Chapter 2379: The Exchange
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The sound of guqin sounded even more urgent under Ye Futian’s fingers. What came with the sound of guqin was the suffocating coercion that filled this vast space presently. It was as if the Great Path between heaven and earth was about to solidify, and even time and space were about to come to a standstill. In this oppressive space, the attacks from the other four cultivators did not stop but continued to press forward against them.
Haotian Mudra came slamming down, completely covering this corner of the sky. Every note Ye Futian was playing exploded as they came in contact with the Haotian Mudra. However, the Mudra, as released by Hua Junmo, was far too terrifying. It was as if that phantom of Haotian the Great had pressed down from above the sky, destroying everything that was in its path.
Likewise, an imperial shadow appeared behind Ye Futian with tremendous horror. Stars encircled the surrounding space as infinite beams of starlight shot out, and all the heavenly bodies were unified.
Under the sound of the guqin, countless stars blasted toward the Haotian Mudra, hitting their mark again and again so that the Haotian Mudra trembled continuously. At the same time, with Ye Futian in the center, all the stars in this world spread out everywhere. So it was as if Ye Futian and his companions were inside a real starry sky world. The many attacking divine swords were being blocked by the stars, and whenever they penetrated through those interfering stars and zoomed in on Ye Futian, they were destroyed by the hopping musical notes.
Boom… The space-destroying storm released by Jiang Qingfeng traversed the void and came at them as if it could pass over their defenses and transform into a power akin to divine tribulation. It went in the direction where Ye Futian was without the slightest hesitation.
As for the golden divine spear released by Wang Mian, as soon as that divine spear bloomed, cracks appeared in the void, and the stars that were guarding in front of him shattered and were pulverized. The momentum of that long spear was unstoppable as it continued to puff out infinite divine light.
The power of the joint attacks from these four top figures was frightening, and this world seemed to be on the verge of breaking apart. The scenes that played out before them were apocalyptic.
The sound from the guqin suddenly changed, and the space of the Great Path began to flow in reverse, as infinite Sword Will circulated between heaven and earth. Ye Futian’s sleeves fluttered, and the notes he played exploded with sharp and piercing sounds as the sound of sword chiming resounded throughout the void. Countless divine swords whizzed out, carrying the divine light, and collided with that light of catastrophe.
At the same time, a powerful divine sword appeared between heaven and earth. When this sword manifested, a storm made of countercurrents appeared in the void.
“Song of the Lost Divine!”
Everyone from the Divine Prefecture was greatly stunned. This was yet another divine melody. No one expected Ye Futian to have evolved to such an advanced degree and could use the skills freely and at will. With just a single turning of his mind, he readily and seamlessly switched between musical pieces.
Lord Taixuan watched the development in the sky below and was deeply moved. It was by chance that Ye Futian came to cultivate the Song of the Lost Divine, and it was a purely fortuitous happenstance. It was with the Song of the Lost Divine that he was able to break the shackles of Renhuang. But now, Ye Futian’s accomplishment in this composition had surpassed his countless years of hard work. Perhaps this was a testament to Ye Futian’s natural talent.
The Song of the Lost Divine was the lost sound of the Great Path. As the Great Path collapsed, the space was distorted and flowed in reverse. The offensive power that had been stymied seemed to be hindered yet again. And the golden divine spear that came in for the kill slowed down a bit as well. Soon after, the Great Path started to flow back with the countercurrent; it was as if time was moving in reverse. A sword came in to attack, carrying a terrifying power with it. It was none other than the Fleeting Divine Sword that collided harshly with the golden divine spear.
The moment the two collided, a terrifying divine light pierced through the space as if it could slaughter all the Renhuang in this space with that light alone. The dazzling light beam blinded many Renhuang observing the fight. And it made it impossible for them to open their eyes. Many cultivators in the Heavenly Mandate City felt a sharp pain in their eyes which caused them to shut their eyes tightly.
Above the firmament, the two forces collapsed and destroyed each other at the same time. The divine spear and the divine sword disappeared together.
Watching the battlefield above the firmament, the hearts of all the cultivators quivered. Just with the sound of the guqin alone, they had effectively blocked the coordinated attacks from these four great cultivators.
It seemed that when Ye Futian played the Divine guqin with Hua Jieyu’s power, he could exert far greater strength than on his own.
“Jieyu, why don’t you come and play the Divine Requiem?” Ye Futian said to Hua Jieyu, who was next to him.
“Sure.” Hua Jieyu consented with a slight nod. She sat down cross-legged beside Ye Futian. As Ye Futian gave a little wave of his hand, the divine guqin Yearning appeared in front of Hua Jieyu. She was the daughter of Ye Futian’s first teacher—Hua Fengliu. She had been playing guqin since she was a young girl. Although she had not continued to pursue it and couldn’t be considered an expert, she did understand the concept of rhythm.
But at this moment in time, she and Ye Futian shared one mind, and she didn’t need to be an expert. All she needed was their mutual understanding.
Whatever she was playing was, in fact, what Ye Futian was playing in his heart.
Even more so, it was with the help of divine guqin Yearning, which had been transformed by Shenyin the Great himself. The guqin itself already embodied the feeling of extreme sadness.
When Hua Jieyu plucked the strings, she seemed to be immersed completely in that sorrowful mood. She was in perfect sync with the musical meaning of the composition. The atmosphere previously created by the Divine Requiem was still lingering in the space, having never disappeared. When Hua Jieyu started to play, she was merely sustaining the sorrow expressed by the music.
“How sad.”
All the cultivators from the Divine Prefecture, who were watching on the sideline, couldn’t help but lament when they heard this music. Hua Jieyu’s performance of the Divine Requiem was similar in feeling to Ye Futian’s performance, but the sadness she expressed was of a different kind. The magnitude of the tragedy that Hua Jieyu had to endure personally, compared to Ye Futian, was perhaps on an even grander scale. After all, as a woman, she had been taken away by her family and forbidden to continue her relationship with Ye Futian. She had used death as a way to prove her faithfulness, and she had also protected others with her life. She had lost her memory once and became someone else. All that she had experienced was full of endless desolation.
Moreover, today’s Hua Jieyu had lived through countless lifetimes and experienced too much sorrow.
In the brief moment that she had been playing the Divine Requiem, there were already tears in the corner of her eyes.
Ye Futian did not stop just because Hua Jieyu was playing the guqin. He raised his hand and reached out. The Great Path was the string of an instrument made from heaven and earth. Guqin spirit had always been part of Ye Futian’s life spirit, imbued with the rhythm, and “Sound of the Hearts” linked him to Hua Jieyu, making them one.
Ye Futian’s gaze swept across the void, perceiving everything between heaven and earth. Hua Jieyu was playing the Divine Requiem as controlled by him. At the same time, he was perceiving Jieyu’s unique abilities.
When he closed his eyes, it was as if everything in this world was under his command, and he could perceive everything in this world as they were all under his power of telekinesis. It seemed that he could even see into the spiritual souls of the four great cultivators perceiving the existence of the souls inside their bodies.
“What?” The eyes of the four major cultivators showed a slight alarm as they sensed that something was amiss. In this instance, they could feel that someone was stalking their spiritual souls, which was, in itself, an incredibly uncomfortable sensation. It was as if they were being spied upon. There was no privacy to speak of.
In the void, Ye Futian’s raised a finger. It lightly trembled as if he had plucked the strings of the Great Path. At that moment, everyone felt their heartstrings trembled as well. It was as their spiritual souls had been shaken. Although it was very slight, it was the most uncomfortable feeling.