Chapter 617 461: Silent Bell (Part 2)

He pinched a gray flame in his other hand, swept it across, forcing several people to retreat again and again. With a seal and a release, he seized the purple magic artifact.

This act instantly provoked the anger of the crowd. In a split second, five or six spells rained down at once. The black-robed man chuckled coldly, not retreating but instead charging forward, flying straight into the hall.

While the cultivators fought fiercely outside, Zhang Yun and several others didn't pause outside the hall at all—instead, they flew in together early on. They were all tacitly agreeing not to compete with these few. Now, as the black-robed man barged in with a single breath, it really made the rest outside stop in their tracks.

Li Xuanfeng did not pay much mind to the situation in the field, instead fixing his gaze on the nearest page of the Dharma Tome.

"Boom!"

He stomped hard with both feet onto the ground, and with a resonant rumble, leaped five zhang into the air. Without riding the wind, he soared high nonetheless, reaching out a hand to snatch the Dharma Tome page.

The two nearby had already gone searching for their own desired items, leaving an empty space; for a moment, no one contended with him, and that page was caught off guard, seized into his hand.

'It's much simpler than I'd imagined…'

Yet at that instant, Li Xuanfeng realized that the truly precious things in this grand hall were just those remaining five; these magic artifacts and ancient tomes were left casually by others. Only after being nourished by this formation for centuries did they gain spiritual nature and attempt to escape on their own.

The moment he gripped the Dharma Tome, whatever little spiritual nature, newly formed from perfect, mixed spirit mechanism, instantly dissipated to dust, reverting to a lifeless object. Glancing once more at the air above, Li Xuanfeng saw only two or three items still moving, with the rest fiercely contested by others.

Li Xuanfeng observed carefully twice, reminding himself of his true purpose for coming here. Not wishing to expose his strength, he tucked the Dharma Tome into his sleeve, changed position rapidly, activated his Black Gold Spirit Armor, and concealed himself in the pine forest.

Soon, two flashes of escaping light followed close. One man wore gray, draped in a brownish-gray Taoist robe, eyes a bit small, with a high nose bridge, holding a horsetail whisk—a Changxiao Sect cultivator judging by appearance.

The other wore white, holding a longsword, with the look of a middle-aged man, riding a jade-colored flying shuttle. Both their gazes shimmered with Dharma light, clearly having cultivated Pupil Technique. They'd tracked the Dharma Tome all the way here, having spotted Li Xuanfeng moments earlier. Within a few breaths, he was revealed.

The white-clothed middle-aged man focused his gaze, recognized the man in Black Gold Armor wielding a longbow, and his expression changed dramatically. After several breaths of silence, he called out in a resonant voice,

"Xuanfeng!"

Li Xuanfeng was slightly startled. He stared at the man's brow for a breath, then suddenly realized,

"Senior Yongling!"

This white-robed middle-aged man was none other than Li Tongya's old friend, now known as Yushan Weng, Xiao Yongling! The two elders knew each other from humble beginnings—back when they were only Fetal Breathing cultivators, they'd formed a bond; to Li Xuanfeng, he counted as a true elder.

Seeing this, the gray-clothed Changxiao Sect cultivator sensed trouble, since the two seemed to be old acquaintances. Without saying a word, he turned and fled, hastily making for the woods beyond.

He propelled himself with a spell, leaving a long trail of escaping light in the night, especially dazzling. In his rush, he almost collided headlong with a blue-green spirit pine.

Xiao Yongling, for reasons unknown, did not make a move. Li Xuanfeng likewise let it be. Watching the older man's expression—part astonished, part overjoyed—he cupped his hands and said,

"Greetings, Senior! Congratulations on your breakthrough to Foundation Establishment Late Stage."

Xiao Yongling waved his hand, still with joy evident on his face; but this was not the place to speak. Li Xuanfeng soon drew out the Dharma Tome, shaking his head,

"Our luck is poor; this is just a little letter."

Wishing to avoid misunderstanding, Li Xuanfeng handed the letter to Xiao Yongling immediately. The white-robed man did not refuse, taking it and reading it closely—his scholarly background enabled him to recognize the ancient script easily:

"Brother Du, to snatch chestnuts from the fire is not easy. Should you need any help, Senior Brother and I will do our utmost to assist you…ask without hesitation."

The front bore only a few words, as if torn from an ancient tome; the back, however, held several hundred characters. Xiao Yongling carefully examined it—it spoke of resolving Heshui.

"Mm."

Xiao Yongling answered, a trace of regret in his voice,

"I saw it fly from the third cushion, thought it was some Secret Technique annotation… Judged it not valuable, so fewer would vie for it… who'd have thought it was anything but lowly."

He casually handed it back to Li Xuanfeng. The two neared the main hall; outside, few figures remained. Those who'd seized treasures escaped separately, those not were in pursuit. No one lingered.

Having gained nothing of substance, they stepped forward a few paces—suddenly, the clanging of metal echoed. They looked up at the starry heavens, and both their faces changed.

After journeying for more than ten hours, the sky above had been shrouded in a dusky starry night, mist a pale gray; save for the vast stars, the only illumination came from the cultivators' Dharma light.

Yet, far in the west, a dazzling light began rising slowly, like the morning sun. Intense golden light shone forth, transforming into countless illusions of gold and stone. The two wavered in dizziness, alarmed in their hearts, and immediately shut their eyes.

Almost at the same time, a melodious bell chimed from within the great hall, buzzing and reverberating in their minds.

"Dong…"

Li Xuanfeng moved his lips, only to find them locked. Intense pain shot through his eyes, mana surging ceaselessly to preserve his sight.

…

Outside the hall, battle was fierce; inside, a tense stalemate prevailed. Yu Muxian and Tang Shedou stood together, white and black robes side by side, quietly waiting in the southeast corner.

Qing Zhuo, clad in bluish-gray with a jade coronet, stood alone to the west. Nian Yi formed hand seals in the north, while Zhang Yun stood with hands clasped behind his back—the most relaxed of them all.

The remaining two each stood in a corner—one grasping a golden hammer, eyes sweeping the hall, standing silently with a swaying token at his waist faintly wreathed in gray flame.

The other was a female cultivator, gentle in temperament, with stunning beauty and a soft jawline—yet her eyes were sharply focused, staring intently at the great bell.

These heirs of powerful clans uttered not a word, standing in silence. After several breaths, only then did Zhang Yun step forward, slowly walking to the front, solemnly saying,

"Back in the day, the Six of the Qing Song Temple's Chongming Hall were each true geniuses stirring the world. My Jin Yu Sect respects these six elders, and—we have little connection to the Qing Song Temple's Toaist Lineage. Entering this Cave Heaven today… we harbor no great greed."

He slowly extended his hand toward the bell in the main hall, softly intoning,

"This time, it is only on behalf of our sect's Perfected Person, seeking insight on the Taoist Path—merely to observe this Silent Bell. As for the rest, the Zhang Clan will not touch a cent."

He channeled mana into the great bell, slowly forming seals, yet the bell did not move at all; not a single sound, nor did it shrink to reveal its true form.

"A pity."

Zhang Yun sighed, looking back at the three below and said softly,

"Fellows, close your eyes!"

At those words, all seemed to understand, stabilizing their spirit platform, closing their eyes, calming their hearts and minds.

Just one breath had passed when suddenly the starry sky atop the main hall blazed bright. A silver-white oval object rose up, shining with intense light, drowning out every star in the sky.

"Dong!"

All kept their eyes shut, silent. Zhang Yun had already fallen to his knees; above, the great bell at last trembled violently, as if moved by some invisible force, and rang aloud.

Throats and tongues went numb, losing all sensation, and one after another they knelt—not in Zhang Yun's grand gesture of obeisance, but all with reverent bows nonetheless.

Drawn by silver-white rays, the bronze bell spun midair, gradually shrinking, until, as a fist-sized yellow light, it shot from the hall like a star streaking against the sky, piercing the firmament.

The bell drifted into the silver-white ellipse above, and then slowly vanished, as two barriers formed above and below the oval, closing together bit by bit, finally separating from this world.