# 1630
Chapter 1630: The First Covenant
At the same time,
Thousands of miles away from the exploration vessel.
DONG——DONG——DONG！！！
The resonant bell tolls echoed through heaven and earth. A red-haired girl in a white velvet coat suddenly stopped in her tracks.
Chloe turned to look in the direction where the bell sound came from. A powerful divine force erupted from within her body. She looked down at the back of her hand. A mark identical to the one on Lin Qiye's chest was frantically devouring her power, emanating a faint glow.
"When the Eastern Emperor Bell rings, the [Covenant] responds, causality reverses, and death finds life." Chloe murmured to herself,
"After two thousand one hundred and forty-one years, has the First [Covenant] finally been activated…"
This violent absorption lasted for dozens of seconds. When the final trace of light flickered, she groaned and sprayed a mouthful of blood, her face deathly pale.
The pillar of light surging toward the sky in the distance finally began to dissipate. Chloe wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, and a smile appeared on her face:
"We have fulfilled our first covenant. As for whether causality can be reversed… that depends on you… Lin Qiye."
……
Great Xia, National Destiny Island.
DONG——DONG——DONG！！
The distant bells resounded through heaven and earth. Figures scattered across the Island all stopped what they were doing,疑惑地 looking in the direction of the sound.
"Bell sound? What kind of bell is this?" Li Kengqiang stood atop a cliff, gazing out at the endless sea in the distance, murmuring in confusion.
Behind him, a woman in a lamb's wool hoodie slowly stepped out.
"This is… the Eastern Emperor Bell?" Wang Qing spoke with uncertainty.
"Eastern Emperor Bell? What is that?"
"It was a Supreme God artifact of Heavenly Court from ages past." Tang Yusheng stepped across the waves and flew to the two of them. "However, the Eastern Emperor Bell was lost over two thousand years ago… it shouldn't be in Heavenly Court now."
"A Supreme God artifact not in Heavenly Court? Then who is ringing it now?" Li Kengqiang's confusion deepened.
"…I don't know."
As successive commanders of the Night Watch, these individuals possessed immense intelligence networks. Yet even so, they couldn't guess the identity of this mysterious bell-ringer… From the sound, its true form must be within Great Xia. Besides Night Watch and Heavenly Court, who in Great Xia could secretly control the Eastern Emperor Bell and ring it?
Just as the commanders were lost in contemplation, deep beneath the Island, above the ever-flowing river of national destiny, a figure draped in tattered armor slowly raised its head.
"Marquis, the Eastern Emperor Bell has rung." Gongyang Wan stood by the river of national destiny, speaking softly.
"Mn, I heard it."
Huo Qubing on the river of national destiny had a trace of nostalgia flickering in his eyes.
He looked down. His scarred palm slowly opened, revealing a white chess piece resting quietly in his palm.
"He rang the Eastern Emperor Bell… which means the First [Covenant] has been activated."
"Indeed." Gongyang Wan gently removed her hairpin. Her black hair cascaded over her shoulders. She gazed at the jade-white chess piece in the center of the hairpin. Complex emotions swirled in her eyes,
"The ancient vow reappears in the world. After thousands of years of布局, this chess game between humans and gods… It's time for a glimmer of hope."
……
"Bell sound?"
In the mist, hundreds of miles from the strait, An Qingyu suddenly stopped in his tracks.
He turned to look in the direction of Great Xia, his brow slightly furrowing. "Where did that bell sound come from? How could it spread to every corner of the Earth? Could something have happened in Great Xia?"
An Qingyu contemplated for a long time without coming to any conclusions. After the three tolls faded, the world fell silent once more, as if the bell sound had merely been an illusion.
An Qingyu shook his head and continued walking toward the strait.
Just then, an inexplicable pain struck his chest. His entire body convulsed in violent coughing!
He clutched his chest with one hand, feeling something about to tear through his flesh. An intense pain flooded his mind!
An Qingyu's brow furrowed tightly. A scalpel slipped into his palm. He directly cut open the flesh of his chest and reached inside, seemingly searching for something.
A moment later, his hand slowly withdrew from his chest. The shattered flesh rapidly healed.
An Qingyu stared at that blood-soaked hand as it gradually opened. When he saw what lay in his palm, his confusion deepened.
It was a white chess piece stained red with blood.
This thing—was it inserted into his body by Chloe just now? Was this the so-called gift?
A glimmer of light flickered in An Qingyu's gray eyes as he began analyzing the composition of this chess piece. Though no larger than a thumbnail, the chess piece rapidly magnified in his pupil. Even the molecular textures on its surface grew increasingly distinct.
"This is…" An Qingyu's pupils slightly contracted.
Without hesitation, he crushed the chess piece into fine powder, scattering it across the sea.
He gazed at those fragments gradually disappearing on the sea's surface. His eyes narrowed slightly, lost in thought…
After a long while, he silently turned around and vanished into the reflections of the strait.
……
Great Xia, Heavenly Court.
"It's the Eastern Emperor Bell!" When Jiang Ziya heard the bell toll, a flash of terror appeared in his eyes. "The Eastern Emperor Bell has reappeared?"
"The source of the bell is within Great Xia… Then why haven't we detected it all these years?"
"Who is ringing it now?!"
Several Golden Immortals exchanged glances, then simultaneously soared into the sky, following the direction of the bell sound and racing away!
Though the Eastern Emperor Bell had only rung three times, to the Gods of Great Xia, even a single toll was enough to pinpoint its location. Several streams of light streaked across the sky, approaching a certain location in Great Xia from different directions.
The Eastern Emperor Bell's toll gradually faded. A continuous mountain range appeared before the gods'视线.
"What place is this?"
"Qilian Mountains."
"Qilian Mountains… What makes this place special?"
"Nothing. We've never sensed any divine power here. In fact, hardly any humans tread these lands."
As several Golden Immortals debated, they had followed the bell sound to its source. It was a certain peak in the Qilian Mountains. Amid the snow-capped landscape, an ancient, grand bronze bell was slowly coming to rest in the wind and snow.
That was the Supreme God artifact lost by Heavenly Court thousands of years ago—the Eastern Emperor Bell.
"Without a doubt, this is it." Taiyi Zhenren spoke. "However, all traces of aura here have been concealed by some existence. Had it not revealed itself, we might not have sensed it even at such close proximity."
The Golden Immortals descended before the Eastern Emperor Bell. Just then, a figure slowly emerged from behind the Eastern Emperor Bell……