The smile on Baili Qianchi's face had vanished. He sat upright with his hands resting on his knees. Beads of sweat were faintly seeping from his forehead, yet he remained as steady as a rock.
His mind was as focused as an arrow. Facing the impact of the zither music that felt like crashing waves, he felt the pressure but could still handle it calmly.
"Not bad."
He squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth, his gaze glancing toward the opposite side.
Then he froze.
Han Xuanji was still holding his teacup, even taking another sip. His expression was no different from before—calm, composed, and even carrying a hint of appreciation.
It was as if he were savoring a wonderful performance rather than enduring a heart-tempering impact strong enough to pressure even an Eternal True Lord.
He set down his teacup and, meeting Baili Qianchi's disbelieving gaze, spoke softly:
"It's not enough. Lady Qin Xin, again."
"Do not hold back. Neither Brother Baili nor I feel much pressure. If this is all there is, then in my opinion, the lead musician of Qianmeng Pavilion is merely a name without substance..."
Han Xuanji's words sounded somewhat offensive at first, but his tone was incredibly sincere, as if he truly thought so.
After all, Han Xuanji did look very calm, seemingly completely unaffected. As soon as these words were spoken, the entire audience was shocked.
Baili Qianchi wanted to say something, but after a moment's thought, he clenched his fists and closed his eyes, remaining silent.
He didn't believe Han Xuanji was truly as composed as he appeared on the surface.
"Even I find it strenuous; surely he won't be able to hold out much longer."
Baili Qianchi encouraged himself in his heart.
"Moreover, I can still improve; my mental will can still achieve a Breakthrough! How can I fall so soon!"
On the other side, hearing this, Qin Xin lifted her eyelids, her cold eyes lingering on Han Xuanji's face for a breath's time.
"Oh?"
She had played the zither for many years and had seen Geniuses as numerous as crucian carp crossing a river. There were those whose expressions remained unchanged upon first hearing the music, those who forced themselves to appear calm, and even those who fought back by using their own dao-rhythm against the music.
But someone like this young man before her—who, under the first piece 'Surging Waves,' still had the leisure to sip tea and could use a tone so sincere it didn't sound like sarcasm to say 'again'— She had indeed never encountered such a person.
Did he truly have something to rely on, or was he arrogant to the extreme?
Regardless of which it was, it caused a rare ripple to appear in Qin Xin's heart, which was usually as still as an ancient well.
The feeling was very subtle.
She wasn't angry because of Han Xuanji's slight offense; rather, it was the instinct of a musician meeting a listener who piqued her curiosity, an involuntary desire to see where the other person's limit lay.
"Fine."
Qin Xin lowered her eyelids, hiding the flash of strangeness in her eyes. Her voice remained as cold as water:
"In that case, this second piece, 'Terrifying Waves'—listen well."
The moment her voice fell, Qin Xin's entire aura changed. She was no longer that frost-cold woman playing the zither, but rather like a deity in command of the vast ocean, slowly opening her eyes. Before her fingertips even plucked a string, the air on the terrace stagnated. All the spectating guests felt a tightness in their chests, as if ten thousand tons of seawater were pressing in from all directions, making even breathing difficult.
Hun Qianling subconsciously gripped her sleeves, only to find her hands were trembling slightly.
"Is this... the true strength of an Advanced musician?"
Among the surrounding guests, not everyone had witnessed the true strength of an Advanced musician before.
Then, the zither music exploded.
It was no longer gradual like the first piece; the second piece, 'Terrifying Waves,' was a devastating, overwhelming impact from the very start.
Seven strings vibrated simultaneously, each note transforming into a heavy hammer striking directly at the very core of the soul.
If the first piece was compared to a catalyst that evoked fearful memories, then the second piece was a straightforward, unadorned crushing force.
There was no probing, only wave after wave of mental impact, like an apocalyptic storm from the deepest parts of the Hongmeng Sea, carrying the irresistible majesty of heaven and earth as it surged forward.
Although the spectating guests were not targeted by the power within the music, just a single stray note caused the faces of many Cultivators with weaker cultivation to turn deathly pale. They retreated repeatedly, forced to circulate their power to protect their minds.
A knowledgeable Cultivator gasped:
"The Terrifying Waves piece... Lady Qin Xin is getting serious. In this piece, almost no one among the Eternal True Lords can withstand it head-on."
"I know that Baili Qianchi; his mental cultivation is said to be at the Eternal True Lord level. He should be able to hold out, right?"
"Hard to say... look at him!"
Everyone's gaze fell upon Baili Qianchi, and then they all fell silent.
Baili Qianchi, who had been sitting boldly and laughing freely just moments ago, was now frozen in his chair.
His eyes had stopped moving.
That face, which originally wore a defiant smile, now held only a forced expression of bitterness.
Cold sweat seeped from his forehead, sliding down his cheeks and soaking his collar, but he was completely unaware of it.
His lips moved slightly, as if he were saying something, but no sound came out.
Qin Xin had been provoked by Han Xuanji's words and did not hold back. Her full power was enough to shake an Eternal True God for an instant, let alone an Eternal Dao Lord. The moment the music entered his heart, he lost his perception of 'reality.'
Everything before his eyes collapsed. The terrace of Qianmeng Pavilion vanished, the surrounding guests vanished, and even Han Xuanji sitting opposite him vanished.
Then the world restructured, replaced by a boundless grey ocean.
This was the Hongmeng Sea, also known as the Sea of Origin. In the Eternal Continent, some also called it the Sea of Mystery because countless secrets and dangers were hidden within this ocean. Anyone could get lost in it, and there were even rumors that Saint King Realm experts who explored the depths together encountered great horrors...
"Not bad, this is music!"
Han Xuanji nodded slightly.
"However, for me, this bit of pressure is somewhat insufficient."
No matter how strong her music was, it ultimately acted upon the 'heart.'
And Han Xuanji's heart had been shattered countless times and reconsolidated countless times the moment he fused his character tags.
Billions of lives, billions of joys and sorrows, billions of tastes of life and death—he had tasted them all.
Those experiences had not destroyed him; instead, they had forged him into a different kind of existence.
No matter how fierce the giant waves of the music were, crashing against this boundless sea of the heart was merely like waves hitting the reefs on the shore.
After the roar, they turned into fine foam and dissipated without a trace.
Though he thought this in his heart, Han Xuanji also pretended to be under some pressure. His breathing rhythm changed, and to the outside world, it seemed as though he was also facing significant pressure.
But for Baili Qianchi, sitting opposite Han Xuanji, it was a completely different experience.
"This is?"
Baili Qianchi opened his eyes and suddenly found himself standing alone on a small boat, surrounded by giant waves millions of feet high.
The walls of waves were as black as ink, each strike exploding in his ears like the roar of doomsday.
His small boat was as tiny as a speck of dust before the giant waves.
He gritted his teeth, trying to steady his mind.
His mental will had been tempered to be as tough as iron through countless lonely nights, but now he suddenly realized—
Iron can also rust.
A wave struck, and the small boat capsized.
In an instant, Baili Qianchi fell into the icy seawater.