"Eh!"
Wang Xuan's heart stirred. His gaze pierced through layer upon layer of Void and fell upon Great Beginning Mountain.
Within Great Zen Temple, bells rang out.
One toll, two tolls, three tolls... thirty-six in all.
The bells were urgent and heavy, startling countless birds from above and below Great Beginning Mountain. They swept across the sky in a dense black mass.
The novice monks sweeping the mountain paths stopped, raising their heads in confusion.
The monks perusing scriptures in the Scripture Depository closed their books, their faces turning pale.
The martial monks sparring in the training grounds withdrew their fists at the same time. Looking at each other, each saw terror in the other's eyes.
Since Great Zen Temple's founding, the thirty-six bell tolls had sounded only twice.
The last time had been when that Human Immortal martial artist of Myriad Transformations from the Yu Kingdom had attacked the mountain gate and forced the entire temple to surrender.
What was it this time?
Before the bells had faded, dozens of Buddhist lights rose into the heavens from deep within Great Beginning Mountain.
Yin Spirits transformed into rainbows and shot toward every corner of Central Province, sending word for the powerful martial monks traveling abroad to return to the mountain gate at once.
Inside the Great Hero Hall, the temple's upper ranks had already gathered.
The abbot wore a gold-and-red cassock. His usually kind and benevolent face was now filled with gravity as he struck the wooden fish rhythmically, producing dull thuds.
The atmosphere in the hall was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe. Wisps of sandalwood smoke rose straight from the incense burner, untouched by even the slightest breeze.
"The Patriarch has sent word. The Lord of the Future has deduced that Great Zen Temple faces a