Silent Crown

Chapter 355 Jiu Xiao Huan Pei

Ye Qingxuan lifted the skull and stared at the eye sockets. The skull was cold as tone and seemed to be made of metal. Its mouth was filled with solid gold, making it look like a menacing piece of art. However, waves rippled through constantly, resonating with the aether world in death.

This was the source that the saint left behind—a connecting point between the aether and material world. Through this point, Ye Qingxuan could experience the saint's lifetime accumulation and absorb understanding of music theory. This way, he could see the truth through the fog. After he broke through the Barrier of Knowledge, he could enter the aether world, anchor his own point, and enter the Resonance level.

He did not need to sign with a spirit or demon so he did not need to be restricted or affected by the contract. This was the more stable solution but it was not entirely harmless. After all, the aether world was not a paradise. It was an illusory realm enveloped by the Originator. Unknown dangers were hidden in the shadows there. To them, rashly entering musicians were the best feast.

If he entered without enough accumulation and was not protected by a saint or natural catastrophe, he could attract the attention of something scary without realizing. Plus, Ye Qingxuan already had Hyakume's eyes on him!

That natural catastrophe had established a bottomless abyss in the aether world and was not some nice guy. The aether world was his territory! If he was not gravely injured as expected or had recovered a bit, he would definitely 'welcome' Ye Qingxuan to visit and perform a bunch of 'tricks' for him…

"So should I gamble it?" Ye Qingxuan muttered to himself as he gripped his chin. He laughed involuntarily. Should he keep dragging it on until Hyakume recovered? It was just a matter of time. After all, the aether world was huge. He would not be so unlucky that he would fall into Hyakume's territory, right?

As the saying went, you only live once. He would be like any other loser if he had such a good opportunity before him and he did not try.

Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping! The strings on Jiu Xiao Huan Pei quickly extended and crisscrossed through his room. They vibrated and established an aether blending music theory, constructing a small enchantment.

Moonlight creeped on the instrument strings and connected above the sub-originator. The sub-originator's music theory came from Avalon's enchantment and brought together the wisdom of several generations of musicians.

It was overqualified to be used here, but it was better safe than sorry in this situation. Ye Qingxuan did not want to get stabbed in the back while his consciousness was extending into the aether sea through the musician path.

When everything was ready, he cut open his finger. A strand of silvery moonlight blood dripped from his finger. It fell onto the skull and disappeared. The skull absorbed his blood like a bottomless and insatiable hole.

Ye Qingxuan's expression quickly changed. His blood was flowing faster and faster as if it was being sucked by an invisible vortex. A bout of dizziness besieged him. In his daze, he saw that flesh was growing on the skull.

The withered face grew plumper and a pair of eyes slowly opened in the empty sockets. It looked at him and sighed, singing a hoarse song. Ye Qingxuan was swallowed by the song. He sank into a daze and could not move.

The fog that constantly shrouded the world before him suddenly disappeared. Once again, he could observe the omnipresent aether sea. The sea was boundless. Waves surged to the rhythm of the world's breathing. Light flowed from another world in the depths of the sea.

The four musician paths appeared before him again. Mind, Illusion, Revelations, and Abstinence. They were waiting for Ye Qingxuan's choice.

However, before Ye Qingxuan could think, the moonlight inside him started burning. The sub-originator rose up and a gentle melody spread out. The sleeping Deva's blood woke again under the melody. It radiated inside him. It felt as if his head split apart under the illumination of the moonlight. Sealed memories boiled in his mind, emerging one after another. They dragged him in, going deeper and deeper inside, deeper…

Finally, amidst the immense pain, he saw the seal made of moonlight inside his mind. Influenced by the Skull of Truth, some kind of power was awakening behind the seal. It was the power hidden in his blood, a melody that had accompanied his life since his birth. It was the talent within his Deva's blood!

Ye Qingxuan could only feel that his blood had turned into some sort of medium. Countless complex sleeping music theories emerged in his blood. They connected with each other, transforming into a detailed but vast structure. Finally, it turned into a complicated music score. That was the nature of the Dragon bloodline, the source of the white-haired Deva's strength!

The music score's power continuously charged against the seal that Ye Lanzhou had set. The music notes inside the seal shook, pounding against Ye Qingxuan's head, engulfing him in debilitating pain. However, the seal was undamaged.

Influenced by the music score, the Skull of Truth's guidance suddenly changed. The talent within the Deva's blood had chosen for Ye Qingxuan. Its power entered the Skull of Truth. It burned with the saint's enlightenment and knowledge, quickly enacting one of Ye Qingxuan's propositions.

Flames lit up inside the dark eye sockets of the skull. The inheritance was starting!

Countless music theories started emerging from the Skull of Truth. They wove with each other until the thousands of strands connected with the four paths made of music theory. Like tendrils and ivy, they grew quickly. They formed a complete entity where Ye Qingxuan had never thought of before and seeped into the four paths. They combined with the four entirely different music theories, starting an unexpected chain reaction.

The first to collapse was Revelations. Of the four, Ye Qingxuan's study of Revelations was the shallowest. Therefore, the music theory in that path was the easiest to change. In his mind, the School of Revelations quickly evolved until it became a beam of light that flowed into the path of Abstinence.

There was a rumble. Countless music notes flowed on the path of Abstinence. They rose like flames and changed on the spiraling path. It wrapped around the Revelations music theory in an unimaginable way and became more solid. A dazzling star rose slowly at the end of the rode, illuminating the future path.

Next was Illusion. It evaporated and seeped into Abstinence. Countless music notes emerged and fused. The Abstinence path became both real and illusory as if it was between the real and nonexistent realms.

Finally, the path of Mind merged completely with Abstinence. Rays of light and shadows instantly appeared on either side of the path. They seemed to pass through hell and heaven, going to an unknown destination.

After the three changes, the path of Abstinence was nothing like before. It seemed to have turned from a bungalow to a tower that reached to the sky.

Countless music theories were combined by the saint's enlightenment, enveloping Ye Qingxuan's music theory within. This path transformed with the entirely new state, transforming into a structure that Ye Qingxuan could not understand. It was majestic and solemn. More moonlight spirit was merged into it. It had some signs of a symphony of predestination but was hard to grasp.

Ye Qingxuan was dumbfounded before this tower. He had no clue what was happening. The seven schools were different but it was possible to merge. However, one needed to be at least the Distortion level to merge to this extent. Before writing the symphony of predestination and entering the Scepter level, musicians must go through the 'completion stage.' They must merge his specialized path with the other six schools and complete the evolution.

Only a complete and stable system could support the vast symphony of predestination. Ye Qingxuan never expected that the Skull of Truth could cross all that at once and help him merge four paths before he even entered Resonance.

This change had solved one of Ye Qingxuan's hardest problems though. All four paths were long and hard to choose but now they had become just one path. The downside was…the enlightenment within the Skull of Truth that could help him break through the Barrier of Knowledge had thinned. If it was a blazing fire before, now it was only a weak flame. All that power had been used up by the Deva's blood!

Ye Qingxuan wanted to cry. What kind of musician was he now? Now, the sub-originator was the core within his body. His blood formed a system that merged four schools together… It looked like he had formed a special school but there was no sign of Ye Qingxuan's Dreamweaver! It seemed that the world hated him.

However, he had no time to waste. His perception climbed the tower of music theory and charged into the depths of the aether sea. It felt like he was flying in the air. Breaking through layers of fog, he soared like an eagle. Riding the waves of aether, he flew higher, higher, and higher until he reached the end of the sky.

The scenery around him was bizarre. Figures appeared in the countless rays of light. Those were the silhouettes of musicians that had left in the aether sea when they entered Resonance. They spanned throughout history and were of all ages. Some wore noble clothing while others were in rags. Some may have died but their consciousness was carved within the aether and shone like stars.

The higher he went, the closer he was to the depth of the aether sea. He could sense more and more vast realms operating within the distant world.

He 'stepped' on the tower with stars of music theory guiding him overhead. Rather than being distracted by the absurd scenery, he walked steadily along the star's guidance. Passing countless paths, he walked in his own direction and entered deep inside the aether sea.

As he walked, the figures around him lessened. The remaining aether waves were stronger. Finally, the figures turned into Eastern musicians in elegant robes. They were of different ages and genders but their marks in the aether sea rippled with familiar waves. The same family emblem was on their long robes.

The same…Jiu Xiao Huan Pei!