Chapter 1730 (Raw 1741): Problematic
Flowers filling the place, intoxicating three thousand guests; the frost of a single sword freezing fourteen provinces!
It was entirely apt to use a poem to describe the mysterious phenomenon coming from the flower basket in the hands of the young maidservant standing amid clouds and water.
The scene of ice flowers filling the Smiling Daughter Pavilion intoxicated everyone. It was like this scene melted into their hearts.
Everyone stood at the windows and stuck out their head, stretching their neck out to look at the flower boat.
However, after that fairy swung her sword through the air and covered the sky, she returned to the flower basket and did not reappear.
This made everyone"s heart feel strangely empty like it was missing something. It manifested as a heartache, causing one to brood.
After a momentary flash of slight shock, the woman known as Ling Long in the flower boat showed only a calm expression as she hugged her pipa.
Ling Long simply did not expect such a mysterious phenomenon, which normally appeared only in the Yanwu Dynasty"s capital, to manifest here in this Soaring Dragon City.
That flower basket possessed a great origin, forged through astonis.h.i.+ng processes. Its complexity was even higher than peak Dao Tools
The Smiling Daughter Pavilion"s ability to bring in great wealth by relying on performers to provoke compet.i.tion between the outstanding talents was mainly due to this flower basket.
This flower basket had a very nice-sounding name—the Fairy Basket. According to rumor, not only could it produce many mysterious phenomena, but the managers behind the scenes in every Smiling Daughter Pavilion could also control it to fight enemies using its formidable offensive powers.
The Fairy Basket in the headquarters at the capital was a peak existence that surpa.s.sed Dao Tools. The ones in every branch were peak Dao Tools.
"Two million Medial Grade Spirit Jades. If no one else is adding more, then congratulations to this young master for obtaining the card of the headliner Ling Long."
The young maidservant smiled as the green card in her hand turned into a beam of light and flew towards the elegant room where Xiao Chen was.
"Whoos.h.!.+"
Xiao Chen stretched out his hand and caught the green card. This card was actually an excellent piece of jade with the words "Ling Long" in a delicate and pretty font on the obverse.
Jiang He laughed loudly, "I was wondering how incredible you three trash could be. You are merely so-so. It turns out that you are all talk. In the end, you are not even comparable to a pauper."
Feng Chen, Chen Yun, and Yan Yuan all showed sullen expressions of embarra.s.sment.
These three were humiliated in such a way before the many honored guests in the Smiling Daughter Pavilion. They simply could not swallow this frustration.
Originally, these three thought that they had already trampled on Jiang He. Who knew, Xiao Chen appeared and returned the slaps to their faces.
The three could not retaliate at all.
"I can"t hold back anymore." The Thunderflame Palace"s hot-tempered Yan Yuan immediately stood up in a rage, wanting to flare up.
"Don"t be rash. Wait for them to go out first," Feng Chen said indifferently as a trace of murderous intent flashed in his eyes. Originally, he had not planned to touch Xiao Chen.
After all, Xiao Chen apparently came from a Rank 4 sect, unlike Jiang He, who did not seem to have a backer.
However, Feng Chen no longer cared. After taking a sip of wine, he said, "Let"s go. There is no need to continue making an embarra.s.sment of ourselves here."
After saying that, he stood up and led Chen Yun and Yan Yuan out of the elegant room, into the corridor, and down the stairs.
The moment the three appeared, countless people immediately noticed their sullen expressions.
Many knew that tonight"s matter would never be settled amicably.
Jiang He peered through the window from his elegant room and also saw the trio walk out sullenly.
Xiao Chen entered deep thought. Those three"s strength was comparable to Shangguan Lei"s.
It was somewhat problematic. However, that was all, just somewhat problematic.
Jiang He said casually, "Don"t mind them. They"re just some flies. The true experts of the Soaring Dragon Great Realm are not in Soaring Dragon City."
Surprised, Xiao Chen asked, "Where are they, then?"
With a smile, Jiang He replied, "The Dragon Flame Ancient Land. Aside from the Soaring Dragon Marquis, that is a huge reason why the Soaring Dragon Great Realm became the center of the nearby dozens of astral cl.u.s.ters.
"In the past, when the Dragon Race was still around, that was a place for them to adventure. The environment there is very vile, with many ferocious beasts wandering around. Innumerous outstanding talents are hidden there, bitterly cultivating, people who killed their way out of life-and-death situations. Those are the true experts. As for these people, they are just fanciful but impractical, form without substance. They are far from comparable to those experts."
The Dragon Flame Ancient Land!
Xiao Chen heard this name again. He felt somewhat surprised and curious. If there was a chance, he had to go and check it out.
The two chatted idly for a while before knocking came from the door. The headliner Ling Long had finished her preparations and arrived as arranged, coming to entertain the guest.
She cradled her pipa as she slowly walked in, dressed in plain and simple clothing. When she saw Xiao Chen and Jiang He, she bowed.
When seen up-close, Ling Long did indeed appear extraordinary, a completely different impression from when she was at a distance.
Jiang He smiled and said, "Miss Ling Long, it really was difficult to invite you over tonight."
Ling Long smiled faintly and said, "Young Master Jiang is exaggerating. This servant couldn"t help it, either."
Jiang He smiled casually and said, "That doesn"t matter. Accompany my brother. I need to go and relieve myself for a while."
When Xiao Chen heard that, he was slightly stunned. Truthfully, he now felt some regret over his earlier action.
He did not have much feeling for the pipa music that this headliner Ling Long played. He just felt that the music was wonderful but incomplete, which was a pity.
The main reason why Xiao Chen was so generous as to toss out two million Spirit Jades was that he had earned these Spirit Jades off Jiang He in the first place.
Unwilling to see Jiang He humiliated, Xiao Chen used the Spirit Jades he earned from him to help him regain his face.
After Jiang He left, Ling Long looked at Xiao Chen and said, "Young Master Xiao, do you like listening to the pipa?"
Xiao Chen did not answer that question. Instead, he asked serenely, "Miss Ling Long, will you play the unfinished song from the flower boat earlier in its entirety?"
Ling Long felt surprised. Unexpectedly, Xiao Chen only raised such a simple request.
However, she truly could not fulfill it. She said helplessly, "Sorry, I"m unable to finish playing that song. That song came from ancient times, but it is incomplete, not finished."
"An incomplete song? No wonder. However, that is fine as well. If it were a complete song, I might end up forgetting it after hearing it. On the contrary, an incomplete song leaves a deeper impression. If I do end up finding the latter part of the song, I will come and find Miss Ling Long to perform it again."
When Xiao Chen heard that, he felt that it was a pity. However, he took it in stride. His mind remained peaceful. He would not be stubborn on many things and was able to accept this.
Ling Long smiled in her heart. What a strange person. Then, she nodded and smiled. "If you can find the latter half of this "Song of the Pipa Player," you can go to the Yanwu Dynasty"s capital and look me up."
Xiao Chen did not know anything about music. However, the headliner Ling Long had a good impression of Xiao Chen. As they spoke, she patiently explained, allowing Xiao Chen to expand his knowledge.
Unexpectedly, the Music Dao was broad and deep, not much inferior to the Saber Dao, the Sword Dao, or other similar Dao.
This was Ling Long"s first time to meet someone whose interest in the Music Dao surpa.s.sed hers.
Hence, she spoke very seriously. The two chatted very happily, nearly forgetting about Ling Yu and the maidservants.
Aside from bringing pleasure and enjoyment to people, the Music Dao could also be used to kill.
Furthermore, the Music Dao was even scarier. It would be no exaggeration to call it an invisible killer.
Strong Music Dao cultivators could even stop a vast army with one song, causing mountains and rivers to split, and the sky and ground to crumble.
However, such strong Music Dao cultivators were currently decreasing in number. The reason was none other than the immense difficulty of cultivating this Dao.
Compared to the Saber Dao or the Sword Dao, the Music Dao had a stricter requirement on talent. Furthermore, one needed to practice it from childhood.
After sending off Ling Long, Xiao Chen felt that his two million Medial Grade Spirit Jades were well spent.
At the very least, if Xiao Chen ran into difficult Music Dao cultivators, he would have a way to deal with them and not be completely at a loss.
Ling Long had just left when Jiang He entered the elegant room. Upon seeing Xiao Chen"s pleasant smile, he exclaimed in shock, "Miss Ling Long already left? What a pity!"
Xiao Chen thought to himself, There is definitely something up with this Jiang He. I just don"t know what he went to do.
"It"s time to go. Many thanks to Brother Jiang for this treat of wine. The two of us have to take our leave." Xiao Chen and Ling Yu stood up at the same time.
Jiang He smiled confidently. "Come, I"ll send you off. At the same time, I"ll deal with those three trash. They have probably been waiting for a long time."
After exiting the Smiling Daughter Pavilion, Jiang He and Xiao Chen were immediately stunned to see Feng Chen, Yan Yuan, and Chen Yun leading more than one hundred cultivators, all of them with decent cultivations. This mob blocked Xiao Chen and Jiang He"s path, showing hostile expressions.
Jiang He said somewhat helplessly, "I seemed to have forgotten that the sects behind the three have factions within Soaring Dragon City."
More than one hundred Primal Core Venerates and three outstanding talents of the same level as Shangguan Lei. Such a formation seemed undefeatable no matter how one looked at it.