Stranger Danger

“Weak and foolish.”

Jiang Yunlai said scornfully when he saw that Ye Qing and Yi Pin were frozen.

He had seen through their cultivation levels at first glance. That was why he did not think anything of them.

There were two reasons he must capture them despite his disdain. One, they had appeared from the Xumi Celestial Mirror, and the Xumi Celestial Mirror was where Xuanyuan Kun and the celestials lived. There must be a ton of treasures inside, and he reckoned that the reason Xuanyuan Kun was hunting them down was because they stole his treasures.

If he captured them, those treasures would become his.

Two, one of these two was the thief who stole the Radiant Tree branch from West Kunlun. Maybe both of them were. Otherwise, they couldn’t have found the Xumi Celestial Mirror.

In that case, he had an even bigger reason to kill them.

Three, these two were frankly weak. They weren’t even Half-Sages. He could kill them with the simple wave of a hand.

And finally, everything that had happened in the Kunlun Ruins must remain a secret to outsiders.

Once Ye Qing and Yi Pin were frozen, Jiang Yunlai leisurely made his way toward them.

He had just approached the duo when his hair suddenly stood on end, and alarm bells rang inside his head.

Something’s wrong!

Jiang Yunlai did not back off despite sensing grave danger. Instead, he rushed forward while the dark light of the Profound Sun Lantern shone colder and more murderous. His intent was to kill the duo before they could spring whatever death trap they had prepared for him.

THANG!

It was at this moment a bell chimed.

The instant the ringing happened, the frozen space shattered, the dark light twisted, and profound light shot all the way to the firmament. For a moment, the Black Tide was actually blown away by the profound light, and the land was completely free from corruption.

It was a chime that could shake the Three Realms, a light that could shine for all eternity.

Danger! Danger! Danger!

Jiang Yunlai’s pupils shrank, and his instincts screamed that he would die if he did not take evasive actions now

In just one step, Jiang Yunlai appeared several kilometers away from his original position. It wasn’t until he stopped in his tracks that the bell chime finally faded, and the profound light slowly grew dim.

As if on cue, everything in this small corner of the world abruptly dissolved into nothing. All of it. The mountains and stones crumbled into powder, and the Black Tide faded away into nothing, revealing an empty, terrifying space behind. Although more Nine Nethers Demonic Qi were flooding in from every direction, they were unable to encroach into that area at all and disintegrated as soon as they got within a certain range.

Crack!

A crack abruptly came from the Profound Sun Lantern Jiang Yunlai was holding. Then, it shattered into pieces.

The second the Profound Sun Lantern shattered, Jiang Yunlai coughed blood from between his lips. His complexion turned as pale as a sheet as well.

He was hurt. He, a Sage, was hurt. It was because of the bell chime, the profound light, and the destruction of the Profound Sun Lantern.

The grand bell chime and profound light were such that his internal organs had shifted out of place, and his mind felt like it might dissipate into nothing.

On top of that, the Profound Sun Lantern was a Strange Artifact he had refined using his mind and blood essence. Losing it was naturally a blow to him as well.

It was nothing compared to the bell chime and the profound light though.

In fact, if the Profound Sun Lantern hadn’t dispelled most of the damage, his injuries would have been several times worse.

“What a terrifying Strange Artifact!”

Jiang Yunlai slowly wiped away the blood on his lips, expression as cold and angry as it could be.

For a moment, he hesitated. In the end, he turned away.

There were five reasons why he did not give chase. One, he wasn’t confident he could deal with his quarry’s Strange Artifact. After all, it had displayed enough power to injure him.

Two, his decision to capture the duo was impulsive. It would be great if he could capture them, but if not, it did not really affect the bigger picture.

Three, he did not want to take a risk especially considering the current circumstances. If he made a mistake here, he could easily corner himself in a dead end.

Right now, his first priority was his own safety.

Four, he hadn’t received the rewards Xuanyuan Xin had promised him yet. Going for wool and coming home shorn would be foolish beyond imagination.

And five, he had already memorized his quarry’s energies. The payback could wait until they had left the Kunlun Ruins.

When the time came, everything on the duo would be his including that bell.

“I will find you. It is only a matter of time.”

Jiang Yunlai looked at the direction the duo had vanished to one last time before walking away.

……

“Haah… Jiang Yunlai isn’t coming after us, is he?”

On Ye Qing’s back, Yi Pin let out a murky sigh of relief.

“No, he isn’t.”

Ye Qing could not help but sigh in relief as well.

It would have been really bad had Jiang Yunlai chosen to come after them.

Although he possessed the Earthly Sovereign Bell, there was no chance in hell he could fight Jiang Yunlai if the Sage decided to go all out. He wasn’t even sure if he could escape safely.

Luckily, the two celestials were fighting the absolute crap out of each other right now, and the shockwaves were such that they, the small fries, could be injured or killed if they weren’t careful.

That was why he believed that they had a real chance at escaping Jiang Yunlai.

First, he unleashed the Earthly Sovereign Bell with all his might while Jiang Yunlai’s guard was down. Thanks to this, he was able to injure the Sage.

The Sage’s injuries weren’t severe, but all he needed to do was to make Jiang Yunlai wary. Considering the current situation, he did not think Jiang Yunlai would risk going home shorn for wool.

His gamble paid off. Jiang Yunlai stopped coming after them.

“By the way, what is that bell, brother? I can’t believe it actually managed to drive back Jiang Yunlai!”

After confirming that Jiang Yunlai wasn’t pursuing them, Yi Pin let out one final sigh of relief and shifted his attention elsewhere.

“Why don’t you guess?” Ye Qing said distractedly while sprinting toward a certain direction.

“The chime is great, and the light is heavy. That profound light is the Profound Yellow Mother Qi too…”

Yi Pin muttered under his breath, “Could it be… the Profound Yellow Bell?”

The Profound Yellow Bell was a counterfeit version of the Earthly Sovereign Bell created using its fragments. The ultimate treasure of the Earthly Sovereign Hall, it was an Ancient-class Strange Artifact that was named in the Strange Artifact Register.

“Nope. Here’s a clue for you: guess boldly,” Ye Qing replied.

“I got it wrong? Well, the Profound Yellow Bell is the Earthly Sovereign Hall’s prized relic. There’s no way you can get your hands on it that easily.”

Yi Pin made another guess after a moment. “Is it the Houtu Bell?”

The Houtu Bell was also an Ancient-class Strange Artifact and the treasure of the Houtu Clan. Legend had it that the Houtu Clan was descended from Goddess Queen Houtu, and that they lived in seclusion in the mountains. Extremely mysterious, only a handful of people had ever encountered the clan. They definitely existed, however.

“Still nope. Be bold!”

“It has to be the Yellow Sky Bell then!”

“Nope.”

“What about the Taiyue Bell?”

“Nuh uh.”

“The Celestial Suppressing Bell?”

“Wrong.”

“The Demon Death Knell?”

……

“Still incorrect.”

Yi Pin proceeded to throw out the names of several famous Strange Artifacts in a row, but Ye Qing rejected all of them. Finally, Yi Pin grew impatient and huffed, “It couldn’t be the Earthly Sovereign Bell, could it?”

To his utter surprise, Ye Qing answered, “Ding ding ding! Correct!”

“W-What? It’s actually the Earthly Sovereign Bell? Are you making fun of me?” Yi Pin blurted out.

“What do you think?” Ye Qing countered.

“But… that… I…”

Yi Pin stammered for a moment but could not say a complete sentence for a long, long time. The news was just that shocking to him.

A while later, Yi Pin finally said in a jealous tone, “You lucky bastard.”

“I know.” Ye Qing shot him a cheeky grin before falling silent.

He decided not to tell Yi Pin about the “Earthly Sovereign Scripture” or the “Records of Laojun Studying The Dao On A Bull” he obtained from Xuanyuan Kun just now. Otherwise, the old man might just catch a stroke.

Buzz!

It was at this moment the Black Tide shuddered once more before rising into the sky as if drawn by something. When it reached the peak, it descended like a waterfall while converging into a gigantic ball of darkness.

From the distance, it looked like a black sun was crashing toward the earth.

At the same time, a giant shining with celestial light slowly rose up from the ground and raised his right palm. It looked like he was attempting to push the heavens away.

The next moment, a deafening boom resounded throughout heaven and earth.

Before the noise could even fade, the Black Tide swept out like a raging hurricane and destroyed countless mountains.

This was just the beginning, however. While the storm was ongoing, the earth began to shatter, and the sky began to distort earnestly.

Rumble rumble rumble rumble!

At the same time, thunderous rumbles rocked the entire Kunlun Ruins and destroyed it all.