244: Chapter 244 Meticulous Planning, Heavenly Thunder Child of the Pill Tower

"This will be your sword from now on; do not fail it." He flipped his hand and took out a Shadow Assassination Technique scroll. "This contains the arts of assassination. Study it well!"

Hun Tiandi took out the thin sword and the Shadow Assassination Technique scroll, pushing them in front of An Lin.

An Lin possessed dark-attribute Fighting Qi and was a natural-born assassin; he was worth cultivating.

"Yes! This subordinate will surely cultivate diligently and train the best assassins for my Lord!"

An Lin said respectfully.

With a wave of his large sleeve, Hun Tiandi brought An Lin into the Time Tower. Only with this heaven-defying treasure could results be achieved within a single year.

"Cultivate well here. When the time is up, I will notify you!" Hun Tiandi spoke to An Lin while arranging things within the Time Tower.

Hun Tiandi turned and left, disappearing from An Lin's sight.

Gazing at the purple thin sword and the Shadow Assassination Technique scroll in his hands, An Lin felt a surge of emotion. He looked toward the direction where Hun Tiandi had disappeared, his eyes filled with determination.

Meanwhile, Hun Tiandi made arrangements for Yan Xing and the others to stay away from An Lin's cultivation grounds and focus on their own training.

Hun Tiandi secretly dispatched a Blood God Child to infiltrate the Yellow Spring Pavilion to gather intelligence. Once the time was ripe, it would be the moment of their destruction.

He prepared to take action in one fell swoop; this Fighting Qi Continent had been peaceful for far too long.

He left the Time Tower.

Sitting cross-legged in the bamboo hut, he circulated his cultivation technique to absorb the energy of heaven and earth. Since the Blood Scripture was promoted to high-tier Mysterious level, his absorption and refinement efficiency had increased several times over.

His internal state reached its peak, and he slowly spoke.

Dong...

A rhythmic knocking sounded from outside the wooden door. Soul power surged out, and the visitor was none other than Fairy Tianyin.

Hun Tiandi stood up and walked out of the wooden hut. Outside stood a figure in white, standing beyond the small courtyard. Her elegant temperament was perfectly natural, but her face was veiled, making it impossible to see her features.

She was likely a peerless beauty of the mortal world.

"Miss Tian Yin, I didn't expect it would be you teaching me the art of the zither..." Hun Tiandi's eyes were clear as he spoke slowly. His arrangement with Sound Valley was a transaction, not a request.

He could treat it with a calm, ordinary mindset.

Hun Tiandi's demeanor caused a flash of light to flicker in Fairy Tianyin's beautiful eyes. She whispered, "The early morning is the perfect time. Since my Sound Valley accepted the gift, we will naturally teach with our hearts!"

"Among the younger generation of Sound Valley, Tian Yin is the one who studied the zither. Thus, I have come to teach you the art. Are you still welcoming?"

Fairy Tianyin's beautiful eyes flickered as she looked at Hun Tiandi.

"Of course. With Fairy Tianyin teaching me, how could I not be welcoming?"

Hun Tiandi smiled, flipping his hand to take out a pale purple seven-stringed jade zither from his storage ring. It was something he had obtained from the Qin Realm.

Although it was only an artifact embryo, it was no problem for learning.

The nether demonic zither was his life-bound weapon and of extremely high quality; it was not suitable to be brought out. Furthermore, the demonic zither was eerie and possessed a demonic nature, so he didn't want to attract the attention of the powerful figures in Sound Valley.

"In that case, I shall call you Brother Yun, and you may simply call me Tian Yin!"

Tian Yin spoke slowly.

Very well!

Hun Tiandi didn't care for minor formalities. A pavilion had already been built in the small courtyard to serve as the place for learning the zither.

The two sat opposite each other. Tian Yin held a pale green seven-stringed zither of decent quality.

"There are many musical instruments in the world—the pipa, the flute... but the zither has the most admirers. May I ask Brother Yun, in your heart, what is a zither?"

A pair of clear eyes stared at Hun Tiandi. It could be said that the zither spanned from ancient times to the future.

A glint passed through Hun Tiandi's eyes. Meeting Tian Yin's gaze, he pondered slightly before speaking: "The zither is the sword, and the heart is the melody."

The breeze brushed past and mist swirled. Hearing Hun Tiandi's answer, Fairy Tianyin's beautiful eyes lit up slightly.

There are five stars in the sky, five elements on the earth, and five notes in the world. Hun Tiandi remembered that in the myths of his past life, the original Shennong used 'parasol wood for the body and silk threads for the strings' to create the first zither.

But it had only five strings, namely: Gong, Shang, Jue, Zheng, and Yu.

Symbolizing Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth, these were the five strings of the original zither.

Later, King Wen of Zhou added a string to mourn his son Bo Yikao. When King Wu of Zhou campaigned against the Great Shang, he added another string to boost morale.

The ancient zither thus became the seven-stringed zither, spanning history. Among the four arts of the scholar—zither, go, calligraphy, and painting—the zither is the foremost, an instrument of the gentleman.

Hun Tiandi seemed to fall into memory, his gaze piercing through the endless void, letting out a sigh of emotion.

"My intent is the zither's intent; my heart is the zither's heart!"

This was why he had forged a demonic zither after obtaining the Purgatory Soul-Suppressing Melody. Hearing this, Tian Yin's eyes brightened. Although the Fighting Qi Continent was not related to the myths of the Primordial World, the essence of the zither was universal.

"Brother Yun is indeed a lover of the zither. The zither is intent, and the zither is heart!"

With one sentence, Hun Tiandi had spoken the true essence of the zither.

"You flatter me. I am not well-versed in musical theory; these are just some shallow understandings!"

Tian Yin did not rush to teach the zither. She spoke of the zither's history and matters of musical theory. Hun Tiandi needed to start from the beginning to learn music.

How to read scores, what each string represented, the pitch of the melodies...

She taught only theory without techniques, learning bit by bit. To teach profound techniques from the start would only be a waste of time.

Hun Tiandi was not in a hurry at all, frantically absorbing all kinds of zither knowledge, giving himself one year to learn the instrument.

Relying on his supreme comprehension, he absorbed and transformed it into his own.

One taught seriously, and the other learned seriously!

Time flowed continuously. With two hours of study every day, the first step on the path of the zither was taken.

Outside the Pill Tower, on a mountain peak several hundred miles away.

Elder Dan stood with his hands behind his back, his pale purple robe fluttering in the wind. His aged face was turned toward the Pill Tower, his deep gaze flickering with light.

At this moment, Elder Dan's state of mind was not as calm as it appeared on the surface.

His aura fluctuated, and the space around him became slightly distorted, seemingly unable to withstand his power.

"Pill Tower..." A chilling killing intent escaped his lips.

Hu!

Elder Dan took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the anger in his heart until his aura vanished into nothingness.

Buzz!

The space behind him rippled slightly, and an old man with dark skin and an exceptionally cold, stern face walked out. He looked very strict.

"Who are you? Why do you possess the Ziwei Heavenly Fire?"

As soon as Tian Leizi appeared, he questioned coldly. His stern face carried a trace of chilling intent. Previously, he had received a wisp of Ziwei Heavenly Fire from Feng Qianyou.

He was shocked in his heart, and his low voice gave off a sense of pressure.

Hearing this, Elder Dan remained silent and slowly raised his right hand. Purple flames surged, condensing into a purple flame handprint that struck toward Tian Leizi.

"Presumptuous!"

Tian Leizi shouted coldly, abruptly lashing out with a fist print. When the fist and palm met, a terrifying and dreadful energy erupted, spreading in all directions. Dust surged, and grass and stones were pulverized.

"The Purple Flame Palm? How do you know this?" Tian Leizi asked in confusion.

"Junior Brother Tian Leizi, long time no see!" Elder Dan turned around with a smile. With a wave of his sleeve, he cleared the dust, and a gentle voice rang out.

"You are... Senior Brother Dan Chenzi? Where have you been all these years? I've been secretly searching for you for a long time, but there was no news of you!" Tian Leizi said in disbelief, a smile finally appearing on his dark face.

He quickly walked to Elder Dan's side, crystal tears shimmering in his eyes.

Back then in the Pill Tower, among Xuan Kongzi, Xuan Yi, Tian Leizi, and Dan Chenzi, the relationship between Tian Leizi and Dan Chenzi had been the best.

Dan Chenzi was extremely talented in the Dao of Alchemy, possessing the highest talent among the four. Therefore, he had looked after Tian Leizi quite a bit.

The two took out a table and chairs and drank spiritual wine together on the mountain peak.

"Congratulations on getting your wish and becoming the Association President of the Pill Tower..." During their conversation, Elder Dan learned that Tian Leizi had become a president and was sincerely happy for him.

"Hmph, if not for that incident back then, Senior Brother Dan, what right would Xuan Kongzi have to be the leading president of the Pill Tower..."

Changing his tone, Tian Leizi spoke coldly.