Dharma Transmission Bell

The Magma Immortal Palace gradually rose to the surface. Golden pillars and red bricks, grand and magnificent, delivered an overwhelming visual shock.

The blinding firelight set off the entire immortal palace, making it resemble the abode of a god.

All of Fire Persimmon Mountain trembled, releasing terrifying roars.

Vast earth power surged, magma boiled, and geysered upward several dozen feet high!

Cultivators scattered in all directions, as insignificant as ants beneath the might of heaven and earth.

The current Fire Persimmon City Lord appeared, his face solemn. He activated the grand array laid out at the volcanic crater and poured in all his Nascent Soul Realm mana with everything he had.

Countless azure-green radiances gathered in midair, forming a netlike grand array that covered the massive pillar of magma about to burst from the crater.

The two sides collided and fiercely deadlocked.

The earth shook and the mountains swayed!

All of Fire Persimmon Immortal City was jolted awake. Countless people ran out of their homes and stared at the houses that had already collapsed or were on the verge of falling, terrified beyond measure.

Black smoke from the volcanic eruption billowed skyward, like a demonic calamity descending to devour all living things and heaven and earth!

The black smoke churned endlessly, but the azure-green radiance did not disperse. The Mountain Protecting Grand Array still stood firm, preventing a human tragedy.

The earthquake gradually weakened until it faded away entirely.

The Magma Immortal Palace stood within the volcanic crater, like a giant lying sprawled out. Above it rose towering black smoke, rolling and surging; beneath it, scorching magma boiled without cease.

The immortal palace had golden pillars and red bricks, soaring towers, majestic main halls, and exquisite Side Halls. It possessed the ferocity of fire, the hardness of metal, and the solidity of earth.

Countless gazes, whether suspicious, curious, or greedy, were all drawn to the Magma Immortal Palace.

But in the next moment, the City Lord's face turned pale as he slowly descended from the sky.

With a sweep of his long sleeve, the grand array activated. Amid shifting light and shadows, it concealed the Magma Immortal Palace, leaving no trace visible.

The cultivators at the volcanic crater had suffered grievous casualties, while those exploring within the volcano had been wiped out, leaving neither corpses nor bones behind.

Zheng Shuang Gou led the remnants of the Ning Lineage atop a cloud and flew before the City Lord. "City Lord."

He reported through divine sense communication, incredibly swiftly.

The City Lord understood the full chain of events. His face remained stern, and his gaze was icy to the extreme. "Investigate! Investigate thoroughly! That Black Shadow Demonic Cultivator must pay with his life!"

Then his gaze swept over the remnants of the Ning Lineage behind Zheng Shuang Gou. "Investigate these people as well. Imprison all surviving cultivators first and interrogate them harshly!"

"Gather every clue related to the Black Shadow Demonic Cultivator with all your strength."

"If any are discovered to be his accomplices, show them no mercy!"

The City Lord was the only Nascent Soul Level cultivator in Fire Persimmon Immortal City, and his mood was exceedingly foul at this moment.

During his term of office, he had discovered the Magma Immortal Palace.

Yet he had not reported it, choosing instead to conceal it from those above.

He had wanted to keep the Magma Immortal Palace under wraps, digest it internally within his own side, secretly develop it, and ultimately claim the immortal palace for himself.

But reality did not follow his wishes.

The Zhou Lineage and Zheng Lineage had successively discovered this secret.

The City Lord had no choice but to compromise and secretly forge an agreement with the two lineages. This year, the Ning Lineage had also discovered the secret.

The Ning Lineage also had a Golden Core Level cultivator and was likewise one of the great cultivation lineages within the immortal city. The City Lord had already prepared to accept them.

The Four Great Powers of the immortal city would compete together to develop the Magma Immortal Palace while excluding all other outsiders. That was the situation the City Lord had painstakingly cultivated and sought to create.

But now, that situation was on the verge of utterly falling apart!

"Black Shadow Demonic Cultivator, that damned Black Shadow Demonic Cultivator!!" At the thought of the culprit, hatred deep within the City Lord's heart surged like a tidal wave.

"What should I do?"

The City Lord forcibly suppressed his rage and hatred as he considered how to handle the matter.

He was merely a City Lord dispatched by South Bean Country and could not have One Hand Covers the Sky.

"Damn it! Once the news reaches the capital, it will no longer be for me to decide!"

He was only one of South Bean Country's high-ranking officials. Compared to all of South Bean Country, even as a Nascent Soul Level cultivator, he was terribly fragile.

"Alas... I can only hide it for as long as possible."

"Fortunately, the Magma Immortal Palace has not fully emerged and remains in the volcanic crater. As long as I repair the grand array, arrange thick clouds and smoke to conceal it, and issue a ban, I can..."

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A succession of bell chimes suddenly rang out from the depths of the volcano.

The bell rang long and clear, resounding through heaven and earth.

In the minds of everyone who heard it, a cultivation technique gradually emerged at the same time.

The City Lord's heart jolted violently, and his face became extremely ugly. He blurted out, "The Dharma Transmission Bell?!"

The night was already deep.

All of Fire Persimmon Immortal City remained in chaos. Countless houses had collapsed, and the city residents discussed the matter heatedly. The overwhelming majority gazed up toward the mountain peak.

The immense commotion from the City Lord's clash with the immortal palace had at least made everyone understand—something earthshaking must have happened atop the mountain!

Just then, deep and majestic bell chimes rang out!

Clang! Clang! Clang...

The bell chimes surged, their sound halting even drifting clouds.

They shook the outer walls of Fire Persimmon Immortal City and echoed through countless streets and alleys.

They covered lofty courtyards and spread through common homes. They stirred every inch of airflow, wrapping the entire immortal city within them.

They pierced precisely into the hearts of every intelligent lifeform, shaking their Heart Fields!

Countless people cried out in alarm, but in the next moment, they were drawn in by the passages of a cultivation method gradually taking shape in their minds.

City Lord's Mansion.

A burly youth had been sprawled on the ground, sleeping soundly. Startled awake by the bell chimes, he abruptly opened his large eyes.

"Wah!" he shouted, braced himself with both arms, and sprang rapidly to his feet, kicking up a fierce gust.

"Enemies?!" The burly youth's face was filled with vigilance.

At that moment, the Fire Persimmon City Lord transmitted his voice to him. "My grandson Meng Chong, quickly comprehend it. This is the Dharma Transmission Bell's chime, the key to contending for the Magma Immortal Palace!"

"The Dharma Transmission Bell?" Having received the reminder, the burly youth Meng Chong immediately stood motionless, straight as a spear. His eyes were vacant, yet he stared fixedly ahead, desperately memorizing and comprehending the cultivation method appearing in his Heart Field.

Zhou Lineage.

The young cultivators Zhou Ze Shen and Zhou Zhu were jointly studying a mechanism blueprint.

One was short and one tall, one frail and one sturdy.

In an instant, both their expressions and movements froze.

Several breaths after the bell began ringing, Zhou Ze Shen said with a shocked face, "Quick, quick, quick! This seems to be the Dharma Transmission Bell. The chimes contain a cultivation technique! Comprehend it at once."

Zhou Zhu was taciturn and usually relied on Zhou Ze Shen's ideas. He immediately sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.

Zheng Lineage.

Zheng Jian was rigorously examining the lineage's account books.

This young cultivator wore a circlet across his forehead, with a pupil-shaped gemstone set upright at its center.

The steward standing before him was pale-faced and drenched in sweat.

Zheng Jian suddenly snorted coldly, threw the account book to the ground, and barked, "You think the false accounts you made can still be hidden from me?"

The steward shuddered all over and immediately collapsed to the ground.

Just then, the bell chimes arrived.

After hearing a few chimes, Zheng Jian's expression changed drastically. He waved the steward away. "I have no time to question you for now. Get out!"

Ning Lineage.

As the acknowledged genius of the lineage, Ning Xiaohui had made too many talismans during the day and was exhausted beyond endurance. Even when the bell chimes reached her, her brows remained tightly furrowed as she stayed sunk in sleep, without waking.

Ning Ji had been cultivating when the bell chimes shattered his state. His face filled with surprise and suspicion. "What the hell is this?"

Volcanic crater.

Zheng Shuang Gou was still riding his cloud.

Upon it, the Ning Lineage cultivators lay scattered in disarray.

Not only them—most of the other cultivators were also lying or sitting where they were.

"Fortune! This is fortune!" The cultivators were wildly delighted, all desperately trying to memorize it.

Ning Chen sat cross-legged, his eyes tightly shut and brows deeply furrowed as he gave it his all.

Ning Yong clutched his forehead tightly. "Ahhh! Remember it, head! I'm relying on you—remember it for me!"

Ning Zhuo was both startled and delighted. I succeeded! I planted the selection criteria of the Magma Immortal Palace.

But its method of selection changed. It directly transmitted a Qi Refining Stage cultivation method.

This was something Ning Zhuo had not anticipated.

Like the other cultivators, Ning Zhuo stood still and carefully listened to the bell chimes.

The bell chimes gradually transformed into a cultivation method—the "Five Elements Qi Rhythm Art"!

"With this technique, I can now free myself from the Ning Lineage's 'Snowy Region Talisman Compendium.'"

For a time, the relief, excitement, sense of achievement, and other emotions born from his long planning, personal risks, and results that exceeded his imagination surged through the youth's heart.

It was precisely—

Mechanism fire monkeys leapt through molten lava; cold iron armor shattered dawn frost.

Buddha and demon hid deep, imprinting mechanism hearts; the immortal palace shook, revealing heavenly light.

The Dao bell thundered, transmitting a new art; the Five Elements Qi Rhythm grew naturally close.

Cultivate to endlessness, return to root and branch; cast off seals, break locks, and walk free!