Behind Yan Xuan, Qin Xiumo controlled his sword with his left hand, while his right hand hung limply by his side. Streaks of blood slid down the back of his hand, finally dripping from his fingertips to the ground. The blood had a somewhat eerie appearance, its red color mixed with specks of dark golden luster. Each drop of blood, before even reaching the ground, was completely consumed by the dark gold within it.
On the city wall, several more people jumped down. Their eyes were also a bloody red, with no black pupils visible. These people were dressed in black robes, with some having their natal swords floating in front of them, while others led with their natal weapons. Different insignias were embroidered on the lapels of their black robes, indicating that they were not cultivators from the same sect.
They seemed not interested in intervening in the Jingyuetian conflict, their goal apparently was to bypass the thick fog to reach Qin Xiumo, who was obscured behind it. However, as they passed through the fog, the crescent moon above suddenly flickered. The fog rapidly expanded, attacking the group in an attempt to envelop them all.
“Hmph!” The tallest among them snorted coldly, his long sword quickly whistling forward. The sword aura surged skyward, forcefully cutting a path through the fog.
“Uninvolved persons, please step aside!” The tall young swordsman spoke coldly, his tone still retaining a hint of politeness.
But Yan Xuan did not respond to him; instead, the fog answered on his behalf. The dense fog, split by the sword aura, quickly closed back up and then enveloped the group once again. The crescent moon in the sky flashed urgently three times, its light becoming even brighter than before.
Just then, Meng Qi landed beside Qin Xiumo. The black-robed youth instinctively tried to pull her behind him. He extended his left hand and lightly tapped with his fingers, positioning his natal sword horizontally to shield them both.
Meng Qi didn’t say a word; she lowered her head to press on the pulse point of his dangling right wrist. Quickly, she withdrew her hand, her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed. She then dipped her finger into the fresh blood on the back of Qin Xiumo’s hand, bringing it to her nose to take a sniff. A pungent odor, like something rotting, rushed into her nostrils, causing her brows to furrow even more tightly.
“Southern Realm.” Meng Qi tilted her head slightly, not looking at Qin Xiumo, but continued murmuring softly. It felt as though there was a fire burning continuously in her mind, preventing her from staying completely clear-headed. Each distant toll of the bell seemed to make the fire burn even more intensely.
Although Meng Qi couldn’t see her own appearance at that moment, she could feel as if there was also a flame burning in her spiritual sea. Aura churned and surged, as if an array had been laid out beneath the spiritual sea, boiling the aura and making everything searingly hot. Every time the temperature surge, the unfamiliar voice in her mind became louder and clearer: Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill them all! They’ve wronged you first…
Meng Qi’s delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, and her hand unconsciously bent at her side. Every now and then, the cries from fellow cultivators echoed, accompanied by a growing, pungent scent of blood. She tilted her head, her eyes a vivid red, yet a clear light flashed through them at this moment. Meng Qi focused on the dark golden glow on the back of Qin Xiumo’s hand, desperately maintaining clarity in her mind as countless thoughts rapidly flashed through.
This thing… she was certain she had seen it before!
Dark gold color, a pungent odor, and when encountering a person, it enters their bloodstream, nourishing itself with their blood… She must have seen this thing before, otherwise she wouldn’t have blurted out the words “Southern Realm.”
But where had she seen it?
In a book?
Or had she encountered it when she was in the Southern Realm?
Was it a poison? Or…
The bell rang again, reverberating from the distant mountains. This time, the bell’s toll seemed to carry a faint sigh. Although the sigh was short, it was very pleasant, like the tinkling of a mountain stream, as if a young woman were sitting by the water, sighing at the blooming and fading of flowers.
“It is indeed the Thousand Emperor Bell.” Ling Ji slowly let out a sigh, his tone sure yet calm. “So the Thousand Emperor Bell has ended up here.” His gaze finally shifted from Meng Qi, looking far into the distance.
There, lush green mountains stretched continuously in a towering majesty, shrouded in a thin mist, vast and ethereal. This was the legendary Ten Absolutes Mountain left from ancient times—no one knew what secrets were hidden within. After leaving this place, everything that happened within the mountain would be completely sealed, and these cultivators would not remember what had occurred there.
“To think we’d encountered it here…” Ling Ji murmured again, “I thought that this artifact had been completely destroyed after it disappeared ten thousand years ago.”
“Thousand Emperor Bell.” Yun Qingyan glanced at Meng Qi. Then, like Ling Ji, he cast his gaze towards the distance. “This was the masterpiece of the greatest ancient refinery master, who reportedly spent thirty years gathering the resentment and blood of a thousand fallen cultivators from all three realms to infuse into this Thousand Emperor Bell. Later, when he failed to ascend, he sacrificed his own flesh and blood, and his own resentment and unwillingness from failing the tribulation were fully integrated into it.” He curled his lips, his gaze slightly cold: “When the bell tolls, it draws out the deepest grievances and desires hidden in people’s hearts.”
“Indeed.” Ling Ji appeared nonchalant, yet there was an underlying sense of competition with Yun Qingyan. “I heard that before the Thousand Emperor Bell was fully completed, a Great Ascension cultivator once activated the bell in its unfinished state. When the bell tolled, cultivators from all three realms nearly went mad, and mass slaughter ensued, exterminating countless of life and turning the land into a purgatory.”
“Later, after receiving the sacrifice of the flesh, blood, and resentment of that refinery master, the power of the Thousand Emperor Bell only became more terrifying. Since the fall of its creator, however, the whereabouts of the Thousand Emperor Bell had been unknown, and no one had activated its sound again. Unexpectedly, it was hidden here…”
“Whoever it is, the person who activated the bell must have been preparing for quite some time. Unfortunately…” Yun Qingyan said, “His cultivation is still too low.” He scanned the city walls and added softly, “If his cultivation were higher, even just at the Void Comprehending level, today, very few would be able to walk out of this Minor Ten Absolutes Mountain alive.”
Ling Ji’s gaze shifted slightly. Currently, the Minor Ten Absolutes Mountain held nearly all the outstanding disciples of the strongest sects from the Three Thousand Worlds—if even half of them were to perish here, the aftermath would likely be a bloody storm. After leaving the Minor Ten Absolutes Mountain, no one would know what actually happened inside, and the survivors would definitely face suspicions from the sects that lost their carefully nurtured disciples.
Sects that already had fragile relationships would likely end up in full-blown conflicts, while those with existing enmities might seize the opportunity to settle old and new scores alike. Even sects that were previously at peace might start disputes over the loss of their disciples.
What would become of the Three Thousand Worlds then…
Even Ling Ji couldn’t help but shiver. He had previously stayed out of sect affairs not because he was entirely ignorant, but because he chose not to bother. However, now that he was willingly involved, he could not ignore it.
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