Chapter 2: Paradise of Music!

  The old man stroked his beard and said, "Young man, your words are quite different. From ancient times to the present, there have been many people who were not proficient in all five tones, but among them, there were also those who achieved great things. As far as I know, 8,000 years ago, a young man named Zhang from the Xia Dynasty was also not proficient in all five tones, but he specialized in one tone and eventually became a music god and even became a general of the Xia Dynasty. When fighting against the Quan Rong, with just one loud shout, he repelled 1 million soldiers!"

  "Are you studying music?"

  Xiao Yun was taken aback, but he couldn't find any memory of the story that Xiao Weng had just told. Perhaps it was because Xiao Shan was a remote and isolated place. Another wave of doubt followed, and Xiao Yun looked at Xiao Weng again, "Old man, you know quite a lot!"

  The old man smiled and said, "In our line of work, we come and go in the wind and rain, welcoming and sending people every day. The more people you see, the more you hear!"

  Xiao Yun nodded hesitantly, but didn't go to receive the old man's words. The old man, however, rowed the boat while sizing up Xiao Yun, seemingly lost in thought.

  It's rare to see such clear river water on earth, and the air is so fresh. The river breeze blows, and the clouds feel refreshing. Taking a deep breath, I was inspired to take down the ancient zither from my back.

  The body of the guqin should be made of paulownia wood, with a good texture. When plucked lightly, the strings produce a clear and pleasant sound. This was bought by Xiao Shan after saving for over a year, although it's not a top-grade instrument, Xiao Shan has always treasured it like a precious gem.

  The guqin has only five strings, unlike the ancient zither created by Fuxi, which had fifty strings corresponding to the Fifty Skies. The five-stringed qin corresponds to the Five Tones: Gong, Shang, Jiao, Zhi, and Yu, which are the ancient sounds.

  Xiao Yun felt a slight disappointment, as a gold medal musician, he knew that using the five notes to encompass the sounds of heaven and earth was still incomplete. Strictly speaking, this zither was still missing two strings.

  Xiao Yun also studied the five tones, but for the vast majority of musicians, the most practical is still the seven tones, namely "do, re, mi, fa, so, la, xi" these seven tones.

  In the history of Huaxia on earth, there was also a legend about the seven-stringed zither. In the late Shang Dynasty, King Wen of Zhou, Ji Chang, added one string to the five-stringed zither in prison, which became the Wén string. When King Wu of Zhou, Ji Fa, conquered the Shang Dynasty, he added another string, known as the Wǔ string.

  The two strings of Wen and Wu, although still incomplete, are already a huge breakthrough in the history of music. In this world, there is also a legend about Wenwu Dingxian. However, from Xiao Yun's memory of Xiaoshan, it is known that the seven-stringed zither was lost after Ji Fa.

  Although somewhat disappointed, for the time being, Xiao Yun couldn't find suitable materials to add two more strings to this zither, it's already good enough, what's there to be picky about.

  ——

  "Clang......"

  Fingers lightly plucked the strings, pleasant sounds floated far and wide over the vast river surface.

  "What's good to play?" After trying out the sound, Xiao Yun thought for a moment, and a hint of an arc appeared at the corner of his mouth.

  "A lone leaf boat, carrying an unmovable weight of sorrows. The double shoulders bear the countless worries, give me a cup of wine to drink away the grudges of the world, to drink away the ancient promises that once were!"

  Beautiful women are many, heroes have always been rare. All the hustle and bustle is just for a beauty's half-smile of shyness. Give me a cup of wine, when will the war fires cease? After finishing this cup, everything starts anew...

  Accompanied by the melodious sound of the guqin, a tune of "Youthful Years" drifted out from the courtyard, with Xiao Yun soon becoming immersed in the world of music and song as she played and sang.

  ……

  Xiao Yun sang and played by himself, but didn't know that the old man at the bow of the boat was staring blankly at him.

  The sound of the qin is born, and the spirits of the four directions are stirred.

  The invisible aura of the heavens and the earth rapidly gathered towards Xiao Yun, bringing up waves of whirlwinds that blew the surrounding water surface into a frenzy. However, the small boat was as stable as Mount Tai, and when the waves crashed against its sides, it seemed as if there was an invisible barrier that automatically deflected them away. The old man stood at the helm of the small boat, riding the wind and breaking through the waves, looking extremely eerie.

  From Xiaoyu's memories, Xiao Yun knew that in this world, beautiful music could resonate with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and then absorb the spiritual energy into his body, converting it into Haqi. However, he didn't expect that his casual tune would also stir up the spiritual energy.

  The spiritual energy of the heavens and earth converged on Xiao Yun from all directions, but he couldn't find an entrance to let it in. The massive spiritual pressure weighed heavily on him, causing his face to flush and his ears to swell. However, he still gritted his teeth and persevered, using his high-pitched singing voice to alleviate the pressure on his body.

  "The mountains and rivers remain, but people are no longer the same. The rolling yellow sand buries many young heads. Joy and sorrow, success and failure all turn to nothing in the blink of an eye. The turbulent rivers wash away the dreams of men."

  Once the sea was vast and the sky was wide, I held my head high and never looked back. I smiled foolishly, acted recklessly, and let my carefree youth roam free. The roads of Jianghu are difficult to walk, and it's hard to find love between men and women. The fleeting pleasures of life are just a wave of the hand behind me. Give me a cup of wine to leave a lingering impression in my heart. If fate allows it, we'll meet again someday!

  "Hum!"

  As the last note fell, a yellow light burst through the clouds above, descending from heaven and entering Xiao Yun's body from his forehead, which was covered in sweat.

  New song is born, heavenly blessings!

  Xiao Yunruo suddenly seemed to have an epiphany and immediately closed her eyes!

  ——

  Merit and virtue golden light enters the body, immediately flows into the brain sea, in the murky and chaotic consciousness sea, it's like lighting a candle in the dark night, the golden light flashes by, falling into the deepest part of the consciousness sea.

  "Hum!"

  All that could be heard was a humming noise in the sea of consciousness, as wave after wave of shockwaves rapidly spread out in all directions. A whirlpool quickly formed from the depths of the sea of consciousness, and those spiritual energies that had been hovering above Xiao Yun's body, unable to enter, began to seep through every pore on his skin, gathering into his body.

  A whirlwind formed around Xiao Yun's body, with a surge of spiritual energy that was invisible to the naked eye. Wave after wave, it washed and tempered Xiao Yun's physical body, making him feel as if he were soaking in a warm spring. He felt more comfortable than ever before, so comfortable that he wanted to shout out loud.

  It's also unknown how long it took for the fierce wind to slowly calm down, Xiao Yun didn't open his eyes, at this time, his attention was completely immersed in his own sea of consciousness.

  In the deepest part of the sea of consciousness, a small altar can be vaguely seen, only one meter square, but it is ancient and solemn. In the center of the altar, there is a shallow pool of water, on the edge of which stand seven white statues with their legs crossed, each only a few inches high. Upon closer inspection, these seven statues are found to be identical to oneself.

  From the superficial understanding he got from Xiaoshan, Xiao Yun knew that the high platform in front of him was the foundation of the music cultivator, Lingtai!

  Those who cultivate the Tao, after being enlightened by a master, can create such a spiritual platform in the sea of consciousness. Music can indeed stir up the heavenly and earthly spirits to enter the body, but after the spirits enter the body, they cannot be retained and must be transformed into Haqi through the divine image and stored in the central Haqi pool.

  The majestic energy is the unique power of the music cultivator, and it can be said that its uses are endless. When Xiao Yun looked into the Majestic Energy Pool, he saw only a thin layer of shallow white light flowing at the bottom of the pool, with a glow protruding from the surface of about an inch.

  "Is this really Le Tong? I've actually become Le Tong?"

  Looking at the inch of magnificent light in the pool, Xiao Yun couldn't believe it. This was Xiao Shan's lifelong dream, and it had been achieved so easily by himself.

  Achieve Lingtai, heroic energy is born, it's the realm of music child. When the heroic energy condenses to a certain extent, you can achieve the realm of music worker. The heroic energy can reach three inches high and slowly changes from white to green, reaching the realm of music master. The heroic energy can reach one foot high. From what I know from Xiaoshan's memory, that's all there is. What kind of scenery lies beyond, he has no way of knowing.

  Looking at his own mere inch, faint to almost non-existent heroic aura, Xiao Yun snorted, his emotions uncontrollable. In a daze, he saw the path of a strong man that belonged to him.

  Looking again at the seven statues, in memory, the Lingtai statue had only five gods, namely "Gong, Shang, Jiao, Zhi, Yu", but on his own Lingtai there were seven statues, and among them, the white ones also had a hint of gold.

  "Could it be because of that flash of golden light just now?"

  Xiao Yun thought for a moment, perhaps it had something to do with that golden light that descended from the sky earlier.

  Put aside distractions and take a look at the seven small statues. On the chest of five of them are inscribed the ancient characters "Gong, Shang, Jiao, Zhi, Yu". The fourth and seventh statues have blank chests, and have not been named yet.

  Xiao Yun was taken aback for a moment, and suddenly something stirred in his heart. He immediately pointed at the fourth statue with his mind and said, "You are Shaogong!"

  As soon as the words fell, the fourth god statue in front of his chest burst into golden light, and immediately the two characters 'Shao Gong' appeared.

  Xiao Yun saw this and was overjoyed in his heart, then pointed at the seventh god statue and said, "You are Shao Shang!"

  Another burst of golden light flashed, and the seventh statue of God radiated greatly, with the words "Shao Shang" appearing on its chest.

  "Hah, with the seven notes gathered, this is indeed a perfect ending!"

  Looking at the seven statues in front of him, a satisfied curve flashed across Xiao Yun's face.

  ——

  "Hmm..."

  Just as the Seven Sounds were about to be formed, a humming sound came from the sky, and another beam of golden light broke through the clouds, falling vertically from the ninth heaven.

  "Huh?"

  Watching the golden light fall, the momentum was even greater than the first golden light. The old man couldn't calm down anymore, his eyes were about to pop out, and he almost threw away the bamboo pole in his hand.

  "What did he do?"

  The old man looked at Xiao Yun with a shocked face, and nearly a thousand feet of golden light of merit descended from the ninth sky cloud, almost covering half of the river surface.

  He beckoned with his large hand, and a feather fan flew into the air, instantly transforming into a giant fan that covered the sky, completely blocking out the golden light. He then lowered the bamboo pole, sat down cross-legged beside Xiao Yun, closed his eyes, and remained silent, basking in the dazzling golden glow.

  ——

  The aura of the tea, the golden light has dissipated almost completely. The seven statues on the spiritual platform have grown slightly taller and their golden color is more pronounced. The majestic energy in the Majestic Energy Pool has also condensed significantly and now fills the bottom of the pool.

  Xiao Yun's heart was filled with joy, he didn't expect that in just a short while, his aura had increased so much. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before he could enter the ranks of the musicians.