Since the Imperial Court Meeting, “Wind and Snow Battle Formation” had swept through the cultivation world, with various adaptations emerging one after another, becoming a standard piece at all immortal banquets.
Most people believed the melody was composed by ancient sages, and that Immortal Miao Yan had given it new life.
She was undoubtedly the “second composer,” the person in the current age who understood the melody best.
Song Qian Ji had been confined to farming in Thousand Channels, far from the cultivation world, unaware of these developments.
He had only heard a certain ensemble version at Immortal Liu’s place in neighboring Hong Fu Prefecture, reportedly also adapted by Immortal Miao Yan.
He had mercilessly pointed out the errors in it.
Immortal Liu felt quite embarrassed, and naturally, this incident had not spread.
Now the pipa sounds came rushing fiercely.
The phoenix bird illusions dove down, their golden feathers standing on end like burning flames.
The Thousand Channels group instantly became tense, clearly feeling the hall’s temperature rise and the air grow scorching as if the real fire had been lit around them.
At this critical moment, the flute suddenly sounded, initially deep, mournful, and extremely gentle.
Almost imperceptible, like a spring breeze carrying rain, falling in fine droplets.
The phoenix images dispersed in the gentle rain, and a cool, invisible barrier rose, enveloping the Thousand Channels disciples.
Meng He Ze’s forehead was covered in sweat as he gripped his sword handle and transmitted: “We’re struggling so much, how must Senior Brother Song be feeling? Why not break out of here while we can!”
Lin Fei Yuan set aside her usual carefree expression and said solemnly: “Wait a bit longer. He’s still holding steady.”
Apart from the Thousand Channels disciples behind Song Qian Ji, the other guests only felt that the music blended harmoniously, not like a battle at all, but rather a seamless performance that stirred their emotions.
Many hummed along, seemingly entering the world of the melody, feeling their spiritual energy flowing more smoothly.
Miao Yan’s fingertips hooked and plucked, the pipa sound ascending to great heights, dangerously climbing even higher.
For a moment, everyone saw a solitary peak with sheer cliffs, like a sword pointing to the sky.
That night by the secluded pond, when He Qing Qing played “Wind and Snow Battle Formation,” her strength lay in genuine emotion and sincerity, directly expressing her feelings and touching the heartstrings.
Like a solitary traveler at the edge of the world, facing wind and snow, against the entire world.
But she lacked Miao Yan’s years of practice and refined technique that approached perfection, not to mention the dual enhancement of the “Phoenix Platform” and the Cloud Sea Formation.
In terms of the melody’s power itself, the current rendition was undoubtedly the strongest.
Song Qian Ji maintained a relaxed expression, his flute melody shifting, crossing the dangerous peak as easily as walking on flat ground.
The mountain peaks dissolved before everyone’s eyes, leaving only wind-blown clouds and a light rain wetting fallen flowers.
“I don’t understand. The flute doesn’t sound as high as the pipa,” Meng He Ze asked Lin Fei Yuan. “Is Senior Brother Song losing ground?”
He had heard Lin Fei Yuan sing at Song Academy, changing her voice to imitate multiple people, sometimes male, sometimes female, sometimes rough, sometimes delicate, so he knew she had some understanding of music.
“Not at all,” Lin Fei Yuan frowned. “The ‘Phoenix Platform’ belongs to the fire element. Its surface tone is clear and high, like a phoenix cries, but in reality, it’s violent and fierce, like a phoenix spitting fire.
The jade flute that Song Qian Ji borrowed has a cold nature with a chilly tone, seemingly able to clear the mind and dispel evil. The two elements counter each other, so Immortal Miao Yan temporarily cannot gain the upper hand.”
Meng He Ze suddenly understood: “So that’s why Senior Brother Song didn’t use the ‘Seven Perfections Zither’ and specifically borrowed a flute?”
“The ‘Seven Perfections Zither’ is a magical treasure of the Zither Immortal. Once played, its spiritual pressure suppresses all other instruments. Using it against a junior from the Celestial Sound Sect would seem like bullying, easily becoming a point of criticism…”
At this point in her explanation, Lin Fei Yuan cursed at Song Qian Ji’s back:
“What time is this? Surrounded by enemies, yet still playing the gentleman? Are you being so tender with the ladies?”
“Brother Song isn’t pretending to be a gentleman,” Ji Chen wiped the sweat from his brow. The pipa sound was making him sweat profusely. “I believe he is truly a gentleman!”
Under the formation, clouds and winds surged outside the hall.
In the Heaven-Connecting Hall, red silk banners fluttered, jade tables shook, and the green spiritual wine in cups swirled with the sound waves, creating ripples.
As the flute sound gradually strengthened, a golden phoenix broke through the pipa’s surface, soaring into the nine heavens.
With a crane’s cry, white cranes raised by Hua Wei Sect cultivators broke through the clouds, dancing gracefully, followed by hawks, black eagles, and other birds of prey flapping their wings.
Countless birds from the forest—orioles, magpies, cuckoos—emerged from their nests, flying to the branches, calling out loudly.
“All birds pay homage to the phoenix!” someone exclaimed.
Though it was deep winter after snowfall, all birds on Hua Wei Mountain awakened, stretching their necks to sing together, supporting the pipa melody.
Miao Yan’s supporters grew more vocal:
“At the Imperial Court Meeting, Immortal Meng Zhi’s zither also attracted all birds, but compared to Immortal Miao Yan, it seemed like mere surface splendor, an empty imitation.”
“No one can match Immortal Miao Yan!”
The pipa sound was as ruthless as a knife, like a charge horn, with thousands of bird calls rushing into Song Qian Ji’s ears.
If it were an ordinary Yuan Ying realm cultivator, their sea of consciousness would have been scattered, reduced to an idiot.
“Miao Yan has gone mad with killing intent,” Feng Zi Yi hurriedly covered his white tiger’s ears.
The guests hadn’t been targeted by the killing intent in the melody, but spiritual beasts were more sensitive to sound. The white tiger thrashed its tail restlessly, nearly losing control.
Miao Yan wasn’t feeling well either. The flute sound enveloped her like a large net. She tried to break free but felt herself gradually approaching her limit, like a tightly stretched zither string about to snap.
Song Qian Ji’s smile gradually faded.
The flute sound grew hoarse as “Wind and Snow Battle Formation” entered its second movement.
The light rain dispersed, the north wind blew snow, and the hundred birds wailed mournfully.
The golden phoenix dispersed again. Miao Yan’s face turned deathly pale, her brows slightly furrowed.
“Senior Sister Miao Yan, let me help you!”
Behind He Qing Qing, a female cultivator in a pink skirt suddenly stood up, summoning a zither glowing with blue light.
“Zheng!” The zither sound erupted like a long sword cleaving into the pipa and jade flute duet.
“Immortal Meng Zhi has also joined!” someone called out.
For a moment, the three sounds entangled in battle. Miao Yan’s pressure eased, allowing her to catch her breath.
She gritted her teeth, hardening her resolve, pouring all her spiritual energy into the pipa!
Amidst the wind and snow, the phoenix cry cut through the western wind!
Meng Zhi gradually plucked the strings unsteadily, her form swaying.
“Who would have thought Song Qian Ji was so formidable, facing two opponents yet not losing ground.”
Suddenly, a sharp tearing sound echoed, extremely harsh, interrupting the harmony of the melody.
A “feather string” on the zither snapped.
In the Celestial Sound Sect, music cultivators holding se harps, flutes, and konghou harps all stood up:
“We’ll help our Senior Sisters!”
As fellow music cultivators, the more advanced their cultivation, the more they recognized the danger in the melody.
Miao Yan now wasn’t alone; she represented the entire younger generation of the sect.
She absolutely could not lose.
Gradually, more people stood up, various instruments joining the ensemble, their magical instruments’ colorful spiritual light illuminating the hall.
The sound reached the clouds, the energy shook the nine heavens.
The Celestial Sound Sect stood united.
The ensemble wasn’t a simple addition; each layer of music added multiplied the power several times.
In the magnificent ensemble, the pipa’s momentum surged.
The formation’s power grew stronger through the music. The five Peak Masters of Hua Wei Sect focused intently, pouring spiritual energy into it, causing waves in the sea of clouds.
All chaotic clouds were shattered, flying like snowflakes.
Under the azure sky, it seemed as if a heavy snow had fallen.
Song Qian Ji’s brow furrowed slightly, the jade flute at his lips trembling slightly.
Meng He Ze shook with anger: “How unreasonable they are, everyone against my Senior Brother alone?!”
At this moment, he only regretted not understanding music to help.
Someone forcefully argued: “If Song Qian Ji dared to issue a challenge, he should be prepared to face everyone in the Celestial Sound Sect.”
“Shall we fight our way out?” Meng He Ze transmitted.
“Wait a bit longer!” Lin Fei Yuan’s face was as calm as water.
“Still waiting?” Ji Chen grabbed his hair in frustration.
“Wait!” Lin Fei Yuan commanded.
Everyone stared intently at Song Qian Ji, seeing an unnatural flush rise to his face as if he might vomit blood and faint at any moment.
Yet he closed his eyes.
Song Qian Ji was indeed affected by the formation, his blood and energy surging, his chest feeling tight and congested.
The flute sound entered the encirclement, growing increasingly isolated.
But this grand momentum of thousands united as one helped him enter a better state.
He closed his eyes, deciding to forget where he was, simply playing for his enjoyment and satisfaction.
It had been a long time since he had touched a musical instrument.
The jade flute’s surface was smooth, its cool feeling refreshing to the mind, like a sword.
As the ensemble reached its final movement, sound waves rolled all around, an endless sea of bitterness before him, countless pursuers behind.
He stood alone in the world with a cold sword, facing a tidal wave that covered the sky.
Fighting alone across three thousand miles, one sword once blocked a million troops.
Song Qian Ji’s heart cried out in exhilaration!
The flute sound completely lost control!
Sometimes like iron horses trampling an icy river, sometimes like ten thousand pear trees blooming. Countless changes, endless variations.
Several strings broke, and successive muffled groans rose from the Celestial Sound Sect.
Three or four music cultivators could no longer sustain themselves and collapsed to the ground.
The phoenix flute sound filled the hall, wine cups on jade tables shattered, and five-colored carp danced wildly in the sea of clouds.
The guests were shocked into silence. Some gradually found it difficult to breathe, no longer daring to listen.
Song Qian Ji’s thoughts drifted beyond the Heaven-Connecting Hall, his consciousness sinking into his own “domain.”
This time, at the edge of the continent was not a snow plain, no encirclement of thousands of troops.
He saw wind blowing through wheat fields, and a golden ocean under the sunlight.
This was his “domain” in this life.
He opened his eyes.
In an instant, spring returned to the world.
Plants and trees revived!
Song Qian Ji felt a vast surge of vitality entering his spiritual platform.
The “Undying Spring” he had sprinkled on the old trees of Hua Wei Mountain last night had unexpectedly received a thousandfold repayment.
“Zheng!” The Phoenix Platform’s string broke, and Miao Yan spat out a mouthful of heart blood, splattering onto her skirt.
The formation had merged with her music, and those powering the formation suffered backlash simultaneously.
The flower illusion in the sky suddenly dispersed, the formation abruptly chaotic, spiritual energy in the sea of clouds colliding violently, producing successive thunder sounds.
The ensemble collapsed, the Celestial Sound Sect’s orchestra had met defeat.
The flute sound continued as Miao Yan stared blankly at the broken string, seemingly unable to believe it.
“Senior Sister!” The music cultivators looked at each other in misery, feeling a sense of despair.
Suddenly, another zither sound rang out.
Everyone was startled—who would dare to fight Song Qian Ji now? Did they not value their life?!
He Qing Qing gently strummed her zither, accompanying the flute melody, softly singing: “A journey of wind, a journey of snow, knowing your immortal bones feel neither cold nor heat, meeting across a thousand years, still like morning and evening…”
Her voice was exquisite, without any killing intent.
Her cold and beautiful face seemed to be shrouded in a layer of soft light.
Outside the Heaven-Connecting Hall, the clouds and snow stopped, warm sunlight poured down, and a gentle breeze blew.
Song Qian Ji’s flute melody gradually lowered with the zither sound.
Wind, snow, swords, and blades disappeared. “A distant sail vanishing into the azure sky,” the zither and flute converged into one.
When the melody finished, the great hall was completely silent.
Immersed in such heart-stirring music, the cultivators’ five senses were extremely acute.
They could hear the slightest wind sounds, the calls of birds, the surging of the sea of clouds, and the splashing tails of the five-colored carp.
And the sound of flowers blooming.
—Pop, pop.
Like bubbles bursting, tender flower buds all bloomed fiercely at once.
“The flowers are blooming!” Li Ying turned her head and exclaimed in delight.
Not just one flower—all the flowers on Hua Wei Mountain were blooming.
Above and below, a sea of flowers stretched endlessly.
The world’s vitality erupted, and the cultivators’ congested spiritual meridians flowed smoothly again, involuntarily cheering with joy.
“The flowers have bloomed, how beautiful!”
“My barrier has loosened. I’ll be able to break through when I return today.”
“I never heard true immortal music before…”
The Thousand Channels disciples, being closest to Song Qian Ji, benefited the most, followed by those near him.
Song Qian Ji handed back the jade flute: “Thank you.”
Zi Ye Wen Shu remained stunned, not moving. Qing Zhai quickly accepted it:
“No need for thanks, Official Song is too polite.”
“When might we hear Official Song play another piece?” Zi Mo bowed with clasped hands.
The Blue Cliff scholars smiled broadly, continuously praising him.
Ji Chen muttered softly: “They changed too quickly. Just now they wanted to stay eight thousand miles away from us.”
The Hua Wei Sect members all turned pale. Zhao Tai Ji’s face was ashen, with fresh blood seeping from his lips.
Affected by the music, he had expended the most effort, pouring all his spiritual energy into the formation. When the formation became chaotic, he suffered the most severe backlash.
“The pipa sound stopped, so why are all the Peak Masters spitting blood, and even the Sect Leader’s face doesn’t look good?” Li Ying suddenly spoke up. “It’s the Cloud Sea Formation! I thought something was off earlier. Wasn’t it said that this was just a friendly competition? How is the formation assisting…”
A disciple behind her quickly bent down to pull her sleeve: “Little Uncle Master, even if you know, you shouldn’t say it out loud! It makes them lose face!”
Li Ying then said loudly: “You’re right. So can I pretend I didn’t notice?”
“Of course, Little Uncle Master speaks without thinking, innocent as a child. Sect Leader True Void is magnanimous and won’t blame you for an unintentional slip!”
With this back-and-forth exchange, the guests couldn’t help but cover their faces to hide their laughter.
The affiliate sects of Hua Wei Sect wanted to laugh but dared not, forcibly holding back until their faces turned red from the effort.
Zhao Tai Ji lightly coughed: “I encountered a problem in my cultivation a few days ago. Listening to the immortal music, I suddenly had an insight and expelled a mouthful of stagnant blood, relieving the congested energy. It’s perfectly normal and has nothing to do with the formation.”
His explanation only made things worse. The deliberate explanation seemed more like a cover-up.
True Void was filled with hatred.
“Immortal Miao Yan is tired today,” True Void changed the subject, “Quickly help the Immortal to the back hall to rest!”
He had also suffered backlash, adding new injuries to his unhealed old wounds. Inwardly, he wished to hack Song Qian Ji into a thousand pieces, but on the surface, he could only smile.
Only then did everyone look past the female cultivators of the Celestial Sound Sect to Miao Yan.
They saw that Miao Yan’s hair was disheveled, and she appeared lost.
“So she isn’t always perfect after all,” Feng Zi Yi thought secretly.
“Thank you, Official Song, for showing mercy…” He Qing Qing rose and bowed, “by not using Grandmaster’s ‘Seven Perfections Zither’ to instruct us.”
Song Qian Ji nodded: “You’re welcome.”
The other immortals of the Celestial Sound Sect had lost their beautiful complexions and looked truly miserable.
Beautiful women in distress most easily evoke sympathy.
Therefore, Miao Yan’s admirers felt bitter resentment:
“This Song Qian Ji goes too far! Since he’s so skilled, he shouldn’t have competed at all. He said it would be a friendly match, but he was so ruthless—lacking the demeanor of a true master!”
After He Qing Qing’s reminder, they recalled that Song Qian Ji also carried the “Seven Perfections Zither,” a powerful weapon.
If he had truly wanted to cause trouble, switching from the jade flute to the zither, a hundred Miao Yans or a thousand Celestial Sound Sect disciples playing together wouldn’t be enough for him to defeat.
They could only remain speechless.
Song Qian Ji suddenly said: “I apologize. What I said earlier wasn’t accurate. Music is not a trivial skill.”
When he spoke, everyone felt complicated emotions—
The battle was already over; what use was an apology now?
After today, the world would know that apart from the Head Senior Sister, none of the younger generation in the Celestial Sound Sect was worthy of mention.
Miao Yan forced a smile: “Official Song needn’t apologize. It was just a gift for the celebration…”
At this point, since the other party had offered a way out, she had no reason not to take it.
She was skilled at salvaging situations, making this vicious battle end peacefully.
“What I meant was, that what you practice is a trivial skill,” Song Qian Ji interrupted her.
Miao Yan’s words stopped abruptly. Her face turned as yellow as paper, her lips bloodless.
A precise strike.
Some people value reputation more than life and death.
Making them lose their halo and be publicly humiliated is more painful than having them suffer a thousand cuts.
“Song Qian Ji truly defeated Immortal Miao Yan!”
“Not just Immortal Miao Yan—if Immortal Qing Qing hadn’t been there, the Celestial Sound Sect would have completely lost face today!”
“Immortal Qing Qing has exceptional talent. Though young, she has surpassed her predecessors, truly worthy of being the real Head Senior Sister.”
Miao Yan’s mind was buzzing, unwilling to hear more.
She took a deep breath and lowered her head to put away the broken pipa.
Her maid, with tear-filled eyes, came forward to support her, but heard her murmuring: “It’s not him, it’s not him, it isn’t him…”
What did she mean by “it’s not him”?
Miao Yan stumbled, nearly falling.
Just at that moment, a piercing scream came from the back hall!
They saw Wei Zhan Yang, covered in blood, staggering into the front hall, screaming hoarsely: “Chen Hong Zhu has gone mad—”
A fire-red shadow followed closely behind: Chen Hong Zhu, holding “Hundred Flower Kill,” emanating murderous intent.