The abandoned cannon fodder girl's path to immortality

Chapter 272 Star and Moon Zither

"Change! Change! Thank you, fairy! Thank you for your great kindness!"

The old man was so overjoyed that he was almost incoherent, and without hesitation, he handed the heavy, worn-out zither to Chen Jinshu.

He then clutched the longevity pill tightly, hunched over, and retreated.

"Hmph! What a sucker!"

The shirtless, burly man muttered something, his tone full of disdain.

"Tch... Another one with too much money to burn." Yin Jiu waved his bone fan faster, his expression becoming more unpredictable.

"Damn it, alchemists may be generous, but their eyesight must have been clouded by the sea fog!"

Chen Jinshu ignored the surrounding chatter and got up to return to the private room.

……

"Jinshu, those people are awful! They looked at you like they wanted to eat you alive!"

Qing Teng floated angrily to Chen Jinshu's side and curiously poked the guqin that was casually placed on the low table.

"This wood is so strange. The outside is completely rotten, but the inside still contains the power of stars and moon."

"Yes, the dormant power of the stars and moon."

"This zither is made of special wood, not ordinary wood. And when the old man held it, there was a glint in his eyes for a moment, which doesn't seem like he was just lying."

Extending his life by five years is nothing more than a small favor for us, but for him, it might be his last hope. Let's simply establish a good connection.

She is not a pushover, but her acts of kindness, whenever possible, can sometimes bring unexpected consequences.

Moreover, the zither did indeed pique her interest.

"Oh..." Qingheng nodded as if she understood.

"Should we repair the brocade letter?"

"Let's see," Chen Jinshu replied, gathering a wisp of pure green wood spiritual energy at his fingertips and carefully probing into the body of the zither.

Knock knock knock!!

Just then, a short knock sounded at the door.

Then a deliberately softened, obsequious male voice came:
"Senior? I am Zhao Minghe. I was impressed by your demeanor when I saw you in the Hundred Treasures Hall just now."

I have been stuck at the second level of the Golden Core stage for a long time. I can tell that you must come from a prestigious sect, with extensive knowledge and profound cultivation.

I don't know... I don't know if you could spare some time to give me some pointers?
The younger generation is deeply grateful and wishes to repay this kindness with a generous gift!

Upon hearing this, Chen Jinshu frowned slightly and extended his divine sense outside. He saw a middle-aged male cultivator wearing an indigo robe, with a fair complexion and a carefully trimmed short beard on his chin.

He was rubbing his hands together, his face full of eager smiles, but his eyes were shifty.

With only a second-level Golden Core cultivation level, his aura was weak and unstable, clearly indicating an unstable foundation.

This person appears respectful and flattering, and speaks quite sincerely, but the shrewd calculation deep in his eyes is hard to hide.

He does have something in common with Lin Xiao from before; they are both extremely rude.

"The path of cultivation lies in self-realization. Please return."

Chen Jinshu replied calmly via telepathy, his voice flat and unreadable, but carrying a sense of detachment, showing no desire to open the door.

"I am but a rogue cultivator, and I am not worthy of the title of 'famous sect'."

The path of cultivation lies in oneself; with a solid foundation, success will come naturally.

"I have no insightful advice to offer, nor do I need your expense. Please leave."

There was a moment of silence outside the door.

Zhao Minghe was clearly not expected to be rejected so decisively; his smile froze, and then he forced out an even more eager voice:

"senior!!

I know that you, senior, are highly skilled in alchemy and have profound cultivation. This has been a problem that has troubled me for many years, as it concerns the bottleneck in the formation of the core and is a matter of life and death.

"This junior wishes to offer a piece of 'Shattered Star Cold Iron' that I obtained in my early years from the 'Starfall Trench'..."

He began to complain incessantly, interspersed with various self-aggrandizing claims about his treasures.

"Noisy."

With a flick of his fingertips, Chen Jinshu sent an invisible surge of spiritual energy through the barrier, gently striking the void about a foot in front of Zhao Minghe.

puff!
As if pushed by an invisible hand, Zhao Minghe staggered back three steps before barely managing to stand still.

The color drained from his face, leaving only shock and embarrassment.

He opened his mouth, but ultimately dared not press the matter further. He bowed deeply to the closed hatch, his eyes darkening as he quickly retreated into the shadows of the passageway.

"There's a very faint, subtle malice about this person."

Qingheng wrinkled her little nose and said, her face full of disgust.

"It's alright, they're just petty scoundrels."

Chen Jinshu ignored him and focused all his attention on the guqin in front of him.

Her eyes were slightly closed, and the flames flickered at her fingertips, but they were not blazing; rather, they were a warm, jade-like green wood flame.

The flames carefully licked the charred parts of the harp's tail, not burning them, but using extremely precise heat to peel away the stubborn char.

A moment later, she completely melted away the scorch on the burnt parts of the guqin, and soon the natural wood grain, resembling a star map, was revealed again.

"It's really weird!"

Chen Jinshu's expression calmed down, revealing a radiant joy.

This is neither ordinary wood nor common spiritual wood, but a rare type of star-attracting wood that naturally contains the Dao of stars.

However, this wood had undergone some unknown calamity, and its spiritual essence was almost completely destroyed, leaving only the core star-patterned Dao traces, which were then covered by a thick layer of charred material.

If it weren't for her powerful divine sense making her extremely difficult to detect, it would also be due to her extraordinary Daoist aura.

"Qingheng, assist me."

"Hmm!" Qingheng responded, her small figure appearing as she placed her hands lightly on the body of the zither.

The pure and powerful energy of the natural plant essence is slowly infused into the instrument.

This force did not forcibly repair, but rather carefully nourished the withered wood veins, awakening the faint life force dormant deep within them.

A few days later. Buzz!
A faint, yet soul-stirring, clear sound emanated from within the instrument.

The instrument is about three feet six and a half inches long, and its entire body presents a restrained and deep black color.

The charred areas were fully revealed, with seven tiny, rice-grain-sized star-shaped spots and a hazy, crescent-shaped silver wood grain embedded in the dark brown wood.

The cool, clear power of starlight and moonlight was suddenly unblocked, flowing out in wisps and strands, instantly dispelling all the gloom and salty smell inside the cabin.

"Jinshu, it...it's alive! It feels so good!"

Qingheng felt the faint starlight and moonlight in the air, clapping her little hands, her blue eyes shining brightly.

The green light on its body also became dazzling due to the power of the stars and moon.

Chen Jinshu smiled faintly, then took out a small tuft of silver-white silk thread that shimmered like stardust, a string blank made of star marrow crystal sand, and a small piece of warm, thousand-year-old ambergris wood from his storage ring, preparing to repair the remaining parts of the zither.

Having the experience of changing the strings of the Green Jade Zither before, he was now extremely skilled at changing the strings.

After a short while, she changed the strings, and the Star Moon Qin emitted a humming sound as if it had awakened.

The Xuanmo zither has a restrained and profound body, with seven star strings flowing with silver light, and the Big Dipper pattern at the tail of the zither shimmering with silver light.

"It's done!" A hint of satisfaction flashed in Chen Jinshu's eyes.

She gently plucked the middle string of the instrument.

"Zheng!!"

The clear and melodious sound of the zither suddenly burst forth, like jade striking each other, or a clear spring cascading into a ravine.

The sound wasn't loud, but it carried a strange, penetrating power.

Even more strangely, as the music began, the star and moon wood grain on the tail of the instrument suddenly lit up, with seven star-like spots shimmering with silver light.

The crescent-shaped patterns flow with a milky white light.

Chen Jinshu's fingers were drawn by the power of the stars and moon, involuntarily leaping, hooking, and plucking at the three strings.

Ding ding dong dong…

A melody she had never heard before, yet seemed to be etched deep within her soul, flowed from her fingertips.

The melody is sometimes like the whisper of the Milky Way, quiet and far-reaching; at other times it is like the moonlight pouring down, clear and aloof; and in an instant, it transforms into the majestic and destructive sound of stars falling and the moon sinking.

Tiny specks of silvery starlight, as if summoned by the sound of a piano, gathered through the window in wisps.

They circled and danced around Chen Jinshu, eventually disappearing into the star and moon wood grain of the zither's tail.

The wood grain glowed brighter and brighter, gradually projecting a complex pattern of pure starlight into the void about a foot in front of Chen Jinshu.

On the map, countless stars twinkle and shift, while ancient seal script, as sharp as silver hooks and iron strokes, floats and sinks among the starlight.

"The Celestial Star and Moon Guide!"

Chen Jinshu's gaze was drawn to the words on the star map, and he couldn't help but read them aloud in a low voice.

"We gather starlight to string our instruments, and draw upon the moon's essence to create our melody. Under the night sky, the sound will cause stars to fall and the moon to sink!"

Her expression changed slightly, taking on a porcelain-white hue. The music from her fingertips abruptly stopped, and the starlight pattern suddenly receded, transforming into a thin stream of light that instantly disappeared into her brow.

"The power of the stars and moon can actually use music as a bridge to transform the intangible into lethal force! This technique is truly born for the night!"

She stroked the wood grain of the zither's tail, its luster understated yet seemingly containing the stars and moon of the entire night sky, feeling the "Star and Moon Melody" constantly floating in her sea of ​​consciousness, her eyes shining brightly.

Boom! !
Before she could study it carefully, a deafening and terrifying roar suddenly came, accompanied by the ship tilting wildly.

In an instant, the piercing alarm wailed throughout the entire giant ship.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Port side!
It's the 'Boat-Swallowing Demon Octopus'! Peak Tier 3! Prepare for battle!!

The roars of the guarding monks echoed from the deck.

Not far away, the deafening roars of numerous sea monsters could be heard.

Chen Jinshu swayed for a moment but quickly regained his balance, his eyes instantly sharpening.

She then picked up the revitalized Star Moon Guqin and stepped out of the quiet room.

The deck was in complete chaos.

The thick, dark green sea fog rolled and churned, almost blocking the ships' path.

Then they saw a gigantic, pale white tentacle, several times thicker than the main mast of the Demon Sea, covered with suckers and sharp bone spikes, tightly wrapped around the midsection of the port side.

As the suction cups opened and closed, the ship's sturdy alloy armor twisted and deformed like paper, emitting a piercing metallic tearing sound.

The foul-smelling venom sprayed from the suction cups, hissing as it landed on the deck, instantly corroding large pits.

Several low-level cultivators who couldn't dodge in time were touched by a bit of it, and instantly screamed as they turned into pus and blood.

"A peak third-tier sea beast, the Devouring Boat Demon Octopus!" Upon seeing the enormous creature, Chen Jinshu quickly recalled his memories of this monster from the sea monster illustrations he had collected from the puppets.

This demon is extremely dangerous. Any ship that encounters it will be severely damaged, if not killed. This demon loves to devour ships.

"Form ranks! Cut it off!"

The shirtless, burly man roared, and a giant blade, as big as a door panel and wrapped in crimson blade energy, slashed fiercely at the tentacle, but only made a shallow cut, sparks flying everywhere.

The old man guarding the stronghold unleashed a bone cone.

Yin Jiu flung out poisoned flying needles, and dozens of colorful magical treasure lights bombarded the demonic tentacle, but it was like tickling it, instead provoking the ferocious creature to become even more violent.

Another enormous tentacle pierced through the thick fog, sweeping across with immense force.

It looked like they were about to crush a group of cultivators on the deck into mincemeat.

Zheng! ! !
A clear, melodious piano note suddenly rang out, instantly drowning out all the noise and resounding throughout the chaotic deck.

Chen Jinshu was already standing on the edge of the corridor outside the upper cabin at some point.

She held the guqin in her arms and suddenly slashed her fingertips across the strings of the star-moon guqin.

The star and moon pattern on the end of the zither suddenly burst forth with dazzling brilliance.

Ding ding dong dong…

hum!
In an instant, an invisible hand tore open a crack in the gloomy sky that was shrouded in thick fog.

A condensed, silvery-white pillar of moonlight, about ten feet in diameter, crashed down.

With a terrifying chill that could purify all evil, it pierced directly through the giant tentacle that was sweeping towards them.

(End of this chapter)