Peak master Ling Jun suddenly remarked, “He seems to be taking a little too long.”
“What’s the rush?” Retorted peak master Lianyi in a nonchalant manner.
Sect master Qing Yang raised his hand to cut them off before it escalated any further, when his expression suddenly concentrated as if trying to hear something. Moments later, he abruptly said, “The Xuan bell is ringing!”
The eyes of peak master Ling Jun, Lianyi and the others widened slightly.
After a few dozen breaths of silence, the resonant ‘dong’ of an old bell slowly spread from the misty main peak, and echoed across the land.
All the noises stopped at this moment.
Countless gazes were abruptly raised, staring at the main peak as they attentively listened for the bell.
They knew that the bell signified the end of the trials.
Only when the Xuan bell rang seven times did it mean that the challenger had successfully passed all three trials. Over the years, innumerable disciples had been stopped before the seventh ring.
Elder Shen Taiyuan and Lu Song’s aged faces were filled with nervousness.
Amidst the silence, only the sound of a bell could be heard.
Dong!
Dong!
Dong!
……
A bell rang continuously, quickly reaching six rings.
Countless individuals held their breaths, not daring to breathe too loudly.
There was a slight pause after the sixth ring.
The sneer that hung from Lu Hong’s mouth abruptly widened as he breathed a deep sigh of relief inside.
However, just as he was about to exhale a physical sigh from his mouth, another loud ‘dong’ unhurriedly echoed from the main peak...
The seventh ring!
*Uproar*!
The entire place seemed to explode at this very moment.
Chapter 494 The Xuan Bell Rings
Dong!
When the seventh ring echoed across the land, the entire Cangxuan Sect first froze for an instant, before a torrential wave of noise and activity exploded.
Countless disciples were stupefied as they stared at the mist-shrouded main peak.
The seventh ring!
Seven whole rings of the bell!
Didn’t this mean that Zhou Yuan had passed all three trials?! The very mission so many Saint Genesis Peak disciples had failed in the past, had now been successfully accomplished by Zhou Yuan?!
Just how much of a monster was this guy?!
On the dilapidated plaza, Shen Taiyuan and Lu Song’s disciples were stunned for a very long time. When they finally returned to their senses, they immediately exploded into deafening cheers.
Shen Taiyuan’s entire body trembled with emotion, as tears flowed along the wrinkles on his face. Ever since the patriarch died long ago, Saint Genesis Peak had gradually declined year after year, unable to even reopen their main gates. Although they were currently still the seventh peak in name, if not for the patriarch, their status as the seventh peak would have been revoked long ago.
For a long-time member of Saint Genesis Peak, this was absolutely unacceptable.
Hence, Shen Taiyuan had continuously worked towards unsealing the peak, but each failure that followed caused his aspirations to grow weaker and weaker, so much so that he had even begun to despair a little.
The hope he reached for was just far too small.
It was too difficult to reopen Saint Genesis Peak.
When he heard that the champion of the peak selection had chosen Saint Genesis Peak, Shen Taiyuan was in truth only thinking about giving it another try. He had faced a tremendous amount of pressure later on due to the numerous cultivation resources and special treatment he gave Zhou Yuan, but he stubbornly put down his foot on the matter.
Shen Taiyuan was currently overjoyed that he was a stubborn person..
If not for his stubbornness, his final hope may have left forever.
By the side, elder Lu Song’s eyes were also a little red as he stared at Shen Taiyuan and sighed emotionally. “Old chap, I have no choice but to bow down to your foresight this time.”
He was rather envious of the former. Back then, he did have a chance to recruit Zhou Yuan. However, the many years of failure had left him quite dejected, plus he didn’t want to compete too harshly with Shen Taiyuan’s faction, and thus ultimately decided to give in.
If he had chosen to fight a little harder back then, the glory of reopening Saint Genesis Peak may perhaps now belong to his faction instead.
Shen Taiyuan laughed, no longer able to maintain his usual stern expression. Even his eyebrows had spread apart, clearly unable to conceal the joy in his heart.
Compared to the euphoria of the two factions, Lu Hong’s side was deathly quiet. Every disciple had a look of disbelief on their faces, while elder Lu Hong staggered unsteadily, nearly falling onto the ground.
“How can this be? How can this be!”
Mumbled Lu Hong, his old face deathly white. The psychological blow he received from this result was not small at all. This had basically sealed his fate, the reopening of Saint Genesis Peak essentially meant that their Sword Cometh Peak no longer had any chance.
He could already picture how enraged peak master Ling Jun would be by this.
“How could he possibly have done it!”
Lu Hong trembled as he blurted out. Endless regret suddenly rose in his heart. If he had known this would happen, why would never have made things difficult for Zhou Yuan just to help Lu Xuanyin and the rest take revenge. If he had just earnestly tried to recruit Zhou Yuan, none of this would have happened.
Due to that single misstep back then, he was now headed into the bottomless abyss.
High up in the sky.
Sect master Qing Yang and the five peak masters dazedly stared at the main peak.
“Zhou Yuan really managed to do it?” Said peak master Lianyi in surprise, her mouth hanging slightly ajar. Though she had said that she was cheering for Zhou Yuan earlier, it was only so that she could pit herself against peak master Ling Jun. In her heart, she did not believe that Zhou Yuan would achieve seven rings of the Xuan bell, because she clearly understood just how difficult it was.
The other peak masters also had surprised looks on their faces. Only peak master Ling Jun’s was as rigid as still water as he released a smothered snort.
The other peak masters chuckled when they saw this, knowing that all of peak master Ling Jun’s plans had now gone up in smoke due to the reopening of Saint Genesis Peak. Moreover, Sword Cometh Peak had lost so much cultivation resources for nothing, basically making them the biggest losers of this affair.
At this moment, sect master Qing Yang’s eyes suddenly focused as he said, “It’s not over yet!”
The other peak masters were stunned, their pupils shrinking a little as they could not help but blurt out, “It can’t be, right?”
Not over after the seventh ring? Wouldn’t that mean that he had reached the eighth ring?!
Eight rings of the Xuan bell was extremely rare even in the golden age of the Cangxuan Sect!
Dong!
The instant their words rang out, the eighth ring loudly sounded from the main peak, instantly cutting all cheering and chatter.
The mouths of countless disciples hung wide open like ducks who had been pinched by the neck.
The eighth ring?
Their minds were a little blank, because in the history of the Cangxuan Sect, eighth rings were only spoken of in legend...
The eighth ring echoed across the silent land.
The numerous disciples did not know what to say at this moment.
In the sky, sect master Qing Yang’s eyes shined brightly. Moments later, he slowly said, “There’s one more ring.”
The expressions of the other peak masters changed.
Dong!
In the next instant, the ninth ring suddenly sounded.
All the disciples turned numb at this moment. They were
truly unable to fathom exactly what Zhou Yuan had done. How had he reached this level?!
Was this something someone could even achieve?!
Shen Taiyuan had basically blanked out, not knowing what to say as he stared at the main peak. This outcome had far exceeded the realm of his imagination.
In his eyes, reaching the seventh ring was already an exceedingly amazing achievement.
So what about the ninth ring?
With regards to such an extreme result, even he could not comment for a time.
By the side, Lu Song was likewise confused and in disbelief as he looked towards Shen Taiyuan. In the end, he could only swallow repeatedly.
After a long time, the two of them arrived at an awkward conclusion. “Is the Xuan bell broken?”
“Nine rings of the Xuan bell…”
Sect master Qing Yang took in a deep breath, before he said, “How many years has it been since someone has achieved this…”
The other peak masters were silent. Since the founding of the Cangxuan Sect, only a handful of individuals have managed to achieve nine rings. How had Zhou Yuan done it?
“It seems that a dragon has been born in our Cangxuan Sect.”
Sect master Qing Yang stared hard at the majestic main peak. Soon after, he chuckled as he vertically placed a hand in front of him and softly said, “Thank you patriarch for protecting our Cangxuan Sect.”
While the entire Cangxuan Sect was immersed in their shock, on the hall at the foot of the mountain, old Xuan raised his head to look at the misty main peak. He sat on the stone steps, hugging his bamboo broom as a faint smile appeared on his old, old face.
This little one was truly surprising.
“Master… our Saint Genesis Peak has opened again.”
Chapter 495 The Green Jade Statue of the Patriarch
“Nine rings…”
When Zhou Yuan stepped out from the large bronze doors, he heard the sound of a melodious old bell echoing within the mountain. His mouth hung slightly ajar as shock appeared in his eyes.
Even the person himself had not expected that his results would reach the nine bell level.
“Is it because the divine grindstone smashed apart the golden sun? That’s why the evaluation is so good…” Zhou Yuan awkwardly scratched his head. He did not feel overly proud, because he only needed seven rings to achieve his goal.
Of course, the additional two rings would naturally not be rejected by him. It was after all still a form of acknowledgement of his performance.
Now that he knew the outcome, he breathed a deep sigh of relief as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders. The bell represented that he had successfully passed the three trials.
As Zhou Yuan suppressed the surging emotions in his heart, he raised his head and saw a mountain path that snaked upwards, with streams flowing to its left and right.
There was no mist here, and Zhou Yuan was clearly already quite deep in the main peak.
By following this path, he should be able to reach his destination.
Zhou Yuan wet his lips as he cast away his hesitation and walked forward, slowly following the mountain path.
After a few dozen minutes, his footsteps began to slow. The path had ended some distance to the front, where an ancient large hall silently towered within the mist.
The hall looked quite simple, and was covered in the mottled scars of time.
This hall was the main hall of Saint Genesis Peak!
Zhou Yuan stood in front of the hall, as he looked upon it with burning eyes. The second Saint Rune he deeply yearned for should be hidden somewhere inside.
After a quick scan of the surroundings, he was just about to step forward, only for his foot to come to an abrupt stop. His gaze darted towards the front in amazement, where faint cracks could be seen in the air.
An indescribable feeling of danger spread from it.
“There’s still such a terrifying seal outside the main hall?” Zhou Yuan’s expression was grave. The dangerous aura from this seal was even more frightening than the ones outside the mountain.
He had no doubt that a brief contact with the undulations from the seal was all it would take to completely obliterate himself from existence. In fact, even a Heavenly Sun stage expert would likely share the same fate.
This seal was obviously the last defense of the main hall.
An awkward look appeared on Zhou Yuan’s face. It had not been an easy task for him to pass the three trials, and he had thought everything would be smooth sailing from then onwards. Why had a seal suddenly appeared? Was he going to have to call for sect master and the rest? But if they came, they would likely discover the existence of the Saint Rune...
Zhou Yuan fell silent for a moment. A thought suddenly struck him all of a sudden as he smacked his head and said, “I almost forgot about it.”
With a pat of the spatial bag at his waist, a glow rose from his palm. It was a white jade token, the signet patriarch Cang Xuan had left him in the Saint Remains Domain.
Patriarch Cang Xuan had mentioned that this signet could undo the seal.
“I’ll just have to give it a try…” Although he did not know if it would work, there was nothing else Zhou Yuan could think of.
He raised his hand as the white jade token slowly rose into the air. It moved towards the seal outside the hall and slowly made contact.
Zhou Yuan nervously watched while on full alert. He was ready to dash off the moment he felt something was wrong.
Warm, gently rays were reached out from the white jade token. As the light spread, the seal swiftly dissolved like snow that had met magma.
In a short few minutes, the seal around the main hall had completely faded away.
The distorted space gradually returned to normal.
“So simple…”
Zhou Yuan was stunned, as he involuntarily wet his lips. He was thankful that the patriarch had left him this signet. Otherwise, given his current strength, even breaking his head open would have been nowhere near enough to even give this seal a tiny shake.
He extended his hand as the white jade token fell back into it.
He looked towards the front again. There were no more obstructions outside the main hall. Hence, he quickly walked forward and pushed open the heavy doors that had been tightly shut for who knew how many years.
Creak
The doors slowly wobbled open as an ancient aura assaulted his senses.
The interior was very spacious and surprisingly still lit by burning altar lamps. The stone floor seemed to gleam like a mirror, not a single speck of dust to be seen.
Zhou Yuan’s gaze paused at the center of the hall, where a green jade statue stood. It depicted a handsome and mysterious young man whose looks were not unfamiliar to Zhou Yuan. It was the one and only patriarch Cang Xuan he had met in the Saint Remains Domain.
The jade statue of the patriarch was very lifelike, its eyes appearing deep and kindly as a mysterious aura spread from them. The statue also possessed an indescribable dignified presence.
As the once number one expert in Cangxuan Heaven, even a mere jade statue of him clearly possessed a certain aura.
“Patriarch, we meet again…”
Mumbled Zhou Yuan as he gazed at the statue and sighed.
If he had not met the fragment of patriarch Cangxuan’s Spirit in the Saint Remains Domain, he may not have come to the Cangxuan Sect. However, when he looked back now, he felt very grateful for the patriarch’s guidance...
He bowed to the jade status, before raising his head to ask, “I’m here patriarch. Where’s the second Saint Rune?”
There was no response from the statue, its warm and deep gaze merely continuing to stare at Zhou Yuan.
Zhou Yuan chuckled awkwardly. “So I have to find it myself?”
After speaking, he rose and began to wander about the hall. However, he failed to discover anything. In the end, he arrived back at the statue, where he found a jade seal.
The jade seal g
ave off a simple glow, and felt extremely heavy when Zhou Yuan picked it up. On the seal were two words, Saint Genesis.
“Could this be the peak master seal of Saint Genesis Peak?” Zhou Yuan pondered to himself. It was because this seal had been missing from Saint Genesis Peak that they had been unable to produce a peak master for so many years.
Though the peak master seal was important, Zhou Yuan did not have much interest in it, and soon put it back down.
He searched and searched, but failed to find any trace of the second Saint Rune.
This caused Zhou Yuan to grow rather anxious. Everything he had done so far was for the sake of the second Saint Rune, but now that he was here, it was nowhere to be found.
“Patriarch, you can’t have tricked me, right?”
Soon after, he sat down on the mat in front of the jade statue with a miserable face as he stared at it.
Man and statue stared at each other.
For an instant, Zhou Yuan seemed to see the jade statue’s pupils flicker for a moment.
Zhou Yuan was a little taken aback. Soon after, a certain notion struck him. He steadied his breathing as the Decoder Saint Rune slowly began rotating in the depths of his pupils with a shout in his heart.
“Decoder Saint Rune!”
The Saint Rune spun as changes began to occur to the jade statue. It gradually turned transparent as Zhou Yuan slowly inspected it. In the end, his eyes paused on the statue’s outstretched hand.
A mysterious ancient glowing rune could be seen deep within the jade, silently sitting there as it gave off a boundless aura.
Zhou Yuan’s heart began to beat like a drum the moment he saw it, as an excited look flooded his face.
The second Saint Rune was here after all!
Chapter 496 Earth Saint Rune
The mysterious glowing rune pulsed with a mighty heart-palpitating power as it silently lay in deep within the jade hand. Its familiar aura made Zhou Yuan absolutely certain that this was the second Saint Rune he had been painstakingly searching for...
Dragon Prince Yuan c1-1251 Page 268
