The Eastern Emperor Bell, Return to Luofu

The tolling of bells echoed, and all was silent for eternity.

"The Eastern Emperor Bell... it really is the Eastern Emperor Bell?! Wasn't this thing missing long ago? How could it still be hidden in the ruins of the Heavenly Court!"

The Huntian noises were unusually out of control.

Yu Tunzhou pressed his brow, forcefully suppressing the tremors within his Primordial Spirit Heaven and Earth. Without needing to ask further, he already knew the origin of the Eastern Emperor Bell.

"After the Demon Court's downfall, who ended up with this innate treasure?" Yu Tunzhou asked.

"It fell into Haotian's hands!" Huntian quickly replied, "This item, along with the Investiture of the Gods and the God-Beating Whip, is a core element of the Heavenly Court's suppression of destiny. Among them, the Eastern Emperor Bell controls all the heavens and timelines! After the Demon Emperor's fall, this bell fell into Haotian's hands and became a symbol of the Heavenly Emperor's legitimacy. However, when the Heavenly Court collapsed, this supreme treasure never appeared again."

In the end, it fell into the hands of Haotian...

Yu Tunzhou looked up at the majestic divine statue, only to see that the originally imposing statue suddenly froze.

He abruptly turned his head, looking in the direction from which the bell tolled. For the first time, his arrogance and rage vanished from his eyes, leaving only a deep-seated fear.

"Impossible... This bell disappeared along with the collapse of the Immortal Realm. Who found it again?"

He muttered to himself, his divine appearance began to waver, and the golden light around him flickered uncertainly.

Yu Tunzhou immediately realized that even the Gouchen Divine Pantheon, hidden within the ruins of the Heavenly Court, were unaware of the bell's whereabouts.

If that's the case, why would such an elusive innate treasure appear at this moment, and who is it aimed at?

Yu Tunzhou looked solemn, his gaze sweeping over the Vajra Bracelet.

Although the specific reason is unknown, his Qi of Dao and Virtue of black and white is indeed slowly growing stronger, and the most direct improvement after the Qi of Dao and Virtue grows stronger is the degree of awakening of the Vajra Bracelet.

At this moment, Yu Tunzhou, with the help of the Vajra Bracelet, pinpointed the source of the distant bell sound.

The bells continued to toll, echoing endlessly between heaven and earth.

Ahead.

With his plain white robe sleeves hanging down, Lu Daolin withdrew his fist, stepped barefoot into the Void, raised his eyes to look at the source of the bell sound, his expression calm and undisturbed, as if the ancient Heavenly Bell sound was nothing more than an ordinary morning bell and evening drum to him.

The Dao of Self Alone: Nothing exists outside of the mind.

Even the most precious innate treasures could not sway his Dao heart in the slightest.

In his vision, the distances of countless spaces were infinitely folded, allowing him to see a higher level of "heaven and earth".

A Heavenly Bell hangs at the center of heaven and earth.

The twelve Earthly Branches, the twenty-four solar terms, the cycle of the heavens, the Great Yanzhi Way, endless time and space...

Everyone is among them!

Opposite the Heavenly Bell stands a magnificent hall that seems to have vanished into the Void, its plaque inscribed with the words "[Eastern Ultimate Wondrous Majesty Palace]".

Yu Tunzhou, also aided by the Vajra Bracelet's perception, saw the general outline from afar, his expression serious.

The one behind the Eastern Emperor Bell is actually targeting the Eastern Ultimate Wondrous Majesty Palace, which had previously abandoned him!

Their target is definitely the True Spirit Pool!

At this moment, locked by the Eastern Emperor Bell, the entire Eastern Ultimate Wondrous Majesty Palace was frozen in the Void, like being trapped in a quagmire, unable to escape without external force.

Yu Tunzhou urged the Vajra Bracelet to try to see where the Eastern Emperor Bell was, but his expression suddenly changed in the next moment.

In the Void behind the Eastern Emperor Bell, a pure, swirling dark golden light emerged, like an open eye.

Its eyes slowly moved, finally locking onto the location of the Yu Tunzhou across countless Void!

In that instant, Yu Tunzhou felt as if he had been seen through from head to toe!

Something is trying to figure everything out about him, not just his physical body and Primordial Spirit, but something deeper, such as the trajectory of his destiny and the threads of cause and effect...

It's as if everything about his existence is about to be turned upside down!

Just then, Lu Daolin suddenly took a step forward, his wide robe sleeves fluttering in the Void.

The feeling of being spied on abruptly ended.

"Come on, you've been targeted by someone."

Lu Daolin's gaze was cold as he locked onto the depths of the Void. The Heavenly Court was hiding even more "big fish" than that person had anticipated!

He transmitted his voice to Yu Tunzhou:

"The Lingxiao and Jade Pool will both open in two months. Come again then."

He paused, then added, "Also, deal with the Martial Fortune you left in Luofu as soon as possible. Either disperse it, or find another vessel to devour it."

At the same time, Lu Daolin raised his right hand, his five fingers loosely clenched, as if he were grasping something.

The towering Dharma Aspect behind him also raised its hand at the same time, its five fingers loosely clenched.

A punch was thrown.

This punch was not aimed at the divine image, but at the Void in front of him. Where the fist landed, the Void shattered like a mirror, and countless forks in the road could be vaguely seen ahead. Each fork in the road led to a different direction, a different time and space, and a different possibility.

At the end of one of the forks in the road was a huge, distorted mass of light and shadow.

Yu Tunzhou sensed a strong threat from it, far greater than the divine figure that had chased him all the way from the Southern Extreme Heaven to this place!

He took one last look at this Heavenly Court, and without hesitation, he communicated with the Heavenly Court Fragment and escaped from this place.

Only Lu Daolin and Ji Tianfang remained at this point.

Ji Tianfang stepped forward to the Void that Lu Daolin had carved out, looked at the fork in the road ahead, and said:

How to divide it?

Lu Daolin glanced at the various forks in the road, pointed out two paths, and said, "One leads to Lingxiao, and the other leads to Jade Pool. You choose first."

Ji Tianfang showed no courtesy and stepped straight into the Void path leading to the High Heaven Treasure Hall, his figure disappearing in an instant.

Lu Daolin smirked, showing no politeness whatsoever.

He looked up again at the "heaven and earth" where the Heavenly Bell stood.

Under the suppression of the Heavenly Bell, the Eastern Ultimate Wondrous Majesty Palace had almost no chance to resist, teetering on the brink of collapse and about to be absorbed into the bell, but at the crucial moment—

A celestial halberd pointed diagonally to the eastern sky, and with a casual stroke, it slashed down!

The blade flashed across the sky, leaving a sharp line that stretched across the heavens and earth, like a legendary chasm in the sky.

Accompanied by a blinding golden light, the entire world resonated and trembled together.

Its power and influence surpassed even that of the deity who had previously been his enemy.

Lu Daolin withdrew his gaze and stepped into the Void.

Although its power was formidable, just as that person said, it ultimately did not exceed the limits of Primordial Unity!

The Divine Capital.

Just as Feng Xu was about to speak, Ji Yaoyang suddenly said, "Neither the Old Wang nor Lu Daolin are in the Divine Capital?"

Feng Xu hesitated for a moment, and before he could speak, Ji Yaoyang got the answer from his reaction.

"No wonder," Ji Yaoyang sneered. "Jingde, oh Jingde, truly, those whom Heaven wishes to destroy, it first makes mad!"

"May I ask, Your Highness, what exactly has happened in the palace?" Feng Xu asked in a deep voice.

Ji Yaoyang's gaze was sharp as a knife. He originally intended to rush directly into the depths of the palace, but he keenly sensed a faint fear that made him stop in his tracks and decisively abandon his journey to the palace.

He sneered, "This wretched creature actually used itself as a medium to bring that person's power down to the Central Plains!"

Feng Xu's expression changed. "Your Highness, who exactly is behind the royal family?!"

"This is not a question for you to ask," Ji Yaoyang said coldly. "Feng Xu, you can prepare to choose sides. The destruction of the Great Yan is almost a foregone conclusion. Do you want to join my camp?"

Feng Xu took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "You... want to start your own business?"

Ji Yaoyang's gaze swept over them, tinged with sarcasm. "Does this king intend to be buried with them? I am not Ji Tianfang, willingly prolonging the Ji Clan's life for hundreds of years. Rather than extending the life of this corrupt dynasty, I would rather establish a new dynasty and start anew."

Feng Xu was deeply shocked; this person actually had such a plan!

He suddenly gave a bitter smile.

The Old Wang intended to use himself to restrain the Martial Ancestor, leaving him with no power to protect the royal family. Now, even this person shows no intention of sharing life and death with the royal family, only thinking about starting anew...

He gazed at the outline of the palace under the deep night sky, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

Is the Great Yan Dynasty, with its thousand-year-old heritage, truly destined to fall apart?

The Western Desert, the vast Gobi.

The yellow sand was whipped up by the fierce wind.

A lone figure walked among them, his pace neither hurried nor slow.

After leaving the Eastern Wilderness, Huang Tian traveled westward.

The journey became increasingly desolate and silent until he was the only person left in the world, with only the yellow sand beneath his feet.

The destination of this journey was a secret place that the Golden Crow Divine Intent had pointed out to him, where the remains of a Golden Crow were said to be buried.

His purpose in coming here is to extract the true bone within and forge it into his own Great Sun Dharma Aspect.

Suddenly,

Huang Tian suddenly looked up, gazing at the northeastern sky.

There, the yellow sand obscured the sun, and the sea of clouds was so thick that nothing could be seen with the naked eye. Yet, a melodious bell pierced through layers of mist and countless realms, reaching his ears from afar.

The bell tolled across countless heavens, becoming so faint as to be almost inaudible. But the instant the bell rang, the Golden Crow Divine Intent, which had been dormant for many days, suddenly surged forth!

Boom!

Golden divine intent burst forth from his body, condensing behind him into the phantom of a three-legged divine bird.

The phantom spread its wings as if about to take flight, with endless golden flames drooping from its wings. The temperature of the entire world suddenly soared, and the yellow sand within a hundred miles began to melt at a visible speed, turning into rings of slowly flowing glass.

Who is it?!

A furious roar erupted from the depths of the Golden Crow Divine Intent, violent and enraged.

"Who stole my Eastern Emperor Bell after Haotian's death?!"

"Have you made enough of a scene?"

Huang Tian interrupted the riotous Golden Crow Divine Intent Golden Crow Divine Intent and forcefully suppressed it.

"Enough of this commotion, let's get back on our way."

His eyes burned with intense passion, yet his expression remained remarkably calm. He withdrew his gaze from the sky, suppressing the impact of the Golden Crow Divine Intent with unparalleled willpower, and continued toward the coordinates given to him by the Golden Crow.

For him, this repression has become a form of self-discipline.

Coming Dragon River.

A small boat drifted downstream on the river.

An Ruyu, dressed in a white dress, sat on the side of the boat, her hands supporting her on the gunwale. Her bare feet, as white as jade, gently touched the surface of the river, splashing up tiny droplets of water. Her eyes and brows held a rare and True Intention.

However, the next moment, her eyes flickered slightly, and her usual ambiguous smile returned to her face, making it difficult to see through her thoughts.

She leaned back, looking up at the night sky. Her figure, outlined by her white dress, resembled the undulating mountains in the distance, creating a beautiful scene in itself.

Is it finally... time to begin?

Luofu Grotto-Heaven.

Yu Tunzhou emerged from the Void, scanned his surroundings, and discovered that the coordinates confirmed by the Heavenly Court Fragment were where he had been before he set off.

Within the Primordial Spirit Heaven and Earth, Huntian was still astonished by the appearance of the Eastern Emperor Bell; the emergence of this innate treasure had a tremendous impact on him.

Yu Tunzhou slowly walked to the edge of the cliff, sat down cross-legged, calmed his mind, and reviewed what he had seen in the Heavenly Court.

The trip was not long.

Including what I saw in Southern Extreme Heaven, the whole trip actually took only about a day.

But what was witnessed in that day spanned the Final Tribulation of the world, then to the True Spirit Pool in the Eastern Ultimate Wondrous Majesty Palace, followed by a clash between Immortals and Gods, and the appearance of the Eastern Emperor Bell...

Yu Tunzhou recalls the "golden eye" that appeared in the Void behind the Eastern Emperor Bell.

The other party harbored deep hostility towards him, locking onto him almost instantly and attempting to thoroughly analyze him from the perspectives of cause and effect and destiny.

Moreover, the people behind the Eastern Emperor Bell are clearly not part of the Gouchen Divine Pantheon.

Yu Tunzhou couldn't remember when he had become enemies with such an ancient Immortals and Gods who wielded the Eastern Emperor Bell.

Could the other party be one of Haotian's True Spirit, the one capable of locking onto the True Spirit Pool in reverse?

That's not impossible.

After some contemplation, Yu Tunzhou temporarily set aside the various mysteries related to the Heavenly Court and began to review the gains from this trip.

The greatest gain from this trip, besides the secrets we learned, was the "Tribulation Fruit" that, in response to the Final Tribulation of heaven and earth in the Southern Extreme Heaven, finally condensed at the top of the Dao Sprout Immortal Embryo.

Before studying the Tribulation Fruit, Yu Tunzhou first released the Lu Di hidden in the Vajra Bracelet.

Since returning to Luofu Grotto-Heaven, the growth and strengthening of the black and white Qi of Dao and Virtue have disappeared, as if their source had been cut off.

This led Yu Tunzhou to some speculations.

He temporarily suppressed his suspicions and looked at the Lu Di: "From today onwards, you will learn martial arts from me. I will teach you a set of fist techniques. You will stay in this world and cultivate in peace. Without my permission, you must never step out of this world."

To prevent a potential battle between the True Spirit of Lu Di and Huang Tian, he did not intend to let Lu Di leave for the time being.

He would go and find the Daoist and Buddhist monks stationed in this area, and ask them to look after the Lu Di so that he could leave it in the thatched hut where he used to live.

After teaching the Lu Di Taijiquan over the next few days, he will leave Luofu Grotto-Heaven and return to the Central Plains.

Speaking of which, he was also somewhat curious about what kind of changes would occur to Lu Di, who was suspected to be one of Haotian's True Spirit, after learning Taijiquan.

Just as Yu Tunzhou was pondering, Lu Di suddenly spoke up, "Brother Yu, actually, when Master Lu last met me, he gave me two pieces of advice—"

"Hmm?" Yu Tunzhou turned around to look.

"One option is that if the Martial Ancestor Lu Daolin is the one who arrives in the end, I can go with him and learn martial arts from him."

"And the second thing... is that if the person who comes isn't Martial Ancestor Lu Daolin, then I must avoid Martial Ancestor Lu Daolin in the future and absolutely never encounter him."

Yu Tunzhou was filled with suspicion. What was going on?

Did the Master Lu already have a plan to send others to support Lu Di?

Why is it necessary to prohibit meetings between Lu Di and Lu Daolin?

What bad thing might happen?

Yu Tunzhou recalled the Martial Ancestor he had met not long ago. Although historical records and secret stories described him as cold-blooded and ruthless, Yu Tunzhou did not believe that Lu Daolin would harm Lu Di, who had never practiced Martial Dao.

Could it be because of the identity of the True Spirit of the Haotian on the Lu Di?

If that's the case, why did Master Lu give him the first choice?

The thought of Yu Tunzhou flashed through his mind, as he put himself in Master Lu's shoes.

It seems like there are two choices, two paths...

But the final decision on which path to take was entirely up to Master Lu himself.

Because the Heavenly Court Fragment were in his hands at the time, whether he gave them to Lu Daolin or someone else was entirely up to him!

Yu Tunzhou's expression gradually turned serious.

Previously, Lu Di had not told him the second instruction. He only thought that after entering the cave and meeting him, Master Lu gradually changed his mind and finally handed over the Heavenly Court Fragment to him.

But now, this conjecture has been completely overturned.

Because Master Lu had made two preparations before entering the cave!

But what might determine which choice he makes is not himself, but rather... whether he should meet Lu Daolin?

Yu Tunzhou frowned.

Did Master Lu choose the second path only after meeting Lu Daolin?

What exactly did he see in Lu Daolin that made him forbid Lu Di Lu Daolin meeting with him?

Could it be...?

The Dao of Self Alone?

Huang Tian, also True Spirit, became Lu Daolin -disciple. Was this fortuitous opportunity, or a hidden scheme?

In an instant, Yu Tunzhou realized that there might be some kind of secret relationship between Lu Daolin and Haotian.

Even if Lu Daolin is not Haotian's True Spirit.

"I understand." Yu Tunzhou suppressed his doubts and nodded, "As long as you don't leave the cave, you won't see him."

Having been imprisoned in Luofu Grotto-Heaven for a thousand years, Lu Daolin probably wouldn't have the inclination to revisit this place, would he?

"You should rest for a bit," Yu Tunzhou suddenly said. "I have some things to take care of. I'll come find you again when I'm done."

He initially felt he had vaguely grasped something, but within his Dantian, the "Tribulation Fruit" condensing at the tip of the Dao Sprout Immortal Embryo—

It landed at this moment!