Chapter 42: Elegant Melodies of the Zither

Li Hao blinked and said with profound meaning, "I am merely offering a title. Whether you can maintain an orthodox status depends entirely on the actions of the Kunlun Sect itself. Besides, how would those lofty Immortal Masters stoop to seeking trouble with me? If they bring calamity upon the common people, countless others will surely not spare them. If they come looking for me, I reside within the Mingxiao Palace in Chang'an, protected by the Nine Dragons Interlocking Seal in my hands—what is there to fear?"

Yang Nan laughed heartily and exclaimed, "What a Prince Pure! What an imperial prince! You truly possess grand aspirations, wanting to use a mere title to make my Kunlun Sect risk life and limb for you, while facing countless challenges from various sects in the future. Truly formidable!"

"Flattery, flattery!" Li Hao chuckled and said, "Although my esteemed brother is also striving for a grand ambition, I, Li Hao, cannot let you toil in vain. Among the three spiritual treasures, there are only three Ten-Thousand-Year Dry-Stalk Azure Jade Thunder Bamboos remaining. One has already been given to another, but the last one shall be presented to my esteemed brother. Should you ascend the throne one day, the spiritual treasures in the imperial treasury will be yours to choose at will!"

That Li Hao could make such a heavy promise truly moved Yang Nan deeply. Recovering his composure, he shook his head in admiration and said, "His Highness is far-sighted and truly a visionary ruler of a generation. If this throne does not fall into your hands, it would defy the very laws of heaven."

The fact that Li Hao had been able to approach him and place a heavy bet on him during a time of weakness, and was now repeatedly making such magnificent gestures, showed just how many hidden chess pieces this Prince Pure had laid in secret!

None of those who dared contend for the imperial throne were simple characters.

Although Yang Nan had long known how terrifying the struggle for power among aristocratic families could be, he had not expected the fight for the imperial throne to be even bloodier and more insidious!

Being able to accurately grasp the greatest needs of an immortal-cultivating sect and bring it under his own command was a truly formidable method. Although there were many princes in the world, few possessed the vision of Li Hao!

The Great Yuan Dynasty had endured for a thousand years, having once awed the four seas and extended its prestige far and wide among vassal states. The treasures of the world collected into the imperial treasury were truly countless. Li Hao's promise undoubtedly meant he wanted Yang Nan to take forceful action to assist him!

Yang Nan put away the Three Mountains Token, the two Dry-Stalk Azure Jade Thunder Bamboos, the Seven-Element Heart-Clearing Lotus, and the Azure-Washed Pure-Sainted Divine Stone. Li Hao said with a sincere expression, "My esteemed brother, you seek immortality, and I seek imperial power. We have been friends since our youth, and we can each take what we need. Rest assured, esteemed brother; if I wish for my imperial throne to remain secure, I will never do anything to harm the people of the world. Today's promise, I would never dare to violate."

Yang Nan nodded. What Li Hao said was not false; how could one sit firmly on the imperial throne without striving to be an enlightened monarch?

His cutting down of vassal states and reclaiming of fiefs amounted to nothing much. Even his father-in-law, Marquis Tiefang Fang Da, would not view Wuyang City as all that important; if it was to be reclaimed, let it be reclaimed. However, this Qingming Mountain could never be reclaimed. The golden characters inscribed by successive emperors—"While the dynasty endures, the green mountains remain unchanged"—were still carved before the mountain. Which descendant of the Li family would dare to act recklessly?

Therefore, Yang Nan had no need to worry at all. Winning over Yang Nan was tantamount to winning over Marquis Tiefang Fang Da, who held military power and immense prestige within the army!

To secure Yang Nan was to rope in both the Kunlun Sect and Fang Da along with him!

How could Li Hao fail to do something that achieved multiple objectives at one stroke?

Furthermore, Yang Nan himself was a powerful faction; Li Hao would not hesitate to invest heavily, let alone mere spiritual treasures!

The Great Yuan imperial treasury was merely a bargaining chip to him. Once he ascended the throne, how could Li Hao still care about those trifling items within the treasury?

Once the Nine Dragons Interlocking Divine Seal was grasped by an emperor, he could never attain immortality! The divine seal possessed boundless, terrifying might, but it also came with this restriction!

If there were an ageless, undying emperor in the world, how terrifying would this realm become?

Therefore, Li Hao would never seek any form of immortality!

Everyone present was among the sharpest minds in the world, and this transactional calculation naturally fell into place as smoothly as water flowing into a channel.

Seeing that Prince Pure had concluded the matters, Xiao Ruo finally spoke with a smile, "As this junior has just arrived at the Heart Sect's mountain gate, while gazing at the cloud vapors outside the gate just now amidst a moment of lingering resonance, I noticed demonic aura and auspicious clouds flickering above the firmament. I presume the Heart Sect's mountain gate harbors a Venerable spirit beast? I wonder if it might be brought out for us to behold?"

As his words fell, Yang Nan and the three Grand Masters simultaneously changed their complexions!

A Venerable spirit beast was something even major immortal-cultivating sects might not possess. The domain of the Confucian School had traditionally been devoid of even a single demon; how could there be any spirit beast?

Yan Qian frowned and said, "Xiao Ruo, speak your mind if you have something to say. Is beating around the bush the way of a true Confucian?"

Everyone in the world knew that Qingming Mountain was completely devoid of demons. Literary stars gathered here, and demons avoided the place out of sheer terror; how could they come here to seek their own destruction?

Yet these words had come from the mouth of Xiao Ruo, the Grand Master of the Form Sect, leaving them no choice but to believe!

The Heart Sect's mountain gate had been spied upon by a demon, yet they required a reminder from the Form Sect's sect master. Not only Yan Qian, Lan Qing, and Gong Fu, but even Yang Nan felt that this loss of face was simply massive!

Seeing the grim expressions of Yang Nan and the other four, Prince Pure Li Hao smiled gently and said, "Grand Master Xiao excels in propriety, rites, regulations, and laws. The atmosphere of Qingming Mountain is stern and its discipline strict; occasional minor omissions or oversights are quite ordinary. Even within the deep recesses of the imperial palace, do errors not occur from time to time?"

Yan Qian said with a livid expression, "We thank Grand Master Xiao for the reminder. Matters of the Heart Sect shall naturally be resolved by the people of the Heart Sect!"

Seeing that the three Grand Masters refused to appreciate his gesture, Xiao Ruo was not annoyed. He merely stood with his hands folded at his side, quietly observing how the three Grand Masters would respond.

Yan Qian, Gong Fu, and Lan Qing exchanged glances. Lan Qing chuckled and said, "Everyone in the world knows of the flood of righteous energy before which all demons retreat, yet who would have thought we would stumble right in our own home? Two senior brother disciples, why don't we go out and see just what manner of sacred entity this is?"

Among the three, Lan Qing was unrestrained in his laughter and the most active. As soon as he spoke, the other two nodded in unison.

Lan Qing held an ancient zither, Yan Qian held a scroll, and Gong Fu tightly gripped a vermilion brush. The three Grand Masters walked shoulder to shoulder out of the room. Lan Qing looked up at the vault of heaven and laughed loudly, "Guests have arrived at the gate, why not descend and be seen?"

Channeling his righteous energy, his voice rolled across the cloud layers like rumbling thunder, and the momentum was truly astonishing!

Gong Fu stared coldly at the cloud layers and sneered, "Hiding your head and tail—watch me drag you down!"

Wielding his vermilion brush, he drew a massive character for "Righteousness" (正) in the void and proclaimed in a clear voice, "When the heart is upright, the form is upright; when the heart is upright, the spirit is upright. This uprightness can be considered foremost in the world!"

The gigantic character imprinted itself upon the firmament, charging through the cloud layers like a morning sun and revealing the bright, clear blue sky!

"Humph..." A cold voice rang out. Yang Nan raised his eyes and saw that after Gong Fu's character burst through the clouds, a woman had indeed appeared in the sky!

Clad in blue with blue eyes, her hair resembled colorful feathers of five dazzling colors. The fierce gales of the vast firmament blew her blue dress until it billowed like an expansive azure sky!

Seated beneath her, a Roaring Firmament Colorful Phoenix radiated an unyielding, supreme divine might as it looked down upon the people within the mountain!

The moment Yang Nan laid eyes on this blue-clad woman, a cold smile crept onto his lips, and he sighed, "Exalted Blue Star! You truly linger like a ghost! You must have had a terribly hard time tailing me all this way, right?"

Blue Star's azure pupils were like the sea. Fixing her gaze upon Yang Nan, she said indifferently, "Whatever the Feng Valley desires, no one in the world dares withhold! As a mere Daoist priest, you dared forcibly seize what was in my palm. You have no helpers around today, do you?" As she spoke, a fierce murderous intent flashed in her eyes. Pointing a slender finger at Yang Nan, she declared, "Hand over the Thirty-Six River Chart of Hetu and Luoshu, and I will allow you to die with your corpse intact!"

"Hahahaha...!!!" Yang Nan laughed so hard he clutched his stomach. This Blue Star was truly impossibly naive!

She must have tailed behind him for more than a day. With four Grand Masters like Old Crab and thousands of demon soldiers accompanying him, she had naturally doubted her ability to take Yang Nan down. Little did she expect that the fighting location she painstakingly chose would turn out to be Qingming Mountain!

What kind of place was Qingming Mountain?

How could a demon be permitted to run amok here???

She had truly chosen the wrong place...

Yang Nan cast a look of profound sympathy straight at this worldly-inexperienced demon of the Feng Valley, his heart filled with pity. Under normal circumstances, encountering an Exalted one would cost him a layer of skin even if he survived; today... the situation had to be reversed!

Completely provoked by Yang Nan's pitying gaze and roaring laughter, Blue Star said coldly, "You used tricks to escape with your life once, but surely you don't think an Exalted one is so easily dismissed?"

Yang Nan shook his head and sighed, "The Exalted ones possess vast and boundless divine powers. However, didn't the Phoenix Saint Han Xing ever tell you that there are places in this world that an Exalted one simply cannot afford to provoke?"

Blue Star startled, then replied with complete confidence, "My Feng clan runs rampant across the world; is there anywhere we cannot go?"

Yang Nan smiled without a reply. Nearby, Lan Qing had already heard every word clearly: this phoenix knew neither the immensity of heaven nor earth, actually regarding the Confucian Sect as nothing. If she were allowed to leave so easily, how could the Heart Sect awe the world?

With a long laugh, Lan Qing plucked the zither strings with an air of untrammeled elegance. A crisp, lingering chime echoed, and amidst the zither notes, a surge of righteous energy soared into the sky, echoing from afar against the brocade peaks of Qingming. Literary breath and spiritual Qi intertwined to form the visage of a sage wearing a tall official cap and a wide-sleeved robe, possessing an ancient and peculiar appearance. Smiling warmly in the air, the sage of the Confucian appearance bowed toward Blue Star and said:

"The greatest music has the faintest sound; the greatest form has no shape. The zither notes are muffled, yet the heart holds the music of heaven. The Exalted one visits us today—please listen to my melody of the Heavenly Elegance and Earthly Perfection!"

Lan Qing appeared as though entering deep meditation. The sage in the sky held the ancient zither, plucking the strings with leisurely grace and singing aloud:

"My aspirations are vast and surging... like the waters of heaven;
My aspirations are boundless... like the mountains of the people;
My aspirations are like the mountains and waters... lofty and distant.
With heaven compliant and the people in harmony... the country prospers and the people are at peace!
.................."

The grand and sublime music of the sage came and went, elusive and ethereal. The singer sang of his own accord, yet within the hearts of the listeners suddenly welled up a sentiment of devotion to country and people, willing to cast aside life and death. This zither music embodied the aspirations of the righteous path; anyone whose mind harbored the slightest evil thought would be struck as if by lightning, suffering unspeakable torment!

Hearing this vast and mighty rhythm, Yang Nan, Li Hao, and the various Grand Masters all gained profound insights in their hearts. Yang Nan clapped and praised, "The ruler's ambition is heaven's ambition, the ruler's heart resembles heaven's heart. This ambition is infinitely vast, boundless, and immense; this music is infinitely marvelous, profound, and beautiful. Magnificent! Magnificent!"