Chapter 243: Maiden’s Moan

Yang slipped the sound technique he had been going through the last few days back into his storage ring and sank back into the soft bolster behind him.

The sound technique Senior Brother Weilong had given him was straightforward enough to use; the user was required to channel the qi towards his throat and release it as a sustained, high-pitched sound. The sound acted as a sonic attack, disrupting opponents' qi circulation and causing distortion to their senses.

“I must say, Nephew Yang, I admire your courage,” Little Uncle remarked with admiration clear in his tone. 

Yang wished the sky to tear open and swallow him whole.

This was probably the hundredth time Little Uncle or one of his senior brothers had expressed their admiration for his ‘courage’. Yang didn’t have any choice but to endure it because it came packaged with useful advice, particularly from Little Uncle.

Half the credit for him managing to learn this technique so quickly went to Little Uncle's little suggestions. The other half, Yang had realized, came from learning to wield his qi.

His continuous practice and use of his needle and the mole puppet had steadily improved his command over his spiritual senses, making it easier to comprehend such techniques. It should also translate to improvement in mastering other techniques and gaining control over artefacts. Of course, this only applies to auxiliary techniques; it won’t aid in learning profound cultivation techniques like the Heaven Refining Soul Sutra or the newly designed Thousand Element Technique.

Currently, Yang’s flying carpet and Senior Shao You were drifting a bit behind the others because his sound art practice was bothering Senior Brothers Zhen Hao and Yuan Shen a bit. The others were completely unaffected due to their higher realm.

If Senior Brother Fan Xiao hadn’t made it a requirement to teach him alchemy, he would have never dared to learn this technique.

But he had to admit, for all its faults, the main one being its embarrassing nature, it was an excellent technique amongst its tier.

Cheap in qi consumption, quick to work, and effective against most traditional defenses, even against stronger opponents. It could even act against multiple opponents at once. Of course, that brought along its own hazard of friendly fire, but still, he would have paid an arm and a leg for such a technique if it weren’t for how it was to be used.

Even its name was embarrassing enough for Yang to want to kill himself.

Maiden’s Moan.

That's what it was called. Maiden's Moan.

The sound he would be producing from his throat was no roar or battle cry but rather a feminine-sounding keen. 

But putting aside the shameful moniker, Yang appreciated its ease of use. If it was enough to bother Senior Brothers Zhen Hao and Yuan Shen, cultivators in the Golden Core Realm, then it was more than sufficient protection for him. With the tulip bell from Senior Brother Lu Feng, the armor he always wore from Senior Brother Luo Yun Xi, and the Myriad Silk-Splitting Needle Art from Senior Brother He Su Ye, he was pretty much set in his own realm even by the standards of a major sect.

Yang straightened and snapped to attention when he noticed his Senior Brothers coming to a stop ahead and looking behind him.

He turned around and let his gaze sweep over the empty sky, trying to locate in vain what had attracted his brother's attention.

“They are too far behind for you to be able to see them yet,” Little Uncle said leisurely without even a frown.

“What is going on?” Yang asked as the carpet drew closer to his Senior Brothers.

“Someone is fleeing,” Senior Brother Weilong stated just as Senior Brother Qing An unleashed the same fire dragon that he had used in Qiarnan to defend against those black-robed cultivators.

Instead of winding itself around them, it shot off like an arrow piercing through the clouds and disappearing from sight.

Yang heard a faint scream and saw a flash of light, and within a few seconds, a few cultivators broke through the clouds. 

They were clearly from the same sect, which could be seen from their identical robes.

A woman seemed to be flying behind and urging the three male cultivators to fly faster.

Yang saw them freeze as they realized they had people blocking the path ahead as well and looked back frantically. They came to a realization, drew closer to Yang's group, and immediately went to prostrate themselves while on their swords. The female cultivator, seeing them kneeling, turned back into the clouds.

“Thank you for your aid, Seniors,” they all said in unison.

“Yu Quan begs Seniors to help Senior Sect Sisters survive,” another said, letting out a heart-wrenching cry and blinking due to the tears and the blood dripping into his eye from his head wound.

Senior Brother Lu Feng glanced sideways at Senior Brother Qing An, who, without a word, shot off like lightning towards where the sound of battle was coming from.

The cultivators were bewildered by the sudden change in their situation and had barely gathered their wits when Senior Brother Qing An came back with a woman held in his arms and another one following behind him, barely holding on as she guided her sword towards them.

There were repeated cries of Senior Sect Sisters as the three male cultivators turned and flew closer, letting out cries at the sight of the injured women.

Senior Brother Fan Xiao flew closer and pushed a pill into the woman's mouth. Yang watched as all the visible wounds disappeared within seconds and the woman finally gained consciousness. Senior Brother Qing An let her go, allowing her to climb onto the sword of her Junior Brother.

“Qing Qi thanks Seniors for your aid in dealing with the evil cultivators," she choked out and went on to prostrate herself, followed by her juniors. “You are the benefactor of our Golden Grain Sect.”

Senior Brother Qing An immediately extended his hand, urging them all to rise. “There is no need to prostrate. We are all fellow cultivators of the righteous path; it is our duty to fight against evil cultivators.”

One of the male cultivators let out a strained laugh that sounded closer to a sob as he said. “But it was only you who came to our aid. We have been fleeing for so long. There were countless cultivators who couldn’t wait to change course as soon as they sensed us coming their way.”

The female cultivator, Qing Qi, who seemed to be the eldest, turned to him, displeased. “You cannot fault them for that. Who in the world wishes to die for strangers?" She turned her gaze to them. “Which is why I can’t express my gratitude for the help you provided us.”

“No need for thanks again, Fellow Daoist.” Senior Brother Qing An smiled kindly. “It was within our means, so we helped.” His gaze shifted to the younger cultivator who had complaints in his heart. “But you can’t blame others for not daring to take that risk.”

The man flushed and bowed his head respectfully.

Daoist Qing Qi produced a jade token from her sleeve and presented it to Senior Brother Qing An with both hands. “I am the core disciple of the Sect Master of the Golden Grain Sect. I implore the Seniors to visit our sect so we may show our appreciation.”

“What kind of sect is this Golden Grain Sect?” Yang whispered into Little Uncle’s ear.

“Fellow Daoist.” Daoist Qing Qi’s gaze turned to Yang as she smiled. “We are a farming sect that specializes in grain cultivation.”

Yang flushed but stood up and cupped his hands together in front of him. “I meant no offence, Daoist Qing Qi.”

“Forgive our junior brother, fellow Daoist. He isn’t familiar with your esteemed sect.” Senior Brother Lu Feng interjected smoothly. “He is new to cultivation, and we have brought him out to show him the world and broaden his horizons.”

“No offence taken. Golden Grain Sect welcomes all those curious about us and our practices.” Fellow Daoist Qing Qi smiled. “We would be honored to host a feast and let you sample our harvest.”

Senior Brother Qing An took the token and shifted his gaze to Senior Brother Fan Xiao, who said, “We’d be honored to visit your esteemed sect, Fellow Daoists.”

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