Qin Manyun gasped and her face instantly turned pale as the blood dripped from her fingertips. She had no time to worry about herself for she was extremely anxious about what would happen to Daji and Fire Phoenix now that she was out of the battle.
“Why did your playing become so rushed all of a sudden?” asked Li Nianfan with concern.
He had been listening to Qin Manyun playing and noticed that her tune was filled with murderous intent that just got more and more violent as time went on. She whipped the tune into a frenzy until finally, her playing lost all resemblance of a melody. It was obvious something was stressing her out and this was the cause of her broken strings.
“Master, I was just a little frustrated that my playing’s too weak, and that it still lacks a certain kind of penetration,” said Qin Manyun in a small voice.
“Hahahah, is that all?” asked Li Nian. “Your Guqin playing’s quite good, and you should know that there’s a limit to the Guqin’s penetration. You shouldn’t be too hard on yourself. It’s normal to want to be better, so maybe it’s time for you to learn a new musical instrument.”
Qin Manyun was bored of playing the Guqin and wanted something fresh. He understood that feeling well. Music begged for accompaniment, and that was why he brought out all the other musical instruments for her not long ago. “Learn a new instrument?” asked Qin Manyun with her brows furrowed.
“That’s right. I’ll pick a musical instrument that has strong penetrating power for you,” said Li Nianfan with a smile. He surveyed the musical instruments for a moment before his face broke out in a cheeky grin when his gaze stopped at one of the instruments.
He walked to an instrument that was shaped uniquely and said, “This is the best musical instrument when it comes to penetrating
power!”
The musical instrument was so unique that it could not be found anywhere else in the cultivating world of immortals.
Qin Manyun had heard Li Nianfan briefly mention the musical instrument before. She thought back to the time and asked, “Is this a… Suona?”
“Bingo!” said Li Nianfan with a nod. “I’ll play a song for you to show you just how powerful its penetrating power is!”
Qin Manyun’s blood boiled with excitement while goosebumps covered every inch of her skin. ‘Master’s going to take action! I knew he wouldn’t just stand by and watch when Goddess Daji and Goddess Fire Phoenix are in danger. We’ll be victorious in this battle for sure.’
Qin Manyun tried to contain her excitement but her trembling voice still showed. “What song are you going to play, master?”
Li Nianfan gave her question some thought and finally answered, “The song that’s perfect for the Suona is just as special as the musical instrument itself. The name of the song is… ‘The Funeral Song!!”
Then, he started blowing on the Suona.
Back at the battlefield…
“Sis, enter the chessboard!” shouted Little Fox anxiously when she realized the situation Daji and Fire Phoenix were in. Then, with a wave of her hand, the chessboard merged with the void. The lines crisscrossed together to form a humongous chessboard. Everyone on the chessboard was nothing but pawns.
“What a powerful skill! She actually created a chessboard in the void. She must’ve used another Ultimate Treasure!” said Murong Yunkong with his eyes narrowed. The chessboard was infinitely more mysterious than his Forbidden Space Bead.
“Hahaha, the more extraordinary their things are, the more excited I am because everything here will belong to us!” said Mu Chengfeng.
“The chessboard’s good, but it’s a pity that it’s being used by a little fox. Let’s end this as fast as possible to avoid wasting any more time!” said Taoist Taiyin coldly.
“I want the treasures, and the women, too!” Sitian Manxiong threw his head back and roared. His body suddenly expanded and transformed into a bear paw that could hold up the sky. The strong energy ripple actually caused the chessboard to shake, and it would not be long until the whole thing disintegrated.
“Protect Goddess Daji and Goddess Fire Phoenix!” Yang Jing and the others gathered around Daji and Fire Phoenix. Every one of them cast out their most powerful ultimate spells, and with some help from the rules of the chessboard, their attacks were intensified.
“Haha! Everything’s futile in the face of absolute power!” said Murong Yunkong with a disdainful scoff. Breaking the chessboard with their absolute power was easy-peasy for them, even if they could not borrow any power from the chessboard. The four of them launched an attack together and their ultimate spells blanketed the void. Eventually, it collided with the ultimate spells of the Heavenly Palace people.
The impact shook the void and caused Wisdom to scream. The four Wisdom Dictators not only unleashed their absolute power but also used their most powerful Ultimate Treasures. Everyone could see with their own eyes that the Heavenly Palace’s ultimate spells were being annihilated as wave after wave of terrifying oppressive energy pressed down on them.
The Heavenly Palace people became ashen at the thought of their impending doom. They had never been so close to death’s door. Juling Shen was trembling all over, his morale gone in an instant. “What should we do? What will happen to the expert if we don’t stop them…?” he asked anxiously.
“That’s why we have to stop them with every ounce of energy that we have left!” said Yang Jing determinedly.
Daji, Fire Phoenix, and the others had the same determined look in their eyes. They were prepared to accept any eventuality, even death. They would make sure to take as many enemies down as possible. That should not be hard, right? Especially since they had trained under Li Nianfan for so long. No matter what, they would not let them set foot on the mountain.
“Hahaha, it’s over for you all!”
“Don’t tell me you still want to resist? Interesting. I must commend you for your determination!”
“There’s no use struggling when the results are set, so I advise you all to surrender now.”
Murong Yunkong and the other three mocked them. Their excitement was evident on their faces. It was as if they could see the powerful existence living on the mountain beckoning to them, ready to bring them to new heights. Suddenly, they all heard the sound of rushed playing from afar. The sound was extremely special for it was a sound they had never heard before. Moreover, the sound contained a terrifying power that made everyone’s hair stand on end.
“What’s that sound?”
“What’s going on? Why do I feel a sudden fear in my heart?”
“Why do I feel that an impending doom is about to befall on us?”
“This is the music of death! It’s cursed, I tell you!”
Everyone, including the four Wisdom Dictators, felt their skulls threatening to explode as a monstrous fear descended on them.
“Ah-! No! I’m going to explode!” roared a cultivator suddenly. Then, without even a pause in between, he exploded in a cloud of blood and dissipated from the face of the world.
“Ah-! I’m going to explode, too!” The first cultivator who exploded caused a chain reaction, and one by one, the other cultivators exploded until there was nothing left of them.
“No! I don’t want to die yet! Who’s playing that god-forsaken music? I’m sorry! Please, spare me!” Murong Yunkong started to bleed from every orifice on his body. He was plunged into the depths of despair at the thought that there was no escaping this. He thought that he might as well accept his fate.
Mu Chengfeng had already collapsed to the ground and was muttering to himself, “The music’s coming from the mountain. It seems like they have an expert backing them. He must be one hell of a figure! I finally understand that the secrets on this mountain aren’t for the likes of us.”
“This is the end of the road for us. Gah! I shouldn’t have come here with you all!” said Taoist Taiyin. Then, he started to gush with blood as his Origins of Life leaked away.
As for Sitian Manxiong, he let out one final frustrated roar before he fell to the ground like a mountain collapsing. He was dead. All four powerhouses’ deaths happened in the blink of an eye while the other cultivators either exploded on the spot or became fallen souls. All of them never stood a chance against the terrifying music.
