Chapter 54: Keeping the Appointment (Please add to favorites and recommend; starting a new book is not easy, and I need...)

Listening to Plum Peak was situated within the Valley of Yixing Pavilion. The peak was neither particularly steep nor towering; on the contrary, with its lush mountains, clear waters, and blooming plum blossoms, it resembled a gentle and elegant lady.

As for these plum blossoms, they were not the common variety found in the secular world, but the "Snow-Treading Plum" unique to this place. Not only did they bloom throughout the four seasons, but their petals were pink rather than reddish-brown, making them look more like cherry blossoms than plums.

Most unique of all was a spiritual bird that lived on the peak, which loved to dance upon the Snow-Treading Plums. As its feet moved in dance, they would emit various musical rhythms, making it appear as if the bird were using the plum blossoms as a zither to perform a melody. Many who were unaware of the secret would often become intoxicated by the sight, unable to snap out of it for a long time; thus, the peak earned the name "Listening to Plum Peak."

On this day, a youth in gray arrived at the foot of Listening to Plum Peak. He possessed a tall, upright stature, sword-like eyebrows, and starry eyes, with a hint of spiritual elegance in his gaze.

He looked up at the peak and couldn't help but frown. From the mid-slope upward, Listening to Plum Peak was shrouded in a thin layer of mist that even his keen eyesight could not penetrate.

However, he only hesitated briefly before ascending the stone steps with a composed expression.

After walking barely a hundred paces up the mountain path, he suddenly caught a heart-refreshing fragrance. Immediately after, two women in pink stepped out from either side of the path. Both were beauties of top-tier grace; the one on the left was as cold as ice, projecting an aura of "do not approach," while the one on the right had a face like peach blossoms, smiling radiantly.

The woman on the right laughed and asked, "Where has this little junior brother come from? What brings you to our Listening to Plum Peak?"

Despite her teasing tone, the youth in gray did not dare to be casual. He said respectfully, "I am Liang Yan, a miscellaneous disciple of the Array Vein. I have come specifically to visit at the invitation of a senior."

"Oh? Which senior invited you? Why did I not receive any notice?" The woman on the right looked at him with a half-smile. "Seeing how handsome our little junior brother is, could it be that you've come to Listening to Plum Peak to find one of our junior sisters?"

Liang Yan rubbed his head and frowned. "I do not know that either..." As he spoke, he suddenly remembered something, pulled a jade pendant from his robes, and held it out before her. "I wonder if this can serve as proof?"

The woman on the right merely glanced at the jade pendant, and her expression changed instantly. The smile vanished without a trace, replaced by a solemn look. She said, "Junior brother, please do not take offense. I was merely speaking nonsense earlier; please do not take it to heart."

Seeing her attitude shift so rapidly, Liang Yan felt a surge of curiosity. However, he remained relatively calm and said, "I wouldn't dare. That senior invited me here today but did not specify a location. I wonder if my two senior sisters could offer some guidance?"

"Of course," the woman on the right said. "My name is Chunmei, and this is Dongmei. Since you hold the jade talisman, you must have been invited by that person. We will personally lead the way for you, junior brother."

As Chunmei spoke, she turned to walk up the mountain, while Dongmei simply extended her hand in a "please" gesture.

Liang Yan nodded and followed them nonchalantly, speculating in his mind about the true intentions of the person who had invited him.

Before long, the three reached the summit of Listening to Plum Peak. After passing through a patch of cloud and mist and winding through the terrain, they unexpectedly arrived before a lotus pond. Lotus flowers swayed upon the water, and five winding corridors meandered across the surface, finally converging at a small pavilion in the center of the pond.

Semi-transparent curtains hung around the pavilion. Inside, a figure sat poised, though the silhouette was blurred and indistinct, appearing to be a woman.

Chunmei and Dongmei both bowed respectfully to the person in the pavilion. Then, after bidding Liang Yan farewell, they said no more and turned to withdraw.

Liang Yan watched them gradually disappear into the mist, his confusion deepening. Mimicking Chunmei, he bowed respectfully toward the pavilion and spoke, "I do not know what instructions the senior has for me."

Liang Yan maintained his posture of bowing with hands clasped, but he heard no response from within the pavilion. After waiting for a long time, just as he was about to ask again, a melodious sound of a zither drifted from the pavilion.

The music was clear and pure, like a mountain spring washing over the soul. The melody was peaceful and balanced, yet not lacking in agility and elegance, sounding like the divine music of a celestial palace that drew one's spirit toward it.

Liang Yan's tense and agitated state of mind instantly calmed down.

If it had been anything else, Liang Yan would have simply felt a secret joy at encountering such heavenly music. But now, he felt no such thought; instead, beads of sweat began to form on his forehead.

He discovered to his horror that under the influence of the music, the spiritual energy throughout his entire body had become so lethargic that it refused to flow even a fraction. Most bizarrely, although he realized something was wrong with his spiritual energy, his inner mind remained as calm as still water, lacking even the slightest motivation to change the situation.

This situation was utterly surreal. Liang Yan felt as if he had split into two people: his consciousness was perfectly clear, desperately trying to reclaim control of his body, yet his body refused to obey, his inner self feeling so listless that he lacked the will to resist, standing there helplessly like a lamb to the slaughter.

With a "ding-dong" sound, the person in the pavilion kept the melody steady, but the timbre shifted slightly. It was like a single drop of water falling into a mountain spring, creating ripples.

To an outsider, this change might have seemed insignificant, but to Liang Yan's consciousness, it was no different from a death warrant. He keenly sensed that beneath the water-like stillness of the notes, something was racing toward him.

In the midst of the crisis, Liang Yan bit the tip of his tongue, using intense pain to gain a brief moment of clarity. He immediately began to mentally circulate the "Method of Sitting in Oblivion" from his "Mind Without Fixed Intent Method."

The "Method of Sitting in Oblivion" could close the six senses and sever the five perceptions. It was originally a graceful technique used by the Confucian Sect to cut through worldly thoughts and sever delusions. Using it now against the onslaught of the zither music was, in fact, an excellent choice.

The moment Liang Yan regained his freedom, he immediately leaped to the side. With a *puchi* sound, he looked back to see a two-foot-long gouge carved into the rock behind him by something invisible.

He was greatly shocked. There was indeed something sinister within this music!

However, by severing his five senses and six consciousnesses, although he was no longer affected by the music, he was equally unable to perceive the killing intent within the notes.

"Since I cannot dodge, I shall use stillness to overcome motion!"

Thinking this, Liang Yan formed a hand seal and struck his storage bag with his right hand. A streak of pitch-black light shot out, forming a small black shield before him, followed by a dark protective shroud that enveloped his entire body.

*Zheng! Zheng! Zheng!*

The surface of the black shroud was constantly struck by the sound of sharp objects cutting. There was no earth-shattering noise; instead, it sounded like a gentle spring rain, continuous and soft, yet in an instant, the black shroud was riddled with holes.

Yet, Liang Yan's expression remained calm. His left hand continuously shifted through various seals while his right hand pointed toward the small black shield. The spiritual energy of the "Twin Fish Dual Birth Array" was pure and vast, flowing into the black shroud in an endless, frantic torrent.

As the music drifted, the countless invisible sharp objects continued like a relentless fine rain, mercilessly striking the black shroud. However, the black shroud's dark light grew denser, standing firm like a stubborn stone in a river.

After a while, the person in the pavilion seemed to realize that they could not break through Liang Yan's defenses this way. The music paused momentarily before resuming with a completely different melody.

The music was no longer peaceful and balanced; it became alternatingly slow and fast, as if depicting the vastness of time and the reflections of passing years, making one mourn the flow of time. It also felt like the chaotic struggles of the secular world—unpredictable and turbulent—causing one to lose themselves in anxiety and fear.

Liang Yan was still within the black shroud. At this point, the invisible sharp objects had stopped striking the shield. Logically, he should have been able to breathe a sigh of relief, but the reality was quite the opposite.

Even though Liang Yan kept his six senses closed, the melody of the music appeared vividly in his mind, as if it were not entering through his ears but being imprinted directly onto his heart.

The calm state of mind Liang Yan had previously achieved through the music was suddenly jerked by something, leaving his heart racing and filled with dread.

He was startled, thinking, "This is bad!"

Sure enough, the calm true qi in his body began to surge, crashing left and right within him as if it were not his own spiritual energy, desperate to escape his control.

This situation was utterly inconceivable, and Liang Yan had no time to contemplate the cause. He flipped his hand to take an octagonal compass from his storage bag and cast a hand seal upon it. The needle spun wildly, and after countless rotations, it stopped, pointing toward a rockery behind him.

"The auspicious position in the southeast!"

Without time to think, Liang Yan raised his index and middle fingers, which emitted blue light and faint threads of electricity. He then used his fingers like a blade, slicing three inches off the rock there.

Immediately after, a streak of black light rushed toward him, and Liang Yan, along with his shield, moved as one into the newly carved niche in the rockery.

"Eh?"

The person in the pavilion seemed slightly surprised, letting out a soft sound of wonder. However, her hands did not stop, and the music continued to pour toward Liang Yan like a torrential flood.

Liang Yan's face was pale. While maintaining the black shield, he stared intently at the compass in his hand, muttering under his breath as if calculating something.

He moved incessantly along the edge of the pond, changing positions from time to time, as if struggling to survive in a chaotic era, constantly searching for a place of peace.

He persisted like this for some time. Although he was constantly in peril, he never succumbed. The person in the pavilion seemed to grow impatient and suddenly halted the music.

Knowing that she was about to change her technique, Liang Yan's heart leapt into his throat. He held his breath, standing in a state of high alert.

As expected, the music resumed, but this time it was sharp, high-pitched, and rhythmic. With just a single note, Liang Yan felt his spirit shudder violently, his mind filled with dancing demons. With a "waah!" he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

His blood and qi surged, and even his soul began to destabilize, as if it might fly away at any moment. At this critical juncture, an unnamed formula in Liang Yan's mind began to operate automatically. Golden light flashed repeatedly within his body, forcibly suppressing his soul.

As his soul returned to its place, Liang Yan was drenched in sweat, collapsing to the ground as if completely exhausted.

"Consolidating the foundation to restore the soul? Boy, you practice Buddhist techniques!"

The music in the pavilion finally stopped, replaced by a woman's voice.

Liang Yan sat on the ground with a bitter smile and cupped his hands toward the pavilion. "Thank you, Senior, for showing mercy."

The person in the pavilion did not seem to appreciate the thanks. She snorted coldly and said, "Thank me for what? I was attacking you."

"Senior's cultivation is profound, yet in your three attacks, you never used more than the spiritual energy of the Qi Refining stage; you were merely using the great divine abilities of the Zither Dao to spar with me. If you had used even half a bit more spiritual energy during the duel, I would likely have perished by now."

"Hmph, you junior have some insight! Do you know what piece you just heard?"

"This..." Liang Yan scratched his head and smiled bitterly. "I know nothing of the Zither Dao. I beg Senior to enlighten me!"

The person in the pavilion fell silent for a moment before saying, "What was just played was the 'Three Melodies of Listening to Plum.' It is divided into three chapters: the first is the 'Pure Peace Melody,' the second is the 'Panic Melody,' and the third is the 'Soul-Severing Chant.' Boy, you are the only Qi Refining disciple in ten years to have heard all three chapters in full."