Hegemonic Bell

Hegemonic Bell

"However, although I've now reached perfection in the Sea of Wheels Realm, I still need to forge an artifact!" With some time remaining, Zhou Tong immediately began studying the Dao patterns within his Wheel Sea.

Each "Divine Pattern" resembled a chain of immortal gold, winding above Zhou Tong's purple Sea of Bitterness. This was the primordial form condensed from Life Essence.

Cultivators could refine "Divine Patterns" into all sorts of forms, such as flying knives or daggers, and release them from their bodies to kill enemies. They were more effective than simple "Divine Patterns."

Thus, many cultivators spent considerable effort refining the most primitive "Divine Patterns" into the shapes of various weapons. This made them easier to control and greatly increased their power in battle.

Of course, weapons such as swords, sabers, and shields were relatively simple. Some people, unafraid of complexity and profundity, tempered their "Divine Patterns" into forms such as Tripods, bells, or Pagodas, allowing them to unleash even more terrifying power.

However, no matter what, refining primitive "Divine Patterns" into "artifacts" was extremely important to cultivators, because it formed the foundation of their future ability to manipulate objects.

"What exactly should my artifact be?" Zhou Tong looked at the thousands of Dao patterns within his Wheel Sea, feeling somewhat hesitant.

Indeed, he possessed a Divine Scar Purple Gold Pagoda, and it was even a perfect artifact embryo painstakingly forged by a Quasi-Emperor. Yet to Zhou Tong, an artifact like a Pagoda had always seemed a little too frail.

Yes, "frail"!

A Pagoda looked imposing, but fundamentally, it was merely a hollow elongated structure. Once it collided with other weapons, such as Tripods, Seals, or Hammers, it would most likely lose.

Zhou Tong had already reached perfection in the Sea of Wheels Realm. Now that he was about to temper his first "artifact," he carefully considered what to choose, because this was of immense importance. Once the "artifact" took shape, it would be difficult to alter afterward. Moreover, this "artifact" would be the foundation of his future.

"I really don't like Pagodas!" Zhou Tong helplessly glanced at his Divine Scar Purple Gold Pagoda.

Although he had possessed this Pagoda for so long, Zhou Tong had never used it, nor had he even branded it with his Dao patterns.

"Forget it. I'll just follow my heart!" Zhou Tong continued pondering his artifact.

"Since I possess the Azure Heaven Hegemonic Body, once I reach great completion, my physical body alone will rival an Imperial Weapon. Ordinary weapons like sabers, spears, swords, Halberds, staves, Hammers, Axes, and the like are of little use to me. A pair of fists will be enough to shatter everything. What I need is an artifact meant for suppression..."

After ruling out the shape of a Pagoda, which he did not particularly like, Zhou Tong's gaze lingered over bells and Tripods.

"Tripods suppress mountains and rivers, bells suppress time. Both are excellent, but if I have to choose one..."

Zhou Tong fell silent for a moment. He considered the choice between a bell and a Tripod for a long time, before his eyes finally brightened.

In the end, he made a clear choice and decided to temper his "Divine Patterns" into a bell.

This was not a momentary impulse. Zhou Tong had thought it through deeply. It was not only because he personally liked domineering bells, but also because the Azure Heaven Hegemonic Body lineage itself possessed the inheritance of the Hegemonic Bell.

"Tempering Divine Patterns into a bell suits the Azure Heaven Hegemonic Body lineage well, and more importantly, compared to a Tripod, I prefer a bell!" Zhou Tong had made up his mind.

Bells were also artifacts with a long history. Since ancient times, bells had been subject to strict regulations: the Son of Heaven hung four bells, feudal lords hung three, high ministers and grand officials hung two, and scholars hung one. Bells were also found in the great halls of dynasties; those were "court bells."

"As for its shape... I'll roughly use the Yongle Bell as a model!" Zhou Tong had reached his conclusion.

Although bells, like Tripods, were heavy artifacts, bells were far more complicated to forge than Tripods.

A Tripod only needed a single shape, but bells were different. Their thickness, sound transmission, resonance, and many other functions all had to be considered. Their structure was therefore exceedingly intricate and required far more detail than forging a Tripod.

Take the Yongle Bell, for example. When lightly struck, its sound was mellow and deep; when heavily struck, its sound was rich and resounding. Sound waves rose and fell, carrying for a hundred li, deep and lingering.

"Still, judging by the time, it's about time to leave Kunlun and take a look at the outside world! And the time of the Nine Dragons Pulling Coffin isn't far off either." With a thought, Zhou Tong immediately left Kunlun.

After spending several days dealing with some mundane matters, he first went to Dazhong Temple and closely observed every great bell there. Finally, based on those bells, he gradually constructed the shape and structure of his own bell in his mind.

Once the structure was clear, Zhou Tong immediately began simulating the great bell in his mind. Using his divine sense, he simulated several thousand Dao patterns and began rapidly constructing and tempering them.

After unremitting effort, the thousands of Divine Patterns simulated by his divine sense finally melted together, eventually condensing into a fist-sized purple bell that shone brilliantly and was exceptionally perfect.

"Not bad. This is the bell body in my heart, the Dao Proving Artifact of my future."

"From now on, you shall be called—Hegemonic Bell!"

The more Zhou Tong looked at it, the more satisfied he became. The fist-sized purple bell body appeared increasingly profound in his eyes. It trembled faintly, and a lingering bell chime instantly filled his heart, giving him a sense of ancient simplicity and grandeur.

Having decided on its shape, Zhou Tong immediately began tempering the "Divine Patterns" within his Wheel Sea.

Tempering the "Divine Patterns" within the Wheel Sea was clearly much more difficult.

However, Zhou Tong's cultivation of the Chaotic Ancient Method had already reached the pinnacle of the Heavenly Cave Realm, at least equivalent to perfection in the Dao Palace Realm. Using a higher realm to handle these "Divine Patterns" within the Sea of Wheels Realm was naturally countless times easier than for other Sea of Wheels Realm cultivators, with efficiency more than a hundred times greater.

Several thousand "Divine Patterns" easily fused together, becoming like a fist-sized lump of divine iron that shone brilliantly. Under Zhou Tong's repeated tempering, this piece of divine iron gradually transformed toward the shape of a bell.

Finally, after seven or eight consecutive days of effort, the lump of divine iron within Zhou Tong's body completely transformed into a fist-sized bell shape flickering with purple light.

With a thought from Zhou Tong, the Hegemonic Bell formed from "Divine Patterns" floated before him.

He reached out and lightly flicked its bell body.

Ding!

A metallic chime instantly rang out. A wave of purple bell energy spread out from the Hegemonic Bell—

Silently, the rocks and Plants within dozens of meters around him instantly turned to ash.

"As expected of the Hegemonic Bell I tempered through such painstaking effort. It truly is unmatched in dominance!" A trace of delight appeared on Zhou Tong's face. The bell's power exceeded even his expectations.

He had merely flicked the bell body lightly. If he fully unleashed the Hegemonic Bell's power, the small mountain he stood upon would likely be shaken apart.

"Next, I'll melt down the Divine Scar Purple Gold Pagoda and fill my Hegemonic Bell with it!!"