Chương 420: Chapter 419: Automation

I let the crimson aura fade from around my hand, watching the last tendrils of red energy dissipate into the air like smoke. The singing plants in the chamber slowly began to uncurl their petals again, no longer cowering from the aggressive energy that had just filled the space. I looked at my left hand, watching the azure light dance between my fingers. Where the red energy had been all domination and hunger, the blue felt patient, almost seductive in how it whispered promises of creation and possibility.

Back in the Blue Sun Academy, Kal had explained that creating with blue sun energy was essentially programming. You didn't just paint a rabbit; you painted a rabbit with specific purposes, limitations, and behavioral patterns built into its very essence. The energy would then manifest those instructions into reality.

"If painting is programming," I mused, "then the same principle should apply to the other mediums of channeling blue sun energy. Sculpture, calligraphy... and singing." The idea crystallizing in my mind was audacious, but it made perfect sense. Instead of trying to create something entirely new, which would be complicated and drain far too much of my limited blue sun energy, I could use the manipulative aspect of the energy to automate something that already existed in this world.

If I tried this method back in the cultivation world, it would be extremely difficult and likely fail. But here, blue sun energy was a higher form of power compared to anything native to this realm. It should be perfectly doable.

"Master," Azure said quietly in my mind, "you're planning something that would normally be impossible for someone without extensive musical training."

"Normally, yes," I replied internally, flexing my fingers and watching the blue light respond.

"But we're not operating under normal circumstances here." The thing was, everything in this realm was already singing. I'd noticed it the moment I'd arrived. There was a constant, underlying symphony that most people could only sense dimly. It was like being in a world where every object, every grain of sand, every flower petal was humming with its own unique frequency. Mo Yuhang had mentioned that after forming his Symphony Core, he could finally hear the music clearly instead of just sensing it.

But for some reason, I'd been able to hear it from the very beginning. Maybe it was because I was technically a "higher being" possessing this body, or maybe the Genesis Seed's influence extended even here. Whatever the reason, I intended to abuse it thoroughly. I moved over to one of the writing desks in the chamber, where blank sheets of parchment were stacked beside an array of scribing tools.

The quills were made from some kind of feather that hummed softly when touched, and the ink appeared to have been infused with harmonic essence.

"Mo Yuhang," I said, offering control of the body back to him.

"I need you to write out the musical notation for one of the Third Scale techniques you know. Something with a clear, specific effect." The transition was smooth as always. One moment I was in control, the next I was observing from our shared mental space as Mo Yuhang took charge of his own limbs again.

"Of course, divine one," he said, his voice carrying that familiar mix of eagerness and reverence.

"Which technique would you prefer?"

"Something that affects the mind or senses," I said.

"And write it as a proper musical score, not just the lyrics." Mo Yuhang nodded and selected one of the resonant quills, dipping it carefully in the harmonic ink. He began drawing the staff lines across the parchment, then filling them with notes, symbols, and notations that looked far more complex than anything I'd ever seen in my original world.

"This is the Dissonant Veil," he explained as he worked.

"It's a Third Scale technique that creates a melody designed to disorient opponents by disrupting their spiritual equilibrium. The harmonic frequencies interfere with natural energy circulation, making it difficult to maintain balance or focus." I watched him work, fascinated by the intricacy of what he was creating. Each note wasn't just a sound; it was a precisely calculated frequency meant to interact with spiritual energy in a specific way.

The whole composition looked less like music and more like some kind of mathematical formula written in musical notation.

"The technique works by establishing a base harmony that initially seems pleasant," Mo Yuhang continued, adding what looked like dynamic markings and tempo indicators.

"Then gradually introducing discordant elements that create cognitive dissonance. The target's mind expects resolution that never comes, leading to increasing disorientation." When he finished, I found myself looking at what appeared to be a masterwork of musical engineering. Even to my untrained eye, I could see the elegant complexity of how the notes were arranged, how they built upon each other in patterns that seemed almost fractal in their recursive beauty.

"Can you hear the natural singing of this sheet?" I asked, studying the finished composition. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Mo Yuhang smiled wryly, his expression carrying a note of self-deprecating humor.

"Even with my enhanced affinity after forming the Symphony Core, I can barely perceive it, divine one. It's more of a whisper than actual sound." That was interesting that despite his breakthrough it was still a struggle for him. To me, each note seemed to pulse with its own frequency, and I could hear the echo of the melody they were meant to create when performed. It was like looking at sheet music that was constantly on the verge of playing itself.

"Thank you," I said, resuming control of the body.

"Now let me try something." I placed my hand over the parchment and closed my eyes, extending my spiritual sense to examine what I was working with. The musical notes weren't just ink on paper; they were tiny reservoirs of potential, each one containing the harmonic pattern needed to produce its specific frequency. All they needed was enough energy to sing louder than their natural whisper. Carefully, I began channeling blue sun energy into the sheet.

Not forcing it, not trying to dominate, but gently encouraging the notes to express themselves more fully. The azure light flowed from my palm into the parchment, spreading through the musical notation like water soaking into dry earth. Then the notes began to dance. Literally. The ink symbols lifted off the page, swirling in complex patterns that followed the rhythm and melody of the Dissonant Veil technique.

The faint humming that Mo Yuhang could barely detect became clearly audible music, not just heard but felt, resonating through the chamber with increasing intensity. The melody was haunting and deliberately unsettling, with overlapping harmonies that seemed to twist around each other in ways that confused the ear. As the technique reached full activation, I felt the disorientation effect hit me directly. My sense of balance wavered.

The chamber seemed to spin slightly, and I had trouble focusing on any single object for more than a moment. My spiritual equilibrium fluctuated wildly, making it difficult to maintain concentration on channeling the blue sun energy. Realizing I was about to lose control entirely, I immediately stopped the energy flow. The dancing notes settled back onto the page, their movement stilling as the music faded to its previous barely-audible hum.

"Incredible!" Mo Yuhang's mental voice was stuttering with shock and awe.

"Divine one, that was... that was... there are rumors that those who reach the Tenth Scale might be able to bring written music to life, but I never imagined..." I could feel his consciousness practically vibrating with excitement and confusion. From his perspective, what he'd just witnessed defied everything he knew about cultivation limitations.

"I'm not bringing it to life," I explained.

"The music notes were already singing; I'm just making them sing louder and with more coordination. Everything in this realm has its own harmonic signature. I'm simply amplifying and directing what's already there." Despite my explanation, Mo Yuhang remained stunned.

"But divine one, even the most powerful harmonic essence manipulation can't replicate what you just accomplished. Only someone with access to energies far beyond our cultivation system could achieve such effects." He wasn't wrong. This technique would be impossible using only harmonic essence, no matter how skilled the practitioner. The blue sun energy operated on fundamentally different principles, treating the local energy system more like a lower-level protocol that could be overridden with sufficient authority.

I turned my attention to figuring out what had gone wrong with my first attempt. The problem was obvious in hindsight. I'd activated the technique without specifying a target, so it had affected everything in range, including me. That was obviously counterproductive for combat applications. I needed to try again, but with more focused intent. Looking around the chamber, I spotted a flowering plant near one of the windows: something with broad, fan-shaped leaves that swayed gently in the ambient harmonic currents.

Perfect test subject. This time, I placed my hand on the musical sheet and concentrated specifically on the plant as my target. I visualized the disorienting effect reaching out to affect only that single organism, leaving everything else untouched. The blue sun energy flowed into the parchment again, and once more the notes began to glow and dance. The haunting melody filled the air, but this time I felt only the faintest echo of its disorienting power.

Instead, the full force of the technique lanced out toward my chosen target. The plant's leaves began thrashing wildly, as if caught in an invisible hurricane. The entire organism seemed to lose all sense of up and down, its branches writhing in confused spirals while its flowers opened and closed in rapid, erratic patterns. For a few seconds, it looked like the plant was having some kind of seizure. Then my blue sun energy ran out, and the effect abruptly ceased.

The plant settled back into its normal, gentle swaying, though its leaves still trembled slightly as if recovering from the experience.

"Much better," I murmured, feeling satisfied with the improvement in targeting precision. My blue sun cultivation was roughly equivalent to Peak Qi Condensation level, which meant any techniques I created would operate at around that power threshold. The limiting factor wasn't really the strength of the effect; it was stamina. I simply couldn't channel enough energy through the spiritual link to maintain these automated techniques for extended periods.

But that was exactly why this would work as a trump card rather than an opening move. A few seconds of perfectly timed disorientation could be the difference between victory and defeat, especially in a close match between skilled opponents.

"The energy efficiency needs work," Azure observed.

"But the concept is sound. You're essentially creating magical scrolls that activate themselves when fed blue sun energy."

"Exactly. And since Guo Xinyi won't be expecting anything like this..." I trailed off, considering my next steps. The blue sun energy applications were promising, but I also needed to figure out how to weaponize red sun energy in this environment. Its natural repellent effect might actually be more valuable than its destructive properties, if I could find the right application. The red energy's ability to terrify and drive away harmonic essence could potentially disrupt Guo Xinyi's techniques at crucial moments.

If I could create something that would cause her song-based attacks to recoil or falter just as she was building toward a major technique... But first, I needed more information about the full scope of what was possible in this cultivation system. I'd learned the basics from Mo Yuhang's memories, but there had to be advanced techniques and applications that weren't commonly known. And I had the perfect cover for doing research.

The smile that spread across my face was probably far too pleased for someone supposedly divine, but I couldn't help it. After all, I was currently perceived as a higher being who had descended to a lower realm for a grand battle. Who would question a god wanting to review local cultivation techniques to better understand his chosen vessel's capabilities?