The next day, when Zhong Yingshao heard about the instrument she wanted to learn, he didn't even blink, his expression remarkably calm. "Then go to the Lülü Hall later and choose a brass suona."
Shen Qingmang couldn't help but laugh when she heard the words "Lülü Hall." She recalled how she had looted, no, picked out a bunch of musical instruments as a gift for Gu Suihan, and how Zhong Yingshao had forbidden her to set foot inside the hall ever since. But she hadn't expected that after all these twists and turns, she would return with a different identity.
Shen Qingmang was in a good mood and said, "I can tell the Peak Master how to make money right now."
"Don't rush." Zhong Yingshao interrupted her. "I was a bit rushed yesterday, and I didn't explain to you clearly the cultivation methods of our Wuyin Sect. The Wuyin Sect uses music to comprehend the universe, and there are three realms for cultivators. The first realm is to please the spirit, the second realm is to please others, and the third realm is to please oneself."
"Wait, didn't you say the order of these three realms was reversed?" Shen Qingmang was a little confused.
"No," Zhong Yingshao said seriously. "A happy spirit is actually the easiest state to enter. The heavens, the earth, and the mountains and rivers are all representatives of the gods. As long as you can live in harmony with heaven and earth and emit the sounds of nature, you can achieve a happy spirit."
"Oh, I understand." Shen Qingmang nodded.
It seems that this spirit of joy is trying to imitate the sounds of nature.
"Secondly, it should please people. Whether it's highbrow or lowbrow, beautiful music always has its fans. You need to understand the preferences of different people and play music that pleases everyone, cleansing their souls. This is how music achieves its magical effect."
Shen Qingmang nodded again to show that he understood. This was so easy to understand, it made him a pop singer.
"Finally, it's about pleasing oneself. Why is pleasing oneself the most difficult? Because people tend to hide their inner thoughts, and even when alone, it's difficult to express them directly. To express subtle and unexpressible thoughts through music, one needs to have a deep understanding of oneself and accept everything about oneself, without hesitation or inferiority, in order to produce music that truly pleases oneself."
Shen Qingmang seemed to be lost in thought.
"However, some people enter the realm of self-pleasure first, then the realm of spiritual and human pleasure. There's actually no strict order for these three realms; it all depends on which one you're most proficient in." Zhong Yingshao smiled lightly. "What I just said is the most common order in the Wuyin Sect; you don't have to follow it."
"I understand. Thank you for your guidance, Master." Shen Qingmang bowed to her.
"No need to be so polite. Um...about how to make money..."
Shen Qingmang smiled and said, "It's actually very similar to the Joyful Realm. Master, have you ever heard of music therapy?"
"What is that?"
"Music can soothe people's emotions, and naturally has healing properties to a certain extent, especially for those suffering from mental illness. For example, if a cultivator has gone astray and their mind is unstable, it may be difficult for them to recover on their own. In this case, we can use music to guide them and help them out of their predicament. With such great merit, wouldn't the other party not reward us?"
Zhong Yingshao's eyes lit up, then dimmed. "That sounds good, but if that's the case, what's the difference between us Wuyin Sect cultivators and those mortal performers? It's truly despicable."
"No, no," Shen Qingmang shook his finger. "How can we call music cultivation a performance? We use music to soothe the pain of the cultivators. It's charity. They don't give us money, but music fees... or something else entirely. In short, as long as we package it a little better, we won't seem like we're just being mercenaries."
Zhong Yingshao fell into deep thought.
"And our purpose shouldn't be limited to healing. Some music can enhance memory, some can help people fall asleep... Music can have many benefits. Our Wuyin Sect shouldn't just appear within the sight of the other three sects during sacrifices, but should become part of their lives. Waiting for funding from above will at most allow us to enjoy the same treatment as the other three sects, but if we could earn their money, we'd have everything we want."
Zhong Yingshao held her hand and said happily, "Yes, I never thought of this. Anything else, my good disciple?"
Shen Qingmang thought to himself, you are trying to drain me dry all at once.
She did have other thoughts in her mind, but she didn't want to express them all at once. She was afraid that Zhong Yingshao wouldn't be able to digest them all at once.
Besides, only by giving her surprises step by step will she always be attentive to her apprentice, right?
"I don't have any other ideas for now, but Master, you can try what I just said first."
"Alright. I'll have your brothers and sisters research healing music. But for this first business, we need to get a big order, preferably one that creates a sensation, so that the other peaks will be willing to give us money."
"Master has been in the Taichu Sect for so many years, he must have a way." Shen Qingmang said with a smile.
Zhong Yingshao pondered for a moment, then clapped his hands. "I have an idea!"
Shen Qingmang secretly wondered who she would target. The heads of each peak made some guesses and even thought that she might go to the sect leader. Therefore, they revealed this news to Gu Suihan in advance and asked him to try his best to cooperate if he encountered Zhong Yingshao's request.
But half a month later, she was surprised to hear some explosive news one morning.
Is it true that Master Zhong Feng, who values money above all else, would do anything for it? She actually chose to target Shi Mingli, playing an instrument while he was reading in the library at night, successfully hypnotizing him.
You know, her senior brother is a model of reading late into the night. When he has nothing to do, he stays in the library all day long without sleeping. Some bold monks even jokingly call him the book spirit of the library. This is the first time he has fallen asleep in the library.
Strictly speaking, this wasn't a business deal. However, word quickly spread about the benefits of the music from Silent Peak. Not all cultivators needed sleep; some actually cultivated faster while asleep, or could comprehend their techniques in their dreams. Such individuals were most afraid of insomnia. So, upon hearing that Silent Peak could lull even the most lucid Shi Mingli into a deep sleep, they eagerly tried it.
Zhong Yingshao initially refused, stating that this was simply a form of cultivation practice at Wuyin Peak, and that she had no intention of offending Master Jinyan, nor did she dare to affect anyone else. After repeated requests, she explained that Wuyin Peak would perform this music every ten days, and that interested cultivators could come and listen.
The first time, not many monks came, but they all entered a state of meditation and fell into a deep sleep after listening to the music. The second time, a large number of people came. The third and fourth times, the number of people stabilized. But the fifth time, they found that the music was too short and stopped just as they were about to fall asleep.
The performer also looked apologetic, saying that his instrument had been used for too long and was a bit worn out, and he had not saved enough money to repair it, so it would take a year or two before he could play it again.
Among those monks who were addicted to listening to lullabies, some of them gave their jade pillows to the other party without saying a word, asking the other party to exchange them for money to repair the instrument.
From then on, paying to listen to music became an unspoken agreement.
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