[0 years old: Still in gestation, you are the incarnation of a vessel spirit, a soul fragment from beyond this world, not within the fate of this realm.]
[1 year old: You successfully assume human form, a jade flute rests in your arms, and a natural phenomenon appears—Jade Flute of Nine Tones.]
[2 years old: You behold the world and find your heart in doubt, asking Heaven nine questions, but the heavens remain silent.]
[3 years old: The world’s pure and turbid qi come to you—one day as Sky Gang, one as Earth Fiend. You take these two qi into your Dao, laying down an unparalleled foundation.]
[4 years old: Your homeland is suddenly struck by plague, wails echo for a thousand miles. You take the name White Changsheng, travel through all the tribes, save the people, and, after witnessing the pain of separation between life and death, you are moved to compose a piece: “Changsheng.”]
[5 years old: Sleepless at night, you open your eyes as Youlu Assassins approach. With a loud cry, your jade flute protects its master, killing the assassin on the spot!]
[6 years old: During a solar eclipse, heaven and earth fall into gloom. Observing this, you gain spiritual insight and your cultivation increases.]
[7 years old: By chance, you witness a Divine Palace Imperial Warrior of the Qing Emperor Divine Palace and their generals besiege a powerful Sound Dao cultivator. The great cultivator perishes, and by chance, you obtain their legacy.]
[8 years old: A snow disaster ravages the Northern Plains. Endless blizzards, corpses scattered everywhere. You cannot bear it, attempt to halt the disaster by your own power, and fail! Yet you gain the favor of the Heaven Wolf Will, and by chance, enter the Changsheng Heaven Immortal Treasury to select a treasure.]
[9 years old: You cultivate the Sound Dao, day and night with the flute, unwavering in your resolve. Heaven and earth qi converge, and by chance, you establish your foundation—the Supreme Sound Dao Foundation.]
[10 years old: The two khanates of the Northern Plains vie for pastureland, on the verge of war. You resolve the dispute with a single tune, leading both sides to shake hands in peace.]
[11 years old: You sense the vastness of the Five Domains, the insignificance of man, and compose a new piece: “Zhaoyao,” which allows you to roam the Five Domains and traverse between the two heavens.]
[12 years old: You enter the East Sea and, on an Unnamed Island, play the xiao, drawing two other Sound Dao cultivators for a duel of melodies—one with a suona, one with an erhu. Time flies, and dawn arrives as you finish your performance. The three of you burst into laughter, parting ways without revealing your faces, inspired to create a new piece: “End of Song, People Disperse.”]
[13 years old: A Golden Core Female Cultivator stationed by the Qing Emperor Divine Palace in the East Sea sees your handsome features and noble air, wishes to make you her companion. You refuse, angering her. She attacks, but you kill her despite her higher cultivation.]
[14 years old: Qing Emperor Divine Palace issues a bounty for you. Unafraid, you battle as you withdraw, fighting across eighty million miles. Suddenly, you turn and strike, slaying three Golden Core, crushing the Celestial Emperor Soul Locking Formation! Your name shakes the East Sea, and your fame knows no bounds.]
[15 years old: Moved by emotion, you seek an island to form your core. The core forms four sounds: Heavenly Lilt, Heavenly Sound, Heavenly Echo, Heavenly Finale. You further contemplate love and hatred, life and death, and condense a flawless supreme Golden Core—Myriad Sounds Red Dust Core.]
[16 years old: You begin to travel the Worldly Travels, wandering the Five Domains. Witnessing the boundless will of heaven and the despair of all beings, you create a new technique—”Requiem.”]
[One day to cultivate the soul, two days to guide the soul, three days to seal the soul, four days to devour the soul, five days to destroy the soul, six days to divide the soul, seven days to pacify the soul.]
[17 years old: You reflect on the hardships of the Sound Dao path: your body not as strong as Body Cultivators, your arts not as powerful as Spell Cultivators, your arrays not as potent as Array Cultivators… So you create a technique called “Qu Shi.”]
[With the power of your jade flute, you produce several clones, each identical to yourself yet possessing unique and wondrous abilities.]
[The Free Melody Adept roams the Five Domains, the Requiem Melody Adept nurtures and tempers souls, pacifying them. The Longevity Melody Adept heals all, while the End Melody Adept transforms into the Heavenly Crippled, Earth Deficient Erhu and suona, sending souls to rest.]
[18 years old: You return to your homeland.]
Northern Plains.
Xuan Yin City.
Autumn wind sighs, grasses thick, horses graze.
It should be a prime season for pasturing, yet the grand city is shrouded in deathly silence, the chill of slaughter piercing the clouds. Though the Qing Emperor Divine Palace rules the Five Domains, its true control extends only over Central State. The other four domains, without the Celestial Emperor Soul Locking Formation in place, cannot be effectively governed.
Such distant rule leads to another problem: every region pays lip service, rebel organizations run rampant, even conspiring with each other.
And Xuan Yin City is one such rebel organization.
A white-robed Daoist, hands clasped behind his back, saunters leisurely to the city gates, gazing up at the grand city before him.
“Who goes there?!” The guard, alarmed by the sudden figure, shouts in warning.
Though Xuan Yin City is not an immortal city, it still covers three thousand miles, its defensive arrays immensely strong—only a perfected Golden Core could break them.
“Northern Plains native, White Changsheng. I’ve heard the city lord of Xuan Yin stands against the Qing Emperor’s tyranny and have come to assist.”
“Do you have proof?”
“Naturally.”
White Changsheng reaches for the jade flute at his waist, brings it to his lips, and begins to play.
A melody of the xiao echoes through the sky, graceful and lingering, vitality swelling in all things, spiritual energy gathering from heaven and earth.
“Shh… shh…”
A gentle drizzle suddenly falls from the sky. Any mortal touched by it is cured of all ailments, their lifespan increased. Any cultivator finds wounds healed, spirits invigorated.
When the song “Changsheng” ends, the city gates open. The Xuan Yin City Lord personally greets him, warmth and enthusiasm overflowing.
White Changsheng lowers the jade flute, and, at the city lord’s eager invitation, enters Xuan Yin City. The corners of his lips lift slightly as, in his heart, he silently uses the power of the simulator to contact a certain person in Central State.
“The Identity Editor Card you left me is really handy, just as if I truly experienced all those events.”
“Of course~ I was originally going to use this Identity Editor Card for the next cycle. After being the Qingyang Sect Leader twice, I wanted to be a Sword Immortal for fun, try Five Domain Cleaving…”
Su Bai muttered, “For Xuan Yin City to openly rebel against the Qing Emperor Divine Palace, they must have backing from the Extinguish Sun organization—maybe they’re even a part of it themselves.”
“Your background is spotless. Enter Extinguish Sun via the Xuan Yin City Lord, rise through the ranks, gather your strength, and when the time comes, coordinate with my agent inside the Qing Emperor Divine Palace and rescue me from within.”
“Understood.” White Changsheng nodded, then, remembering something, asked worriedly, “What about that fiend? He’s a Huàshén Tiānzūn—if he really decides to act shamelessly and intervenes personally, these rebel groups…”
“He won’t. He can’t leave Central State for now. If he dares side with the Nine Nether, under the Celestial Emperor Soul Locking Formation, the will of Changsheng Heaven is isolated, but if he appears in the outer domains, Changsheng Heaven will surely strike him down.”
“Oh, right, but nothing’s absolute. Besides, the other nine Qing Emperor Divine Palace War Generals are all Yuanying True Lord, each formidable. If you’re caught by them, you’ll just have to join me in bed and get defeated together, gg.”
White Changsheng sucked in a sharp breath. “No… No way, I even took the trouble to take on a male form for this—surely that fiend isn’t that… that perverse, right?”
“Who knows.” Su Bai’s voice was soft and coy, with a touch of inexplicable sweetness.
“Qing Emperor Divine Palace’s Fifth War General—Heavenly Human True Lord Yu Shu, Right and Wrong Blade, Reversal Insect, master of the Yin-Yang Transformation Art, unrivaled in skill.”
“If that fiend finds out you’re ‘me’ too, what do you think he’ll do to you if you get captured?”
At these words, White Changsheng couldn’t help but shiver.
“Huh? Your voice, main body?” After a moment of fear, White Changsheng keenly noticed Su Bai’s oddity and asked curiously.
“This body that’s been developed into a ‘fluffy ball’ is acting up again, feels awful.” Su Bai’s voice grew softer and weaker.
“That’s enough, let’s stop talking.”
“That fiend is coming.”