449: Chapter 449 Breakthrough in Music

Chu Lan crouched by the Spirit Plant Garden, resting her chin in her hands as she watched the Wood Spirit frolic about. The smile on her lips could not be suppressed.

Yao Guang walked out of the alchemy room. Seeing the Wood Spirit's small figure busy in the Spirit Plant Garden and then looking at Chu Lan's expression, she silently turned back to the alchemy room to refine a few more bottles of rejuvenation pill.

Luo Li sat by the cliffside, holding the heavenly sound zither and adjusting the strings. Tianxin was in the Immortal Cave organizing Talismans, with the Spirit Fox napping at her feet.

Silver Shadow materialized from Gao Feng's wrist and chased the Wood Spirit around the Spirit Plant Garden for two laps. After being swatted on the nose by the Wood Spirit's leaf-wings, it ran back to Gao Feng's feet, feeling aggrieved, and buried its head in its paws.

Later, Chu Lan said to the Wood Spirit in the Spirit Plant Garden, "From now on, this garden is entrusted to you. Take good care of it."

The Wood Spirit sat on a branch of the fruit vine and nodded earnestly. The leaves of the fruit vine swayed gently in the evening breeze, as if welcoming a new companion.

The setting sun dyed the Spirit Plant Garden in shades of golden red. The Wood Spirit sat on the fruit vine, gazing at the horizon, its emerald green eyes reflecting the sunset, its leaf-wings fluttering gently in the breeze.

Leaning against the fence of the Spirit Plant Garden, Chu Lan felt immensely fulfilled.

Gao Feng stood at the entrance of the Immortal Cave, looking toward the Spirit Plant Garden. Silver Shadow ran past his feet and back again, carrying a withered leaf in its mouth that the Wood Spirit had tossed out of the garden.

The Wood Spirit stood on the fruit vine, its two small fists planted on its non-existent hips, its little mouth opening and closing. Silver Shadow placed the withered leaf at Gao Feng's feet, wagging its tail and waiting for praise. The Wood Spirit was so angry that its leaf-wings stood straight up.

Gao Feng bent down to pick up the withered leaf. Silver Shadow, thinking he was going to pet it, stretched out its head and waited for a long time, only to receive the words: "Go return it to them."

Dejected, Silver Shadow carried the leaf back to the Spirit Plant Garden. The Wood Spirit finally calmed down, patted its nose, and tossed the leaf even further away. Silver Shadow ran to fetch it again.

Seeing this scene from the entrance of the alchemy room, Yao Guang couldn't help but shake her head and smile. Lin Yue was reinforcing the defensive Formation by the cliff, but was directed by the Wood Spirit to add two more layers of Formation patterns around the Spirit Plant Garden.

Lin Yue scratched his head and said, "I'm not a Spirit Plant Master." The Wood Spirit sat on his shoulder, swatting the back of his head with its leaf-wings; one swat, one layer laid. One swat, one layer laid.

When Luo Li was adjusting the strings, the Wood Spirit flew over and perched on the head of the zither, listening intently as she played a few notes. It was rare for Luo Li to take the initiative to speak: "It has a musical talent. Its hearing is much better than Chu Lan's."

Tianxin was drawing Talismans, and the Wood Spirit lay on the edge of the table watching her. After she finished one, the Wood Spirit dipped its finger in cinnabar and placed a green dot on the blank space of the Talisman paper. Tianxin did not stop it. That Talisman, covered in cinnabar patterns, now had a row of emerald green dots. She put it away separately, not mixing it with the other Talismans. She said this was the Wood Spirit's first experience with Talismans.

Chu Lan took the Wood Spirit through the Spirit Plant Garden to identify all the Spirit Plants. The fruit vine, Time Holy Vine, Spiritual Qi grass, purification grass, Iron Thorn, Formation-breaking vine, anti-poison Spirit Plants, and the branches of the azure wood holy seed—the Wood Spirit identified them very earnestly.

When it reached the branches of the azure wood holy seed, it lay on a leaf and slept for a while. When it woke up, there was an extra emerald green pattern on that leaf, exactly the same as the one on the Wood Spirit's brow.

When Su Ning was cultivating deep within the Immortal Cave, the Wood Spirit slipped through the Spatial Barrier and sat beside her, watching her deduce the star map. Su Ning did not chase it away, so the Wood Spirit sat there quietly, occasionally reaching out to touch the light points on the star map. The light points it touched left faint green marks on the star map, which did not disappear even after several days.

When the sunset clouds covered the sky, Chu Lan sat by the cliff with the Wood Spirit. The Wood Spirit sat on her shoulder, its leaf-wings fluttering gently in the evening breeze.

Tianxin sat not far away holding the Spirit Fox, Luo Li held the heavenly sound zither and adjusted the strings, Su Ning closed her eyes to sense the flow of spiritual power in the Spiritual Vein, and Yao Guang organized medicinal herbs at the entrance of the alchemy room. Lin Yue was reinforcing the Formation by the cliff, while Silver Shadow chased the fallen leaves stirred up by the Wood Spirit as it ran past from the Spirit Plant Garden, scattering them all over the valley.

Chu Lan said that it would be the little steward of this valley in the future. The Wood Spirit didn't quite understand, but it lay on Chu Lan's shoulder, rubbing its tiny cheek against her ear.

The lights in the valley lit up one by one. The Wood Spirit flew up from Chu Lan's shoulder and patrolled the Spirit Plant Garden. It watered what needed watering, loosened the soil where needed, and fertilized what needed fertilizing. Its small figure was busy in the twilight, and every living thing in the valley was doing its own task.

On the fifth day after the Wood Spirit arrived in the Meteor War God Realm, Luo Li carried the heavenly sound zither into the music room.

This stone chamber was located in the deepest part of the Immortal Cave, and the surrounding walls were covered with musical Formation patterns she had drawn herself. For the past few days, she had been adjusting the intonation of the heavenly sound zither, but the spirituality of the seventh-rank Magical Artifact far exceeded her expectations—although the strings were tuned, the zither spirit refused to acknowledge a master.

She sat cross-legged in the center of the stone chamber, with the heavenly sound zither across her lap. The body of the zither was pale gold, and the strings shimmered with a soft luster under the dim light. Luo Li closed her eyes, her spiritual sense probing into the zither, attempting to communicate with the zither spirit. The zither spirit huddled in the deepest part of the zither body, like a curled-up hedgehog, covered in spikes, not letting her get close.

"I am Luo Li." Her thoughts were transmitted gently, "I want to play the most beautiful music with you."

The zither spirit did not respond. It curled its body even tighter, and the spikes all over its body stood even higher. A seventh-rank Magical Artifact has its own pride; it had once dominated the world in the hands of its previous master, and now that it had fallen into the hands of a small Foundation Establishment Cultivator, it was unwilling.

Luo Li was not discouraged. She withdrew her spiritual sense, placed her fingers on the strings, and plucked them gently. The clear and melodious melody of the Pure Heart Melody echoed in the stone chamber. The zither sound was pure, without a trace of distracting thoughts.

The zither spirit stirred slightly.

Luo Li continued to play. The sharp sound waves of the Delusion-Breaking Melody reverberated in the stone chamber. The zither spirit pricked up its ears to listen for a moment, then buried its head back in. It did not like this sharp sound; it was too piercing.

The low, deep melody of the Requiem flowed in the stone chamber. This piece was composed by Luo Li to soothe the remnant souls of the Void Realm, and every note was filled with compassion for the deceased. Those notes were like a gentle hand, softly stroking the curled-up body of the zither spirit. The zither spirit's spikes slowly retracted.

The melody of the Star Battle Song rang out. This was a piece Luo Li had composed herself, fusing all the insights she had gained over the years in Tianyin Pavilion, the Battlefield of Ten Thousand Races, the Heavenly Sword Sect, the Wanfa Sect, Taixu Palace, and the Void Realm. The zither sound contained the moonlight of Tianyin Pavilion, the wind of Meteor Valley, the circulation of the Five Elements in Wanfa Tower, the permeating toxins of the Dead Wood Forest, the time distortion of the Space-Time Labyrinth, and the loneliness and release of the Shadow Palace.

Luo Li integrated all her experiences into this piece. It was not a pile-up of techniques, but a flow of emotions. Every note was a path she had walked, and every melody was a person she had met.

The zither spirit's spikes retracted completely. It poked its head out from the depths of the zither body, revealing two pale golden eyes, watching Luo Li. Luo Li did not open her eyes; her fingers roamed over the strings, continuing to play.

She played for seven days and seven nights.

Outside the music room, Chu Lan had come several times, pressing her ear against the stone door for a moment before leaving. Tianxin came once, stood at the door for a moment, and said nothing. The Wood Spirit lay on the fruit vine in the Spirit Plant Garden, pricking up its ears to listen to the zither sound coming from the music room, its leaf-wings fluttering gently. Silver Shadow materialized from Gao Feng's wrist, squatted at the door of the music room, rested its head on the threshold, and listened with its eyes closed. The Spirit Fox poked its head out from Tianxin's shadow, its ears twitched, and it shrank back in.

Gao Feng had come twice. The first time, he stood outside the door and listened for a while, confirming there was no problem before leaving. The second time was on the evening of the seventh day; he had just stabilized his Golden Core Sixth Layer Realm. When he walked to the door of the music room, the zither sound suddenly changed.

It was no longer any existing piece of music.

Luo Li was improvising. The zither sound contained the gentleness of Elder Qin of Tianyin Pavilion when he taught her to play the zither, the determination of Situ Lan of the Heavenly Sword Sect when she blocked a sword for her, the release of Han Feng of the Wanfa Sect when he conceded, the warmth of the green-eyed Spirit Fox of Changsheng Valley when it licked her fingers, the joy of reuniting with teammates in the Space-Time Labyrinth of Taixu Palace, and the tranquility when Liu Ruyan dissipated in the Void Realm.

The zither sound also contained Gao Feng.

This piece was not played with technique, but with heart. Luo Li integrated all her experiences, all her emotions, all her tears and laughter over the years into this piece. Every note was real, and every melody was sincere.

The zither spirit floated out from the depths of the zither body.

It transformed into a ball of pale golden light, hovering above the zither body, quietly watching Luo Li. Luo Li still did not open her eyes; her fingers continued to roam over the strings. The zither spirit floated down and landed on her fingertips. It was warm.

Luo Li's fingers paused.

The zither spirit transformed into a golden beam of light and merged into her brow. A massive amount of information surged into her Sea of Consciousness—the complete Legacy of the heavenly sound zither, the method of playing with fully awakened spirituality, how to perfectly fuse melody with emotion, and how to make the zither sound reach the depths of the human heart.

Luo Li's spiritual sense floated in that ball of light. She saw the previous master of the heavenly sound zither, a musical master from the ancient times, dressed in plain clothes, playing the zither on a mountain Peak. The zither sound attracted a hundred birds to pay homage to the Phoenix, and ten thousand beasts bowed their heads.

That was not technique; it was Realm. Her fingers plucked the strings gently, and for the first time, the heavenly sound zither responded to her spiritual power. The strings vibrated on their own, emitting a crisp, long resonant sound. The sound was as ethereal as the tinkling of spring water, echoing in the stone chamber and lingering for a long time.

The heavenly sound zither acknowledged her as its master successfully.

Luo Li's cultivation began to climb under the feedback of the spirituality. The spiritual power of the Foundation Establishment Sixth Layer Early Stage surged in her body, her Meridians expanded, and the concentration of spiritual power increased. Foundation Establishment Sixth Layer Middle Stage, Foundation Establishment Sixth Layer Late Stage, Foundation Establishment Sixth Layer Peak.

Foundation Establishment Seventh Layer Early Stage. The spiritual power stabilized.

She opened her eyes. That pair of eyes had less of the usual coldness and more of a gentle warmth. The heavenly sound zither lay quietly on her lap, and the pale golden luster on the zither body was more gentle than before. The zither spirit slept peacefully within the zither body, no longer curled up, no longer having spikes.

Luo Li picked up the heavenly sound zither and walked out of the music room. The sunlight was dazzling, and she narrowed her eyes.

Many people were standing outside the door.

Gao Feng stood at the very front, with Silver Shadow squatting at his feet. Tianxin held the Spirit Fox, and Chu Lan ran up from the Spirit Plant Garden, still holding a handful of seeds she hadn't had time to plant, with mud on her pant legs. Yao Guang walked out of the alchemy room, holding a bottle of newly refined rejuvenation pill in her hand. Su Ning walked out from the depths of the Immortal Cave, still holding a Spatial Crystal in her hand. Lin Yue ran back from the cliffside, with the Formation Plate still hanging at his waist.