Chapter 673: Transcendence and Omniscience

Tianmen Peak.

The exquisite zither music, with its tinkling and plucking sounds, was melodious and flowing. It was like a gurgling stream flowing by one's ear, light and airy, as if one were deep within soft clouds. An indescribable sense of comfort permeated every meridian in the body.

Lu Yang lay lazily in the grass, his hands clasped behind his head, with a foxtail grass stalk in his mouth. Listening to his Third Senior Sister's music, he felt the fatigue from his trip to Chunjiang City almost completely disappear.

While listening to his Third Senior Sister's music, Lu Yang picked a lotus seed from a plate and popped it into his mouth.

Anyone discerning would recognize these as lotus seeds from Twin Lotus flowers. Twin Lotus flowers grew abundantly on the Twin River, and Lu Yang had picked several lotus pods when he left.

As expected, Third Senior Sister was a cultivator skilled in music. Lu Yang had no knowledge of musical theory; he couldn't distinguish between *gong*, *shang*, *jiao*, *zhi*, and *yu*. But even to an ordinary listener, the music was incredibly soothing.

"Senior Sister, what is the name of the piece you're playing?"

Third Senior Sister smoothed the zither strings; the music faded, and silence fell. "This is an ancient piece given to me by Senior Jiang Lianyi, called *Phoenix Perching by the Stream*," she said. "The senior created it after being inspired while resting by a stream."

Jiang Lianyi used a jade flute as her weapon and was unparalleled in the field of music, unmatched by anyone.

Even the Immortal Fairy, who strived to be first in everything, had to concede defeat to her.

"Senior Sister, how did you become our Master's disciple?" Lu Yang asked curiously.

Third Senior Sister let out a rare sigh. "My parents were merely Golden Core cultivators and didn't know much about our sect," she said. "The entrance examination at that time was organized by Master. He saw my extraordinary talent and wanted to take me as his disciple."

"At the time, I didn't know what kind of person our Master was; I only knew he was the sect leader."

"Since the sect leader wanted to take me in, I was certainly willing."

"But I never expected that after only two lessons, the teaching location would change."

"Changed to where?"

"To the prison. During that time, First Senior Sister was in secluded cultivation, and Second Senior Brother had entered the Buddhist Kingdom. I could only visit Master during prison visits to attend lessons. Studying was truly arduous; everyone in the prison praised me for being a dutiful daughter whenever they saw me."

"Fortunately, First Senior Sister emerged from secluded cultivation later, and the learning environment improved significantly."

"First Senior Sister taught you?"

Third Senior Sister shook her head. "First Senior Sister bailed Master out as his guarantor," she explained. "She isn't skilled in music, so she couldn't teach me."

"Our Master knows music too?"

"Yes, and his skill is even higher than mine. He can play his sword and sing; his voice can vary greatly, and he can imitate the sounds of various musical instruments. I heard he developed this ability when he was young by playing music to accompany his storytelling performances."

Lu Yang hadn't expected his Master to be so skilled.

Third Senior Sister continued to play, and Lu Yang enjoyed the music, until an inharmonious sound disturbed his peaceful state of mind.

The Immortal Fairy snorted coldly, indignant that Lu Yang had underestimated her. "Who said this Immortal doesn't know the way of music?" she declared. "This Immortal's music is exhilarating."

"Immortal Fairy, you know music too? I've never heard you play before." Lu Yang asked, momentarily showing more respect, given that the Immortal Fairy had just found the Twin River and was in a good mood.

"This Immortal's music is not something a mere Nascent Soul stage cultivator like you is worthy of hearing."

"When this Immortal plays, no immortal instrument is needed. The strings are formed by Dao essence, capable of making heaven and earth tremble and resonating with the Great Dao. Its grandeur is immense, unparalleled through the ages. Whoever hears it cannot help but tremble with excitement."

Lu Yang grew even more curious. "Then how do you play?"

"By self-detonating."

"...No wonder bodies tremble then."

"Speaking of which, Immortal Fairy, when you were assassinated, did you not have time to self-detonate?"

Given the Immortal Fairy's personality, her first reaction should have been to self-detonate. This would have both harmed her assailant and saved her life.

"Now that you mention it, that makes sense," the Immortal Fairy mused. "Why didn't this Immortal self-detonate?"

The Immortal Fairy lowered her head, frowning in thought as she tried to recall what happened. It was still a blur. She couldn't tell if it was due to a technique used by the mastermind or if her own state was simply not right at the time.

"Damn it," she muttered, "if this Immortal hadn't had that accident back then, this Immortal would have already broken through beyond the Immortal stage by now!"

"Nine-layered Immortal became the first Immortal; it should have been this Immortal's turn to be first."

Lu Yang's interest was piqued by this topic; he even forgot about the lotus seed by his mouth. "Is that what you mentioned before, Immortal Fairy? Severing all karma, advancing cultivation, and reaching a realm beyond Immortals?" he asked.

The Immortal Fairy rolled her eyes. "That's Nine-layered Immortal's theory," she retorted. "This Immortal proposes that one needs more karma and higher cultivation to break through."

"According to Nine-layered Immortal's theory," she continued, "the realm beyond Immortals is called 'Transcendence' — a state of being free from all karma, transcending everything."

"According to this Immortal's theory, the realm beyond Immortals is called 'Omniscience' — a state of being connected to all things in the world, reaching omniscient omnipotence. This perfectly matches this Immortal's intelligence!"

Lu Yang scrutinized the Immortal Fairy. After returning to Wen Dao Sect, the Grand Hall in his spiritual space had vanished, reverting to its original simple room appearance. As the Immortal Fairy described the realm beyond Immortals, she was rolling around, talking with disheveled hair, untidy clothes, and a joyful demeanor. It was hard to associate her with words like "intelligent" or "omniscient."

The Immortal Fairy clasped her tiny feet with both hands and, with a grunt, sat cross-legged, swaying from side to side like a roly-poly toy. "If this Immortal's cultivation insights were still here, it would be great," she mused. "Perhaps by looking at them, this Immortal could recall what happened then."

"Oh, right," the Immortal Fairy suddenly said. "This Immortal suggests you take that plate and run far away now. That way, you might save the lotus seeds on the plate."

Lu Yang paused, bewildered. "What do you mean?"

The zither music stopped. Third Senior Sister suddenly spoke to Lu Yang, "Junior Brother, quickly get away from here. Senior Sister is about to break through."

As she spoke, dark clouds gathered over Tianmen Peak, and faint thunder rumbled.

Lu Yang suddenly realized — Third Senior Sister was about to break through to the Void Refining stage, and this was the lightning tribulation she had summoned!

After the Nascent Soul stage, every breakthrough in cultivation would summon a lightning tribulation — a rule set by the Immortal of Heavenly Resonance!

Without a word, Lu Yang didn't even care about the lotus seeds on the plate; he turned and bolted down the mountain!

He had just read *Immortal's Sayings*, and now, his greatest fear was encountering a lightning tribulation!

Lu Yang ran fast, but the Invincible Infant ran even faster than him. In the blink of an eye, it was ahead of Lu Yang.

Lu Yang: "..."

When the Invincible Infant reached the foot of the mountain and stopped running, Lu Yang also stopped. This meant the Invincible Infant considered this the safest place.

"How did she suddenly break through?"

"It's not really sudden," the Immortal Fairy explained. "That girl was playing *Phoenix Perching by the Stream*, which Lianyi gave her. Unlike this Immortal's self-detonation, this is a piece that calms the mind. The Void Refining stage realm can fluctuate wildly, and this piece is perfect for stabilizing it. Furthermore, she was already on the verge of a breakthrough, so breaking through now is perfectly reasonable."