Chapter 323

Chapter 323: Great Confusion

Although the Lou Family was also considered a small noble family, no one in the entire clan had ever truly studied musical tones before. Lou Yun, since growing up, had never been exposed to such aspects either. Therefore, regarding the qin sounds displayed by the Huangfu Family, he naturally felt a sense of curiosity. The previous single notes and cries of agony could hardly be called music; at best, they were just unpleasant noises, so Lou Yun had no special emotions about them.

However, at that moment, this sorrowful and plaintive qin sound, filled with a deep, lingering grievance and overwhelming sorrow, completely enveloped Lou Yun. Finally, his calm heartstrings were lightly strummed.

The vibration of his heartstrings was reflected in a change on Lou Yun’s face. Though it was a very subtle shift, it once again brought a gleam of joy to experienced observers like Huangfu Xuanlan. Yet, having learned from the earlier lesson, the group worried it might turn out to be false hope.

Amid the mournful qin sounds, a trace of sorrow slowly arose in Lou Yun’s heart!

In truth, from the day of Lou Yun’s birth until then, he had almost never experienced sorrow because he simply hadn’t been given the chance for it. Even during the nine long years he was ridiculed as a failure, he had only felt intense self-doubt and self-blame—never touching sadness itself.

Not long before, during a conversation with his father, Lou Tianming, he casually mentioned Lou Yun’s mother. That incident made Lou Yun, who had never enjoyed maternal love or even personally met his own mother, genuinely feel sorrow for the very first time.

It was precisely because of that previously planted sorrow that Lou Yun’s heartstrings were stirred when he heard this heartrending qin melody now.

This was indeed the crucial mechanism by which the Huangfu Family used qin sounds to invoke the True Dream Realm: it could imperceptibly draw out even the faintest hints of certain hidden emotions deep within a person through the music, then amplify those emotions infinitely until one became entirely lost in them, thereby losing self-awareness. At that point, one could easily be led into the True Dream Realm by the qin sounds.

In principle, a thread of sorrow hidden within Lou Yun’s heart had been successfully evoked by the qin melody. Next, the music should have expanded that sadness boundlessly, causing Lou Yun to lose himself. Unfortunately, Chang Xiang inside Lou Yun’s body released a timely cough, jolting him awake!

Lou Yun blinked his eyes, his vision immediately clearing again. Witnessing this, the Huangfu Family members inwardly uttered a heavy sigh once more!

In reality, the reason Lou Yun was startled awake by just one cough from Chang Xiang was that the sorrow inside him was not strong—it was practically negligible.

After all, his memories of his mother amounted to nothing, and from the moment he gained self-awareness in his youth, he had embarked on the path of cultivation. The word "mother" grew increasingly distant from him; he wouldn’t actively recall her unless someone mentioned her. Thus, Chang Xiang could easily wake him up.

Naturally, the Second Elder noticed Lou Yun also resisted this sorrowful qin sound. So, he abruptly changed the movement of his fingers, sending out another kind of qin melody.

Among the five types of qin sounds from the Huangfu Family, the first two were considered basic—pure stimuli that typically only worked on those with low cultivation levels and weak resolve. The latter three were key to subduing enemies: Great Sorrow, Great Joy, and Great Confusion!

Lou Yun survived the emotion of Great Sorrow, yet Great Joy equally failed to affect him. His growth experiences had cultivated a detached mindset in him—neither overly sorrowful nor overly joyous. Though Lou Yun often felt happiness, such joy generally stopped at mild satisfaction and never expanded into overwhelming delight.

Therefore, after fully playing the Great Joy qin melody, the Second Elder finally wore a serious expression. Meanwhile, the Grand Elder secretly transmitted a message: "Old second, do you need my help?"

The Second Elder subtly shook his head and clenched his teeth, altering the qin sound once more.

While the Huangfu Family’s method of using qin sounds to subdue enemies was rare and hard to counter, playing those melodies also demanded considerable spiritual energy. To sequentially perform all five different qin sounds required at least a magical weapon realm at the king rank. Though the Second Elder’s magical weapon realm had reached the emperor rank, the effort needed to draw both Lou Yun and Gui You Quan into the True Dream Realm drained his full strength. After four melodies, his spiritual energy consumption was immense.

The Grand Elder noticed this and offered to assist, but the Second Elder felt unable to lose face—after all, as a Huangfu Family elder, he couldn’t even immobilize the young Lou Family scion. If word spread, his status in the clan would be greatly affected, so he declined the Grand Elder’s kindness.

The fifth qin sound, named Great Confusion, was unexpectedly beautiful: the notes were melodious and resonant, sometimes gentle and low, at others tender and sorrowful. It could be said to encompass all styles of expression. Lou Yun suddenly found himself entranced—not because he was bewitched by the music, but truly immersed in its enchanting beauty.

Lou Yun didn’t realize that this was the brilliance of the fifth qin sound. From the start to the middle, it contained no disorienting power—it was purely the player’s own mastery of the guqin drawing the listener into the tune. Only after immersion set in did the true Great Confusion qin sound commence!

The originally elegant notes slowly transformed into a soft, trickling stream-like sound that emitted an inexplicable air of laziness, subtly and faintly teasing Lou Yun’s heartstrings.

At that moment, because Lou Yun was wholly absorbed in the earlier exquisite music, he didn’t perceive anything amiss with this sudden shift. Mistaking it for a musical transition, the lazily teasing notes unconsciously began to make countless question marks appear before his eyes.

The predominant emotion in Lou Yun’s life was confusion. From nearly the moment he was born, bewilderment accompanied him: the strange phenomenon at birth, the multicolored radiance entering his body, his brilliance before age six, his status as a failure until fifteen, Chang Xiang’s appearance, and so on. These phenomena didn’t just confuse Lou Yun deeply—even his own Lou Family clan members had long harbored profound bafflement over them.

Though Lou Yun gained partial answers to some confusions through later experiences, those answers were incomplete. Instead, they spawned even more questions. Thus, the Huangfu Family’s fifth qin melody, Great Confusion, finally hit the mark!

At that very moment, various degrees of perplexity gradually filled Lou Yun’s mind.

Why had Chang Xiang chosen to hide within his body? Who exactly was Chang Xiang, and what was his relationship with the Lou Family? Why did his Lou Family have to endure such a fate? What exactly was the Divine Weapon Emperor—what kind of weapon was it, how powerful was its force, and why did everyone crave it?

These confusions continued to amplify under the catalyst of the qin sounds…

With so much bewilderment dominating his mind, Lou Yun’s facial expression naturally underwent significant changes. Observing this, the Huangfu Family members finally breathed collective sighs of relief.

The Second Elder’s qin sounds continued at a steady pace. Only now would Lou Yun formally be guided into the True Dream Realm!

Though Lou Yun had fallen into the music and started losing awareness, Gui You Quan remained utterly unaffected. None of the five qin melodies from beginning to end had moved him an inch; after all, he was already at the Weapon Emperor realm, his mental tranquility and firmness far surpassing Lou Yun’s. Moreover, he lacked the emotions expressed in those music types.

Still, the Huangfu Family’s focus wasn’t on Gui You Quan. Their aim was solely to extract information about the Divine Weapon Emperor from Lou Yun’s mouth. So aside from stationing an observer to watch Gui You Quan’s actions closely, they paid no attention to him.

Gui You Quan naturally knew Lou Yun had been ensnared by the qin sounds, yet he made no move. He simply watched the group with empty, emotionless eyes and a blank expression.

Chang Xiang also knew Lou Yun was in peril but, despite coughing or shouting desperately, couldn’t wake him again. Helplessly, he gave up and waited quietly, hoping Lou Yun would regain consciousness swiftly.

As the Second Elder’s melody persisted, Lou Yun’s head could no longer hold the limitless confusion. With an explosive "boom," in Lou Yun’s sensation, his mind was completely shattered by these countless questions!

In reality, Lou Yun’s head was perfectly fine—this was just the feeling of him having fully lost consciousness.

An indeterminate time later, Lou Yun groggily opened his eyes to find himself lying in a world made entirely of white. That whiteness resembled clouds, hazy and drifting, giving an intensely surreal sensation.

Lou Yun stood up and surveyed his surroundings blankly, wondering why he was there and what place this was.

Suddenly, a gentle breeze stirred. The white forms like clouds gathered together and slowly condensed into a human figure.

That shape gradually formed facial features and hair, gaining a complete face—one radiating profound tenderness, reminiscent of an old man.