My Fairy Growth System

Chapter 74: The Twin Excellences of the Zither, Dance, and Exquisite Painting Skill

Dusk, at exactly the fourth quarter.

The sky had turned completely dark.

Inside the Arena of Suichuan Immortal City.

The four spherical Moonlight Stone Lamps on the ceiling were suddenly covered by a layer of earthen shells.

The interior of the Arena abruptly became pitch black.

Before the cultivators could react, melodious sounds of a zither began to play.

"Snap–"

The shell covering the Moonlight Stone Lamps partially disappeared, and four beams of light shone onto the golden section points of the competition stage.

Mist swirled on the competition stage, and Yu Qingtan, in a white dress, appeared amidst the converging beams of light, sitting elegantly on a zither stool. Her jade fingers fluttered rapidly, and the crisp, melodious sounds of the zither radiated from the Ice Condensation Zither.

It was none other than "Yearning," which Yu Qingtan played most often.

The earthen layer on the Moonlight Stones gradually disappeared, and the light in the venue slowly brightened until it was restored to its original state.

The fog on the stage had also nearly dissipated.

The audience of cultivators, who had never seen such a spectacle, found it extremely novel and watched Yu Qingtan’s performance in silence.

Yu Qingtan’s hair reached her waist and draped over her shoulders. She wore Falling Star Earrings and a pure white straight-collared dress that was a Lower Grade Magic Artifact. With willow-like eyebrows and long lashes, she truly embodied the image of a classically beautiful girl with an elegant and gentle demeanor.

As "Yearning" came to an end, the venue erupted with fervent applause.

Yu Qingtan stood up, walked to the center of the competition stage, bowed, and then said, "My name is Yu Qingtan, and I thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to watch my performance. I hope this event can provide some solace for the pain brought by the beast tide, and I hope everyone can continue to live and cultivate happily in Suichuan Immortal City. Next, I will perform the Exquisite Dance for you all. Please wait a moment."

Having said this, Yu Qingtan stepped off the stage to change her outfit and hairstyle backstage.

Meanwhile, the sound from the Sound Recording Artifact was emitted throughout the venue, which was the "Yearning" piece that Yu Qingtan had just played.

"Miss Qing Tan is even more beautiful than the rumors say, and her zither playing is simply enchanting!"

"Indeed, her entrance was innovative and quite like a fairy descending to the Mortal Realm. Just witnessing this made the trip worthwhile!"

A small part of the audience seats buzzed with quiet discussions.

Because Yu Qingtan was well prepared, as soon as the Sound Recording Artifact had played "Yearning" once through, Yu Qingtan had finished changing into her new costume and returned to the stage, stunning the entire venue with her appearance.

Yu Qingtan now wore a pink and purple off-shoulder dress that hugged her figure, with flesh-colored silk stockings paired with high-heeled black leather boots. Her waist belt had a split tail attached, and her hair was styled up, adorned with fox-ear headwear. She held a purple umbrella in her hand.

This ensemble was one of several sets of Lower Grade Magic Artifact attire that Yu Qingtan had recently designed herself, taking inspiration from the attire of A Li, a character from her previous life’s Infinite Star Assessment Officer. The dress, stockings, shoes, and umbrella, each taken individually, were of Lower Grade Magic Artifact quality.

This outfit was as bold as the usual attire of Deacon Meng Xiyao from the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, and those flesh-colored silk stockings with dark circular patterns seemed to exude a magic of their own, capturing the attention of most attendees. The sound of swallowing saliva echoed sporadically throughout the audience.

As the music from the Sound Recording Artifact began, Yu Qingtan commenced her performance of the Exquisite Dance. Although the original dance didn’t feature an umbrella, Yu Qingtan, who had mastered the Exquisite Dance, seamlessly integrated the element of the umbrella into it, leaving many in the audience who had seen the Exquisite Dance before feeling as if they were watching a brand-new dance.

At the climax, the stage seemed alive with three dancers, their leg movements multiplying, dazzling the audience and leaving them scratching at their hearts.

After the dance, Yu Qingtan returned backstage. The Sound Recording Artifact played the background music for the Exquisite Dance while the audience remained immersed in the splendor of the dance they had just witnessed.

After the Exquisite Dance’s background music had played once, Yu Qingtan’s voice emerged from the Sound Recording Artifact.

"Legend has it, in the Mortal Realm there was a poor scholar…"

Through the magic artifact, Yu Qingtan briefly narrated the story of the Butterfly Lovers and, as the tale concluded, she returned to the stage.

At this moment, Yu Qingtan was dressed in a white off-shoulder dress paired with white high-heeled boots, sporting white to blue gradient butterfly-winglike sleeves, resembling a butterfly spirit.

This was in fact Yu Qingtan’s adaptation of Chanyi’s golden midsummer night magic artifact set from her previous life, only with considerably more fabric covering the chest area.

After all, she hadn’t yet advanced beyond the realm of a double-A scenic area.

She took out the Quan Ning Qin, placed it on the table, sat on the stool, and began to play the Love of Butterfly Lovers.

The classic melody rose, intoxicating even in this alien time and space. Combined with the story they’d just heard, many in the audience had tears in their eyes.

When the piece ended, Yu Qingtan put away the zither and the table and chair and said, "I present to you my original composition, Love of Butterfly Lovers, wishing all lovers in the world to find their union. Additionally, I announce that the sheet music and rights to this piece are now open. Anyone who likes it is welcome to learn and perform it."

Loud applause filled the venue.

"Next, please enjoy the dance, Butterfly Dance."

No sooner had she finished speaking than the background music for the Butterfly Dance started coming from the sound recording artifact, and Yu Qingtan began her dance, fluttering like a true butterfly through the flowers, reminiscent of Zhu Yingtai from the story, now transformed into a butterfly. One couldn’t help but wonder, where was her Liang Shanbo?

At the end of the dance, warm applause once again swept through the venue.

Yu Qingtan went backstage while above the stage, a huge white curtain was hung, displaying on both sides the sheet music for the Love of Butterfly Lovers.

After a short while, Yu Qingtan reappeared on stage in a new outfit.

Her hair was gathered into twin buns, with two ponytails hanging beneath them.

She was clad in a muted water-blue top with covert bamboo leaf patterns paired with a knee-length pleated skirt adorned with lotus prints, white stockings on her legs, and black shoes on her feet.

This attire was created based on a magic artifact dress set from the poetry of South River Jiangnan in her past life. Wearing these clothes, Yu Qingtan was the very image of a quiet literary girl.

Yu Qingtan approached the desk on stage and, under the puzzled gazes of the audience, took out a large sheet of paper and a peculiar pen, setting them up.

"You may be wondering what Qingtan is about to perform next," Yu Qingtan began. "Truth be told, in addition to playing the zither, I’ve also learned Painting Skill. One day in a dream, I chanced upon a method of painting which I’ve chosen to call sketching. Today, I will display it for the first time, and I ask for your guidance."

"If you think Qingtan’s performance tonight was good, if you think the painting is decent, if you like Qingtan, those who are able are welcome to reward me with a Spirit Stone. Thank you all! But please, no more than one Spirit Stone!"

Having finished speaking, Yu Qingtan picked up the pencil from the table and began to sketch, with the music from her zither performance playing in the background from the sound recording artifact.

Meanwhile, the workers from the Yu family moved through the audience with boxes containing large-capacity storage bags.

The boxes were labeled as Reward Boxes.

One after another, Spirit Stones found their way into the boxes.

A Lower Grade Spirit Stone was not insignificant to a lower-tier Loose Cultivator, but many still managed to give up one after some hesitation.

As a result, more than half of the audience rewarded her with Spirit Stones, since Yu Qingtan’s performance was indeed quite stunning.

Although Yu Qingtan had said that rewards should not exceed one Spirit Stone, some of the wealthier spectators still rewarded her with more, including Ge Wenyu of the Ges, Song Zhenkai of the Songs, Qi Hong of the Qis, and the mysterious protector of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, each awarding her a Medium Grade Spirit Stone.

After spending an entire half hour, Yu Qingtan finally completed the painting she intended to create.