Chen Hongzhu furrowed her brows slightly and finally looked directly at the other party: "When?"
"The killing game began the moment Fairy Miaoyan plucked her pipa."
Chen Hongzhu shook her head: "Knowing my father as I do, he would never personally take action during my engagement ceremony."
She had just heard from her maid that Song Qianji was seated between Ziye Wenshu and Li Ying.
Even if that "name-tabooed" person no longer appeared, there were still Chess Devil's Purple Cloud Temple and Calligrapher Sage's Azure Cliff Academy. These two powerful backers hadn't abandoned Song Qianji yet.
Shedding blood during a joyous ceremony would be inauspicious, damaging to one's luck, and could easily harm guests by accident, sparking conflicts.
"True Person Xuyun certainly wouldn't." Wei Zhanyang said, "The pipa music, combined with the Cloud Sea Grand Formation, increases its power tenfold—it's the trigger to disrupt people's minds. Fairy Miaoyan's Heavenly Sound Technique can silently disturb one or several people without alerting other guests. After the banquet ends, when Song Qianji lets his guard down and cheerfully walks out of the mountain gate, he'll suddenly face blades and swords on the road, only to find he has no will to pick up his sword. What will he do then?"
Chen Hongzhu trembled slightly: "What will he do..."
Her lips were painted bright red, and she was dressed in magnificent attire. With her slightest movement, the golden threads on her crown and the jade pendants at her waist chimed crisply.
Wei Zhanyang whispered: "Listen, Fairy Miaoyan has summoned the 'Phoenix Platform' this time."
The mournful sound of the pipa faintly drifted from the main hall, each note urging urgency, like tearing silk and shattering jade, like clashing weapons and armored horses.
"It really is the Phoenix Platform." Chen Hongzhu trembled more violently, like a withered butterfly in the wind.
Wei Zhanyang couldn't help but smile, but then heard the splendidly dressed young woman sigh: "That's his business to handle, his battle to fight."
"You won't save him?!" Wei Zhanyang exclaimed in shock, "I know you must want to save him! Don't lose heart, just go! I'll stay here and buy you time—enough for you both to escape to Thousand Canals..."
Though it was sunny outside, the main hall remained deep, gloomy, and cold, with areas untouched by sunlight, so lamps were still lit.
Amidst the pipa music, the flying phoenix lamps burned brighter, flames leaping higher.
His words had been clear enough. He expected Chen Hongzhu to be grateful, ecstatic, and rush out immediately.
But Chen Hongzhu only watched him quietly, two points of flame flickering in her pupils:
"There's one thing I don't understand. May I ask for clarification?"
"Please speak." Wei Zhanyang took a deep breath.
He had seen too many of these noble, spoiled young ladies ruined by their elders' doting.
He hadn't cared before, but now he felt somewhat unsettled.
"Why do you think I have an improper relationship with him?"
Wei Zhanyang thought this was stating the obvious.
He hesitated: "If not for him, why would you help Meng Heze escape and release the Outer Sect disciples? If not for him, why did you visit him last night..."
Chen Hongzhu: "What if I said it wasn't for him, but for the injustices in this world? Would any of you believe that?"
She didn't ask if he believed, but if "you all" believed.
"What injustices?" Wei Zhanyang thought carefully, then suddenly shook his head with a light laugh:"A few outer sect disciples died in the mining operation? Ah, Hongzhu, this is unavoidable. Spirit stones don’t leap out of the ground on their own! The mines are narrow and rugged, only teenagers whose bodies haven’t fully developed can squeeze through. The air underground is thin, mortals struggle to breathe, while cultivators with spiritual energy protection can move freely. Combine these two conditions, and only those outer sect disciples from mortal backgrounds are the most suitable. It’s their own choice—they refused to remain ordinary mortals, deluding themselves into climbing the path of immortality to defy fate. Who can they blame? If they’d stayed home to farm, they’d still toil all their lives, facing natural disasters and human calamities. If not dying in the mines, they’d perish in the yellow earth."
Wei Zhanyang concluded, "If they must blame anyone, blame the disparity of fate among peers. May they be reborn into a better life in the next lifetime."
"Is that what you think?" Chen Hongzhu murmured softly.
The lavishly dressed young woman turned and approached the window, gazing outward.
A thin layer of snow dusted the windowsill. Beyond the hall, the cloud sea churned, multicolored gathered light flowed overhead, and the strumming of pipa strings mingled with faint cheers from guests.
At the horizon, silver-clad mountains stood, countless peaks robed in pure white.
The rivers lay silent.
Amid this scene of prosperous peace and extravagant revelry, the cold, heartless words spoken by the one beside her did not seem entirely unforgivable.
Because she faced only two paths.
One was to bear the stigma, leave with Song Qianji, abandon her sect, and journey far to Thousand Canals.
The other was to stay, complete the engagement ceremony, and thwart Wei Zhanyang’s schemes.
The latter was clearly wiser.
The pipa’s melody surged into a fervent crescendo, like ten thousand horses falling silent.
Wei Zhanyang felt a flicker of impatience but wore a concerned expression: "Hongzhu, after today, you won’t see him again. Are you truly content with that?"
"Am I content?" Chen Hongzhu whispered to herself, as if lost in confusion.
Above the Cloud Sea Grand Formation, the phantom of a five-petaled flower rotated, like a colossal hand shrouding the sky, enveloping every blade of grass and tree in Huawel Sect.
What use was discontent?!
Fierce emotions burned like wildfire, leaving only ashes in their wake.
As her words faded, a sudden gust of wind arose.
The bitter north wind blew, but what brushed past her temples were not snowflakes—it was drifting petals.
Chen Hongzhu stared blankly, raising a hand to catch the inexplicable falling blossoms.
A peach branch by the window had bloomed.
The peach tree sprouted new buds at a visible pace, bursting into blossom.
Almost simultaneously, peach blossoms, pear blossoms, apricot blossoms, cherry blossoms, and plum blossoms—every flower in the courtyard—unfurled.
At the horizon, tree after tree of blossoms, petal upon petal, bloomed in succession.
A sea of flowers swept across a thousand mountains.
The overwhelming, surging spring hues, crashing like tidal waves, eclipsed the churning cloud sea, broke free from the grand formation’s constraints, and surged directly into her vision.
Chen Hongzhu felt as if struck by a colossal wave, swept into the floral sea, drifting with the current, unable to utter a word.
Thousands upon thousands of trees, buds competing to bloom.
"There’s a fixed measure to the good times in one’s life. In my youth, I had everything I wanted—the wind and rain obeyed my whims. I’ve already seized all the advantages. Just as spring passes and winter arrives, this vast expanse of snowy ground can no longer bear red blossoms."
"Whether flowers are willing to bloom or not, one must still try."
That person said with a laugh.
Wei Zhanyang also saw the hundred flowers.
He merely thought, So the Huawel Sect’s Cloud Sea Grand Formation has the power to defy the natural seasons, reviving withered wood and bringing back spring? I’ve never heard of this before.
What a pity Xu Yun went to such lengths for nothing.
Chen Hongzhu abruptly turned, her jewels and golden threads chiming crisply.
She met Wei Zhanyang’s gaze directly:
"I am not content. Fellow Daoist He said, every person can only walk their own path."
Wei Zhanyang was overjoyed: "That’s more like it. Quickly, come with me—"
Before he could finish, his voice vanished.Excruciating pain struck, rendering him speechless.
Looking down, he saw a sharp sword piercing through his abdomen.
Wei Zhanyang's lips were frozen in an upward curve, his eyes reflecting incredulous shock.
The two expressions mingled on the same face, creating a comical sight.
Had Chen Hongzhu gone mad?
Chen Hongzhu calmly withdrew the sword, causing blood to spurt and splatter across her beautifully made-up face.
This was Xu Yun's sword from his youth, reforged for his daughter's engagement and named "Hundred Flowers Killer."
It was part of her dowry. When my flower blooms, all others perish.
Today was her engagement ceremony.
Wei Zhanyang, caught completely off guard, was too stunned to react.
For a moment, he could only emit vague, guttural sounds, as if being strangled.
"You know I prefer using whips, but whips are only for intimidation. A sword meant for killing shouldn't be easily revealed." Chen Hongzhu's blade dripped with blood as she whispered, "Go, flee for your life."
After a moment of silence, a piercing scream shattered the hall.
...
The original "Wind and Snow Array Entry Tune" was intense, tragic, and grandly desolate, making it unsuitable for a celebratory banquet.
After Miaoyan's adaptation, the pipa melody now carried a livelier rhythm, uplifting without sorrow, like beasts paying homage or a triumphant army returning.
The crowd in the hall found their spirits lifted by the music, soaring through the clouds and wandering the sea of mist.
He Qingqing, having studied the same musical path, was less affected. She observed Song Qianji's expression from across half the hall, past Miaoyan's figure.
Song Qianji kept his head lowered, occasionally sneaking bites of crab roe from behind the wide sleeves of his borrowed ceremonial robe.
As if the music had nothing to do with him.
"Is Miaoyan trying to determine who composed the piece?"
After brief consideration, He Qingqing summoned the "Green Ripple Platform" and laid it across her knees, biding her time.
"Zheng!" Miaoyan's fair fingers lightly plucked the strings.
As the prelude concluded, the spiritual pressure from the Phoenix Platform surged. The pipa trembled slightly, and a golden phoenix illusion burst forth, circling the beauty as it danced.
Instantly, the hall glittered with golden light, the music seeming to carry the clear cry of a phoenix.
Miaoyan swept the strings, and the phoenix gracefully turned, flying toward the Huawel Sect members.
Xu Yun smiled faintly, lightly shaking his white horsetail whisk. Countless silver rays scattered, intertwining with the golden light.
As the phoenix's tail feathers brushed past them, the Huawel Sect members felt their spirits greatly uplifted.
Wherever it passed, every cultivator in the hall felt their hearts stirred, vitality restored, turbid energy expelled, and spirit qi flowing smoothly.
For a time, each displayed their unique abilities, summoning various magical artifacts to harmonize with the melody.
The Cosmos Palace bathed in fragrant winds and floral rains, radiating brilliant light.
Those who had attended the Grand Audience Assembly couldn't help but think:
"Indeed, the same piece sounds more exquisite when played by Fairy Miaoyan compared to that night by the Qing Shi Pond when Fairy Qingqing performed it."
"Though Fairy Qingqing holds the title of head senior sister, Fairy Miaoyan is truly the foremost of the Celestial Sound Sect."
The phoenix soared until it reached the Purple Cloud Temple section.
Li Ying smiled charmingly, summoning her flower-adorned brush. With light taps in the air, ink-dark peach blossoms flew out, dancing alongside the phoenix.
The Purple Cloud Temple disciples couldn't help but cheer.
Li Ying's seat was adjacent to Song Qianji's.
The pipa strings quickened, the flying phoenix stretching its neck in a long cry, each feather streaming golden light.
The Thousand Canals disciples, who came from the Outer Sect, had never witnessed such spectacle. They widened their eyes, mouths slightly agape.
Miaoyan turned her head slightly, staring at Song Qianji's face as if searching for something.
Her fingers continued plucking the strings without pause, the music growing increasingly urgent like war drums pressing forward.
The Thousand Canals group felt their minds sway, revealing enchanted smiles.
Lin Feiyuan transmitted a warning: "Heavenly Sound Technique, beware of deception!"But Ji Chen and Meng Heze had already fallen into illusory realms—one moment seeing colorful sleeves and beautiful women dancing, the next witnessing radiant clouds obscuring the sky and ascension in broad daylight."Lin Feiyuan, unable to break the spell, glimpsed mountains of gold and silver, silks and satins when his focus wavered. Gritting his teeth, he bit the tip of his tongue hard.
He Qingqing sensed something amiss, her expression shifting as she prepared to activate the "Green Ripple Platform."
Suddenly, Song Qianji threw his head back and parted his lips.
A piercing roar shot straight into the clouds, overwhelming the phoenix's cry and suppressing the pipa's melody.
The people of Thousand-Ditch Prefecture instantly felt their senses clear.
Miaoyan's music faltered, her face paling slightly.
Then they heard Song Qianji sing: "Behold the fleeting clouds and mist of the mortal world—all is emptiness, still emptiness!"
He actually picked up jade chopsticks, beating time loudly as he chanted:
"Gold and riches scatter easily, yet awakening from dreams remains but a dream!"
The illusions completely dissipated.
Meng Heze and Ji Chen exchanged glances, their bodies drenched in cold sweat.
Song Qianji continued singing:
"Laugh at this life drunk in the mortal dust—when will grudges and grievances ever cease..."
Miaoyan grunted softly as the phantom phoenix shattered!
The pipa's music ceased abruptly.
All eyes fell upon Song Qianji.
Suddenly struck by inspiration, Meng Heze dipped his finger in the leftover crab roe from the plate, frowned as he tasted it, and his expression changed sharply:
"Who fed Senior Brother drunken crab?!"
"What's wrong with drunken crab... Oh no, drunken crab contains wine!" Ji Chen exclaimed, still shaken.
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