Chapter 25: Zither Music
Bai Qingyue sat gracefully against the headboard, the magnificent instrument resting across her lap. She took a slow breath. Her eyes fluttered shut, and the world around her vanished.
Then, her fingers descended upon the strings.
Pluck.
The first note rang out. The sound incredibly crisp and pure, resembling the delicate chime of a frozen dewdrop falling onto a crystal lotus leaf.
Because her meridians were shattered and locked by the Soul Transformation restriction, she could not infuse the music with the spiritual energy that had once earned her the title of Azure Cloud City’s greatest musical prodigy. Yet, what she lacked in raw cultivation, she made up for with sheer skill and an outpouring of raw emotion.
Twang... trill...
Her fingers began to dance across the strings, moving with the fluid, effortless grace of a celestial fairy weaving silk from moonlight. The melody she played was ancient and slow, a mournful yet ultimately hopeful tune that spoke of long, bitter winters slowly yielding to the gentle warmth of spring.
Lin Yuan leaned his head back against the wall, his eyes closed. The chilling resonance of the zither washed over his body like a gentle, invisible tide. The sharp, throbbing headache caused by his earlier attempt to force his Divine Sense into the Mountain and River Screen instantly began to soothe. The chaotic energy within his Sea of Consciousness cooled, settling back into a calm, tranquil ocean.
As the music swelled, carrying the weight of Bai Qingyue’s past sorrows and her profound gratitude for her present, a thick romantic tension began to saturate the small room.
Lin Yuan slowly opened his eyes. He looked at his wife, and driven by pure instinct far older and more powerful than any martial art, Lin Yuan slowly shifted his position on the bed.
He slid down the mattress, closing the small distance between them. Without asking for permission, but moving with the utmost gentleness, Lin Yuan laid his head down, resting it softly upon Bai Qingyue’s lap, right beside the zither.
Bai Qingyue’s breath hitched. Her fingers faltered for a fraction of a second, causing a single note to tremble slightly.
She opened her eyes, looking down in surprise. Lin Yuan was looking up at her from below. From this intimate angle, the sheer, unadulterated adoration in his pupils was utterly devastating. The physical proximity was intoxicating; he could feel the soft rise and fall of her thighs as she breathed, and she could feel the steady, reassuring weight of her husband resting against her legs.
A brilliant blush crept up Bai Qingyue’s neck, tinting her cheeks a beautiful shade of cherry blossom pink. Yet, she did not push him away. She did not ask him to move. A tender, incredibly affectionate smile broke through her intense concentration.
Her fingers resumed their dance upon the strings, the melody turning softer, sweeter, and infinitely more intimate. She was no longer playing for the heavens or the earth; she was playing exclusively for the man resting upon her lap.
As the enchanting music enveloped them, Lin Yuan closed his eyes once more.
But this time, the melody did not just soothe his mind; it seeped directly into the very core of his Dao Heart.
Thump. Thump.
It was a profound, trembling experience that shook the very foundations of his soul. His Dao heart began to interact with the deep emotions embedded in his wife’s song.
In the Nine Provinces, every cultivator who reached the peak of Foundation Establishment had to begin contemplating their path. They had to ask themselves: Why do I cultivate?
Some cultivated to exact vengeance upon their enemies. Others cultivated out of a primal fear of death, seeking immortality simply to avoid the grave. And the vast majority cultivated for absolute power—the desire to stand atop the corpses of their peers and look down upon the mortal realm as unquestioned gods.
Lin Yuan found himself tumbling into a state of deep contemplation.
Then, as the sweet, soothing notes of the Zither echoed in his ears, Lin Yuan realized that an eternal life without meaning is nothing more than endless suffering. Even the celestials above envy the lives of mortals. Though their years are short, they cherish every moment, finding joy in the knowledge that all things must eventually come to an end.
Lin Yuan slowly opened his eyes again. He did not immediately look at Bai Qingyue. Instead, he let his gaze wander around the room.
He saw the cracked ceiling, stained by years of water damage. He saw the drafty window shutters that rattled whenever the wind blew too hard. He saw the blanket that they shared every night. This was a dilapidated house, completely unworthy of who he has now become.
Yet, as his gaze slowly panned back, tracing the beautiful body of the zither, it naturally locked with his wife’s eyes.
She was looking down at him, her expression a mixture of profound gratitude, vulnerability, and a deep, undeniable love. In her eyes, he saw the reflection of his own soul. He saw the woman who had been crippled, mocked, and thrown away by the world, yet still possessed a heart kind enough to worry about him, and strong enough to play such a beautiful melody.
In that fleeting, silent exchange of gazes, it was as if a massive, heavy lock within the universe finally clicked open.
And within Lin Yuan’s heart, a realization far greater than anything he had experienced, slowly rooted itself into his very existence.
He finally understood his goal. He understood want he desired.
’Ever since I crossed over into this world, every day has been nothing but hardship. But ever since I met her... everything began to change. The system, her gentle smile, the melodies she now plays... somehow, each of them brightens my day. Every morning, I find myself looking forward to seeing her again.’
’Is this the path I was searching for? Is this... my Dao to immortality?’
The realization settled within his Dao Heart like a seed falling into fertile soil. Yet its significance surpassed any enlightenment he had gained since arriving in this world.
His thoughts then drifted further.
The cultivation path was a cruel one.
Every breakthrough extended one’s lifespan. Every realm placed another layer of separation between a cultivator and the ordinary world. Parents who once held your hand would one day grow old while your face remained unchanged. Friends who had laughed and dreamed beside you would eventually become names carved upon weathered gravestones. Even entire kingdoms would rise and crumble into history while a powerful cultivator continued walking forward.
Was this what it truly meant to pursue immortality?
To watch everyone you loved disappear one after another?
To sever every attachment until nothing remained except the endless pursuit of the next realm?
The cultivation world often proclaimed that emotions were shackles.
Affection clouded judgment.
Love bred weakness.
Family created hesitation.
Only by cutting away every worldly attachment could one align themselves with the Heavenly Dao.
Lin Yuan slowly closed his eyes.
’But... is the Heavenly Dao truly the Dao of loneliness?’
The question echoed through his Dao Heart.
If the price of reaching the peak was to stand alone upon it, then what exactly had been gained?
To possess unrivaled strength, yet have no one left to share a single cup of tea.
To command the stars, yet have no familiar voice waiting to greet you upon your return.
To live for eternity while every cherished memory faded into silence.
That was not transcendence.
One could even argue that was punishment.
A bitter smile appeared on his lips.
’If that is truly the way of Heaven... then why did Heaven allow me to obtain this system?’
Ever since the Millionfold Return System had awakened, it had rewarded him for one thing above all else.
Not slaughter. Not conquest. Not plundering heavenly treasures.
But by investing in his wife. Because every act of kindness toward Bai Qingyue, every touch of comfort, every moment spent caring for her, every gift he gave her, every ounce of genuine affection.
And every time he gave, the system rewarded him in return. Each reward propelled him to greater heights of power, as though fate itself was whispering a truth that the cultivation world had forgotten.
Strength did not have to be born from loneliness.
Power did not have to demand abandonment.
Perhaps...
The greatest opportunities in cultivation were not found in severing one’s bonds but in cherishing them.
His eyes slowly opened, as a quiet resolve shone within them.
"No..." he murmured.
"My fate was never meant to be a lonely journey."
Others could abandon their loved ones to chase the Dao.
Others could mistake solitude for enlightenment.
Others could believe that standing alone atop the heavens was the ultimate destination.
But he would not.
If the Heavenly Dao decreed that immortality demanded loneliness then he would walk a different Dao.
If Heaven insisted that all attachments must eventually be severed, then he would forge attachments so profound that even Heaven itself could not cut them apart.
A cultivator who abandoned everything might become an immortal.
But he...
He would become an immortal who still had someone waiting beside him.
’If the way of Heaven is loneliness, then I shall go against Heaven itself.’
’I will carve out my own Dao.’
’A Dao where eternity is not endured alone.’
That path would be more dangerous than anything he could currently imagine. Yet as the soft melody continued to drift through the room and Bai Qingyue’s fingers danced gracefully across the strings, a faint smile appeared on his face, as he knew one thing with absolute certainty.
If he were ever fortunate enough to stand at the peak of the heavens one day...
He wanted his wife, Bai Qingyue, standing beside him.