After Black Emperor finished speaking, he lunged straight at Ye Fan.
But before he could touch Ye Fan's body, dazzling light burst from within Ye Fan. It transformed into Great Dao Runes that swept across the nine heavens, tearing open the void. Immortal Dao Aura poured from within, as if some supreme being were about to step out.
Black Emperor was sent flying hundreds of meters. His black fur was stained with red, and beads of blood seeped from his body.
Yet he paid no heed to his injuries. He stared at the light, dumbfounded.
"What is this?... Even when Master was alive, I never saw an omen like this!"
"Is Ye Kid about to become an immortal right now?!"
Duan De swallowed hard. He stared at Ye Fan, who was being bathed in Immortal Qi, too shocked to speak.
Just then,
an ancient bell toll sounded from within Purple Mountain. Emperor Dao Laws spread out, enveloping the entire mountain and concealing every sign of the strange phenomenon.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The urgent tolling continued without pause. The mountains of Purple Mountain trembled, and terrifying roars rose one after another from within.
But as the bell's suppressive force spread, everything soon fell quiet again.
"What's going on? Are the Ancient Great Emperors about to return to the world?"
Duan De had felt relieved when the eerie sounds disappeared, but then he looked up and saw the entire Purple Mountain surrounded by a dense Supreme Dao Aura. He immediately cried out in alarm.
"Woof, Master... No, it's Old Bell! He's waking up!"
Tears glimmered in Black Emperor's eyes, but he quickly came to his senses and barked incessantly.
"Old Bell? Could it be the Wushi Bell?"
Hearing this, Duan De recalled the legends about Purple Mountain. His legs went weak.
According to legend, the Wushi Bell was Great Emperor Wushi's Supreme Dao Emperor Weapon.
It contained a Deity within and was inscribed with Great Emperor Dao Principles, possessing supreme divine might.
One could even say that a Supreme Dao Emperor Weapon was practically a second Great Emperor.
But Emperor Weapon Deities were usually dormant. To revive one, a Great Emperor had to act—or else a sacred ground had to bring out all its hidden reserves just to manage it.
Yet now, the Wushi Bell was about to awaken without absorbing any resources at all?!
Wait!
Perhaps it had never been dormant in the first place. Could Great Emperor Wushi still be alive?!
At that thought, Duan De hurriedly stopped himself.
He couldn't keep thinking about it. Great Emperors were unfathomable and possessed all kinds of wondrous abilities. If he thought any further, he might meet with disaster.
"Woof, woof, woof! Old Bell, you're awake? Does that mean Master really isn't dead?"
An ancient, unadorned bell burst through the mountain from within Purple Mountain, appearing before them in an instant.
Black Emperor wasn't afraid in the least. Instead, he raced over on all fours, overjoyed, and asked,
"I don't know. But I can sense that the Great Emperor is indeed still alive. As for where he is, I have no idea!"
A blurred human silhouette appeared within the Wushi Bell. The Great Dao rumbled, myriad paths resonated, and heaven and earth seemed to groan. Only when he looked at Black Emperor did the strange phenomenon subside and vanish, his gaze softening.
"I knew it! I knew Master couldn't have died so easily! Hahaha!"
Black Emperor stood rooted to the spot, then laughed and cried in a fit of madness.
The Wushi Bell glanced at him, then turned to Duan De, making him break out in a cold sweat.
"This poor Daoist was just passing by... just passing by!"
Duan De gave an awkward laugh, looking rather nervous.
The Wushi Bell said nothing more. At last, he turned his gaze to Ye Fan, who was enveloped in Immortal Light.
"Immortal... Qi!"
After a long silence, the Wushi Bell slowly uttered those two words.
Back then, he had followed Great Emperor Wushi through the Immortal Ascension Path. Though he had not entered the Immortal Realm, the Immortal Qi that had spilled out from within had left a deep impression on him.
But even the Immortal Qi from the Immortal Ascension Path was like a firefly beside the moon compared to this.
What shocked him most was that the source of it all was the cultivation technique Ye Fan was practicing.
The Wushi Bell fell silent. He knew every secret in the world, yet had never heard of a cultivation technique like this.
Since Ye Fan was still cultivating, he decided to wait nearby and protect him.
After all, if word of this technique spread, the Supremes would surely covet it. It might even bring the Dark Turmoil forward.
"Supreme Dao Aura? This is... the Wushi Bell!"
Ye Fan had just finished cultivating when the Supreme Dao Aura startled him. He only relaxed when he saw the Wushi Bell.
He had just been surrounded by Supreme Dao Aura and thought people from the Ji Family and the others had come to kill him with a Supreme Dao Emperor Weapon.
The Wushi Bell was an unowned Emperor Weapon, so he didn't need to worry too much.
What puzzled him was how the Wushi Bell had come out. Wasn't he supposed to be suppressing the many Primordial Royal Clans?
Ye Fan gave Black Emperor and the others a meaningful look, but none of them responded.
"Ye Fan, where did the cultivation technique you were just practicing come from?"
The voice from within the Wushi Bell startled Ye Fan. The Xuanhuang Mother Qi Cauldron appeared above his head at once, surrounding him with countless mountains' worth of dense Xuanhuang Qi.
But just as he finished putting up his defenses, Black Emperor came to his side and sank his teeth into Ye Fan's thigh.
"Damn dog, let go of me!"
"Woof! Don't be disrespectful to the Great Emperor!"
Black Emperor snarled through bared teeth.
Only after this farce did Ye Fan learn about the Wushi Bell Deity.
"This cultivation technique was passed down by the Heavenly Emperor!"
Ye Fan answered respectfully.
Great Emperor Wushi had left a remarkable mark on the history books. Among the contributions the Human Race's Great Emperors had made to their people, his ranked in the top three!
Ye Fan greatly admired this Great Emperor's Emperor Weapon and had no intention of hiding anything.
"The Heavenly Emperor?!"
A cry of surprise came from within the Wushi Bell.
In the next moment, a figure stepped out.
He looked exactly like Great Emperor Wushi. It was the Deity taking human form.
He had followed Great Emperor Wushi for countless years and knew many ancient secrets.
He also knew all too well that "Heavenly Emperor" was no simple title. It carried an enormous karmic burden.
Even when Great Emperor Wushi had been invincible in the world, he had never called himself the Heavenly Emperor.
Now a Heavenly Emperor had appeared and passed down a supreme cultivation technique?
Could it be... that another age of chaos was coming?
Ye Fan looked at the shocked Wushi Bell, thought for a moment, then brushed his hand over the space between his brows. A Visualization Diagram radiating supreme aura appeared in the air.
The Wushi Bell, Duan De, and the others all stared at it, stunned.
"This is the cultivation technique. If you wish to, you may all practice it!"
Great Qin!
In the majestic Xianyang Palace, countless Iron-Blooded Soldiers patrolled the palace grounds at night, weapons in hand.
They were all battle-hardened veterans, each capable of taking on ten men. A formation of a hundred was invincible against ten thousand, and every assassin who had come to kill the First Emperor had fallen at their hands.
In the palace guarded by the Imperial Guard, the First Emperor of Qin sat before the Dragon Desk. Candlelight flickered nearby, illuminating the entire hall. He paid no heed to the memorials piled high on his desk. Instead, he rested his head on one hand and dozed. The candlelight stretched his shadow long across the screen behind him.
The great hall seemed especially vast and silent at that moment.
Ever since he had unified the Six States and become the Eternal Emperor, the remnants of the Six States had never abandoned their attempts to assassinate him. He had been forced to order that no one come within a hundred meters of him.
As a result, there was no one else in the palace now.
Before you continue