Chapter 7184 Psychological Attacks

A single zither string had condensed in the air and blocked Feng Xinglie’s punch. The string was blown apart, and Zi Yan and Feng Xinglie both fell back.

Law runes dispersed slowly through the air. They were magnificent to behold; the scene was so beautiful that people even forgot they were on a battlefield for a moment.

“You really have gained an initial grasp of the power of the Grand Dao. However, your Dao power is something inherited, not something you comprehended on your own. It might be frightening to behold for those who don’t know any better, but compared to a Heavenly Sovereign, or even a half-step one, you are still lacking greatly!” observed Zi Yan.

When he heard this, Li Yifu’s heart shook. Her vision was truly sharp.

Previously, he had also been frightened by Feng Xinglie’s aura. He couldn’t believe that a Sovereign Lord could control Dao power, yet that was exactly what his senses were telling him. But now that Feng Xinglie had actually fought in front of him, Li Yifu had immediately realized that something was wrong. Feng Xinglie’s Dao power didn’t seem to match him perfectly; its flow was a bit stiff.

He had thought it was because it was a new power he had only recently grasped. But after Zi Yan said this, he realized that she was right. This Dao power was not something he had acquired himself, but an imprint left by someone else. To put it another way, Feng Xinglie’s path had already been paved by someone, and Li Yifu would have to be truly blind not to see who it was. That person could only be be Qi Yunao.

This discovery made Li Yifu feel much better inside. Had it been so easy to grasp the power of the Grand Dao, wouldn’t it make his countless years of hard work worthless?

“What I can control belongs to me. How can a girl like you speak of the mysteries of the Dao? Call out the Heavenly Devil Zither. Let me see just how strong you are with the Heavenly Devil Zither!” retorted Feng Xinglie.

“You haven’t even drawn your weapon, so why would I?” Zi Yan’s tone was flat, but her voice exuded immeasurable confidence.

“You really are courting death!” spat out Feng Xinglie. Zi Yan was clearly looking down on him!

BOOM!

The void beneath his feet exploded once more, and he left a mass of illusions in the air as he once more attacked. A sharp claw reached towards Zi Yan’s throat.

In front of this berserk attack, Zi Yan raised a single finger and brushed it across the air. Heaven and earth split apart, and a zither string appeared once more.

With another explosive sound, the string was blown apart. But in Feng Xinglie’s berserk state, he didn’t fall back this time. He pressed the attack, causing Zi Yan to retreat.

Zi Yan gracefully retreated seven steps. With every step, her hand brushed over the air. Strings of law power kept condensing one after the other.

Those zither strings were destroyed one by one by Feng Xinglie’s attacks as he continued to press back Zi Yan. On the surface, it seemed as if he had the advantage. But Miao Yin’s eyes were shining. As a fellow music cultivator, she could see that Zi Yan was simply using psychological warfare.

Feng Xinglie was a sanctimonious hypocrite. Such people always put on airs and had narrow hearts. Although she didn’t know why he hadn’t made an appearance on the battlefield last time, based on this judgment of his character, he had to be holding a grudge over not being allowed to fight.

The fact that Zi Yan called Long Chen her husband had provoked Feng Xinglie’s envy, causing him to be enraged. Zi Yan then compared Long Chen’s character to Feng Xinglie’s, and even mocked Feng Xinglie.

Right now, Zi Yan was using the third note of the pentatonic scale. The pentatonic scale of Gong, Shang, Jue, Zhi, Yu also corresponded to the five viscera—the spleen, lungs, liver, heart, and kidneys. The Jue note corresponded to the liver. It soothed the liver, relieving depression, boosting the flow of qi, and bringing peace and tranquility to the mind.[1]

However, Zi Yan was using the inverted pitch. This was something that only a true master of the Music Dao could hear. Laymen wouldn’t be able to tell, but the logic was simple to understand: The inverted pitch had the exact opposite effect. If the normal note was able to soothe the liver, then the inversion was like throwing oil onto the fire.[2]

Feng Xinglie wasn’t even conscious of it, but as he blasted apart the zither strings, his face was starting to twist with fury.

Compared to the young master and Zi Yan, I’m still too immature... Miao Yin sighed inside. It wasn’t that she lacked the ability to do something like this; the problem was that, against an expert like Feng Xinglie and this immense pressure, her thought process would grow rigid, and there was no way she would think of using such tactics.

Feng Xinglie obviously had a shadow on his heart from the start, and after being provoked by Zi Yan, it only grew more prominent. All kinds of negative emotions were raging within him, and even his attacks were going out of control.

On the surface, it looked like Feng Xinglie had the advantage and was pressing forward so that Zi Yan couldn’t retaliate. In truth, Zi Yan was easily countering all his attacks, and she wasn’t even expending much energy.

“I want to see how many strings you have on that rotten zither!” Feng Xinglie roared and continued his furious assault. Everywhere he went, the void shattered like a mirror. It was a shocking sight. Raging qi waves containing law fragments spread through the air. Those fragments struck Zhao Yue and the others first, and the eight Flag Bearers raised barriers that blocked them.

“You want a battle of attrition? In that case, good luck!” said Zi Yan. “I am a music cultivator. My music is one with the heavens. The Grand Dao favors me, and as long as the Grand Dao exists, my music cannot be silenced!”

BOOM!

Feng Xinglie blew apart yet another string. He shouted, “That’s what you think! The world has already changed, and the chains of order have reformed. Only someone with the key to controlling the new era’s laws can open the gate of the new Dao!”

Even as he spoke, Feng Xinglie didn’t stop attacking. His attacks grew increasingly frantic.

“This key you speak of is only a shackle you chained yourself with. The Grand Dao is eternal. How can it be old or new? The path you’re walking is crooked, and you’ve gone astray!” responded Zi Yan as she retreated.

Seeing that the two of them were able to speak so easily while in such an intense fight, the spectators were once more shocked. These two were both monsters!

“You evil demoness! You dare to strike at my Dao-heart?! Today, I will definitely kill you!” Feng Xinglie suddenly let out a furious roar. For some reason, it seemed that his reverse scale had been touched. His face contorted with fury and savagery.

Everyone was startled by his reaction. In theory, someone at his power should have had an incredibly stable Dao-heart. How could he instantly go out of control after just a few words?

Could it be that he also has doubts about his own path?

Thinking of how Zi Yan had said that Feng Xinglie’s path had been set by someone else, that his Grand Dao power was inherited, did that mean that Feng Xinglie felt constrained because this path was not his own choice? It seemed that Zi Yan’s words had prodded the contradictory feelings inside of him, resulting in him going crazy.

“AHH!”

Feng Xinglie suddenly stopped attacking and spread his arms. He raised his head and roared. A strange rune appeared on his forehead.

Heaven and earth changed color; thunder boomed. The world suddenly darkened, and an apocalyptic aura unfurled.

1. The Chinese pentatonic scale consists of five notes: Gong, Shang, Jue, Zhi, Yu, which correspond to Do, Re, Mi, Sol, La (no Fa and Ti). They are considered to correspond to the five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, water) and the five viscera as described here. ☜

2. Interestingly enough, a similar notion exists in real life and is the principle behind active noise cancellation. ANC headphones cancel out incoming sounds by emitting a sound with equal frequency and amplitude but opposite phase (high/low) that cancels out the external sound. This distinction is not audible to the human ear, however. ☜

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