by Translator: BornToBe; Author: Ordinary Magician (平凡魔术师); Licensed From: 17k
This music was completely different from the boundlessly majestic song she had just played. After a short moment, everyone’s expressions changed.
“This is… the Phoenix Dance?”
The Phoenix Dance was a famous song practically everyone had heard. It was both well-known in the secular and cultivation world.
In the secular world, the phoenix was known as a legendary auspicious beast, signifying peace and good fortune.
However, in the cultivation world, the phoenix was known as a divine beast. It was its own race that stood at the peak of all beasts. However, those that could truly be called phoenixes had to possess very pure bloodlines.
It was said that the phoenix race’s requirements toward their bloodline were very strict. As soon as one of their members’ bloodline regressed or was tainted, they would be expelled from the phoenix race.
Those who were expelled could only change their name from being pure phoenixes.
Whether it was in the secular world or the cultivation world, the song known as the Phoenix Dance was something only to be played during weddings.
The song had lyrics as well, but Shen Bijun didn’t sing them. That was because this song was originally something played by a man to show his affection for a woman.
This song was meant to be sung by a man. However, now that it was being played by Shen Bijun, even Di Xin’s expression changed. Even an idiot would know that Shen Bijun was expressing her love toward Long Chen.
Di Xin finally understood. He had clearly expressed his adoration for Shen Bijun, and he hoped to become Dao-companions with her. Although Han Feifei was one of his worshippers, as a powerful genius, he didn’t mind taking a few more Dao-companions. Beautiful Dao-companions were one of the signs of glory of a powerful man.
Shen Bijun hadn’t refused him. However, she hadn’t accepted him either. That had made his heart itch. As an expert, it would be a huge accomplishment to conquer such a powerful beauty.
Now, this woman he had done his best to pursue had expressed her love for another man. That made his fury erupt like a volcano.
However, Di Xin’s control was extremely great, and he suppressed his anger, not expressing it. That would damage his reputation as a peerless expert.
The Phoenix Dance song was not very long, and its tempo was fast. It was a song of jubilation. Shen Bijun quickly finished playing, and she lowered her head, blushing.
No one clapped or praised her. Everyone was silent while looking at Long Chen. Those gazes were extremely strange. There was jealousy, envy, bitterness, and even hatred.
Only Cloud was just sitting there blankly, not knowing what was going on or what this Phoenix Dance song was. She was curious why so many people were staring at Long Chen after it was played.
Long Chen had closed his eyes to listen to Shen Bijun’s playing. He had used his heart to listen and his soul to sense what was within it. After a long time, he slowly opened his eyes and looked at Shen Bijun.
“The song was a good one, but your heart wasn’t in it. Many thanks for your divine music, but I still have things to do, so I’ll bid you farewell.”
Hearing this, no one could believe their ears. Long Chen was refusing the loving heart of a peerless heavenly genius from the Illusive Music Immortal Palace? Was he a fool?
It had to be known that any expert that had the support of one of the geniuses of the Illusive Music Immortal Palace would be able to make rapid advancements with their cultivation. They would skyrocket and rarely encounter any bottlenecks.
Shen Bijun’s body shook. Her face paled as if she was on the verge of collapse. Her disappointed expression made people’s heart ache.
“Young master Long Chen, am I really so lacking? Can’t I win your favor?” Shen Bijun’s tears dripped down.
Chapter 1630 Shen Bijun’s True Face
The fact that Shen Bijun would express love for Long Chen was something that no one would have dared to imagine. However, Long Chen had coldly refused her. All the experts present felt like their heads had broken.
Long Chen looked indifferently at Shen Bijun, a touch of coldness in his eyes. He pulled Cloud to leave.
“Young master, please wait. I’m not someone with no sense of shame. Since you don’t like me, I won’t force you. Please just let me play another song for you as thanks for meeting with me.” Shen Bijun wiped off her tears and began to gently pluck her zither again. This was a completely different song from the Phoenix Dance. It was a song of heartbreak.
With a heartbroken expression, Shen Bijun began to softly sing, “Falling in love with the Phoenix Dance ends in sorrow. Hopefully in the next life, the phoenix can dance with the dragon beneath the moonlight…”
Her sorrowful song contained all her love and grief. Just hearing it made others sad. The women in particular felt sympathetic and even began to feel intense hostility toward Long Chen, viewing him as having a heart of stone that had let down Shen Bijun’s love.
Even the men were feeling more and more pity for Shen Bijun. Some of them even had a desire to protect her even if it cost them their lives.
…
“She’s so pitiful. Should we…?” Tang Wan-er’s own heart was starting to soften despite her dislike for her.
“Foolish girl, her zither music contains powerful Spiritual Strength. She’s doing it all on purpose, so don’t be fooled,” said Meng Qi helplessly. For Tang Wan-er to be affected just by seeing this showed that she was too naive and easily fooled.
However, Meng Qi had no choice but to admit that Shen Bijun was truly terrifying. Even listening through an image on the wall, her music was able to affect them. If they were present, perhaps all their emotions would be played by Shen Bijun.
“Ah? Then you mean Shen Bijun is doing everything on purpose?” asked Tang Wan-er.
“I’m not too sure, and I don’t think Long Chen is sure either. That’s why he’s probing her right now. Let’s just keep watching,” said Meng Qi.
…
Long Chen closed his eyes to listen to the music closely. Cloud patiently guarded his side. The song was one of sorrow, but Cloud wasn’t affected at all because she had no idea about things like romance.
Long Chen’s body shook slightly, and his mind became chaotic. Following that, he found that his surroundings were changing. He appeared in a world of birdsong and flowers. Upon a carpet of emerald grass, Shen Bijun was looking coldly at him with the Seven String Sea Suppressing Zither in her hand.
“This place is the mental domain of the Seven String Sea Suppressing Zither. Your Yuan Spirit has already been drawn in.” Shen Bijun was completely different from her previous self who had been so heartbroken.
Currently, Long Chen was in his Yuan Spirit state. Without him even being aware of it, Shen Bijun had managed to connect to his Yuan Spirit and pull him into her trap.
“Amazing.”
Long Chen gave her a thumbs-up. To be able to draw his Yuan Spirit into the Sea Suppressing Zither’s domain without anyone being the wiser was truly worthy of admiration.
“Long Chen, do you realize that you are a dead man right now?” Shen Bijun smiled slightly. She sat on the grass, the Sea Suppressing Zither resting in front of her knees. She was acting like victory was already in her grasp.
“I really didn’t realize.” Long Chen shook his head.
“Hahaha, so you didn’t even know that death had come for you. You really are foolish. In the mental domain of the Sea Suppressing Zither, I am the ruler. I decide who lives and who dies. Long Chen, before you die, tell me why you refused me. Am I really so lacking?” After sneering, Shen Bijun’s expression became dark. Her gaze was chilling.
“Do you want me to tell the truth?”
“Of course.”
“In truth, it’s not that you’re so lacking. You’re alright. It’s just that compared to Zi Yan, you are completely inferior!”
Shen Bijun’s gaze became even colder. “You like that slut Zi Yan? Why her and not me? How am I inferior
to her?”
Through her tone and gaze, Long Chen immediately saw the crux of everything. This senior apprentice-sister of Zi Yan most likely didn’t like her.
“Hahaha…” Long Chen suddenly raised his head and laughed.
“You’re still in the mood to laugh with death at hand?”
“I’m simply laughing at you for being so jealous of Zi Yan. Thanks to your jealousy, I’ve confirmed that Zi Yan really does like me, so thank you.” Long Chen smiled.
“You want to laugh at me? Haha, then go ahead and laugh. Hopefully, you can still laugh after I tell you a certain piece of news.” Shen Bijun also laughed. Her laugh was full of contempt.
“What are you talking about?”
“Are you not curious why the Sea Suppressing Zither ended up in my hands? It’s Zi Yan’s punishment for liking you and being merciful in the Grand Han. Because she refused to use her strongest attacks to kill you, she has been stripped of her title as the successor of the Illusive Music Immortal Palace and was even imprisoned in the Devil Music Cave. She will feel the pain of the devil music invading her soul for the rest of her life there. Can you still keep laughing now? Ahahaha…” Shen Bijun laughed delightedly.
Long Chen narrowed his eyes. As he had thought, Zi Yan had held back at that time. It was no wonder he felt that the power she had shown didn’t match the threat he had felt from her.
Shen Bijun was correct, he really couldn’t keep laughing now. His expression also became ugly. He would rather have Zi Yan faced him with her full power than for her to be punished because of him.
“I expressed love for you, but I didn’t expect you not to know kindness. If you had been obedient, perhaps I could have spared your life. However, you were too foolish. How am I inferior to Zi Yan at all?” Shen Bijun’s expression darkened. It was even a bit sinister.
Long Chen looked at her expression and laughed again. “Shen Bijun, you are really inferior. Your expression completely exposes your lie.”
“What do you mean?” Now it was Shen Bijun’s turn to be startled.
“You view Zi Yan as a thorn in your side. If Zi Yan was really being tormented every day, you’d be delighted. Even if you still had hatred in your heart, it wouldn’t be this crazy. Your overflowing hatred shows that Zi Yan is still completely fine. I also know why you would want to seduce me. If I did accept you, you would tell Zi Yan, and it would become one of your cards to deal a blow to her. However, you underestimated me. The only things I see in your eyes are desire, greed, and control. You will never love anyone in this world. You will only love yourself,” said Long Chen. “Even if I refused you as I did, I would still be falling for your trap. You would be able to make those idiots outside hate me and make things harder for me in the Jade Lake Pageant. This little scheme of yours is really brilliant. No matter what happens, you are the winner. That’s why I had to give you a thumbs-up.”
“Hahaha!” Shen Bijun laughed as if she had heard something very funny. “You really think of yourself as smart.”
“Oh? Am I wrong?”
“Of course you’re wrong. Do you still think you can escape from the Sea Suppressing Zither’s mental domain? My goal in bringing you here is to kill you. However, before killing you, I wanted to enrage Zi Yan. Although that didn’t work, it’s no problem. Once I wipe out your soul, I’ll control your body and make you kneel before me. I can even bring you in front of Zi Yan and have you clean my feet before her. That bitch, she has no skill at all other than using other people’s pity for her,” cursed Shen Bijun.
“So you actually wanted to kill me? I didn’t expect that.” Long Chen rubbed the top of his head.
“So now you know. You have two options. One is to let me place a slave mark on your soul. At least you’ll stay alive that way. The other is to have me destroy your Yuan Spirit and find another Yuan Spirit to control your body. Which do you choose?”
“Is there a third option?” Long Chen frowned.
“No.”
“Since there’s not, then I’ll just create my own third option!”
“Then you die.” Shen Bijun pressed her hand on the Sea Suppressing Zither. The world changed. The birdsong and flowers vanished. This new world was barren and boundlessly desolate. Dense killing intent filled the air.
“So this is the world of your inner heart. There’s not the slightest greenery or sunshine. There’s simply icy coldness.” Long Chen looked at these new surroundings and shook his head.
“Die!”
Shen Bijun plucked a single string. An invisible spatial blade tore at Long Chen.
“This is the domain of the Seven String Sea Suppressing Zither. Even if you had a divine item, you wouldn’t be able to bring it here. Your Yuan Spirit can only await its annihilation-”
BOOM!
The space behind Shen Bijun suddenly split open. A huge wing crashed toward her.
Shen Bijun immediately sensed something wrong. Ripples spread from the Sea Suppressing Zither, forming a shield behind her.
The powerful shield exploded on contact with the huge wing. Shen Bijun was sent flying. As she flew through the air, she saw a large sphere appear in Long Chen’s hand.
“Star Fall!”
The huge sphere shot toward Shen Bijun.
Chapter 1631 Despicable Woman
BOOM!
Shen Bijun had no time to react. She was struck by Star Fall, and the immense explosion almost caused this entire world to collapse.
Although Shen Bijun had a divine item protecting her, she still coughed up blood wildly.
Just at this moment, a huge gaping maw appeared like a black hole. The owner of that mouth was Cloud.
From the start, Long Chen had been on guard against Shen Bijun. Just as his Yuan Spirit was drawn into this mental space, he had Cloud’s Yuan Spirit enter his mind-sea.
Although Cloud was Meng Qi’s housepet, she had a definite connection to his soul too. Furthermore, they had absolute trust in each other, resulting in a spiritual resonance.
That was why ever since his Yuan Spirit had been drawn into this mental space, he had possessed the ability to draw Cloud in as well. When Shen Bijun tried to attack him, he immediately summoned Cloud, wanting to kill her in one blow.
Cloud had opened its mouth. The devouring ability of the Cloud Chasing Heaven Swallowing Sparrow was their strongest divine ability. If swallowed, Shen Bijun’s Yuan Spirit would be instantly annihilated. Even with a divine item, due to the limitations of her cultivation base, it wouldn’t have the slightest use.
Just as Cloud was about to devour Shen Bijun, space shook. The barren world vanished, and Long Chen opened his eyes. His Yuan Spirit had returned to his body.
Facing him was a pale-faced Shen Bijun. She even had a trace of blood flowing out of the corner of her mouth. Her eyes were filled with disbelief.
She hadn’t expected Long Chen to have a contracted housepet. That was something she had never heard of before. She had long since investigated him and learned that he had only had one Magical Beast housepet, a Scarlet Flame Snow Wolf called Little Snow. However, ever since Little Snow had died, he had never taken another housepet.
Long Chen’s greatest power lay in his physical body and magical arts. That was what was commonly known. No one knew that Long Chen’s Yuan Spirit could unleash terrifying power as well.
If Shen Bijun hadn’t dispelled the Sea Suppressing Zither’s mental domain quick enough, she would have been killed. The others were completely unaware that Shen Bijun and Long Chen had just fought a life and death battle.
All they saw was Shen Bijun suddenly stop playing her zither and blood started dripping out of the corner of her mouth as she looked at Long Chen in shock.
Long Chen was also coldly staring at Shen Bijun. Just now, he had just been a bit off from having killed Shen Bijun. Regretfully, that domain was her battlefield. If she dispelled it, no one could do anything to her.
Shen Bijun was shocked, never having expected Long Chen to be so crafty and
bring the Cloud Chasing Heaven Swallowing Sparrow’s Yuan Spirit in as well.
Normally, the Yuan Spirits of Xuan Beasts weren’t very powerful, but Cloud was an exception. Meng Qi had used her own Spiritual Strength to nourish Cloud constantly, and the Myriad Spirit Diagram also had the Cloud Chasing Heaven Swallowing Sparrow’s intact inheritance. Those factors allowed Cloud’s Yuan Spirit to easily match a human’s Yuan Spirit.
That miscalculation had almost cost Shen Bijun her life. Just thinking about it made her feel a burst of fear.
With tears streaming down her face, Shen Bijun miserably said, “Long Chen, I opened my heart to you, but you harm me like this? Do you really dislike me this much?”
“What? Long Chen, you’re this cruel?”
“Fairy Bijun gave her tender heart to you, but you harm her over and over again. You’re worse than a pig.”
“You are really a giant bastard. Who do you think you are to trample over other people’s feelings?”
It went without saying that Shen Bijun’s acting abilities were absolutely amazing. Countless experts immediately began to roar angrily at Long Chen.
“How can you be so shameless? It was you who-” Cloud was enraged. It was clearly Shen Bijun that had wanted to kill Long Chen, and now she was crying thief.
“Cloud, leave it be.” Long Chen tugged on Cloud, not letting her continue. In this kind of situation, arguing didn’t have any meaning. These people all believed the ‘heartbroken’ Shen Bijun. They wouldn’t believe him.
Long Chen looked at the still acting Shen Bijun. “Count yourself lucky this time. If it happens again, even the Seven String Sea Suppressing Zither won’t be able to protect your life.”
Neither of them had managed to get an advantage over the other this time. Long Chen didn’t intend to pursue this matter further, but if it happened another time, he definitely wouldn’t mind using all of his power to kill her. He began to leave with Cloud.
