He looked Yan Ning up and down, a hint of amazement flashing in his eyes. "It's been so long, but your strength seems to have improved quite a bit."
Yan Ning shrugged noncommittally. "Not bad. I can just about protect myself."
Demon Wheel King's smile faded, and he said solemnly, "The Star Tower is nothing like Flame Sacrifice Continent. It's a mixed bag here, with Sealed Kings everywhere. There are even Sealed King Invincibles stationed here."
He paused, then suggested, "Want to team up? We can watch each other's backs."
Yan Ning furrowed his brow slightly, weighing the pros and cons.
There were benefits to working together. Demon Wheel King was quite powerful, a High King Peak. The two of them would indeed be safer together.
He was more familiar with the inside of the Star Tower and could avoid some dangerous areas, but the drawbacks were obvious too.
First, Yan Ning was used to acting alone. And with the Check-in System, he still needed to hunt.
Having someone with him would be inconvenient.
After a moment's thought, Yan Ning shook his head and politely declined. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm used to acting alone."
Demon Wheel King seemed to have expected this and didn't press him. "All right, then be careful."
He handed Yan Ning a purple crystal. "This is a detailed map of the first three levels of the Star Tower. It marks several dangerous areas where Sealed Kings gather."
Yan Ning took the crystal and said sincerely, "Thanks."
"Come back alive, and we'll have a drink!"
Demon Wheel King waved, turned, and transformed into Flowing Light as he flew toward another entrance.
Watching him leave, Yan Ning gripped the crystal, excitement flashing in his eyes.
Star Tower, show me what you've got.
He stepped into the Star Tower.
The instant he entered the Star Tower—
"Ding! Congratulations, host. You have triggered a special-location check-in."
"Ding! Check-in successful. Congratulations, host, you have obtained the Companion Treasure, Chaos Bell!"
"Ding! Chaos Bell's current usable level: Supreme Treasure. Its level will increase as the host's level rises."
"Note: The Chaos Bell is similar to a Companion Supreme Treasure. Treasures have spirits, and only the host can use it. If lost, it will return to its master on its own."
```
Buzz.
As soon as the system finished speaking, Yan Ning felt his sea of consciousness tremble.
"Dong..."
An ancient, far-reaching bell chime rang deep within his soul, as if it had crossed endless spans of time from the dawn of chaos.
Within Yan Ning's sea of consciousness, an ancient bell, its entire body the color of chaos, slowly appeared.
Countless profound markings flowed across its surface, each one seemingly recording the birth and destruction of the universe.
A faint Chaos Airflow swirled around the bell. At times it transformed into stars, at others into black holes, manifesting endless mysteries.
The Chaos Bell!
"What is this..."
Yan Ning's mind reeled. He could clearly feel the Chaos Bell connected to his soul, as though it were part of his own body.
Even more astonishing, the aura emanating from the ancient bell was stronger than that of any Treasure he had ever seen!
He had the feeling that even the Star Tower couldn't compare to the Chaos Bell!
"Supreme Treasure!"
Yan Ning sucked in a sharp breath.
Even most Universe Venerables only possessed ordinary Treasures.
Peak Treasures were coveted even by Universe Overlords and Universe Masters!
As for Supreme Treasures, there was no need to say more—they were the strongest in the universe!
And the Chaos Bell could grow, too.
No, to be precise, he was the one limiting the Chaos Bell!
The Chaos Bell came from the Primordial World, a top-tier Innate Supreme Treasure.
How could it possibly have only the power of a Supreme Treasure? Such trash was utterly incomparable to the Chaos Bell.
The Chaos Bell was one of the Primordial World's supreme Creation Saint Artifacts, known as one of the Three Great Innate Supreme Treasures. It possessed immensely powerful abilities.
It could suppress the primordial world, reverse the flow of time and space throughout the heavens, reveal the mysteries of the Heavenly Dao, and refine the forces of earth, water, fire, and wind!
In the Primordial World—
The Chaos Bell's abilities were especially formidable in battle. It could seal time, suppress space, and deflect attacks from any Treasure or divine weapon.
These abilities gave its wielder an absolute advantage in battle, making him an invincible being from birth.
As the saying went, if I had the Taiji Diagram beneath my feet, the Chaos Bell above my head, and the Pangu Banner in my hand, I could stride unchecked across the entire Primordial World.
"System, you've really given me a huge surprise this time!"
With a thought, Yan Ning summoned the Chaos Bell into his palm. It was only the size of his hand, yet it emanated a terrifying power.
He gave it a gentle shake.
"Weng!"
Silent ripples spread outward, and the space around him instantly froze. Even the dust hung motionless in the air!
"What incredible suppressive power!"
Yan Ning's eyes flashed.
He hadn't even activated it. Just an ordinary shake had this much power!!
He'd been envious of the future Luo Feng for having the Star Tower.
But now, what was there to envy?!
Could the Star Tower possibly be stronger than his Chaos Bell?!
Most importantly, this thing recognized its master from birth. No one else could use it, and if it was lost, it would return on its own.
Simply perfect.
Yan Ning carefully sensed the Chaos Bell, feeling a wondrous connection flowing between him and the Treasure.
It wasn't a simple master-and-treasure bond. It was a deeper connection, an almost bloodline-deep resonance.
He could clearly see...
At the Chaos Bell's core was a hazy glow of spiritual awareness, like a newborn star—pure and boundless.
"Is this... the Artifact Spirit?"
Yan Ning tried to touch that glow with his consciousness.
"Hum..."
The Chaos Bell trembled gently, sending back a warm current of energy, filled with affection and joy, like a newborn seeing its beloved family.
Though it couldn't communicate in words, Yan Ning could understand every one of its emotions.
Yan Ning was astonished.
The Chaos Bell's spiritual awareness far surpassed that of an ordinary Treasure. If it weren't unable to speak because of the rules, it could probably have spoken to him directly long ago!
He'd never read anything about the Chaos Bell having this level of spiritual awareness.
Could it be that the Heavenly Dao of the Primordial World was so powerful that its suppression had been overwhelming?
After arriving in the Swallowed Star World—
Without that kind of suppression, its spiritual awareness had instead grown stronger.
Or was it because of the system?
Yan Ning could only speculate.
But he knew that from this moment on, he was invincible!
Even if a Universe Venerable showed up, he could absolutely escape with the Chaos Bell above his head.
He stopped thinking about it and willed the Chaos Bell into the space between his brows.
With the Chaos Bell protecting him, he had nothing to fear from soul-type secret techniques.
In that case, there was nothing left to be afraid of.
Time to cut loose!
The Star Tower had nine levels, like a massive skyscraper. At that moment, he seemed to be inside one of the rooms within the tower.
Of course, rather than a room—
It was more accurate to call it a Forbidden Space.
Every Forbidden Space was connected to other Forbidden Spaces.
At the same time, each one was constantly moving.
Once inside, it was impossible to retrace the path back out.
But leaving was easy. He only needed to use Divine Kingdom Teleportation.
Space was restricted within this area.
He couldn't teleport beyond its range.
The same went for detectors and other such devices.
He flew forward for a while.
Suddenly—
Boom!!
The ground shook violently!
He immediately stopped.
Frowning, he looked down. The next instant, his expression changed, and he hurriedly shot upward.
Before you continue