Yin Peng was born with damaged spiritual meridians and branded by his sect as a good-for-nothing with no hope of building a foundation. But he refuses to accept his fate. With only a mortal's body, he studies formations, alchemy, and human nature, turning the entire cultivation world into a chessboard. With no miraculous encounters or inherited legacy, he relies on divining the secrets of heaven and laying his pieces one by one, gradually siphoning away the resources and fortune of the powerful. While the other prodigies still depend on their bloodlines and sects, Yin Peng has turned countless mighty cultivators into pieces on his board through contract after contract and deal after deal. Then one day, the cultivation world's most mysterious Heavenly Secrets Pavilion discovers that every clue points to one mortal. And Yin Peng is sitting at the center of the board, waiting for them to walk into his trap.
