”There is one last step we’ll have to do if we want these songs to heal a heavily injured Nascent Soul senior.” I looked each of my gathered band members in their eyes. “Any guesses?”
Dread Lotus tapped her chin. “The music is powerful by itself, but it needs an outstanding performance to increase its effectiveness.”
This was why she was the second in charge. I pointed to her. ”That is a large part of it.”
Azure Melodic River frowned. ”Is there something else?”
I grinned. ”Battle Formations.”
Gold String chuckled.
With a flick of my sleeve, I turned toward him. ”What? You don’t believe me?”
”I trust you, but how do battle formations help increase the power of healing music?”
I held up a finger. “Normal battle formations don’t. But I will teach you a special variation that will be used when performing. Though Dread Lotus can stay where she is since she’ll act as the life gate of our formation.”
She blinked prettily. “I’m special.”
Azure Melodic River’s cheeks turned pink. ”I can’t refute that.” She turned to me. ”But, sister Linlin, playing perfectly is already hard enough on us. Adding a battle formation on top of that seems extreme right now.”
”Don’t worry. We’ll start with something easy.” And if any of these songs seemed a little effective, then I’d increase the complexity and strength of the formation.
I pointed to two different spots. “Azure, you’ll have the simplest choreography.”
”What? Choreography? Isn’t that something Demonic Dancers use?”
I hadn’t heard about those assholes for a long time. Demonic Dancers were not evil cultivators but were close enough to them that my ‘death to demonic sects’ button wiggled every time I heard about them.
Essentially, they enthralled the minds of even immortal Ascension cultivators. Many decent people had their lives ruined because of them. Also, their marriages.
“Does this sect have those?”
Dread Lotus shook her head. “We used to, but they left for other unorthodox sects.”
“Alright, yes. It is something similar to what they do but as a battle formation instead. So, we’ll need Azure Melodic River to slowly move between this place and this one every 88 counts.” I pointed toward spots on either side of our drummer.
”Yes, Bandleader!”
”Practice now so you can get the timing perfectly.”
She nodded.
I shared a grave look with Gold String. “You and I are going to have to carry these two.”
”Hey!” Dread Lotus sounded offended.
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. ”When it comes to this formation!”
”Oh.”
I shook my head. ”As the front liners, we’ll have to do the most movement.”
”Is this for entertainment purposes, or are we the first defense?”
Damn, he was smart. “You’re right. If we were playing a song meant for battle, our positions would be the front-line attackers and defenders. We’d be protecting our slower-moving band members who give us the biggest musical momentum.”
He nodded seriously.
”I think I understand why you wanted us to practice with healing music first.”
He wasn’t entirely wrong, he just didn’t have the entire picture. That said, it was better to learn battle formations in a situation like this one — where a single mistake wouldn’t accidentally backfire.
”For now, we’ll keep it simple. Move for 8, pause for 32.”
Gold String nodded. “And where will I go?”
“We have more freedom than those two, but we will need to settle on opposite sides of each other. It’s just that I’ll be closer to the center as the lead singer.”
“Alright, I can handle that.”
Dread Lotus lifted her sticks and waved them. “But what would happen if we used this formation for a battle? I’d get destroyed if I had to stay still.”
They were getting ahead of themselves. But it wouldn’t hurt to answer their questions. “If we ever had to use this formation in a fight, you’d have to move as quickly as possible. Then we’d have to keep the formation up even while you move.”
“Wait! Does that mean I’m in control of the formation?”
“What do you think?”
She grinned excitedly.
“This formation concentrates all of our musical energy onto a single line, which makes it perfect for destroying or healing a single higher realm cultivator. Though it would be better if we had more complex choreography that exactly matched with each song, but we can decide that later if we need to.” I turned to Little Spring. “You have the most important job of all.”
“Being your audience?”
I grinned and gestured to a place at the front, normally reserved for the mosh pit. “Your listening spot is right here.”
He moved into position.
I turned back to my band. ”There are more complex arrangements that we could use in a fight. Ones that would help us confuse and fight off many enemies at once. But for now, this is enough.”
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Besides, I wasn’t positive I wanted this unorthodox sect to learn too many Battle of the Band formations.
::A single play-through won’t wake Ghosty up completely. But he should show signs of improving after listening to an effective song. We’ll just need to know which one works. So, pay attention to him.::
::Sounds good.:: “I’m ready, junior sister.”
This brat.
After a quick check to ensure we were all in position, I started to play the intro lines of ‘Three Fires Light the Way,’ the ballad I had the most hope for.
My guitar echoed through the practice grounds and then Dread Lotus came in with the drums, which made the mood pick up. Shortly after that, Gold String’s bass made our sound feel fuller. Lastly, Azure’s keyboard added complexity. It was almost like she’d brought the magic.
We sounded damn good together. Both our understanding and playing were in sync. If Ghosty was going to be healed by this song, we were performing it perfectly to get a response. And our Battle of the Bands formation, while not as powerful as it could be, enhanced our music to a height that any injured cultivator should feel deep in their soul.
I still had hope up until I played the last chord and glanced at Little Spring.
He shook his head.
Fuck!
Well, if that didn’t work, we’d have to try another!
***
After performing two more original songs and Spirit In Repair, there were still no signs of improvement. We just had one song left. It was, frankly, a song I had included, not sure it would help at all.
Healing music worked by figuratively wrapping the Nascent Soul in healing bandages. But this last one was closer to giving them a latte with a quadruple shot of espresso while telling them to do what they want and fuck what everybody else thought.
It was extremely cathartic. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant for physically healing the soul.
The song, “Everything Will Be All Right,” was inspired by a rock cover of Taylor Swift’s Shake it Off and I wrote it together with Fairy Winter Medley, the same girl who melted her seniors’ faces off. She had been very talented.
But even though this wouldn’t heal him, it was still a song that defied the heavens. It would give him the energy to keep his condition stable.
Aside from that, the song was also really fuckin’ fun. Something we needed after all these failures.
Dread Lotus started off with the heavy drums. Then both Gold String and I came in, being badass and building up the song’s energy.
Once I started to sing, Little Spring’s jaw dropped. ::It’s this song!::
I raised an eyebrow.
He must have realized that he shouldn’t have distracted me during a performance because his husky ears flattened and his cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
As our music continued, he began to nod along, becoming deeply immersed. He unconsciously jumped up and down a little.
That was how it should be. Music brought joy. It healed. Even if we’d failed with the other songs, we still had hope. We wouldn’t give up. There would always be another day to try again.
Ghosty would be all right.
Since my band members had repeated our formation for so long, they’d started moving more naturally and adding creative flourishes that enhanced the experience. This caused our performance to reach its peak.
Of course, that was when the hair on the back of my arm stood up. A small spiral of storm clouds gathered above us.
Fuck.
I grimaced. This wasn’t unexpected. We were, after all, perfectly playing a perfect song so incredible that it went against the heavens. But I wouldn’t let a music tribulation ruin our flawless performance.
While these clouds weren’t as powerful as my Foundation Establishment tribulation, they weren’t at a level I could look down on. Not while I was singing my heart out. Because part of being able to say that ‘everything will be all right’ and mean it, was having the power to back those words up.
As the energy in the clouds gathered overhead, thunder echoed. Winds blew through our hair, whipping it from side to side. Salty air from the ocean and the smell of ozone invaded the practice ground. But I kept rocking out, singing, shredding on my guitar. Heavens were gonna heaven.
Dread Lotus, who had taken up the role of backup singer, yelled “Woo-hoo hooooo!”
I used my strings to send a Thousand Cuts upward, just as the clouds opened up, sending a lightning bolt crashing down. As the two powers connected, they blasted apart, sending colorful sparks of energy falling around us in time for the perfect ending.
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For a second, everyone stayed still. Then Dread Lotus and Azure yelled in joy and briefly hugged each other. Which, of course, caused that fangirl to turn bright red.
Gold String rubbed his face. “I can’t believe we actually succeeded at playing a perfected-quality song.”
Little Spring ran up to me. “You were amazing!”
“Of course we were!” This was the group I’d carefully put together, after all. “My band members are not only talented, but they put in the work to swiftly perfect these songs.”
It was a feat that wouldn’t have been possible for mundane musicians. Hell, it was difficult even for cultivators, but these three crushed it. Frankly, I had never been more impressed with musical cultivators than I was now.
The three musicians, who had been drained of all their energy, finally collapsed to the floor. They barely managed to sit in the lotus position to try to recover. Since they worked hard, I handed another pill to each of them and turned to Little Spring.
::Sister Lin, I can’t believe the song you sang back when we were still living with your family was so powerful::
Wait a second! I’d sung that out loud? ::I swear I had been playing that in my mind.::
He shook his head. ::You had definitely sung it audibly. Everyone in the courtyard heard you.::
Fuck. ::I’m surprised you remembered that... I was not very healthy back then.:: The dichotomy between my soul and body had really messed me up. Of course, now I was perfectly fine.
He nodded. ::At the time, I thought you were crazy. Now I know you’re also a genius.::
Of course, I was a gen—wait... This fucking brat just called me crazy!
::But what are we going to do about Ghosty? None of the songs helped heal him. Are you going to play those again?::
Oh, he was good at changing the damn subject. But I would get my revenge when he started extreme hell training. I was already planning his schedule. Little did he know, he just added an extra hour of daily practice. Muahahahaha!
::If any of those songs were going to help him, we would have seen him wake up a little. At least long enough to communicate for a short period.:: I clasped my hands behind my back and straightened my spine. ::I think we’ll have to do something I wanted to avoid.::
::What?::
::Create a new killer rock song. One that’s even more effective than these!::
::But, sister Lin. We don’t want to kill Ghosty.::
::…:: How should I explain slang to this brat?
***
Once everyone had recovered and stood up, I grinned. “I never praise the undeserving.”
They looked confused.
“But you are very deserving. You played so well that the heavens were jealous of our talents.”
“Thank you, bandleader!” They all said.
“You’ve proven that you’re ready to move onto the next step in our Dao of Rock.”
“Learning offensive songs?” Gold String clutched the neck of his bass guitar.
I pointed to him. “We’ll do that too, but I’m talking about composing our own healing song.”
Everyone’s eyes grew wide.
“Are you serious?” Dread Lotus asked.
I nodded. “But it can’t be something simple. We need a song that will heal a heavily injured Nascent Soul.”
Considering what I wanted them to do, I thought they might shrink back and say it was impossible, but all three of them looked excited instead.
I gestured to Little Spring. “Why don’t you imagine their background for us?”
::Why do you want me to do it?::
::Because you’ve spent more time with Ghosty than I have.::
::He doesn’t really talk about his past often.::
::I’m sure he’s said more to you than me.::
He bit his lip. “Alright, then pretend the senior you’re writing this song for has been injured so badly that they lost their original body. They spent a long time in soul form by themselves, before their family found them.”
Damn. That was right. The kid probably thought of old Ghosty as his uncle.
“Then, before they could fully heal and recover their energy and body, they tried to protect the people closest to them and were hurt a second time.”
“Is this imaginary senior a male or female?” Golden String asked.
I crossed my arms. “Pretend they’re a man. And let’s say he’s in a comatose state so our song needs to reach him even in his deepest sleep.”
The bassist’s brow furrowed, and his hands shook. “That’s impossible!”