Who knew how much time had passed.
Chen Yi slowly came to, opened his mouth, and exhaled a breath of turbid air before looking around.
He was not in the room where he lived.
He was in a Chess Dao illusion.
—A towering mountain thrust into the clouds, bathed in sunlight beneath rolling white clouds.
Several distant peaks stood amid strange rocks and sparse vegetation, half-hidden and half-revealed beneath the mist.
Chen Yi stood atop the high mountain, gazing at the undulating ranges before him. "I shall climb to the very summit and see all mountains as small."
"Du Fu's spirit was truly lofty back then."
"What a pity..."
What a pity that Du Fu later squandered his entire life. When he climbed high and gazed into the distance again, none of his youthful vigor remained.
All that flowed from his brush was the helplessness of lines like, "Hardship and bitterness frost my temples; destitute, I have just set down my cup of cloudy wine."
Chen Yi stood with his hands behind his back, his expression calm.
He was not Old Man Du, nor did he wish to endure any hardship or bitterness. He did not ask for much.
A quiet life of chess and fishing would be enough to carry him through his days in leisure.
Then Chen Yi's mind stirred, and a Light Screen appeared before him.
[Daily Intelligence · Heaven Grade Upper Rank: At the hour of the Boar, Gongye Bai and Ye Guxian will discuss the Dao at the upper reaches of the Chishui River. You may obtain an enormous Fortune!]
Chen Yi read it word by word, his gaze settling on the final words, "enormous Fortune," and a smile could not help appearing on his face.
"Heaven Grade Upper Rank."
Since arriving in