Chapter 663: A Duel of Daoist Arts with the Heavenly Bell Emperor

At Mount Wu in Guangzhou...

The sun hung overhead, its rays partially obscured by mist, forming a rainbow-colored halo. It was strangely beautiful.

Shu Yifan, the Thunderstrike Swordmaster, was already past forty. Although he had entered the Dao through martial arts, and the weakening of his vitality due to age had significantly slowed, much slower than for ordinary martial artists, his appearance aged more slowly as well. By now, his strength was no longer largely dependent on raw vitality, giving him an air of transcendence. And yet, in recent years, he had clearly begun to feel himself aging.

But this aging was different from what ordinary martial artists experienced.

Ordinary martial artists, after years of intense training, battles, and injuries in their youth, would find their vitality quickly fading in old age. In just a few years, their appearance and physical strength would deteriorate dramatically. Power, recovery, and reaction speed would all sharply decline. Once the pride of the

jianghu

, they would quickly become shadows of their former selves.

Shu Yifan, however, showed none of these obvious signs.

It was likely that even in twenty more years, when he reached sixty, the decline in those areas would still be minimal.

Yet the heart still aged with time.

The body was still heading slowly down a slope. Perhaps decades from now, he might not look much older, might still wield his sword like a thunderbolt, and perhaps be even stronger than he was now, and remain unmatched in the

jianghu

until the final days of his life. But once his lifespan ran out, that invincibility would not prevent the inevitable descent into the grave.

In just over ten years, the world had changed greatly.

And those of the

jianghu

were always the first to sense such change.

Although the Great Yan Dynasty still appeared strong on the surface, and internal rebellions in the north and south had been repeatedly suppressed, the court’s grip on the land was visibly weakening. Much of the control lost by the State Preceptor had fallen into the hands of various local powers. When the government could no longer maintain order or protect the people’s interests, those of the

jianghu

had no choice but to fend for themselves. This gave rise to more and more brave, battle-hardened martial artists, and a surge in the strength and number of martial sects.

Guangzhou’s Mount Wu, home of the Thunderstrike Sword Sect, had become a prominent center of martial power. It was founded and personally presided over by the Thunderstrike Swordmaster, recognized as the greatest sword cultivator in centuries.

The sect had earned great praise throughout the central regions of the Great Yan, and its name was widely known across the

jianghu

. Bandits, rogues, and fellow martial artists alike all gave them respect. Naturally, the sect flourished and expanded, and even if one didn’t count the Swordmaster himself, the Thunderstrike Sword Sect was now indisputably the number one sect in the land.

The people of Guangzhou benefited greatly from this.

In an era where demonic spirits and strange beings were appearing all over the realm, only Guangzhou remained at peace.

𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Because of the sect’s influence, even other righteous martial factions often sent disciples down the mountain to slay monsters and demons. This rising reputation further fueled the growth of the Thunderstrike Sword Sect.

They had even surpassed the Changqiang Sect, long considered a dominant force. And yet now, seated in the main hall of his sect, Shu Yifan wore a frown, eyes flickering with concern.

His adviser stood before him, reporting recent affairs, “For the past two years, the seas off Langzhou have been plagued by unending storms. Many claim to have seen the Sea Dragon King stirring up the waves. The most recent and most violent storm occurred at the end of last year.

“It’s said that someone at sea saw countless dragons drawing water into the sky, forming something like a prison. Amid the mist and water vapor, the shadow of the Sea Dragon King appeared, only to be seized by an even larger water dragon and dragged into the ocean. Since then, there have been no more storms.”

“The martial folk of Langzhou claim that the two White Rhino Gods appeared to someone in a dream, saying that the Sea Dragon King had been vanquished and that the seas would now be calm again, people can safely set sail once more.

“At the beginning of this year, a so-called earth dragon was said to have stirred in the Gobi Desert of the Western Regions. But some bandits claimed it wasn’t an earth dragon, it was gods fighting...

“In Green City of the Western Regions, fire clouds appeared in broad daylight. It was clearly early spring, but the weather suddenly turned scorching hot. Only after a long while did a gust of wind come and blow all the heat away...

“And now, even in our Guangzhou, the Heavenly Bell Emperor has begun to manifest divine signs...”

Shu Yifan sat at the head seat, his eyes flickering with thought. In his mind, he recalled the days of following his teacher, traveling together through Hezhou, slaying monsters, subduing demons, and suppressing demon kings.

If anyone in this world possessed such divine power... It had to be his teacher. But who could truly know?

Shu Yifan shook his head.

Thinking back to those days, it was only the chaos of the northern lands that had been overrun by demons and monsters. But now, in just a few short decades, nearly every prefecture was witnessing the emergence of strange creatures.

These monsters, however, seemed to be naturally born, unlike the bloodthirsty demons of the northern chaos, who devoured human flesh and blood. The current ones were, in comparison, mostly ignorant and confused.

“The Heavenly Bell Emperor...” Shu Yifan couldn't help but murmur the name to himself.

Having founded his sect in Guangzhou and led it for over a decade, he naturally knew who this Heavenly Bell Emperor was.

This was an ancient deity, widely worshiped throughout Guangzhou and its neighboring regions. The local people had venerated this god for generations. Just how ancient this deity was could no longer be determined, it far predated the worship of the Great Emperor Chijin, and perhaps even the previous Celestial Emperor.

Yet, Shu Yifan had never heard of any miracles or divine manifestations from the Heavenly Bell Emperor before.

Neither during the chaotic times when monsters and ghosts plagued the north and even Guangzhou fell into misery, nor now, when the world remained unstable and demons emerged across the land, including in Guangzhou, had this emperor ever shown divine intervention or helped the common folk.

Instead, it had always been the disciples of the Thunderstrike Sword Sect who had slain demons and kept the region safe.

Now, all of a sudden, divine signs began to appear everywhere, even manifesting at temples and shrines across various places. Though this seemed like a good thing, bringing joy to the local people, who flocked to offer incense and prayers, Shu Yifan couldn’t help but feel suspicious.

“Why now?” Shu Yifan voiced aloud from his seat.

“I don’t know...” The adviser below, thinking the question was directed at him, quickly shook his head and responded cautiously, not daring to say more.

Shu Yifan didn’t press the matter. But in truth, everyone knew the answer. It was likely that the Great Yan Dynasty didn’t have many years left.

Shu Yifan remained seated, eyes shining with memories of the past, while inwardly calculating the time for what might be coming.

“Autumn of the 8th year of Da'an...”

Just two more years. In those two years, he must personally make a visit to Yizhou.

***

Not only the Thunderstrike Sword Sect, but the news of the Heavenly Bell Emperor's manifestations in Guangzhou and the surrounding regions had also spread far and wide to other prefectures, other counties, even the State Preceptor.

People of the

jianghu

heard it, local earth spirits and monsters heard it, and even officials in the court heard it.

***

On top of Mount Ding, a crane spread its wings under the night sky.

Though the white crane didn’t need guidance, Lady Calico still stared ahead intently, worried it might run into trouble. Only when the crane flew from mid-mountain into the bright moonlight did she finally relax and look back.

“Why not sleep here for the night before heading out?” Lady Calico asked. “We’ve never traveled by night before... well,

flown

by night.”

“To avoid keeping the other side waiting.”

“Who’s the other side?”

“An ancient god of Mount Tian.”

“Aren’t you tired from staying on Mount Ding?”

“Not really...” The Daoist’s voice was calm. After a short pause, seeing the concern in the young girl’s eyes, he added, “It’s more or less the same as sleeping for two or three months.”

“Ah, I see...”

Lady Calico nodded; no wonder he didn’t need to rest.

They rarely traveled at night. And even when they did, it was leisurely, meant for enjoying the moonlight and stars, the different mood and scenery compared to daytime. It was very unusual for them to rush off to another place without even resting a night after just completing something.

But tonight was also the first full moon of early autumn. The vast autumn moon hung in the sky, scattered starlight twinkling. Riding a white crane through the night sky, side by side with the stars and moon, a cool breeze at their backs, it was incredibly pleasant.

“While you were up on the mountain these past two months,” Lady Calico said, “I went to Changjing a few times. Sometimes I’d get century egg and lean pork congee, sometimes steamed buns and dumplings, even bought candied hawthorn and sweet rice wine soup to drink. One small tavern has the best sweet rice wine soup, it’s really sweet. After drinking it, I’d nap on the crane’s back, then wake up already back on Mount Ding. It was so peaceful.”

“So you’ve learned to enjoy life now, huh...”

"This is the life of an immortal!"

"So enviable..."

"I had it all planned! If you ever came down from the mountain top and stayed to rest for a day before leaving, I was going to go to Changjing and buy you a delicious meal! Oh right! While you were up on the mountain, I also went down to help catch a monster for someone, earned some money, and now I can afford to go to the most expensive restaurant in Changjing to buy something really tasty!"

"That would trouble you too much..."

"I have a celestial crane!"

"But even with the crane, you’d still have to fly to a mountain outside Changjing somewhere without people and then go into the city from there. Now that your horse isn’t with you, that whole trip sounds pretty tiring."

"It’s not tiring at all!"

"Then I’ve let down your kind intentions."

"No worries!" the little girl answered briskly.

Just as she finished speaking, she suddenly noticed a patch of glowing lights below.

Bathed in moonlight, towering city walls enclosed a massive square-shaped city. Within, countless houses, streets, bridges, inns, layered courtyards, clusters of palaces, and pavilions shimmered with the glow of countless lanterns. It was a city of unmatched splendor in this world.

"Where is that?" Lady Calico asked in a daze.

"That’s Changjing..."

The Daoist sat cross-legged, gazing down in silence.

Beneath the bright moon, the white crane glided gracefully, gently flapping its wings, bathing in moonlight as it flew across the skies over Changjing.

There were still pedestrians wandering the streets. On rooftops, poets and scholars admired the moon, Daoists studied the stars, and common folk looked up at the night sky. Some of them were surprised to see a celestial crane flying under the moonlight.

Even yin spirits and martial deities revealed themselves atop temples, weapons in hand, eyes sharp as they watched the crane. The City God too was alerted and manifested in person, gazing up at the sky. When they recognized who was riding the crane, the martial deities and the City God all cupped their hands in salute, bowing in respect.

The Daoist returned the bow mid-air. At that moment, the whole of Changjing lay under the moonlight.

Within the city, the sound of a thousand households pounding clothes echoed through the night.

***

The next morning, in He Plains of Hezhou...

A red sun rose in the east. Its warm light tinted the autumn landscape and morning mist, illuminating the flat, open plains of He Plains.

The vast white land that once had three feet of snow had now returned to hundreds of miles of fertile farmland. The harvest had just been completed, and golden rice stubble still covered the fields, casting a golden hue across the earth.

Scattered throughout He Plains were temples spaced at regular intervals. These temples still stood, with their statues intact. Some still had incense burning, and every year, groups of people came to offer incense, commemorating the time when the gods had sealed away a demon king in this very place.

Within the plains, at sites once marked by human-shaped stone piles, people had since built new temples, though no one knew exactly which deity they were now worshipping.

And yet, in the middle of this vast, level land, where not even a large hill should exist, a stone mountain had appeared abruptly.

The stone mountain was tall, majestic, and strangely beautiful. A monument stood on the mountain, and a temple stood at its base. In front of both, there was still fresh incense ash, which was evidence of recent offerings. The mountain was shrouded in morning mist, which was slowly being scattered by the rising sun.

At the summit, beneath a small pine tree, sat a Daoist. His robes were already soaked through with dew.

The celestial crane, swallow, and cat were nowhere to be seen.

Then, as the morning sun leapt above the horizon, shining through the lingering mist, the sunlight turned brilliant and bright. With it came warmth, enough to drive away the last of the fog in moments, leaving the world clear and bright.

In that clarity, white clouds began to gather overhead.

“Rumble rumble...”

Though they looked dense and fluffy like ordinary cumulus clouds, if one listened carefully, one could just barely hear the faint sound of war drums, inaudible to common ears.

The Daoist finally opened his eyes, and he looked up at the sky.

The clouds had gathered into several large formations, coming from all directions—some big, some small, some high, some low. On many of these clouds, the silhouettes of celestial officials and heavenly generals appeared.

At the very front, on the highest cloud, stood an elderly man in an ancient white robe, his hair and beard completely white. He looked down with a cold, expressionless face.

All the divine officials and generals now turned their gaze toward the Daoist.

This time, the display of power was far more impressive than usual.

“There are common folk living nearby,” the Daoist said calmly, completely unafraid, looking up as he spoke. “I’ve already entered the dreams of the local magistrate and asked him to evacuate them. Since all of you are divine beings, I ask that you wait just three more days.”

“...”

The old man continued to look down, face like stone. But he did not refuse.

For indeed, as the Daoist had said, these were gods. And at least in appearance, gods must uphold virtue and righteousness. How could they act no better than mortals?

The Daoist closed his eyes again.

As the sun rose higher, officials on horseback arrived below, escorting the nearby villagers away. Some of the villagers stopped to burn incense at the base of the mountain, praying for blessings, though they had no idea to whom they were praying.

Three days, as it turns out, would pass in just the blink of an eye.