"Leaving it for the future? You know it's going to be very difficult for you to return once you ascend, right? Especially the higher you go, the more resources it'll require for you to come back to the Lower Heavens," Song Ling'er said to him.
"I know, but it's not impossible."
Song Ling'er stared at him in silence for a moment before speaking, "Did something happen? There's something different about you."
"Huh? How can you tell?"
"A woman's intuition, I guess," she casually shrugged.
Yuan then sighed, "Something did happen, but it's all in the past now, and dwelling on it won't do me any good."
"While it's definitely not worth dwelling on some things, some definitely are worth it, as it could be what pushes you further past your limit. If you want to talk to me about it, I am all ears."
Yuan pondered for a moment before asking, "Senior Song… Do you know anyone close to you that have passed away? Sorry if it's a sensitive question."
Song Ling'er looked at him with raised eyebrows, "Death? This is the cultivation world, where death is probably one of if not the most common thing regardless of which realm you're in. I don't think there is anyone around my age that hasn't experienced the death of a friend or a loved one."
"In fact, I have lost many friends to magical beasts and even more to other cultivators. I thought it was something more serious, but I guess this is your first time experiencing something like this, which is pretty normal."
Yuan nodded and said, "Yes, this is the first time someone close to me has passed away, and she was even killed right before my eyes. How did you deal with the loss of a friend?"
Song Ling'er looked up at the sky and said in a low voice, "You can never completely deal with the loss of a friend or family member— at least I don't think so, since they will always remain in your memories. The best thing one can do is try to prevent it from happening again in the future. Other than that, you'll just have to live the rest of your life with that burden, especially if you're the reason that person died."
"Many people— friends had died because I was too weak to protect them. And as cold-hearted as this may sound, it's because of their death that pushed me to where I am today, so I am also grateful to them in a way."
"Become strong enough so that it doesn't happen again, huh…" Yuan mumbled in a low voice.
"I don't know what happened, but as a cultivator— especially as a musician, you must learn how to control your emotions."
"I understand. Thank you for the advice, Senior Song."
Yuan suddenly stopped walking when he noticed something in the distance— two large statues standing beside each other with a zither in their grasp.
"Can I get a closer look at those statues?" Yuan pointed to them and asked.
"Of course."
Once they were before the statue, Yuan focused on the female statue to his left first, as it resembled someone that he has seen before.
"This person… She looks like the Zither Goddess." Yuan mumbled out loud.
"That is because she is the Zither Goddess," said Song Ling'er.
And she continued, "Most people that aren't a disciple of this sect don't know this, but the Zither Goddess used to be a disciple of our Heavenly Melody Academy. Unfortunately, she didn't stay for long because she easily surpassed everyone within just a few years."
"The Zither Goddess was a disciple here? What was she like as a disciple?" Yuan asked, his interest piqued.
"This is what I heard from the previous Sect Master, who heard it from the previous Sect Master and so on, but the Zither Goddess was a quiet girl who would spend the majority of her time alone in this exact spot playing the zither. If she's not here, then she would be in her own room playing the zither."
"Is there a reason why she would spend so much time here? I don't see anything special here." Yuan looked around, but he could only see an empty area beside the statues.
Song Ling'er then pointed to the statue standing right beside the Zither Goddess' statue.
"It's because of this statue. She would spend most of her time performing for this statue," she said.
Yuan turned his focus onto the second statue, which was a statue of a handsome man.
"Are they perhaps acquainted with each other?" Yuan couldn't help but ask.
Song Ling'er chuckled a little before responding, "That's not possible. That person left the Lower Heavens millions of years ago while the Zither Goddess wasn't born until around 25,000 years ago."
"If you ask me, I think it's because she admires this person, hence why she had spent most of her time here."
"The Zither Goddess admiring somebody? He must be a fairly influential person."
"If you consider the God of Music an influential person, then you're right." Song Ling'er said.
"Eh? So he's the God of Music? Does this mean he was also a disciple of the Heavenly Melody Academy?"
"If only. The Heavenly Melody Academy is only a hundred thousand years old, after all. We made the statue to pay our respects to the God of Music, who is known to have complete mastery over every instrument in existence."
"Is that so…" Yuan looked at the face of the God of Music.
Seeing Yuan staring at the God of Music's face, she said, "By the way, that's not really the God of Music's real appearance. The statue was made only based on some descriptions of him from ancient scrolls. I don't think anyone in the Lower Heavens would know his appearance."
"Does this mean he still exists somewhere in the upper heavens?" Yuan then asked.
"I don't know, but if you ask me… I don't think anyone can live for millions of years even if they are the God of Music," she calmly responded.