Chapter 47: Fifth-Order Beast Tendon!

  Xie Mu and the other person looked at each other in doubt, then immediately shifted their gaze back to the musical score.

  "Master, we..." After a while, Meng Xiaobao couldn't help but say.

  Xie Tianci raised his hand slightly, "You can go down now, this doesn't concern you anymore."

  "Yes!"

  The two of them responded in unison and immediately retreated, leaving behind two old men who were bent over the desk carefully studying the score.

  ——

  Outside the study door.

  Xiao Yun let out a long sigh, his face turned somewhat strange. The tune "Terror" actually made the two music masters so infatuated. In his mind, he imagined Mu Tian'en and Xie Tianci singing "Terror". Xiao Yun looked up at the sky, feeling that this world was going crazy.

  "See, I didn't deceive you, did I? To make Shifu and the others so flustered, Xiao Shixiong, this is quite an accomplishment." Meng Xiaobao said with a teasing expression, smiling at Xiao Yun.

  "Clang! Clang! Clang!"

  Xiao Yun smiled lightly and was about to speak when a sudden burst of piano music came from the study, the melody entering his ears and causing a surge of energy in his body.

  "It's no good, the masters have started brewing their medicine. Xiao Shixiong, let's hurry and leave this place!" Meng Xiaobao suddenly changed color and without saying a word, pulled Chen Daxing out of the elder's hall in a rush.

  Xiao Yun recognized that the sound of the guqin coming from the study was indeed "Turbulent", and after just one sentence, it stirred up the blood in his body, it seemed that this piece was truly extraordinary.

  ——

  "Marvelous, marvelous, marvelous! Brother Shifu, all these years have not been in vain. The tune can still be played like this, and a common melody can also have such destructive power. This little guy has indeed opened up a new path that no one has ever taken before."

  When the music stopped, Xie Tianci couldn't help but hold up the score and praise it.

  Mo Tian'en stroked his beard and nodded, "This melody indeed has its merits. If you can fully grasp this style, our realm will surely surpass others by a great margin. I'm starting to doubt whether this piece was really composed by that young whippersnapper."

  Xie Tianxi nodded slightly, this piece has already reached the realm of returning to simplicity and truth. There are many places that are worth their reference. If they didn't have a very deep understanding of music, it would be absolutely impossible to compose. Xiao Yun is only in his early twenties, even if he started to comprehend the Tao of music from birth, I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to reach such heights?

  ……

  ——

  Jinyun Mountain, Fang City.

  "Master Zhong!"

  Once again arrived at the Music Building, Zhong Kui was repairing musical instruments upstairs.

  Turning back, he saw it was Xiao Yun. Zhong Kui's face broke into a faint smile, "Young fellow, long time no see, got another score to sell?"

  Xiao Yun shook his head and smiled, "I want to buy some things."

  "What? What do you want?" Zhong Kui put down the erhu in his hand, stood up from behind the table and walked out to stand in front of Xiao Yun.

  Xiao Yun thought for a moment and said, "Master Zhong, I'd like to ask, what material is best used for making zither strings?"

  "What? Has your string broken?" Zhong Kui looked at Xiao Yun with a glance and asked back.

  Xiao Yun nodded, "I want to find two new strings to replace them, but unfortunately, I don't know what material is best. I've heard that beast tendon is the best, but I also don't know which kind of beast tendon is good."

  "It depends on the grade of your qin, you know that a good horse deserves a good saddle. Although beast tendon is good, it's hard to find even better ones and they're very expensive. If your qin isn't of high grade, it's better to choose ordinary materials like beast hair, golden thread or iron thread. I have a Spring Thunder Guqin here, you've seen it before, it was left here for sale by a senior musician, an extreme example of a common product. You can take another look, if you like it, I can sell it to you at a low price." Zhong Kui said while leading Xiao Yun to the side where the qin rack was.

  Xiao Yun shook his head, "My zither was a gift from my master's senior fellow disciples, its quality is not inferior to Chun Lei's, and it may even be slightly better. So, I think it would be better to find some materials to repair my old zither."

  "Huh? Higher than Chun Lei's rank? I'd like to see that." Zhong Kui was taken aback, his face filled with doubt. It seemed that this Xiao Yun was quite valued in the sect.

  Xiao Yun waved his hand and said, "It's been placed in the sect, it hasn't been brought out, so Master Zhong shouldn't be surprised."

  "What's the name of that zither you mentioned?" Zhong Kui asked curiously, every high-quality zither had its own unique name, and it was even higher in quality than Chun Lei Zither, except for Yue Bao, such a zither was rare.

  "Jiuxiao!" Xiao Yun said directly without hiding anything.

  "Jiuxiao?"

  Zhong Kui heard this and a hint of surprise flashed between his eyebrows, his eyes sizing up Xiao Yun for a moment. "As far as I know, the Jiuxiao is the personal item of Mo Tian'en, the predecessor of the Tianyin Sect. Are you a disciple of the Tianyin Sect?"

  "Master Zhong, you know quite a lot, don't you?" Xiao Yun smiled faintly, without denying it.

  Zhong Kui stroked his beard and smiled, "As someone in our line of work, how could we not know the name of Jiu Xiao? It's said that it's the famous magic weapon of Mu Qian, which he never lends to anyone. Looks like Mu Qian holds you in high regard."

  Xiao Yun forced a smile and lied, "I think you should also know that Old Man's temper is not very good. If he finds out that the Jiu Xiao is broken, he will definitely go berserk. So, I have to find two better strings to repair it before he discovers it, or else when he finds out, I'm afraid he'll beat me to death."

  Zhong Kui smiled, seemingly taking pleasure in his misfortune.

  "Master Zhong, can you save me? If it's really impossible, then just give me two strings from Chun Lei's zither." Xiao Yun said with feigned urgency.

  "That won't work!"

  Zhong Kui was startled by Xiao Yun's proposal, "Chun Lei is a senior who placed it here for sale, and it's not something from my Juyin Tower. If it's destroyed, that senior will blame me, and I won't be able to bear the consequences."

  "Master Zhong, you can't just stand by and do nothing!" Xiao Yun pretended to be pitiful, he was eager to bring out the seven-stringed zither, which would also make his future cultivation much more convenient.

  Zhong Kui thought for a moment, then beckoned to Xiao Yun, "Follow me."

  It's on! Xiao Yun was delighted and immediately followed up.

  Behind a shelf holding music scores, Zhong Kui rummaged around for a while, flipping and picking out a black lacquer box.

  That box was long, like a pencil case, and it was unknown how long it had been placed behind the shelf. The top was covered with a layer of dust. Zhong Kui picked it up and wiped it clean, his mouth curled up in a slight arc.

  The box opened, and Xiao Yun immediately curiously approached it. Inside the box was a thin thread, about two millimeters in diameter, with a fiery red color that seemed to be flowing like flames on its surface.

  Zhong Kui reached into the box and pulled out a piece of silk, about five feet long. "This is the abdominal tendon of the fifth-level demon beast Lava Python, which should meet your requirements."

  "Huh?"

  The demon beast is divided into nine levels. Unless it is enlightened by a high-ranking member of the demon tribe, generally speaking, when it reaches the seventh level, it can transform into a human form. A fifth-level demon beast is equivalent to the mid-term cultivation realm of a human musician. Xiao Yun's eyes lit up and he immediately took the python tendon from Zhong Kui's hand.

  It has a moderate warmth and elasticity to the touch, and is an excellent material for making strings.

  "Really good!" Xiao Yun was delighted and immediately asked, "Is there only one of these?"

  Zhong Kui shook his head, "Do you think it's easy to get? The tendon of the demon beast is not something that can be easily obtained. I've been hiding and concealing just this one piece, if some powerful demon were to see it, I'm afraid they would strip me of my tendons."

  Xiao Yun was slightly disappointed upon hearing this, as the python tendon was only five feet long, just enough to make one string for a zither. He needed two more strings, Wen and Wu, but he still lacked one.

  "Master Zhong, name a price!" It's better to have something than nothing. No big deal, I can go to other shops later. In such a large market, it shouldn't be impossible to find two pieces of animal tendon, right?

  Zhong Kui thought for a moment, stretched out his right hand, and raised five fingers at Xiao Yun.

  "Five pieces of Low-Grade Spirit Crystals?" Although he knew it would definitely be expensive, Xiao Yun still held onto a thread of hope.

  Zhong Kui rolled his eyes, "This is actually the tendon of a fifth-grade demon beast, five pieces of low-grade spirit crystals. It's really surprising that you thought of it, but they are high-grade spirit crystals."

  "Five top-grade spirit crystals?" Xiao Yun hesitated for a moment, "Master Zhong, won't that be too expensive? I've bought quite a few things from you already."

  "It's already the lowest price, if you change to another place, without ten top-grade spirit crystals, don't even think about taking it down." Zhong Kui stroked his beard and said.