Two Masks
"This is the Taicu Jade Zither, which is kept by our Yuezheng Lineage. It is one of the Twelve Immortal Pitch-Pipe Instruments."
"I know, you introduced it to me when we first met. The twelve tones refer to Yellow Bell, Great Lü, Taicu, Intermediate Bell, Cleansing of the Old, Middle Lü, Ruibin, Drooping Guest, Forest Bell, Equalizing Rule, Southern Lü, Responding Bell. Non-Exhaustion tone corresponds to a musical instrument, and your Yuezheng Lineage masters keeps three instruments: Yellow Bell, Taicu, and Cleansing of the Old. One of them is the Guxi Shao Bone Xiao."
"I'm surprised you still remember. Thinking back to what happened four years ago feels like a lifetime ago. I was kidnapped and had no power to resist. If you hadn't come to my rescue in time, my fate might have been terrible... or perhaps it was a stroke of luck..."
Yuezheng Qiong revealed a nostalgic expression, her tone tinged with melancholy.
Si Ming was curious and about to ask when the organizers sent someone to urge him on. The awards ceremony was about to begin, and he was about to go on stage to perform. They said he could start preparing now. So he had no choice but to put on a mask and, with Yuezheng Qiong, followed the staff to the backstage area of the awards ceremony.
It was a temporary stage, not far from the God-Sealing Platform), so the audience could see it without leaving the cliffs on both sides. In addition, a large number of television media were present, pointing their cameras at the stage for live broadcast.
The organizers first announced the list of the top eight teams, meaning that these eight teams could directly participate in the qualifying rounds next year. Then they skipped the top four and directly announced the champion and runner-up, since there was no difference in treatment between the top four and the top eight teams.
The Glacier Martial Arts School team members went on stage to receive their medals. Although the audience generally paid little attention to the runners-up, focusing only on the first place, the team members themselves did not underestimate themselves and cherished this hard-won honor.
After the runner-up stepped down, it was time for the champion, the host announced loudly in an encouraging tone:
"The winner of the Linked Mountains City Youth Martial Dao League is— the Linked Mountains University Second Martial Arts Club!"
Amidst enthusiastic applause, the members of the Second Martial Arts Club went on stage to receive their awards. Although Si Ming was missing, few people noticed. After all, Si Ming was not particularly prominent in the team. He was not the Captain in terms of status, he was not as beautiful as Hongdou Murong Qing, and he was not as good at showing off as Chen Shimi. He was just an ordinary member of the team. Even if someone noticed him, they would just assume that he was distracted by something and would not take it to heart.
"... Recently, a duo has become very famous in this city, but they only perform for free on the streets, and they always wear masks during their performances, so no one knows their real identities. I believe everyone is very curious about this band, and today we are fortunate to have invited this mysterious band to perform for the awards ceremony. Let's give them a round of applause!"
As the atmosphere began to cool down from its peak, Si Ming and Yuezheng Qiong took the stage to perform. Their beautiful melodies and magnetic voices immediately attracted everyone's attention.
"That was amazing! I've heard of this band before, but this is the first time I've heard them perform live. Their level of skill is comparable to some of the top-tier bands in China."
"By the way, did you guys notice that the man playing the harmonica looks a lot like a member of the Second Martial Arts Club? And that member didn't seem to go on stage to receive an award earlier. Could it be the same person?"
"No need to think about it, it must be true. We're similar in build, and we just happened to be at different times. We were just wearing masks. We're not those stupid extras in TV dramas who can't even recognize a woman disguised as a man. There's no need to even think about it."
"Compared to this man, have you noticed that the woman next to him looks a lot like pop Yuezheng Yao, even though their voices are completely different?"
"Now that you mention it, it seems so. But how could Yuezheng Yao possibly do street performances? With her fame, doing something like that would be beneath her. They're just two people with similar builds. We'll see soon enough; they'll definitely take off their masks."
Similar discussions could be heard everywhere, not only among the audience at the venue, but also among citizens watching the awards ceremony on television.
In this era without the internet, television was the best form of entertainment and leisure. A great TV series could achieve high viewership ratings, and the Martial Dao League, as a large-scale annual event in Linked Mountains City, had long accumulated a strong and loyal fanbase. Therefore, the viewership ratings for each awards ceremony could reach over 25%, of course, this only applies to statistics within the city.
As a result, Si Ming's music and Yuezheng Qiong's singing were broadcast live and spread almost throughout the entire Linked Mountains City.
At the same time, the replicas of Taicu Harmonica hidden in various corners of the city resonated with the music, emitting invisible fluctuations. All the affected citizens fell into a daze, their eyes became lifeless, and they murmured incomprehensible words.
If one were a master of Divine Dao Arts, one would see countless beliefs surging forth from Linked Mountains City, all converging towards the God-Sealing Platform. Then, as if a piece of adhesive tape had been peeled off, a gigantic pillar suddenly appeared above the God-Sealing Platform.
In the naval base, Xing Daozhuang looked up at the towering pillars reaching into the clouds and exclaimed, "Truly magnificent! No wonder they are the Four Heavenly Divine Pillars supporting the Eternal Barrier."
Chapter 469 Two Masks
The Divine Pillar stands tall between heaven and earth, its height immeasurable. Even if Void Returning Great Grandmaster focused all his Internal Cultivation on his eyes to enhance his vision, he would still be unable to see the top of the Divine Pillar. If this pillar existed on Earth, it would probably have already pierced through the atmosphere.
In an instant, countless eyes were drawn to this Divine Pillar, especially those martial arts experts. Sensing the intense fluctuations in the Primal Qi, they looked up and could see the outline of the Divine Pillar from hundreds of miles away. They were immediately astonished and wondered what had happened.
Normally, the sudden appearance of such a towering figure would cause a huge uproar, even panic throughout the city. However, the citizens of Linked Mountains City remained remarkably quiet. They seemed to be connected by an invisible network of thought waves, their consciousness unified, entering a state of utmost devotion, repeatedly chanting the same phrase:
"My fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens; I will sever the Divine Pillar and return to the origin."
Only those with extremely strong willpower or martial arts masters with Internal Cultivation above level ten can resist the sound waves entering the brain, but such people are too few, perhaps one in a thousand. This number is not enough to affect the overall situation. Moreover, when they discover that the people around them have entered Anomalies state, they also become confused and do not know what to do.
Two figures stood on a mountain peak very close to the Conferred God-Sealing Platform; they were Lin Qingtong and Wei Chunxi.
"The contents of that ancient book are actually true. There really are Four Heavenly Divine Pillars in the world... As long as these four pillars are severed, the Eternal Barrier can be broken, allowing the people of the Sea Continent to no longer be limited by their innate nature, and to cultivate immortality like in High Antiquity, standing shoulder to shoulder with Gods and Devils."
The speaker was Wei Chunxi, who was holding a black banner and wearing a Daoist robe. His clothes were shabby, and he looked like a clumsy wandering Daoist priest.
Lin Qingtong glanced at him and said, "Judging from your tone, you haven't even verified the authenticity of the content, yet you've made such a big fuss?"
"The source of civilization's progress is the thirst for knowledge. Only by constantly exploring the unknown can humanity evolve into a stronger and more perfect race. As long as this possibility exists, it is worth our dedication."
"Even if it costs many lives?"
"Of course, great creations often originate from a flash of genius, not from the collective intellect of a group of mediocre people. Their value lies in becoming the cornerstone of great creations. If they can pull the cart of civilization forward one step like livestock, that is their greatest honor. What does it matter if they are occasionally whipped for this?"
After expressing his views with a touch of fervor, Wei Chunxi composed himself and sighed, "Unfortunately, not everyone agrees with my approach. Even the most progressive Heaven-Defying Society of the Miaotian Society have differing opinions. Fortunately, this Heaven-Breaking Scheme doesn't require too many sacrifices, which is why it has the consent of all the members of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches."
"Aren't the tens of thousands of lives near the God-Sealing Platform considered too many sacrifices?"
"Of course, what are ten thousand lives? A famine can kill ten times more people. Even the moderates within the organization wouldn't care about such a sacrifice."
At this moment, with the overwhelming faith of all the citizens of Linked Mountains City, the Divine Pillar gradually transformed from an illusion into reality.
Seeing this, Lin Qingtong took out a knife covered in talismans from behind her back, channeled her inner True Qi, and eagerly asked, "Can we start now?"
"Wait a little longer. The Divine Pillar hasn't fully descended into this plane yet. If you swing it, you'll only hit its projection, not its essence." Wei Chunxi looked up at the Divine Pillar, narrowing his eyes. "It's truly astonishing power of faith, equivalent to the prayers of a million of the most fervent believers. If all of this could be used to worship my Mahakala, it would definitely elevate His divine status to a higher level."
"Compared to that, I'm even more surprised that the Yuezheng Lineage's treasure has the ability to control people's minds. This kind of thing is more of a Devil Artifact."
As Lin Qingtong spoke, she glanced down at the Fallen Sun Devil Saber in her hand, which was covered in talismans. This was also a Devil Artifact, considered by some to be one of the Nine Great Ominous Weapons. It was said that anyone who possessed it would end up with their head severed from their body. Whether it was an ordinary person who accidentally picked it up or Grandmaster forcibly seized it, none of them could escape it, as if it were Curse. Therefore, when not in use, it had to be suppressed with divine talismans.
Lin Qingtong was well aware of how dangerous it was to use this deadly weapon. To sever the Four Heavenly Divine Pillars, she had to use a divine weapon of this caliber.
Although the Heaven-Defying Society possesses other divine weapons of the same level without side effects, according to the organization's deductions, cutting down the Divine Pillar would result in a powerful backlash, which even the most unparalleled divine artifacts would not escape. After weighing the pros and cons, it was natural to sacrifice this vicious weapon with side effects.
After all, there are very few divine weapons in the world, and even the Heaven-Defying Society doesn't have many. For example, the Nine Great Ominous Weapons include all the weapons that have appeared in history, and only four of them exist in the present world. The others have either been destroyed or lost.
"Ha, what difference is there between immortals and demons in objects? It is people, not objects, who have a discriminating mind. It all depends on what you use it for. Even if it is a weapon that can influence people's minds, it is only because your will is not strong enough and your cultivation is insufficient that you are not qualified to be its master."
Did you know that music was originally created not for entertainment, but for rituals? Music was used to praise the gods and, by influencing people's emotions, to make the rituals more sacred. Therefore, the origin of music was to unite people's hearts. The treasures of the Yuezheng Lineage perfectly embody this; they truly deserve to be called celestial musical instruments.