Chapter 169: Bells of the Upper Realm

Chapter 169: Bells of the Upper Realm

[ASTRAL DOMINION — HEAVENLY REALM]

A sea of silent, milky-white mist rolled across an endless floor of polished jade.

Deep within the celestial boundary, a sanctum isolated from the Three Realms remained untouched by wind, sunlight, or the passage of time.

Ninety-nine ancient golden bells hovered in the void. Each was the size of a mountain peak, suspended by chains woven from primordial starlight.

For twelve thousand years, not a single chain had shifted.

Then—

CLANG!

A single chime shattered the silence.

It was not loud, yet its resonance swept through the mist, dispersing it across ten thousand miles.

On a circular dais carved from the vertebrae of an ancient Void Beast, a withered figure sat motionless in ash-gray robes. His skin resembled parched bark, his long white beard trailing across the jade floor. Dust had accumulated on his shoulders for so long that it looked like a layer of gray frost.

His eyelids, sealed shut by millennia of slumber, slowly parted.

Two golden pupils appeared beneath them, hexagonal rings revolving within each eye.

"The seventh bell..." His voice rasped like millstones grinding together. "The Bell of Flesh and Perception."

A faint tear appeared in space before the dais.

A figure in immaculate celestial-blue silk stepped through it. His dark hair was secured beneath a carved jade crown, and his hands rested behind his back. Although he carried himself with the dignity of an immortal, the moment his gaze fell upon the ancient figure, he bowed.

"Grand Elder Wu."

The old man did not move. "Xuan Mingzi. You felt it too?"

"The resonance reached the Astral Pavilion." Xuan Mingzi raised his head, his expression cold and vigilant. "It seems the second fragment of Originis has surfaced."

His gaze shifted toward the trembling golden bell. "The Eonheart Fragment."

Grand Elder Wu’s golden pupils narrowed. "For thousands of years, the core coordinates of Originis remained sealed. Its shattered essence was severed from the Three Realms, believed to be beyond the reach of every living being."

He paused, the golden rings in his eyes spinning slowly. "Yet now, one of its anchors has begun to resonate with a distant lower world."

"We cannot descend personally," Xuan Mingzi murmured, a faint crease appearing between his brows. "The Ancestral Seal remains active. Any existence above the Void Refinement stage crossing the boundary will trigger the ancient curse."

"And our souls will be reduced to karmic ash before our feet touch the ground," Grand Elder Wu completed.

Neither man spoke for several breaths. Then Xuan Mingzi continued.

"My contacts along the border passes report unusual movements. The Gray Moon Sect has already sensed the disturbance. Their envoys crossed the southern riverbanks in secret."

Grand Elder Wu’s fingers tapped against his knee—once, twice. Each dull sound reverberated through the sanctum like distant thunder.

"Reckless fools," he muttered, his eyes narrowing on the seventh bell. "If they obtain the Eonheart Fragment, they will not be content with its secrets. They will attempt to use it to reshape the world according to their own ambitions."

He slowly raised his head. "Tell me about the Ancient Palace."

Xuan Mingzi’s expression darkened. "Immortal Si previously reported that the Ancient Palace was stolen from the Astral Eye Pavilion. The Heavenly Mirror Directorates investigated the scene, but the only traces left behind were two emerald leaves."

"Two leaves?"

For the first time, anger flickered in Grand Elder Wu’s eyes. The golden rings within his pupils accelerated. "Mu Lingti was sealed inside that palace for a reason."

The temperature within the sanctum plunged toward absolute zero.

Xuan Mingzi remained silent as Grand Elder Wu continued. "It seems the Gray Moon Sect intends to repeat what happened twelve thousand years ago."

"The Heavenly Mirror Directorates is still conducting its investigation," Xuan Mingzi replied. "They believe the emerald leaves may be connected to Lady Jade Serpent."

"Believe?" Grand Elder Wu gave a cold snort. "If even the Divine Mirrors forged from Starlight cannot trace the culprits, then the Gray Moon Sect possesses something capable of concealing its movements from the heavens. A Sovereign-tier treasure, at the very least."

Xuan Mingzi’s breath caught. "Then the theft of the Ancient Palace and the disturbance of the seventh bell..."

"Are connected," Grand Elder Wu said gravely. "And if Mu Lingti has truly awakened, the Gray Moon Sect has already found a way to weaken the seal."

A terrible silence descended.

Who was Mu Lingti? He was the antithesis of the pure Divine Qi that nourished the heavens. Not Demonic Qi. Not Beast Qi. Something far more sinister: pure Evil Qi itself.

Twelve thousand years ago, during the final battle that threatened to drown the Three Realms in blood, the Heavenly Jade Emperor had sacrificed his Jade Soul to seal Mu Lingti. The sacrifice had ended the war, but it had cost the heavens their most powerful guardian.

Now, that ancient prison had begun to stir.

"Since he has awakened," Xuan Mingzi said slowly, "the other ancient clans will eventually discover the truth."

"They will discover it soon enough." Grand Elder Wu’s voice turned cold as iron. "Send word to the Gong Clan. They must secure the Eonheart Fragment before the Gray Moon Sect obtains it. Whatever the cost."

Xuan Mingzi bowed deeply. "Understood, Grand Elder."

He stepped backward into a spatial seam and vanished.

Left alone beneath the ninety-nine golden bells, Grand Elder Wu stared toward the dark void beyond the mist.

"It seems..." his raspy voice faded into the stillness, "...the Three Realms are destined to know no peace in the coming days."

——————————

[ASTRAL DOMINION — ANCIENT BEAST AND SPIRIT REALM]

Beyond the celestial territories ruled by the ancient clans lay a domain where towering mountains pierced the clouds and spiritual energy flowed through lands untouched by mortal hands.

The Ancient Beast and Spirit Realm.

Here, the strong ruled according to bloodline and cultivation. Some had inherited the blood of primordial beasts; others possessed ancient spiritual constitutions capable of rivaling the descendants of the Heavenly Clans.

At the heart of this realm stood the Ten Thousand Ancestral Peaks. Its highest summit was crowned by an imperial palace constructed from white jade and ancient spiritual stone.

Within the grandest hall, a man sat upon a golden throne.

He possessed an imposing figure with long crimson hair flowing down his back. His golden eyes carried an ancient majesty that forced even powerful cultivators to lower their gazes. He wore magnificent crimson imperial robes embroidered with golden feathers resembling a primordial divine bird, topped by a crown of golden jade.

Behind him, a faint crimson-gold apparition of an enormous divine bird spread its wings across the walls, its feathers flickering like living flame—the manifestation of his ancient bloodline.

Suddenly—

HUMMMMM!

The palace trembled as ancient symbols illuminated across the floor.

The crimson-haired man’s golden eyes opened fully. "What was that?"

His voice was neither loud nor hurried, yet every subordinate in the hall felt an invisible weight settle upon their shoulders.

An elderly man in white robes stepped forward, bowing. "Reporting to the Ancestral Sovereign. A disturbance has appeared beyond our realm’s boundaries. The bloodline formations have detected a resonance originating from a distant world."

The Ancestral Sovereign rested one hand against his throne’s armrest. "A distant world? What could possibly be powerful enough to disturb our bloodline formations from that far away?"

"We do not know, Ancestral Sovereign. However, the resonance appears to be connected to something ancient."

Suddenly, the crimson-gold apparition behind the throne flickered.

The Ancestral Sovereign rose. The moment he stood, an overwhelming pressure spread through the palace.

THUMP.

A single pulse traveled through the Ten Thousand Ancestral Peaks. Every ancient bloodline within ten thousand miles reacted. Deep beneath the mountains, creatures that had slept for ages began to stir.

The Ancestral Sovereign stared toward the distant horizon, a rare trace of disbelief crossing his regal features. "That presence... Could it be?"

He turned toward the sealed ancestral chamber behind his throne—a sanctuary whose doors had remained closed for thousands of years. Now, fine cracks were spreading across the seals carved into its surface.

"Impossible," he whispered, his golden eyes gleams cold under the palace lights. "Seal the Ten Thousand Ancestral Peaks. No one enters or leaves without my permission. And send word to the other ancestral bloodlines: something from the ancient era has begun to awaken."

——————————

[ASTRAL DOMINION — DEMON REALM]

Far from the Ancient Beast and Spirit Realm, beyond mountains stained black by generations of demonic cultivation, lay the Demon Realm—a land where the sky remained perpetually crimson.

At its center stood the Eclipse Moon Imperial Palace.

Within its deepest chamber, a man dressed in black robes sat upon a throne carved from the skull of an ancient Demon Sovereign. Two curved horns emerged from his forehead, and blood-red eyes glowed beneath his long hair.

"Your Majesty," a demon in silver-black armor reported, kneeling alongside several elders. "The ancestral seals across the realm have begun to react—the ones left behind after the ancient war."

The Demon Sovereign opened his red eyes, and the entire chamber trembled.

BOOOOOOM!

"Impossible," he muttered, stepping down from his throne as terrifying pressure erupted from his body.

"Those seals were created to prevent the return of an existence that even the ancient Demon Ancestors feared. If they are moving, someone has disturbed the foundations of the Three Realms."

A black flame ignited above his palm, briefly displaying the image of a golden bell and a fragment of an ancient tablet before vanishing.

His expression turned dark. "Find the source. Quietly."

"As you command!"

None of the elders noticed the faint tremor passing through the floor beneath them. Far below the palace, an ancient formation—older than the Demon Realm itself—began to glow, etching a single character into the stone.

(Origin).

——————————

LOWER REALM — COUNTRY S

Within the ancestral estate of the Salaze family, architecture screamed of ancient wealth and medical authority. Dark-red sandalwood pillars carved with phoenixes and coiling dragons supported the roof, while the scent of spirit orchids and ginseng filled the air.

At the center of the main hall, Hanwen Salaze, patriarch of the family, sat behind a dark jade table, rotating a small medicine bottle between his fingers.

Long before the apocalypse, the Salaze family had been feared throughout Country S for their supreme mastery of pharmacology. After the apocalypse, a colossal crimson-green vine had emerged from the earth beneath their estate, its roots providing rare medicinal fruits, spiritual flowers, and cultivation trials.

Yet despite all their power and resources, Hanwen faced a problem his medicines could not solve.

His daughter was missing, even before the apocalypse began.

Hanwen set the jade bottle down, his voice quiet yet heavy. "You have returned without your sister."

Across the table stood three young men—his triplet sons. Though almost identical in stature and sharp facial features, their dispositions were entirely distinct.

The eldest, Renyu, wore deep-crimson robes embroidered with golden veins. He stood composed and straight. "We have not found her yet, Father. We confirmed she entered Country B, but the intelligence beyond the border becomes unreliable."

To his right stood Renhao, dressed in white-red robes. Restless and hot-headed, he folded his arms. "Perhaps we should ask why our intelligence network failed so badly. The reports from Country B are contradictory, and one of our informants vanished right after reporting she entered a restricted region."

"Was he killed?" Hanwen asked calmly.

"We don’t know," Renhao admitted. "But someone is clearly interfering with our search."

The third brother, Renjun, stepped forward silently in midnight-blue robes. He unfolded a parchment document. "Father, the missing informant purchased a large quantity of spirit-repelling powder three days before his disappearance. Someone is deliberately concealing their movements—and they may know we are looking for Seana."

Hanwen rose from his seat, walking toward the window that overlooked the colossal crimson-green vine dominating the estate grounds.

"Before the apocalypse, our greatest threats were rival organizations and other families," Hanwen said softly, watching the crimson glow pulse through the vine’s trunk. "Now, we have a living phenomenon in our backyard, and my daughter has vanished in a foreign land."

He turned back to his sons, his eyes sharp and commanding.

"Renyu.

Renhao. Renjun."

The three brothers bowed in unison.

"Go to Country B," the patriarch commanded. "Uncover what happened, dismantle whatever stands in your way, and bring your sister back home."

"Yes father" they echoed.?