The youth wore coarse cloth robes and possessed thick brows and large eyes, appearing simple and honest. He seemed to be traveling far from home for the very first time, ill-accustomed to interacting with strangers. Upon entering the city, he had slipped off alone into a corner, keeping away from the crowds.
Xu Ying stepped forward and offered a polite greeting. "I am Xu Ying of Lingling. May I ask how to address you, brother?"
The cloth-clad youth was chewing on dry rations. Hearing someone speak, he looked left and right, and upon realizing Xu Ying was addressing him, hurriedly scrambled to his feet. Wiping his hands on his clothes with visible fluster and unease, he said, "My name is Xue Ying'an. I come from Daozhou."
Noticing that his Golden Core was shining brightly in front of him, he reeled it in so as not to dazzle Xu Ying.
Xu Ying asked, "Brother Xue, how did you come to be here all on your own? Could it be that you've also come for the ancient Yunmeng battlefield?"
Xue Ying'an replied, "My master ordered me to leave our mountain, saying there was an immortal opportunity here and telling me to try my luck."
Xu Ying asked, "And your esteemed master is...?"
The bronze bell flew forward in great excitement, its divine consciousness rippling as it spoke in a rapid torrent: "Is your master named Li Xiaoke? Was he a Qi Refiner of the Han dynasty, dressed in black robes with a white sash and a red collar? Does he always wear an eight-sided sword at his waist, with a mustache shaped like the character 'eight' above his lip and no beard below?"
Xue Ying'an was taken aback. "You know my master?"
The bronze bell burst into clanging laughter, laughing until it was practically out of breath, to the point where Xu Ying and Yuan Qi worried it might laugh itself into scrap metal.
"Know him? Of course I know him! Li Xiaoke is my master! It was he who forged me more than three thousand years ago!"
The bronze bell was overjoyed, darting in circles around Xue Ying'an. "He took me all over the world to slay demons and vanquish evil, to root out the wicked and bring peace to the righteous! He took me to visit mountain hermits and transcendent masters! I weathered countless perils with him, supporting each other through thick and thin, until he suppressed the heavenly gods and Fairy Qingbi—only then were we separated! We are comrades-in-arms!"
Xue Ying'an was dumbfounded. Only after a good while did he manage, "Bell..."
"Call me Lord Bell!" the bronze bell interrupted.
"Lord Bell."
Xue Ying'an was somewhat timid by nature. He said, "Could you be mistaken? My master does indeed possess a bell that accompanied him through all sorts of trials, but it is a golden bell named the Xiaoyao Bell. The Xiaoyao Bell has stayed with Master from beginning to end and has never left him."
The bronze bell froze, then gave an incredulous laugh. "It's not my memory that's faulty; it's yours! Your master Li Xiaoke never had any golden bell or Xiaoyao Bell! From beginning to end, the only things by his side were me and a sword!"
Xue Ying'an said, "I once heard Master recount his many adventures with the Xiaoyao Bell, and my senior brothers and sisters often talk about it too. Besides, the Xiaoyao Bell itself sometimes tells us tales of its past with Master."
The bronze bell laughed heartily. "Impossible! How could my own memories be false? I still bear the imprint left by your teacher on my body!"
Strange, miraculous patterns immediately surfaced on the bell's outer walls, while on its inner wall there appeared the grand, profound vision of a frosty sky encompassing all things, where ten thousand creatures strived in boundless vitality!
"Look! Isn't this the technique imprint of your teacher, Li Xiaoke?" the bronze bell asked eagerly.
Xue Ying'an examined it closely and said in astonishment, "It truly is Master's imprint! But Master clearly said that the Xiaoyao Bell accompanied him for the greater part of his life... Wait, I remember now!"
He paused, then continued, "Master once mentioned that in order to suppress the heavenly gods who brought calamity upon the mortal realm, he forged several replica bronze bells modeled after the Xiaoyao Bell to suppress those fiendish beings! He couldn't bear to leave the real Xiaoyao Bell behind to seal the demons, so you must be one of the replica Xiaoyao Bells Master made!"
He marveled, "To think that even as a replica, you managed to develop sentience! Truly extraordinary!"
The bronze bell went blank.
After a moment, the bronze bell seemed to age drastically, as if eroded by the wear and tear of endless years. It gave a shaky, trembling laugh. "You must have misheard, right? That's it—your master missed me so much that he forged a golden bell in my memory! That golden bell is the replica of me!"
Xue Ying'an shook his head. "The story of Master suppressing the heavenly gods has been told many times by my fellow disciples in the mountains; it shouldn't be false. The Xiaoyao Bell doesn't have a speck of rust, whereas you are covered in verdigris. Furthermore, the Xiaoyao Bell's patterns are much deeper, and its imprints are far clearer. Your patterns and imprints both look rather crude and rushed in comparison."
The bronze bell flew into a rage. "My imprints and patterns are clearly more expressive! Do you even know what expressive means? Lord Qi, Lord Qi, you're well-read—tell him what's expressive and what's rigid craftsmanship!"
Yuan Qi hesitated, choosing not to butt in.
Xue Ying'an said, "I don't understand what's expressive or rigid, but we live in seclusion at Jiucai Ridge on Jiulong Mountain in Daozhou. Master folded heaven and earth, taking us to live beyond the mortal world, amidst the myriad heavens. If you don't believe me, we can go together to Jiulong Mountain in Daozhou and ask Master to clear things up!"
The bronze bell said hurriedly, "Good! Let's go right now!"
Xue Ying'an said awkwardly, "I was sent out of the mountain to seek an immortal opportunity; I can't return just yet. Once I obtain it, I'll go back with you."
The bronze bell urged him repeatedly, leaving Xue Ying'an in great distress.
Xu Ying cleared his throat. "Calm down, Lord Bell. You've waited three thousand years already—what harm is there in waiting a few more days?"
The bronze bell drifted into a daze, waves of sorrow welling up within it. "Ah Ying, I'm not a replacement for the Xiaoyao Bell. I remember so many things I experienced with Master. He liked me very much."
Xu Ying nodded gently. "You are my friend. How could you ever be a replacement for the Xiaoyao Bell?"
Yuan Qi chimed in, "Lord Bell, I think the expressive style is far superior to rigid craftsmanship. The expressive patterns on your body carry the poise of a grandmaster. Even if Li Xiaoke forged the Xiaoyao Bell with meticulous precision, it wouldn't match the sublime charm of your expressive form."
The bronze bell snapped angrily, "It wasn't forged meticulously—it was made carelessly and slapdash! I'm the treasure Master racked his brains to forge!"
In the past, whenever it got angry, it would have long since pinned Yuan Qi down and pummeled him. But this time, though furious, it merely fumed in rare helplessness without resorting to violence.
Yuan Qi whispered to Xu Ying, "Lord Bell once said that its memories of three thousand years ago have always been hazy. Its sentience was only just beginning to awaken back then, so there's much it can't remember."
Xu Ying had heard the bronze bell mention this before as well. The bell could hardly even recall the upheaval caused by Heaven-Human Induction three thousand years ago.
It could only vaguely remember some mountains and rivers gradually vanishing and others growing smaller, but had no idea what had actually transpired.
If the bronze bell truly were a treasured artifact forged by Li Xiaoke that had accompanied him through much of his life, its sentience ought to have awakened much earlier; it wouldn't have had such a faint impression of the sealing of heaven and earth.
Yuan Qi said, "I suspect it really is a substitute for the Xiaoyao Bell forged by Li Xiaoke. Some of its memories might actually belong to the Xiaoyao Bell rather than being its own true experiences. When Li Xiaoke used it to suppress demons, its sentience had not yet awakened. Only after enduring countless trials and absorbing the essence of the sun and moon did its consciousness slowly stir, leading it to believe it was Li Xiaoke's most cherished artifact."
Xu Ying murmured, "Say no more, Lord Qi. We haven't been to Daozhou yet, so let's not jump to conclusions."
Yuan Qi said, "But Lord Bell really is covered in rust..."
Xu Ying shot him a glare, leaving Yuan Qi with no choice but to shut his mouth. Privately, he thought, *The rust on Lord Bell shows that the materials Li Xiaoke used to forge it were by no means top-grade. Otherwise, it wouldn't have rusted at all.*
The bronze bell was utterly crestfallen, huddled in the corner and refusing to come out.
Xu Ying smiled and coaxed, "Lord Bell, come into my Realm of Xiyi. I still have some primordial Dao essence that hasn't been refined yet. Don't you want a taste?"
The bronze bell did not answer, retreating deeper into the corner of the stone city wall, wanting nothing to do with them.
Yuan Qi opened his mouth to speak, but thought better of asking for a taste himself, thinking, *Ah Ying is only offering that to cheer Lord Bell up. If I speak up, I'll probably get thrashed within an inch of my life.*
*Lord Bell has probably shut down,* Xu Ying thought to himself.
He drew the bronze bell into his Realm of Xiyi and hung it before the Pure Yang anomalous fire, hoping the radiant light would brighten its spirits. But before long, the bell vanished. Xu Ying searched for a bit and finally found it in the Bubbling Spring secret depository.
It had wedged itself into the Nether Sea, sunk to the very bottom, completely motionless.
"I might be a fake," the bronze bell said. "I want some peace and quiet."
Xu Ying had no choice but to leave it be.
"Ying'an, what kind of place is Jiucai Ridge on Jiulong Mountain? Why have I never heard of it before?" Xu Ying inquired.
Xue Ying'an hesitated a moment before answering, "The sky above Jiucai Ridge on Jiulong Mountain isn't the same sky as here. Over there, there are two suns. It's only natural that you haven't heard of it."
"Not the same sky?"
Xu Ying was startled. Daozhou was located directly south of Lingling; before the emergence of the new territory, the distance between them wasn't terribly far. How could they not be under the same sky?
*Could it be that Lord Bell's master folded Jiulong Mountain into another space?* he wondered.
Xue Ying'an continued, "We were living peacefully all along. My fellow disciples and I knew there was another world outside, the world where Master used to live, but none of us had ever been there. Until one day, a man standing upon a stone came looking for Master."
Xu Ying's eyes lit up. "Was that stone square-shaped, floating in the air—an immortal mountain? And the man standing upon it was a young man with a scar at the corner of his eye?"
Xue Ying'an was astonished. "Brother Xu, were you there as well?"
Xu Ying shook his head. "Of course I wasn't there, but I've met that man. His name is Xu Fu. When did Xu Fu seek out your master?"
Xue Ying'an replied, "Nearly four years ago."
Xu Ying froze.
Xu Fu had found Li Xiaoke, who was in hiding in another world, before the diversion of the Nai River. Back then, the Netherworld had not yet invaded, the new territory had not yet appeared, Zhou Qiyun was still searching for a way to cross his tribulation, and the Nuo masters' reforms of Nuo methods were still in their infancy.
"Xu Fu visited Master, and after he left, Master was furious. He took his eight-sided sword and the Xiaoyao Bell and went out," Xue Ying'an recounted. "When he returned, he was wounded and in a terrible temper, constantly saying that it was all wrong, that this path was incorrect. He used to care deeply for Little Junior Sister, but he threw a rare, furious tantrum at her, and even gave me a beating. Master grew very gloomy during those days. Even the divine dragon of Jiulong Mountain trembled with fear, telling us that Master had altered the seal and that we might return to the world of our ancestors."
Lost in his thoughts, he continued, "Later, the world indeed underwent a great upheaval. Roars echoed from the sky and deep underground, like countless oxen and elephants bellowing together. I even saw gargantuan limbs swimming through the earth and sky, and watched as heaven and earth gradually tilted."
The tilting of heaven and earth had been very slow, taking two to three years before it completely inverted. Even now, however, Jiucai Ridge of Jiulong Mountain remained in that other world, having not fully returned.
Li Xiaoke had told Xue Ying'an and the others that he needed to leave a retreat route open, and Jiucai Ridge was precisely that retreat.
"After returning to this world, Master was very glad, yet also extremely cautious, forbidding us from descending the mountain. He was constantly plagued by anxiety, pacing back and forth and muttering to himself, saying, 'I was forced into this too; I didn't want it to be this way.' At other times, he would utter sinister warnings: 'You know too much!' It was only this time that he permitted me to leave and seek my own immortal opportunity."
Having spoken up to this point, Xue Ying'an suddenly came to his senses and said bashfully, "Brother Xu, I don't know why, but I just blurted all this out to you. I'm usually not this talkative."
Worry lined his face; clearly, he was deeply anxious about his master, Li Xiaoke.
Xu Ying smiled. "It might be because I consumed the primordial Dao essence from the immortal herb, which unconsciously prompted you to pour out your heart. Don't worry, I've almost finished refining it."
Xue Ying'an's words plunged Xu Ying into deep thought. He felt there were hidden details lurking beneath the surface that were not meant to be noticed by others.
*How did Xu Fu know about Li Xiaoke hiding away in another world? How did he find Li Xiaoke? Li Xiaoke left with the eight-sided sword and the Xiaoyao Bell—was he going to kill Xu Fu?*
Xu Ying pondered silently, *Li Xiaoke returned defeated and wounded. Was it Xu Fu who injured him? Was he defeated by Xu Fu's hands, which was why he kept saying it was all wrong? He said this path was incorrect—which path was he referring to?*
Besides this, there was another mystery.
With a name as domineering as Jiulong Mountain, why was one of its peaks called Jiucai Ridge?
Xu Ying suddenly asked, "Ying'an, do you recognize this sword technique?"
With a slight shift of his shoulder, a surging torrent of sword Qi fell from the sky behind them like a rainbow from beyond the heavens. It was none other than the Realm Breaker sword Qi that Xu Ying had comprehended at Shuikou Temple!
Xue Ying'an exclaimed in surprise, "That's a stance from Master's Xiaoyao Sword! Where did you learn it?"
Xu Ying's expression darkened with mixed emotions. Briefly recounting his encounter at Shuikou Temple in Lingling, he said, "Brother Xue, at Shuikou Temple I ran into the white-robed Nuo immortal Chen Mianzhu. He was once the emperor of the Southern Dian Kingdom, with an exceptionally high cultivation, and he dabbled in Qi Refinement techniques. In his twilight years, he sealed himself away, hiding his Hidden Scenery latent transformation ground between the Netherworld and the mortal world. Even so, someone tracked him down. And what split open his Hidden Scenery ground was precisely this Realm Breaker sword Qi."
Xue Ying'an's eyes shone. "That Nuo immortal must have committed heinous crimes, and my master stepped in to vanquish evil!"
Xu Ying continued, "Between the brows of the Nuo immortal Chen Mianzhu was a sword wound inflicted by an eight-sided sword, which pierced straight through his forehead. After Chen Mianzhu died, the sword Qi formed strands of immortal light like swords revolving around him."
Xue Ying'an said excitedly, "Master is peerless with both bell and sword! The sword Qi he leaves behind doesn't fade even after one or two thousand years!"
Xu Ying said, "The Nuo immortal Chen Mianzhu was eaten."
Xue Ying'an was about to say something more, but froze upon hearing this.
Xu Ying said, "Chen Mianzhu was eaten until nothing remained but a sheet of human skin. Harboring profound resentment, he turned into a ghost Nuo immortal and wreaked havoc on the area, harvesting ghosts to refine Myriad Spirits Pills and kidnapping living people in an attempt to seize their bodies and be reborn. Yet not only was his physical body devoured, even his soul was eaten clean—so how could he ever achieve body seizure and rebirth?"
Xue Ying'an's eyes went wide, his face flushing red.
Xu Ying continued, "The one who ate Chen Mianzhu was the very person who split open his Hidden Scenery latent transformation ground with the sword technique I just demonstrated. That person used an eight-sided sword to slay him with a single thrust. The reason Chen Mianzhu had no power to resist was that his Nuo methods and Nuo arts were taught to him by that same person who wielded the eight-sided sword."
Xue Ying'an stammered, "Brother Xu, wh-what are you trying to say? You and I have no grievances between us—why are you slandering my master?"
Xu Ying said, "The Southern Dian Kingdom was near Lingling, Daozhou is nearby, and Fairy Qingbi, whom your master suppressed, is also nearby. Your master must have operated in this region. He had ample opportunity to make arrangements and set contingencies. He imparted Nuo methods to Chen Mianzhu while leaving traps within them. Once Chen Mianzhu went into seclusion, he immediately tracked him down and ate him—"
"Shut up!"
Enraged beyond measure, Xue Ying'an suddenly unleashed a flying sword from his Realm of Xiyi. Surging, tempestuous sword Qi pointed straight at Xu Ying!
The sword Qi was so pure and fierce that Xu Ying's clothes whipped in the wind, a corner of his hem sliced clean off by invisible sword Qi, shattering in the air like a fluttering cloth butterfly!
Xu Ying's heart jolted slightly. This sword Qi was too formidable, even stronger than the Realm Breaker sword Qi he had comprehended!
He had merely contemplated the intent and way of the sword from the marks Li Xiaoke had left behind, whereas Xue Ying'an possessed Li Xiaoke's true teachings!
This level of sword mastery surpassed his by a great margin!
Right at that moment, a sudden gust of ghostly wind blew across, making both of them shiver. An imposing, burly man clad in battle armor walked straight toward them, passing directly through their bodies!
Xue Ying'an's surging sword Qi failed to harm the burly man in the slightest!
Yuan Qi cried out in fright. Xu Ying looked over to see that because Yuan Qi's body was so massive and long, the burly man had walked into his form and hadn't fully emerged even after a moment.
The sensation was profoundly bizarre and deeply unsettling, for human and snake alike.
"Lord Qi, shrink down!" Xu Ying suddenly called out.
Yuan Qi hurriedly shrank his body, transforming into a little snake about a foot long, and leaped onto Xu Ying's shoulder.
Xu Ying whispered, "The ghosts of those who died in the city have appeared. The village elder told me these are the heroic spirits of their ancestors, still waging war and slaughtering foes even after death."
Furious to the extreme, Xue Ying'an continued to point his sword at Xu Ying, shouting, "You slander my master! Just what are you scheming?"
Ghostly winds howled throughout the city as ghost after ghost manifested. All of them were clad in battle armor, sprinting through the city and shouting war cries as if engaged in fierce combat with unseen enemies!
"Kill!"
The ghosts roared, their auras immensely powerful. Behind them floated dilapidated, shattered Realms of Xiyi, featuring everything from the Weilu mystic pass all the way to the God Bridge!
However, their Realms of Xiyi had been breached. Many ghosts had broken God Bridges, scorched and dried-up Jade Pools, and Twelve-Storyed Mansions reduced to rubble!
For others, their Heavenly Rivers had dried up, and their thirty-three layers of Heavenly Mountains had collapsed into ruins!
Looking across them, Xu Ying realized that the ghosts appearing in this stone city were all Qi Refiners—and moreover, Qi Refiners who had broken through the final mystic pass, their Primordial Spirits standing atop the God Bridge awaiting ascension!
These were the warriors selected by the Heavenly Dao divine artifacts from across the heavens and myriad worlds!
*Oh no! The ancient Yunmeng battlefield where this stone city is headed might be far more perilous than we anticipated!*
At this thought, Xu Ying shouted at the top of his lungs, "Xiaodie, tell everyone from the Guo clan to leave this stone city at once!"
No sooner had his words fallen than the warrior ghosts battling before them began shattering one after another!
It was as though they had encountered an invisible enemy, defeated and slaughtered by a foe no one could see!
"Kill!"
Murderous intent boiled over within the stone city. Countless ghosts surged forward wave upon wave, utterly fearless of death. Yet Xu Ying could see that the one battling them was actually just a single person!
The opponent facing the mightiest warriors chosen from the heavens and myriad worlds was in fact merely one individual!
This person had slaughtered these supreme Qi Refiners one by one, smashing their physical bodies to pieces, blasting through their Realms of Xiyi, and dragging out their Primordial Spirits to crush them into dust!
Their magical treasures, their divine arts, their flesh and blood, and even their very convictions were all trampled beneath the feet of this intruder who had carved his way into the stone city!
The youth Xue Ying'an seemed infected by the killing intent of the ghosts within the stone city. He unleashed his eight-sided sword and charged brazenly to slay Xu Ying! At the same time, the Nuo masters from major clans such as the Guo, Gao, and Zhu clans throughout the city broke into violent brawls, attacking anyone nearby without distinguishing friend from foe!
"Kill!"
They screamed, completely driven by this sky-boiling slaughterous intent, descending into sheer madness.
No one noticed that at some point, the stone city had already taken to the skies, tilting as it sailed toward the vast, unknown expanse!
And before the stone city, magnificent divine light surged violently, interwoven with lightning to form an incomparably towering, dragon-headed, human-bodied god!
Within that god's body, an object radiated wave upon wave of Heavenly Dao majesty, guiding the stone city to retrace the heavenly road of ancient times!
It was precisely on this heavenly road that the mightiest beings from the heavens and myriad worlds had gathered to intercept and slay that fiend.
Chapter 140