Silent Crown

by Feng Yue

  The spirituality contained in the 24 songs guided the music theories within. As if they were alive, they combined into one, evolving into an inescapable, terrifying illusion, completely trapping the Mountain of Nomadism inside.

  At the moment, the ocean was what the Mountain of Nomadism saw.

  For the first time, the creature born of the ocean found the ocean terrifying. Unlike the sea they were in, it was a desolate sea that it saw.

  In the heavy snow, the dark and unfamiliar ocean swallowed it. No matter how hard it tried to swim and stay afloat, it felt like it was drowning in the sea, sinking bit by bit. It was sinking into the frightening trench hidden in the sea.

  A source of terror lurked in the endless depths of the ocean.

  Gazing at the dark rift that seemed to extend to the end of the ocean, an unprecedented sense of crisis and fear was instinctively triggered in the Mountain of Nomadism.

  That was the abyss!

  Abyss!

  Other than Ye Qingxuan, no other musician in the same era nor that in the past could create such a realistic abyss in the illusion, nor would there be any in the future. From the remains of the former Dark Pope, Ye Qingxuan had drawn the Power of the Source, which had originated from the abyss.

  Purely in terms of the understanding of the abyss, he had surpassed most dark musicians, even the high-ranking demons in the abyss and the dark ministers. What he had learned was the essence of Hyakume, the core of its spirituality, the music theory that even the dark branches of the abyss had never understood.

  After Hyakume’s fall into a deep slumber, no one else in the world could understand the abyss better than Ye Qingxuan. Therefore, he was able to create the illusion of the Ocean Abyss of Suffocation.

  The school of magic placed the most emphasis on the passing down of illusions. Other than certain illusions that could be adjusted depending on the circumstances, the imagery created in most movements followed certain formulas, and some were even fixed. Therefore, most illusions were detectable, and tricks to crack them had been discovered.

  Despite the said shortcoming, after going through modifications and upgrades done constantly by innumerable generations of illusionists, the variations hidden in the seemingly simple illusions and the knowledge behind them were the true essence of each movement.

  To distinguish between skilled illusionists and the rest, one had to identify the music theory and the variations in the illusions created. Taking the imagery of the moon as an example, the Indigo Moon created by Ye Qingxuan was much more impressive than moons created by other illusionists, not to mention other imageries.

  The list of differences between an illusion that had captured the essence of the movement and a phantom shadow lacking actual content was inexhaustible. Sometimes, although the ones inside an illusion knew that it is fake, they had no way of escaping, and could do nothing but remain trapped. Numerous schools of magic had chosen to keep the knowledge of the variations of each movement a secret, passing down the core music theory only.

  For other schools, the imageries they passed down were derived from the core of their movement. After the apprentices learn each of them step by step, they would be able to master the core illusion of their school. For example, famous schools of magic such as Voodoo Catacombs, Phantom Swamp and so on, were famous for doing so.

  The mysteries and music theory contained in the Ocean Abyss of Suffocation that Ye Qingxuan created at the moment were no less powerful even when compared to the imageries of those schools.

  If one was to simply compare the magnificence and spirituality of the imageries, Ye Qingxuan’s might even be just a little bit more superior than the rest. The only part it was lacking in was the constant upgrading done by tens of generations of musicians, who had nurtured the imageries with their spirituality.

  This imagery alone would be enough for Ye Qingxuan establish a new sect within the school of magic. If he would like to do so in the future, a new department of the Royal Academy of Music would definitely be born.

  A Master under the age of 20, the founder of a brand new school of magic… He was simply sensational. But at the moment, Ye Qingxuan had exhausted all his strength just to maintain the illusion.

  The Mountain of Nomadism was too big.

  Too insanely big.

  Such a horrifying, humongous sea monster could only be nurtured in the ocean.

  The mere act of supporting the entire illusion was almost enough to render Ye Qingxuan breathless. If not for the constant flow of aether drawn from the sea of aether by Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, Ye Qingxuan would have died from exhaustion. Fortunately, he had grown accustomed to controlling amounts of aether beyond the limit of his level since a long time ago. Although he was under pressure, at least he didn’t commit any fatal errors.

  At the moment, the Mountain of Nomadism in the illusion was sinking in the Ocean Abyss of Suffocation and was gradually assimilated by the illusion. With luck, its tenacity and soul would be extracted and incorporated by the illusion soon, making the Ocean Abyss of Suffocation more and more realistic.

  Due to the terrifying magnitude of the Mountain of Nomadism, the nourishing effect it had on the illusion was of an incredible extent as well. If the illusion could consume more than a dozen sea monsters like it, materializing the Ocean Abyss of Suffocation, transforming it from a phantom to a real entity completely, was not impossible. Then, it could truly be compared to regions of illusion such as Voodoo Catacombs, Demonic Mountain and so on, becoming the sixth catastrophe-level illusion in the physical world.

  Sadly, such an idea could only exist in one’s thoughts.

  Ye Qingxuan wasn’t even sure if he could kill the Mountain of Nomadism completely with it. Judging from its size, the Mountain of Nomadism had lived for a few hundred years at least. Even a pig could have learned to climb trees if it had lived for a few hundred years. Who knew what else could this goddamn creature do?

  Moreover, at the moment… the Mountain of Nomadism had also understood that most of its body had sunk into Hades. [1]

  If it was to take no action, it would meet its demise for sure.

  In the Ocean Abyss of Suffocation, the sea monster sinking in the depths of darkness let out a raspy cry, as it was overcome by unprecedented humiliation.

  Since its birth, it had never faced a situation like this. The sea monster that had ruled the ocean for hundreds of years drowned in the sea… How ridiculous.

  Under the pressure and darkness brought about by the petrifying illusion, the Mountain of Nomadism suddenly stopped struggling. As if it was enduring extreme pain, its huge body twisted and convulsed. Under the purplish-green scales, the blood vessels bulged, emitting a dark red glow.

  It resembled burning blood.

  The ice cold body was also ignited, giving out a frightening heat.

  The next moment, the ocean roared.

  [1] The expression means that the Mountain of Nomadism realized it was dying.

  544 The Wind and the Moon

  The next instant, the ocean roared. Earthshaking shrieking burst out from the deep sea. Every drop of water was trembling. It was as if the creature was tearing apart its own body by the roaring and a horrible aether reaction was triggered in the deep sea. It seemed like the whole lightless sea quivered. With the shrieking, horrible force came together and broke Ye Qingxuan’s illusion.

  In just one blink, the anchor pointed Ye Qingxuan had planted for his magic was all destroyed. The colossal illusional realm collapsed into nothing in no time.

  Then, winds and waves stopped moving. A weird silence filled the whole space. On the ship, the Son of Phoenix closed his eyes to check out the Mountain of Nomadism. Yet when he saw its movements, he trembled with fear.

  One, two, three, four, five…17. It had created 17 aether waves! The horrible aether waves were generated from every huge joint of its body. The devils’ blood with the power of catastrophe was ignited in fury and burning in the massive body. With the brutal nature of the beast as fir
e, and with its blood and breath as firewood, it was burning the fire of horror which was everyone’s nightmare.

  At that moment, in that body as huge as a mountain. Waves of the same frequency were generated from the biggest 17 parts of its spinal column. It was like 17 masters from the deep-sea joining hands to play the Symphony of Predestination, summoning the descending of nightmares.

  A terrible whirlpool was thus generated. A hurricane then took shape between the sky and the sea. The dark clouds were rolling, endless thunder and lightning releasing formidable power. Drawn by the storm and vapor, lightning struck down from the sky with the fast spinning whirlpool, forming a bloodcurdling hurricane. It was like the column that supported the heaven from falling down.

  The hurricane, no smaller than the Mountain of Nomadism, raised from the ocean up to the sky, booming and roaring, and released its sucking force. A huge amount of seawater was sucked in and immediately vaporized by the hot current, radiating a burning hot glow.

  The hurricane took shape in just one blink, glowing like lava. It raged across the ocean along with the Mountain of Nomadism. The speed of the wind surpassed well beyond the measurable limit of humans. The wind gauge exploded, and the wind was still ramping up its power.

  As the sea water was pulled backward by the wind and the hurricane, the iron ship was halted and drawn to the hurricane. In the middle of the hurricane, the furious shrieking of the Mountain of Nomadism was heard. The hurricane was getting closer and closer.

  “Mr. Ye!” Igor was in such shock that he shouted toward the sky, “The Keel was only 70% charged! Do something or we are finished! So will be your ambition to save your country!” His voice was immediately torn apart in the hurricane and couldn’t go beyond two meters. Yet Ye Qingxuan’s voice came into his ears: “Don’t worry. Just wait for a moment. You are safe as long as I am still alive.”

  Igor’s face twitched. That’s easy for you to say! We are safe when you are alive, but what about after you die? Maybe we’ll live a few seconds longer than you do, but is that much of a difference?

  He swallowed his urge to say something more, and yelled at the engine room, “Charge the Keel! I don’t care if other engines will explode. Get the Keel ready as soon as possible!”

  “Three minutes at least, Captain! Three minutes!” The second mate’s voice came from the other side of the bronze pipe. “All engines are at maximum power! Even if you take me to serve as the aether transition pump, it will still need three minutes!”

  “Three minutes it is, then!” Gritting his teeth and looking into the sky, Igor snatched the holy emblem into his hand and prayed to the God whom he had never believed. “Mr. Ye, my lord, you have been playing the boss the whole time. Now you’re hanging out up there! Three minutes! If that thing refuses to die then, it’ll be us!”

  Up in the sky, Lola’s voice was heard by Ye Qingxuan. “Need my help?”

  “Will illusions help now? Don’t worry and go back to sleep,” Ye Qingxuan said. “You are not a saint. Thought realization of illusions might be powerful, but you can’t turn more than 400 people into phantoms.”

  “Then you are on your own.” Lola laughed mischievously and went back, leaving Ye Qingxuan struggling. He didn’t expect that this monster’s final move would be such a horrible music movement of modifications. It might not be as hopeless as facing a phenomenal catastrophe, yet for them, they both were so deadly that it was almost the same.

  He was not very good at handling this sort of movement from the School of Modifications and usually got beaten up by a musician from the School of Modifications, not to mention a hurricane like this.

  Yet, it was quite easy to nail it.

  After resonation with the Quiet Moon, his Silent Dream had reached the final stage of the Wyrmrest Enchantment. One stage further and he could reach the “Ultimate” that could kill all the aether and open a silent realm of “colorless zone” above the black, red, yellow, and white zones. However, a movement like “The Sleeping World,” which harmed oneself while killing the enemy was by no means to be used at will. If he entered into the Sleeping World now, it would ruin his ship first instead of the Mountain of Nomadism.

  Remember, there were four aether engines overloaded now. The charging of the Keel would be finished in no time. If interrupted now, the depressurized aether in the engines will explode before being assimilated. Then, losing all the aether, Ye Qingxuan and his shabby ship would have to face a powerless yet still furious giant sea monster.

  No matter what he did, they would die.

  No way to cheat, no way to play his tricks, and no other moves to make, and not enough bags to catch the monster or sticks to knock it out. The only option left for him was…

  “A duel?” Rubbing his face, Ye Qingxuan murmured, “I hate this kind of brutal fighting.”

  In the next moment, the hurricane came. Endless sea water was sucked into the sky and turned into fog, forming the horrible hurricane which expanded across the ocean and the sky. With thunder and lightning within, it was like the greyish-black column supporting the sky was spinning. Compared to it, humans were just tiny specks of dust.

  Getting closer to it, Ye Qingxuan was almost torn apart by the wind. This was what it is like when the music movement of modifications reached its extremity. It was as if the whole world was put on the iron chopping board of God and beaten down by God’s hammer and fire.

  Staring at the Mountain of Nomadism at the deepest part of the hurricane, Ye Qingxuan smiled. “Let’s fight the hard way then!”

  Let me try and see where my limit lies… he thought.

  The next moment, the Indigo Moon rose above the sea. Countless beams of light verged in the shape of an unreal moon, hanging above the sea. Facing the desperately huge hurricane, Ye Qingxuan stretched his hand forward.

  Nature Interference!

  In a flash, his body got into the “Vacuum” world. His willpower spread out in the moonlight, merging with the spirit of the music movement. Numerous music theories circulated, building the magnificent Symphony of Predestination layer by layer.

  The moon quivered once and shed an indigo light as cold as metal.

  The wind and the moon clashed.

  With the bang, a big boom was generated, shaking the space several hundred nautical miles around.

  545 Flying

  After a sudden roar which only lasted a brief moment, a long silence ensued.

  Even the howl of the hurricane seemed to be have disappeared.

  The expected earth-shattering turmoil did not happen, as the collision between the tornado and the moon was over in an instant. The Indigo Moon had silently infiltrated the tornado like ice cubes being dropped into water. Despite remaining distinct from each other, but they appeared to be of the same nature.

  From the perspective of the school of abstinence, this was a reverse interference of the nature of the substance, termed ‘the blending of natures’.

  Instead of using music theory to stimulate the hidden nature of the substance, activating it in order to modify the substance itself, Ye Qingxuan combined two different natures, that were originally in sharp conflict, together. It was like hiding fire in ice, or making streams of water gush out of stone. The contradiction was forcibly subdued, and harmony was achieved.

  Ye Qingxuan also employed a technique he had learned from Abraham’s music theory. Only by using the two together, could he assimilate his body with aether, achieving the stage of vacuum, whereby blood circulation would be replaced by aether circulation.

  But at this moment, the Son of Phoenix was so shocked by his observations that his jaw almost dropped. It was not that he was unfamiliar with the technique of the blending of natures, but he also understood its difficulty very well. Plus, the greater the amount of matter and the more their natures differ, the more frightening the magnitude of variables involved in the process would be.

  To force a tornado containing such a terrifying amount of power to merge with moonlight of a completely diffe
rent nature, and to make the two coexist in peace, how insanely difficult was that?

  It was totally beyond his imagination.

  Right from the start, the commander had given him too many surprises, to the extent that he had become completely numb. He stared at the moonlight in the storm in awe and couldn’t help but mutter, “Sure enough, they are all monsters.”

  …

  Strip away the appearance of matter and reveal the music theory of its essence—this was the concept that the school of abstinence had always embraced.

  In the eyes of musicians of the school of abstinence, regardless of whether they had chosen the path of domain or the path of commandment, the world was a movement composed of endless music theory.

  Modifications or chorales… In essence, everything was made up of different facets of music theory. In order to pursue the essence of music theory, emphasis was placed on the renunciation of the concept of self, so that one’s tenacity could blend into aether, allowing one to understand the mysteries of the Originator.

  In the raging tornado, appalling hurricanes were blowing all the time. Thunder and lightning galloped in a mist of scorching water vapor, evolving into hellish imagery. Ye Qingxuan operated the Indigo Moon in such a harsh environment, even making advances against the wind.

  Innumerable perception threads blended in with the faint moonlight, spreading towards the storm center of the hurricanes. All the changes within were interpreted using the way of deciphering and summarized as a blurred model in the hands of Ye Qingxuan.

  The moonlight fluctuated, sometimes strong and other times weak, sometimes brightening and other times dimming, like a weak candle’s flame in the wind. But no matter how the hurricane swept and raged, it could not suppress the moonlight it found irritating.

  Amid the struggle, the moon seemed to have blended into the hurricane. Yet as if it was on a critical boundary, it maintained its independence throughout, never once assimilated by the terrifying tornado. The situation was alarmingly dangerous, like dancing on tips of knives.