procured a set of papers from the Golden Residence's library before preparing to take notes on the elder's answer. Such information, she may need at some point in time!
"Immortals are first divided on whether they possess a spiritual core that is capable of channeling divine essence and connecting with the Divine Spiritual Vein of the Immortal Realm. This divide is far too conclusive and insurmountable that no matter the overwhelming strength of an immortal, he can only cower in defeat facing even the weakest immortal possessing a spiritual core.
An immortal without a spiritual core can only store and channel a limited amount of divine essence, while an immortal possessing such a core can channel and manipulate an infinite quantity of divine essence, although the rate of the supplied divine essence differs on the quality of the spiritual core. The second divisor existing in the Immortal Realm is the ability to invocate the Divine Script.
An immortal's compatibility with the Divine Script and his accessible vocabulary will determine his combat potential by a significant margin. Third, the background of the immortal. If he comes from a massive powerhouse like the Divine Palace or Demons Palace, then that immortal can roam anywhere within the Immortal Realm with impunity.
The contrary is also true; many immortals who are of common origin or belong to a lower-tiered authority can only act as escorts or guards when entering a prestigious domain."
"…Then, what is the Authority of immortals?"
"Hehe," chuckled the elder. "The Authority of immortals simply refers to how expansive their mortal domain can become! After a certain stage of development, every immortal will obtain the capability to manage a mortal domain, one of which they must establish themselves from the very beginning.
Based on the Authority of the immortal, their domain can be from a single mortal planet to vast collections containing over a billion of these masses!"
Finished with his answer, the elder heartily chuckled as he placed his sixth piece onto the board before gazing at Li Xiang. Observing how her diagonal wall had begun to encroach upon the black stones, he elder shook his head as he suspended the expansion of the wall of black stones, instead beginning a cross.
After pondering for a bit, Li Xiang decided to place her next stone onto the opposite corner to form another line. For a while, the constant clinking of stones being placed on the board could be heard, the quiet taps forming an indistinct harmony with each other.
When Li Xiang picked up the wooden bowl to take another sip, she discovered that even after such a long time, the soup remained at a warm temperature. The board soon became lively with winding lines of white and black stones, each side attempting to capsize the other, locked in a stifled struggle.
Placing a white stone into the middle region of the Go board, Li Xiang downed her bowl of herbal soup, her delicate lips glistening as she smacked her lips in appreciation. Mulling over a question while palming another stone, she returned it to the bowl before asking a question.
"Senior, what is the Ghost Feast?"
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