Chapter Eighty-Nine: The Emperor of the Zither

Jade Duster flicked the whisk in her hand and drifted backward, looking every inch the celestial maiden as she regarded Ouyang Zhenghe’s panicked face.

"Your spirit shards are broken. Can you still fight?"

Though the words seemed to leave Ouyang Zhenghe a way out, they were nothing less than a cruel mockery and provocation.

Ouyang Zhenghe’s face trembled uncontrollably. In sixty years, he had never suffered such a humiliating defeat, and to lose to a young girl at that. With a cold laugh and no further words, he shook both hands. A ring of yellow spiritual energy spread over his palms, and with a sudden burst he shot straight toward Jade Duster, unleashing attack after attack with both hands. He was using body-spirit techniques.

Jade Duster smiled in contempt. With a sharp crack, she sent the whisk flying. Ouyang Zhenghe dodged, but the whisk plunged into the ground like a sword. Then Jade Duster was already engaged with him, bare-handed against bare hands. Yet the orange spirit blossom before her continued to hover in place.

"Fourth Sister has grown up," the Red Grove Lady on the viewing platform could not help but praise.

Blue Pavilion beside her did not understand what was meant. One must know that this Fourth Sister, Jade Duster, was normally the least gregarious person in the Blossom Sect. If Seventh Sister Frost Snow was cold as frost, then Fourth Sister Jade Duster was as still and dead as gray ash. She spent her days cultivating spirit power with single-minded intensity and had a notoriously bad temper. There was certainly nothing one would call "grown up" about her.

The Red Grove Lady smiled faintly. "Though Fourth Sister’s temper is odd, she is the one who most reveres our master. She will not allow anyone to profane her in the slightest. Her bare-handed duel with that old Ouyang is meant to raise our Blossom Sect’s prestige and show those wavering fools exactly what strength our sect possesses. We are certainly not a faction of rough-and-ready cultivators that any backwoods school can replace."

On the platform, Jade Duster’s jade hands sent waves of orange light outward, pinning Ouyang Zhenghe’s yellow spiritual energy down with ruthless force, leaving it no room to breathe. Sweat gradually appeared on Ouyang Zhenghe’s brow, clearly showing how strained he had become. By contrast, with the power of the orange blossom beside her driving her on, Jade Duster only grew fiercer as the battle went on. After a dozen moves, Ouyang Zhenghe was left with nothing but a posture of defense and no means of counterattack.

Seeing this, Jade Duster’s killing intent surged. She gave a sharp cry, and the orange spirit blossom began to spin madly. With a sweeping motion, as if drawing immense spiritual power from the blossom itself, she gathered a shaft of orange light into her palm and shouted, "Heartless Flower-Pointing Hand!"

That orange spiritual force pierced through Ouyang Zhenghe’s yellow energy in a flash and struck directly into his chest. He staggered back more than ten steps, then stared in disbelief as patches of blood-blooms burst from his chest. With a thud, Ouyang Zhenghe fell flat on his back, life and death unknown.

The one who had issued the Heartless Command had been slain by the Heartless Flower-Pointing Hand. It could only be called irony.

At that moment, the Spirit Ascension Arena truly descended into chaos for the first time. Even Guihai Rong’an and Guihai Yidao on the platform were somewhat taken aback, though their father, Guihai Xin, remained calm in the face of crisis, steady as a mountain.

The Nine Sects and Eighteen Gangs, especially those affiliated with the Righteous Hall, were like a snake with its head cut off, instantly losing all direction. For the first time, they felt a trace of fear. A mere disciple of the Blossom Sect had actually killed one of the great underground lords of Guihai City; it was clear just how terrifying the Blossom Sect truly was. If the sect’s real elders came in person, would they not wash Guihai City in blood?

Seeing the panic among the crowd below, Guihai Yidao bowed to his father. "Father, let me go."

Guihai Xin said nothing. Sweat appeared on Guihai Yidao’s forehead. He did not understand his father’s intent, but someone else smiled faintly and said, "I’m growing bored sitting here as well. Why not let me go and meet this cool and beautiful nun?"

It was none other than the Four-Fingered Zither Emperor, Ping Yichen.

Guihai Xin opened his eyes for the first time, then smiled at the Four-Fingered Zither Emperor. "With the Zither Emperor here, everything becomes much simpler."

The Four-Fingered Zither Emperor, however, looked at Guihai Xin with a peculiar expression, then flicked his magnificent golden robe and accepted his ancient zither from a maid. With a resonant hum, he plucked out a note, and that note seemed to carry spiritual force. Then, turning on his heel, he stepped upon the sound of the zither and flew toward the platform.

Guihai Xin leaned back comfortably in his great chair and said to Guihai Yidao, "Did we invite him here merely to watch the show?"

Only then did Guihai Yidao understand his father’s meaning. Although the Four-Fingered Zither Emperor was one of the strange and marvelous figures of the Luminous Continent, he was also extremely ostentatious. He spent money as though it were water, yet regrettably knew nothing of the ways of business. Guihai Xin had paid a vast sum to invite him here as reinforcement, so naturally he had to make use of the gold.

When the Red Grove Lady on the viewing platform saw the Four-Fingered Zither Emperor flying in from the opposite side, her heart stirred. She said softly, "I’m afraid Fourth Sister will have trouble this time. This man has been famous for many years; she cannot handle him."

Huang Wan’er and Blue Pavilion also knew how serious the situation was, but with their cultivation, they were even less able to intervene. All they could do was worry helplessly. Then the white-robed Frost Snow beside them said, "I’ll go."

The Red Grove Lady smiled faintly. "Not yet, little Snow. It isn’t time for you to reveal yourself. If our master does not come, we will still need you to kill that old Guihai man. I’ll go meet up with Fourth Sister below in a moment."

Frost Snow nodded and said no more, merely closing her eyes to rest. Suddenly, she felt a trace of coolness slowly sliding in from behind her. That chill actually made her feel a strange thrill and stir of emotion, carrying an indescribably familiar flavor.

She also released a thread of spiritual energy. The two currents intertwined invisibly, and Frost Snow seemed to sense that the other side wished to say something. She suddenly turned to look behind her, only to find no one there at all. Her brows knit.

The Four-Fingered Zither Emperor wore a carefree, elegant air. He fondly stroked his zither while regarding Jade Duster with a peculiar gaze. Being looked at by that mature man’s eyes made Jade Duster feel deeply ill at ease. The Four-Fingered Zither Emperor loved to show off and loved beauties even more. He smiled charmingly and said, "May I ask the name of this immortal?"

"You need not know. You only need to know that opposing the Blossom Sect means certain death," Jade Duster said darkly.

"Such personality. Still, I am very fond of beauties like you. If you do not tell me your name, I fear I may be unhappy," the Four-Fingered Zither Emperor teased.

"Despicable." Jade Duster cursed inwardly, yet for some reason did not raise her whisk to kill him. Perhaps she could see that although this man was somewhat frivolous, he was also a profoundly skilled cultivator.