Floating World Zither

Su Jiuer didn't argue with the Golden Emperor Ant this time. After seeing the Golden Emperor Ant face off against Xu Yan in the Way of Chess, how could she not know that this golden ant before her was no ordinary creature?

Even if it was no match for Xu Yan, it was still an absolutely terrifying old monster. Who knew how many years it had lived?

Xu Yan smiled. "Little Gold, that game of chess with you was a delightful surprise. I never expected you to be such a skilled player. I underestimated you before."

When he'd heard the Golden Emperor Ant say it knew how to play chess, he hadn't thought much of it. But the ant really could play—and it was exceptionally good. Even Xu Yan had needed to focus to beat it.

The Golden Emperor Ant rarely spoke so humbly. "Compared with Master, Little Gold's meager skills are nothing."

It wasn't being modest. Xu Yan's skill at chess had truly impressed it and shown it that the Great Dao had no end.

"I'm in a good mood today. How about I play a tune for you?" Xu Yan said.

He didn't play the zither on just any day, but today was worth celebrating with a tune.

"Master can play the zither too?" The Golden Emperor Ant was astonished.

Xu Yan's Calligraphy and Painting were profound, and his chess skills were peerless. Now it turned out he could play the zither as well. It completely overturned the ant's understanding of him.

There was an old saying in the cultivation world: if you bite off more than you can chew, you won't digest any of it. Cultivators generally chose one path and pursued it to the utmost. Few cultivated several Great Daos at once.

To say nothing of mastering every one of them—that was practically impossible.

"I know a little. I play sometimes when I'm happy," Xu Yan said.

Then he took Su Jiuer and the Golden Emperor Ant to the back courtyard.

Next, he went into the inner room and brought out a zither.

This zither was called Floating World.

And the piece Xu Yan was going to play was one that complemented the zither: Floating World Melody.

When the zither sounded, Su Jiuer and the Golden Emperor Ant both found its music profoundly wondrous and beautiful.

The melody rang through the back courtyard, and the meaning of the Dao emerged. In an instant, every medicinal plant that had been harvested from the herb garden grew back.

Countless birds circled overhead in the courtyard, as if dancing to the music.

Standing beside Su Jiuer, the Golden Emperor Ant listened to the music and exclaimed in shock, "Floating World Melody—the legendary supreme zither piece! And that zither is the legendary Floating World Zither. It's a true divine treasure!"

After playing chess with Xu Yan, it had already realized that he was no ordinary man. Even so, it had still underestimated him.

Xu Yan's mastery of the zither was no less impressive than his mastery of chess. In fact, it was even greater.

The music drifted out of the back courtyard, and the meaning of the Dao spread across all of Tianren City.

That day, everyone in Tianren City felt better than ever, in body and spirit. People who had been plagued by illness recovered completely, their ailments vanishing without a trace.

As Jiang Li worked, he suddenly heard a wisp of zither music. He looked up toward the spot where What Are You Looking At Small Shop stood, a thoughtful expression on his face.

His strength grew, too, and he worked with renewed vigor.

A cultivator in seclusion was attempting to break through to the Spiritual Consciousness Realm. Just as the attempt failed, a wisp of zither music, accompanied by the meaning of the Dao, swept over him. He immediately succeeded in breaking through and became a cultivator of the Spiritual Consciousness Realm.

At Tianren Sect, Qin Yudie was practicing sword techniques. She had been stuck at the ninth level of Tianren Sword Technique, yet suddenly she executed a sword move from the legendary tenth level.

She stopped, dumbfounded, her sword still in hand. A faint zither melody had reached her ears.

In an instant, understanding dawned in her heart, and she gazed toward What Are You Looking At Small Shop in Tianren City.

Xu Yan's hands came to a stop. The zither music slowly faded, its lingering notes lingering in the air.

The birds flew reluctant circles around the back courtyard before finally leaving. In an instant, the zither music that had been ringing in everyone's ears across the Tianren Mountain area disappeared.

Su Jiuer looked at Xu Yan and felt a pang of heartache.

Xu Yan sat beneath a tree, his hands resting on the zither. Two trails of tears ran down his face.

He was crying.

But even he didn't know why.

Whenever he picked up this zither and played Floating World Melody, his tears fell beyond his control.

Even his heart ached faintly. Then a wave of grief burst forth inside him.

The Golden Emperor Ant looked at Xu Yan and asked, "Master, why are you crying?"

It could feel Xu Yan's grief and see the tears streaming from his eyes.

A person who played Floating World Melody on the Floating World Zither should have been an unparalleled figure with the world in his heart. Why was he so sad?

Unable to hold back, Su Jiuer ran over, sprang into the air, and leaped at Xu Yan.

Xu Yan instinctively reached out and caught her, then held Su Hu'er tightly in his arms.

His heart ached, heavy with sorrow, as if he had lost something incredibly, incredibly important. But he didn't know what it was.

In Xu Yan's arms, Su Jiuer lifted her two furry paws and wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes.

Seeing how grief-stricken Xu Yan was made her heart ache, too. Nearly all her movements happened without her thinking.

Xu Yan looked at Su Jiuer and smiled faintly. Then he set her on his lap and placed his hands on the Floating World Zither once more.

The zither sounded!

This time, he didn't play Floating World Melody. He played Phoenix Flies.

The music carried far, crossing space to reach a place unimaginably distant.

Heaven and earth alike seemed filled with the zither's song.

Everyone in the world heard the exquisite, beautiful melody, but no one knew where it came from.

Even cultivators of unfathomable power couldn't tell where the music came from. It was as if the heavens themselves were playing the zither.

When the piece ended, a little bird with red feathers flew down from the sky and landed on a branch of the tree where Xu Yan sat. Its eyes, unlike any bird's, fixed on him.

The Golden Emperor Ant sensed something and looked up at the little bird.

It was utterly astonished. This bird wasn't a bird at all—it was the legendary divine bird, the phoenix!

One song, and the phoenix came.

The tune had actually drawn a phoenix here.

The little bird noticed the Golden Emperor Ant watching it and turned its red eyes toward the ant.

A bird and an ant locked eyes in midair.

"All right, time to put the zither away," Xu Yan said.

He set Su Jiuer down, then returned the Floating World Zither to the inner room.

When Xu Yan came back out to the courtyard, he noticed that the medicinal plants had grown back. Astonished, he said, "All these medicinal plants grew back! The shopkeeper's got a good conscience. He's selling plants that can keep growing on their own so cheaply."

He didn't know the plants' growth was connected to his Floating World Melody. He assumed they simply had an impressive ability to regrow.

Then Xu Yan noticed the little bird in the tree and exclaimed, "Huh, what a beautiful little bird. Its feathers are so vivid. It'd make a great shuttlecock."

He had never seen a bird like it before. He even had the strange feeling that a trace of killing intent lurked in the bird's gaze.