< Chapter 15: The Transmission Bell >
The Lava Immortal Palace gradually ascended, with its golden pillars and red bricks, it presented a majestic and grand spectacle, delivering a tremendous visual impact. The blinding firelight made the entire palace seem like the divine residence of a deity. Mount Huoshi itself trembled, emitting a terrifying roar. The formidable force of the earth surged, magma boiled and spurted upwards, reaching heights of several dozen feet!
The cultivators scattered in all directions, tiny as ants beneath the overwhelming power of nature. The current master of Huoshi City appeared, his face stern. He activated the large formation set up at the volcano’s mouth, pouring in the full force of his Nascent Soul stage spiritual power.
Countless greenish-blue glows converged in mid-air, forming a net-like great formation that covered the giant column of magma trying to burst forth from the volcano’s mouth. The two forces collided, locked in intense stalemate.
The ground shook violently! The entire city of Huoshi was awakened; countless people ran out of their dwellings, staring at the collapsed or swaying buildings, utterly terrified.
Black smoke from the volcanic eruption billowed upwards, like a demonic disaster descending to devour all life and the world itself! The smoke swirled unpredictably, the greenish-blue light did not dissipate, and the protective mountain formation still stood firm, preventing a human tragedy.
The earthquake gradually weakened until it ceased entirely. The Lava Immortal Palace stood in the volcano’s mouth, like a giant lying across. Its top was enveloped in the billowing black smoke, while below, the fiery magma continued to boil tirelessly.
The palace, with its golden columns and red bricks, boasted towering spires, majestic halls, and exquisite side chambers, embodying the fierceness of the fire element, the firmness of the earth, and the solidity of the metal.
Numerous gazes, filled with suspicion, curiosity, or greed, were all drawn to the Lava Immortal Palace. But in the next moment, the city master's complexion turned pale, and he slowly descended from the sky.
He waved his long sleeves, activating the great formation. In a flicker of light and shadow, the Lava Immortal Palace was concealed from view, rendered unrecognizable. The cultivators at the volcano's mouth suffered heavy casualties, and those who ventured inside the volcano were reduced to bones.
Zheng Shuanggou, leading the remnants of the Ning family, flew up on a cloud to the city lord's presence and said, "Lord of the City."
He reported swiftly, communicating through spiritual sense.
Understanding the situation completely, the city lord's face became stern, his gaze icy cold: "Investigate! I want a thorough investigation, and the Shadow Demon Cultivator must pay with his life!"
His eyes then swept over the Ning family remnants behind Zheng Shuanggou: "These people must also be investigated, and any surviving cultivators should be detained and interrogated rigorously!"
"Use all available means to gather any clues about the Shadow Demon Cultivator."
"If any accomplices are found, they must be punished without mercy!"
The city lord, being the only Nascent Soul stage cultivator in Puppet Immortal City, was in a particularly foul mood. During his tenure, he had discovered the Lava Immortal Palace.
However, he chose not to report it, opting instead to keep it secret from his superiors.
He wanted to monopolize the Lava Immortal Palace, digesting it internally within his own faction, secretly developing it, and ultimately claiming it as his own.
Things did not go as planned.
The Zhou and Zheng families discovered this secret successively.
The city lord had no choice but to compromise, secretly making agreements with both families. This year, the Ning family also uncovered the secret.
With the Ning family having Golden Core stage cultivators and being one of the major cultivator clans in the city, the city lord was prepared to accept them.
His painstaking plan was to have the four strongest forces within the city compete and develop the Lava Immortal Palace together, excluding outsiders—a scenario the city lord had been meticulously cultivating.
But now, the situation was nearly falling apart!
"Shadow demon cultivator, this damned shadow demon cultivator!" The thought of the culprit filled the city lord's heart with a surge of deep resentment.
The city lord suppressed his anger, contemplating solutions. He was merely the city lord appointed by the Southern Bean Kingdom, not someone who could control everything.
"How frustrating! Once this news reaches the capital, it won't be within my authority anymore!" He was only one of the high-ranking officials from the Southern Bean Kingdom, and compared to the entire kingdom, even as a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, he felt incredibly vulnerable.
"Sigh… I'll keep it hidden as long as I can."
"Fortunately, the Lava Immortal Palace has not fully emerged, staying dormant at the volcano's mouth. If I repair the grand formation and set up rolling clouds of smoke for cover while issuing a ban, I might be able to…"
A series of bell tones suddenly emanated from deep within the volcano. The prolonged bell ringing resonated across heaven and earth. Those who heard the bell found a cultivation technique gradually forming in their minds.
The city lord was greatly startled, his expression turning extremely grim as he blurted out, "A bell that transmits techniques?!"
Night had fallen deeply.
The entire Huoshi Immortal City was still in chaos. Countless buildings had collapsed, and the citizens were engaged in heated discussions, with most people looking up towards the mountaintop.
The recent major confrontation between the city lord and the Immortal Palace had made it clear to everyone—something significant had undoubtedly happened at the mountaintop!
At that moment, the deep and majestic bell tone came through!
The bell tone vibrated intensely, echoing throughout Huoshi Immortal City and reverberating around its outer walls and countless lanes and alleys.
It enveloped the high courtyards, it spread throughout ordinary dwellings. It stirred every inch of the air currents, wrapping the entire immortal city in its grasp.
It penetrated precisely into the heart of every sentient being, shaking their very souls!
Countless people cried out in shock, but the next moment, they were captivated by the cultivation techniques gradually forming in their minds.
At the city lord's residence.
A burly youth was sprawled on the ground, sound asleep, when the bell’s toll startled him awake, his large eyes snapping open.
"Wow!" he shouted, pushing himself up swiftly with his arms, stirring a gust of wind around him.
"An enemy?!" The burly youth, Sun Lingtong, was on full alert.
At that moment, the Huoshi City Lord transmitted a message: "Sun Lingtong, focus and comprehend quickly, this is the bell that transmits techniques, it is key to competing for the Lava Immortal Palace!"
"The bell that transmits techniques?" Sun Lingtong, reminded by the city lord, immediately stood still, his posture rigid as a spear, his eyes unfocused but staring intently ahead, desperately memorizing and comprehending the techniques that appeared in his mind.
At the Zhou family's home.
Young cultivators Zhou Zhendeep and Zhou Zhu were together studying a mechanical diagram.
The two, one shorter and the other taller, one weaker and the other stronger.
In an instant, their expressions and movements froze.
A few breaths after the bell sounded, Zhou Zhendeep, shocked, exclaimed, "Quick, quick, quick, this seems to be the bell that transmits techniques. The bell contains cultivation techniques! Hurry and comprehend."
Zhou Zhu, usually taciturn and reliant on Zhou Zhendeep's ideas, immediately sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes.
At the Zheng family's home.
Zheng Jian was closely examining the family's financial records.
This young cultivator wore a headband with a pupil-shaped gem at its center.
Standing in front of him, the steward’s face was pale, his forehead beaded with sweat.
Zheng Jian suddenly snorted coldly, throwing the ledger to the ground and sharply rebuked, "Do you think you can still hide these falsified accounts from me?"
The steward's whole body shuddered, and he suddenly fell to the ground. At that moment, the sound of a bell echoed. Zheng Jian listened for a few moments, his face drastically changing as he dismissed the butler: "I can't question you right now, get out!"
At the Ning family residence.
Recognized as a prodigy within the clan—Ning Xiaohui was extremely tired from crafting talismans all day. Even as the bell's sound reached her, her eyebrows remained tightly furrowed, and she sank into a deep sleep without waking.
Ning Ji was meditating when the sound of the bell disrupted him, breaking his concentration, leaving him with a face full of astonishment: "What on earth?"
At the volcano's crater.
Zheng Shuanggou still stood amidst the clouds.
Upon the clouds, the cultivators of the Ning family were sprawled in disarray.
It wasn't just them; most of the cultivators were either lying down or sitting where they were.
"This is an opportunity, this is an opportunity indeed!" the cultivators exclaimed in ecstasy, desperately trying to remember.
Ning Chen sat down cross-legged, his eyes tightly shut and his brows deeply furrowed, giving his all.
Ning Yong clutched his forehead tightly: "Aaah, remember this, brain, it's all on you now, remember!"
Ning Zhuo was both shocked and thrilled: "I've succeeded! I've passed the selection criteria of the Lava Immortal Palace."
"But the method of selection has changed, it directly transmitted a Qi-cultivation technique."
This was something Ning Zhuo hadn't anticipated.
Like the other cultivators, Ning Zhuo stood still, carefully listening to the bell.
Gradually, the bell's sound transformed into a technique—'The Five Elements Qi Regulation Art'!
"With this technique, I can now break away from the Ning family's ‘Snowfield Talisman Atlas'."
For a moment, the emotions of long-term planning, personal risk-taking, and the results exceeding his expectations stirred the young man's heart.
The Mechanical Fire Monkey leaps over the lava, the Cang Tie Cold Armor breaks the dawn frost.
Buddha and demon deeply hidden, mark the core of the machine, the Immortal Palace trembles, revealing the celestial light.
The bell thunders, transmitting the new law, the Five Elements Qi Regulation naturally connects.
Cultivate to the endless, return to the root, break the seal and the lock, freely roam!