Chapter 57: Song of Destiny · Phoenix

As these words were spoken, the expressions of many conservative immortal officials shifted instantly, and several elderly Immortal Kings even frowned and whispered: "This is truly somewhat… contrary to decorum."

Su Xiaoxiao, however, sat there with a lazy expression, resting her chin in her hand as she looked at her: "Tsk tsk~ Why must Princess sister speak so harshly? I merely sang a song and danced a little; I didn't even take off my shoes."

Lin Chen: …

Xue Yao almost spat out her tea in laughter.

But just as the atmosphere froze, a lazy, cold female voice, tinged with a hint of impatience, drifted over:

"Have you finished making noise?"

The crowd was startled and turned around one after another—there stood a woman clad in moon-blue gauze robes, a slender sword at her waist, standing below the steps, her cold, beautiful eyes half-closed.

Poetry Immortal Yu Xuanji.

This Domain Lord from the "Xuanji Immortal Domain" was always taciturn and aloof, almost never interfering in external affairs unless necessary.

But at this moment, she walked out slowly and arrived before Su Xiaoxiao's zither table. Her slender fingertips brushed across the glazed zither strings as she said softly:

"This is not a lewd tune."

"This melody is free and unrestrained, the emotions are fiery, and it is so real that it does not seem like something from the Immortal Realm."

She lifted her gaze to look at Su Xiaoxiao, her eyes softening to an unprecedented degree: "Your melody and lyrics are unconventional yet not vulgar, free-spirited yet not fallen from grace… This is a release from the human heart."

"You are singing… of a courage to 'break free from destiny'."

With this one sentence, Liu Pianpian's pupils contracted sharply.

Poetry Immortal Yu Xuanji turned and walked back to her seat, finally leaving behind a cold remark:

"I have listened to too many ancient, elegant tunes, yet none have as much life as this."

Quite a few young immortal officials finally snapped out of their daze, nodding and whispering: "Indeed… that melody just now was too wonderful, not at all like something we in the Immortal Realm could create…"

"I actually… wanted to dance along with the rhythm…"

"When she sang that line 'I slowly sway', I actually wanted to sway too."

"…Yes, yes, yes."

"Me too!"

Poetry Immortal Yu Xuanji's words seemed to tear open a rift, allowing the suppressed, joyous atmosphere to flood back into the immortal banquet.

Some people began to applaud.

Others shook their heads with a smile, sighing in admiration: "As expected of the Hundred-Life Dao Tribulation Sacred Body; only someone like her could comprehend this divine song of 'breaking free from destiny'!"

Su Xiaoxiao stretched, whispering to Lin Chen and Xue Yao: "I told you, these gaudily dressed immortal maidens, they don't say it, but they are stifled inside. This song is perfect for them!"

Xue Yao covered her mouth to laugh, while Lin Chen shook her head gently: "You, you are still as mischievous as ever."

Meanwhile, Liu Pianpian—stood where she was, her face cold as frost, fists clenched so tightly her knuckles turned white.

She watched the applause below the stage, watching the unprecedented softness on Poetry Immortal Yu Xuanji's face— "I will not admit defeat."

She hissed in a low voice, turning to walk back to her seat, but she sat stiffly, her eyes filled with the coldness of a viper.

She swore in her heart:

"Su Xiaoxiao, just you wait."

"Even if you possess the Hundred-Life Destiny, I, Liu Pianpian, will drag you down from this Dao Alliance Immortal Banquet."

No sooner had Liu Pianpian sat down, before the chair was even warm, when a light, delicate voice drifted over:

"Oh my, why has Princess sister sat down again?"

Su Xiaoxiao stood up with a smile, her skirt swaying slightly as she walked gracefully toward her, saying softly yet firmly:

"You said it yourself just now, that we should 'perform elegant arts at will'. Now that I have offered my humble talent, it is your turn—"

She suddenly clapped her hands, and throughout the entire grand hall of the immortal banquet, crisp, pleasant bell chimes rang out, sounding like a signal that "some kind of ceremony had begun."

"Someone, bring the zither, brush, paper, scroll, sword formation… get everything ready!"

"Our Princess Liu Pianpian is a person of double excellence in literature and martial arts, whom even the prestigious families of the Eastern Domain must regard with respect. After this song today, how can she not present her own style for us to behold?"

Immediately, the surrounding immortal officials turned their gazes toward Liu Pianpian, their eyes filled with both anticipation and the desire to watch the spectacle.

Poetry Immortal Yu Xuanji gave a soft hmph, leaning against her seat with a cold sneer on her lips: "Don't disappoint me."

Zhao Yun held his wine cup and smiled: "Just as well. For the past few hundred years, the immortal domain's elegant banquets have been too boring. Today is quite interesting."

Suirenshi was even more enthusiastic: "Come, come, I have a Divine Fire Feather Brush here; do you want to use it?"

Liu Pianpian's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

It wasn't that she wasn't prepared, but—who could have imagined that Su Xiaoxiao was a crazy demonic woman who carried memories of a hundred lifetimes, had attained godhood in the zither Dao, and—damn it—danced to modern divine songs?!

How could she compare to this kind of talent?

But if she retreated now… she dared not imagine the consequences.

She could imagine the mocking gazes that would follow, and how it would even spread back to her Eastern Domain royal family—that a dignified Great Tang Princess, at the Dao Alliance Immortal Banquet, was pressed so hard by a sickly weakling of "waste Spiritual Root" origin that she couldn't even lift her head?

"Are you afraid?"

Su Xiaoxiao suddenly blinked, smiling as she took a step closer.

"You say you don't want to compare, that's fine too, but I have a bit of a temper. I'm afraid I might sleepwalk to your door at night and sing 'Wild Wolf Disco'…"

The entire audience: "…"

Lin Chen almost spat out her tea, and Xue Yao was already laughing so hard she hit the table.

Liu Pianpian felt as if a giant rock of fire were pressing on her chest, her blood surging.

She slowly stood up, gritting her teeth:

"Since that is the case… then let you see what true—Imperial literature is!"

She flicked her sleeve, took out a golden scroll, and stepped into the center of the venue.

"I take 'Phoenix Seeks Phoenix' as the theme. Within the time it takes for three incense sticks to burn, I shall compose poetry and paint, exhibiting both arts simultaneously. Do you dare to behold it?"

The crowd was in an uproar.

Poetry Immortal Yu Xuanji narrowed her eyes: "This woman, she is not entirely without trump cards."

Su Xiaoxiao raised an eyebrow slightly, crossing her arms: "Yo, getting serious now."

She raised an eyebrow gently, still maintaining that lazy and charming appearance.

"Oh my, if Princess sister wants to compete, then we certainly must add some stakes to make it lively."

She raised her hand, her slender fingers picking up a wine cup. She took a small sip and said with a smile that was not quite a smile:

"The person who loses must admit in public that they are inferior, and can never mention the four words 'perform elegant arts at will' again."

Liu Pianpian's eyes turned cold, and she sneered, her gaze like it had been tempered in poison.

"If I lose, I will be at your disposal."

"But if you lose—" Her tone shifted sharply, her words cutting like a knife, "Then you must get out of the Dao Alliance's important territory and stay far away from my brother Chongjun from now on. You come from the dregs, relying on feigning illness to garner sympathy. Your zither skills are nothing but a Demonic Technique, and your talent is all for show. If you were not the Hundred-Life Tribulation Body, you wouldn't even be as good as the little page boy at my door!"

Her words were aggressive, every sentence barbed.

The surrounding cultivators frowned slightly; even some Dao officials who had originally favored Liu Pianpian could not help but lower their heads slightly.

Yet Su Xiaoxiao still did not get angry; instead, her smile deepened a little.

She turned her eyes, her laughter melodious and moving: "Alright. I accept the wager."

"However, rest assured, I will win until you are completely convinced—the kind where you cry while admitting defeat."

Upon finishing her words, she flipped her right hand gently.

The nano cube appeared with a hum in her palm.

It emitted the spiritual fluctuations of a Level 7 civilization. As it twisted slightly, countless nano-units transformed into streams of light, weaving and constructing before her.

After a few breaths, a transparent crystal zither appeared in the Void Realm. Carved upon it were Dragon patterns and Phoenix cries; it was crystalline and brilliant, as if the rhythm of heaven and earth had been manifested.

"This piece—I dedicate to you."