Chapter 2045 - The Abundance of Heaven Chessboard

Su Yi’s eyebrows rose. This wasn’t at all what he’d expected; the man in the feather coat obviously wasn’t a divine wraith!

“Have you been waiting for me all this time?” asked Su Yi.

The man in the feather coat rubbed his face. “Of course. I’ve been waiting here for a long, long, long time, so long that even I’ve practically forgotten how long it’s been.”

“What have you been waiting for me for?”

“To play chess,” said the man in the feather coat. He gestured to the chessboard. “Come on and play a game with me. Win or lose, you’ll be free to go afterward.”

Su Yi walked over and sat across from him.

The man in the feather coat’s gaze was inquisitive. “You don’t understand the situation at all, but you’ve already agreed to play chess with me. Aren’t you worried that this might be a trap?”

Su Yi said flatly, “If you aren’t afraid to die, you’re welcome to try it.”

The man in the feather coat raised his hand as if to slap him.

The kid hasn’t even awakened his memories of all his past lives yet. How dare he threaten me to my face?

But when he met Su Yi’s deep, calm gaze, his hand stiffened as if he'd suddenly recalled something painful. He lowered his hand, trying his best to be subtle, and coughed. “Come on, come on, let’s play chess!”

He gestured to the chessboard. “This is the Abundance of Heaven Chessboard. It has no grid, nor does it have any pieces. It seems like nothing but chaos, but in truth, it hides endless mysteries.

“To play, all you need to do is send your divine sense into the chessboard. You’ll be able to sense its profundities then.”

Here, the man in the feather coat looked at Su Yi. “There’s a chess composition waiting for you inside. If you can’t break it, don’t push it. After all, win or lose, I’ll let you leave once you’ve made the attempt.”

Su Yi said thoughtfully, “It seems that this is no ordinary chess game.”

The man in the feather coat had an inscrutable look on his face. He said solemnly, “It’s more than just ‘not ordinary.’ It’s completely unique, and no one in this world can see it except you.”

Su Yi raised his eyebrows. “Not even gods and Buddhas?”

"Them?" The man in the feather coat jeered. “They aren’t even worth a fart!”

The sheer disdain in the man’s voice was completely genuine; he obviously really felt that way. Otherwise, he could never have said something like that so instinctually.

Su Yi couldn’t help but find this surprising.

What kind of person is he, to dare disregard gods and Buddhas like this?

The man in the feather coat urged, “Go on, be quick about it. When you’re done, I’ll have completed my mission, and I’ll finally be able to leave this backwater shithole behind.”

“....” Su Yi finally dared say with certainty that the man in the feather coat wasn’t a well-disguised divine wraith; he really had been waiting here for him all this time.

"Who told you to wait here for me?” asked Su Yi.

“Play chess first!” urged the man in the feather coat. “Once you’re finished, there’ll be no need for me to explain. You’ll naturally understand.”

Su Yi’s heart stirred.

Could it have been one of my past lives?

With that, he no longer hesitated. He cast aside his scattered thoughts and sent his divine sense into the chessboard.

Boom!

Countless intermingled powers of the Grand Dao appeared in his sea of consciousness, as if all of the countless Daos of the heavens were on full display before him.

It was mysterious, grand, and a complete mess!

A moment later, countless vestiges of the Grand Dao interwove, outlining a chessboard enormous enough to encompass ten thousand worlds. He could trace the vestiges of all manner of Grand Daos spreading across it.

Even Su Yi couldn’t help but feel impressed and astonished.

Every Dao in creation has been joined to create a chess composition!? How extravagant!

Practically simultaneously, a thread of awareness flooded into his mind.

I have to use the Dao I seek to enter the chessboard and find a path to victory! If I can’t, I’ll have lost. If I succeed, I’ll be able to break free of this chessboard!

Understanding this put enormous pressure on him. Breaking this chess composition comprised of countless Grand Daos was like single-handedly contending with every Dao in creation at once!

But a moment later, the irrepressible will to fight arose within Su Yi’s heart. The challenge intrigued him, and he no longer hesitated.

I’ll just have to try it!

Boom!

As soon as he inserted his divine sense into the enormous chessboard, it transformed. The countless Daos inside it circulated, reflecting all manner of intricate and mysterious transformations.

Su Yi’s soul was almost lost within them.

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

The movements of the countless Daos of heaven were just too boundlessly grand, and endless profundities played out within them.

Single-handedly suppressing these myriad transformations and grasping their mysteries to find a solution to this chess composition was unquestionably far, far too difficult!

But before long, Su Yi calmed back down, his heart once more as unwavering as the waters of an ancient well. He started examining this enormously intricate chess composition in more detail, in no rush to take action.

Time slipped by, and soon, ten days had passed.

Su Yi’s soul suddenly stirred as he used his own power of the Grand Dao to try to break the chess composition!

......

The eighth floor of the Tower of Ancient Evils was silent.

The man in the feather coat sat there, staring intently at the young man in blue seated across from him, but even though ten days had passed, Su Yi just sat there like a clay statue. He hadn’t moved a muscle.

However, the man in the feather coat wasn’t at all impatient. He’d waited for far, far too long. When he first arrived at the Tower of Ancient Evils, the vast majority of modern Master Gods hadn’t even achieved divinity yet!

Now, he’d been waiting just ten days. That naturally wasn’t enough to panic him.

Besides, this chess match was of the utmost importance. Nothing could go wrong; if it did, it would have an unforeseeable, enormous impact on the epochs of the present day!

Li Fuyou never mastered the power of reincarnation, so he couldn’t enter the Tower of Ancient Evils. It’s truly a pity. Li Fuyou’s sword heart and attainments in the Dao of the Sword were perversely powerful, enough to shatter the ironclad rules of the ages and become a true Transgressor!

The man in the feather coat had a dazed look in his eyes as he recalled the ancient past.

The world was subject to countless Laws and under the influence of countless Grand Daos. Even the gods of the God Domain were subject to their fetters.

The natural order and the Laws combined to create ironclad rules, as well as inviolable taboos. Those who transgressed met with incomparably grisly ends, even if they were gods.

“Transgressor” was a title reserved for those who violated taboos and broke these ironclad rules. They were so rare that entire epochs could come and go without giving rise to a single one of them!

The way the man in the feather coat saw it, when Li Fuyou explored the River of Epochs, he’d had more hope of becoming a true Transgressor than anyone else.

This was in part due to the purity of his sword heart, and in part because of his heaven-defying combat strength. He was mighty enough to break ironclad rules, defy the heavens, and kill a god while still in the Great Realm!

Had Li Fuyou explored the Tower of Ancient Evils, he could have become a Transgressor. Even if he’d failed to overcome the chess composition on the eighth floor, he could still have achieved a breakthrough possible only for Transgressors!

Alas... Li Fuyou hadn’t mastered reincarnation, so he was turned away at the door. The man in the feather coat couldn’t help but find this an awful pity.

Fortunately, this Su Kid isn’t the least bit lacking either.

The man in the feather coat instinctively shifted his attention to Su Yi.

He’s perhaps a little prouder and more impetuous, but his combat strength and spirit aren’t the least bit inferior to Li Fuyou’s. In some ways, they’re superior.

Although Su Yi didn’t know it, the man in the feather coat had seen everything he’d done in the tower over the past three months.

The style and spirit he’d displayed in battle, as well as the latent potential he erupted with in the face of danger, had impressed the man in the feather coat on numerous occasions. This was why he compared Su Yi favorably to Li Fuyou.

Oh, but even after all that talk, the two of them are ultimately the same person...

The man in the feather coat paused, then laughed bitterly and shook his head.

He set the matter aside, took out a Daoist classic, calmed his heart, and started reading it.

This was how he’d staved off boredom over the years. Without this classic text, the sheer tedium and loneliness would have driven him mad a long time ago.

......

Time slipped by. Another three months had passed in a flash.

It had been half a year since Su Yi had first entered the Tower of Ancient Evils.

Xu Xingke sat there outside this entire time, unmoving, his saber sheath clutched to his chest.

The distant waters were as cold and overcast as ever.

The mysterious existences who’d come here from the River of Epochs’ forbidden zones were waiting too, but none of them seemed impatient. It seemed they’d wait here forever if need be, heedless of what happened around them.

But several new arrivals had come over the past half year. Most hailed from forbidden zones. They were ancient gods who’d survived long-lost epochs!

There were also two Heavenly Gods from the Kingdom of Lasting Light leading a group of gods of the present day.

The two Heavenly Gods were Heavenly God White Flame, the divine backer of Longevity Palace, and Heavenly God Panhu, the divine backer of the Celestial Purity Pavilion.

Heavenly God White Flame was dressed in glistening, snow-white armor. He had a valiant martial bearing, and he stood there proudly, his imposing majesty not one whit inferior to that of the ancient gods of the forbidden zones!

Heavenly God Panhu, meanwhile, was a plain-looking, steady man in purple robes. His long hair was tied into a crown, and he was grand and dignified. A dense, boundless aura emanated from him.

Both of them arrived three months ago, and each led a group of deities. They’d occupied a stretch of river ever since, they’d been patiently waiting this entire time.

There was no doubt about it. They too were after the treasure on the ninth floor of the Tower of Ancient Evils!

The atmosphere was stifled, but not overly tense. Everyone, be they ancient gods of the forbidden zones or Heavenly Gods from the Kingdom of Lasting Light, seemed patient and willing to coexist.

For now, at least. All of them knew that a storm would soon come to shatter this temporary tranquility completely!

When that time came, all of them would become competitors, and Xu Xingke would become an obstacle in their path. Su Yi, meanwhile, would become their common prey!

Half a year has passed. The River Lord should have returned by now, right?

Xu Xingke silently pondered.

The River Lord had said he’d rush back within half a year, but there was still no sign of him whatsoever. Xu Xingke was starting to feel a bit uneasy.

If the old man doesn’t make it back in time, I’m afraid I won’t be enough to stave off so many ‘hungry wolves and slavering tigers’ by myself.