All eyes were glued to the scene ahead. Even in the midst of the emotional struggle, they opened their eyes and stared. They wondered what was inside the tomb in the ruin that had been pulled by the Dragon Turtle.
No one doubted that the will of the Great Emperor was here and that it was Shenyin the Great—the first man of music in ancient times. Then, was the corpse of Shenyin the Great inside this white sarcophagus?
Everyone stared at the broken sarcophagus and finally saw what was hidden inside. There was no corpse, no physical body of Shenyin the Great, and no one else either.
In the sarcophagus, the rhythmic storm continued raging, and the rhythm was originated from the strings of a guqin.
Inside this white sarcophagus, there was only a guqin, one that seemed to be alive, capable of playing divine music by itself.
The hearts of all the cultivators were beating quickly. A guqin that could play the divine music?
What kind of guqin was this?
And who was controlling the guqin?
Furthermore, they could feel the will of the Great Emperor contained within the sounds of the music. Did this mean that this guqin contained the will of Shenyin the Great?
However, even if this guqin contained the will of Shenyin the Great, why was it playing freely, as if it was alive? It even had the power to control those ancient corpses with the music… Could it be?
As their thought turned to this, even those who had survived the second Divine Tribulation felt a great disturbance in their hearts. They stared at the guqin below and realized that there was only one possibility that could have led to such a situation. After Shenyin the Great had perished, he might have incorporated his consciousness into this guqin, thus infusing the guqin with life force.
Perhaps Lord Luo was right. The Great Emperor may have existed in another form, such as inside of this guqin, so that he was able to use this guqin to play the divine music.
Just as they were considering this possibility, they saw that a few top cultivators had already made their move as they started grabbing at the instrument. This was a true divine item, one that might possess the will of a Great Emperor. If it could be controlled, what would that be like?
However, as soon as they grabbed for the guqin, an extremely radiant divine brilliance erupted from it. It contained supreme coercion, radiating and falling directly on several powerful cultivators. Suddenly, these men were repelled backward, and no one was able to remain standing under that divine brilliance. Even the others who were in the distance felt the pressure of the Great Emperor that permeated in the sound of the guqin.
Their hearts beat wildly as they saw the guqin flying up and floating in the air. The strings on the guqin kept moving, and the Might of the Emperor diffused from the guqin itself and covered the boundless space. At this moment, those top-notch cultivators actually had the urge to worship the guqin.
It was as if that guqin represented the Great Emperor himself.
The sound from the guqin increased its coercion; it was more penetrating than before, piercing into their spiritual souls. Finally, the Dragon Turtle let out a violent bellow. It seemed as if even the corpse of the Dragon Turtle was deeply affected by it.
All the cultivators were immersed in despair and sorrow. They couldn’t imagine how a person could perform such a sorrowful composition. What did Shenyin the Great experience to cause him to compose the Divine Requiem?
Ye Futian felt the music a bit more deeply than the others. He was a student of the guqin and understood that the music represented a person’s state of mind. The person who could compose something like the Divine Requiem must have gone through endless sadness and despair himself. For a great existence, such as Shenyin the Great, who stood at the pinnacle of music, to have personally experienced such extreme grief was something unimaginable.
The extreme sadness affected everyone’s emotions, and the sadness only deepened. It was as if even the souls were crying out as well. The body of Shenjia the Great Emperor raised his head and looked at that beating guqin. Tears seemed to have stained the corners of his eyes.
If one is immersed in this mood, what would it be like? Ye Futian wondered. He was surrounded by the Imperial Will and was closely guarding his thoughts. But at the same time, he let loose of his emotions and no longer resisted. He allowed the sound of guqin to invade his emotions. Since it was impossible to resist, why not accept it and feel the true feelings the music was trying to convey?
As the sound of guqin continued to spread, heaven and earth fell into endless sorrow; even the Great Path seemed to be in grief. Similarly, the resistance of those major figures gradually weakened as more and more people quieted down. The aura of the Great Path upon their bodies gradually dissipated. Like Ye Futian, they were slowly immersed in the sound of the guqin, unable to extricate themselves from its hold.
One by one, they sank into the mood created by the guqin in endless sorrow.
Only those who had survived the Divine Tribulation of the Great Path were still resisting, especially those who had survived the second Divine Tribulation. Their will was the most persistent, but even then, they were being affected profoundly. Their will was unrelenting, and they refused to surrender to the sound of the guqin. In their present state of cultivation, they were only one step away from the heavenly path. How could they be affected by the rhythmic path of the music? To them, this concept was unacceptable.
Some continued to try to grab at the guqin. Several others also did whatever they could to try to obtain the guqin by force, using the supreme power of the Great Path to prevent the music from continuing.
But those moving strings seemed to never stop, and round after round of sound waves swept out, making every movement extremely difficult to manage. When they got close to the guqin, radiant divine glory would bloom from it, like the might of the Great Emperor. It spread out with the sound of the guqin to suppress these cultivators. Every cultivator was incredibly tense as the strings continued to move, and another terrible imperial might descended upon them. Once again, those cultivators were knocked back again, and some couldn’t help but let out a muffled groan.
Although it was just a guqin, it seemed to be alive, and there was no way to capture it.
Those top figures looked at the guqin that floated in the void, and their hearts trembled. It seemed that Shenyin the Great might exist in this guqin in another form, giving it life. But, even if strong cultivators like them coveted the item, they were unable to achieve it. Unless it was the guqin itself that allowed them access without resistance, it could not be done.
A storm of rhythm shrouded this vast space, and everyone seemed to quiet down. The aura of the Great Path they released gradually dissipated. One may see that there were traces of tears in many top cultivators’ eyes. The whole world seemed to be immersed in despair and sorrow; even the air was filled with sadness.
The Dragon Turtle’s sad bellowing was heard at this moment. As it cried, the Dragon Turtle moved again. Accompanied by the violent sounds, the Dragon Turtle set off again to smash through those previous defenses. It gradually accelerated along with the sound of the guqin; it was as if it were still looking for a way home as it had done before. This time, the bellowing continued and persisted, resounding in this endless space in the void. It seemed that the whole world was filled with endless sorrow!
