185: Chapter 185 Refining the Dao Inquiry Bell, I Understand

[The news of the wendao bell opening was heard by Chu Sheng while he was having lunch in the Outer Sect mess hall.]

[Several Outer Sect Disciples simply bowed to Chu Sheng, then chattered excitedly.]

[They said that the bell only rings once every ten years and can test one's good and evil roots.]

[The good would experience an Epiphany, and their Comprehension Ability would greatly increase.]

[The evil would suffer splitting headaches and their cultivation would reverse.]

[Chu Sheng, holding a piece of Spirit Beast meat, perked up his ears like an antenna.]

“There’s such a good thing?” he muttered to himself.

[The Old Grandfather's voice drifted out from the ring, “Brat, you're not trying to stir up trouble again, are you? That bell can distinguish good from evil, and your Heavenly Demon Body...”]

[Chu Sheng stuffed the meat into his mouth, “I know. But I feel that binding the Wendao Palace has a lot to do with this bell.”]

[The Old Grandfather was silent for a moment, then sighed.]

[On the day the wendao bell opened, Disciples from the thirty-six peaks gathered at the Wendao Peak plaza.]

[The plaza was incredibly vast, capable of holding tens of thousands of people.]

[Chu Sheng mingled with the Outer Sect Elder team, shrinking into the last row, trying to make himself inconspicuous.]

[Du Yu didn't come.]

[Chu Sheng scanned the area, but didn't see that big fellow.]

[Zhou Yuan, next to him, whispered that Du Yu had reported sick.]

[Chu Sheng's lips curled slightly.]

[Sick leave? A Cultivator at the Sea Opening stage reporting sick? This illness must be quite severe.]

[He made a mental note of it, but didn't make a fuss.]

[The Peak Masters of various peaks arrived one after another.]

[None of the Peak Masters from the top ten peaks came, sending Disciples to act on their behalf.]

[Ye Gucheng of the Ninth Peak didn't show up; standing at the very front of the team was a cold-faced young man, a Peak Spirit Sea Realm Cultivator, with a long sword hanging from his waist, looking straight ahead.]

[Feng Qingyang, the Thirteenth Peak Master, came personally.]

[This was Chu Sheng's first time seeing this legendary Body Refining grandmaster.]

[He was burly, with a broad back and powerful shoulders, his grizzled short hair standing on end, looking like a mountain when he stood there.]

[The wendao bell hung on a high platform in the center of the plaza.]

[It was bronze-colored and about a zhang high.]

[But Chu Sheng knew it wasn't a broken bell.]

[The four swords of zhuxian in his body vibrated gently, not out of fear, but excitement.]

[Presiding over the ceremony was the Law Enforcement Hall Elder of the Fifteenth Peak.]

[He recited a long opening speech, from the Ancestral Master who founded the sect to the current Sect Master, and from the origin of the wendao bell to its ringing once every ten years.]

[Chu Sheng's mind began to wander as he listened, thinking, can this bell be refined? What should I use to refine it? Is Duobao Heavenly Venerable enough?]

[The bell rang.]

[The first sound, vast as a tide, swept down from the high platform.]

[Chu Sheng felt his Divine Soul being gently plucked by an invisible hand.]

[There was a certain power in the bell sound, probing his roots, discerning his good and evil, and sorting out his Qi.]

[In the plaza, most Disciples closed their eyes, their faces showing an intoxicated expression.]

[Yue Jianli stood in the Inner Sect Disciple team, looking slightly up, with a faint smile on her lips.]

[Seeing that she was fine, Chu Sheng felt a little more at ease.]

[The bell continued to ring. The second sound, the third sound, the fourth sound...]

[Someone started to act strangely.]

[An Inner Sect Disciple suddenly squatted down, clutching his head, his face pale, cold sweat pouring down. His cultivation was falling, from Spirit Lake to Spirit Spring, from Spirit Spring to True Transformation Realm. The Law Enforcement Hall Disciples immediately came and dragged him away.]

[That Disciple wailed, “I’ve been wronged, I didn’t mean to.”]

[But no one paid him any mind.]

[Several more fell.]

[Some fell from Spirit Spring to True Transformation Realm, some from True Transformation Realm to True Firmament.]

[Chu Sheng watched, thinking how ruthless this bell was, not only reducing cultivation but also publicly executing them.]

[Those who were dragged away would never be able to hold their heads high in the Wendao Palace again.]

[The four swords of zhuxian in Chu Sheng's body began to operate on their own the moment the bell rang.]

[Sword Qi overflowed from his Dantian, spreading along his Meridians throughout his body, firmly suppressing the Devilish Qi of the Heavenly Demon Body and tightly wrapping the Qi of the Taixu True Scripture.]

[But his mind wasn't on concealment.]

[He was thinking about something else — refining.]

[He activated Duobao Heavenly Venerable's passive effect to its extreme amidst the bell's chime.]

[His Divine Sense, like an invisible thread, extended from his glabella, slowly inch by inch towards the wendao bell on the high platform.]

[The moment the thread touched the bell's body, Chu Sheng felt as if his Divine Soul was being stared at by an ancient giant beast.]

[The wendao bell's spirit awoke.]

[Not an awakening, but an alert.]

[Chu Sheng felt as if his Divine Soul was being crushed by a mountain.]

[His face instantly turned pale, and his lips trembled.]

[Just as he was about to collapse, the four swords of zhuxian in his Dantian stirred.]

[The four swords vibrated simultaneously, and Sword Qi surged out like a tide.]

[Two Magical Artifacts engaged in a silent contest inside and outside his body.]

[The wendao bell's pressure was like a mountain, and the four swords of zhuxian's Sword Qi was like a sea; the mountain and sea collided within his body.]

[The wendao bell's spirit, sensing the aura of the four swords of zhuxian, recoiled for an instant.]

[It was this instant that the power of Duobao Heavenly Venerable seized the opportunity, spreading through the Restriction on the bell's body like a drop of ink in clear water.]

[Chu Sheng felt a faint connection, very weak, but definitely present, between himself and that bell.]

[Half a percent, he had refined half a percent.]

[This was the only time he hadn't refined something instantly.]

[In the plaza, the bell stopped for an instant.]

[But Feng Qingyang frowned, his gaze sweeping from the wendao bell on the high platform to the tens of thousands of Disciples in the plaza.]

[The bell resumed, as vast as before, as if nothing had happened.]

[Feng Qingyang's gaze lingered on the Outer Sect team for a moment.]

[Chu Sheng lowered his head, clasped his hands, closed his eyes, his face showing an expression of profound enlightenment.]

[As if enlightened by the bell, as if he had comprehended some profound truth, his whole being exuded an aura of “I’ve had an Epiphany, don’t disturb me.”]

[Feng Qingyang's gaze moved away.]

[Chu Sheng let out a long sigh in his heart, the cold sweat on his back having already soaked a patch of his Daoist robe.]

[He had refined half a percent of the wendao bell.]

[An Outer Sect Elder at the early Sea Opening stage, refining half ownership of a Divine Ability Magical Artifact.]

[No one would believe it if this matter were spoken of, but it indeed happened.]

[Chu Sheng secretly chuckled to himself.]

[The bell continued to ring nine more times, making a total of ten times with the previous one.]

[After ten rings, the bell stopped.]

[The plaza was silent for a few breaths, then erupted into a buzzing discussion.]

[Some were happy, some were sad; some had their cultivation greatly increased, others greatly decreased; some were dragged away, some were carried away.]

[Half a percent of refinement was not enough for him to control this Magical Artifact, but it was enough for him to sense its existence, its emotions, and what it wanted to say but didn't.]

[What was it waiting for?]

[Chu Sheng didn't know what it was waiting for, but he knew that this bell would become one of his greatest trump cards in the future.]

[Yue Jianli squeezed out from the Inner Sect team, walked to his side, and quietly asked, “Are you alright?”]

[Chu Sheng said he was fine, just a little dizzy.]

[Yue Jianli looked at him, a hint of suspicion in her clear, cold eyes, but she didn't press further.]

[She nodded and told him to rest well.]

[Chu Sheng looked at her retreating figure, suddenly feeling a little guilty.]

[He touched the black iron token in his Storage Pouch, feeling the faint, ethereal connection within him, and his lips curved slightly.]

“I think I know where the Spiritual Vein is.”

[He quickened his pace, walking towards the Outer Sect.]