Chapter 469: Sorry, My Piano Skills Have Improved

Jiang Fan interrupted him before he could finish speaking. With a mysterious smile, he said, "Please keep this a secret, Senior Brother Ouyang."

Ouyang Jun quickly clapped a hand over his mouth. His eyes widened in shock, and he scrutinized Jiang Fan with a look of utter surprise, as if seeing him for the first time.

"I underestimated you, Junior Brother!""You even possess a spatial storage device!""I can't believe it!"

Jiang Fan replied, "It was an unexpected find, just a stroke of luck."

"You call that 'a bit of luck'?" Ouyang Jun felt an urge to hit him. He asked enviously, "How big is it inside?"

Jiang Fan casually replied, "It's not very big, about the same size as yours."

Hearing this, Ouyang Jun felt a little more at ease. He still sighed enviously, "Junior Brother Jiang, your good fortune is truly enviable!"

Just then, the Boundary Mountain began to tremble faintly. Both their expressions changed. They immediately pulled back, looking down to scan the scene. A group of gigantic, eight-legged demonic beasts, resembling spiders, were nimbly scaling the smooth ice mountain. Their speed surpassed that of the ape beast kings!

Fu Chaojun glanced at Jiang Fan and said, "Junior Brother Jiang, did you bring your zither?"

Jiang Fan nodded, "Yes, I did. Why do you ask?"

Fu Chaojun's long hair billowed as he pointed at the multitude of spider demonic beasts swarming up the mountain. He said, "That day, in the Spirit Beast Sect's main hall, your performance of 'Tiger Roar Dragon Cry Art' truly overshadowed mine. Now, let us play a piece together. Let's see who is more skilled, shall we?"

Jiang Fan, however, wasn't interested in a competition. The spiders varied in size. There were over thirty beast kings, and at least a hundred more at the Foundation Establishment Realm, swarming everywhere. To eradicate as many as possible and prevent them from crossing the Boundary Mountain, the most effective method, indeed, was a sound wave attack.

"There's no need for a competition. Let's just do our best." With that, he retreated behind an ice spire. A moment later, he returned, carrying a long white jade ancient zither.

The others exchanged puzzled glances. When had Jiang Fan hidden a zither behind that ice spire? Only Ouyang Jun wore a bewildered expression, as if he'd seen a ghost. He knew exactly where that zither had come from! Both annoyed and amused, he said, "Junior Brother Jiang, is this what you meant by 'not very big'? It can fit a whole zither, for heaven's sake! It was more than ten times larger than the storage device he wore around his neck! And clearly, it wasn't limited to just a zither."

Jiang Fan rubbed his nose and gave a dry cough. "Senior Brother Ouyang, the demonic beasts are here. Let's focus on attacking them."

Ouyang Jun truly wanted to punch him. However, the demonic beasts were already upon them, so he'd have to deal with it later. He immediately pulled out a large stash of cloud-burst iron pellets, poised to strike. Xia Chaoge and Liang Feiyan also adopted serious expressions and entered combat readiness. Fu Chaojun, too, placed both hands on the zither strings, ready to unleash an attack at any moment.

Thirty beast kings, coupled with nearly a hundred Foundation Establishment Realm demonic beasts—this was the largest assault since the defensive line had collapsed.

Xie Liushu stated solemnly, "We must eliminate as many of the powerful beast kings as possible. This will alleviate pressure on the second defensive line at the mountain peak."

Fu Chaojun replied, "Don't worry, with so many masters present, few beast kings will manage to slip past us." At that moment, they represented the combined might of the Nine Sects' strongest prodigies. Only Jin Zhongming and Xue Wanzhong were absent; nearly everyone else was present!

"Junior Brother Jiang, are you ready?" Fu Chaojun looked pointedly at Jiang Fan.

"No problem." Jiang Fan single-handedly propped the long zither vertically into the ground.

Fu Chaojun nodded slightly. With the same sound cultivation technique, whoever was weaker would face embarrassment.

*Booming sounds* — As the ice surface trembled with increasing intensity, the spider demonic beasts finally scaled the steep slope. The slope was densely packed with them. They were widely dispersed, making it seem nearly impossible to eliminate them all. Their only option was to concentrate their efforts on targeting the beast kings first.

"Attack!"

Xie Liushu made the first move, shaking his sleeves. An unknown pink mist billowed out, enveloping the foremost spider beast king. The spider beast king immediately turned feral, attacking the other spiders and slaughtering its own kind. However, it was swiftly killed by the combined efforts of the other beast kings. The first beast king fell. Xie Liushu showed a hint of satisfaction.

Unwilling to be outdone, Ouyang Jun scattered cloud-burst iron pellets from his hands as if they were worthless. *Boom! Boom! Boom!* — A series of dense explosions erupted. The spider demonic beasts scrambled to dodge. However, two beast kings and five or six Foundation Establishment Realm spider demonic beasts couldn't evade in time and were instantly obliterated into bloody pulp.

"Double kill!" Ouyang Jun exclaimed triumphantly.

Not to be outdone, Liang Feiyan thrust her long sword, unleashing an exceptionally fierce sword art. Sword energy crisscrossed, radiating a dazzling, cold light. In an instant, three beast kings died on the spot.

"Three of them!" Liang Feiyan smiled faintly.

Xia Chaoge followed swiftly. No one knew what cultivation technique she employed, but she sent a palm strike through the air. The surrounding spiritual energy rapidly coalesced into a solidified palm print. It shot forward with devastating force. Wherever the palm print passed, be it ice spires or rocks, or Foundation Establishment Realm spiders and beast kings, all were turned into bloody mist. The path the palm print carved left a long, blood-soaked trench in its wake.

The few people present were utterly stunned. Liang Feiyan gasped, "An Earth-grade high-level cultivation technique? Junior Sister Xia, when did you learn this?" She hadn't displayed any similar techniques back in the canyon.

Jiang Fan also showed a trace of surprise. First a movement technique, now an incredibly high-level palm technique; both seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. It seemed that after reaching the fifth layer of the Golden Core realm, Xia Chaoge had inexplicably mastered many new cultivation techniques. It appeared she harbored significant secrets!

Fu Chaojun exclaimed admiringly, "Truly worthy of the Nine Sects' top prodigy! She eliminated five beast kings and over a dozen Foundation Establishment Realm creatures in one blow. Now, it's up to Junior Brother Jiang and me!"

Everyone's gaze turned to the two of them. They were also somewhat curious: with the same musical score, whose performance would prove superior?

Fu Chaojun's gaze sharpened, and he abruptly plucked the zither strings with both hands. This attack wasn't solely directed at the demonic beasts; it was also against the humiliating and disgraced version of himself from the past. After this battle, he would be free of his inner demons forever, because he had completely surpassed Jiang Fan. He believed he had finally left his past struggles behind and reached a new peak.

The zither's notes rang out, like a hundred tigers emerging from the mountains, their roars seeming to drift closer and farther away. It created an incomparably heavy sense of oppression. Back then, it was Jiang Fan's zither melody that had utterly defeated him. Now, he could play it too, and with his cultivation far surpassing Jiang Fan's from that time, its power was even greater!

Just as the others were startled by the oppressive imagery of white tigers unleashed, suddenly! A fierce dragon seemed to burst from the sea, letting out a colossal roar that shook the heavens and utterly suppressed the roars of the hundred tigers! Everyone felt as if they saw a majestic giant dragon, roaring as it soared into the sky. Its roar made the vast oceans surge and the boundless sky tremble!

Immediately after, the roar transformed into terrifying sound waves that shattered mountains and rocks in their path. They radiated outward, covering a vast area ahead!

*Boom! Boom! Boom!* — Wherever the sound waves swept, Foundation Establishment Realm spider demonic beasts instantly exploded into bloody mist. Even the beast king level spiders, after being struck by the sound waves, burst apart like overripe watermelons, their bodies rupturing and blood splattering everywhere.

Jiang Fan's zither melody was far from finished. An airtight barrage of sound wave attacks swept across the battlefield, engulfing all demonic beasts! After several such barrages, all Foundation Establishment Realm spiders were annihilated. More than half of the beast king level spiders also perished instantly. Only five or six scattered ones in the rear managed to escape. Yet, they were also covered in severe lacerations, and they hastily retreated.

*Clang* — Jiang Fan pressed down on the zither strings.

A profound silence fell over the scene. Everyone stared at Jiang Fan, wide-eyed and unblinking. Every single one of them wore an expression as if they had just witnessed a ghost!