The Person from the Dao Palace

One day, the "Floating World Melody" was played, and the heavens showed unusual phenomena. The areas near Tianren City were affected by the music. Mortals had their marrow cleansed and bones reshaped, and all their illnesses vanished. Cultivators' state of mind was sublimated, and their cultivation advanced.

Countless cultivators searched the Tianren Mountain area for the person playing the zither, but after searching for three full days without success, they dispersed in disappointment.

The mysterious zither player also became the hottest topic in the Southern Domain, discussed by both cultivators and mortals.

Tianren City, Yuhua Tower.

A group of people with an exceptionally refined aura arrived here. They wore uniform clothing and carried similar tokens, clearly from the same power.

Among this group, a woman with a gentle aura looked at the handsome man in the center and said, "Senior Brother Qiangdi, I heard from the people here that three days ago, there was a special zither music that cured diseases for mortals and broke through cultivation bottlenecks for cultivators."

The place where they were also heard the zither music, but it was not the same as the music heard by those in the Tianren Mountain area.

Qiangdi's gaze was calm. "Perhaps the zither player played two pieces of music. One piece only manifested in the nearby area, while the other pierced through space and traveled far away."

This kind of situation was not unheard of, but never had the distance or impact been so great.

"According to what Senior Brother Qiangdi said, that zither player is in the Tianren Mountain area." The woman pondered for a moment and said, "Could it be the Sect Master of the Tianren Sect, Qin Tian? He previously broke through two realms in a short period."

There were quite a few powers in the Tianren Mountain area, but the only one truly considered good was the Tianren Sect on Tianren Mountain.

Qiangdi shook his head. "It's absolutely impossible for it to be Qin Tian. With only the second level of the Sea of Consciousness, he couldn't possibly achieve this. The zither player must be a reclusive expert."

Cultivators at the second level of the Sea of Consciousness were already considered formidable, but compared to that zither music, they were worlds apart and not comparable.

"Senior Sister Yao, you think too highly of Qin Tian," someone beside them chimed in with a laugh.

In their conversation, they didn't even take Qin Tian, who was at the second level of the Sea of Consciousness, seriously.

Because they came from the Dao Palace!

And Qiangdi was a follower of one of the nine Holy Sons of the Dao Palace. He was considered a confidant to that Holy Son and was a genius in his own right.

The woman, Yun Yao, was also exceptionally talented. The others were slightly less so, but they were definitely considered prodigies in the Southern Domain.

The Dao Palace never accepted mediocre individuals.

Those who could cultivate in the Dao Palace were all exceptionally gifted.

Yun Yao smiled faintly. "I was just thinking that Qin Tian is the strongest in the Tianren Mountain area, so I thought of him as the most likely candidate. I overlooked the existence of reclusive experts."

She had a gentle nature, and as a Senior Sister, she carried no airs. She was the object of admiration for many disciples of the Dao Palace.

"Go and inquire if there is anyone in the Tianren Mountain area who enjoys playing the zither. Even a Mortal is important, as reclusive experts often like to pretend to be Mortals," Qiangdi said after taking a sip of tea.

They had come to the Southern Domain for training and heard the zither music that pierced through space. They wanted to meet the person playing it.

Because that zither music was of great help to their cultivation. After listening for just a moment, their cultivation had clearly improved significantly.

Xu Yan walked through the street, carrying two roast chickens in his hands, with a Golden Ant perched on his shoulder.

He had also heard many people discussing the zither player, which made him curious. Could the person they were talking about be him?

However, he thought it unlikely. With his level of skill in playing the zither, he figured only Su Jiuer, the Golden Emperor Ant, and the birds in the backyard that day could have heard it, and it certainly couldn't have traveled that far.

The group from the Dao Palace emerged from the tea house and walked forward. As they passed by Xu Yan, they noticed the Golden Ant on his shoulder. One of them couldn't help but laugh, "He actually has an ant on his shoulder."

He had heard of people keeping cats and dogs, but he had never seen anyone keep an ant, let alone carry it on their shoulder while going out to shop. Weren't they afraid the ant would fall off and be stepped on and killed?

Xu Yan glanced at the person from the Dao Palace and continued walking forward. So what if he kept an ant? It was a pet, and what he kept was his freedom.

Moreover, this was no ordinary ant; it was an ant that could play chess and talk.

"I've seen people who keep ants, but this is my first time seeing a Golden Ant," Qiangdi also glanced at the Golden Ant on Xu Yan's shoulder and said.

He had previously encountered a person who cultivated ants by sacrificing their own body. That person was a terrifying evil cultivator.

"Make way, make way! My horse has lost control!"

Just then, a hurried and panicked voice came from ahead.

A person was seen riding a tall, spirited horse, which was now galloping forward like a madman, completely out of control.

In an instant, the horse charged towards Xu Yan, heading straight for him.

At the critical moment, the Golden Emperor Ant sprang from Xu Yan's shoulder. A slender leg, shimmering with a faint golden light, kicked the horse.

Bang!

The horse seemed to have suffered a heavy blow, staggering backward with its rider before falling to the ground.

The Golden Emperor Ant quietly returned to Xu Yan's shoulder, a tiny Divine Rune missing from its body.

Its strength was sealed within Divine Runes. Every time it used its power, it had to unseal the Divine Runes. The more it unsealed, the greater the power it gained.

The people on the street were somewhat slow to react to what had happened. In their eyes, the horse had crashed into Xu Yan, so why was Xu Yan unharmed while the horse had fallen?

"Ouch, my back!" The man who had been riding the horse got up from the ground, rubbing his back as he cried out.

Then, he looked at Xu Yan in front of him with astonishment, wondering how this person was unharmed.

Just then, the horse got up from the ground again and continued to run forward, heading directly towards the group from the Dao Palace.

"You little beast, you're asking for death!"

A Dao Palace disciple spoke coldly, raising a hand and unleashing a surge of spiritual energy.

The spiritual energy struck the horse's head, erupting with a powerful impact.

The fine horse collapsed powerlessly to the ground and soon died.

The horse's owner ran over, embracing its head, and shouted, "Don't die, don't die, little horse."

Alas, no matter how he shouted, the horse did not respond.

Struck on the head by a Cultivator's attack, how could an ordinary horse possibly withstand it?

The people on the surrounding streets looked at the Dao Palace individuals with a hint of fear in their eyes; these people were surely Cultivators.

The horse's owner looked up at the Dao Palace disciple who had killed the fine horse and roared, "Why did you strike so hard? Couldn't you have been gentler? You killed my little horse!"

The Dao Palace disciple frowned slightly and said indifferently, "If you can't control your horse and let it run rampant in the street, what if it had knocked into an old person or a child? Killing it was ridding the people of a menace."

In his view, if a horse went mad and became uncontrollable, there was no point in keeping it. It was better to kill it, especially on a street.