Techniques and Dao

Chapter 72 Guangling Ceases its Breath

The 15th day of the eighth lunar month. The evening of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Southeastern sea.

The battle to defend Qiankun was about to erupt. The sky was not yet dark, yet the bright moon already hung high in the sky.

The entire Daoist Academy was now far above sea level, continuing to ascend with the sound of the wind rushing past its ears. Facing this stratospheric ambush, the 30,000 academy disciples and immortal masters were on high alert.

Tai Shang Xiao Jun stood on the ground of the Shu Dao Academy, gazing at the bright moon, and softly recited Su Shi's "Shui Diao Ge Tou".

“That’s a good way to relieve stress,” said Master Jueguang, who was standing nearby.

Although Immortal Master Jueguang only led a small number of disciples, his reputation preceded him, making him the vanguard of the entire Qiankun Defense War. The eight thousand disciples he led were all top-tier students of immortal arts, handpicked by him. While their numbers only accounted for 30% of the Academy's disciples, in terms of strength, they comprised nearly 60% of the Academy's offensive power.

Tai Shang Xiao Jun understood that, as the vanguard, the first group from the Magic Academy to make contact with the enemy was Master Jue Guang's team. Just how powerful the combined forces of Ming You and the Xuanwu Spirit Serpent were could be glimpsed by their several exchanges against Dao Ling Xing Jun during the Xuanwu Festival, where they held their own against each other. Moreover, on the Mid-Autumn Festival night, the Spirit Serpent's power had greatly increased, and it could also perform moon-controlling techniques.

Tonight will surely be very long.

Whether the "cone-shaped golden light array" formed by the disciples that Master Jueguang was so proud of could withstand the Netherworld was unknown until the actual battle began.

The sky was not yet completely dark. The vast Magic Academy slowly passed through the thick clouds and finally arrived in the Earth's stratosphere, where there wasn't a single cloud. Since the temperature had already dropped to below minus twenty degrees Celsius, ice flowers appeared on the lake surface of the Magic Academy. This low temperature was no big deal for the teachers and students of the Magic Academy, who were skilled in magic. Meanwhile, the two teams from the human world, "BRAVE" and "HOPE," had drawn talismans on their clothes to ward off the extremely thin oxygen and the frigid cold.

As the Academy of Arts and Sciences stabilized its formation in the stratosphere, the silhouettes of prayer lanterns began to appear in the clouds below. These tiny orange lights traversed thousands of meters to reach the stratosphere, a place they had never been before. Tai Shang Xiao Jun knew that Tian Ji Zi's team had already established a massive magical barrier in the troposphere, preventing the prayer lanterns from being scattered or damaged by the strong winds, ensuring their safe arrival in the tranquil stratosphere.

Looking down from 10,000 meters above the ground, the lights of the bustling city resemble a Milky Way in the night sky, while the sky lanterns are like tiny specks of hope rising slowly from that Milky Way. These small candlelights are illuminating the stratosphere as it gradually sinks into darkness.

The willow leaves beside "Drunken Heart Lake" sway back and forth, like a refreshing autumn night.

If it weren't for the fact that the moon was rapidly growing larger, everything would have been so peaceful and serene. The moon's movement proved the accuracy of the message that Taishang Xiaojun had conveyed to Xiyuan. Everyone knew that this was the calm before the storm.

Dao Ling Xingjun, leading forty-nine immortal masters from the Xiyuan Academy, had positioned themselves throughout Xuanwu Divine Mountain and set up the "Heaven-Covering Earth-Supporting Combination Formation." Dao Ling Xingjun, holding a long sword within the formation, silently recited an incantation and shouted, "Formation activated!"

As soon as the words were spoken, Mount Xuanwu instantly lit up with specks of red light, which then formed a large beam of light that shone towards the moon. Just as the red light touched the moon, the Academy of Arts and Sciences emitted a rumbling sound, like a large warship docking at sea. This beam of red light acted like a massive jack, stopping the moon's downward trajectory.

Before the roar subsided, a plume of black smoke appeared in the moonlight above, and within the mist, a human figure and a snake's shadow vaguely emerged. The Netherworld and the Xuanwu Spirit Serpent had indeed appeared.

Master Jueguang leaped into the air and stood atop the Qixian Pavilion of the Daoist Academy, shouting upwards, "Bold Mingyou, what grudge do you hold against these living beings? Such calamity upon the world is surely the work of a demon!"

Mingyou, emerging from the black smoke, answered without hesitation, "Immortal Master Jueguang, I have not come here to kill the mortal world. If you stop me, the world will truly become hell."

"Speaking nonsense! What kind of viperous and venomous heart do you have? And what about hell on earth? Are you here to save all living beings?"

The snake-like shadow hissed, and emerging from the black smoke was a man dressed in black. The man said, "Why waste words with this old bastard? My Xuanwu Spirit Serpent will obliterate him in a single move!"

Mingyou waved her hand to stop the man in black and continued, "Immortal Master, I am not making excuses. Things are very different now than they used to be. The boundary between humans and immortals is no longer what it was in the early days of the Holy Peace. Mortals in the world have made great strides in their creations. If we stand idly by, not only will the human world be in danger, but the Holy Peace will also fall sooner or later. I, Mingyou, am from a thousand years in the future. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, why would I make such a fuss? Besides, I have a master-disciple relationship with you for several days, and I do not wish to harm the teachers and students of the Academy."

"You audacious madman!" Master Jueguang brandished his sword. "Who taught you, you wicked beast who brings disaster to the world?"

Mingyou remained silent, but slowly emerged from the black smoke.

When Master Jueguang saw the true form of Mingyou, his expression changed immediately.

Immediately afterwards, a commotion broke out among the thousands of disciples of the Daoist Academy who had already been standing on the prayer lanterns.

Mingyou was dressed in a long-sleeved black gown with flowing ribbons at the hem and back. The bright moonlight illuminated her face, and as she slowly stepped out of the black smoke, the moonlight also lit up her deep silver hair.

This is a handsome face that almost every disciple of the Daoist Academy knows.

"Wei Yu!!? You..." Immortal Master Jueguang was utterly astonished, "You are Ming You?!!"

Mingyou said, "Since the Immortal Master has seen through my daughter, he should also know that Weiyu is unwilling to fight with her fellow disciples. I urge the Immortal Master to withdraw his troops immediately."

"Shut up!" Master Jueguang shouted angrily.

"Before it rains!"

The voice of Taishang Xiaojun came from behind. When Jueguang Immortal Master turned around, he saw that Taishang Xiaojun was flying to the top of Huixian Pavilion.

When Taishang Xiaojun saw Mingyou's true form, he was clearly more surprised than everyone else present. After all, the person he and Huasheng had been searching for so diligently just days before was now standing right in front of them. And this person had suddenly transformed from a "kidnapped" to an "attacker"!

The dark and mysterious are the precursors to rain!

The unseen rain is the darkness!

Tai Shang Xiao Jun thought that even she was so surprised, so if Hua Sheng knew the truth, wouldn't he be even more speechless?

He disregarded everything else and quickly descended to the top of Huixian Pavilion, shouting at Mingyou: "Weiyu, although I don't understand what you mean, do you really want to kill your own kind? Even if not for us, think of Huasheng. He risked his life to save you, and now you want to turn your friend into an enemy and fight him with your sword?"

After a moment of silence, Mingyou said, "Supreme Lord, Immortal Master Jueguang, fellow disciples of the Academy! I have deceived you all and I am guilty, but today my mind is made up. The world is in turmoil and the flood is irreversible, so please do not meddle in my affairs. I know my limits and will not exterminate mortals. I will only break the Moon-Blocking Formation. Whether you fight or not is entirely up to you."

Then, she retreated into the black smoke and said, "Spirit Serpent, those who stand in my way, I will eliminate them all."

The man in black's eyes lit up, and he shouted, "Finally, I can kill to my heart's content!" He raised his hand, and instantly countless fireballs appeared in the night sky behind him.

Upon closer inspection, the immortals of the Daoist Academy realized that the fireball in the night sky, which appeared to be a fire-controlling technique, was actually a million strange beasts, including Gu Diao, Qiong Qi, and Hu Jiao, descending from the sky!

The reason they appear as fireballs is due to the sparks generated by the friction between the beasts and the Earth's atmosphere as they pass through. Each beast is magically protected, able to withstand the intense flames from atmospheric friction and directly enter the stratosphere!

This scene was like millions of meteorites rushing towards the ground at the same time!

The first to break through were the exosphere, thermosphere, and mesosphere outside the atmosphere. The army of alien beasts rushed towards the Academy of Arts and Sciences like rolling black clouds, obscuring the moon.

Above, flames raged in dense array, while below, the ocean surged and boiled due to the moon's gravitational pull. Tens of thousands of disciples of the Xiyuan Academy, situated in the troposphere and stratosphere, faced this hellish scene and drew their various magical artifacts from their backs, bracing themselves for battle.

At the forefront of the battle, Immortal Master Jueguang assumed a fighting stance and shouted, "Conical Golden Light Formation! Form ranks!"

Tai Shang Xiao Jun immediately leaped backward, followed by hundreds of cranes carrying the disciples of the Xiyuan Academy, hovering in mid-air. He shouted loudly, "Crane Wing Heavenly Annihilation Formation, form the formation to meet the enemy!"

As he walked through the sky lanterns, Taishang Xiaojun suddenly remembered: "Oh no! I must tell Huasheng immediately who his enemy is!"

As Immortal Master Jueguang and Grand Master Taishang Xiaojun flew away separately, two orange magic arrays appeared on the left and right sides of the foot of the Shudao Academy. It turned out that the two groups, "BRAVE" and "HOPE," had taken their positions under the leadership of their respective captains, Jin Fanyin and Sun Xiaoming.

At this moment, on the side of the Daoist Academy, the three-tiered battle formation of magic arrays in the stratosphere was officially formed. The first tier, the vanguard, was the cone-shaped golden light array led by Immortal Master Jueguang and his eight thousand disciples, located at the uppermost edge of the stratosphere.

The second layer is the main formation for this operation. The central formation is the Heaven-Covering Earth-Supporting Formation, set up by the 49 academy immortal masters, led by Dean Dao Lingxingjun, to defend against the lunar attack. This formation actually has no combat or defensive capabilities. To the lower left of the Heaven-Covering Earth-Supporting Formation is the Six Ding Six Jia Formation set up by Jin Fanyin, the leader of the "BRAVE" group, and his members. To the upper left is the Arrowhead Blazing Fire Formation, led by the Fire and Thunder Immortal Master and his 6,000 disciples. To the lower right of the Heaven-Covering Earth-Supporting Formation is the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation, set up by Sun Xiaoming, the leader of the "HOPE" group, and his members. To the upper right is the Fish Scale Frost Formation, led by the Yu Ran Immortal Master and his 6,000 disciples.

The third layer is the Xuanxiang Wind Howling Formation, led by Tianjizi and his five thousand disciples. However, the primary function of this formation is to transport the Prayer Lanterns to the stratosphere and eliminate the alien beasts that break through it. Since the battle line stretches for over a thousand miles in the air, it's difficult for the disciples of the Arts Academy to support each other. Therefore, the Xuanxiang Wind Howling Formation on the third layer undoubtedly serves as the final barrier. Once the core of the second layer, the Heaven-Covering Earth-Supporting Formation, is breached, a devastating flood will be inevitable.

Thus, the seven formations, which are relatively fixed in position from top to bottom—the Conical Golden Light Formation, the Heaven-Covering Earth-Supporting Formation, the Arrowhead Fire Formation, the Fish-Scale Ice Formation, the Six Ding Six Jia Formation, the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation, and the Mysterious Wind Howling Formation—form the top of the sky with the Big Dipper as the canopy.

Providing flexible support across the upper, middle, and lower battle lines was the Crane Wing Heavenly Annihilation Formation, composed of five thousand disciples led by the Supreme Lord. This force was essentially a mobile unit, like a "shooting star" outside the Big Dipper, ready to support various battle formations at any time.

Although the cone-shaped golden light array of the Immortal Master Jueguang was at the forefront, the "heavy artillery" that launched a long-range attack on the strange beast before the Immortal Master Jueguang was the Six Ding Six Jia array of the mortal Jin Fanyin.

The so-called Six Ding and Six Jia are described in the "Sancai Tuhui": The Six Ding gods are Sima Qing (Dingmao), Zhao Ziyu (Dingchou), Zhang Wentong (Dinghai), Zang Wengong (Dingyou), Shi Shutong (Dingwei), and Cui Juqing (Dingsi); The Six Jia gods are Wang Wenqin (Jiazi), Zhan Zijiang (Jiaxu), Hu Wenchang (Jiashen), Wei Chenyu (Jiawu), Meng Feiyin (Jiachen), and Ming Yizhang (Jiayin).

The Six Ding Six Jia Formation is an offensive magic formation that conceals a sword within a zither, with the zither music being the ancient piece "Guangling San".

Guangling San, also known as Guangling Zhixi, is an ancient guqin piece depicting a legend from the Warring States period.

According to the "Biographies of Assassins" in the *Records of the Grand Historian*, Nie Zheng's father was killed for forging swords for the King of Han. Upon reaching adulthood, Nie Zheng vowed revenge and attempted to assassinate the King, but failed and fled. Later, he encountered a hermit in the mountains who taught him the art of playing the zither. Not wanting to implicate his family, Zheng painted his face to change his appearance and swallowed charcoal to alter his voice, studying for seven years before attempting the assassination. However, he encountered his wife on the road and recognized her teeth. Therefore, Zheng smashed his teeth with a stone and studied for another three years, eventually mastering the zither. He then played the zither at the palace gates, astonishing passersby with his skill. The King of Han, hearing of his talent, summoned him to the palace to play. Zheng concealed a sword within the zither, entered the palace, and assassinated the King while playing. To conceal his identity, he peeled off his own face and committed suicide. The court, wanting to know his identity, displayed his body in the marketplace and offered a reward for anyone who could identify him. When Zheng's sister heard this, she thought that Zheng had already sacrificed himself to avenge their father, so why should she cherish her own life and let her brother's name be buried? Therefore, she went to recognize him, told him about Zheng's revenge for their father, and praised Nie Zheng's name, and then committed suicide.

However, the story of the *Guangling San* melody does not end there. According to the *Taiping Guangji*, Ji Kang, a renowned figure of the Wei and Jin dynasties who pioneered a new style of metaphysics and was considered the foremost of the "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove," was naturally gifted with the zither. Once, Ji Kang spent the night at the Yuehua Pavilion, unable to sleep. He rose and played the zither, its elegant sound moving a ghost who then bestowed upon him the *Guangling San* melody, making a pact that it must never be taught to anyone. In 263 AD, Ji Kang was murdered by Sima Zhao. Before his death, Ji Kang showed no grief, only lamenting, "Yuan Xiaoni once asked to learn this melody, but I stubbornly refused. The *Guangling San* is now lost forever!"

The young members of "BRAVE," all dressed in white Taoist robes, stood proudly in their positions. Captain Jin Fan, carrying a guqin (a seven-stringed zither), walked to the center of the "Six Ding Six Jia Formation," positioned between the four high pavilions: "Si Xian Ge," "Hui Xian Ge," "Qi Xian Ge," and "Yu Xian Ge." He placed the guqin on the table, then took out an incense box, removed a piece of tinder, and ignited it, lighting the sandalwood incense in the box. He then bowed respectfully to the guqin and sat down on the ground.

Burn incense. Play the zither.

A single melody, "Guangling San," conceals a sword within the zither, its power shaking heaven and earth!

The melody rises with the gentle breeze.

Jin Fan focused his energy, his eyes closed, completely absorbed in the guqin. His long sleeves danced, and elegant music filled the air, the entire ground of the academy resonating with the strings, the leaves swaying in time with the notes.

Master Yu Ran said, "People say that this generation of children has all fallen apart, but how could lazy and decadent people perform this piece with such spirit? It is clear that the elders in the world rely on their age and never trust them, nor give the children a chance to use their talents, nor are they willing to accept them expressing themselves in their own way. The spirit of China has been passed down for thousands of years without interruption, and this spirit has long been integrated into our blood. What we see today, the young people still remember. As long as they remember this, the true meaning of 'Guangling Zhixi' will continue to be passed down and resonate throughout the bright universe."

As long as young people retain their pride, their resilience, and their ability to fight back, no one can truly defeat them!

Accompanied by the sound of a guqin, countless silver longswords appeared from the center of the formation, hovering and drifting like swirling clouds. The young members, positioned in their respective positions, chanted sword-controlling incantations. The silver longswords transformed into a tornado-like torrent, sweeping away the approaching army of strange beasts!

(End of this chapter)