Tale of an Ordinary Cultivator

After meditating for a bit to recover the energy expended during the inscription process, Zhao Yunxiao set off early for the Lightwind Pavilion. The group might have only agreed to practise together at night, but there was something else that he planned to do before that.

As expected, there was no one there when he arrived.

Upon filling his stomach, he walked to the centre of the clearing before pulling out a slightly black-tinted jade flute. The moment he held the flute in his hand, it started to emit an aura of wind that gently embraced him, causing his hair and robes to flutter slightly.

This was none other than the Window of Tunes – the Origin Core realm treasure that he had received from Elder Feng Wanjia back at the Armed Ape Tower.

Since he was going to prepare for a performance, he was wondering if it would be possible to do so with this treasure flute instead. As long as it did not end up affecting the group's performance due to his unfamiliarity with the instrument, using an Origin Core realm treasure for the performance would undoubtedly make them seem more presentable.

There was no need to hide the fact that he had this treasure. No, he would not be able to hide it even if he wanted to.

After all, it had been openly given to him by Elder Feng Wanjia.

In a way, that was a good thing as well. Given the position of Elder Feng Wanjia, who would dare try to take it from him?

Simply holding the black-tinted jade flute in his hands brought a smile to his face.

Just how many outer sect disciples could claim that they had an Origin Core realm treasure in their possession?

Yet Zhao Yunxiao did not just have one, but four Origin Core realm treasures!

"Why are you just standing there and smiling to yourself like a weirdo?" Hua Xian's words broke him from his daze.

"The sun is shining brightly now, so just keep making your food in silence," Zhao Yunxiao rolled his eyes before turning his attention back to the Window of Tunes.

There were two reasons why he had come all the way out here to practise.

Previously, he had tried to play the flute in his residence, but it just ended up causing a complete mess. Having learnt from that experience, he would definitely not use it indoors again until he was certain about being able to keep it under control.

As for why he did not just practise in front of his residence, that was mainly because he did not want spectators watching as he tried to figure out just what the flute was capable of. Even among members of the same sect, it was important not to expose all of one's secrets.

Only here at the secluded Lightwind Pavilion could he truly let go and do whatever he wanted without restraint!

Slowly but steadily, he raised the flute to his lips.

Even before blowing into it, Zhao Yunxiao could not help but feel that he must look rather cool at the moment.

Lips to the flute, with a gentle wind constantly rustling his long hair and robes. Wasn't this the typical image of a scholarly hero?

Even without Lu Zhiying, perhaps his charm would also be able to get them an additional fan or two in their next performance!

He blew into the flute, and the resulting sound was clear and soft, though not too different from his usual flute.

Next came the complicated part.

As he directed a wisp of essence energy into the Window of Tunes, the gentle winds embracing him quickly grew stronger, until it became a powerful whirlwind.

His hair and robes no longer just rustled softly, but began to flutter with far greater intensity. The dense layer of fog that shrouded the ground cleared out around him, revealing the grass on the ground that was flapping rapidly, and the flowers that were swaying violently as they looked like they were about to break at the stalk.

The whirlwind picked up the dense fog in the area, turning into a white tornado with Zhao Yunxiao at its eye.

"What is going on? What are you doing?" Hua Xian exclaimed in alarm. "It's one thing to not have helped the girls beautify this place, but at least don't ruin their efforts!"

Zhao Yunxiao ignored him, focusing instead on the treasure flute that did not seem to be responding too well to his thoughts.

How do you control this thing?!

By now, the frustrated Zhao Yunxiao already had his vision completely blocked out by the white whirlwind surrounding him. However, he did not panic.

This was practice, so it was only natural that not everything would go according to plan. Rather than racking his brains over something that he could not figure out, it was better to move on for now.

Since he was unable to see through the white tornado anyway, he chose to simply close his eyes in concentration. Note by note, he started to play the melody of <Utopia> – one of the three songs in the Flying Shell Performance Group's repertoire.

It was a song painstakingly created by the joint efforts of Bo Fei, Gu Qiansi, Huang An, and himself.

It was a song of an imaginary land of eternal peace.

Even though he was the one playing it in the first place, just listening to the melody made his heart race, not from nerves, but from relishing in pure vigour and liveliness.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

At this very instance, he felt almost as though he was the imaginary land of eternal peace itself, and the flute was somehow able to inject life and vigour into him. It was an incredible feeling, albeit one that the song should not have been capable of inducing.

Zhao Yunxiao continued to play, and his mind similarly continued to race.

Was this the work of the Window of Tunes?

So, it turned out to be a support item that could replenish his energy level?

Should that truly be the case, there would not be a problem even if he had to perform continuously for days on end!

Now then, did this effect only apply to himself, or to everyone who could hear the tune?

With his spiritual sense, he scanned over Hua Xian, who was currently staring nervously in his direction from outside the white tornado.

From its look of alarm, this flower demon did not seem to have felt the same rejuvenating effect.

Was it just him then?

Zhao Yunxiao did not come to an immediate conclusion. Instead, he continued to probe the Window of Tunes with his spiritual sense, trying to form a deeper connection with the treasure flute.

That was not an easy task, especially when considering how he was but an Essence Gathering realm cultivator trying to establish a connection with an Origin Core realm treasure. However, the flute itself helped to keep his energy level up, allowing him to keep trying without pause.

Bit by bit, he increased the amount of energy that was flowing into it.

Bit by bit, he started to feel the flute becoming part of himself, akin to an extension of his limbs.

And bit by bit, a mental image of the surroundings formed in his head.

There was the Lightwind Pavilion, the pond that it overlooked, and the clearing beside it.

There was himself, Hua Xian, and the various spiritual plants that had been planted in the area.

And then there were two different coloured energies sweeping through the area – one white and one black.

Zhao Yunxiao understood what the two different colours represented the moment he saw them.

The black energy mainly took the form of a tornado, with nigh uncountable streaks breaking away in various thicknesses. Wherever they passed, he could feel things rustle wildly in response. This had to be the source of the powerful winds that had messed up his residence before – a piercing wind.

The white energy was concentrated within the eye of the tornado, wrapping him in a soft embrace. This had to be the source of the feeling of rejuvenation that he was feeling right now – a healing wind.

Two types of wind, with almost completely contrasting properties.

One was meant for destruction, the other for restoration.

Of course, the colours of the two differing types of wind were not actually visible to others. Through his connection with the treasure flute, he was the only one capable of seeing a mental image of the colours attributed to each of the two types of winds.

That was not all.

When he focused harder, Zhao Yunxiao found that he could alter the trajectory of each of the two types of winds, dictating what the piercing winds would destroy and what the healing winds would restore.

It could not be done without channelling additional essence energy into the treasure flute, but under his will, the white tornado started to slowly expand outwards.

"W-Wait! What are you doing? Be careful!" Hua Xian cautioned. "You are going to end up wrecking my home!"

Zhao Yunxiao: "..."

Since when did this become your home?

Or perhaps that was not entirely wrong. Now that Hua Xian was residing here, it could technically be considered his home. This would remain the case even if the arrangement was temporary, or if he did not own the place.

Regardless, Zhao Yunxiao would have stopped with or without Hua Xian's warning. After all, he had no intention of destroying the hard work that the group had put into decorating the area over the years.

The white tornado of piercing winds stopped expanding outwards, though the healing winds quickly took its place.

"Hmm? What's this?" Hua Xian's nerves were washed away in an instant. "Did you give me some sort of heal?"

Zhao Yunxiao could not be bothered to respond, fully focused on controlling the two different types of wind.

But from Hua Xian's response, he could now confirm that rejuvenating the effect of the healing winds was not limited to himself. Others could benefit from it as well.

A treasure that could be used for performing, attacking, and supporting. What a marvellous gift!

That said, there was a catch as well – he had to be playing on the flute for it to exhibit these effects.

This meant that it would be difficult to use alongside other weapons, including his Penta-Edge Grimoire Halberd.

Or perhaps he could hold the flute up with essence energy? That would allow him to play on the treasure flute even when he had his hands full.

Of course, that would look too ridiculous, so he would rather not resort to that unless he had absolutely no other choice.

Now, onto the final step.

Zhao Yunxiao slowly opened his eyes, and the winds around him instantly died down even though he was still playing on the flute.

With that, he confirmed that on top of controlling the trajectory of the winds, he also had the flexibility of doing away with the winds entirely.

He could not help but let out a smile as he put down his flute.

While he was practising, hours had passed in the blink of an eye, and the sky was already turning dark. However, the time spent had definitely been worthwhile.

Today's practice with the Window of Tunes went far smoother than he had hoped!

"Eh? What happened here?" Bo Fei asked in confusion as he arrived. "Why is the grass damaged?"

Zhao Yunxiao looked down at the ground and realised that at some point, the piercing winds had ripped the grass out of the ground in a circle around him. Even at this moment, blades of grass were slowly falling to the ground around him.

"Seems like it's been a windy day," Zhao Yunxiao shrugged.

"...A windy day?" Bo Fei raised an eyebrow as he stretched out his hand to feel the non-existent wind around him. "Are you saying that the wind was so strong that it ripped the grass from the ground?"

"That's exactly what I am saying. Isn't that right?" Zhao Yunxiao glanced over at Hua Xian.

"That... that's right," Hua Xian answered hesitantly while casting a strange look at Zhao Yunxiao.

Up until now, it had always thought of Zhao Yunxiao as nothing but a weak cultivator who only managed to beat it out of sheer luck.

But... was that still the case?