Tianmen Peak.
The exquisite plucking of a zither drifted melodiously, like a babbling brook trickling beside the ears. Airy and light, it felt as though one were floating deep amidst soft clouds, bringing an indescribable comfort that permeated every meridian throughout the body.
Lu Yang lay lazily in the grass, his hands pillowed behind his head and a stalk of foxtail grass dangling from his mouth. Listening to Third Senior Sister's playing, he felt the exhaustion from his trip to Chunjiang City virtually melt away.
As he listened, he picked up a lotus seed from a plate and tossed it into his mouth.
Anyone with a discerning eye would recognize this as a seed from the Twin Conjoined Lotus. They grew everywhere across the surface of the Twin River, and Lu Yang had plucked quite a few seedpods before departing.
Third Senior Sister was truly a cultivator adept in music. Lu Yang had never studied the art and couldn't tell gong, shang, jiao, zhi, or yu apart, yet listening from a layman's perspective, it sounded utterly delightful.
"Senior Sister, what is this piece you're playing called?"
Third Senior Sister smoothed her hands over the strings. The music ceased, and quiet settled over the surroundings. "This is an ancient melody Senior Lianyi gifted to me, titled Phoenix Perching by the Brook. Senior was struck by sudden inspiration while resting beside a brook and composed it."
Jiang Lianyi used a jade flute as her weapon and reigned supreme in the domain of music, unmatched by anyone.
Even the Immortal Fairy, who insisted on being first in everything, had to concede defeat on this front.
"Senior Sister, how did you end up joining our master's tutelage back in the day?" Lu Yang asked out of curiosity.
Third Senior Sister let out a rare sigh. "My parents were merely Golden Core stage cultivators with little knowledge of our sect. The entrance test back then was organized by Master. Seeing that I had exceptional talent, he wanted to take me as his disciple.
"At the time, I didn't know what kind of person Master was. I only knew he was the Sect Master.
"If the Sect Master wanted to take me in, naturally I was willing.
"Who could have imagined that after just two lessons, the classroom location changed."
"Changed to where?"
"The prison. Back then, Eldest Senior Sister was in secluded meditation and Second Senior Brother had entered the Buddhist Kingdom. I had no choice but to visit Master during prison visiting hours to have my lessons. Studying was genuinely arduous. Whenever the people in prison saw me, they'd praise what a filial daughter I was.
"Fortunately, Eldest Senior Sister came out of seclusion later on, and my learning environment improved significantly."
"Eldest Senior Sister taught you?"
Third Senior Sister shook her head. "Eldest Senior Sister bailed Master out as his guarantor. Eldest Senior Sister isn't good at music, so she couldn't teach me."
"Our master knows music too?"
"He does, and his skill is even higher than mine. He can sing while strumming a sword, modulating his voice with endless variety, and can even imitate the sounds of various musical instruments. I heard it was a skill he honed in his youth while performing pingshu, playing accompaniment to liven up the storytelling."
Lu Yang had not expected his master to possess such high proficiency.
Third Senior Sister resumed her playing. As Lu Yang was enjoying the melody, a discordant voice disrupted his serene state of mind.
The Immortal Fairy gave a cold snort, indignant at being underestimated by Lu Yang. "Who says this immortal doesn't know the Dao of Music? The pieces this immortal performs are truly exhilarating!"
"You know the Dao of Music too, Fairy? How come I've never heard you play?" Considering that the Immortal Fairy had just found the Twin River and was in high spirits, Lu Yang showed her a touch more deference for the moment, switching his form of address to the respectful "you."
"This immortal's music is not something a mere Nascent Soul stage cultivator like you is qualified to hear.
"When this immortal performs, no immortal artifact is needed. With Dao Rhyme as strings, it shakes heaven and earth and resonates with the Great Dao. Its grandeur reigns supreme through all ages—who wouldn't tremble all over with excitement upon hearing it?"
Lu Yang grew increasingly curious. "Then how do you perform it?"
"Self-detonation."
"...No wonder their bodies tremble."
"Speaking of which, Fairy, when you were assassinated back then, didn't you have time to self-detonate?"
Given the Immortal Fairy's personality, her first reaction should have been to blow herself up—it would harm the opponent and preserve her own life.
"Now that you mention it, that does make sense. Why didn't this immortal self-detonate?"
The Immortal Fairy bowed her head, frowning as she recalled what had transpired back then. Her memories remained a blur of chaos; she couldn't tell whether it was due to some trick used by the mastermind behind the scenes or because something had been wrong with her own condition at the time.
"Confound it! If nothing had happened to this immortal back then, I would have broken through beyond immortal long ago!
"Immortal Jiuchong became the first immortal; it ought to have been this immortal's turn to take first place for once!"
Lu Yang instantly perked up at the topic, not even bothering to eat the lotus seed poised at his lips. "You mean what you mentioned before—severing all karma to advance your cultivation further and reach the realm beyond immortal?"
The Immortal Fairy rolled her eyes. "That's Immortal Jiuchong and the others' theory. What this immortal advocates is that the more karma you have, the higher your cultivation, and only then can you break through.
"According to the theory of Immortal Jiuchong and the others, the realm beyond immortal is called 'Transcendence'—untouched by myriad karma, an existence surpassing all things.
"According to this immortal's theory, the realm beyond immortal is called 'Omniscience'—connected to all things in the world, reaching the height of omniscience and omnipotence, which perfectly matches this immortal's brilliant wit!"
Lu Yang looked the Immortal Fairy up and down. After returning to the Dao Seeking Sect, the Mahavira Hall in his spiritual space had vanished, reverting to its original plain room decor. While explaining the realm beyond immortal, the Immortal Fairy was rolling around on the floor as she spoke, disheveled hair strewn about, clothes untidy, giggling away. It was truly difficult to associate her with words like "brilliant" or "omniscient."
Clasping her small feet with both hands, the Immortal Fairy hoisted herself up into a cross-legged sitting posture with a heave, swaying side to side like a roly-poly toy. "If only this immortal's cultivation insights were still around. Maybe reading them would help me recall what happened back then.
"By the way, this immortal suggests you grab the plate and run far away right now. That way you can still save the lotus seeds on it," the Immortal Fairy suddenly remarked.
Lu Yang froze for a moment. "What do you mean?"
The music stopped. Third Senior Sister suddenly said to Lu Yang, "Junior Brother, get far away from here quickly. Senior Sister is about to break through."
As she spoke, dark clouds gathered densely above Tianmen Peak, and the faint rumble of thunder sounded.
Lu Yang suddenly realized—Third Senior Sister was breaking through the Void Refining stage, and this was the lightning tribulation she had summoned!
After the Nascent Soul stage, breaking through each realm summoned a lightning tribulation. This was a rule established by Immortal Ying Tian!
Run!
Without another word, Lu Yang didn't even care about the lotus seeds on the plate and sprinted down the mountain at top speed!
He had just seen Quotations of Immortals; right now, what he feared most was running into a lightning tribulation!
Lu Yang ran fast, but his Invincible Nascent Soul ran even faster, dashing ahead of Lu Yang in the blink of an eye.
Lu Yang: "..."
Once the Invincible Nascent Soul reached the foot of the mountain and stopped running, Lu Yang halted his footsteps as well. This meant the Invincible Nascent Soul considered this place to be safe.
"How did she break through all of a sudden?"
"It's not really sudden. The girl was playing Phoenix Perching by the Brook that Lianyi gave her. Unlike this immortal's self-detonations, that's a tune that calms the mind. In the Void Refining stage, one's realm fluctuates wildly up and down, and this piece happens to be perfect for steadying one's realm. Add to that the fact that she was already on the verge of breaking through, so breaking through now is only natural."
Chapter 685