That tolling of the bell was something Xu Ying had heard once before—when he had sworn a Chaos Oath with the ruin master of the Yuan Realm. After swearing the oath, a bell had rung by their ears.
That tolling was identical to the bell tolling in the river of time!
He had heard this kind of bell toll three times in all. There had been another time in the Chaos Sea, when he imprinted the ripples erupting from that massive bell onto the big bell's body.
"The deaths of these practitioners in the Spirit Realm Universe must be the Chaos Great Dao automatically clearing its own Dao fluctuations!"
Xu Ying's mind worked at lightning speed as he hurried outside with the big bell, thinking, *Someone in the Spirit Realm most likely swore an oath and ended up violating it, creating an abnormal fluctuation in the Chaos Great Dao that led to all the practitioners being wiped out... No, that's not right!*
Did all practitioners swear a Chaos Oath at the same time?
Violated the Chaos Oath at the same time, and got adjusted by the Chaos Great Dao at the same time?
That was rather inconceivable, and even harder to achieve.
Because new practitioners were emerging at every moment, and new practitioners wouldn't have sworn a Chaos Oath, so naturally they wouldn't be flattened out by the Chaos Great Dao.
"Unless someone could manipulate this universe's Great Dao, swearing an oath in the name of the Great Dao itself. But the person swearing such an oath would at least have to be at the level of a Lord of Great Dao... The question now is, does this Chaos Oath still hold?"
Thinking of this, Xu Ying shuddered.
Even if the people from back then had all died out, and even if twenty-eight million years had passed since then, who could say for certain that the Chaos Oath had been broken?
"In any case, the Spirit Realm Universe is no place to stay any longer!" Xu Ying said decisively.
He felt he possessed some cultivation and strength now, but facing a Chaos Oath, he feared he still wouldn't have the slightest power to resist.
"I'm heading back to the other shore right now. Not staying another moment in this realm!"
He escaped the river of time and returned to the outside world, only to freeze abruptly.
"Ah Ying, what's wrong?" the big bell asked.
Xu Ying's eyes widened, and he mumbled, "My Great Dao of Karma just shot up by a massive leap... Master Bell, an extra thread of karma has appeared on my Karma Golden Wheel!"
In just a short moment, Xu Ying's karmic Dao power doubled, and the Karma Golden Wheel grew thicker and brighter than before, with all sorts of Dao subtleties cascading in!
The Karma Cave Abyss also expanded by leaps and bounds, immortal mountains forming within it on their own!
A previously unseen karmic thread appeared out of nowhere, winding around his body. Inexplicably thick and sturdy, it was immediately swept up by the Golden Wheel Calamity Deliverance Scripture and wrapped onto the Karma Golden Wheel.
Xu Ying stared at this karmic thread, his expression dark as water. Ever since the Karma Golden Wheel entangled this thread, his cultivation in the Dao of Karma had been skyrocketing incessantly!
In just a brief span, his cultivation in the Great Dao of Karma skipped straight from the nine cave abyss realms to the Ascension realm!
Moreover, his cultivation grew increasingly profound, heading straight toward the Great Perfection of the Ascension realm.
"Ah Ying, your karma cultivation can't go up any further! If it increases any more, you'll trigger the tribulation!"
Noticing the change in his cultivation, the big bell hastily said, "After the tribulation, I'm afraid you'll also hear that bell toll and be reduced to ashes!"
With Xu Ying's current strength, surviving the Thunder Marsh heavenly tribulation was as easy as flipping his hand. Although his Great Dao of Karma was weak, his cultivation in the Great Daos of Taiyi, Hongmeng, and Chaos was overwhelmingly powerful; a mere Thunder Marsh heavenly tribulation was nothing to speak of.
"Master Bell, when I was checking the past just now, someone set their sights on me! That person detected me and deliberately entangled this thread of karma around me to boost my cultivation and force me into tribulation!"
In an instant, Xu Ying understood the causes and consequences, sending a divine sense transmission: "This person must be a survivor of the bell tolling back then, perhaps even the mastermind behind manipulating the Chaos Oath and severing civilization! We must leave immediately—we can't stay in the Spirit Realm Universe!"
He immediately shot into the sky, flying out of Cuixu Continent and heading straight for the Thunder Marsh.
Arriving at the Thunder Marsh, Xu Ying found the emerald rock multi-decked vessel he had abandoned. He tried to activate the vessel, only to discover that the imprints on it had long been completely wiped clean by spirit runes, turned into Dao ash.
"Ah Ying, the imprints on this vessel have all turned into Dao ash!" The big bell flew elsewhere, found another multi-decked vessel, and transmitted mentally.
From afar came a divine sense wave from the Zhuxian broken sword; it had also found an emerald rock multi-decked vessel, whose imprints had likewise turned to ash.
Xu Ying frowned, searching for other emerald rock multi-decked vessels, and said, "If the spirit transformation were slow enough, it would become a substitution; the original principle-script imprints ought to have been converted into spirit-rune imprints!"
One person, one bell, and one sword searched in every direction, yet every single emerald rock multi-decked vessel they found had its principle-script imprints completely wiped away into Dao ash.
Xu Ying's heart sank deeper and deeper. Standing in the vast, desolate starry sky, he suddenly felt his karmic cultivation inexplicably increase by another notch.
"Heh, it must be my good disciple You Xuan adding a bit more karma to his master, pushing my calamity fortune forward."
In the past, Xu Ying would have been delighted, praising what a fine boy he had. But right now, it felt like a death summons shoving him closer and closer toward tribulation.
"Heaven never cuts off all paths; there must still be a way out... Damned Heaven wants to ruin me!"
After a moment, Xu Ying gradually calmed down. Amid the starry sky, he sorted through the karmic threads one by one, tracing the origin of that extraordinarily thick thread.
This karmic thread shockingly originated from Cuixu Continent!
"Fastening a thread of karma on me to force me to cross the tribulation and die by the Chaos Oath... I'd like to see just who you are!"
Suddenly, Xu Ying rose and walked toward Cuixu Continent. The big bell and the Zhuxian broken sword hurriedly followed him, slipping into his cave abyss.
Xu Ying's steps seemed unhurried, yet his speed was astonishing. Before long, he arrived at Cuixu Continent.
Ahead of him lay a stretch of Creation Dao scenery.
That karmic thread originated from deep within this Creation Dao scenery.
"Can the Dao of Creation evade the pursuit of a Chaos Oath? Your Excellency overestimates the Dao of Creation!"
Xu Ying sneered and stepped into the Creation Dao scenery. This Dao scenery was immense, containing a distinct world within; the Dao of Creation operated in ceaseless regeneration, giving birth to all things and all beings.
Xu Ying glanced around and sneered coldly: "Before me, there is no need for Your Excellency to play tricks. My attainment in the Dao of Creation is not one bit inferior to yours. Creation Cave Abyss!"
His Taiyi Cave Abyss abruptly transformed into the Creation Cave Abyss, and surging Creation Dao power rippled outward. The Dao of Creation tore through this Dao scenery immediately, causing the surrounding Creation Dao scenery to collapse continuously.
With the destruction of the Creation Dao scenery, a wave of Hongmeng purple qi surged forth, revealing the true Dao scenery.
This was a Hongmeng Dao scenery, hidden beneath the facade of the Creation Dao scenery.
This Hongmeng Dao scenery was exceedingly peculiar. Once inside, the Hongmeng purple qi generated a dimension of space-time with mountains and waters, picturesque scenery, and the unfolding of the Great Dao, giving birth to all myriad Daos.
If one walked forward, the world would shift, a new world would be born, and the myriad Daos would manifest anew.
Advancing further, the path stretched on without end; one could never reach its terminus.
Xu Ying entered the Hongmeng Dao scenery. Walking forward, he said leisurely, "I summoned the river of time to inspect what occurred in the past, and immediately found myself targeted. It seems when that bell rang back then, the experts of the Spirit Realm had not yet gone completely extinct."
He reached the edge of this world, where new worlds and new Daos continued to generate ahead of him.
"This Daoist friend hid within Hongmeng, preserving his life by means of Hongmeng. Chaos births Hongmeng, and Hongmeng transforms into the myriad Daos. You cultivate the Great Dao of Hongmeng, so when the Chaos Oath acted upon you to reduce you to chaos, you used the Great Dao of Hongmeng to revert yourself. That is how you survived back then!"
Xu Ying looked around. All creation in heaven and earth was still constantly evolving, seemingly without end.
"Your Excellency's attainment in Hongmeng is indeed unfathomable, accomplishing what others cannot, and is just a tiny bit stronger than mine."
Xu Ying praised, "Yet coincidentally enough, I too cultivate Hongmeng Indestructibility!"
He suddenly mobilized the Hongmeng Cave Abyss, freezing the shifting mountains and geography around them, and continued strolling forward, chuckling, "I don't need my cultivation to run deeper than yours; I only need to be just a tiny bit weaker than you to freeze your Hongmeng transformations."
"Ah Ying, how open-minded of you!"
Hiding within the Martial Dao Cave Abyss, the big bell and the Zhuxian Sword listened to Xu Ying's voice outside and couldn't help breaking out in a cold sweat for him.
The big bell cried out, "Hongmeng isn't the strongest Great Dao—open-mindedness is! Ah Ying, don't push your luck!"
Turning a deaf ear, Xu Ying smiled. "That Your Excellency could evade the pursuit of the Chaos Oath shows your extraordinary skill. However, that bell toll in the chaos must still be hunting you, right? That is why you've been frightened into hiding within Hongmeng all this time, never daring to show your face."
Suddenly, an overwhelmingly formidable aura surged from the depths of Hongmeng, as if a colossal giant were stretching its limbs. A vast, profound wave of divine sense roiled forth, causing the frozen landscape around them to shift once more.
The big bell shivered.
The divine sense said faintly, "That I survived is owed entirely to this. However, your Hongmeng possesses merely a superficial exterior; you have not comprehended the power of Hongmeng's creation and transformation in the slightest, so you cannot suppress my Hongmeng transformations at all."
Xu Ying knew his own attainment in Hongmeng was ninety-nine percent hollow and didn't mind. However, seeing the master of the divine sense continuously evolve Hongmeng into the myriad Daos and all things truly made his eyes light up.
Observing these phenomena and cross-referencing them with his own Hongmeng attainments, all kinds of principles became clear to him without instruction, and various Hongmeng divine powers flowed freely at his command.
As Xu Ying walked, he said calmly, "Dao Brother, you noticed me looking into the past and fastened karma onto me. What was your intention? Shouldn't Your Excellency offer me an explanation?"
"An explanation?"
The voice was colossal. In front of Xu Ying, boundless Hongmeng purple qi churned and shifted, revealing a towering, majestic figure standing erect within the purple qi, tall and burly, with a ray of fine light at the glabella forming the shape of a third eye.
"Why should I explain anything to you?"
The Dao voice boomed like thunder, and the world around Xu Ying was obliterated in vast swathes, crumbling into Hongmeng qi in a terrifying display of power!
Xu Ying gave a cold snort and quietly activated the big bell inside his Martial Dao Cave Abyss. A resounding clang echoed from within his body, and instantly, the churning Hongmeng purple qi around them was annihilated in waves, collapsing into chaotic qi!
Dong!
Another melodious bell toll echoed from within Xu Ying. He stepped forward, closing in step by step on the figure in the Hongmeng, a bell toll ringing with every step he took.
As if witnessing the most terrifying thing imaginable, the figure within the Hongmeng qi retreated one step with each toll of the bell, gripped by utter terror.
"What is your relationship with the Chaos Master?"
From within the purple qi came his panic-stricken voice, crying out shrilly, "You were ordered by him to come kill me, weren't you?"
Xu Ying halted his steps, and the bell tolls abruptly ceased.
The figure within the purple qi also came to a stop.
Xu Ying did not answer his question, saying, "Your Excellency has not yet given me an explanation."
Xu Ying blinked, feeling a bit guilty inside.
This person's explanation conformed to karmic logic and seemed to make some sense.
Having sorted out the cause and effect, Xu Ying thought, *I was born in Yuanshou, and the simple, honest, and kindly folk customs of Yuanshou made me assume that this survivor was using karma to boost my cultivation so that the heavenly tribulation would finish me off.*
And so, finding himself with no route of escape, he had decided to borrow the tiger's might, seeking out this survivor and using the big bell to scare the daylights out of him.
"Ah Ying, how about... maybe we shouldn't cultivate the Great Dao of Karma after all?" the big bell ventured cautiously. "Those who toy with karma are bound to perish beneath karma. I think other Great Daos are much safer than the Great Dao of Karma."
Xu Ying laughed loudly to bolster his cowardly courage and chuckled, "A misunderstanding! Dao Brother, so it was all a misunderstanding!"
The killing intent of the figure within the purple qi began to thicken, only to hear Xu Ying continue, "...I came to this realm on my master's orders, not to kill a fish that escaped the net like you."
The killing intent within the purple qi vanished instantly. The survivor immediately became docile and obedient, inquiring, "Your Excellency came by order of the Chaos Master—for what purpose?"
Xu Ying breathed a sigh of relief internally and smiled. "Naturally, there is a matter of great importance."
He wore an inscrutable, unfathomable expression, but his mind was a complete blank, having no clue how to bluff his way through.
The figure within the purple qi remained silent for a moment, then said, "I understand! An unusual ripple arose within the Chaos Great Dao, which the Chaos Master detected, discovering that Dao Lord Zuo Lian—who swore an oath to the Chaos Great Dao back then—had not died. That is why he ordered you here to investigate the truth, isn't that right?"
Xu Ying gave a slight smile and said, "Seen through by Your Excellency. Admirable, truly admirable."
He summoned the big bell and said leisurely, "Indeed. I have come precisely to investigate the truth of what happened back then."
The moment his words fell, the ripples on the big bell's surface formed by the tolling in the Chaos Sea suddenly brightened, a halo of light swirling over them, appearing exceedingly mysterious.
*Master Bell, what fantastic coordination!* Xu Ying secretly praised.
"It wasn't me!" the big bell transmitted with a tremor.
Xu Ying's heart skipped a beat as a melodious bell toll reached his ears, and the Great Dao of Chaos within his body faintly rippled at that moment.
It was as if, accompanied by the lie he had just spoken, his Great Dao of Chaos had established a connection with some mysterious entity within the Chaos Sea.
*I've played myself into deep trouble,* Xu Ying thought to himself, a stiff smile plastered across his face.
Chapter 760