Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Primordial Star Formation

"It's all right now."
Jiu Meng soothed the little blade of grass.
The Primordial Seeds were her sustenance; she should have given them all to me without keeping any for herself.
Feng Shang pondered this, and his previously excellent mood froze, as if he'd stepped on a dead rat, filling him with a dull annoyance.
He had casually grabbed a small blade of grass and exchanged it for so many Primordial Seeds. With these, upon meeting the Dancer God, he could trade for several immortal blooms and greatly increase the hope of cultivating the Marvel Cosmos Flower.
Such profit ought to make him brim with delight.
Yet, imagination and reality are worlds apart.
Now, Feng Shang had taken great advantage of Jiu Meng, and he found no joy in it at all.
"Little grass, are the Primordial Seeds your master's sustenance?" Feng Shang asked.
The little blade of grass was nestled in Jiu Meng's arms, basking in the maiden's fragrance and warmth, utterly comfortable. Hearing Feng Shang's voice, it shot him an angry look and replied irritably,
"What do you want?"
"Nothing much. Your little mistress traded a Primordial Seed with me to save you. I just want to ask, do you want to win them back?" Feng Shang's gaze was clear and sharp, shifting from the blade of grass to fall upon Jiu Meng's flawless, celestial beauty.
"Win them back?" The blade of grass was momentarily stunned.
"Yes, let's play a game," Feng Shang smiled.
Jiu Meng's bright eyes widened instantly.
Ting Feng didn't know, but she was perfectly clear: the First God had given her the Primordial Seeds, and she had handed them all, every last one, to Feng Shang. She had nothing left to wager with the youth.
Just as she was about to speak out to stop them, Jiu Meng sensed a mysterious current sweeping over her, causing her words to vanish into nothingness, while Feng Shang glanced at her with deliberate intent.
What was happening?
Jiu Meng's heart trembled—why couldn't she speak?
"What game?"
Her voice rang out, but as it echoed, Jiu Meng grew ever more astonished. For that was not the sentence she meant to utter, yet somehow it appeared!
Feng Shang withdrew his gaze and smiled, "You must have heard of the Primordial Star Chess?"
"You want to play Primordial Star Chess with me?"
Ting Feng Grass was momentarily startled, straightening its leaves and scoffing, "You dare play the Primordial Star Board with me? My mental calculation skill is second to none in the Sea of Flowers."
"Oh? So you mean you're quite skilled?"
"More than skilled! I've never lost a game!"

The little blade of grass spoke with proud confidence. "Primordial Star Chess has three major rules, with one billion six hundred million basic variations, and the grand strategies are endless. The chance to turn the tables is fleeting— even a deity must expend mind and effort on a single game. Young man, do you wish to test your skill against mine?"
"It's good that you know how to play. We'll wager here, one Primordial Seed per game." Feng Shang waved his hand, and a shrunken star domain appeared before Jiu Meng and himself.
Feng Shang had laid out the chessboard.
It was a marvelous star domain, vast and resplendent, lifelike as though a real segment of the Aura Universe.
Within it were two catastrophic divine stars, rivers of radiant colors, over a billion celestial bodies, and cosmic disasters that shaped the domain's course.
The board was this microcosmic star domain, said to have been created by the Supreme Primordial Star Sage of the ancient era.
One day, the Star Sage wandered into a peculiar star domain and discovered two mystical catastrophe stars, carrying tens of thousands of cosmic disasters, constantly weaving destruction.
The two catastrophe stars collided, released disasters, and vanished, causing the geography of the star domain to change in wondrous ways.
The Star Sage found the place fascinating and lingered for days. Inspired, he modeled this chessboard on the domain: the universe as the board, the stars as the pieces.
Within the star board, there were 1,165,522 stars, 495 major disasters, 3,100 moderate disasters, and 78,000 minor disasters, each with its own mysteries.
The two players each took a side, controlled half the stars, and guarded either the North or South catastrophe star.
Each side schemed and maneuvered, aiming to annihilate the stars in the other's domain. Whoever survived with a lead of one million stars won.
Additionally, if one could destroy the opponent's catastrophe star, they could end the game early.
The changes in this board were perilous, strategies ingenious, and intrigues endless.
Sometimes, luck played a part; the game could evolve beyond both players' control, and miraculous reversals were common.
Since its creation, this chess game has flourished across many eras in the Aura Universe, never waning— testament to its allure.
Of course, it wasn't for ordinary folk.
Without sufficient divine mind, one couldn't even cover the domain, let alone fathom the depths of strategy. An opponent could easily destroy the catastrophe star and end the game.
"Little mistress, trust me— wager with him!"
Ting Feng Grass was immensely confident. The Primordial Star Board's myriad changes constantly evolved, testing one's mental calculation and insight, her greatest strengths.
"Very well, wager as you wish."
Once again, the voice that spoke was not Jiu Meng's own.
Jiu Meng opened her mouth to speak, her gaze shifting with complexity as she looked toward the expressionless Feng Shang.
At this moment, she understood: this must be the boy's doing.
She truly had nothing left.
The Primordial Seeds earlier had been her entire fortune; if Ting Feng failed and lost the game, she might have to seek help from the Flower Sea God.

Why such competitiveness?
Suppressing her voice, playing this Primordial game—if it were merely for fun, it would be fine; but if it was simply to bully someone, it was truly too much.
Jiu Meng thought quietly to herself.
"Little blade of grass, are you ready?"
Feng Shang took the North position. In his domain, a dark, terrifying catastrophe star slowly rotated, spewing disaster that covered the skies and shattered the void.
Ting Feng Grass took the South position, where a bright and dazzling catastrophe star appeared much more tranquil.
"Of course—let's begin!"
Ting Feng Grass gave a quiet snort. This was your insistence, daring to use the Illusive Order to capture me, and demanding Primordial Seeds from my mistress.
I'll crush your pride in this game!
"Begin. You have the first move," Feng Shang said calmly.
The little blade of grass pointed its leaf to a spot, where the Seven Suns Scorching Disaster slowly formed: seven blazing stars lined up, burning fiercely, turning crimson as if ready to explode.
That sector of the sky belonged to the North camp's ten thousand stars, all engulfed by the Seven Suns Scorching Disaster.
Feng Shang followed, pointing suddenly.
The dark catastrophe star surged with black mist, leaping six light-years, unleashing three minor disasters at once.
Corrosive Gas, Dark Vortex, Desolation Cascade— sweeping through, instantly annihilating nine hundred stars in the South camp, the thunderous shattering of stars echoing painfully.
The little blade of grass remained composed, continuing to lay disasters.
Jiu Meng furrowed her brows, watching closely.
Early in the star game, skirmishes were common. As the game progressed, disaster placement, star count, and geography all had to be considered.
Sometimes, one could kill a thousand at the cost of eight hundred, and the outcome was unpredictable.
Other times, clever placement could trigger cascading disasters, wiping out ten million enemy pieces in a single move, tipping the scales toward victory.
Sometimes, a misstep could trap the catastrophe star in the opponent's encirclement, leading to certain defeat.
"Such contests are too complex."
Jiu Meng murmured. She had once watched gods duel, where millions of stars perished in laughter and conversation; the strategies and collisions were breathtaking.