Just as the thought crossed Xu Ying's mind, a glow suddenly shone behind him. He looked back and saw another sun slowly rising behind him.
The previous sun's rays had lacked solar essence, but this sun was saturated with it, dense and brimming with vibrant spiritual energy. Plants that had seemed half-dead a moment ago were now growing wildly, and the small animals scurrying between the rocks were feeding voraciously. Li Xiaoke's disciples emerged at this time as well, looking up at the sun to cultivate. He actually had quite a few disciples—some two to three hundred of them. Xu Ying watched as they offered up their Golden Cores, which floated in the air, gleaming with brilliant gold. Their Golden Cores were forged to exceptional purity, and not a single one among them possessed weak cultivation.
Other disciples were demonstrating sword techniques and divine abilities that were even more exquisite.
Following Li Xiaoke forward, Xu Ying saw disciples standing on opposite peaks tens of li apart, directing flying swords to clash across the distance. Their swordplay was fierce, sharp, and truly extraordinary.
Xu Ying stopped to watch for a moment and managed to decipher a stance or two from their sword techniques. He inwardly praised, "Li Xiaoke truly is a grandmaster! His swordplay has entered the Dao and reached the very pinnacle!"
Just then, someone was practicing sword forms in the canyon, transforming their power into a thick, dragon-like sword qi that flew along the gorge with terrifying momentum! The long dragon of sword qi was composed of countless sword beams swirling around the swordsman, proving even more intricate than the column of sword qi Xue Ying'an had unleashed that day.
This person's sword qi dragon could maneuver in midair like a true dragon, complex and unpredictable, unlike Xue Ying'an's straightforward techniques. The dragon of sword qi skimmed past the gorge, spiraled upward, and suddenly halted in the sky, condensing into a cloud of sword qi.
Standing upon the cloud of sword qi was a young woman in yellow robes. With a sharp shout, three thick beams of sword light shot out from the cloud, darting back and forth through the air. The three sword lights crossed and sheared like shears, exceptionally vicious.
"Splendid swordplay!" Xu Ying stopped and praised from the bottom of his heart.
Li Xiaoke's voice drifted from ahead, chuckling. "Fellow Daoist Xu, this way, please."
Xu Ying caught up with him, and Li Xiaoke led him to Xiaoyao Palace atop Jiucai Ridge. On the peak hung a golden bell radiating ten thousand rays of light, dazzling even more brilliantly than the sun of this world!
The bell was pure gold, gleaming so brightly that one could hardly look directly at it. This, presumably, was the Xiaoyao Bell.
Xu Ying immediately sensed a surge of hostility from the bronze bell. He cleared his throat at once and said, "Fellow Daoist Li, when you forged bells back then to suppress heavenly fiends, did you make any distinction of primary and secondary among the treasures you crafted?"
Li Xiaoke said solemnly, "I treat all treasures with equal regard. Why would I distinguish between primary and secondary? Every magic treasure I forge is unique in my heart."
The bronze bell was immensely touched.
Yuan Qi muttered, "Chive."
In Xiaoyao Palace, the kitchen had already prepared a feast of chives: roasted, steamed, boiled, stir-fried—every preparation imaginable, covering the table completely, though the pungent scent was somewhat overpowering.
Li Xiaoke invited Xu Ying to sit, saying solemnly, "This is the highest courtesy our Jiulong Mountain offers to guests. I hope Fellow Daoist Xu will not disdain our humble mountain's crude offerings."
"How could I?" Xu Ying took his seat.
Seeing this, the bronze bell quietly flew outside to the palace roof. It saw the golden bell hovering in the sky above the hall, turning unhurriedly. Deep imprints emerged on the surface of this golden bell: the sun, moon, mountains, and rivers, all things and all beings, simplified into elegant motifs. Simple though the patterns were, as the golden bell activated, they transformed into a radiant realm that projected light in every direction. Visions of the sun, moon, mountains, rivers, lakes, birds, beasts, insects, and fish flew out from the bell's walls.
Vivid and lifelike, they imprinted themselves onto the world around Jiulong Mountain, creating a barrier cut off from the outside and safeguarding Jiulong Mountain!
Watching this, the bronze bell felt the imprints on its own body pale in comparison.
To be sure, it could unleash an extraordinary wall of light, forming a bell outside a bell, but that was an ultimate technique it could only display when risking its life! The Xiaoyao Bell, however, unleashed the imprints of all creation with every single revolution, continuously protecting Jiulong Mountain with effortless ease and calm composure.
On that point alone, it had already lost.
"Are you the Xiaoyao Bell?" the bronze bell stammered toward the golden bell. "I'm a magic treasure Master forged as well. We're brothers. You stayed by Master's side, while I stayed at Little Stone Mountain to suppress fiends. The duties we performed were equally important to Master; there is no distinction of high or low between us."
The Xiaoyao Bell turned unhurriedly, ignoring it entirely.
The bronze bell forced a chuckle. "Master forged you so beautifully, all golden. When I was first forged, I was golden too."
"I know."
A ripple of the Xiaoyao Bell's divine sense finally responded to it lazily. "When Fellow Daoist Li finished forging you, I was right beside him. You were quite shiny back then. However, you weren't golden; your color was brass."
The bronze bell froze for a moment, then managed a strained smile. "Brass is only a slight shade different from gold, not much of a difference..."
The Xiaoyao Bell said solemnly, "The difference between you and me is the difference between gold and copper. When Fellow Daoist Li forged you, he merely gathered some brass, shaped it into a bell, and copied my imprints to strike them into your body. But when Fellow Daoist Li forged me, he searched the world for rare treasures, gathered the gold essence of the southern mountains, refined the quintessence of Mount Su, harvested metals and minerals from alien stars beyond the heavens, stole immortal fire, and tempered me day and night for forty years before I was complete. Then he placed me into his Realm of Xiyi, setting me in the Jade Capital mystic pass to be repeatedly stamped with the Great Dao of heaven and earth he cultivated, taking a hundred years to finish."
Hearing this, the bronze bell felt a pang of sorrow, yet forced a smile. "It was the same for me. Master said that in his heart, there is no high or low among his magic treasures."
The Xiaoyao Bell said indifferently, "You are not the same. To forge me, Fellow Daoist Li spent a total of one hundred and fifty years, during which his cultivation actually regressed instead of advancing. But to forge you, he only spent three or four days, hardly expending any effort at all. Furthermore..."
It spoke in a proud tone: "Do not talk about treasures having no distinction of high or low. Do you even believe that yourself? Some treasures are born with a silver spoon in their mouths, while others are born with inferior verdigris! Do you truly believe we performed the same work?"
The bronze bell grew furious. "What difference is there? You endure the wind and rain out here, while I had a pavilion on Little Stone Mountain! Your circumstances aren't even as good as mine!"
The Xiaoyao Bell sneered disdainfully. "Fellow Daoist Li indeed treats all magic treasures equally, but that applies only to magic treasures. I am different. I am his fellow daoist, not his magic treasure. A magic treasure can be discarded once it breaks, but a fellow daoist stays with him for a lifetime."
In a tone laced with pity, it continued leisurely, "The reason he addresses me as a fellow daoist is because as he grows stronger, I grow stronger as well. I will ascend with him into the Immortal Realm and become the immortal artifact that protects his Dao. You are merely a magic treasure forged from brass, full of impurities. Are you worthy of ascending alongside Fellow Daoist Li?"
The bronze bell stammered, "I suppressed fiends for Master for three thousand years! What have you ever done for him?"
The Xiaoyao Bell said, "You are a treasure; I am a fellow daoist. I have no need to do anything for Fellow Daoist Li; he has even done much for me. What is more, I guard Jiulong Mountain and protect Fellow Daoist Li's foundation. In terms of merit, you fall far behind me."
The bronze bell's fury boiled over. "You fake, what are you strutting about for? If you've got the guts, let's trade blows!"
The Xiaoyao Bell sneered, "You are courting your own death."
Inside Xiaoyao Palace, Xu Ying and Li Xiaoke raised their cups. Li Xiaoke smiled. "You and I haven't met in three thousand years. To think we would reunite after three millennia—and after all this time, your appearance remains unchanged from back then."
He drained the wine in his cup.
Xu Ying tipped his head back and emptied his cup. The fiery liquor burned down his throat, and coughing softly, he smiled. "I see Fellow Daoist Li hasn't aged either; you must be quite skilled at preserving your youth."
Li Xiaoke laughed heartily. "I studied the arts of immortals from youth, but..."
Xu Ying raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue.
Li Xiaoke set down his chopsticks, his expression dimming. "Three thousand years ago, I was known for the Dual Perfection of Bell and Sword. With one sword and one bell, while I couldn't claim to be undefeated across the world, few could stand shoulder to shoulder with me. Yet in that battle, I was defeated."
Xu Ying's heart skipped a beat.
Li Xiaoke sighed with emotion. "I lay dormant for three thousand years, believing my cultivation had made leaps and bounds during that time. Again and again, I fancied that I could overcome the Heavenly Tribulation, ascend to the Immortal Realm, and become an unfettered immortal bound by no chains. But that battle woke me with a start. Heh, this path that seems so correct might not be right after all."
Xu Ying asked, "Fellow Daoist Li, even after employing the six secret depositories, you still failed to defeat Xu Fu?"
Li Xiaoke looked astonished and puzzled. "Why do you say that, Fellow Daoist Xu? The Six Secret Depositories of the Human Body are merely minor arts, a crooked path taken by those who have failed at refining qi. As an upright Qi Refiner, how could I cultivate the six secret depositories? Ying'an, tell Fellow Daoist Xu how I usually judge the six secret depositories."
Xue Ying'an said earnestly, "Master has always taught us that the Six Secret Depositories of the Human Body are an unorthodox heresy, a shortcut. Cultivating them severs the path to immortality!"
Xu Ying pushed a plate of chive and glass noodle dumplings in front of Xue Ying'an and smiled. "Ying'an, you and Lord Qi take these to Lord Bell. He loves them."
Xue Ying'an hurriedly picked up the plate of dumplings and walked out of Xiaoyao Palace with Yuan Qi. Only then did he suddenly realize something: "Wait a moment, isn't Lord Bell a bell? How does a bell eat dumplings?"
Inside the hall, Xu Ying looked at Li Xiaoke with a faint, knowing smile. "Fellow Daoist Li, this isn't the first time we've met in three thousand years. We have met once before. The most recent time was two and a half years ago. Furthermore, you have clashed with Xu Fu more than once."
Li Xiaoke kept a smile on his face. "Why do you say that?"
Xu Ying smiled. "A person's ingrained habits are very hard to change. In the Mount Li Mausoleum, your clothing, hair, and beard were just as meticulous, without the slightest disarray. You led us in search of the Nine Cauldrons, remember?"
Li Xiaoke grunted, acting surprised. "Such a thing happened?"
Xu Ying said, "Back then, you were hiding inside Yuan Wuji's body. You fought Xu Fu first, noticed he was anchored to the immortal mountain, and tried to knock him off it. How did you notice he was anchored to the immortal mountain?"
Li Xiaoke leaned forward and smiled. "How did I notice?"
Xu Ying said, "Because four years ago, Xu Fu sought you out. He defeated you in that battle. For four years, you reflected on the painful loss and finally found his weakness: his feet cannot leave the immortal mountain. That was why you made a move to knock him off the mountain in the Mount Li Mausoleum." He added leisurely, "I don't believe someone meeting him for the first time could see through Xu Fu's weakness. If you had clashed four years prior, it makes much more sense."
Li Xiaoke's eyes flickered, and he chuckled. "As Qi Refiners, a fall in the pit makes one wiser. Having suffered a loss once, one won't suffer the same loss a second time. If Xu Fu had such a weakness, someone was bound to target it."
Xu Ying maintained his smile and continued, "As Yuan Wuji, you had long coveted the Nine Cauldrons. Your purpose in entering the Mount Li Mausoleum was to obtain them. But deceiving Yuan Wuji's wife was far too difficult. Therefore, Old Matriarch Yuan had to die."
Li Xiaoke sighed. "Husband and wife are bound to be familiar with tiny habits. Even if the person who devoured Yuan Wuji absorbed all the divine sense and immortal medicine in his body and obtained all of his memories, it would be impossible to mimic him identically. Spouses are simply too perceptive."
Xu Ying said, "After your identity was exposed, the strange eye in the Cangwu Abyss still caused you to suffer a loss. Then you were struck by Feilai Peak, so when you faced Zulong, you had no choice but to retreat."
Li Xiaoke said, "Zulong possessed ten golden statues, commanded terrifying magic power, and controlled the Nine Cauldrons to suppress all things. He was truly a formidable figure who swept across the six realms. Confronting him head-on, no one would dare claim victory."
Xu Ying said, "Later, when we escaped your pursuit, you transmitted your divine sense to lure us out."
Li Xiaoke sighed. "Fellow Daoist Xu, we are old acquaintances. It breaks my heart that you suspect me like this. You have no evidence; how can you slander me without cause and jump to conclusions based on a few living habits?" He smiled faintly. "There is no need to speak of matters without proof."
Xu Ying looked at him. With his chopsticks, he casually pinched a chive dumpling in half, letting the filling scatter across the plate, and smiled. "What if I do have proof?"
Li Xiaoke felt deeply uncomfortable looking at the scattered chive filling and set down his chopsticks.
Xu Ying pinched another chive dumpling in half, scattering the filling everywhere, and said, "A meticulous person like you certainly wouldn't leave loose ends. But Xu Fu is your loose end."
The corner of Li Xiaoke's eye twitched. "Stop splitting them."
Xu Ying crushed yet another chive dumpling and said calmly, "Aside from Xu Fu, you have other loose ends. For instance, those sword immortals you devoured—their skins bore sword marks."
Li Xiaoke frowned, his voice rising: "I said stop splitting them!"
Xu Ying crushed another dumpling and said, "You were known for the Dual Perfection of Bell and Sword, but your sword is too distinctive, leaving sword marks that are easily recognized by someone familiar with you. For instance, I happen to know someone who knows you well: Fairy Qingbi."
Li Xiaoke's former composure vanished entirely. Staring at the shredded chive dumplings, veins bulged on his forehead.
*Boom!*
Xiaoyao Palace shattered as the chime of bells rang out. The bronze bell and the Xiaoyao Bell clashed with a deafening clang, each unleashing its full might!
The two large bells unleashed their powers without restraint in the sky, clashing furiously. At times, bell tolls shook the heavens; at times, they slammed directly into each other, battling until the sky grew dark! The bronze bell was battered and bruised all over, yet it shouted, "Lord Bell is going to suppress you today and show you who the high-grade imitation really is!"
Chapter 164