Chapter 580: Singing

This thing would definitely work well as an alarm clock—anyone who heard it would jump up, battle the alarm clock, and wake up very quickly.

Music Immortal’s divine sense suspected that Jiang Li’s musical skills were actually quite poor, but then she reconsidered—even if someone played randomly, such an unpleasant melody couldn’t possibly sound this bad.

Perhaps this cultivator was deliberately going against the grain, intentionally creating unpleasant music.

Music Immortal’s divine sense boldly speculated that this was actually a master of musical arts, hiding their true abilities.

Music Immortal’s divine sense allowed Jiang Li to pass the first trial.

Music Immortal’s divine sense was quite lenient toward cultivators—as long as they created sincerely and didn’t plagiarize like the first person, she would usually let them pass.

“Music Immortal often lamented that composing music is easy, but finding someone who appreciates it is difficult. Sometimes, not even mutual understanding can be achieved between two cultivators practicing music, filling the elegant path of music with hostility, which is truly regrettable. This second trial’s theme is cooperation and understanding—you will pair up in teams of two, with one composing the music and the other singing. The lyrics must relate to things around you.”

“Preparation time: one and a half hours.”

“Shall we form a temporary team?” Jiang Li moved closer to Yu Yin. When Wishful Gourd saw this, it quickly shook—joking aside, teaming up with anyone would be better than teaming up with you, old sir.

Besides, if my master couldn’t find a partner, she could team up with me.

Yu Yin pressed down on the very opinionated Wishful Gourd and said calmly, “If you insist, then fine.”

Yu Yin continued asking, “Will you be responsible for composing the music or singing?”

“Composing. I’ve only recently begun studying music and don’t sing very well yet,” Jiang Li said. He had only practiced for five hundred years—for a Mahayana Stage lifespan, that indeed counted as just beginning.

“Is that so? I remember you singing quite well—Old Human Sovereign praised you endlessly,” Yu Yin glanced at Jiang Li, a hint of laughter in the corners of her eyes.

“That was all Old Human Sovereign being overly kind,” Jiang Li said this without even blushing.

Yu Yin recalled the time not long after the three of them became Human Sovereign candidates, when Jiang Li and Bai Hongtu had already demonstrated their sharp thinking abilities during the Human Sovereign trials.

Back then, Old Human Sovereign hadn’t yet regretted letting these two grandsons become Human Sovereign candidates.

During a major festival, the two accompanied the lonely Old Human Sovereign to celebrate, with Yu Yin following behind.

At that time, the lantern-lit night was brilliantly colorful, the festive atmosphere extremely strong—even prices had risen by sixty percent.

When Old Human Sovereign saw how unusually quiet the normally boisterous Jiang Li and Bai Hongtu were being, he laughed heartily.

In his happiness, he drank some alcohol and said that Jiang Li and Bai Hongtu were promising talents—though their personalities were flighty, they were essentially good kids who should learn more from Yu Yin.

The two agreed very readily.

Jiang Li said, “Certainly, certainly.”

Bai Hongtu said, “Next time for sure.”

Jiang Li then said, “Since it’s such a lively occasion, why don’t I showcase my talent for Old Human Sovereign by singing a song?”

Bai Hongtu nodded repeatedly, saying that Jiang Li had exceptional talent in music—after hearing him sing, he couldn’t help but writhe on a tree, and Old Human Sovereign absolutely had to listen.

Yu Yin, meanwhile, quietly put in earplugs.

Old Human Sovereign, being happy, agreed.

Just one line from Jiang Li’s singing was enough to scare away Old Human Sovereign’s drunkenness.

After half a song, Old Human Sovereign quickly covered Jiang Li’s mouth, praising Jiang Li’s singing as both beautiful and powerfully effective, suggesting that unless there was a special reason, he shouldn’t sing.

Old Human Sovereign worried that if Jiang Li continued singing, the shopkeeper would kick them all out.

“Human Sovereign Jiang, did you know that among heavenly tribulations, there’s one called the Sound Tribulation?” Wishful Gourd said while pouring tribulation nectar from its gourd opening—this was Yu Yin’s favorite drink, tingling and numbing, and very delicious.

Provided one’s cultivation level was sufficient.

“Sound Tribulation?” Jiang Li had no memory of encountering this.

“Sound Tribulation is a very peculiar calamity. While undergoing tribulation, demonic sounds will flood one’s ears, disturbing the Dao Heart, making cultivators unable to focus on overcoming the tribulation, thus leading to failure.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I’m saying that compared to you, Sound Tribulation is nothing.”

Yu Yin tapped the gourd: “Watch your language. Even when telling the truth, you need to mind your wording.”

“Okay, Master.”

Yu Yin took out two cups, one for herself and one for Jiang Li.

After thinking for a moment, she also called over Luo Ying and Luo Zhu, giving them each a cup of tribulation nectar weakened to its limit.

The two treated it as a priceless treasure, carefully taking a sip, feeling as if thunder rolled in their mouths.

Seeing this, they quickly sat down to refine it, then took a second sip after refinement.

They were delighted to discover that the tribulation nectar could help strengthen their physical bodies and shorten their arduous cultivation time—even the most top-tier body refining treasures couldn’t surpass this effect.

…

During the one and a half hours, many cultivators were dissatisfied with their chosen partners, thinking the other’s composition was too awful to look at, and that they should have composed the music themselves.

After composing themselves, their partners would say their composition was terrible, causing the two to fail to cooperate.

There were also pairs dissatisfied with their composition subject—some wanted to use Spirit Stones as the theme, but their partners said that was too vulgar. When partners suggested using mountain forests as the theme, the others said that was pretentious and unoriginal, causing them to also fail to cooperate.

This situation mostly occurred between people who knew each other—strangers would make concessions for the sake of temporary teamwork, but between acquaintances, there was no intention of saving face for the other party.

Music Immortal’s divine sense gently shook her head—every time the Melody Secret Realm opened, she encountered many such situations.

There were too many music cultivators who were eccentric, thought themselves superior to others, and looked down on everyone else.

Some sang about water dripping through stone, from which one could hear an unyielding determination. Some sang about desert winds and sands, conveying quite heroic ambitions. Others sang about rushing streams, lamenting how time flows away irretrievably.

Performances with distinct characteristics unfolded here, showing that the paired teams could cooperate with each other.

Luo Ying wrote the lyrics, Luo Zhu sang.

Luo Zhu’s singing voice was beautiful, like a lark—lively and melodious. Many music cultivators envied Luo Zhu’s musical talent.

Anyone with eyes could see that Luo Zhu was an unpolished gem—with just a little guidance, she could shine brilliantly in the path of music.

Luo Zhu’s theme was wind, and her singing voice was a perfect match for the theme. Music Immortal’s divine sense listened happily and let the siblings pass.

“Are we really going to sing this?” Yu Yin rarely showed a troubled expression, somewhat resistant to the composition Jiang Li had written.

“You have to trust my taste—this song will definitely get us through.”

“Let’s pick another one.”

“Why change? I think this one is quite good. Just sing it.”

Wishful Gourd swayed, supporting Jiang Li: “Master, just sing it. I want to hear your voice.”

Yu Yin glared fiercely at Jiang Li—why had she been so foolish earlier to team up with this guy?

Teaming up with a pig would be better than teaming up with Jiang Li.

Yu Yin’s cheeks flushed slightly. She cleared her throat and softly sang:

“Gourd Boys, Gourd Boys, seven flowers on one vine, unafraid of wind and rain, la la la la la…”