Chapter 1303: Fortune Severed

With the qin spirit not resisting, Chen Mobai found that in the state of "Can Tong Qi" (Participation Accord), he could easily control the Nine Tribulation Sky Phoenix Qin, and even play its Fire String. However, remembering the terrifying high temperature in the qin hall earlier, which even Soul Transformation cultivators couldn't withstand, he abandoned the idea of trying to play it. After all, he was there to repair things. As a peak sixth-tier magical artifact, what if the qin unleashed even greater power when he played it, destroying Sky Phoenix Valley?

Collecting his thoughts, Chen Mobai reached out and touched the second string position. A broken string was still wrapped around it. By its material, it was clearly a seventh-tier Sky Spider Silk, but it had lost all its spiritual essence, and even its Great Dao had dissipated. Yet, upon careful perception, faint musical notes like Gong, Shang, Jiao, Zhi, and Yu could still be heard on this broken string. Evidently, this was the string representing the Great Dao of Music.

Under the "Can Tong Qi," he quickly understood the various methods to repair this string. The simplest method was to directly replace the string, then infuse the Great Dao of Music into the new string, and continuously tune it until it achieved a perfect fit. This was how the Fire String had been repaired. After a sixth-tier artifact refiner invited by the Phoenix clan completed the string replacement, successive Phoenix clan masters infused the power of the Fire Element Great Dao. Coupled with long years of refinement, the repair was only fully completed when the qin spirit was born.

However, Chen Mobai was not very familiar with the Great Dao of Music, so at most, he could only complete the string replacement step. But once the string replacement step was done, if there was no corresponding Great Dao power infused, the string would, over time, be corroded by the Fire String's Great Dao, leading to repair failure. This meant that both conditions—a sixth-tier artifact refiner and the infusion of the corresponding Great Dao power for the string—had to be met simultaneously. Understanding this, Chen Mobai continued to use "Can Tong Qi" to contemplate other methods.

Soon, he thought of one. Since a segment of the Music String still existed, if it could be fused with a new string, the repair could be completed by utilizing the original residual Great Dao of Music. Afterward, a restriction could be set on the new string to prevent corrosion from the Fire String, allowing time for the birth of a second music qin spirit. During this process, if Du Guangye could invite a cultivator who had mastered the Great Dao of Music from the Heavenly River Realm, the process could be shortened. As for fusing the old and new strings, as long as there was a suitable adhesive, "Can Tong Qi" could handle the rest. Chen Mobai could also save a segment of sixth-tier Red-Flame Fire Silkworm Silk this way. If he saved enough, he estimated it could be used to upgrade his Pure Yang Immortal Robe.

After examining the second broken string, Chen Mobai then looked at the other broken string. On the Nine Tribulation Sky Phoenix Qin, besides the repaired Fire String, there were only two broken strings remaining. Remembering what Feng Qingshu had just said, Chen Mobai thought this other broken string must retain the Great Dao of Tribulation. He reached out and touched it, activating the power of "Can Tong Qi."

With a boom. Chen Mobai suddenly felt his vision go dark. His Vermilion Phoenix Nascent Soul arrived in a vast, unknown starry sky. Piercing phoenix cries echoed in his ears, and looking up, he saw a terrifying scene of shattered heavens and annihilated void. A divine phoenix, engulfed in flames, roared angrily, shaking the heavens. As its wings spread, the Nine Tribulation Sky Phoenix Qin hung in the air, its strings resonating. True Nirvana Flames burned away ten thousand li of cloud sea, billions of stars swayed and fell, and its divine powers and magic were boundless.

Yet, no matter how terrifying the power, when it landed on a figure above, radiating black and white light, it extinguished and vanished like a flame swallowed by the ocean. "Nirvana is my Great Dao. For cultivating this path, your sin deserves death!" The shadowy figure of black and white light didn't appear human, but the words it uttered almost caused Chen Mobai's Nascent Soul to disintegrate and turn into nothingness upon hearing them. After these words, the black and white light suddenly flared with astonishing intensity, transforming into two swords, one black and one white, which slashed down.

The black sword that struck first was blocked by the Nine Tribulation Sky Phoenix Qin. Chen Mobai saw the divine phoenix manifest the Great Dao of Tribulation through its seventh string, attempting to suppress and shatter the opponent's Great Dao sword. Two innate Great Daos clashed in an instant, unleashing terrifying impact that directly turned that part of the void into nothingness. If Chen Mobai hadn't been directly behind the phoenix, he would likely have been caught in the crossfire.

Just as he was looking on in horror, preparing to retreat, he heard a mournful cry of pain. He saw that the white sword, which struck afterward, broke through the layers of golden-red barriers in front of the phoenix while the Nine Tribulation Sky Phoenix Qin was suppressed by the black sword, piercing its left wing. Drops of phoenix essence blood, burning with flames, fell like fiery rain towards Chen Mobai's location. Caught off guard, he was drenched.

Just as Chen Mobai wondered if there would be any side effects, the sound of a string breaking echoed in his ears. After the phoenix's true form was severely wounded, its natal artifact naturally couldn't endure. The most powerful Tribulation String broke first, followed by the other six strings snapping one after another under the black sword's edge. However, at the critical moment of life and death, the divine phoenix also displayed its immense power. Amidst an unprecedented sharp shriek, half of the broken Tribulation String flew from the Nine Tribulation Sky Phoenix Qin like an arrow from a bow, piercing the black and white figure above.

With a muffled thud, the black and white figure also seemed to suffer a severe injury, its form knocked back out of that void. Witnessing this, the divine phoenix tore off its left wing, which had been pierced by the white sword. Then, enveloped in blazing protective flames, it vanished through Nirvana.

After witnessing these memories, Chen Mobai felt a sense of empathy; his Vermilion Phoenix Nascent Soul's left wing also experienced a tearing pain.

"Senior...""Senior..."

Calls echoed in his ears, and Chen Mobai suddenly opened his eyes to see Feng Lizhu standing at the entrance of the qin hall, looking at him with a puzzled expression. Chen Mobai looked down and saw the Nine Tribulation Sky Phoenix Qin continuously vibrating. The seventh broken string glowed with streaks of light, leaving traces in the void. These were Dao marks, dense imprints created by the friction of the Great Dao materializing and interacting with the void. The residual Great Dao of Tribulation in this broken string was still so powerful? Chen Mobai was greatly astonished by this sight. It was important to note that only faint traces of Great Dao power remained in the broken Music String. However, the Great Dao of Tribulation seemed unaffected by time; even though broken, it still retained a level sufficient to manifest Dao marks.

"Senior, are you alright?" Feng Lizhu's voice reached Chen Mobai's ears again, and he released his right hand from the broken Tribulation String.

"I'm fine. I just became too engrossed in comprehending the Great Dao of Tribulation and lost some self-control." As Chen Mobai released his hand, the Dao marks manifesting in the qin hall indeed began to slowly dissipate. This qin hall seemed to be a separate dimension. Whether it was the Fire String earlier or the Great Dao of Tribulation now, their manifestations were contained within and could not affect the outside. It was precisely because of this that Feng Lizhu, a Nascent Soul cultivator, remained unharmed. Chen Mobai wanted to calm his mind and ponder the scenes he had just witnessed. He paced back and forth in the qin hall while asking Feng Lizhu about this aspect.

"This qin hall is enveloped by the power of the Wutong Divine Spirit; even ascended cultivators cannot break through it." Feng Lizhu did not conceal this fact and answered openly.

"I see." Marveling once more at the Phoenix clan's profound heritage, Chen Mobai returned to the Nine Tribulation Sky Phoenix Qin. He intended to try using "Can Tong Qi" to explore the other four string positions that had no broken strings.

"Senior, just now, the divine artifact emitted Nirvana divine light, enveloping your Nascent Soul..." At this moment, Feng Lizhu suddenly spoke.

"Oh, anything else?" Chen Mobai recalled the scene where he was drenched in phoenix essence blood while exploring the broken Tribulation String. Since he had used "Tong Tian Zhi" (Heaven-Penetrating Blessing) to ascertain beforehand that this trip posed no danger, he had been relatively relaxed while repairing the qin. He had no idea such a situation could arise. After waking up, his first action was to retract his Vermilion Phoenix Nascent Soul back into his Zifu Sea of Consciousness. Using his divine sense, he discovered it seemed to have entered a state of deep, dormant sleep. Was this Nirvana? Chen Mobai considered this, but being cautious and never having experienced Nirvana, he couldn't be certain.

"When the Nirvana divine light enveloped you, the Qin Spirit Ancestor transformed back into a ball of light and was absorbed into the Fire String." Feng Lizhu thought for a moment and mentioned another matter.

No wonder he felt something was missing. Chen Mobai looked enlightened after hearing this. Earlier, when he was exploring, the qin spirit had been continuously circling. Now, after waking up, it was gone. He immediately activated "Can Tong Qi" on the Fire String again, but this time, no matter how he tried to explore it, the qin spirit refused to emerge. Chen Mobai couldn't force it; as long as it didn't hinder his exploration, it was fine.

He continued to reach out, touching the other four string positions that had no broken strings. Sure enough, over the long years, any residual Great Dao power that should have remained had now completely dissipated. No wonder only the Great Daos of Music and Tribulation could be identified. Just as Chen Mobai sighed, preparing to release his hand, a sudden inspiration struck him. He used "Can Tong Qi" to rewind the history of these four string positions. Although all Great Dao power had now dissipated, what about when the Nine Tribulation Sky Phoenix Qin was first damaged? Following this thought, Chen Mobai gradually rewound to that moment.

A dark sword descended from the sky, breaking all seven strings of the qin one after another. And indeed, at the very moment they broke, corresponding Great Dao power still lingered on these string positions. Chen Mobai immediately began to perceive them. Theoretically, one needed to comprehend the corresponding Great Dao to perceive it. But Chen Mobai had entered and exited the Purple Heavens Palace multiple times, encountering the Three Thousand Great Daos repeatedly. As long as he had some familiarity, he could identify which Great Dao it corresponded to.

Soon, the Great Dao power on the third string position resonated with his Longevity Art, and Chen Mobai immediately knew this was the Great Dao of "Life." After "Life" came "Death." Although Chen Mobai hadn't comprehended these two Great Daos, he was familiar with them due to the realm of laws, so he quickly confirmed them. As for the residual Great Dao on the fifth string position, Chen Mobai had no prior experience with it at all. However, after spending a considerable amount of time, he still found its match among the Three Thousand Great Daos in his mind. This was the Great Dao of Emotion/Desire. After noting it down, Chen Mobai began exploring the final unknown string position. Although still not very familiar, he quickly found the corresponding Great Dao: Stars!

Fire, Music, Life, Death, Emotion/Desire, Stars, Tribulation! These were the Great Daos represented by the seven strings of the Nine Tribulation Sky Phoenix Qin.

After knowing the answers, Chen Mobai exited the "Can Tong Qi" state and began contemplating methods for repair. Theoretically, these Great Daos, which had no broken string remnants, could only be repaired by a joint effort between a sixth-tier artifact refiner and cultivators who had comprehended the corresponding Great Dao power. Moreover, there was another issue. That was, in the current Heavenly River Realm, even for the most powerful Grand Perfection Soul Transformation cultivators, Great Dao power was extremely scarce, requiring strenuous effort to absorb, refine, and accumulate. Asking them to use their Great Dao power to repair the qin strings was practically asking for their lives. Apart from members of the Phoenix clan themselves, almost no one would risk damaging their foundation and delaying their ascension to do this work. Chen Mobai even suspected that the repair of the Fire String was not solely due to the Phoenix clan's efforts, but that the sixth-tier Red-Flame Fire Silkworm had contributed significantly. After all, only after reaching the sixth-tier, having already stepped onto the Great Dao, could one continuously control and use Great Dao power at will. To Grand Perfection Soul Transformation cultivators, the incredibly precious Great Dao power was, in the eyes of a Void Refinement cultivator, merely something that required some time to acquire.

Were there other methods? Chen Mobai continued to ponder, and all the artifact refining knowledge from the "Dance of Artifacts" lineage began to surface in his mind. Before leaving the immortal sect, he had already refined all the Dao fruits on the Elixir Cauldron Jade Tree. This sixth-tier artifact refining knowledge encompassed almost all types of magical artifacts, including qins. Although the Nine Tribulation Sky Phoenix Qin was previously a seventh-tier Dao-achieving treasure, it was currently only at the sixth-tier. For the Phoenix clan, being able to repair the sixth-tier strings would already be a monumental cause for celebration. So Chen Mobai also focused his thoughts on repairing sixth-tier strings. Gradually, a repair plan began to form in his mind, but whether it would succeed still required practical testing.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, how has your comprehension been?" Just then, Feng Qingshu's voice came. Chen Mobai immediately opened his eyes and rose from before the Nine Tribulation Sky Phoenix Qin. Outside the qin hall, Feng Qingshu stood with several Soul Transformation cultivators. They hadn't entered directly, but were waiting for his response.

"Clan Leader Feng, you've come at just the right time. I needed to discuss the qin's repair with you." Chen Mobai's words caused Feng Qingshu, who had initially held little hope, to slightly raise her delicate eyebrows. With a hint of suspicion, she led the others inside. The accompanying Soul Transformation cultivators included Wu Chen and others Chen Mobai was familiar with, as well as Lay Buddhist Fanyun from Rilian Temple, whom his Nascent Soul had met once before, and Apothecary Li from Yaowang Sect. Only a burly man with short hair and no eyebrows was someone Chen Mobai had never seen before.