Nine Tolls of the Bell

At the foot of Treasure Pearl Mountain, the torrential rain that had fallen for several days straight had finally stopped.

At night, within a brightly lit grand residence, several hundred Barbarian soldiers stood ramrod-straight, guarding the estate so tightly that not even water could seep through.

In the main hall sat a dark, ugly-faced man with a flat nose and broad mouth, resembling a wild beast. He lounged imperiously in the grand chair at the center of the hall. This man was none other than the ruler of the Great Barbarian Kingdom—A Yanda.

At his side stood the Yan traitor Wang Zhongyi and the "Mad Wolf Butcher," Wang Lang, while below them sat Barbarian Chieftains whose appearances were equally hideous.

At this moment, all of them had fierce glints in their eyes as they watched a middle-aged man below them, dressed in dark-brown work clothes with a headscarf, looking like an ordinary farmer.

"I ask you—are you certain Zhu Hong truly fled to Treasure Pearl Mountain?"

In the silent hall, Wang Zhongyi caught A Yanda's signal. His expression immediately turned solemn as he asked in a low voice.

"Certain, certain! This humble one is certain!"

The middle-aged man below trembled in fright and nodded repeatedly.

"This humble one was born and raised at the foot of Treasure Pearl Mountain. I am a village vegetable farmer, and since taking over my father's work, I have supplied vegetables to Treasure Pearl Temple on the mountain for more than ten years.

"A few days ago, when this humble one braved the rain to deliver vegetables up the mountain, I happened to see a middle-aged man in golden armor, with an imposing and extraordinary bearing, enter the temple.

"This humble one saw his face three years ago, when Zhu Wu visited the mountain, so I recognized at once that the man in golden armor was that bastard Zhu Wu! My lords, every word this humble one has spoken is true! If there is even half a lie in it, may heaven condemn me and earth destroy me! I beg my lords to investigate clearly!"

"Ha ha! Good!"

Seeing that the vegetable farmer did not appear to be lying, Wang Zhongyi burst into laughter. He then rattled off an explanation in the Barbarian tongue, making all the Barbarians present roar with laughter.

"Great King, now that it has been confirmed that the traitor Zhu Wu entered Treasure Pearl Temple, I, Guduo, am willing to lead troops up the mountain, slaughter Treasure Pearl Temple, capture Zhu Wu, and deliver him before Your Majesty."

As soon as Wang Zhongyi finished speaking, the Barbarian closest to A Yanda—a man nearly ten feet tall, with long arms and legs and extraordinarily thick hair and beard—laughed and volunteered.

"Good! Guduo, you are indeed a warrior of my Great Barbarian Tribe. Your courage is truly commendable.

"Since you are eager to earn merit, this king shall grant your wish. Tomorrow, I command you to lead two thousand Barbarian warriors, flatten Treasure Pearl Temple, and capture that brat Zhu Hong alive!"

A Yanda laughed as well.

"Great King, that must not be done! Treasure Pearl Temple is no ordinary monastery. It is a sacred ground of the martial world in the Great Yan Kingdom, and its strength is formidable. It must not be underestimated!"

Seeing the Barbarians treat the matter so lightly, Wang Zhongyi's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly tried to dissuade them.

"Oh? Formidable? How formidable can it be? Aren't you Yan people all cowardly creatures like yourself, greedy for life and afraid of death, as frail as sheep? No matter how impressive this tiny Treasure Pearl Temple may be, can it possibly surpass the lion-like warriors of my Great Barbarian Kingdom?"

Guduo sneered, rubbing his fists together.

"Chieftain Guduo, do not underestimate them!"

A flash of killing intent and humiliation passed through Wang Zhongyi's eyes before he explained.

"Lord Guduo, Yan people naturally cannot compare to our Great Barbarian warriors. But although sheep are weak, powerful ones occasionally arise among them. Treasure Pearl Temple is one such existence.

"Within this temple, aside from logistical personnel in the menial quarters, the Medicine Master Institute, and so on, there is also a force of warrior monks. There are five hundred of them, and every single one is at least a Muscle Tendon Strengthening expert.

"Beyond that, Treasure Pearl Temple has eighteen warrior monks at Blood Tempering minor accomplishment or above, known as the Eighteen Arhats. Together with several heads of the Internal Qi Realm, the Abbot, and several old monks of the Benzi generation who have retired from their positions, Treasure Pearl Temple currently has no fewer than ten Internal Qi Realm experts. They are truly not easy to deal with!"

"Oh? Among you frail people of the Great Yan Kingdom, aside from Zhu Hong, there is actually a pack of fierce tigers like this? That truly is hard to imagine!"

Shock appeared in Guduo's eyes. He immediately stopped mentioning leading an assault up the mountain himself.

"Hmph! If what Wang Zhongyi says is true, then Treasure Pearl Temple's strength is indeed formidable. In that case, this king shall personally lead ten thousand Barbarian warriors up the mountain tomorrow and wipe them out to the last man!"

A Yanda abruptly rose to his feet. His massive body stood like an upright bear, his eyes brimming with killing intent.

The next day, dawn had only just broken.

Within Treasure Pearl Temple, after Gu Han and Jingyuan had finished breakfast, they arranged to find a secluded place in the temple to practice martial arts together.

Of course, Gu Han was mostly instructing Jingyuan, while Jingyuan listened earnestly.

Although Gu Han had only just entered Blood Tempering, his strength was already enough to rival an Internal Qi major accomplishment expert. Though Jingyuan's realm was higher than Gu Han's, under the absolute suppression of strength and speed, whether attacking or exchanging moves, Jingyuan's movements seemed slowed before him, revealing countless flaws at a glance.

"Amitabha. Senior Brother truly is heaven-sent. It has only been one month since you broke through to Blood Tempering, yet this junior brother feels that your strength has risen by another great margin. It is truly unbelievable."

After a round of feeding moves, Jingyuan drew himself up and stood straight. After chanting a Buddhist invocation, he praised Gu Han.

"Oh? You could even tell that? It seems Junior Brother is not far from the Internal Qi Realm."

Gu Han nodded slightly.

Ever since breaking through to Blood Tempering and truly merging the martial arts of the two worlds, his fleshly body seemed to have automatically formed a perfect cycle. Even without any medicinal pills during this time, his body had continued to grow stronger day by day.

Now that a month had passed, although he felt that he was still far from Blood Tempering minor accomplishment, his strength seemed to have increased by more than twenty percent.

If, when he had first broken through to Blood Tempering, he could only be considered barely comparable to an Internal Qi major accomplishment expert, then now, he felt that even among Internal Qi major accomplishment experts, he counted as one of the very best—enough to overpower ninety-nine percent of such experts in the world.

"Ha ha! It is all thanks to Senior Brother's guidance. After your instruction this past month, Jingyuan truly feels that his strength has greatly advanced. I have discovered many shortcomings in my former martial practice. Within half a year, I should be able to step into Internal Qi."

Hearing Gu Han's words, Jingyuan laughed happily. He was about to resume their practice when, at that moment...

A bell suddenly rang by their ears.

"Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong..."

Within Treasure Pearl Temple, the booming toll of a great bell resounded as though shaking heaven and earth. In almost an instant, it spread through the air across the entire mountain temple, allowing every monk within to hear it clearly.

Naturally, it reached Gu Han's ears as well.

"Nine tolls of the bell, heaven and earth overturn!

Within the temple...

A disaster that shall destroy the temple!"

When the bells finally ceased, these words instantly surfaced in Gu Han's mind. The next moment, he could not help turning to meet Jingyuan's gaze, seeing the same shock and horror in his eyes.