One month later, Gu Ningyun returned to the third floor of the library, carrying 41,200 points in her pocket.
《Zongjiao》 clearly remembered her; as soon as it saw her coming, it began to flicker incessantly.
After spending 20,000 points to acquire 《Zongjiao》, Gu Ningyun returned to Cloud Residence and began focusing on learning the melody.
《Zongjiao》 was the music of youthful innocence, with a lively and lighthearted tone. This was likely why it possessed both healing and purification properties.
As for the difficulty of picking it up, Gu Ningyun felt it was actually quite manageable; she learned it after practicing for only a short while.
After learning it, she speared a few fish from Spirit-Heart Lake and used them to test the melody's single-target and group healing effects.
The healing worked, but her mastery over the melody was still unrefined.
Rubbing her chin, she sent a message to the trial-enthusiast, Jun Luo.
Gu Ningyun: Isn't it uncomfortable being injured every day? Do you want me to play a healing melody for you?
Jun Luo didn't reply, but Gu Ningyun didn't mind and continued practicing with her zither in her arms.
Jun Luo replied to her around mealtime.
Jun Luo: You learned a new melody and want to use me for practice?
Gu Ningyun: A regular mind reader, aren't you? So, do you need it?
Jun Luo: I'm under the tree in front of your Cloud Residence.
Gu Ningyun put away her identity jade token, picked up her zither, and walked out of the courtyard.
Jun Luo stood under the Spirit-Heart Peach Tree with a straight back and a calm expression. If one ignored the bleeding wounds covering his body, he truly looked like a dashing young man.
Gu Ningyun sat cross-legged and began to play, shaking her head repeatedly. "Is this what it means to be a sword cultivator? It's far too brutal."
Jun Luo sat down across from her and gave her a speechless look. "Aren't you a sword cultivator too?"
"No, no, no." Gu Ningyun gave him a gentle smile. "Right now, I am a weak and frail music cultivator."
Jun Luo: ...
It was her first time healing someone, so she was a bit rusty. Coupled with the fact that Jun Luo's injuries were quite severe, Gu Ningyun had to play the melody twice to fully heal him.
"Move around a bit. How do you feel?"
Seeing him back on his feet and full of energy, Gu Ningyun began to ask about his experience with the treatment in detail.
"How did the healing feel? Did it have a pain-relieving effect?"
Jun Luo focused on his sensations for a moment before answering, "The pain vanished almost as soon as I heard the music. Then the bleeding stopped, and the wounds began to recover from the inside out."
"It felt warm and very comfortable during the recovery. Now, I feel like my wounds are completely healed. Not only that, but much of the fatigue from the trials has also dissipated. Ningyun, your melody is very effective."
Gu Ningyun nodded; this feedback was within her expectations.
She could now use this melody to heal people, but she wasn't proficient yet. If she had a large number of injured people to practice on, she would likely make significant progress.
Where could she find a large number of injured people?
Looking at Jun Luo in front of her, Gu Ningyun's eyes lit up.
Sensing something was off, Jun Luo asked, "What is it?"
"I've got a great idea!" Gu Ningyun put away her zither and pulled his sleeve toward the dining hall. "Let's talk while we walk."
...
The next afternoon, at Preaching Peak, under a large tree near the entrance of the Trial Tower.
Gu Ningyun sat cross-legged with her ancient zither placed before her.
Estimating that the timing was about right, she tilted her head to watch the Trial Tower's entrance.
Before long, a bloodied Jun Luo emerged from the gate.
As Jun Luo passed by the tree, Gu Ningyun called out to him in a clear voice, "Does this fellow disciple need medical attention?"
Jun Luo stopped. "You can heal me? What are your conditions?"
Gu Ningyun lightly brushed the zither strings. "I am a music cultivator and can play a healing melody. Three points for minor injuries, six for major ones. Your injuries aren't that severe, so three points will suffice."
"How can I trust you?" Jun Luo appeared somewhat hesitant.
Nearby, some injured disciples heard them and began to watch curiously from a distance.
Gu Ningyun looked very confident. "If I can't heal you, I'll refund your points."
"Fine, let's give it a try."
Jun Luo transferred three points to her. "My leg is injured, so it's not convenient for me to sit."
"No matter. You can just stand there."
This was her second time healing someone, and Gu Ningyun had improved significantly. After playing the melody just once, Jun Luo was restored to his original state.
He moved around on the spot. "It's actually quite good. Not only are the wounds gone, but my body doesn't feel sore anymore either."
Seeing the results, an injured senior brother approached and said to Gu Ningyun, "Junior sister, I heard you can provide healing. What's the price for injuries like mine?"
Gu Ningyun's voice was crisp. "Three points for minor injuries, six for major ones. If I can't heal you, I'll refund you on the spot. Senior brother, your injuries are quite heavy and will require at least three repetitions of the melody, so the fee is six points."
"Alright, I'll transfer them to you now."
More and more disciples gathered around. Someone asked, "Junior sister, can you do group healing? Count me in; I'll transfer the points to you now."
...
Two hours later.
Gu Ningyun put away her ancient zither. "Martial uncles, senior brothers, and senior sisters, my spirit energy is running low. That's all the healing I can do for today."
"Junior sister, will you be back tomorrow?"
"I will. I'll be here tomorrow at noon."
Carrying the 2,426 points she had just earned, Gu Ningyun returned to Cloud Residence.
Thinking about her gains tonight, she silently gave herself a thumbs-up.
Based on her previous observations while grinding at the Trial Tower, most disciples would use their own spirit energy to recover or simply wait for their wounds to heal naturally after getting injured.
Only those with exceptionally severe injuries would take healing pills.
After all, no matter how good a pill was, it would still contain pill toxicity. Taking them occasionally was fine, but people like them who practically lived in the Trial Tower were injured almost every day.
If they took pills for every injury, even top-grade pills would lead to an accumulation of pill toxicity in their bodies over the years.
Therefore, unless it was absolutely necessary, most of them would just drag their injured bodies back to rest and rely on spirit energy for slow recovery.
Only a music cultivator's healing melody could treat wounds without any side effects.
However, music cultivators were rare, and those who knew healing melodies were even rarer.
Thus, when Gu Ningyun offered to heal them for just a small amount of points, they were naturally willing.
While soaking in her body-refining spirit herbs, Gu Ningyun took stock of her harvest for the night.
By playing her melody in front of the Trial Tower, she got plenty of injured people to practice on and earned some points in the process—truly killing multiple birds with one stone.
She would go back tomorrow and continue until she had completely mastered 《Zongjiao》.
After playing for two consecutive hours and healing many fellow disciples whose cultivation was far higher than her own, Gu Ningyun gained a deeper understanding of 《Zongjiao》's power.
When healing those with higher cultivation, the greater the gap and the more severe the injury, the more spirit energy it consumed.
However, as long as she had enough spirit energy and divine sense, she could heal them.
Furthermore, from the fact that she could play for two hours straight, she discovered that 《Zongjiao》's efficiency and consumption rate of spirit energy were practically perfect.
It achieved the best healing results with the minimum consumption of spirit energy and divine sense.
Sweeping her divine sense over the ancient zither in her storage bag, Gu Ningyun decided that once she had completely mastered 《Zongjiao》, she would look into other types of melodies.
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