Devil Race, Myriad Saints City. In a bamboo hut's quiet room at the deepest and highest point of the towering, magnificent Demon God Palace atop Myriad Saints Mountain.
Prophet Demon Master Jiu Xi, who had been meditating in silence, suddenly trembled in his long white brows and beard. Two drops of murky tears slid from his eyes.
"Qi Hong..."
Murmuring Prophet Demon Master Qi Hong's name beneath his breath, Prophet Demon Master Jiu Xi rose slowly with grief written across his face and stepped out of his retreat.
"Strike the Demon God Bell. Two short rings and one long ring, seven rounds!"
There was no one nearby. Prophet Demon Master Jiu Xi seemed to be muttering to himself, yet a soft voice of acknowledgment drifted through the breeze, carrying an unusual measure of shock.
Within a few breaths, the Demon God Bell's uniquely rhythmic chimes rang out from the Demon God Palace.
The tolls were extraordinarily long, like ripples spreading ring after ring through the Demon God Palace, across Myriad Saints Mountain, throughout all of Myriad Saints City, and beyond the city for thirty thousand li.
The instant the Demon God Bell began to ring, every Devil Race citizen who heard it—nobles, commoners, and slaves alike—froze, stopped what they were doing, and turned toward the Demon God Palace.
When the Demon God Bell rang, something momentous was bound to have happened.
As countless devils listened intently, a second short yet lingering chime rang out.
That toll made the faces of every listener change drastically.
The lengths of the Demon God Bell's chimes bore special meanings. One short ring signified an emergency; two short rings meant an exceptionally urgent situation had occurred.
The instant the third, long chime sounded, the expressions of all Devil Race citizens who heard it tightened abruptly.