With Bai Tianqi's current strength, he was considerably weaker than the Fang Family experts, so the zither music naturally affected him more, and he felt its effects before they did. For instance, his whole body had gone weak and limp, and now he could barely stand steady. The eldest brother's cultivation was profound, however, and he had yet to show such obvious changes.
At the time, the second brother had merely staggered, already showing some symptoms. Given more time, You Lian'er would have reduced them to the same state as Bai Tianqi. Their cultivation was simply higher, allowing them to hold out a little longer.
They had fallen into You Lian'er's trap naturally because of the peculiar nature of sound arts.
Experts like them might have studied sound arts, but probably few had attained any real proficiency.
Thus, their understanding of sound arts was still rather limited. Especially before a master as proficient in sound arts as You Lian'er, they found it even harder to defend themselves.
At the very beginning, the tune You Lian'er played had been exceptionally fierce. Anyone from the Jianghu who heard it would have recognized it as a sound art.
But when You Lian'er had unleashed the Fifth Tone just now, its style and melody had been entirely different. Like fine rain moistening all things without a sound, it invaded your consciousness without your knowing, impaired your senses, and prevented you from bringing your strength to bear, all without letting you notice.
"Too late!" Huang Xiao said, staring at the eldest brother.
"Impossible! How could this zither music be so strange? Impossible!" The eldest brother could not believe any of this. If the earlier sound art had affected him, that would have been normal enough. But now, this sound art had silently ensnared them all.