Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Orchid Zither

Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Orchid Zither
Chapter Nine: Swordlight Pierces the Heavens—Teng Caiyan and Xiongjie Temper Their Hearts Across the Nine Provinces (Part Three)

Ye Hua’s heart stirred. “Ruolan!? Could it be Senior Sister Li Ruolan of the Orchid Zither from the Five Gentlemen, South Platform’s Southern Zen Temple? She holds the burnt-tail paulownia zither, just as the rumors say! But who is this old man in black, so formidable that even Senior Sister Li and her companions are no match for him?” The thought unsettled him deeply.

The young woman holding the jade zither seemed to be the strongest among the three. Her left hand gently supported the instrument, her right hand lightly brushed the strings. The music rang out, like birds chirping amidst winding paths—soft and delicate, yet each note carried tremendous power. The black mist unleashed by the gaunt old man burst and dissipated before her, unable to break through.

The old man in black clicked his tongue in admiration. “That zither of yours packs quite a punch, girl! Heh! Better hand it over to me!” His hands moved swiftly, forming seals and pushing outward, sending forth an even denser wave of black mist that roared ahead like a tiger or leopard.

Suddenly, the zither melody transformed, as if seven or eight jade zithers played in unison. Though complex and ever-changing, each note was strikingly clear and stirring. Ye Hua felt his blood surge, compelled to rise to his feet.

The black mist, agitated by the music, billowed and churned; though weakened, it still surged toward the zither player. The swordswoman nearby, seeing danger, stepped forward and tried to block with her longsword. Her face flushed red, and with a splutter, she coughed up blood.

The zither player cried out in alarm, “Sister Tang!”

The gaunt old man laughed. “I chased you for a thousand miles, and today you’ll die by my hand—why resist? Haha!” He turned coldly toward Li Ningyue and the zither player. “You two, surrender now!”

Li Ningyue, beset by the black mist and bitterly entangled, saw the Tang woman injured and grew anxious. “Three were insufficient—two will last only a few more exchanges… Today, death surely awaits!” Without further hesitation, she slashed her own wrist with the Dragon Spring Sword. A thread of blood dyed the blade, and the spectral dragon in midair grew more solid, circling to protect Li Ningyue as it surged outward.

The surrounding black mist trembled, nearly breaking apart. The old man in black sneered, “Two cultivators of the Seven Treasures Realm enduring so long against my Three Truths Realm—not bad! You must be the elite among the bald monks of Five Platforms!”

He pointed at Li Ningyue, and a pure stream of demonic energy poured into the black mist. The zither in Li Ruolan’s hands rang out with metallic clangor, like an army of iron cavalry—somber and forbidding. Three phantom Great Wheel Kings appeared, each with a different expression: anger, wrath, and indignation. An invisible wave radiated out, causing flowers nearby to wither and yellow instantly. The demonic energy aimed at Li Ningyue dissipated soundlessly.

The spectral dragon within the black mist let out a long cry, seizing the moment to escape. As the dragon vanished, Li Ningyue’s pale form emerged.

The old man was startled, exclaiming, “The Great Extinction Melody!” Ye Hua was equally shocked. “The Great Extinction Melody—said to be created in the wrath of the Great Wheel King, claimed to annihilate all living things. It’s the Southern Zen Temple’s supreme art.”

Rumor had it, the technique comprised ten layers; each mastered layer manifested a Great Wheel King. The zither player was surely Senior Sister Li Ruolan—three phantoms meant she’d reached the third level.

Just as Ye Hua pondered this, the old man in black grinned wickedly. “I was going to spare you, but since you have the Great Extinction Melody, today you’ll suffer soul-searching torment! Heh!” He took a deep breath, and his body crackled as he grew rapidly, swelling into a giant several yards tall, shrouded in black mist.

Li Ruolan and Li Ningyue exchanged worried glances. The giant raised a massive claw toward them; immense force pressed in, and a spectral claw reached for them. Li Ruolan flicked her fingers, and the three Great Wheel Kings shone with golden light, pushing outward to hold back the claw.

Li Ningyue gritted her teeth, moved behind the giant, and swung her longsword, its brilliance cleaving toward the giant’s back. He laughed, a flash of white light—he now wielded a single saber, swinging sideways to intercept.

Li Ningyue retreated three steps, dodging swiftly, her sword’s brilliance undiminished, nearly striking the giant’s back. Suddenly, space shimmered and a saber shadow appeared, blocking the blade.

The giant laughed, his saber whirled like a storm, hacking and slashing, shadows shooting forth from rifts in space. Li Ningyue could no longer discern where the invisible blades came from, defending herself as best she could with Dragon Spring Sword, weaving a seamless shield around her.

Each saber strike that landed sent numbness through her hand, powerful force surging in—her sword nearly slipping away. Soon, her mouth tasted sweet, her meridians severely damaged. A massive saber shadow crashed down, shattering her shield; she shuddered violently, blood spraying from her mouth. A flash of despair: “So this is where I meet my end!”

Ye Hua watched anxiously from the sidelines. Seeing Li Ningyue falter, and the giant’s saber about to strike her down, he acted without hesitation. Moonlight Sword shot forth, clashing with a deafening sound; the saber shadow struck the sword, its radiance dimmed, but the blow was deflected!

The giant turned to Ye Hua, grinning maliciously. “Another fool courting death!” He brandished his saber, and Ye Hua felt his hair stand on end, panic gripping his heart. His body flickered, appearing several yards away in midair—where he’d just stood, a deep ravine had been gouged out by the giant’s saber. The giant, seeing Ye Hua evade, seemed a bit surprised.

Li Ningyue, seeing the newcomer’s intervention, focused and found him familiar—as if she’d seen him somewhere before. Just as she was about to cry out, “Watch out!” Li Ruolan, having broken through the spectral claw, darted over, pale but steady, helping the injured Tang woman to her feet.

The three women watched as the young man in midair dodged another blast of the giant’s black saber light. His sword flashed with lightning, thunder roared—he parried blow after blow, his power formidable. His left hand formed Buddhist seals—grabbing, pointing, hooking, slapping—golden light flickering, clearly a monastic technique.

Ye Hua, hovering above, struggled; each saber strike sent his blood surging. Fortunately, the Sixfold Heavenly Skill was ingenious, and his meridians remained intact. Having absorbed the inner core of the demon serpent, his body was far tougher than most.

The giant frowned. He hadn’t expected so much trouble today—he’d chased a thousand miles to capture the woman surnamed Qiu, only to encounter two disciples of Five Platforms, and now a third. This was the territory of Five Platforms; if any elders appeared, he’d be in real trouble! Luckily, the three women were either wounded or depleted, unable to fight further. If he could quickly deal with this young man, he’d be safe.

With this in mind, he drew back his saber techniques, his form shrinking back to that of the gaunt old man in black, watching Ye Hua land beside the three women. His eyes gleamed, his cheeks flushing blood-red. Raising both hands, his ten fingers curled like claws. He laughed dryly, “You three disciples of Five Platforms—interfering today brings disaster upon yourselves! To die beneath my Blood-Congealing Demon Claws is your fortune—heh!”

His ten fingers moved delicately, slicing through the air as ten crimson threads toward them. Normally, Ye Hua would have used his Ghost Shadow Escape to dodge, but with Qiu wounded and both Senior Sisters Li Ruolan and Li Ningyue depleted, he could escape alone, but the three women surely could not.

Seeing the ten crimson threads approaching, Ye Hua acted with utmost caution. His left hand flashed—black light surged as the Scarlet Crow Dagger appeared, swelling into a giant sword dozens of feet long. The distant Moonlight Sword crackled with electricity, arriving instantly and cleaving at the red threads. A mournful cry rang out—the Moonlight Sword’s radiance was shattered.

Ye Hua’s spirit trembled under the assault; the ten crimson threads, their force lessened, struck the Scarlet Crow Dagger with a cacophonous screech. Thanks to the Moonlight Sword’s interception, their power was much reduced. The Scarlet Crow Dagger endured, the threads fading away, though the dagger’s black luster was noticeably dimmed.

The old man flashed forward, right claw slashing sideways, left claw thrusting straight. Ye Hua hurriedly swept the Scarlet Crow Dagger across, but the old man didn’t evade, his left claw reaching out to seize the dagger. No matter how the dagger flashed with black light, it could not be withdrawn. The old man’s right claw darted unpredictably toward Ye Hua’s left shoulder.