Flute and Guqin, Meddling in Others' Affairs

Finding bamboo, drilling holes... after all these steps, the membrane inside the hole is actually the easiest to deal with; you just need to peel off the membrane from the inner wall of the large bamboo node.

Of course, Wu Chu didn't need to do the task of finding bamboo and drilling holes himself; Little Moon Spirit enthusiastically helped him complete it.

The most troublesome part is drilling holes. Unlike copper pipes, which are made of the same material, bamboo is made of different materials for each bamboo stalk, so the distance between the holes cannot be generalized.

Therefore, it requires continuous experimentation.

After countless attempts and ruining countless bamboo stalks, Wu Chu finally obtained a satisfactory bamboo flute by nightfall. It was entirely green, smooth as jade, and most importantly, its sound was exceptionally clear, crisp, and resonant.

When Wu Chu used this flute to stumble and play half of the "The Shepherd's Song," the Lord of Heavenly Dao bestowed upon him a Merit.

However, the Merit he gained was minimal, merely resulting in three Merit Divine Patterns appearing on the flute. Compared to the Merit he had lost, this Merit was negligible.

This made Wu Chu somewhat doubtful whether the Great God Fuxi had yet to invent the Five-String Qin. After all, they are musical instruments; it's impossible for every instrument to bring Merit, right?

To prove his idea, Wu Chu made a clapper from two bamboo strips and immediately transformed into a storyteller, "Clang, clang... Today, I, Benshanren, will tell you a story. It is said that the world, after a long period of division, will unite; after a long period of unity, will divide..."

Little Moon Spirit looked completely bewildered, while Yibao hugged her tummy and laughed heartily.

As a result, no Merit was bestowed upon him at all.

This made Wu Chu wonder if his clapper talk lacked any real skill, and if the Heavenly Dao Lord felt he was being perfunctory and was therefore refusing to respond?

How about I find some time to make a guitar? But then again, a guitar really does look out of place in this Primordial World. Maybe I should just make a guqin (a seven-stringed zither) instead! That way I'll know whether I've actually been exploiting the Great God Fuxi or not.

However, compared to the flute, the guqin is obviously many times more complicated to make.

The most troublesome thing is choosing the materials for the instrument body and strings.

On Earth, strings could be bought directly, but in this world, Wu Chu couldn't think of anything good to use to make them.

"If only we could find silkworms," Wu Chu thought. "That would not only solve the problem of the zither strings, but we'd even have silk."

Moreover, the silkworms of this mythical world are Innate Object! Could the robes made from their silk become a Merit Spiritual Treasure?

Wu Chu was lost in thought until Little Moon Spirit called him to dinner, which brought him back to his senses.

During his evening meditation, Wu Chu discovered that after connecting his mind with the Sacred Tree, he gained far more than he had imagined.

Before he could make any move, the surrounding spiritual energy surged towards him like a tide, and in the blink of an eye, his body was enveloped in a cocoon of spiritual energy.

That night, he discovered that his cultivation speed had increased at least tenfold compared to before, and he finally stopped having those kinds of dreams. He didn't know if it was because of this Sacred Tree.

Overnight, his Middle Dantian was filled with Five-Colored Mist. Then, the multicolored substance moved towards the surrounding acupoints and began to occupy the checkpoints on the narrow path.

Time slips by quietly like this.

From the sweltering summer days when lotus blossoms fill the air with fragrance to the harvest season when the mountains are covered in golden leaves, Wu Chu's life remains monotonous, but not dull; he has gradually grown accustomed to this way of life.

Habits are indeed a terrible thing. He never even thought about going out to see the vast world; he just stayed in Purple Jade Mountain every day, living a leisurely life.

The two senior figures sitting cross- Tower Ship were still in a state of enlightenment, and Wu Chu didn't know how long they would maintain this state.

For these Primordial World, immortal beings, going into seclusion to comprehend the Dao, hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of years passing in the blink of an eye, is nothing more than basic practice.

Wu Chu even thought that it would be best if they could continue their seclusion here until the Dragon Clan's Dragon King led his troops to arrive.

Surely they won't just stand by and do nothing! At worst, we can take them with us when we run away!

Of course, this idea was a bit too idealistic, and he couldn't place his hopes on such a vague possibility; he still had to continue researching his Wandering Plan.

As for the Five-String Qin, he had tried countless kinds of wood over the past month or two, and finally, after searching around, he still used a piece of Purple Jade Divine Tree heartwood as the body of the zither.

One or two months in the Primordial World era is equivalent to several decades on Earth. After decades of immersion and refinement, Wu Chu felt that his instrument-making skills were already extremely advanced.

After trying to make countless instruments, the heartwood of the Purple Jade Divine Tree Wood was the best material he could choose for the instrument's body.

He also tried many kinds of strings. At first, he twisted hemp fibers into hemp thread, and later he asked Little Moon Spirit to find some metal minerals and use her magic to extract the metals from these minerals and draw them into threads.

Finally, they even tried spider silk, twisting hemp thread around spider silk to make a thread, and adding spider silk to metal wire, but the results were unsatisfactory.

In the end, Little Moon Spirit plucked a few strands of her hair and used them to make the strings for the zither.

Wu Chu was quite satisfied with the final Five-String Qin he made. Its tone was far superior to the zithers made by the master luthiers in those videos.

Of course, the main reason for this is the issue of materials. He has to admit that, after all, what spiritual materials are available on Earth?

However, the Five-String Qin did not bring any Merit after it was made.

This shows that the Great God Fuxi was already a master of music.

This also indirectly confirms Wu Chu's original idea that inventing and manufacturing other types of musical instruments could still bring some Merit and rewards, although not much.

As for that clapper talk...

Wu Chu admitted that this was indeed a bit too hasty!

Just as Wu Chu and Little Moon Spirit were happily storing food for the winter, the two senior figures on the Tower Ship finally awoke from their state of enlightenment.

For them, the time spent in seclusion is as short as blinking an eye.

Wu Chu, who was washing lotus roots by the lake, saw them wake up and said, "Did I wake you two fellow Daoists? That's truly an offense!"

Hong Yun turned his head and looked around, then smiled and leaped to his feet. "Fellow Daoist, you flatter us. We simply didn't gain anything and naturally awoke."

"No results? That's a real shame!" Wu Chu replied casually.

Hong Yun chuckled, "It can't be said that we gained nothing! Fellow Daoist's theory of 'All Selves as One' did offer some inspiration to us. However, our cultivation is still too low. We've barely entered the Daluo, and it's difficult enough to lock onto the River of Time in the void, let alone travel through the River of Time, traverse the past and present, All Selves as One."

Wu Chu thought to himself: So it seems that this world is perhaps what some readers of the Primordial World genre call a low-budget version of the Primordial World!

For him, low-end or high-end configurations don't matter; the key is to live a long life.

"By the way, what are you doing?" Hong Yun asked.

"Oh! I'm harvesting lotus roots! These can be used directly in soups, stir-fried, or ground into powder to make Lotus Root Starch... they have many uses."

Upon hearing this, Hong Yun couldn't help but chuckle, "You really do have a deep understanding of food."

Wu Chu couldn't help but smile wryly, "For me, cultivation shouldn't be too frequent, unlike you two fellow Daoists who can sit for so long even after just a little enlightenment."

Hong Yun recalled the question Wu Chu had raised earlier, and stroked his chin, saying, "Fellow Daoist, would you mind letting me see how you cultivate?"

Upon hearing this, Zhen Yuanzi wanted to facepalm; Hong Yun's meddlesome nature had flared up again. But Wu Chu looked delighted, "No problem!"

He liked Hong Yun's meddlesome and straightforward nature; she was so genuine!

Immediately, Wu Chu invited the two to the top of the tree.