Chapter 1: Xiao Yun!

  Tianle Continent, where humans, demons, and monsters coexist. Humans occupy the central region, consisting of eight countries and nineteen provinces. The demon tribe resides in the east, while the magic tribe occupies the southeast. The north is home to the first of the four Yi tribes, the Quanrong tribe. The northwest is a vast desert, inhabited by the Gui Fang tribe. The northeast is Ze Country, a land of ice and snow, where the Bing Yi tribe lives. The southwest has a large volcanic region, where the Huo Yi tribe resides. The continent is surrounded by endless oceans, and no one knows just how vast this world is.

  In ancient times, the human king Fuxi took jade from Zhongshan and combined it with heavenly silk to create the first qin in the world. The body of the qin contained fifty strings, which corresponded to the fifty heavens, established the human tribe, and used the sound of the qin to prove the way and become a saint.

  Eighty thousand years ago, the Yellow Emperor fought a great battle against Chi You in the wilderness of Hebei Province. Chi You summoned eighty-one music gods to perform the supreme magic sound and set up an array of heavenly magic sounds. The Yellow Emperor's army was trapped, suffering heavy casualties. The Yellow Emperor took copper from the top of the mountain, refined it into a large bell, and struck it in front of the array. As soon as the majestic and powerful supreme tone was transmitted, the sun and moon lost their light, mountains collapsed, and eighty-one music gods and countless Jiuli magic soldiers were instantly transformed into nothingness by the sound of the bell.

  Lian Huang Zhong, captured Chi You, the bell rang, and all demons were destroyed! After this battle, Ji Xuan Yuan became the second Music Saint.

  Then Ling Lun heard the phoenix's cry to determine the pitch, and cast twelve bells to match the five tones. The heavens bestowed infinite merit, and Ling Lun achieved the third music sage through this.

  Fifty thousand years ago, the four clans of human, demon, Yao and Yi had a great war that lasted for a hundred years. After a hundred years, the four clans divided their territories and ruled separately. Then, a disaster swept across the entire Tianle Continent, countless people died from strange diseases, even powerful cultivators found it hard to survive.

  At this time, another mysterious strong man emerged, named Shennongshi. Seeing the suffering of the people, he couldn't bear it in his heart. He picked up a bamboo from Kunlun Mountain and made a flute out of it. On the top of Kunlun Mountain, he played a tune called "Spring Melts Snow", dispelling all disasters and cleansing the world of disease demons.

  Thus, the fourth music sage was born, and the music path prospered. The world called these four sages the ancestors of music.

  The crow flies, the rabbit runs, time flashes by, summer comes and winter goes, mulberry fields turn into vast oceans, in 500,000 years, many strong ones have emerged on this continent, but none can achieve the accomplishments of the Music Saint.

  ——

  "Hiss!"

  When he woke up, Xiao Yun only felt a wave of dizziness and headache. He was lying in a broken temple, with no one else around. He wore a thin long shirt, with a cloth bag and a zither beside him.

  "Where is this? Am I not running a marathon?"

  As a gold medal musician, Xiao Yun was renowned throughout the Chinese music scene. However, after spending too much time at home playing instruments and composing songs, his body became increasingly weak. At the instigation of several friends, he participated in the National Marathon Championships held in Yanjing City.

  Xiao Yun only remembered that after running for over ten miles, he was exhausted and fell to the ground. How did he end up running to this broken temple? Looking around at the desolate and unfamiliar environment, Xiao Yun's eyes were filled with confusion, and his mind was flooded with countless question marks.

  Everywhere is a mess, the statue has long since collapsed, and under it is a plaque with the three large characters "Xīzǔ Temple".

  The temple didn't even know what god was being worshipped, Xiao Yun rubbed his temples and forced himself to sit up, the temple had been neglected for years, last night it might have rained, and a large puddle of water had accumulated inside.

  He bent down, and on the surface of the water, a faint outline of Xiao Yun's face appeared. It was a face covered in mud, with a slight resemblance to him, but looked slightly younger.

  "What's going on?"

  Just as Xiao Yun was puzzled, a floodgate opened in his mind, and a large amount of memories burst out. Xiao Yun suddenly froze, his two eyes staring straight ahead. If someone were here, they would definitely notice that there were countless halos swirling in the center of Xiao Yun's pupils.

  Fragments of memories were integrated into Xiao Yun's mind, and after a while, the halo in his eyes gradually dissipated. Xiao Yun finally caught his breath and looked at the face in the water puddle. He was shocked by this sudden surge of memories and pinched his own face hard, hardly daring to believe it.

  This is a world completely different from the earth, this world is filled with heavenly and earthly spirits everywhere. However, these spirits are very strange, only beautiful music can resonate with them. So, at some point in time, a group of human monks known as Music Cultivators began to use music to communicate with heaven and earth, drawing heavenly and earthly spiritual bodies into their bodies, transforming them into powerful energy, strengthening themselves.

  From ancient times to the present, the friction between humans and demons has never stopped. The powerful Leixiu practitioners are the main force in the war against the demon race. Becoming a Leixiu practitioner and cultivating Haoqi is almost every ordinary person's dream on the Tianle Continent.

  The original owner of this body was named Xiao Shan, and the memories he had just obtained also came from him. Xiao Yun still didn't understand how he had gone from running a marathon to somehow ending up in this world and entering this body.

  Xiao Shan is a native of Yunzhou, Xia Guo. His parents passed away, and he makes a living by selling calligraphy and paintings. Like most people, his dream is to become a music repairer one day.

  Unfortunately, neither the government-run music workshops nor the privately-run ones are affordable for ordinary people like him. The only hope is to join some music repair schools, which accept apprentices by examining their talent and do not charge fees.

  So, for the dream, Xiaoshan would go to try his luck whenever he heard that a sect was recruiting disciples, no matter how far away it was. However, due to being born with imperfect pitch, Xiaoshan returned in disappointment time and again. From fifteen years old to now twenty-two years old, seven whole years had passed, and almost all the major sects in Yunzhou had been visited by him, yet not once had he succeeded.

  Half a month ago, I heard that the Tianyin Sect of Boya Mountain was going to open its mountain and recruit disciples. Xiao Shan set out again, not seeking anything else, just to fulfill his own dream. Even if he could become a small music child, he would be content with traveling on the mainland in the future and becoming a heroic knight.

  Yesterday, it rained heavily, Xiao Shan came to this temple to avoid the rain, but unexpectedly caught a cold and had a high fever that wouldn't subside. He never thought that his body would be possessed by Xiao Yun.

  "This Xiao Shan is really persistent!"

  Xiao Yun let out a sigh in his heart, Xiao Shan was born with an unusual and inferior root bone, lacking the five elements, unable to cultivate, yet he still persisted so stubbornly. Xiao Yun could even feel that strong conviction from the memories left behind by Xiao Shan.

  Xiao Yun rummaged through the bundle, and apart from some clothes, there were only two big white buns. Just in time for her hungry stomach, Xiao Yun didn't mind that they were stale, and she started gnawing on them.

  "What's going on with these five notes, I don't know what's happening?"

  "Bo Ya Mountain Tian Yin Sect, should I go or not?"

  ……

  Outside, the sky had already darkened, and his head was still a bit dizzy. After finishing the steamed bun, Xiao Yun lay down again, slowly digesting those memories that hadn't fully merged yet.

  Music repair? He's a musician himself, so it seems like a fitting profession! Amidst the uncertainty, Xiao Yun is filled with hope for this new world.

  ——

  Since you are already here, then make yourself at home!

  This world filled Xiao Yun with curiosity, after thinking for a night, Xiao Yun still decided to go to Bo Ya Mountain to take a look, anyway Bo Ya Mountain is not far from here, and it can also be considered as fulfilling Xiao Shan's last wish.

  The next morning, Xiao Yun packed up his paulownia wood lute and luggage, and set off on the road again in hunger. If he could make it to Mount Boya, that would be best; if not, then he'd just consider it a sightseeing trip.

  It was almost noon when Mount Boya came into view, but a wide river blocked Xiao Yun's path.

  The river is clear and wide, spanning three hundred zhang!

  The river water surged, and it was unknown how deep it was. Looking out, one could only vaguely see the opposite bank. On the distant side of the river, there was a continuous high mountain. From Xiao Shan's memory, Xiao Yun knew that it was Bo Ya Mountain.

  "What's going on? What can be done about it?"

  Looking at the vast river surface, Xiao Yun scratched his head, it can't be so unlucky, right? After spending half a day's effort, just as they were about to reach Boya Mountain, they were actually blocked by a river.

  The river had no bridge, nor were there any boats coming and going. There were only a few water birds flying over the surface of the water from time to time. Xiao Yun sat down on the ground with a thud, and his heart was filled with worry.

  "Little brother, want to cross the river?"

  Just as Xiao Yun was at a loss, a small boat emerged from the reeds beside him, with an old man wearing a rain hat on board, who was rowing the boat towards him.

  Xiao Yun's eyes lit up and he quickly stood up, shouting far away to the old man, "We want to cross! We want to cross! Old man, please bring the boat over!"

  The old man responded with a "yes" and soon the small boat arrived at the shore. Xiao Yun was overjoyed, as he had been worried about how to cross the river, but now a boat had come, truly, heaven never seals off all avenues for a person!

  Just as his right foot stepped onto the boat, Xiao Yun seemed to have thought of something and pulled his foot back, looking a bit embarrassed.

  "What's wrong, little brother?" asked Old Man Tie, puzzled.

  Xiao Yungang laughed and said, "I, I don't have any money!"

  The old man stroked his beard and smiled, "My small boat only ferries those who are destined to cross, no fare is collected, young fellow, come aboard!"

  "Huh?"

  Xiao Yun was stunned for a moment, and when he heard that the old man on the boat wasn't going to charge him any money, although he was suspicious, how could he let such a good opportunity pass? He boarded the boat without hesitation.

  "Little brother, judging from your attire, you should be going to Boya Mountain to seek the Tao, right?" The small boat slowly sailed towards the opposite shore, and Cao Weng's gaze sized up Xiao Yun for a few moments before asking.

  Xiao Yun nodded and smiled, "I'm just going to take a look, it's not certain if I can be selected or not!"

  "Haha, you can choose, you can choose!" Old Man Sha laughed, "I turned the almanac over before leaving home today, and it said I would meet a noble person when I went out. It seems that you, young man, are the noble person. Going to Boya Mountain this time, you will definitely be chosen."

  "I'm no noble person, in my opinion, I'm the one who's lucky to have met a noble person on my way out. If it weren't for you, sir, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to cross this Clear Water River!" Xiao Yun heard this and felt great, "However, I still appreciate your auspicious words, sir!"

  "What's your honorable surname?" asked Old Man Rao.

  "Xiao Yun, Xiao Yun!" Xiao Yun replied, turning his face to gaze at the distant great mountain. "This body of mine was born with an incomplete five notes, seeking immortals and asking for the Tao for many years, all were in vain and returned empty-handed. This time going up Bo Ya Mountain, I'm afraid it will be another disappointment."