The Red-clothed Woman noticed it was a fifth-grade Magical Treasure. She stood up, examined the Magical Treasure, then glanced at Shi Chun and asked, "What do you mean?"

Shi Chun pointed at the Black Lotus Dharma Aspect and said, "See if it's the tune I heard before. If it is, it should recognize it."

The Red-clothed Woman was surprised, "It can understand tunes? Isn't it a Spirit Venerable Treasure, revered by spirits?"

This statement left Shi Chun momentarily stunned, "A Spirit Venerable Treasure understands tunes?"

He had heard of Spirit Venerable Treasures but didn't know how to distinguish them. Upon this reminder, he recalled that this particular Magical Treasure indeed differed from others. It was the only one to awaken on its own after being struck by lightning and falling into slumber.

Regarding his ignorance, the Red-clothed Woman merely rolled her eyes at him without saying more. She spun the flute in her hand, made it disappear with a wave, then produced a jade-like purple bamboo flute and began to toy with it. She said, "You mentioned hearing flute music earlier. This tune was originally played on a flute. Later, I found the flute's sound less expressive than that of a xiao. After an old friend passed away, I switched to the xiao."

Upon seeing the flute, Shi Chun fell into a trance, feeling as if he had seen it somewhere before, yet he was certain he hadn't.

The Red-clothed Woman caressed the flute, seemingly lost in some form of reminiscence, and slowly placed the flute to her lips and played.

It must be said, the flute's penetrating and crisp quality was strong, but it lacked the gentle murmur of the xiao, making it sound like two different tunes.

None of this mattered though. What mattered was, as soon as the prelude of the tune unfolded, the Black Lotus Dharma Aspect seemed to stir, tilting its head as if listening intently.

The Red-clothed Woman's eyes flashed with surprise as she earnestly began to play.

As the tune developed, the Black Lotus Dharma Aspect's body trembled and the flowing light around it swirled more rapidly.

The Artifact Spirit's emotional turbulence also affected Shi Chun's associated thoughts. As the melody grew ever more poignant and moving, Shi Chun seemed to see a scene from memory re-emerge in his mind.

A vague image appeared: atop a cloudy mountain, there seemed to be a woman in an ice-blue velvet dress, her graceful figure playing the flute.

It was that scene again; Shi Chun had seen it once before. This time, he tried hard to see the woman's face clearly, only to realize that the flute she played was indeed the jade-like purple bamboo flute, shining brightly under the refracted sunlight. This sudden recognition jolted him awake, his gaze fixed on the flute at the Red-clothed Woman's lips, finally understanding why it seemed familiar.

It turns out he had seen it in the fragmented memory of the Black Lotus Dharma Aspect.

Then suddenly, the Black Lotus Dharma Aspect clutched its head, its bodily form collapsed and fragmented, transforming into the Black Lotus Magical Artifact and falling to the ground.

The flute music abruptly halted, and the Red-clothed Woman lowered the flute and asked, "What happened?"

Shi Chun replied, "There should be no mistake; it must be this tune. This tune is this Magic Artifact's weakness. When I was sparring with someone in the Divine Fire Domain, because of this tune, it immobilized my Magical Treasure and nearly cost me my life."

The Red-clothed Woman slightly frowned, "If you have something to say, just say it. Don't act strangely in front of me."

She believed that the unusual behavior of the Black Lotus Dharma Aspect earlier was due to Shi Chun's secret manipulation, instinctively thinking he had some ulterior motives.

Shi Chun immediately realized she had misunderstood and smiled bitterly, saying, "You shouldn't think like that. How would I know you'd suddenly decide to play the flute late at night?"

As he spoke, he pointed at the flute in her hand, "When you first took out that flute, I felt like I'd seen it somewhere before but couldn't recall where. Until the moment the flute music played and my Artifact Spirit struggled emotionally, I saw a scene, which seemed to be a residual memory within it, faintly showing your flute atop some cloudy mountain, vaguely a woman in ice-blue attire playing. Where did you get this flute?"

At first, the Red-clothed Woman seemed to be merely observing his words and deeds. Upon hearing the scene of the cloudy mountain, her body trembled, her eyes widened in sudden realization.

At this moment, she displayed an unprecedented shock, unlike anything Shi Chun had ever seen from her before, an emotion seemingly at odds with her temperament.

Previously, this woman gave him the impression of indolence, but a measured sort, never appearing careless. Instead, it formed a unique allure, always making one feel that she maintained an invisible restraint, even in extreme indulgence between men and women, reflecting a self-permitted degree of measure. Simply put, he had never seen such genuine loss of composure on her.

The scene suddenly fell silent, with only the sound of the wind remaining.

The two of them stared at each other for a moment, Shi Chun vaguely sensed something from her unusual reaction, filling him with suspicion and curiosity. He tentatively broke the silence, asking, "What is it?"

The Red-clothed Woman's eyes suddenly turned cold, with a flash of murderous intent. Her tone was icy as she said, "Tell me, who arranged for you to approach me?"

"…" Shi Chun was momentarily speechless, then smiled wryly with a sigh, "Ruo Jun, you're overthinking this. I truly wasn't lying, and it really wasn't me manipulating the Magic Artifact. This tune affecting the Magic Artifact isn't exactly a secret. Back when I was sparring in the Divine Fire Domain, many people from the Extreme Fire Sect were present and saw it happen firsthand. If you're curious, with your background, a little investigation will reveal it.

Hypothetically speaking, if you can't find out anything related, I can remove this Artifact's associations for you. You can have it acknowledge you as its owner, then find someone to play your tune once again, and feel the Artifact's response yourself to see."

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