Seeing that Gu Qingfeng was only focused on drinking and couldn't be bothered to pay her any attention, Qiānniǎo couldn't hold back any longer. She grabbed Gu Qingfeng's wrist, glaring at him as if to say, 'If you dare drink another cup, I'll beat you to death!'
Gu Qingfeng shook his head with a helpless smile. "I say, little sister, is that really necessary? We're all friends here, no need to be so reserved. Besides, Young Lord Xuan Yun specially ordered all these delicious dishes for us to enjoy. If we act all formal, he'll have to keep urging us. All that urging back and forth will just make everyone more and more awkward, and more and more like strangers. So why bother? I'll eat and drink first to liven things up and ease the atmosphere."
Gu Qingfeng's words left Qiānniǎo at a loss for a rebuttal. She wished she could find a hole to crawl into.
At that moment, Young Lord Xuan Yun clapped his hands. "Well said! Although Fellow Daoist Little Drunkard speaks very bluntly, one cannot deny he makes a lot of sense. I wholeheartedly agree. We're all friends here, there's really no need to be so formal. Formality creates distance. Compared to everyone else's strict self-discipline, I personally quite admire Fellow Daoist Little Drunkard's genuine nature. Come, Fellow Daoist Little Drunkard, let's have a toast."
Following suit, Liu Li raised her wine cup and said, "Fellow Daoist Little Drunkard, I also admire your straightforward character. I toast you."
"Come, come, everyone, let's raise our cups together."
Gu Qingfeng laughed heartily and drank with everyone.
One must say, wine is truly a wonderful thing. After three rounds of drinks, Qiānlíng, Qiānniǎo, and the others, who had initially been somewhat reserved, gradually loosened up. Everyone chatted and laughed merrily. When the conversation turned to the upcoming auction grand assembly in the Fengyue Small World, Xuan Yun said, "I heard that for this auction grand assembly, the Fengyue Small World has specially invited quite a few famous Immortals and esteemed figures. There's one among them I'm sure you'll all be very interested in."
"Who?" Qiānniǎo asked.
After her, Liu Li also asked curiously, "Yes, who is it?"
"The one known as the Immortal of Exquisite Melodies, Miss Mingyue."
Upon hearing the name Mingyue, Qiānniǎo and Liu Li instantly became excited, especially Qiānniǎo, who exclaimed loudly, "Wow! Really? Is the Immortal of Exquisite Melodies, Mingyue, really coming?"
Xuan Yun smiled faintly. "According to the rumors, yes. It should be about eighty or ninety percent certain."
"Heavens! If it's true, that would be wonderful! I can finally enjoy Immortal Mingyue's divine melodies and exquisite music again. I've been waiting for this day!"
"That's right! Ever since I last heard Immortal Mingyue play 'The Moth Flies into the Flame,' that feeling... I still can't forget it even now... It was just too... too moving."
"Yes, yes! Me too! After hearing Immortal Mingyue's 'The Moth Flies into the Flame,' I was captivated for the longest time. I really don't know how Miss Mingyue composed such a moving piece."
The Great Dao numbers three thousand.
Music, chess, calligraphy, and painting are all Daos.
Moreover, during the Remote Ancient Era, these four Daos were particularly flourishing. Those who entered the Dao through music, chess, calligraphy, or painting were not numerous, but they were certainly not few. If it weren't so, the Remote Ancient Era wouldn't have produced so many highly influential Immortal Musicians, Immortal Chess Masters, Immortal Calligraphers, Immortal Painters, and the like, nor would so many famous ancient melodies and paintings have been passed down.
However, because the Great Nature vanished during the subsequent era, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth grew increasingly sparse, resources became scarce, and everyone was busy scrambling for survival every day. Thus, the Daos of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting gradually declined.
Yet, with the dawn of the Present Era, the Great Nature reappeared, all things in heaven and earth revived, spiritual energy grew more abundant day by day, resources became richer day by day, and everyone's lives improved day by day. No longer needing to struggle for survival, people began to enjoy life. Consequently, music, chess, calligraphy, and painting started to flourish once more.
Especially in the last ten thousand years of the Present Era, becoming an Immortal has become increasingly easy. People not only pursue the ultimate material life but have also begun to pursue the ultimate spiritual life.
In a word,
the Immortals of today pursue an elegant quality of life, becoming what are known as Elegant Immortals.
These days, if a man doesn't know a thing or two about music, chess, calligraphy, or painting, no matter how high his cultivation level, he is considered uncultured in the eyes of many and can't even attract an Immortal maiden. Conversely, if he is proficient in all four, he can definitely be called an Elegant Immortal, capable of captivating a whole crowd of Immortal maidens.
Xuan Yun was exactly like this. Proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, with considerable attainment in each, he had some fame in the Twin Poles Heavenly Domain and a large group of fervent admirers behind him.
This applied to men.
And women were no exception.
An Immortal maiden skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting was often enchanting, charismatic, and valuable. If she possessed a few works that caused a sensation, she was even more remarkable, with an appearance fee so high it was absolutely staggering.
Take the one hailed as the Immortal of Exquisite Melodies, Immortal Mingyue, for example. She was the most famous Immortal Musician in the Twin Poles Heavenly Domain. She entered the Dao through the qin and had been famous for a thousand years, with countless renowned compositions. Among them, 'The Moth Flies into the Flame' caused the greatest sensation.
There were many Immortal Musicians in the Twin Poles Heavenly Domain, but whether in terms of attainment, fame, or influence, Immortal Mingyue was considered the greatest.
Precisely because of her high attainment and great fame, her appearance fee was jaw-dropping.
It was said that inviting her to perform on stage, to play just one piece, cost a million Immortal Stones.
What kind of concept was that?
One must know that Immortals like Qiānlíng and Qiānniǎo, who lived comfortably without want, toiling away for a whole year, might only earn twenty or thirty thousand Immortal Stones at most, and that was with good luck. If luck was bad, they might have no gains for two or three years. As for those ordinary Immortals struggling for survival in the Great Desolate, they barely managed to support themselves year after year, unable to accumulate any Immortal Stones at all.
As for Immortal Mingyue, playing a single piece earned her five hundred thousand Immortal Stones, equivalent to what they earned from decades of hard work.
And that was just for one piece. If she could play ten or so pieces in a day, it would roughly equal what they earned from centuries of backbreaking labor.
Precisely for this reason,
many Immortal maidens diligently cultivated the Musical Arts, all hoping to become the second Immortal Mingyue. Alas.
Cultivation achievements, Immortal Weapons, and treasures could perhaps be bought with Immortal Stones.
But the Musical Arts required comprehension and, even more, innate talent. Without talent or comprehension, even if you racked your brains, wore out your fingers playing, or spent countless Immortal Stones, you couldn't buy your way into becoming the second Immortal Mingyue.
Qiānniǎo was a perfect example. Ever since learning that Immortal Mingyue could earn a million Immortal Stones for playing a single piece, this young girl, who had always yearned to see the outside world, actually secluded herself in the Xiaoluo Secret Realm for four or five years, devoting herself heart and soul to cultivating the Musical Arts.
Although the little girl's aptitude was decent and her comprehension passable, she truly had no talent in the Musical Arts. After four or five years of seclusion, not only had she failed to step onto any Musical Arts Great Dao, she hadn't even grasped the basics. Consequently, she wasted four or five years for nothing and nearly neglected her cultivation. In the end, Qiānniǎo finally accepted her fate and realized she truly had no talent in the Musical Arts, only then giving up.
And this was Qiānniǎo turning back in time. In the Twin Poles Heavenly Domain, there were not a few women like Qiānniǎo who wanted to become the second Immortal Mingyue. Many threw themselves wholeheartedly into the Musical Arts, only to end up with no achievements whatsoever while also neglecting their own cultivation.