"'The Cry of Cranes Among the Pines'? Quite an elegant name for a zither score."
"Satisfied, junior sister? When performed, this piece conjures towering pine trees and the calls of spirit cranes. It has a certain ability to influence the mind."
Chen Jinshu fell into thought. The supposed mental influence was not guaranteed, in her opinion. Still, having a music score was better than none at all. It would serve well for daily practice.
"I'll still need to find another score with stronger offensive potential."
In the world of cultivation, zither instruments were often used to manifest mental imagery in battle—attacks aimed at the opponent's mind. The stronger the imagery, the more powerful the sound.
Chen Jinshu stowed the music score and handed over her spirit stones, receiving the Lüqi Zither in return. The moment the zither touched her hands, a gentle warmth spread through her. It seemed to resonate with the wood-attribute spiritual energy within her, glowing with a soft light.
"Does the Wanbing Pavilion have any stronger zither scores available?" she asked.
"Zither music scores are rare methods of combat for sound cultivators in the cultivation world," the senior sister at the counter replied, shaking her head slightly. "Our pavilion only has three, and this one—'The Cry of Cranes Among the Pines'—is the only one with any notable power."
Chen Jinshu wasn't disappointed by this. She knew the sect's archive housed more—and likely stronger—scores, though accessing them would require contribution points. That meant she'd need to finish her pill refinement tasks as soon as possible.
After leaving the Wanbing Pavilion, Chen Jinshu visited several other shops in succession, inquiring about music scores.
Finally, she purchased a scroll titled 'Autumn Dance of Frosted Leaves' from the Shuiyue Pavilion.
When played, it summoned autumn winds laced with chilling sorrow. The falling leaves, sharp as blades, could inflict notable damage on enemies.
Compared to 'The Cry of Cranes Among the Pines', it was clearly more powerful by a good margin.
She had studied the sect's historical talents and knew of a music cultivator from a hundred years ago. During a siege by demonic cultivators, this cultivator held off thousands using only her ancient zither, buying the sect precious time.
Sadly, the elder was eventually ambushed by a Nascent Soul demonic cultivator and perished. It was said that several of her powerful zither scores were still preserved in the sect's archive. By the time Chen Jinshu returned to Ink Plum Courtyard, the sun had dipped low.
The sky was drenched in red clouds, and under their glow, many of the sect's pavilions seemed to hum with distant, holy melodies. Her trip to the market wasn't just to sell spiritual herbs—it was primarily to acquire a suitable spiritual weapon.
She had once picked up a beautiful umbrella belonging to a senior inner disciple, and ever since, had longed for one of her own. But the moment she stepped into the Wanbing Pavilion, she dismissed such immature notions.
A spiritual weapon must suit its wielder to be truly effective.
Though umbrellas were versatile in offense and defense, she had no experience wielding them. Mastery required intense practice with the weapon's unique movements—essentially learning a whole new craft.
As a noble daughter of a cultivation clan, she had already trained in the Four Arts: zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting. She had even achieved some mastery in zither music. Why not build on that?
Besides, she had seen no umbrellas in the Wanbing Pavilion that resonated with her.
But this Lüqi Zither—it felt right.
From her storage bag, she took out the instrument. It was time to refine it. Unlike other spiritual weapons, zithers were refined through playing. Once her hands moved fluidly across the strings, the bond would be complete. She prepared everything, sat before the zither, and calmed her breathing.
The moment her fingers touched the strings, her wood-attribute spiritual energy stirred—as if the instrument had known her for years. The Lüqi Zither was made entirely from wood-attribute materials, naturally resonating with her cultivation path.
Ding!
"So soft and smooth," she murmured, amazed by the clarity and warmth of the tone—even with just a light pluck. It was far more beautiful than any zither she had played during her clan's lessons.
Ding... ding…
With focused breath, her fingers began to dance across the strings, playing a simple practice tune. The sound rang crisp and bright.
A breeze stirred the ink plum blossoms ahead, sending a cascade of crimson petals through the air.
A Shadowpeak Finch flitted joyfully among them, glowing faintly with white light.
"To think that just a casual performance would refine one-fifth of the instrument already," she whispered, hands still resting on the strings. She could feel the connection forming between them.
Even the Watermoon Pearl had taken her longer to refine.
"How much more could I refine with a serious rendition of 'The Cry of Cranes Among the Pines'?"
With a flicker of resolve, she opened the music score and began to play.
Ding ding…
The beginning was soft and gentle.
As her fingers moved, three towering pines erupted behind her, showering pine needles down like snow.
Ssshhh—
A breeze caught the falling needles and carried them into the mingling plum petals.
Chirp—!
Midway through the piece, the cry of cranes began echoing among the trees. Suddenly, five or six white-feathered cranes took flight around her, circling above and crying out in harmony.
Their calls were crisp and graceful, and in that moment, Chen Jinshu felt as if she had been meditating beneath pine trees for hours—utter serenity.
"What…?" she murmured in awe.
Under the plum tree ahead, ordinary plants had begun sprouting rapidly—not spiritual herbs, but common flowers and grasses. Yet their growth rivaled what she could achieve using enhancement elixirs.
"Could this piece have a plant-growing effect?"
But then she realized: her own wood spiritual energy already had a growth-enhancing quality, and combined with the life-healing properties of the Lüqi Zither, the synergy might be producing extraordinary results.
She finished the song, finally understanding what that senior sister meant by its mental influence.
The pine imagery calmed the performer's mind, while the cries of the cranes—sometimes sharp and commanding, other times mournful and lingering—could stir powerful emotions in opponents.
Any enemy with weak will might succumb to the emotional waves.
"If I occasionally play this in the herb garden, it could both enhance plant growth and improve my zither skill. Perfect."
She couldn't hide her joy, smiling wide as she hugged the zither. Then she returned to her room and entered her spatial realm to test the piece's plant-growth potential again. After playing the song once more, there wasn't a dramatic change, but she did notice deeper hues of green in the foliage—and even the Ice Spirit Flower had grown slightly.
"The effect on common plants is quite obvious. On spiritual herbs, the result is minimal—but over time, it should be meaningful."
She also realized that she was still not fully proficient with the song, and her cultivation level was too low to draw out the full potential of the Lüqi Zither.
Otherwise, the results might have been far more significant. What surprised her the most, though, was how quickly she had refined the instrument.
"Just two performances of 'The Cry of Cranes Among the Pines', and already a third of the zither is refined. Even the Plum Rain Fan couldn't compare."