Chapter 708: The Sound of a Bell
Zhang Ruochen’s palm strikes continuously shot out, repelling the charging fierce ghosts one by one.
Two completely opposing forces—yin-sha energy and yang-gang energy—clashed repeatedly within the tomb forest, producing rumbling booms.
The number of fierce ghosts was initially estimated at over three hundred, each one stronger than a cultivator at the seventh transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm. If so many fierce ghosts gathered together and launched a simultaneous attack, even a weaker Half-Saint would likely fall.
However, these fierce ghosts had extremely low intelligence. They neither used combined attack formations nor coordinated their strikes. Their fighting style was utterly chaotic. It was precisely because of this that Zhang Ruochen found an opportunity to break through their encirclement.
For about a quarter of an hour, Zhang Ruochen fought his way forward, blasting through the fierce ghosts and charging deeper into the tomb forest.
After advancing roughly two thousand meters, he finally reached the edge of the fierce ghost group.
“Ding-dang!”
A yin wind blew, and the sound of a bell rang out.
At first, the bell sound was quite pleasant to the ear, but it quickly grew more urgent, becoming extremely harsh and increasingly loud, spreading across dozens of miles.
Hearing the bell sound, even Zhang Ruochen felt a sharp pain in his head, and his vision momentarily darkened.
“That bell sound comes from a ghost artifact, capable of attacking a cultivator’s martial soul,” Shengshu Cainü reminded him.
Shengshu Cainü’s soul had long been refined by spiritual power, transforming into a sacred soul, so she was naturally unaffected by the bell sound.
Fortunately, Zhang Ruochen’s martial soul was also not weak. If it had been any other cultivator at the ninth transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm, their martial soul would have already flown out of their body at the sound of the bell, turning them into a living corpse.
Zhang Ruochen mobilized the sacred dragon energy and Buddhist energy within the Dragon Pearl, channeling it toward the Qi Sea in his brow. He protected his martial soul within the Buddha light, temporarily blocking the bell sound.
Shengshu Cainü’s right pinky finger wore a green ring that emitted a faint glow.
“Eh!”
When she saw the green ring’s light flickering, her expression turned serious. “The Evil-Repelling Ring is giving a warning, which means there should be a very powerful fierce ghost nearby—possibly even a Wuchang.”
Even Xiao Hei, who was usually fearless, showed fear. “Some powerful fierce ghosts are as strong as a first-rank Half-Saint, beyond our ability to handle. If we encounter a Wuchang, we might all end up dead here.”
Zhang Ruochen thought back carefully. The fierce ghosts in the tombs had likely awakened by absorbing the power of lightning.
Therefore, even though he possessed the chess piece containing immense spiritual power, he dared not use it lightly, as it might attract even more fierce ghosts.
“Xiao Hei, take the Saintess and leave first.”
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze swept the surroundings, searching for the source of the bell sound.
Shengshu Cainü was slightly taken aback. “Aren’t you coming with us?”
“I’ll hold the rear,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Xiao Hei knew well that Zhang Ruochen had some trump cards he couldn’t use in front of Shengshu Cainü, so he urged immediately, “Women are always so troublesome, dawdling endlessly. Hurry up and come with me, Your Majesty. Staying here will only make you a burden to him.”
Shengshu Cainü shot a glare at Xiao Hei, but she knew the fat cat was right. In her current state, staying would only be a hindrance.
After a moment’s thought, she took the Evil-Repelling Ring off her finger and handed it to Zhang Ruochen. “This ring should be of some use to you.”
With that, Shengshu Cainü and Xiao Hei charged forward, disappearing into the depths of the tomb forest.
Zhang Ruochen held the Evil-Repelling Ring in his hand and could smell a faint lingering fragrance on it.
When he put the ring on his finger, an invisible barrier formed around his body, blocking the eerie bell sound.
“Shengshu Cainü has quite a few protective treasures on her. If it weren’t for the Death Evil Qi, even a Saint would have failed to ambush her, let alone Qi Hong.”
Death Evil Qi was extremely special—no protective treasure could block it. Even the Black Tortoise, recognized as the best in defense, couldn’t withstand it, as seen with the Azure Fire Black Tortoise that was suppressed to death by it.
“Ding-ding!”
As the bell sound grew louder, after three breaths, Zhang Ruochen finally saw its source.
In the distance, a massive three-headed dog, seven meters tall, emerged from the group of fierce ghosts.
Around its neck hung a fist-sized purple-black bell.
The bell’s surface bore a skull imprint, and as the light flickered, strange patterns emerged.
“So it’s a different kind of fierce ghost.”
Zhang Ruochen could tell that the three-headed dog was a fusion of three very powerful fierce ghosts, emitting a terrifying yin energy that sent chills down one’s spine.
“Roar!”
The three-headed dog’s body was entirely shrouded in a cloud of yin energy as it charged rapidly toward Zhang Ruochen.
The powerful yin energy it released sent the other fierce ghosts flying to the sides, and its momentum was utterly terrifying.
“Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm, Seventh Palm: Dragon-Elephant Divine Furnace.”
Zhang Ruochen sank his legs, standing firm like a divine elephant on the earth, and raised both arms simultaneously, mobilizing the sacred energy and yang-gang energy within him.
“Sizzle!”
His body instantly turned crimson, like a human-shaped iron block glowing red-hot.
He pushed both palms forward, colliding with the three-headed dog.
With a thunderous boom, Zhang Ruochen was sent flying backward, landing thirty zhang away. He left seventeen deep footprints in the ground before finally stabilizing himself.
Part of the three-headed dog’s yin-sha energy was melted away by the palm force, producing a “sizzling” sound. It was also pushed back three steps by the impact.
The three-headed dog’s strength was formidable. A first-rank Half-Saint, without using martial techniques or sacred artifacts, would likely be on par with it.
Although Zhang Ruochen was at a disadvantage, the fact that he could push it back boosted his confidence.
“With my current cultivation at the sixth transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm, plus the Meteor Invisibility Cloak, if I use all my trump cards, I might not be much weaker than this three-headed dog.”
Zhang Ruochen smiled faintly, took out the Void Sword, and held it horizontally. “Come on! Let me see just how strong you really are.”
Seeing the Void Sword, all three heads of the three-headed dog showed fear, and it slowly retreated.
Zhang Ruochen frowned, surprised that the three-headed dog was so cowardly. He decided to pursue it.
“Sword One.”
Zhang Ruochen activated the speed of the Meteor Invisibility Cloak, turning into a streak of light. He charged under the three-headed dog and swung his sword at its neck.
“Whoosh!”
The middle head of the three-headed dog was severed by the Void Sword. Before it hit the ground, it turned into a mass of black ghostly energy.
Instead of counterattacking, the three-headed dog fled even faster, quickly disappearing into the group of fierce ghosts.
The other fierce ghosts, seeing Zhang Ruochen holding the Void Sword, also retreated, letting out wailing sounds like ghosts and wolves.
“They’re afraid of the Void Sword.”
Realizing the reason, Zhang Ruochen raised the Void Sword and examined it closely. He noticed the light on the blade flickering faster.
Could it be that the undead in this tomb forest were somehow connected to Qiangu Nüdi?
The previous battles had consumed most of Zhang Ruochen’s true qi and sacred energy. Moreover, there was no heaven-earth spiritual energy in this medieval ruin to replenish his consumption.
At that moment, a wave of weakness spread through his entire body.
Zhang Ruochen didn’t continue the pursuit. Since the Void Sword had intimidated them, he decided to withdraw.
Just then, he spotted a purple-black bell on the ground—the one that had been hanging around the three-headed dog’s neck. When Zhang Ruochen severed the dog’s neck earlier, the bell had fallen off.
Zhang Ruochen picked up the bell and held it in his hand.
“Boom!”
A surge of icy sha energy drilled into his body, and countless ghostly wails filled his mind, making him feel dizzy and suffocated.
Suddenly, the Evil-Repelling Ring emitted a green light that surged outward, dispelling the sha energy.
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes gradually cleared, and he immediately mobilized the Buddhist energy from the Dragon Pearl to envelop the bell. The sha energy on the bell, upon encountering the Buddhist energy, dissipated like fire meeting water.
“It’s indeed a sinister ghost artifact. What material was it refined from? Was it made by humans or by ghosts?”
Zhang Ruochen didn’t know much about ghosts and monsters, but Shengshu Cainü and Xiao Hei seemed to know a lot. He decided to take it back for them to examine, hoping to find answers.
After storing the bell, Zhang Ruochen took out two spirit crystals and held them in his hands. He absorbed the spiritual energy from the crystals to replenish his consumed true qi while using his movement technique to quickly catch up with the others deeper in the tomb forest.
Soon, three figures entered the medieval ruin and arrived at the edge of the tomb forest.
They were three ancestors of the Qi Clan: Qi Qiankun, Qi Dao, and Qi Yun.
Among them, Qi Qiankun had already achieved sainthood and was the Court Master of the Demon Suppression Court, one of the seventy-two courts of the Liangyi Sect. Qi Dao and Qi Yun were also Half-Saint ancestors of the Liangyi Sect, holding high positions with extraordinary strength.
Qi Yun appeared relatively young, around forty years old. He was the first to charge into the tomb forest and found Qi Hong’s corpse at the edge.
“Qi Hong is already dead.”
Qi Dao’s expression changed slightly. “When he transmitted the news to the Liangyi Sect with his sacred thought, didn’t he claim he had severely wounded Shengshu Cainü? How did he end up dead?”
Qi Qiankun had hair that was half white and half black. He leaned on a wooden staff and spoke in a hoarse voice, coldly, “Qi Hong was reckless, daring to attack Shengshu Cainü alone. The gap between a Saint and a Half-Saint is beyond his imagination.”
“Even if Shengshu Cainü was caught off guard and severely injured by his ambush, killing him would only take a flick of her finger.”