Chapter 796: No Beginning Bell Rings for Three Months

The Northern Territory was serene, as the Primordial Myriad Races, gripped by fear, lay low and dared not make any move. However, across the land, the Unstarting Bell had rung, like the first ray of divine light from the primordial era piercing the darkness and illuminating the path forward for humanity.

Everyone was speaking of Emperor Wu Shi's resurrection and his impending suppression of the Myriad Races. These discussions shattered days of tranquility. Perhaps having been suppressed for too long, many people wishfully believed that the Ancient Great Emperor would truly appear and disrupt all existing power structures.

Yet, the bell's chime did not last long; it abruptly ceased. Many waited anxiously, some even in fear, dreading another eternal silence.

"Why is this happening?""Is Wu Shi truly still alive?"The Human Race was concerned, while the Primordial Myriad Races remained indifferent. Everyone watched, silently waiting.

At this moment, the people of the Divine Spirit Valley breathed a sigh of relief, their tense nerves relaxing. A chilling murderous intent appeared on their faces.

Two days passed, yet Purple Mountain remained silent, as if the bell waves had never occurred. The cold smiles on the faces of some Primordial powerful beings deepened. The Divine Spirit Valley's tense anticipation relaxed, and warships gathered like clouds. Though they had not yet moved, they were ready at any moment.

Inside Purple Mountain, Ye Fan sat with the Source Heavenly Master. The Swallowing Heaven Demonic Pot hovered above them, gently bobbing, as thousands of dark rays of light descended, enveloping them. Ye Fan was using the ancient Great Emperor's weapon to suppress him, hoping to help the Fifth Source Heavenly Master shed his crimson hair and purge the evil aura from his body.

Yet, two days later, his fate remained unchanged. While the crimson corpse hair diminished, his physical body began to emit the stench of decay.

"Don't waste your efforts," the Source Heavenly Master sighed. "When I return to normal, that will be the end of my life."

Who in this world can defy death? This single question has stumped countless prodigies and heroes; even ancient Great Emperors crumbled into dust within the annals of time. The Source Heavenly Master, who proudly traversed the natural world and unearthed all its subterranean secrets, could obtain astonishing treasures to prolong his life, but he could not achieve immortality.

He disappeared in his later years, and ten thousand years have passed since then. Who among ordinary people could live so long? He was neither a Great Accomplishment Saint Body nor a Human Race Great Emperor; had he not become a demonic entity, he would have long since perished. Now, Ye Fan's attempt to forcibly purge all the profound mysteries from his body would ultimately only cause him to decay and become a corpse.

The Source Heavenly Master was not disappointed; having lived for so long, his lifespan was already depleted, and he no longer yearned for immortality.

"The ancient Great Emperor's weapon is indeed formidable," he said, "capable of suppressing the profound mysteries within me. Now I can finally remain clear-headed for a while."

"Fellow Daoist," Ye Fan asked, "why did you snatch the Medicine King from my hand a while ago? Do you need it?"

"Yes, why did I do that?" he muttered to himself, confused and disoriented. "Why did I have such an instinct?" Then he abruptly grabbed his waist-length crimson hair. He showed a pained expression, then murmured, pulling off horrifying clumps of crimson hair as he paced. Finally, a terrifying look appeared in his eyes.

"Awooo..." Finally, he let out a beast-like roar. His eyes turned crimson, and he ran off like the wind. He traversed one ancient cave after another, disappearing at the end of the path, howling like a wounded beast.

Much later, he reappeared, holding a massive piece of origin stone. Within it was a beautiful woman, as flawless and pure as a lotus emerging from water, exquisitely graceful and ethereal.

"It's her!" Ye Fan exclaimed in surprise. Years ago, when he entered Purple Mountain, he had seen this very woman sealed within an Origin stone, in addition to encountering Divine King Jiang Taixu.

"Save her!" His voice was hoarse.

Ye Fan instantly understood: this was Yang Yi, the Saintess of Jade Lake from ten thousand years ago, whom he had heard Fifth Elder Zhang mention. Yang Yi was the Source Heavenly Master's confidante. After learning of the ominous events in his later years, she was heartbroken and, disregarding her own life, resolutely entered Purple Mountain, never to be seen again.

"I wronged her too much back then," his voice trembled, his hands covered in crimson hair shaking. "Even after death, I implicated her in this desperate situation."

This piece of origin stone exuded a sacred aura and possessed an inner brilliance. Ye Fan was stunned; he had truly misjudged it back then, for it was clearly a special type of Divine Origin. Typically, Divine Origin stones are golden. At that time, he hadn't yet learned the Origin Heaven Book, so he didn't know or understand that Divine Origin could exist in other colors. However, this wasn't formed from Divine Origin liquid. Rather, the stone was shattered, and Yang Yi was sealed within its cracks using the Immortal Six Seals technique, along with other Divine Origin powder, where she had been sealed for ten thousand years.

Yang Yi entered Purple Mountain to follow the Source Heavenly Master to his death. The Source Heavenly Master himself, having become a half-demon, half-human red-haired monster, had lost his sanity, yet still retained the primal instinct to save Yang Yi, which made Ye Fan sigh with emotion.

"Dong..." The Unstarting Bell rang again. This time, its sound was continuous, never ceasing, shaking the entire world.

One day, two days... then ten days passed... Over ten days later, the bell continued to chime, its resonant sound shaking the Five Domains and humanity. Such was Wu Shi's prestige; no matter how many years passed, a single chime of the bell still shocked people to their core, making everyone tense.

This time, the Primordial Myriad Races were truly terrified. It was inconceivable that anyone could make the bell ring for over ten days; anyone nearby would surely be pulverized. The Divine Spirit Valley was utterly suppressed this time; their restless ambitions instantly chilled, as if doused with cold water. They dared not act rashly, quietly lying low.

"Dong..." Two months passed, and the Unstarting Bell continued to ring, bringing tranquility to the entire Northern Territory. Not a single ancient creature dared to emerge; all were suppressed. This was a monumental upheaval. Many now believed that Emperor Wu Shi had manifested himself; otherwise, how could such a prolonged bell wave be possible?

Inside Purple Mountain, Ye Fan's face was pale. Over these two months, he had coughed up an unknown amount of blood, and every two days, he would take a bite from the Medicine King. He was inside the Swallowing Heaven Demonic Pot, which blocked all bell waves. However, an Extreme Dao Emperor Weapon is unparalleled, and even its slightest tremor was fatal. The demonic lid sealed the pot tightly, and though he was inside, he still suffered immensely. Had he not been clutching two pieces of green copper, he would have long since been reduced to a puddle of bloody mud. The two Emperor Weapons were in confrontation. Each day, he would activate the Demonic Pot, causing it to emit a wisp of dark light that lightly struck the great bell hanging in the stone wall above. Without the Extreme Dao Demonic Pot and the green copper, even a Saint would have long since been reduced to dust; no one could withstand the destructive bell waves.

The Unstarting Bell could chime on its own, which was beyond imagination, as if someone were activating it. This made Ye Fan deeply realize its terror; no wonder several Emperor Weapons had failed to stop it back then. In this era, perhaps only the Swallowing Heaven Demonic Pot was similar; once fully unified, it could revive and chime on its own without control, enabling it to contend against the Unstarting Bell.

"Dong..." The bell waves were ceaseless, having rung for over two months. The Saint's shell Ye Fan inhabited had developed cracks; he was ultimately still affected. Nevertheless, his gains over these past two months were immense. As the great bell roared and the Demonic Pot vibrated, Dao patterns crisscrossed everywhere. He sat within the Swallowing Heaven Pot, holding two pieces of ancient copper to protect himself while quietly comprehending and cultivating. These two months surpassed twenty years of effort!

At this moment, he finally understood how incredibly difficult Immortal Stage Three - Dao Severing was. Not only did two months equate to twenty years, but even two hundred years would be the same. In Immortal Stage Three - Dao Severing, what exactly was he meant to sever? Ye Fan was stuck here, almost lost, realizing he had too many attachments; it felt as though his entire being needed to be severed!

Since ancient times, this bottleneck had blocked countless astonishingly talented individuals. Ancient texts record that in antiquity, several heaven-defying prodigies who shook past, present, and future perished at this stage; otherwise, there might have been several more Great Emperors. Furthermore, legends claim that even among the Human Race Great Emperors, some nearly perished at this Immortal Stage Three hurdle, which illustrates its immense difficulty. It was not a matter of mere talent enabling passage, for the more powerful a person was, the greater the resistance they might encounter, and what was called 'talent' could become an insurmountable chasm on the path ahead.

Listening to the chime of the Unstarting Bell and observing the vibrations of the Swallowing Heaven Demonic Pot, Ye Fan quietly comprehended, motionless and fearless, even as more cracks appeared on his body. Within the glabella of the Saint's shell, a golden divine spirit sat cross-legged—that was his true self. Embracing the cauldron and merging with the Dao, he listened to the rhythm of the bell waves and the Demonic Pot, continuously comprehending his own path. Immortal Stage Three - Dao Severing requires one to stake their entire life, yet it does not simply reward diligence and rarely yields results. It is a heavenly severing of the human Dao, destroying the fundamental radiance. Since ancient times, no one has achieved it overnight or passed smoothly; even ancient Great Emperors had to sever the Dao with their lives.

Over the past two months, by listening to the Dao sounds, the golden figure within the Saint's shell's Immortal Platform grew increasingly dazzling. Embracing the cauldron and becoming one, it radiated nine immortal divine rings. He had ascended to the ninth minor step of the Immortal Platform Second Heaven. Indeed, if not for the confrontation of the two Emperor Weapons, and if he were not inhabiting a Saint's physical shell, he would have long since undergone his tribulation. He believed that once he returned to his original body, and his physical form and primordial spirit were aligned, he would immediately undergo tribulation and become the supreme expert of the Second Heaven.

As for Immortal Stage Three... it was too difficult. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't take this step. Finally, he sighed.

"Dong." With that last chime, Purple Mountain slowly returned to tranquility, and the bell waves vanished on that day.

Three months had passed, and Ye Fan had finally persevered. His primordial spirit in the Immortal Platform grew increasingly dazzling and significantly stronger, residing within the embraced cauldron like an immortal god. Even the powerful physical shell of an ancient Saint, though hidden within the Extreme Dao Emperor Weapon, developed dense cracks. Yet, it ultimately remained intact and preserved, though the Medicine King was nearly depleted. Ye Fan did not view this experience as a hardship; instead, he wholeheartedly embraced it. Facing the roaring waves of the Unstarting Bell and the rumbling of the Swallowing Heaven Demonic Pot for three months would benefit him for a lifetime.

At this moment, the entire world was subdued; everyone was awestruck and fearful. The Primordial Myriad Races no longer dared to act rashly, all gripped by terror. Over these three months, countless Human Race cultivators knelt and prostrated themselves towards Purple Mountain, almost like a pilgrimage, bowing with every step. Meanwhile, the Primordial Myriad Races remained silent as cicadas in winter, hidden in their nests, not daring to take a single step outside.

The Unstarting Bell had chimed continuously for three months, subduing the world and leaving all beings trembling in fear. Yet, they were unaware that an even greater storm was about to descend.

"This is far from enough," Ye Fan murmured to himself. "Simply hearing the bell waves, without manifesting imperial arts, how can it truly subdue them?" He then transmitted a message to the Swallowing Heaven Demonic Pot: "Grandmaster, you and I should take the God of Death for a walk."