That day, the Floating World Melody emerged, and strange phenomena appeared in the heavens. The area around Tianren City was affected by the melody: mortals cleansed and tempered their marrow and bones, all their illnesses vanished, and cultivators' states of mind were elevated as their cultivation advanced.
Countless cultivators searched the area around Tianren Mountain for the person who had played the qin. They searched for a full three days without success before dispersing unwillingly.
The mysterious qin player also became the hottest topic in the Southern Domain. Whether cultivators or mortals, everyone was discussing them.
Tianren City, Rain Blossom Pavilion.
A group of people with extraordinarily otherworldly bearing arrived there. They wore uniform garments and carried tokens that were similar but not entirely identical. Clearly, they came from the same faction.
Among them, a gentle-looking woman looked toward the handsome man at the center and said, "Senior Brother Qiang Di, the people here say that three days ago, there was a special qin melody here that cured mortals of their illnesses and broke through cultivators' cultivation bottlenecks."
The place they had been in had also heard the qin melody, but it had differed from the one heard by the people in the Tianren Mountain region.
Qiang Di's gaze remained indifferent as he said, "Perhaps the qin player played two melodies. One appeared only in the nearby area, while the other pierced through space and traveled into the distance."
Such a situation had occurred before; it was simply that this time, the distance and influence had been much greater.
"According to what you said, Senior Brother Qiang Di, that qin player should be in the Tianren Mountain region." The woman thought for a moment before saying, "Could it be Qin Tian, the sect master of the Tianren Sect? He previously broke through two realms in succession within a short period."
There were many factions in the Tianren Mountain region, but the only one that could truly be considered formidable was the Tianren Sect on Tianren Mountain.
Qiang Di shook his head. "It absolutely cannot be Qin Tian. At the Sea of Consciousness Second Heaven, he simply cannot achieve such a feat. The qin player must be a reclusive expert."
A cultivator at the Sea of Consciousness Second Heaven was already considered impressive, but compared with that qin melody, the difference was like heaven and earth. They were utterly incomparable.
"Senior Sister Yao, you think too highly of Qin Tian." Someone beside them also laughed and chimed in.
From their words, they clearly did not take Qin Tian, who was at the Sea of Consciousness Second Heaven, seriously.
Because they came from the Dao Palace!
And Qiang Di was a follower of one of the Dao Palace's nine Holy Sons. He was even a trusted confidant before that Holy Son and was a genius in his own right.
The woman, Yun Yao, was likewise exceptionally talented. Although the others were slightly inferior, they were still heaven's proud sons in the Southern Domain.
The Dao Palace had never accepted mediocre people.
Those who could enter the Dao Palace to cultivate were all exceptionally gifted.
Yun Yao smiled faintly. "I only thought that Qin Tian was the strongest person in the Tianren Mountain region, so he was naturally the most likely possibility. I simply overlooked the existence of reclusive experts."
She had a gentle temperament and, as a senior sister, had no airs about her at all. She was an object of admiration for many Dao Palace disciples.
"Go ask around and see whether there's anyone in the Tianren Mountain region who enjoys playing the qin. Even a mortal would be important. After all, most reclusive experts like to disguise themselves as mortals." Qiang Di drained a cup of tea and spoke.
They had come to the Southern Domain to gain experience, but after hearing that qin melody pierce through space, they had come to meet the player.
That qin melody had greatly aided their cultivation. Even though they had only listened for a short while, their cultivation had clearly advanced quite a bit.
Xu Yan walked along the street with two roast chickens in his hand and a Golden Ant sitting on his shoulder.
He had also heard many people discussing the qin player, which made him somewhat curious. Could the person they were talking about be him?
However, he felt that it was unlikely. Judging by the force with which he had played the qin, only Su Jiuer, the Golden Emperor Ant, and the birds in the rear courtyard should have been able to hear it that day. It should not have traveled very far.
The group from the Dao Palace came out of the teahouse and walked forward. When they passed Xu Yan, one of them could not help laughing upon noticing the Golden Emperor Ant on his shoulder. "This man actually has an ant on his shoulder."
They had heard of people keeping cats and dogs, but they had truly never seen anyone keep an ant—and even carry it on their shoulder while going out to buy things. Was he not afraid that the ant would fall off and be crushed to death by someone's foot?
Xu Yan glanced at the Dao Palace disciple before continuing forward. So what if he kept an ant? They were all pets. What he kept was his freedom.
Besides, this was no ordinary ant. It was an ant that could play chess and speak.
"I've seen someone who kept ants before, but this is my first time seeing a Golden Ant." Qiang Di also glanced at the Golden Emperor Ant on Xu Yan's shoulder as he spoke.
He had once seen someone who cultivated ants within his own body. That person had been extremely terrifying—a Evil Cultivator.
"Make way! Everyone, make way! My horse has run wild!"
At that moment, an urgent, panicked voice came from ahead.
A man was riding a tall, fine horse, but the horse was now charging forward like a mad beast, completely beyond his control.
In the blink of an eye, the fine horse charged right in front of Xu Yan and crashed toward him.
At that critical moment, the Golden Emperor Ant sprang from Xu Yan's shoulder. One slender little leg shimmered with a trace of golden radiance as it kicked the fine horse.
Bang!
The fine horse seemed to have suffered a heavy blow. Horse and rider were jolted backward together and fell to the ground.
The Golden Emperor Ant quietly returned to Xu Yan's shoulder, with one tiny divine rune missing from its body.
All its strength was sealed within the divine runes. Every time it used its power, it had to undo a divine-rune seal. The more seals it undid, the stronger the power it obtained.
The people on the street had not even realized what had happened. In their eyes, the horse had crashed into Xu Yan. How was it that Xu Yan was unharmed while the horse had fallen?
"Ow, my back!" The rider crawled up from the ground, rubbing his waist as he cried out.
Then he looked at Xu Yan in astonishment, wondering how this person had remained unharmed.
At that moment, the horse climbed to its feet again and continued running forward—straight toward the group from the Dao Palace.
"You little beast, you're courting death!"
A Dao Palace disciple spoke coldly and raised his hand, blasting out a wave of Spiritual Power.
The Spiritual Power struck the horse's head and erupted with tremendous force.
The fine horse collapsed helplessly to the ground and soon died.
The horse's owner ran over, grabbed the horse's head in his arms, and shouted, "Don't die! Don't die, Little Horse!"
Sadly, no matter how he called out, the horse gave him no response.
Having been struck in the head by a cultivator, how could an ordinary mortal horse possibly withstand it?
The people surrounding the street looked at the Dao Palace disciples with traces of fear in their eyes. These people were probably all cultivators.
The horse's owner raised his head and glared at the Dao Palace disciple who had killed the fine horse. He roared, "Why did you have to hit so hard? Couldn't you have gone easier? You beat Little Horse to death!"
The Dao Palace disciple frowned slightly and said indifferently, "You failed to control your horse properly, letting it run rampant through the streets. What would have happened if it had hit an old person or a child? Killing it was also ridding the people of harm."
In his view, once a horse went mad and could no longer be controlled, there was no point in keeping it alive. It was better to kill it—especially when it was in the middle of the street.