Chapter 844 The Musician…
Chen Huai'an picked up the tattered page.
I found it to be the same as before, only with faint lettering; I really wanted to look closely but couldn't see it clearly.
His every move was under Bi Yuewu's watchful eye.
There was nothing he could do about it. Since the fragment had appeared, he couldn't avoid Bi Yuewu, so he simply stopped trying to hide it. If Bi Yuewu saw it, so be it. To Bi Yuewu, the fragment was just a tattered piece of white paper.
“It’s such a pity about the other immortal.” Chen Huai’an sighed, as if he really regretted it. “The palace in this floating peak is quite strange and extremely dangerous. I didn’t expect that even an immortal would suffer such a terrible fate… It is clear that the person who created this floating peak must have been a powerful immortal as well.”
Bi Yuewu stared coldly at Chen Huai'an.
All of this is nonsense. Why should this mere mortal cultivator have a say in it?
He spread his hands at Chen Huai'an: "Give it to me!"
Without hesitation, Chen Huai'an handed the newly acquired fragment of the scroll directly to Bi Yuewu.
Bi Yuewu took the tattered scroll and examined it repeatedly.
It's still just a piece of waste paper.
"What do you need this piece of waste paper for?" He raised an eyebrow and stared at Chen Huai'an.
“I like to collect old things. This fragment was found in this ancient site. Even if there was nothing else there, I would still want to keep it.”
"Ha, to be a family heirloom?"
"You can think of it that way."
Bi Yuewu remained silent for a few seconds before tossing the tattered scroll to Chen Huai'an.
Chen Huai'an smiled and casually waved his hand, and the tattered scroll returned to his hand.
He was now absolutely certain that Bi Yuewugen could not see the faintly visible words on the tattered scroll.
However, Bi Yuewu is definitely not stupid, and he must have already become suspicious.
It doesn't matter.
This underground palace has no intention of welcoming immortals like Bi Yuewu.
Even if Bi Yuewu obtained all the fragments, it would be meaningless.
These are ultimately his.
…
The recent eclipse of the sun was probably already a test.
This time, beneath the iron chain bridge lay only a chaotic void, devoid of the eerie lava of before.
At the end of the iron chain, the clouds and mist dissipated.
The third floating peak hangs silently in the void.
There was neither the scorching heat of before nor the biting cold wind.
There is only silence here.
Absolute silence.
Even the sound of everyone's footsteps on the stone steps seemed to be swallowed up by this world, without a single echo.
"Brother Chen, something's not right!"
Zhang Yibai opened his mouth to speak.
But to his horror, he discovered that no matter how much he vibrated his throat, he couldn't utter a single syllable.
This is a silent realm.
The sound was muted.
Chen Huai'an turned around and nodded to Zhang Yibai, signaling everyone to follow in his footsteps.
Push open the heavy palace doors.
What comes into view is a desolate and deserted hall.
The hall was filled with countless broken musical instruments.
A broken stringed zither, a shattered se (a type of zither), rusted chimes, dusty panpipes...
They were piled up haphazardly, like a tomb for musical instruments.
In the center of the main hall, a gaunt stone statue of an old man sits cross-legged.
On his lap lay a broken, charred-tailed guqin.
Chen Huai'an stepped forward slowly.
As they got closer, they could see the tragic state of the stone statue.
The old man had a gaunt face, but his expression revealed a resolute ferocity.
His ears were pierced by two thick bronze nails, which went straight into his brain.
His hands, with all the fingers severed, leaving only bare palms, pressed desperately on the long-gone strings, his posture frantic, as if playing a silent, final melody.
The blind musician Shi Kuang.
Chen Huai'an stopped.
The suffocating stillness in the air began to fluctuate.
Golden characters, plaintive and sorrowful, appeared on the broken zither.
Everyone seeks the sounds of nature.
Little did they know, the music of nature was itself a prison.
God does not wield a sword; God only whispers.
The wind is the command, the rain is the lock, and the leaping of the rooster is the rhythm imposed on man by God.
[The melody of God's 'perfection' is used to weave laws, distort perception, and tame all living beings.]
[Those who obey will prosper, those who oppose will perish?]
【Oh……】
I pierced my ears to deafen myself, just to disobey the divine command; I cut off my fingers, just to stop playing decadent music.
Those who come after, please remember this.
[Divine sound is the rule.]
Don't listen. Don't obey.
Only extreme chaos and rebellion can shatter that perfect cage!
The writing abruptly ends here.
boom--!
Without any warning.
A deathly silence, shattered.
A voice rang out.
It wasn't a piercing noise, nor a terrifying roar.
That was...perfect.
A supreme and perfect melody that defies description.
It was as if the great road was roaring, and truth was singing.
Faced with this melody, Chen Huai'an felt as insignificant as dust and as ugly as mud.
Just go along with it.
Kneel down.
Melt into this perfect symphony, and become a part of the order of heaven and earth.
Thump.
A muffled thud came from behind.
It turned out that Wang Shouyi, the weakest member of the Miji clan, had knelt down.
A blissful, infatuated smile graced his face, but his eyes were vacant and lifeless. Then, he slowly raised his hands and gripped his own neck, tightening his grip little by little.
He clearly felt suffocated, yet he continued to smile, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.
Gu Changsheng was in tears, laughing and crying at the same time. Suddenly, he pulled out a dagger from his pocket. His hand trembled as he gestured at his chest, as if he wanted to cut open his chest to see if his heartbeat matched the perfect rhythm. But his remaining rationality held him back, preventing him from stabbing down.
Even Zhang Yibai's eyes began to glaze over.
The sword in his hand clattered to the ground, and his knees bent slightly.
This is a spiritual erasure.
God doesn't need to lift a finger.
God only needs you to feel that your very existence is a "mistake".
Chen Huai'an was still standing.
He stared coldly at the statue of Shi Kuang.
"Perfect?"
A trickle of blood escaped from the corner of Chen Huai'an's mouth.
To stay conscious, he had to bite his tongue while simultaneously circulating the Azure Lotus Sword Manual.
Buzz—! A violent sword intent rose from his body like flames.
The surrounding ground cracked inch by inch, leaving behind a dense array of crisscrossing sword marks.
Chen Huai'an walked step by step toward Shi Kuang's statue.
With each step he took, the pressure he felt increased.
As he approached, he took a step, leaving a deep footprint in the ground.
This was Shi Kuang simulating everything that happened to him at that time.
The pressure he was facing at that moment was perhaps less than the immense pressure Shi Kuang was facing.
Even so, his hands and feet began to tremble.
In his mind, the last scene from Shi Kuang's memory flashed by—the old man, facing the indescribable existence in the clouds, shattered all the strings of his zither, and life played a note that was not within the two harmonics...
Noise!
"Since you want order..."
Chen Huai'an turned around abruptly, his gaze falling on the rusty bronze chime bell in the corner of the main hall.
He pressed the hilt of his sword but did not actually draw it.
Instead, he grabbed a heavy stone block at his feet and, with all his might, even fueled by anger, did so without any method, purely and violently—
Smash it!
A dull, rough, and even somewhat jarring, off-key bang suddenly exploded in this pristine, perfect melody.
It's like a drop of ink falling into clear water.
It's like a rusty saw cutting into exquisite porcelain.
That perfect melody suddenly developed a crack.
"ah--!!"
From the depths of the clouds, a furious shriek seemed to echo.
"To Lord Nobun, shatter!"
Chen Huai'an roared and lifted the stone block again, smashing it wildly at everything around him.
Smash that broken zither, smash that panpipes, destroy all the instruments that represent "music".
Crash!
The ear-piercing cracking sounds, the dull thuds, and the twisting of metal mingled together, creating an extremely unpleasant and chaotic noise storm.
But this noise is freedom.
puff!
Wang Shouyi suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood, his eyes regained their clarity, and he released the hand that was choking his neck in terror, gasping for breath.
The dagger in Gu Changsheng's hand fell to the ground, and he collapsed to the ground, drenched in cold sweat.
Zhang Yibai suddenly woke up with a start, leaning on a pillar to steady himself, his eyes filled with lingering fear.
That perfect melody completely collapsed and vanished without a trace amidst the chaotic noise created by Chen Huai'an.
The main hall fell silent once more.
Only Chen Huai'an's heavy breathing could be clearly heard.
Click.
In the center of the main hall, the stone statue of Shi Kuang slowly cracked open.
A tattered scroll with charred edges floats silently on the broken palm of the stone statue.
Chen Huai'an stepped forward, reached out and took the tattered scripture, then put it into his robes.
He didn't speak, but simply bowed deeply to the pile of rubble.
…
At the entrance of the main hall.
Bi Yuewu watched this scene quietly.
He was not affected by the music.
He didn't even go into the main hall.
Although he couldn't see what was happening inside, he sensed it.
In that instant, the overwhelming pressure of the Heavenly Dao that even he felt was shattered by this mortal... with a single stone?
"...this child."
Bi Yuewu's voice was hoarse, carrying a hint of barely perceptible coldness, "I won't stay."
"But, no rush!"
Bi Yuewu's eyes twisted slightly.
He made another unfamiliar sound, but he seemed completely unaware of it. Instead, a sinister smile curled at the corner of his mouth. Although his face was covered in blood, it only made him look more ferocious.
"The road ahead is still long."
"Let him investigate."
"Once he gets everything..."
"I'll show him what real...divine methods are."
…
…
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