"Why are you taking the risk of sheltering us here?"
In the Commander's Pagoda, fifth floor, a stretch of verdant hills and running rivers surrounded an opulent palace complex. In the palace, through the halls, three women of unparalleled beauty walked side by side.
Leading the group was Emily in her white garments, silky blonde hair, and a silver mask covering her face.
The one who spoke was a woman of an excellent figure clad in a black dress, her black hair long and flowing down to her calves, plumes of black flames in the shape of harmless lotus flowers detached from her strands and melted into the ambiance with each of her steps.
Next to her was a woman of pale white skin, crimson phoenix eyes, and a hair that interweaved pitch-black and snow-white stands even as it flowed to her waist.
Both women exuded the aura of level 95, on the cusp of achieving the 5th-tier of zero rebirth. The moment their star cores fully formed, they would undergo tribulations to create their bodies of law, proceeding to comprehend their respective laws and mold them into the cores.
That would then allow them to enter the 6th-tier, core molding, just like Leonardo. These women were, of course, Nier and Ingrid.
Emily didn't answer and instead, she gave the two women a look and asked, "How come you two didn't doubt my motives one bit?"
Ingrid smiled. "I can sense the lingering intent of my lord's thunderforce on your body."
Ingrid was with Leonardo on the lower floors of Tesla's Dine and Shine back when he was on planet Arcadia, she couldn't be more familiar with the destructive aura of the black lightning, even if it was a trillion times more docile.
Emily was a bit stunned, and beneath her silver mask, her exquisite features twisted with a bit of bashfulness and shame. In her mind, she almost certainly believed that Ingrid's words hinted at something else.
As for Nier, she looked at Emily's mask and said, "I can sense his desolate martial intent from your mask. In any case, I've also obtained the martial intent from him."
There was only one way for someone to obtain another's martial intent without any drawbacks, and that was through dual cultivating their virgin eastern. In a subtle way, Nier was marking her territory and position in Leonardo's heart.
Emily chuckled and said, "You must be the mother of his daughter, I presume?"
Nier nodded silently. Emily suddenly asked, "Why didn't you two advance in your realms yet? You seem more than capable of doing so."
She was genuinely curious as to why they'd hold back for so long. Ingrid said, "We'd prefer my lord to help us when the time comes, the laws of this plane are fragmented and any sub-dimensions hidden in the sleeves of this plane would likewise be imperfect. We can't risk having unstable foundations if we wish to follow our lord."
Ingrid obtained the memories of Dizmason Eternus the First, and thus, she was clear on some particular notes in regard to cultivation. No matter how inconsequential a step in cultivation realms is, anything can block a powerhouse from achieving a higher realm.
Emily was stunned.
"What do you mean?" This was her first time hearing about something like this, and she was at a loss for words.
Then, she realized she was asking for cultivation guidance from a peak 4th-tier cultivator, she was stunned yet again.
Ingrid hesitated for a bit, then sighed.
"My lord's memories aren't cohesive, so I guess he didn't explain things to you. However, I can tell you a few things in light of your favor…"
Nier and Emily silently listened to Ingrid's cultivation pointers as the trio faded into the depths of the palace…
…
Skyflare City, the Ye Estate.
Leonardo soaked himself in a deep pool of hot water as the blistering steam gave the bathing chamber an opaque atmosphere. To the side, Attendant Rue stood at attention, her arms holding a folded bathrobe even as she stood there with an uncomfortable expression.
Other than standing to the side, Leonardo hadn't requested anything from her. She had assumed he would do something like request her aid to wash his back or rinse his hair, but all she had been doing was holding onto the bathrobe.
"Brother Ye, is there anything else you need my help with?" Attendant Rue asked, feeling restless.
"You can put those aside and play some music for me, I guess. I haven't had the chance to admire your skills with the string instruments." Leonardo commented lightly, his tone lazy.
Attendant Rue blushed, thinking back to when she stood off against Leonardo. Now, she felt like an utter clown.
If it weren't for City Lord Huang, she'd have been dead by now. Thinking about it, she realized she was playing with fire, and she shifted really tone down with her attitude.
She coughed and said, "What type of music do you wish to listen to?"
Through the dense mist, Leonardo's lazy voice sounded again as he said, "Play your best piece, let's see what you can do."
Even as he spoke, he turned his body around and folded his arms on the rims of the pool, and through the layers of thick fog, his gaze rested on Attendant Rue's body as darkness flickered within his pupils.
"My best piece?" Attendant Rue was stunned. Thinking to herself, the best piece would obviously be the sutra she cultivates in accordance with her martial intent, but that melody isn't something anyone could appreciate.
In fact, instead of feeling good and immersed, a person might as well just feel lost and confused. Furthermore, the illusion bearing down on their mind might as well be considered an indirect attack.
However, she knew that no matter how impactful this attack was, it wouldn't hurt Leonardo, just in the same vein, it wouldn't impress him.
After a brief hesitation, she rested the folded bathrobe to the side, sat down lotus style, and brought out her ancient string instrument from her storage ring. After taking a deep breath, she laid the instrument on her lap in a horizontal position, her delicate fingers resting on the seven strings even as pure ether rushed from her fingers into the thin strings.
"This piece is called 'Staircase to Harmony', it embodies the six desires and seven emotions, while the highest realm is said to be the enlightenment of the sentient heart of all beings…" Attendant Rue spoke softly as her words trailed off into a melodious hum.
Ting~
She pulled one string, the offshoot vibrations infecting the other six, even as the first string returned to its still state and the rest echoed with a soft, drawn-out noise.
Smoothly thereafter, Attendant Rue continued to play off a piece of music that gave one the illusion of going through multiple lifetimes, each life striving to embody the peak of a specific emotion. The more Leonardo listened, the more he felt amazing.
The music flowed smoothly, and midway through the piece, Leonardo's eyes underwent a change as he circulated his innate martial intent and focused intently on Attendant Rue.
Attendant Rue was oblivious to the close scrutiny, wholeheartedly focused on playing each segment of the sutra to her best efforts, portraying the seven emotions one at a time in a perfect cycle.
All sentient, intelligent creatures had to face the tribulations of their emotions and desires, no matter how lofty or powerful they might be. Thus, it could be said that each comprehensive segment of this Staircase to Harmony is supposed to bring both the cultivator and their audience closer to understanding the laws of this world.
It felt like forever but it felt like a moment, but Attendant Rue's string lagged, and her music paused.
She smiled bitterly, "This is the extent of my ability, Brother Ye. Hopefully, I did not embarrass myself…"
Were she to have infused her spiritual force into the notes, she could have translated them into a mental attack. However, she knew better than to attempt something so foolish.
Leonardo's eyes swirled with darkness before they receded back, returning the bright, honey-brown flare as he shook his head and sighed. "Why are you playing each tone to a solitary perfection when the sutra is about harmonizing the laws? You might have spent thousands of years comprehending each segment till you've mastered all seven; that's very talented. However, what were you trying to accomplish after perfection?"
Attendant Rue was stunning, momentarily speechless.
With his innate martial intent, Leonardo found that each segment of the seven emotions was played almost to perfection. However, when things reach an extreme and cannot go beyond, they start spiraling toward the polar extreme.
This is just the profound cycle of life and law. It applies to the most common cycle of life and death. When one's life reaches an extreme, if one can't find another path to evolve, then one would transition to the next extreme; death.
Attendant Rue had reached the extreme in each of the seven emotions, to the point of portraying a lifetime of said emotion. In the past, whenever she encountered a bottleneck with one emotion, she would carry it to the next.
Now that she mastered all seven, she thought there was no path forward and she would be stuck in her cultivation.
Until she heard Leonardo's piece of mind…
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