Biodata
| Feature | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | Chen Bell (辰钟) 2 |
| Alias(es) | Chenzhong Bell 21 |
| Type | Sacrificial tool; later a spirit tool 2 141 |
| Affiliation | Divine Sword Sect; housed at Chenzhong Terrace 1 3 |
| Role | Marks time for the sect and serves as Li Gan’s Dao-guardian bell 2 3 141 |
| Status | Spirit tool as of Chapter 225 225 |
| First Appearance | Chapter 1 1 |
Power Progression
| Stage / Realm / Level | Chapter | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mortal / ordinary sacrificial tool | 2 | Li Gan’s system displays the bell at 1/100 refinement. His first strike each day advances its refinement 2 3. |
| Treasure grade | 6 7 | Upgrades on the hundredth day. Gains mental bell sound, spiritual deterrence and a protective qi membrane; the upgrade also feeds power back into Li Gan 6 7. |
| Dharma tool | 21 | Upgrades at 1,000 refinements. Its existing effects strengthen, and it gains aura concealment and limited self-repair that can also heal Li Gan 21. |
| Spirit tool | 141 | Upgrades at 10,000 refinements. Its toll can aid other cultivators, and its long refinement at Chenzhong Terrace forms the Chen Bell Domain. The next upgrade requires 100,000 refinements 141. |
Background
The Chen Bell is a giant bell in the tower atop Chenzhong Terrace. Its toll is used to mark time and can be heard throughout the Divine Sword Sect’s mountain range. Bell ringers must strike it at the proper time; Elder Song performed the duty for sixty-four years before training Li Gan 1 2.
Li Gan discovers his connection to the bell after taking over its ringing. The system identifies it as his sacrificial tool, and he continues refining it through daily strikes 2 3. At Treasure grade and beyond, he can draw on its bell sound while away from the tower, though its cultivation and combat effects are stronger near the bell itself 7 39.
Appearance
The Chen Bell is large enough to require a striking pole roughly a zhang long and thicker than a man’s thigh 2.
- Its striking point bears visible marks from repeated use 2.
- It emits a faint radiance during its Treasure-grade advancement and a faint glow when Li Gan later examines its stored spirit energy 6 225.
Abilities & Skills
Bell Sound and Cultivation
The bell’s sound assists comprehension, body cleansing and the cultivation of internal energy 2 3.
- At Treasure grade, Li Gan can produce bell sound through the bell’s image in his mind without physically striking it. The effect weakens with distance from the bell 7.
- At Spirit grade, the first toll of each day can grant a head-cleansing enlightenment effect to people actively practicing or contemplating within its range. The effect is stronger nearer the bell 141.
- From Spirit grade onward, another person’s strike can count toward Li Gan’s ritual refinement of the bell 141.
Protection, Attack and Repair
- At Treasure grade, the bell can release a mentally directed sound wave that deters enemies and form a qi membrane against physical and energy attacks. These effects are stronger near the bell 7.
- At Dharma grade, it can conceal an aura and repair itself. Its repair power can also heal Li Gan, but must replenish after use 21.
- The bell’s bond does not make Li Gan immune to a fatal blow outside the fuller protection of its domain 21.
Chen Bell Domain
At Spirit grade, the bell forms a domain around its long-established location at Chenzhong Terrace 141.
- Within the domain, Li Gan gains greatly enhanced perception, defense, offense and recovery. The domain shielded those at Chenzhong Terrace from a demonic influence that affected disciples elsewhere in the sect 141 199.
- Li Gan can draw on its power from afar at less than one percent of its full strength, or expend the domain’s power in a single supreme strike. Doing the latter ends the domain 141.
- The bell can shrink and be stored within Li Gan’s body, but doing so collapses the domain. Restoring it requires fixing the bell in one place and refining it there for a long period 141.
- The domain later enables Li Gan to move between the human realm and another world, including bringing another person across 223 224 225.
Spirit Energy Reserve
At the Longevity Realm, Li Gan finds that the bell contains spirit energy he can draw on to replenish his own. He does not establish where that energy comes from 225.
Relationships
- Li Gan — the bell’s sacrificial master, who refines it by ringing it and relies on it for cultivation and protection 2 3 141.
- Elder Song — its longtime ringer and the person who trains Li Gan in the duty 2.
- Liu Ming — a later Chenzhong Terrace bell ringer who helps cover the duty when Li Gan is away 54 55.
Notable Uses
- Li Gan invokes the Chen Bell Domain against three Demon Race Great Saints, killing two and severely injuring Shi Lie 189.
- Li Gan’s fox puppet strikes the bell to dispel a demonic influence over the Divine Sword Sect 199.
- The domain suppresses Shi Tuo Supreme Saint during Li Gan’s attack, forcing Shi Tuo to flee after being wounded 204.