Chapter 102: A Great Achievement Undone by a Single Effort

After the song ended, everyone sat there in a daze, bathed in the clear light as if they had undergone a spiritual baptism. A long moment passed.

"Gege, your skill has improved tremendously."

"Mm, Gege's previous songs could stir people's blood and touch their hearts, but this time it's different. There was no surge of blood, but it not only touched the heart, it was like washing my soul clean from beginning to end."

"Elixir poured into the top—one song awakens my dreaming self."

"Previously after Gege's song, I wanted to shout and scream, but now I'm perfectly calm, my state of mind has changed."

"Brother, how can you write such a song? Are you trying to save all sentient beings?"

"I've already surrendered to brother, please master take me in."

"..."

Fans' hearts were half calm, half boiling with excitement.

The calm came from the baptism the song had brought; the boiling came from the fact that the one giving that baptism stood right before their eyes—how could anyone remain unmoved?

Several Qinli cannons boomed, fireworks bloomed across the screen, brilliant and dazzling.

Red envelopes and tips poured in, one new song could earn Su Tong nearly one hundred thousand Qin coins.

In today's market, even a good song rarely sold for more than one hundred thousand yuan.

But for celebrity performances, some artists recovered their fees by singing just one song.

If it was a big-name star, the performance fee alone ran into tens of thousands; one or two songs could turn into a fortune.

"I worship brother so much." In Yangcheng, inside a villa, a girl like a fairy hugged a plush toy, her beautiful eyes sparkling. She was called Wen Peiyan, this year in second year of high school, freshly returned from abroad.

Before high school, she had studied abroad alone; this year her family brought her back to study in the country.

"Hehe, perfect timing for the National Day holiday. I have some free time—let's invite a few League of Legends friends to Haibin City to see brother." Wen Peiyan immediately began preparing.

"The whole song is gentle at its core, passionate bursts as accompaniment, with ups and downs that make repeated listens addictive." Office worker Xu Zheng replayed the video he had recorded and couldn't help exclaiming in admiration. Day after day of the same work, the same dull routine, his heart was covered in dust—it was time for a trip.

"Quiet your mind and truly listen to 'Travel'. Use your whole heart to melt it, to dissolve it, and you will discover how perfectly harmonious and intoxicating it is. Plain and unadorned is the truth. Our life's journey may have bumps, but as long as we travel with our hearts, we will gain much. With ideals come pursuits; with effort come rewards."

Many people sighed one after another, thanking the music, thanking brother.

Music was truly wondrous.

"This guy can write songs like this without developing his own style." Yang Feifei liked the song even more. The lyrics were clear and pure, yet not lacking in beauty.

"It's not that he lacks style—his style changes too fast. I haven't seen a singer-songwriter convert styles this quickly." Lin Yin spoke softly. Like Yang Feifei, she came from the performing department. She could only sing; reading sheet music was already a struggle, let alone composing.

"Hehe, don't talk yet—he's starting to talk about 'Zhun Xian.' Tonight he'll revive me." Yang Feifei clenched her pink fist, claws out, utterly excited.

Seeing Yang Feifei's flushed excitement, Lin Yin found it amusing.

"Zhun Xian" was excellent; Lin Yin liked it too, but she was nowhere near as obsessed as Yang Feifei.

Su Tong continued to the part where Zhang Xiaofan invited a great shaman from Nanyang to treat Biyao.

The great shaman, however, was terribly frail, his lifespan at any moment could end, making the listeners' hearts pound and sweat bead on their brows.

The old man's every movement tugged at everyone's heartstrings.

"Haha, I'm so nervous—Biyao reviving tonight is obvious." Someone blurted in the subtitles.

"Yes, yes, brother gave us early warning: with the Hehuan bell, the wizard has been located. Biyao must revive."

"Look how nervous you are. I'm not nervous. Would brother dare let the revival fail?"

"Stop messing around. The great shaman is scaring me to death—he's about to die any second, and Biyao's soul hasn't been summoned back yet."

"..."

Su Tong remained completely absorbed in the storytelling, ignoring the subtitles.

[Only the sound of ghosts wailing suddenly rose, surging from all sides. Brilliant red light burst from the red blood array and soared into the sky. Amid the flickering red glow, countless ghostly shadows of yin spirits panicked in terror, as if forcibly pulled by an invisible giant force. Their bodies were no longer their own; they ran around wildly, yet could not escape the red light curtain no matter what.

At that exact moment, the stone chamber returned to its original state. The awareness of Ghost Li and Ghost King instantly awakened. The two trembled with shock, realizing that the "Soul Summoning" array had just treated the surrounding stone walls and mountain as nothing at all, forcibly piercing the nine ghosts and demons with the mysterious Nanyang shaman power to capture countless yin spirits and ghosts and imprison them inside the formation.

The array was so wondrous that it naturally drained enormous qi. Through the red light, the great shaman's face had grown as deathly pale as it could possibly be. If he were already dead, many would believe it.

The Ghost King and Ghost Li's heartbeats quickened uncontrollably. They secretly prayed for the great shaman to hold on while their eyes remained locked on the array.]

The plot had reached this point. The audience dared not breathe; their hearts raced along with Ghost Li and Ghost King.

Damn it, can you hurry up? I can't take it anymore.

[Hehuan bell chimed!

"Ding!"

The crisp bell sound, like a yellow bird calling in a deep valley at dawn, rang out. The Hehuan bell actually left Biyao's hands and slowly rose into the air. Light golden radiance once again emanated from the bell.]

Hearing this, everyone's hearts surged. The path to Biyao's revival had reached its end; they saw the door of life slowly opening.

[...

"Crack!

Residual soul out of body,

Nine souls return.

Yellow spring nine ghosts,

Soul summoning is guiding!"

...

"Boom!"

As if it had never paused, like lightning streaking across the sky, unstoppable, before they could react, the surrounding scene transformed back into the stone chamber. Countless ghosts danced within the red ghostly curtain; a wisp of light smoke on the Hehuan bell was suddenly surrounded by countless ghosts and slowly emerged one by one.

One... two... three... eight... nine!

Three souls, seven spirits—this was the soul and spirit!

Ghost Li trembled violently; his nails dug deep into flesh, blood trickling down, yet he felt nothing. That red light screen, those wisps of light smoke...

He turned his head and stared at the great shaman.

Just a moment! Just a moment!

He could not help roaring in his heart!

...

]

Ghost Li was Zhang Xiaofan. At that moment not only Zhang Xiaofan roared in his heart, the audience roared in the depths of theirs.

Almost there—soon it would succeed.

[...

The great shaman's face, who knew when, had lost all color. His hand trembled even more violently. In the blood-red light, he opened his mouth and shouted:

"Souls and spirits have become complete,

All spirits return to their positions.

Spirit god entering..."

The "body" still lodged in his throat, at the moment of almost emerging, the great shaman's voice suddenly turned hoarse, issuing only a faint, low hissing sound.

Both the Ghost King and Ghost Li changed color drastically.]

At this moment, it was not only the Ghost King and Ghost Li who paled—the audience could no longer sit still. Many stood up abruptly, breathing heavily, hearts racing faster.

Almost there. Great shaman, hold on!

[...

"Wu... nine ghosts... wu wu... supreme yin... wu... non... this..."

The voice gradually grew silent and faint. The old man's head finally drooped onto his chest; there was no more sound.

A bone-chilling chill permeated the air, as if standing in a deep icy prison of the underworld. Two men in a daze gazed at the scene in disbelief.

The fading red glow slowly vanished. The surging blood river grew calm. The powerless blood mark could no longer restrain the blood; fresh human blood flowed across the ground.

The light smoke on the Hehuan bell was drawn back like a whale sucking water and vanished inside the bell. Light golden radiance reappeared, making the Hehuan bell glow even more dazzling.

A gentle sway, accompanied by crisp bell sounds, saw the Hehuan bell slowly descend and return to rest on the cold ice stone platform, lying quietly once more in Biyao's hands.

Deathly silence filled the cold ice stone chamber, lingering for a long time without dissipating, leaving not a single trace of sound...

"What... what?"

Many people were stunned as if petrified, unable to believe their ears.

The great shaman, in his dying state, disregarded everything and exhausted his qi, yet ultimately failed to complete the soul summoning to revive Biyao—his efforts had come to nothing.