Yang City

Although he had decided to forge a Dao Bell as his artifact, tempering raw "divine patterns" into an artifact was no easy task. It was a difficult, lengthy process that could not be accomplished in a single leap.

First, he had to settle on the artifact's form and brand it firmly into his sea of consciousness. It would serve as the reference for all his future tempering, and not the slightest flaw could be allowed.

When Li Wangxian tried to etch that image into his mind, using his divine sense to simulate tempering the divine patterns into a bell, he realized his impression of bells was not yet deep enough. The bell he imagined in his sea of consciousness always felt wrong.

"It looks like I'll have to see some ancient bells for myself."

Li Wangxian emerged from seclusion and left the palace where he had been cultivating. He went straight to Father Li and asked to leave the Sun God Sect to seek out some famous ancient bells as references for forging his own.

Father Li acted without hesitation. He summoned Uncle Jiang, then patted Li Wangxian's head and handed him several Profound Jade Platforms, already engraved with Dao patterns that could carry him through the void.

Li Wangxian was startled. He had never expected the Sun God Sect, which looked like a destitute household, to possess such lifesaving treasures as Profound Jade Platforms, capable of traveling directly through the void.

But then he recalled how Uncle Jiang had later managed to flee with Xiao Tongtong for quite some time while the Golden Crow Clan pursued them, holding out until Ye Fan came to their rescue. That would have been impossible without Profound Jade Platforms. After all, the Golden Crow Clan consisted of birds that had attained cultivation.

In fact, the Golden Crows, the Heavenly Peng Clan, and a handful of other avian races had always been renowned for their extreme speed.

"Elder Lin refined these. Each can carry you eight thousand li through the void in one jump. Unfortunately, we don't have enough materials, or we could have made a few more for you."

Father Li noticed Li Wangxian's surprise. Knowing his son loved poring over ancient texts, he was not surprised that he recognized the Profound Jade Platforms.

Li Wangxian fell silent. As he put the Profound Jade Platforms away, he knew these few platforms were probably the Sun Church's entire stock. Its impoverishment was plain for anyone to see.

Other sects had clusters of palaces and sprawling medicinal gardens, with cascading waterfalls, flowing springs, immortal cranes, colorful luan birds, and other spirit birds adorning the scenery. Some of the more ostentatious ones even had floating islands and divine mountains said never to fall.

And the Sun Church?

The few peaks within the church were utterly unremarkable. Its palaces had been breached during a great calamity, and with no divine metal available, they had only been able to patch them with wood, leaving them looking somewhat dilapidated.

As for spirit birds, they could not afford to keep any. Before Li Wangxian was born, they had at least possessed a decent little medicinal garden, with several thousand-year-old medicinal plants and a dozen or so century-old spirit herbs.

Now, however, only a few of those century-old spirit herbs were probably left.

Naturally, all the missing spirit herbs had been refined into spirit pills to build Li Wangxian's foundation.

The Sun Church has staked every last scrap of its wealth on me!

Li Wangxian understood that the best way to repay this love was to turn his family's hopes for him into reality.

By then, Uncle Jiang had arrived, his beard streaked with white, and all the necessary instructions had been given.

Seeing this, Li Wangxian took out a Longevity Lock and put it on before leaving with Uncle Jiang.

Elder Lin had refined the Longevity Lock. It could prevent the essence of heaven and earth from automatically connecting with Li Wangxian, while also concealing his aura to a certain extent.

Thus, unless he was cultivating or certain no one was around, Li Wangxian always wore the Longevity Lock to hide what made him extraordinary.

After all, a four-year-old cultivator at the Other Shore realm was quite enough to give people a fright.

As they walked through the Sun Church's grounds, its decline was clear to see. By the time they reached the mountain gate, they had seen only a dozen or so disciples practicing martial arts and discussing the Dao inside.

Though some disciples were also cultivating diligently in caves, the Sun Church had fewer than a hundred disciples in total. Their aptitudes were generally mediocre, and only a handful in the entire church could barely be called geniuses.

Once they left the mountain gate, Uncle Jiang swept up a streak of rainbow light to support Li Wangxian and flew eastward. Their destination was Yang City.

Yang City was an ancient city with an exceptionally long history, dating as far back as the Primordial Era. Back then, it had been called Sun Sacred City, a Divine City belonging to the Sun Church.

After the Sun Church declined, the city changed hands several times. Somewhere amid those long ages, its name had become Yang City.

"Uncle Jiang."

"Yes? What is it, young master?"

Within the rainbow light, Li Wangxian gazed down at the endless mountains, rivers, and land below, his eyes clear. With utter seriousness, he said, "I want to take Yang City back."

"Of course. Once you become a sage and founding patriarch someday, young master, you can take Yang City back."

Uncle Jiang answered him with complete seriousness, never dismissing his words as childish talk because of his age. This was the impression Li Wangxian's conduct over the past few years had established: intelligent and composed.

"Aren't you afraid I won't be able to do it, Uncle Jiang?"

"If it's you, young master, you'll certainly be able to." Uncle Jiang replied naturally, as though it were a truth ordained by heaven and earth.

"Yes. I'll certainly do it," Li Wangxian answered just as earnestly.

While they spoke, Uncle Jiang had already carried him across eight hundred li of mountains and rivers, and Yang City had come into view in the distance.

The ancient city was imposing and magnificent, covering a vast expanse. It resembled an immortal Divine City in the heavens, exuding an air of antiquity and the weight of countless ages.

Its gates were so tall and broad that dozens of riders on savage beasts could pass abreast without crowding. Fluctuations of magical power rippled across its weathered walls. Should a powerful enemy attack, divine light could pour forth to protect the entire ancient city.

Upon sighting Yang City, they did not enter immediately. Instead, they halted the rainbow light, and only after Uncle Jiang used a Mystic Art to alter their appearances did they enter.

The historical connection between the Sun Church and Yang City was almost common knowledge here. As such, members of the Sun Church rarely visited, and even when they did, they usually concealed their identities.

Otherwise, they would stand out like sore thumbs.

Their sole purpose on this trip was to see Yang City's famous Morning Bell and help Li Wangxian with Artifact Refining. Naturally, concealing their appearances would spare them some trouble.

Yang City was bustling with life. This ancient city was so grand and sprawling that anyone crossing it on foot like a mortal, rather than flying, would need several days.

Within the prosperous city, palaces rose in dense ranks and ancient streets stretched wide. Stone Gambling shops, the Immortal Pavilion, the Wind and Moon Palace—everything one could wish for was there, lavish in the extreme, with mortals and cultivators mingling together.

People streamed through the city, half of them cultivators. No one dared act rashly in a place like this, for it was one of the central hubs of the Eastern Divine Continent in the Ziwei Star Domain. Heirs and disciples of the great sacred lands, noble clans, and imperial dynasties all frequented it, as did many elders of the sacred lands.

One careless misstep could offend some formidable expert far beyond one's ability to provoke. Such incidents were far from rare here.

Thus, Uncle Jiang and Li Wangxian kept a very low profile. After entering the city, they headed straight for their destination, without the slightest thought of taking a proper look around.

After all, Uncle Jiang's transformation art was not particularly sophisticated and could not alter the aura of their origin. If someone with an agenda set their sights on them, serious trouble would be hard to avoid.