49: Taking the initiative and testing its strength for the first time.

The chaos bell survived the artifact tribulation, its brilliance restrained, as it hovered in Lin Fan’s palm, emitting an ancient and vast aura that made one’s heart palpitate. Lin Fan was connected to it in mind and spirit, and he could clearly feel the majestic power contained within the bell, as well as its natural sense of dominion and restraint over all laws. His own aura also became more harmonious and profound due to the feedback from his lifebound divine weapon, firmly established in the Late-stage World Lord, and even touching the threshold of the Peak.

Mo Yuan, Su Zhiqing, and the others flew closer, looking at that simple and mysterious chaos bell, their eyes flashing with amazement and gravity. They could feel that the potential and power of this bell far exceeded that of ordinary Realm Lord divine weapons.

“Congratulations to the Alliance Leader on the Major Achievement of your divine weapon!” Primordial Void Dragon praised from the heart. As a Primordial Void Dragon, her perception of treasures was the most acute.

“With the help of this divine weapon, our confidence in fighting Annihilation has increased by another notch,” Mo Yuan said in a deep voice, his Battle Intent faintly appearing.

Su Zhiqing nodded slightly, her cold gaze lingering on the chaos bell for a moment.

Lin Fan put away the chaos bell and scanned the crowd. After this period of rest and comprehension of the Compendium of Void Artifact Refining, the strength of the Alliance members had all improved. Although they hadn’t achieved a Breakthrough in their major Realm, their use of power was more exquisite, and their auras were more condensed.

“The divine weapon is complete, and our strength has also recovered and improved,” Lin Fan began, his voice steady and powerful. “Passive defense is not a long-term solution. Although the Lord of Annihilation is wounded and lying low, his lackeys are still there, and it’s more likely he is brewing a larger conspiracy. We should take the initiative to strike, clear the battlefield, pull out his strongholds, gather intelligence, and find a way to completely resolve the hidden danger.”

“Exactly so!” Zi Linger was the first to respond; she had been holding back her energy for a long time.

“The Alliance Leader just needs to give the order,” the Giant Clan Warrior said in a muffled voice.

Everyone expressed their positions one after another, their morale high.

“Good.” Lin Fan nodded, his Divine Sense spreading out, and combining the information previously explored with the chaos bell’s acute perception of energy fluctuations, he quickly locked onto a direction. “Three thousand li to the northeast, there is an energy node that is exceptionally active, with a dense dark aura, suspected to be an important stronghold of the Shadow Hall. That will be our first target!”

Without hesitation, the Alliance members turned into streaks of light, tearing through the dull sky of the Myriad Worlds Battlefield and heading straight for the target.

The distance of three thousand li was reached in an instant. Below was a huge black swamp that looked as if it had been gnawed by a giant beast. Turbid bubbles constantly rose from the mire, emitting corrosive toxic gas and dense dark energy. In the center of the swamp stood a fortress constructed of pitch-black bones and twisted metal, with a thick, constantly writhing darkness canopy shrouding the top of the fortress, isolating the inside from the outside.

Around the fortress, there were patrol teams of Black-robed figures, and even several Realm Lord level dark auras hidden within, heavily guarded.

“It really is a nest,” Lin Fan’s eyes were cold. “Do it! Resolve this quickly, try to capture the leader alive, and obtain intelligence!”

Before his voice had even faded, Mo Yuan and Su Zhiqing had already shot out like arrows from a string, taking the lead!

“Demonic Blade Rending the Sky!”

“Glazed Sword Rain!”

A pitch-black blade light that tore through the sky and a sky-covering Glazed Sword Qi struck the darkness canopy of the fortress like a storm! The canopy shook violently, with countless ripples appearing, yet it did not break immediately.

“Enemy attack! Activate the defensive formation!” A sharp alarm sounded from within the fortress. More Black-robed figures swarmed out of the fortress, forming a strange formation, injecting dense dark energy into the canopy to quickly stabilize it. At the same time, three Soul-Eroding Demons with ferocious forms and emitting Realm Lord Early Stage auras rose from the swamp mire, letting out silent shrieks as they pounced straight at Mo Yuan and Su Zhiqing!

“Hmph, mere child's play!” Mo Yuan snorted coldly, his Demonic Blade Domain expanding as he slammed into one Soul-Eroding Demon, the blade light and demonic shadows instantly submerging that area. Su Zhiqing’s Sword Qi crisscrossed, turning into a glazed river that encircled the other two Soul-Eroding Demons within her sword domain, her sharp Sword Intent constantly cutting and wearing down their dark bodies.

Buddha's Son, Elf, Giant Clan Warrior, Zi Linger, Ethereal Moon, and Primordial Void Dragon also acted at the same time, each using their own methods to attack the fortress’s defensive formation and the emerging Black-robed figures. For a time, energy exploded over the black swamp, light flashed, and the battle instantly reached a fever pitch.

Lin Fan did not join the battle immediately; he hovered in the air, calmly observing the situation. The fortress’s defensive formation was quite strange, seemingly able to absorb attack energy to feed back into itself, and there was a subtle spatial fluctuation at the core, as if it were preparing something.

With a thought, the chaos bell emerged in his palm.

“Just right, I’ll use you to test the chaos bell’s edge.”

He did not push it to its full power, only injecting a trace of Chaos Domain power into the bell, then flicked it with his finger.

“Dong!” A clear and melodious ring of the bell sounded. It was not grand, but it seemed to contain a peculiar rhythm, ignoring the obstruction of space and directly penetrating that layer of darkness canopy, echoing deep within the Sea of Consciousness of every Black-robed figure and dark creature!

When the bell sound reached their ears, the Black-robed figures who were maintaining the formation and casting Spells all stiffened in their movements! They felt as if their Divine Soul had been thrown into a Chaos vortex, their thoughts became sluggish, and the condensed dark energy also experienced a moment of disorder! The three Soul-Eroding Demons fighting Mo Yuan and Su Zhiqing let out cries of pain, their dark Qi fluctuating violently, and their strength dropped by thirty percent!

The chaos bell’s power was Soul-Suppressing and Thought-Cleansing! Although it wasn't a direct attack, it could interfere with the Divine Soul and disrupt energy flow! As one side ebbed and the other flowed, the pressure on the Alliance members was greatly reduced, and their offensive became even more fierce. Mo Yuan seized the opportunity, his demonic blade erupting with sky-high black flames, splitting the affected Soul-Eroding Demon in half with one strike! Su Zhiqing’s sword light divided into thousands, like a galaxy pouring backward, completely shredding the other two Soul-Eroding Demons!

The light of the fortress’s defensive formation also dimmed sharply due to the internal energy disorder.

“Now is the time!” Lin Fan’s eyes narrowed as he finally got serious. He raised his hand and threw out the chaos bell.

The chaos bell expanded in the wind, instantly turning into a hundred-zhang giant bell, its mouth facing downward, aimed at that black fortress!

“chaos bell, collect!” Lin Fan shouted, fully activating the chaos bell’s abilities of All Laws Returning to Origin and Chaos Domain Suppression!

“Buzz!” An indescribable and terrifying suction erupted from the bell's mouth! The darkness canopy above the fortress was easily torn and swallowed like a fragile black cloth! The buildings of the fortress below, those Black-robed figures in formation, and even the dark energy and toxic gas permeating the swamp were all pulled toward that giant bell mouth like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, unable to help themselves!

“No!”

“What kind of Magic Treasure is this?!”

“Quickly activate the spatial transport! Ah!”

The Black-robed figures let out desperate screams. Their Protective Demonic Aura and darkness Spells were useless against the suction of the chaos bell. Along with the fortress beneath them, they were forcibly pulled up, shrunk, and finally all vanished into the bottomless mouth of the bell!

In just a few breaths, the entire black fortress, along with nearly a hundred Black-robed figures and various defensive facilities, was swallowed whole by the chaos bell! Only a huge pit and churning mire remained where it had been!

The bell rang again, and the chaos bell quickly shrank, flying back to Lin Fan’s palm. The body of the bell vibrated slightly, and inside it, a miniature Chaos vortex seemed to be operating, rapidly decomposing, refining, and purifying all the swallowed darkness energy, matter, and even the Origin of those Black-robed figures, converting them into the purest Chaos Qi to nourish Lin Fan himself and the chaos bell itself!

One move! With just one move, an important stronghold of the Shadow Hall was obliterated with overwhelming force!

The scene was silent. Even Mo Yuan and Su Zhiqing stopped their actions, looking at the small bell in Lin Fan’s palm, their eyes filled with shock. They asked themselves if they could also destroy this stronghold, but it would never be so easy, so thorough! It was as if that wasn't a fortress, but a pile of trash that could be collected and cleaned up at will!

The power of the chaos bell far exceeded their imagination! Lin Fan felt the slight increase of Chaos Qi within his body, as well as the bit of spatial comprehension fed back by the chaos bell, and he was quite satisfied. The chaos bell was not only a combination of offense and defense, but it could also devour all things to nourish itself; it was truly a growth-type divine Sharp Weapon!

He looked down at the empty swamp and said in a deep voice, “The stronghold has been pulled out, but unfortunately, we failed to leave any survivors.” That spatial transport seemed to have activated at the moment he swallowed it, but it was forcibly interfered with by the chaos bell and didn't fully succeed, so it was unclear what had been sent away.

“No matter, such strongholds are definitely not the only ones,” Mo Yuan withdrew his gaze, his tone returning to coldness. “We just need to continue clearing them out, we’ll eventually find someone who knows more.”

After this battle, the morale of the Alliance was greatly boosted, and they were even more convinced of Lin Fan’s strength and leadership.

Lin Fan put away the chaos bell and looked toward the boundless darkness deeper in the Myriad Worlds Battlefield, his eyes sharp.

The first step of taking the initiative has already been taken. Next, we will spread the flames of war to every corner where the Annihilation forces are entrenched! Until we find the final root and bring it to an end!

“Let’s go, to the next place!” The Alliance turned into streaks of light and set off again, like a sharp sword piercing the darkness, firmly heading toward the next target. The landscape of the Myriad Worlds Battlefield was quietly changing due to the initiative taken by this newborn force.