The String Master looked at them coldly, not revealing any information.
To him, the people in front of him were mere ants, and he did not need to worry about anything. He felt like it did not matter at all.
If an interesting opponent could appear, he did not mind.
However…he did not wish to waste time.
“One day, I’ll give you one day.”
The String Master said plainly, “This is the last chance you will get. If I find out you’re playing with me, none of you will be able to live!”
He pointed at Yao Menji, ordered, “You, hurry up and find that person!”
“Just wait and see!”
Yao Mengji clenched his teeth, and after greeting the Jade Emperor and the others, he fled to the Fallen Immortal Mountain.
He did not dare to delay it, so he ran as fast as he could. After four hours, he saw the Fallen Immortal Mountain. Landing at the foot of the mountain, he quickly climbed up.
After a little while, a familiar four-part courtyard appeared.
He took a deep breath, reeling in his anxiety so as to not be ill mannered in front of the expert and affect the expert’s move. Then, he slowly walked up and politely knocked on the door three times.
“Yao Mengji wishes to see the Lord Saint.”
Very quickly, with an exclamation, the door opened.
The one who opened the door was Qin Manyun, she smiled at her master, happily saying, “Master, why are you here?”
Yao Mengji asked in a caring manner, “How has your studies under Lord Saint been?”
Qin Manyun could feel Yao Mengji’s anxiety, and thoughtfully said, “Even though I’ve only learned a little bit from Mr. Li, I feel like I’ve benefited a lot, and reached a height that our sect never could before.”
“Ah.”
Yao Mengji furrowed her eyebrows with some worry.
Using their old sect as a comparison was way too low of a bar, their current opponent was the String Master from Chaos, could she win?
He put his worries aside, manners could not be ignored as he said politely, “Yao Mengji greets Lord Saint, Fairy Daji and Fairy Fire Phoenix.”
He had just noticed that the usually quiet courtyard was quite bustling, Li Nianfan and the others were wrapping up dumplings.
It looked like the dough had just been made. Their hands were covered in the snow-white powder that had even gotten to their faces. They looked very happy and at home.
Next to the dough was a large barrel, and in the barrel was the minced meat meant to fill the dumpling. Waves of spiritual energy were wafting out, making Yao Mengji feel like the meat was glowing extremely brightly.
He could guess that it was made not only with Taotie meat, but various other spiritual roots.
One word, luxury.
However, it had given him some confidence.
Even a Taotie had encountered that fate. The String Master could not be that much stronger than a Taotie, so how could he be so unconfident about the expert?
“Oh, it’s Cultivator Mengji, welcome.”
Li Nianfan put down the dumpling in his hand, washing his hands with water before he motioned for Yao Mengji to sit down.
He asked curiously, “What is it? Did you come here to see Manyun?”
“I won’t hide anything, I actually came because I need Manyun to face an opponent.”
Yao Mengji went straight to the point. “I want her to face off with someone on the zither!”
“A zither face off?”
Li Nianfan knew that Yao Mengji was good at playing the instrument as well. If Yao Mengji was here, it meant that he had already lost.
‘He probably believes that Qin Manyun has learned the art of the zither from me, and wants her to seize the initiative.’
Yao Mengji mulled over it, and did not dare to conceal anything in the end, “We had been practicing with Chang’e before this, but the opponent stole the two musical sheets that you gave us. He even laughed at us for not knowing our place, ruining a good song.”
He felt regret for not protecting the expert’s song.
“So that’s the case.” Li Nianfan nodded.
Next to them, Qin Manyun felt a wave of pressure. The fact that her master had come here meant that it was no small matter.
Yao Mengji said carefully, “Only… I don’t know what Manyun’s progress is like?”
“Hahaha, with me guiding her, do you think her improvements would be small?”
Li Nianfan laughed, looking at Yao Mengji with interest, and feeling the nervousness he was trying to hide. After that, he said, “However, just to be safe, I will give Lady Manyun some emergency instructions.”
Emergency instructions?
Qin Manyun and Yao Mengji were incredibly happy, and suddenly felt like the situation was more stable.
“That’s right, when will this match be?”
“Lord Saint, it will be this time tomorrow.”
“We can barely make it, we need to hurry up.”
Li Nianfan went over and sat at the Guqin in the yard, facing Qin Manyun. “You should stop making dumplings. Go wash your hands. I’ll accompany you through a song, you’ll be able to absorb a lot more.”
Since Qin Manyun was learning for him, and she was about to compete, then it was best that she won for the sake of his reputation.
“Yes, I’ll be right there.”
Qin Manyun was surprised, and washed her hand as quickly as possible before respectfully sitting in front of her zither with caution and anticipation.
That feeling was like an incredibly ordinary musician suddenly having a chance to play with a super master of music, it was way too exciting.
Li Nianfan said, “Are you ready?”
Qin Manyun sat up straight and shouted, “Yes, I’m ready!”
“Then let’s start. You should try your best to follow my rhythm, the song will be Guangling San.”
After Li Nianfan said that, he put his hands on the instrument, and Qin Manyun followed.
Without a word, the two of them started the song with very good chemistry.
The song started to fill the yard, causing everyone to hold their breaths as they listened, completely immersing themselves in the music.
The sound of the music flew around like a spirit, dancing in the air. It was the spirit of Wisdom, the Dao was dancing!
In the sea of Dao, anyone would be submerged inside, no matter who it was, they would feel how miniscule they were. Other than shock, there was nothing else they could do.
Yao Mengji knew that if the String Master came at that moment, the man would probably not even have the courage to play his instrument. How could a little child have the courage to fight an adult?
As for Qin Manyun.
Yao Menji’s eyes contained envy and gratitude.
It was clear that the expert was carrying her rhythm, otherwise, she would not have been able to handle the flow of so much Dao. A song of that level was not something she could be able to handle. It was all thanks to the support of the expert!
It was obvious that, under the guidance of the expert, she had fully entered Wisdom, and would definitely obtain terrifying rewards.
It was uncertain if they were mistaken or not, but they suddenly felt like the space around Qin Manyun started to flicker unstably, like the ripples in the water.
The rippling water came from Li Nianfan’s fingertips, enveloping Qin Manyun, turning into an invisible cloak.
“Dao… Cloak?”
Yao Mengji was dumbfounded, he never expected such a strange sight to exist.
At that moment, Qin Manyun’s tune might be far below Li Nianfan’s, but it was still rich with Spiritual Insights.
If he had some reservations about Qin Manyun’s chances of winning before, he no longer had any sliver of worry at all. He suddenly really wished to see what that arrogant String Master would look like when he lost.
At some point, the song stopped.
Li Nianfan and Qin Manyun stopped at the same time. Li Nianfan was very calm, but Qin Manyun’s mouth was open, her eyes had a look of shock.
She reminisced in disbelief.
Just now… I actually played that level of a song?
She knew very well that it was because Li Nianfan had been guiding her, but she was still emotional and touched.
Li Nianfan looked at Qin Manyun, asked, “When you were playing just now, what were you thinking about?”
“Thinking about?”
Qin Manyun straightened her body, working hard to think about it before saying, “I don’t think I was thinking at all, my entire mind was thrown into the song.”
“That’s what you need, remember that feeling.”
Li Nianfan nodded before saying, “You must know that music is related to your heart. Only by throwing your heart into the music will you truly resonate with it. Don’t allow changes in the outside world to influence your emotions, only then will you be able to play the best music.”
Qin Manyun nodded thoughtfully. “Mr. Li, I understand.”
Li Nianfan smiled, saying, “Good, I’ll practice a few more times with you, I hope you’ll win beautifully.”
Qin Manyun stood up, and said incredibly seriously, “I definitely won’t disappoint you.”
That night, Qin Manyun did not sleep, nor did she play, she merely held her zither, and seemed to stare into space.
Li Nianfan did not disturb her.
The next day.
Qin Manyun brought her Guqin, her eyes calm like water and her exeter being was tranquil, emitting an unfathomable aura.
She prepared to leave with Yao Mengji.
“That’s right, please wait.”
Li Nianfan called out to them, and brought a bag over. What the bag contained were dumplings.
He smiled and said, “We have too much Taotie meat, and we made a lot of dumplings. It would be a waste to leave them here, please bring it back to the Heavenly Palace and share it with our fellow cultivators.”
Yao Mengji did not even think about it before rejecting it. “Lord Saint, I wouldn’t dare.”
He knew how valuable those dumplings were, even just one was an invaluable treasure, let alone an entire bag. It was something that would cause countless people to go crazy if placed outside.
He had come over for help, and had already caused too many inconveniences, so how could he accept such a valuable thing.
“It’s just some snacks, what’s there to dare?”
Li Nianfan smiled. “Furthermore, Nuwa played a large part in capturing the Taotie, so don’t reject it!”
Yao Mengji was forced to thicken his skin and say earnestly, “Thank…thank you Lord Saint.”
After leaving the place, Yao Mengji and Qin Manyun quickly headed toward the Moon Palace.
…
On the Moon Palace.
After Yao Mengji left, the String Master sat cross legged in front of the ziter, not even moving, closing his eyes like he was taking a nap.
In truth, ‘Ambush’ and ‘Tall Mountains and Flowing Water’ were constantly playing in his mind.
The more he looked at them, the more he could feel how special those two songs were. Those songs he once prided himself with seemed incredibly childish in the face of those two songs.
Amazing, it was really amazing!
He felt that he had advanced a step in the Dao of the zither.
The man next to him was already getting impatient. He looked at the crowd and smiled coldly, “The one day period has already passed, it seems your help has fled!”
The String Master suddenly opened his eyes, saying calmly, “Leave, they’re here.”
Not long after, Yao Mengji and Qin Manyun came into few, they closed in rapidly.
The man looked at Yao Mengji and then Qin Manyun. He was suddenly taken aback, and thought that there was a problem in his perception. “Early-stage Daluo Golden Immortal?”
That was the help they were waiting for?
A whole group of Chaos Daluo Golden Immortals caused such a scene just to wait for some rookie that had just turned into a Daluo Golden Immortal?
Were they trying to stage a comedy skit?
Taishang Elder, who was still tied up, closed his eyes painfully when he saw Qin Manyun, not being able to bear looking on.
He had known that there was not much hope, but still held onto a sliver of hope that there would be a miracle. Yet, it seemed that he was overthinking it, the Heavenly Palace had already given up on fighting back.,
They probably did it as their final show of obstinance, wanting to anger the String Master.
The String Master noticed the zither in her hands, and suddenly laughed.
It was a laugh filled with anger, and his killing intent completely filled the surrounding space. Even moving required a lot of strength.
“That is the reinforcement you were waiting for? A Daluo Golden Immortal, and she wants to face off with me on the zither?!”
The String Master’s tone was harsh, and seemed to come right from hell. It was as if he would raise his hand the next moment and exterminate all the ants present.
The reinforcements they had claimed to have, making him wait a whole day, was just a Daluo Chaos Immortal. They were clearly just playing with him!
And that Daluo Golden Immortal came with a zither in hand, wanting to compete with him. That was a complete insult!
Not bad, the String Master never expected that there would be someone who would dare pull such a thing with him!
Everyone felt the pressure from the String Master, and suddenly felt the blood in their bodies go wild. Even the power in their bodies had stopped. They suddenly felt like the String Master only needed one trigger, and a great horror would descend upon them.
“What is it? Do you not dare to face a mere Daluo Golden Immortal like me?”
At that moment, a voice withstood the pressure and said with great difficulty. It was not loud, but everyone heard it.
The String Master looked at QIn Manyun. “Good, very good. I have to say, you’ve successfully angered me.”
“Since I said I would give you another chance, I won’t go back on my word! However, after this, you won’t even be able to be my slaves anymore, because I’ve decided to make you wish you were dead!”
Qin Manyun said nothing, and slowly set up her zither, sitting cross legged on a cloud as she placed her hands on the zither.
Yao Mengji slowly left Qin Manyun’s side. The people of the HEavenly palace held their breaths, widening their eyes as they waited for the next moment.
Qin Zhongshan and Bai Chen looked at each other, helpless.
They knew the expert was extraordinary, but they had never seen the expert play music before, yet it did not stop them from hoping for a miracle.
They felt like they had gone crazy, actually holding out hope for a Chaos Golden Immortal facing a Heavenly Realm Deity.
