"The Phoenix Zither—Zhao Ji has already mastered the First Movement of the Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix."
Yi Tianxing also heard the crisp melody echoing in his ears. The moment the sound reached him, he instinctively turned to look—though even before seeing, he had already guessed. There were quite a few in the village skilled in the zither, but only one could produce such a clear and resonant tune. Aside from Cai Yan, there was no one else.
Only the Phoenix Zither possessed such an incredible penetrative power.
Even the chaos of battle was momentarily suppressed beneath its melody.
The Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix was a musical divine ability born from the Heavenly Sound Life Aperture. One could imagine its power—it was nothing short of extraordinary. However, mastering it was far from simple. Even someone as accomplished in music as Cai Yan had found it difficult and obscure.
Moreover, playing such a piece required immense reserves of true qi.
If one's qi faltered, even with full comprehension, it would be impossible to perform the piece to completion.
Now, the only worry was whether Cai Yan's cultivation could sustain the full performance of the piece.
Ding dong!!
The zither's melody flowed like water.
Cai Yan's ten fingers danced elegantly across the strings like butterflies in flight, plucking the strings and producing a mesmerizing tune. It felt as though, in an instant, the world awakened from winter—the earth thawed and spring returned. A gentle breeze seemed to brush across the face. Within the music lay a unique rhythm. Each pluck of the string infused true qi directly into the Phoenix Zither.
At the same time, within the Phoenix Zither, a strange power was stirring—this was the power of the Heavenly Sound Life Aperture. Once awakened, a life aperture could absorb heaven and earth essence on its own, transforming it into its own strength.
Thanks to this, the burden on Cai Yan was greatly reduced. Furthermore, the energy residing in the Phoenix Zither imbued the music with a powerful penetrative force. The sound waves extended across the entire battlefield.
Each note turned into a wave of sound, rippling outward, constantly shifting.
Caw!!
The music shifted. Suddenly, a vivid sparrow formed in midair beside Cai Yan. It let out a crisp chirp the moment it appeared, its call merging with the melody, adding a mystical ambiance to the tune. It felt as though one were standing in a spring forest full of life, with birdsong echoing in every direction.
The music conveyed vitality.
An unstoppable, surging vitality.
The sparrow's emergence was like a signal. As the music evolved, more and more sparrows began to appear like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. And not just sparrows—doves, crows, parrots, hummingbirds, and more. A vast array of birds filled the sky, creating a spectacular and awe-inspiring scene.
"Incredible—Musical Mimicry! These are living creatures formed entirely from soundwaves and musical intent. To think zither cultivation could reach such an unbelievable level."
Huang Chengyan stared at the sky full of birds, his gaze heavy with awe.
Caw-caw-caw!!
Bird cries resounded one after another as they flitted joyfully across the sky. Their numbers swelled rapidly—hundreds of species appeared and gathered. The sky became a dense sea of wings, blotting out the sun.
Ding ding ding!!
Suddenly, the melody changed, growing urgent. It now sounded like a peaceful forest suddenly beset by a terrifying predator, a hunter stalking its prey.
Instantly, the birds circling in the air turned enraged. They emanated waves of violent energy.
Letting out sharp, furious screeches, the birds dove toward the incoming army of skeletal warriors.
These birds didn't wield immense power—but they fought in the most direct way: by launching themselves like arrows at the skeletal soldiers.
Boom boom boom!!
A sparrow shot forth like lightning, slamming into a skeleton. The undead warrior saw it coming, the fire in its eye sockets flaring. It slashed its bone blade toward the bird. But the sparrow, like a real creature, moved with intelligence. In mid-air, it suddenly veered away—dodging the bone blade's strike—and then accelerated again, slamming into the skeleton's chest.
Boom!!
It carried a mysterious power that struck with shocking force. Even though the skeleton's bones were abnormally tough, strengthened by the power of death, the sparrow punched a massive hole straight through its chest. And the cost? The sparrow merely shrank slightly in size.
Then, it turned and struck again—this time shattering the soul flame in the skeleton's skull into fragments.
These weren't ordinary birds. They were soundwave constructs, made entirely of music.
The sparrow's collision was essentially a soundwave blast. Soundwave attacks were known for their domineering nature—they were intangible, all-pervasive, and their vibration frequency could unleash immense destructive force. Even the simplest sparrow, formed from these forces, could deliver astonishing results.
And these birds didn't number in the hundreds—they numbered in the thousands upon thousands.
When they charged into the battlefield, they unleashed a storm of destruction.
Tens of thousands of skeleton soldiers were wiped out by this one assault.
A flock of birds charging as one—unstoppable, indomitable.
The tides of battle shifted dramatically.
The once-dense undead ranks began to thin under the onslaught.
In truth, the skeleton army laying siege to the village didn't number in the endless millions—there were only one to two hundred thousand. And the village's counterattack had been far too ferocious.
With rune arrows, ballistae, and shield formations, the Xuanhuang Village unleashed terrifying firepower. These skeletons were mostly at the second tier of the Divine Sea Realm.
Against such a barrage, their resistance was pitifully ineffective.
Even their numerical advantage was being eroded under this crushing force.
From the start of the battle until now, barely half an hour had passed. But already, the undead army had lost tens of thousands.
Had they managed to storm the village walls, the battle might have become a bitter stalemate. But now—they weren't even given the chance. They were forcibly suppressed.
What few skeletons remained posed little threat.
"Well done, Zhao Ji."
Huang Chengyan nodded in satisfaction as he watched.
"What astonishing musical technique. To summon so many birds... and to imbue them with such power... Incredible. A truly gifted woman. Perhaps only Qingxuan could match her in music."
Master Lu also spoke in admiration.
The destructive power of this sonic divine ability was terrifying—it annihilated entire swathes of the enemy. Only Righteous Energy could compare.
Sonic abilities were renowned for their wide area of effect and massive impact. And the Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix was especially powerful—even though only the First Movement had been played.
And it hadn't even reached its full potential.
Cai Yan's zither cultivation still fell short of full musical mimicry, but the Phoenix Zither made up for it. Playing the piece on that divine instrument was like being divinely inspired.
"Kill!!"
Yet, the change in battlefield momentum didn't cause the skeletal general to retreat or falter. The fire in his eye sockets burned brighter as a dreadful chill emanated from him. He raised his blade and pointed it at Xuanhuang Village, letting out a chilling roar:
Rumble!!
With that command, the skeletal warhorse beneath him began its charge. The earth trembled beneath its massive hooves.
Behind him, five thousand skeletal cavalry simultaneously launched their assault.
This skeleton general, clad in white bone armor from head to toe, stood over two meters tall. Seated on his warhorse, he looked like a small giant. His bone blade was three to four meters long, radiating unrestrained ferocity.
A "Invincible" battle banner fluttered behind him.
The five thousand riders behind him were all armored in white bone, helmets grinning with skeletal malice, holding jagged bone lances glinting coldly. Each one of them exuded stronger soul flames—every one was at least at the third tier of the Divine Sea Realm.
If one could see clearly, they would notice that each rider's soul flame was surrounded by three glowing rings—a mark of their cultivation level.
Five thousand elite cavalry, all at the third tier of the Divine Sea Realm, now charged in unison. The aura they released could change the very color of the sky.
The warriors and villagers on the walls felt it instantly—as though a tidal wave or mountain had slammed into them. Some couldn't even breathe. It was like a mountain pressing down on their heads, suffocating them.
Without witnessing it firsthand, no one could truly understand the weight of such a charge.
At this moment, the cavalry was no longer a formation of individuals—but a singular, unstoppable force.
Hiss—!!
Yang Ye's pupils shrank sharply as he watched, involuntarily sucking in a breath of cold air.
"Every hoof landing at the same point… every warhorse's step perfectly synchronized. The whole army's aura merged into one. This isn't something an ordinary cavalry could ever accomplish…"