"Cooperate."
The Jiang Family Holy Lord spoke succinctly, and the Mars at his fingertip suddenly brightened, transforming into a small, illusory image of the Hengyu Furnace.
" Purple Mountain is mysterious, containing Emperor Formation and the sealed Primordial Races within, while various forces are eyeing it covetously from the outside. It cannot be conquered by any single force."
"When we work together to explore, each relies on their own chance."
He looked at everyone and threw out his chips.
"My Jiang Family is willing to offer a Quasi-Emperor Weapon, as well as a fragment of an array diagram left by our ancestors, which can break through the outer layer of the seal and illusion array."
"My Ji Family has produced a replica of Void Mirror Quasi-Emperor Weapon weapon. It can briefly disrupt the operation of Emperor Formation formation, evade some spatial killing formations, and provide three Void-Breaking Talismans, which can be used to escape in critical moments."
The Ji Family Holy Lord immediately responded, also demonstrating sincerity.
" The Yaoguang Dragon Marked Cauldron can briefly release extreme pressure to intimidate ancient creatures and provides part of the Purple Mountain outer array diagram that my holy land has studied for many years."
The Yaoguang Holy Lord was not to be outdone; the Dragon Marked Cauldron was of even greater value.
The Central Continent Great Xia, the Jiuli and other forces also expressed their support, offering divine materials, secret treasures, or experts skilled in exploration and Source Arts.
For a moment, the secret chamber was filled with a faint, precious light and the flow of Daoist energy.
"Can.
However, a grand covenant must be established, stipulating that before the matter of Purple Mountain is fully clarified, or before the ownership of the Wu Shi inheritance and the Emperor Weapon is settled, the parties must not fight each other.
We must unite to defend against external enemies, especially the Primordial Races and other forces that might come upon us.
The Ji Family Holy Lord added, raising his hand to summon an ancient talisman wreathed in blood-red Dao patterns, which was a Soul Covenant Talisman crafted using secret techniques.
"If you disobey, your Dao heart will suffer a backlash, your Immortal Platform will crumble, and your soul will be scattered!"
Soon, a loose alliance for exploring Purple Mountain was initially formed in this secret room.
Details still need to be discussed in a separate meeting, such as the number and cultivation level of personnel mobilized by each party, the unified allocation of resources, real-time information sharing, and strategies for dealing with encounters with the Primordial Races or other forces.
And most importantly, what if we actually encounter the inheritance of the Wu Shi Beginning or the recognition of Emperor Weapon? How should it be distributed?
Is it based on contribution? Or on individual ability? Or something else entirely?
But none of this prevents them from uniting to open the gate to Purple Mountain, which has been tightly closed for millennia.
"Over at Jade Pool,"
Just as the atmosphere eased and some people were preparing to leave to make arrangements, the Emperor of Jiuli suddenly mentioned it.
A slight silence fell over the hall.
The people from Jade Pool Holy Land may have a deeper understanding of Purple Mountain than those from other holy lands, and may even possess some unknown secret paths or tokens.
" Jade Pool has already made it clear that it will not participate in the Purple Mountain matter."
The Jiang Family Holy Lord spoke calmly, his eyes deep and profound.
"Today I personally dispatched my trusted envoy to Jade Pool to pay homage to the Queen Mother of the West, only to receive the reply, 'The time is not yet ripe, Cause and Effect are not yet clear,' and said nothing more."
Everyone's eyes flickered, each lost in thought.
Jade Pool's detachment only added to the mystery of Purple Mountain.
Do they know some inside information? Are they waiting for a more opportune moment?
Or perhaps they believe there is a greater danger lurking behind this incident, and therefore choose to protect themselves?
This uncertainty cast a shadow over the minds of several holy leaders.
The meeting ended in an increasingly tense atmosphere, with the important figures leaving in a hurry without even having time for pleasantries.
They need to return to their base immediately, mobilize their troops, and utilize their resources to make the fullest preparations for the upcoming exploration of Purple Mountain.
As soon as the Jiang Family Holy Lord returned to the depths of the stone workshop, he ordered the opening of the family's forbidden area and retrieved several ancient artifacts that had been personally sealed by Emperor Hengyu.
The Ji Family Holy Lord immediately activated the family's highest-level summons, recalling all the prodigies and elders who were training outside, and even some teams that were exploring outside were urgently called back;
The Yaoguang Holy Lord personally entered the ancestral altar of the holy land, using the Dragon Marked Cauldron as a guide and combining it with the newly acquired Zhongbo Daoist Rhyme, to fully deduce the weaknesses of the killing formation inside Purple Mountain and the possible safe paths.
While these important figures were plotting, speculation about the source of the bell's sound was already brewing in every corner of the Holy City and spreading like wildfire throughout the entire Big Dipper.
"Have you heard? That bell sound was truly from Extreme Dao Emperor Weapon! It's all over the Jiang Family family's stone archway; their Hengyu Furnace is even glowing and resonating!"
" Extreme Dao Emperor Weapon? Is the legacy of some Great Emperor truly about to be revealed?"
My God, this is defying the heavens!
" Purple Mountain! That place is incredibly eerie!"
"More than that! I heard from an elder of a family specializing in Source Arts, after getting drunk, that Purple Mountain might be a massive crystallized dragon vein, possibly containing celestial treasures, and even clues to the elixir of Immortal Medicine!"
"Hurry to the Northern Region! Hurry to Purple Mountain! Even picking up a stone on the outskirts might allow you to comprehend a trace of the Emperor's Dao Law!"
The news spread like wildfire. Although the top powers were still keeping the specific action plan secret, keywords such as "Ancient Great Emperor," "Extreme Dao Emperor Weapon," and "Purple Mountain inheritance" were already circulating.
It has already begun to spread among the lower and middle-level cultivators in the Holy City and even among mortal kingdoms, sparking even greater fervor.
Countless independent cultivators and cultivators from small sects packed their bags, formed teams, and headed towards Purple Mountain, hoping to find some scraps on the outskirts.
The dozens of large teleportation Domain Gate leading from the Holy City to the Northern Region were now lined with long queues that stretched as far as the eye could see, and the fees instantly increased several times over.
The already bustling trade route instantly became overcrowded, and the prices of various supplies skyrocketed;
Upon receiving the confirmation, the young talents were even more eager to get started, their eyes burning with fighting spirit.
Thousands of miles outside the Holy City, a somewhat sleazy-looking figure in a blue robe was rapidly approaching on a streak of light; it was Duan De, who had just arrived from the Southern Region.
When he heard the bell toll, he almost fell off the escape light; the divine power within his body surged wildly, guiding a powerful tremor.
"Good heavens! Have we stirred up Emperor Weapon's nest? Damn, this world is going crazy!"
He muttered to himself as he desperately channeled his magic power, speeding towards the Holy City. His intuition told him that he was in the midst of this upheaval caused by the Emperor Bell.
It must hold an immense opportunity, but of course, it may also be accompanied by the danger of being utterly destroyed.
Deep within Purple Mountain, nestled within its nine-dragon-encircled belly, endless darkness seems capable of swallowing even time itself.
A colossal bell of chaotic color floated silently in the center of the Void, its surface covered with intricate imperial patterns.
At this moment, these patterns, like dragons and snakes that have come to life, slowly move, exuding an aura that suppresses all heavens.
The aftershocks of the bells created visible ripples that spread outwards in concentric circles.
Deep within Purple Mountain lie countless Divine Source Block, densely packed, like amber, sealing away ancient creatures of various shapes and sizes.
At this moment, these beings, who had slumbered within the Divine Source for countless ages, were trembling with fear.
Some of the weaker ancient creatures even developed fine cracks in their Divine Source shells, and their mental fluctuations were filled with fear and despair.
"It's the Beginningless Bell! The Emperor's bell is ringing again! Has he returned?"
Within a large Divine Source Block, sealed is the figure of a woman wearing a phoenix crown and a magnificent phoenix robe; she is none other than the wife of the Undying Heavenly Emperor, the Undying Heavenly Empress.
She slowly opened her phoenix eyes, her gaze filled with a deep-seated hatred and a hint of fear she herself refused to acknowledge, and looked at the giant bell:
"For countless millennia, Wu Shi, you have already passed away, yet you still wish to leave behind this malevolent bell to eternally suppress us?"
Why does this bell sound different from before?
Beneath the giant bell, on a stone book, countless tadpole-like golden imperial characters were flowing and flashing at an unprecedented speed; that was the supreme mystery of the Wushi Scripture.
The lingering echoes of the bell swept across the stone wall, and the imperial inscriptions seemed to be summoned, detaching themselves from the wall and converging and intertwining on the ground.
They all realized that an unprecedented vortex of change was forming and expanding wildly, centered on Purple Mountain.
This sudden chime of the bell was the prelude to this event that swept across the entire Big Dipper and even affected a wider range of events!
Meanwhile, far away in the Southern Region, above the volcanic cluster where the conflict had just subsided, Li Qingshan stood suspended in the clouds, closing his eyes to regulate his breathing.
All his previous Manifesting Sainthood seemed to him to be nothing more than a trivial matter.
Within his body, the Innate Sacred Body Dao Embryo shone ever brighter, its connection with the myriad paths of heaven and earth becoming even closer. Countless runes appeared and disappeared around him, as if they were evolving into a scene of Heaven-Opening.
No one knew that this bell tolling would shake the world, stir up the winds and clouds across the Five Regions, tremble ancient traditions, and drive young prodigies mad.
Its initial and most fundamental trigger was not the ancient anomaly accumulated in Purple Mountain itself, but rather originated from the cyan figure that had just returned from the Southern Region.
That perfect and flawless, in harmony with the Dao, inspiring the resonance of all Daos, is the Innate Sacred Body Dao Embryo!
The Beginningless Bell sensed that shared aura, transcended space, ignored the seal, and spontaneously began to ring.
This bell tolling was an incredibly clear signal, an era belonging to the Innate Sacred Body Dao Embryo.
A grand era, perhaps even more magnificent than the Great Emperor Wushi, is about to begin with the tolling of bells!
We highly recommend this book to you: * Shrouding the Heavens: Yuanshi of the Myriad Heavens *. (Read more here.)