Chapter 678 - 460: Adding the Complete Golden Bell Shield
Wei Fan was silent; the foundation of the Martial Emperor Clan was indeed terrifying, with various methods, legacies, and bloodlines left by the Martial Emperor. After tens of thousands of years of development, they are simply unfathomable.
As he faced the Martial Emperor Clan now, he might not be as insignificant as an ant, but his power of resistance was scarcely any better.
"I’m not here to persuade you about anything. We martial artists fight the heavens and battle the earth, fearless of life or death. Just a reminder for you to be more cautious; you have the talent to become an emperor, so some things you should be more tolerant of.
In a place like the Holy City, while the Martial Emperor Clan members aren’t as populous as dogs, they’re not exactly rare either; occasional tolerance isn’t anything to be ashamed of."
He knew Wei Fan’s temperament all too well. Reckless as he was, in a place like the Holy City, such a character would surely suffer loss sooner or later.
With Wei Fan’s talent, within a few years he could dominate the world. Tolerating for a few years isn’t disgraceful, and when grown, avenging is always possible. Remember, even Xuanyuan Peak was compelled to hide for several years once.
The two continued on their journey and soon arrived beneath the Divine City. Wei Fan looked up, seeing a massive plaque with the characters "Cyan Wood" written upon it.
Cyan Wood City!
"This Cyan Wood City isn’t simply a city; it should also be a powerful weapon or war fortress."
Suspended in the sky, the Divine City had Dao Yun flowing and Dao Marks densely packed, emitting indescribable mighty power. There were knife prints and sword marks, showing that even a Divine City inhabited by Cyan Emperor’s descendants had been attacked.
Beneath one side of the Divine City was the place where Cyan Emperor’s descendants had set up a Transmission Domain Gate across many domains. Wei Fan and Li Jianchen approached and saw a vast Transmission Domain Gate erected in a sprawling valley.
Compared to the bustling plaza of Qingzhou City’s Transmission Domain Gate, there were few people here, with only a few guards from the Mu Family, and no outsiders present.
Next to the massive Transmission Domain Gate sat a cottage with an elder inside, eyes closed. Wei Fan glanced casually, feeling the frightening aura from him.
"As expected of the Martial Emperor Family, even just guarding this Transmission Domain Gate, they deployed a Saint Realm powerhouse."
The two approached, handed over the Spirit Crystal needed for passage through the Transmission Domain Gate, and received a Communication Jade Token.
"When the number of people is sufficient, you will be notified," said a member of the Mu Family.
The Communication Jade Token was both a voucher and a notification tool. Wei Fan inquired about how many days it might take for the numbers to be enough; the Mu Family member couldn’t give an exact time, stating it could be ready by tomorrow or maybe five or six days later.
The two turned to leave, their figures quickly disappearing from view.
"Did I sense incorrectly?"
Suddenly, the elder sitting in the cottage opened his eyes, staring in confusion at the vanishing silhouette of Wei Fan, sensing a familiar aura, yet the young man clearly wasn’t from the Mu Family.
"Come here!"
He called to a young member of the Mu Family nearby. A young man ran over: "What are your orders, Ancestor?"
"Do you know the origins of those two just now?"
The young man hesitated, saying, "The one with white hair should be the Sword Saint Li Jianchen from the Holy City. As for the other, if I’m not mistaken, it should be the recently rising Wei Fan."
Li Jianchen’s white hair was too distinctive, coupled with the intelligence network of the Martial Emperor Family knowing Wei Fan and Li Jianchen had made a big scene in Jiangzhou a few days ago, killing two Dharma Martial Saints from the Xuan Guang Sect. Even without having met Wei Fan and Li Jianchen, he could guess their identities.
The Martial Emperor Clan does not only pay attention to their own domain; all major territories are collecting intelligence.
"He is Wei Fan?" The elder’s eyes gleamed sharply.
When the news of a nineteen-year-old Saint Realm spread, it shocked countless people. Unless the Martial Emperor Family poured all resources into nurturing someone, achieving a nineteen-year-old Saint Realm would be difficult; moreover, Wei Fan emerged from the Land of Dao Collapse, with hardly any background.
"You may leave!"
The old man waved dismissively, lost in thought: "I remember when Xuanyuan Peak retreated to the Wilderness for a while..."
...
Leaving Cyan Wood City, Wei Fan and Li Jianchen soon arrived beneath Qingzhou City.
This was the largest city he had ever seen, with no end in sight, towering walls like a colossal dragon lying across the land, emitting unimaginable pressure.
"No wonder a place that birthed a Martial Emperor!"
Wei Fan marveled that there were no ordinary people here, not even the weakest were below Martial Venerable Cultivation, mainstream being Martial King experts, Saint Realm powerhouses not uncommon.
He and Li Jianchen stood aside for a while, and already three or four Saint Realm powerhouses had passed by.
"No wonder there aren’t any martial artists below Martial Venerable here!"
The two stepped into the city, Wei Fan finally understanding why there were no ordinary people here. The city gates emitted pressure, martial artists below Martial Venerable couldn’t enter, and would be pushed out by immense pressure.
Which meant this immense Qingzhou City was entirely composed of martial artists above Martial Venerable level.
This was an unimaginable figure, thereby glimpsing a corner of the Human Race’s strength. Yet even with such strong Human Race, they haven’t been able to completely eliminate the Demon Fiends after so many years of fighting.
And this was just one place in the Eastern Domain where martial emperor powerhouses were born, such places across the Human Race’s Five Great Domains were countless.
"One can seek Enlightenment Dao here but is prohibited from cultivation!"
Li Jianchen told Wei Fan the rules of Qingzhou City. In such a place full of powerhouses, unrestricted cultivation and absorption of Essence Qi would affect others and the environment of Qingzhou City.
Therefore, in such places, generally, cultivation is not allowed. Some inns provide places for cultivation, but they are completely isolated from the outside world and can only use their own spirit crystals for cultivation.
"Fighting is even more prohibited. If you want to spar, head to the Void World or the dueling platforms set up in the city."
These are the only two rules; everything else is up to one’s discretion.
Li Jianchen had clearly been here before and took him to many places. Some places were said to have even been visited by the Cyan Emperor, but Wei Fan could see that these places had all already decayed and were repaired by later generations.
Qingzhou City is vast, and without the ability to fly, it would take several days to traverse the entire place. When night fell, the two found an inn and checked in.
Entering his room, Wei Fan took out the Golden Bell Shield he had obtained from Jiang Yujie and began to examine it.
The contents of the secret manual could generally be divided into two parts: the first part was exactly the same as the Golden Bell Shield he had been cultivating, not differing in the slightest. The second part, however, was somewhat baffling, seemingly unrelated to the preceding material, consisting of a formula he couldn’t understand and a visualization image.
The visualization image depicted a gigantic Golden Bell, exactly like the initial Golden Bell Shield he had cultivated. Perhaps due to the passage of time, this image no longer held any spiritual realm; it was merely a pure illustration, devoid of any profound mysteries.
As for that formula, reading through it yielded no insights.
"Interface!"
The wonders of the interface needn’t be elaborated; when I first acquired the Nine-Nine True Skill, everyone in the world called it Thunder Mountain Celestial Skill, but the interface directly labeled it as Nine-Nine True Skill. Whether this formula was useful or not would be apparent from whether the interface recorded it.
Wei Fan looked up at the interface, and indeed, there was a notification.
[Bell Attraction (Uninitiated)]
...
[Ordinary Power: 5,760,000 years]
[Martial Saint’s Power: 3,000 years]
"Bell Attraction?"
Wei Fan whispered, finding the name a bit odd, as it didn’t resemble a Heart Method but rather seemed like some kind of exotic secret technique.
Of course, the interface recording it meant that it was not a useless formula, but one that, through the myriad ages, had nearly been lost; even the Jiang Family, which had recorded the complete Golden Bell Shield, didn’t know its purpose.
"Add Bell Attraction!"
Eagerly, he began to add it; the Golden Bell Shield he had cultivated thus far was his greatest assurance, and seeing the heritage of these Martial Emperor families filled him with apprehension, only hoping that the Ten Thousand Spirits Bell could transform once more.
But with the Ten Thousand Spirits Bell reaching Perfection, wanting it to transform again would require millions of years of power. If this formula was useful and could save some power, he would have more resources to do other things.
[One year of power, after enduring countless hardships, you have found the subsequent cultivation method for the Golden Bell Shield and eagerly began to comprehend it...]
Within Wei Fan’s heart spirit, the formula reverberated, recited by his Primordial Spirit, yet eliciting no reaction.
But this did not surprise him.
Originally, it was because this formula was considered useless that no one cultivated it, nearly leading to the subsequent method being lost. If he could cultivate and comprehend it to avail, the formula wouldn’t need him to spend so much effort finding it.
Meanwhile, he focused part of his attention on the Ten Thousand Spirits Bell, watching for any changes.
Similarly, the Ten Thousand Spirits Bell remained unchanged, as if this formula was unrelated to it; the Tiger Soul, Dragon Soul, and Three-legged Golden Crow on the bell’s surface went about their business as usual.
[Ten thousand years of power, your cultivation of Bell Attraction made no progress]
...
As time passed, ten thousand years of power rapidly went by, yet Wei Fan still hadn’t comprehended anything nor did the Ten Thousand Spirits Bell show any changes.
Twenty thousand years!
Thirty thousand years!
Fifty thousand years!
...
Wei Fan finally felt a bit unsettled. With his comprehension reaching the Fourth Transformation of the Divine Silkworm Nine Transformations, even a Martial Emperor Technique would allow for entry and insights with fifty thousand years of power expended.
It couldn’t be a problem of comprehension or other aspects, but instead, perhaps the material beyond the Golden Bell Shield truly served no purpose, rather than it being a shortfall of his comprehension or other factors.
If this was more profound than a Martial Emperor Technique, it wouldn’t be so widely spread. There must be an unknown reason rendering the so-called "Bell Attraction" useless.
He glanced at the six million years of power recorded on the interface, planning to wait a while longer. If there were still no insights, he would temporarily abandon it and inquire about the Golden Bell Shield in the Holy City afterward.
Those families that have existed for tens or even millions of years might know something about the Golden Bell Shield.
[Ten thousand years of power, Bell Attraction Entry Level]
Suddenly, the interface flickered slightly, displaying a different notification.