Daoist Master of Qing Xuan

This zither was the replica of that of the Heritage Tune of the Great Saint’s, which Shen Lian bade for during Xuantong Demon King’s celestial market. It was made by the eminent cultivator of the previous generation, Zhenren Jinye. While it was not a magical instrument, it was incomparable to a normal magical weapon that had gained spirituality.

Among man-made zithers, if one could nurture a connection akin to that of Zhenren Jinye and the zither, it could be considered a magical weapon. It could play the sound of the Great Way, the tremor could even shake the deities.

Shen Lian did not look at the demon soldiers that were rushing towards him from the sky under the woman’s command.

The black clouds above the mountain and the odd demon wind could not destroy the peace around Shen Lian.

A cow demon was first to strike attack. It carried a massive mace, the spikes on top of it looked horrifying. The momentum it carried with from the top made it look like a golden armored hero with an unlimited strength.

With a huge roar, it came to less than five feet away from Shen Lian.

As the zither started to play, ripples being produced in the void. The cow demon which had an unlimited strength five feet away was suddenly faced with a huge morass. All its energy was dissipated.

Not only the cow demon, all the other demon soldiers who were coming down could felt the invisible resistance in the air like a mysterious territory had ruled over the surrounding of the Temple of Killings.

The demon clouds dispersed as the zither played. The beauty and purity of the sky were revealed again.

The sound of the zither was clear and melodious. While the demon soldiers could not rate the rhythm, they knew this melody was one of the best they had ever heard in their lives. It was similar to going back to being a newborn.

It was the birth of everything, and the sun led the way.

The melody flowed to every corner like a stream of water.

It passed on Shen Lian’s will to every inch.

Shen Lian continued to play the zither without speaking a word. The demon soldiers were being controlled by every note he played.

The hundred thousand demon soldiers had become his puppets. He could control them at will.

This was the Supreme Heart Demon Technique. By having the battle with Yanxu, and having met the Sky Demon of Taiwei Pavilion, and with the essence of Dream Heart Sutra, was the only reason he could command the hearts at will. Otherwise, this would not even be possible even if he had become a deity.

He was trapped in the secular mortal world, and hence there produced the demonic obstacles. All the demonic obstacles were now within the melody of the zither, along with his powerful spirit and mind, the hearts of the demon soldiers were being influenced.

While there were hundred thousand demon soldiers, they were sentient beings who were forced to shapeshift under external help. They had only power, but they did not understand the Great Way or themselves. They were no different from animals.

The melody of all sounds, the zither sounded like celestial music, demonic voice. It made the demon soldiers forget about their inherent tameness and how they were being shapeshifted into a human. They revealed their original appearances – they no longer looked like humans. The cows, tigers, lambs, and birds turned into the beast or livestock as they originally were in the mountain. They did not run away, but instead, they just rested by the rocks, or the river, on the branches of the trees, listening to the zither.

It was rumored that when an eminent monk spoke, the rocks would nod and the animals would bow. It was like what Shen Lian was doing.

He did not speak of the Dharma. He merely relied on the melody of the Great Saint’s Heritage Tune. As he played the zither, the melody of the heaven and earth was initiated. It infected the hearts of the demon soldiers and hence reverted them back to their original form.

The demonic Qi was all absorbed by the demonic thoughts of the melody. The sky which was cloudless began to gather black Qi which formed into shape. The sound of the zither became louder all in a sudden. Every inch of soil of the Temple of Killings began to tremble, including the zither.

In the void, a black phoenix began to take shape, it had the head of a swan, backside of a unicorn, neck of a snack, tail of a fish, scales of a dragon, core of a tortoise, jaw of a swallow, mouth of a chicken, body of a mandarin duck, wings like a rock and legs like a crane.

As the black phoenix took shape, it headed towards the woman. Its roar could command all living creatures.

The woman turned pale, and she began to mumble. She did not expect this ending.

There were hundred thousand of demon soldiers, and Shen Lian managed to convert them just by the melody of the zither.

The divine master wanted to see Shen Lian’s sword will to improve to the next level, but not his cultivation experience.

She knew well that the male divine servant possessed power beyond any average Powang cultivators. However, within the blink of an eye, he was shaved to bits by Shen Lian’s sword aura.

When she saw the black phoenix formed by the melody of the zither, she knew clearly about how terrifying the gap between their cultivation experience.

The music could be shapeshifted, and even form a divine creature such as the phoenix. While the world was huge, there were not many who possessed such profound yet powerful Dao techniques.

The black phoenix came too quickly. As she was trapped in the melody, her reaction was slightly more retarded. She could only allow the black phoenix to nod and peck lightly on her forehead. A chilly breath invaded her body.

The black phoenix disappeared after it pecked her, like the reflection in the water, as if it never existed.

The woman did not understand what sort of damage was dealt, but as she thought about it, it was her final thought.

Fan Yanying saw that after the woman’s forehead was being pecked by the black phoenix, she lit up like a blazing black fire. Soon there was nothing of her left.

As the playing of the zither stopped, the beasts began to regain consciousness. They moved slowly towards the direction of Shen Lian, and then they dispersed into the depth of the forest. If they were lucky enough, they would never have to fall under the control of other demon kings as demonic soldiers.

Shen Lian sighed, and as the sigh fell on Fang Yanying’s ears, she was curious.

Why did Uncle-Master sigh as he could destroy two powerful individuals and convert a hundred thousand demonic soldiers with a swing of an arm?

As she did not understand, hence she posed the question.

“Uncle-Master, what are you worried about?”

“What do you think is unique about the man just now?” Shen Lian asked Fang Yanying.

When Fang Yanying heard the question of uncle-master, she then recalled that the man was arrogant, and when Shen Lian’s sword pierced through his eyes and his head, he could recover quickly, as if he was immortal. If not because Uncle-Master’s sword aura sneaked into his body, and with the ultimate technique of the sword was transformed into silk, it seemed that he would not die.

The most important part was that he seemed proud of his title, and he even asked Shen Lian whether he knew who he was.

She gathered her thoughts, and said, “His body was odd as he could recover quickly. If it was not Uncle-Master, others will definitely suffer a great loss if they met him. From his expression, it also seemed that he was not someone average.”

“You’re right. He is not a deity, or a monster, or a demon. Even though he suffered an injury that pierced through his head, he could still utilize his strong power to dispel my sword. He then recovered his injury quickly, and this was not due to his cultivation experience, but his innate ability. For such terrifying power, this usually meant that behind him there is a clan that possesses the same bloodline,” Shen Lian spoke slowly.

The celestial sect was passed on through Daoism, and from there appeared celestials who could burn the river and boil the ocean.

In this world, other than through cultivation within a celestial sect to obtain great power, there existed others ways, such as through the worship of the Gods, or through the passing on of the bloodline. One could obtain the power of the deities through these methods.