An invisible force flowed, causing ripples in space. Chen Fan's mind flickered.
When he looked again, the black stone on the chessboard before him appeared as a double image, and for a moment, he couldn't ascertain its position.
It was as if the entire board was filled with black stones, or perhaps none were.
Chen Fan glanced at Ise Akine opposite him, his heart sinking slightly.
The methods of these Onmyoji were indeed strange.
He calmed his mind, and his body vibrated slightly. Everything before him returned to normal.
He placed his stone with a snap.
Ise Akine showed no surprise. If Chen Fan couldn't withstand such mental influence, he wouldn't have earned the wariness of Watanabe Keimei and Yagyū Jūbei.
He picked up the second stone and placed it down.
A ripple-like fluctuation appeared once more.
This time, Chen Fan was prepared and responded with ease.
Back and forth they went, and in the blink of an eye, they were over fifty moves into the game.
Ise Akine's playing style wasn't one of grand, sweeping moves but rather flexible, varied, and extremely resilient.
As more black and white stones accumulated on the board, Chen Fan felt pressure.
This pressure wasn't from the board position but from Ise Akine's Onmyōdō.
Black and white like Yin and Yang, the more stones the two players placed, and the more complex the board became, the stronger the mental influence grew.
Chen Fan stared intently at the board, feeling as though he were sinking into a mire, with a growing sense of being trapped deeper and deeper.
In terms of pure board strategy, Chen Fan actually held the advantage.
In terms of skill, Ise Akine's play wasn't particularly strong, far inferior to Wu Zhao.
But these external maneuvers were truly bizarre.
With a snap, as Ise Akine placed another stone, the black and white chessboard before Chen Fan seemed to come alive, expanding before his eyes. He felt as though he had fallen into the game, becoming a single stone.
In a daze, black and white stones, the size of millstones, circled him, forming a confining formation from which Chen Fan could not escape.
If this had been the method from the start, it would have had no effect on Chen Fan.
Through the medium of this game, Ise Akine's Onmyōdō had been subtly employed, its spiritual energy flowing to create this result.
Before the chessboard, Chen Fan held a stone, his movement frozen mid-air, his eyes vacant as he stared at the board.
On the other side of the board, Ise Akine looked at Chen Fan and suddenly formed seals with his hands.
As his hand gestures changed, the black and white stones on the chessboard Chen Fan was watching began to glow with a faint radiance.
Each stone emitted ripple-like waves that intertwined, forming a misty, ethereal haze.
Within the haze, stones floated and sank, directly targeting the heart.
This was the true purpose behind Ise Akine's proposal to play chess.
The Onmyōdō of an Onmyoji was powerful, but against Chen Fan, a martial arts grandmaster, it posed little threat. In a direct confrontation, his Onmyōdō might not even injure Chen Fan.
With a single punch, Chen Fan could gravely wound him.
On the chessboard, the black and white stones emitted an ethereal aura, yet neither of them moved.
Outside the door, Watanabe Keimei and Yagyū Jūbei watched inside, their expressions unsurprised.
They knew the capabilities of Ise Akine, the chief priest of the Ise Grand Shrine.
However, in this situation, they would not seize the opportunity to strike down Chen Fan.
Firstly, Chen Fan's identity was very special. Secondly, if they entered, they would also be attacked indiscriminately by Ise Akine's spiritual energy.
Of course, if they didn't look at the chessboard, the influence could be resisted. But the moment they decided to attack Chen Fan, they would immediately alert him.
As for attacking directly from outside, killing Chen Fan with a single sword strike, that would directly provoke Ise Akine's spiritual energy, making Ise Akine the target, and would be counterproductive.
Inside, the two sat facing each other. Outside, people waited.
Mitsui Yūta's eyes showed reverence.
The Ise Grand Shrine held an supreme position in Sakura Country, precisely because of the power of its priests and their subordinates.
But at this moment, they felt something and their expressions shifted.
Chen Fan, who had been sitting rigidly, began to tremble, and then his body suddenly shook.
A terrifying, unrestrained aura suddenly erupted, like a dragon soaring through the nine heavens, unbound by worldly matters, soaring upwards.
No net nor mortal realm could hinder it.
Arrogant and defiant, it shook the world.
Under this aura, Chen Fan's gaze sharpened. He held a stone in his hand and placed it down with a snap.
The move directly countered a weakness in the black stone.
With this single move, the ethereal mist on the chessboard seemed to be pierced and torn by an invisible force, dispersing in a subtle and wondrous manner.
At this instant, Ise Akine's body trembled, and horror appeared in his eyes.
His smooth, youthful skin suddenly twitched, becoming rough and aged at a visible rate.
In his eyes, as deep and profound as the night, a strange, greyish-white shadow appeared. The shadow coalesced, exuding an ancient, weathered aura, staring intently at Chen Fan with a malevolent expression.
It was as if an extremely evil spirit resided within his eyes, enraged at this moment, ready to pounce with bared teeth.
Ise Akine's expression changed, and he quickly altered his Yin-Yang hand seals.
A mysterious power flowed through him, then quickly receded. The shadow in his eyes retreated, as if hiding.
Gazing at Chen Fan, he let out a long breath.
In the blink of an eye, he was no longer youthful, but appeared to be a man in his early thirties.
He glanced at the chessboard, placed the stone in his hand on it, and conceded the game, saying, "Mr. Chen's chess skills are superb, and his spiritual energy is rarely seen in my lifetime. You have won."
Chen Fan hadn't expected Ise Akine to concede so readily and asked, "No more playing?"
"My chess skills are far inferior to Mr. Chen's."
Ise Akine replied.
The sound of footsteps echoed as Watanabe, Yagyū, and Mitsui entered, all looking surprised.
Mitsui Yūta, in particular, looked on with disbelief.
Chen Fan also felt a chill seeing the change in the Onmyoji's appearance.
This was indeed an evil art, far from any righteous path.
However, it had nothing to do with him, and he wouldn't pretend to be righteous here.
Chen Fan said, "Then, Chief Priest Ise, can you tell me your purpose on this ship?"
"Or were you sent by someone?"
At this moment, Watanabe and Yagyū Jūbei both placed their hands on their sword hilts.
Even Mitsui Yūta tensed his body.
Ise Akine said, "Is Mr. Chen deliberately feigning ignorance?"
Chen Fan said calmly, "I have no such intention."
"Very well."
Ise Akine pondered for a moment and said, "We are here for a lost sacred artifact."
Sacred artifact?
Chen Fan asked, "What sacred artifact? On the Mayflower cruise ship?"
Seeing that Chen Fan genuinely seemed unaware, Ise Akine hesitated before continuing, "It is the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi!"
Chen Fan's expression visibly changed upon hearing this.
He was proficient in the Sakura Country language and was not ignorant of its culture.
This sword was indeed a sacred weapon in Sakura Country, known to everyone.
In many literary works of Sakura Country, there were descriptions and depictions of this sword.
However, this sword had truly existed, not as exaggerated as in myths, but it was certainly no ordinary object.
This explained why a chief priest and two sword saints would board the Mayflower at such a coincidental time.
Within this, Chen Fan clearly saw the traces of Wu Zhao's strategic maneuvering.