Chapter 31 The Bell Rings Through Mountains and Rivers, Tracing Cause and Effect—You Must Like It!
Mingying lay in the black water, the water level gradually rising, submerging her body, and then slowly receding. The rune between her brows lit up, and she opened her eyes, turning her head expressionlessly: "...Immortal Venerable."
Song Xijia sat next to her, resting her chin on one hand, while idly fiddling with the black water with the other, looking quite surprised: "You're awake."
Mingying said, "This is my heart's sea, and I'm always awake here."
"Aren't you bored lying here?"
“Of course, no immortal venerable would be bored sitting in the Xuanji Palace for thousands of years.”
Song Xijia's smile faltered, her expression shifting between anger and uncertainty as she stared at Mingying. Mingying quietly returned her gaze, but Song Xijia simply smiled and asked, "Aren't you curious what I'm doing here?"
Mingying laughed as well: "The barrier of the Mountain and River Bell was damaged, leaving such a large hole in the sky. Since the Immortal Venerable's spirit is extraordinary, he can come whenever he wants. Unfortunately, I am not in good condition every time we meet, so I really can't get up to properly entertain the Immortal Venerable."
Song Xijia suddenly threw her head back and burst into laughter, as if she had heard some funny joke. After a few breaths, the laughter stopped abruptly. She then grabbed Mingying by the neck and lifted half of her body into the air: "You've got some nerve, swallowing another part of the dragon. Xiao Qingyi has found someone quite interesting this time."
Mingying, oblivious to everything, calmly asked, "What does this mean?"
Song Xijia released his grip, and Mingying fell back into the black water without splashing a single drop.
Song Xijia manipulated her stiff limbs as if they were toys. Seeing that she didn't react much, he looked displeased: "What's wrong with you? I usually have so much to say to you."
Seeing that Mingying still didn't speak, Song Xijia moved closer to her and said in a low voice, "You really don't want to know why I came here?"
"Perhaps the Immortal Venerable wants to chat with me."
Song Xijia started laughing again. Mingying lowered her eyes and suddenly asked, "Immortal Venerable, you are all-powerful. Could you please enlighten me about the matter of the spiritual veins?"
"Are you asking me?"
Mingying smiled and said, "Chatting is just you asking me questions and me asking you questions. Why don't you lie down with me, Immortal Venerable? It's quite comfortable."
Song Xijia sized her up for a few moments, then gave a strange smile: "The dissipation of spiritual energy is an inevitable trend. The spiritual veins were originally the bodies of dragons, and they began to rot and decay after the dragons fell. Now it's just more obvious. In a hundred years, everyone in this world will be just like you—what, you don't believe me?"
“I naturally believe what the Immortal Venerable says. But how can I, a dying man, talk about a hundred years from now? The Immortal Venerable lives as long as heaven and earth, how could he ignore this matter?”
Song Xijia tapped her chest: "That's why I came to find you, little goddess."
Mingying smiled and knew that the Immortal Venerable couldn't possibly want to cooperate with her. She said, "Immortal Venerable, please speak freely. If I can help in any way, that would be very kind of me."
Song Xijia nodded in satisfaction: "You sever your own heart flow, and this place is now mine."
"The Immortal Venerable is telling a joke."
Song Xijia's face darkened: "You are defying me."
Mingying casually raised her chin: "Yes."
Song Xijia grabbed her by the neck again, lifted her up, and slammed her into the water. Mingying's smile widened: "Immortal Venerable, I won't feel any pain here, it's not fun."
You think I wouldn't dare kill you?
"If the Immortal Venerable wanted to kill me, he would have done so on the spot. The reason you are hesitating is because you have something else on your mind that you cannot kill me."
Song Xijia gave a cold laugh: "Naive."
She has lived for nearly a thousand years, and what she hates most is when someone tells her "no".
"The Immortal Venerable is a god who has lived for nearly a thousand years, yet he still acts like a naughty and unreasonable child. It's normal for me, a mortal who has only lived for twenty years, to have naive thoughts."
Mingying's eyes flickered slightly, and she said again, "Immortal Venerable, why have I not seen your true form all these years? And now you can only vent your anger in my heart sea. Is it because you can't leave the Xuanji Palace? The Xuanji Palace is a huge prison, imprisoning only one immortal like you. I'm sorry I can't help you. You can go back now."
Song Xijia's expression was ugly as he stared intently at her, laughing angrily: "Nine hundred years ago, everyone feared and respected me, but in recent years, there have been more and more rebellious people."
Mingying was unable to move. Her consciousness was shattered into pieces in Song Xijia's sight and floated on the water. She had no mouth and could not make a sound. Her eyes were also submerged. The excruciating pain almost caused her to lose her mind.
She slowly pieced herself together, but unfortunately, the spiritual energy in her heart had almost dissipated. She could only painstakingly piece together a head, which opened its mouth and exhaled. Was this a deity? It was as if she had regained the sense of pain that she had lost in her heart.
——
Xiao Jingze stepped into the water and looked up to see an ancient bell shaped like a mountain standing in front of him, with a large hole in the center from which thick black water flowed out.
He raised his eyebrows, took out a glass lamp from his storage ring, held it in his hand, put on his telescope, walked forward, and looked carefully inside. It was pitch black, and he couldn't see anything.
Cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage can open up a Sea of Hearts space, where their spiritual roots are planted; it is the most hidden place in a person's consciousness. The Mountain and River Bell allowed Ming Ying to have a Sea of Hearts. Xiao Jingze assessed the situation, stood at the entrance of the Sea of Hearts and pondered for a while, and did not intend to go uninvited.
He took off his scope, touched the gold ring with his finger, and examined it as he walked. Since it was a battlefield artifact, it must have been frequently worn. He wondered which predecessor had repaired it, in what way, and where.
He stopped in his tracks, looked up at a spot where a thin, grayish-white crack stretched from the mountaintop to the mountainside. Xiao Jingze's lips curled slightly: "Found it."
He lightly leaped up the mountainside, examined it closely, and realized it was... ashes?!
Xiao Jingze's expression changed, and he took out a piece of ancient jade with a complicated look in his eyes. Since Wanxiang Guixu recognized him as its master, he had received many rare and precious materials. This one was sent by the Imperial Advisor. He had studied it for a long time and had never used it after figuring out what it was. He never expected to use it here.
Ashes are fine, ashes are better than the heart of a living person.
The golden ring transformed into a short sword, and spiritual energy condensed into a blade of light. Xiao Jingze cut off the jade material and began to repair it from the edge.
His expression was unusually focused as he carefully filled in both holes, preventing the black water from flowing. Xiao Jingze raised his hand and channeled his spiritual power into the Mountain and River Bell, intending to ring it.
The Mountain and River Bell remained motionless. He paused, wondering if it required the ashes of a specific person.
Before he could figure it out, the Mountain and River Bell suddenly released a burst of spiritual energy, and black water overflowed from the cave entrance, scattering the repaired ancient jade. Xiao Jingze quickly retreated, his expression unpredictable.
He calmed himself down. Ordinary magical artifacts, once bound to a master, would change depending on the master's temperament, sometimes even becoming more like spiritual artifacts over time. But now, the Mountain and River Bell was tied to Ming Ying's life, and Xiao Jingze gripped the golden ring, suddenly feeling a sense of unease.
——
The mind was oblivious to the passage of time. The sun rose in the east and set in the west. Ming Yan watched as the crescent moon gradually turned into a full moon. The Ming family head paced anxiously in his room. From within the formation came the voice of the Imperial Preceptor, devoid of joy or sorrow: "Wait."
Xiao Jingze lay in the black water, quietly looking at the fluorite on his fingertip, then casually tossed it away. The fluorite fell into the water and collided with the driftwood with a muffled sound. The surrounding area was full of rare and precious materials, but now they were scattered everywhere like scrap iron and rotten wood.
The Mountain and River Bell refuses all material repairs.
He sat up expressionlessly, his Sumeru Ring glowed, and the materials vanished instantly. Since neither metal, stone, wood, jade, nor mortal objects could repair them, Xiao Jingze raised his hand, a crazy idea flashing through his mind.
He chuckled softly, and the Thousand Machines Technique unleashed golden threads that pierced his chest, drawing out a wisp of white smoke.
Then you must like me.
——
Mingying painstakingly pieced herself together again, this time only managing to form a mouth: "Immortal Venerable, haven't you had enough fun yet?"
Song Xijia brushed the fragments of her jewelry aside: "If you do it again, you won't even be able to speak."
"It must be so boring for that immortal to be here all by himself."
Song Xijia sneered, about to crush her again. The Mountain and River Bell rang, its sound echoing in the sea of her heart. The water level rose suddenly, and Mingying's fragments instantly gathered together, her consciousness sinking into the black water.
At the same time, Xiao Jingze clutched his chest, lay on his back on the water, his emotions dissipating like the receding tide, his consciousness sinking to the bottom.
Song Xijia looked up into the darkness, where ripples still lingered on the water's surface, his heart still and silent.
——
Mingying choked on her water, then realized she could move again. She tried to paddle upwards, thinking she couldn't possibly drown in her own mind instead of being killed by the Immortal Venerable.
She poked her head out of the water; the moonlight was dim. A girl was washing clothes by the river and was startled when she saw this.
Mingying and the girl exchanged a glance. The girl looked left and right, then quickly pulled Mingying out of the water. She was stunned when she saw Mingying's face. Mingying sneezed, and when she came to her senses, she took an outer robe from the basket, shook it, and carefully draped it over Mingying's shoulders: "You're so young, why would you want to jump into the river?"
Mingying coughed twice more, then looked around carefully. She should have left the Sea of Hearts, but where was she? This girl spoke with an accent, and her attire was very ancient. Was she far away from Yunchuan? Why had she suddenly come here?
She asked in a hoarse voice, "Excuse me, where is this place?"
The girl replied, "This is my home."
Mingying paused for a moment, then asked in a different way, "Do you know where Yunchuan is? How far is it from here?"
The girl looked at her strangely: "Yun Chuan? I've never heard of this place. Are you sure you're not mistaken?"
Mingying gripped her outer robe tightly, closed her eyes to sense her surroundings, and hesitantly opened them. Her inner sea had vanished, and the heavenly fire had disappeared as well. She looked at her reflection in the water, pinched her cheek, and, anticipating something, turned around with a smile: "Excuse me, I'm a little confused after falling into the water. Could you please answer my questions?"
The girl was very cute, answering all questions. After asking her last question, Mingying sat quietly for a while.
She had never heard of the Mountain and River Bell having the ability to reverse time.
This place is nine hundred years ago, during the chaotic period of the Nine Provinces, until the Immortal Venerable became a god, established the laws, and unified the world. Before that, due to constant conflicts in various places, there were many historical rumors, making it difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood. Mingying was curious, but she never thought of experiencing it firsthand.
She sighed, rubbing her forehead. She was currently in Yuan City in the Eastern Continent, and the girl in front of her was named Mingyu. Well, she was very likely her ancestor.
Mingyu asked with concern, "Are you alright?"
Mingying smiled and said, "It's nothing."
She looked at Mingyu for a while, feeling a deep sense of kinship, then turned her head away. History cannot be changed; all those from nine hundred years ago, except for the Immortal Venerable and the Imperial Preceptor, have turned to dust… She had more important things to do. The Immortal Venerable was still in her heart. Her immediate priority was to find the Mountain and River Bell and leave from here.
So she stood up, patted Mingyu on the shoulder, and said, "Thank you, but I have to go now."
Mingyu saw her swaying unsteadily: "But you seem to..."
Mingying stood up feeling dizzy and thought to herself, "This is bad. It's cold outside and the water is freezing." She sneezed several times, covered her mouth and nose, and said to Mingyu in a muffled voice, "Mingyu, can I come to your house to play?"
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Author's Note: Entering the next chapter, we will uncover the love and hatred of nine hundred years ago and focus on three key figures—Song, Xiao, and Chen.
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