"Break."
As Xia Feng uttered the word "break," the entire space began to distort.
The retaliating force seemed to be squeezed, retreating step by step. Xia Feng's power, far from diminishing, grew stronger. With a final, unified effort, he shattered the barrier of the Eastern Emperor Bell.
After the barrier was broken, Xia Feng stepped inside.
It was a palace with runes carved on all four walls, and in the center of the palace stood a large stone table.
On the stone table rested one of the Ten Ancient Divine Artifacts: the Eastern Emperor Bell.
The Eastern Emperor Bell was about the size of a water kettle, its opening facing downwards, tightly adhered to the stone table. Spiritual energy swirled around it, forming wisps of spiritual mist.
Xia Feng knew, of course, that it wasn't its true size. Like Sun Wukong's staff, it could change size.
As a divine artifact, it possessed such abilities.
Xia Feng felt a stir of desire. The Ten Ancient Divine Artifacts were undoubtedly powerful, and the Eastern Emperor Bell was the foremost among them.
The Eastern Emperor Bell possessed immense defensive capabilities and destructive offensive power.
Since venturing out into the world, this was the item that had most captivated Xia Feng.
Xia Feng reached out and touched the Eastern Emperor Bell. The spiritual energy surrounding it quickly dissipated.
Then, a force of attraction emerged, firmly gripping Xia Feng's palm. A trickle of blood flowed from his index finger, and the Eastern Emperor Bell spontaneously recognized him as its master.
In that instant, a lightning-fast thought flashed through Xia Feng's mind. Moments later, Xia Feng and the Eastern Emperor Bell achieved mutual understanding.
With a wave of his hand, the Eastern Emperor Bell obediently flew into Xia Feng's palm, shrinking to the size of a keychain.
He could feel a boundless power emanating from the Eastern Emperor Bell.
Xia Feng began to sense the power of the Eastern Emperor Bell and then sat down cross-legged, preparing to master its usage.
The Eastern Emperor Bell was known as the divine artifact capable of opening the gate to the Heavenly Realm. If such a legend existed, there must be a reason for it.
"Master."
A childish voice suddenly echoed in Xia Feng's mind.
It was the voice of the Eastern Emperor Bell communicating with him.
"Artifact spirit?" Xia Feng inquired.
"Master, I am not yet an artifact spirit. I have sworn allegiance to you and can only communicate with you," the Eastern Emperor Bell's voice responded.
Artifact spirits possessed independent thought, and powerful artifact spirits could even manifest into human form.
Currently, Xia Feng only saw a phantom of the Eastern Emperor Bell in his mind, and it was this phantom that was speaking to him.
"Being able to communicate with you is enough. There are rumors that you can open the gate to the Heavenly Realm. Is this true?" Xia Feng continued to ask.
This was not surprising. The Ten Ancient Divine Artifacts could not possibly be unable to communicate.
To be so would seem rather unrefined.
Even Sun Wukong's Ruyi Jingu Bang knew how to tease monkeys.
"Master, I can do it," the Eastern Emperor Bell stated affirmatively.
Xia Feng was overjoyed upon receiving the Eastern Emperor Bell's confirmation.
He then pondered that it was not yet time to ascend. If he went and couldn't return, that would not be the outcome he desired.
"If I go there, can I come back?" Xia Feng inquired.
"Master, if you leave me on Earth, you can return, but this cannot be maintained for long," the Eastern Emperor Bell explained.
"How long can it be maintained?" Xia Feng asked.
"Ten days," the Eastern Emperor Bell replied.
Ten days was too short; it would be no different from a casual trip.
"If I take you with me, how can I return?" Xia Feng thought for a moment and rephrased his question.
"Master, if we go together, neither of us will belong to the power of this world anymore. I will not be able to bring you back, unless Master can tear through the Heavenly Dao and shatter the void to return to Earth."
The Eastern Emperor Bell explained again, as if anyone could return, it would lead to chaos.
The Heavenly Dao had its rules, and if those rules were broken, Earth would have been conquered long ago.
After all, the power of each plane was different. To maintain this balance, the void passages had long been sealed.
It was similar to how cultivators, upon reaching the Tribulation Transcension stage and sensing the power of the Heavenly Dao, would no longer belong to this world and would be taken away.
This was to maintain the balance of this plane, and Xia Feng was an existence that the Heavenly Dao could not detect.
"Is that so? Then I will consider this matter later," Xia Feng finally said, unable to let go of Xia Lin.
After all, if he truly went and couldn't return, it would be no different from him dying to Xia Lin.
"Master, ten days on Earth equals ten years outside. After all, ten years for a cultivator is but a fleeting moment, a blink of an eye," the Eastern Emperor Bell offered another significant piece of information.
The time of cultivators indeed could not be compared to Earth's time. Those powerful beings would cultivate for tens of thousands of years in seclusion, and living for hundreds of thousands of years was normal.
Xia Feng had already dismissed the idea, but with the Eastern Emperor Bell's words, he became interested again.
"You are a divine artifact from ancient times. Do you know if there is a way for someone without talent to cultivate?"
Xia Feng asked this question, as Xia Lin was precisely someone without talent.
"Master, having no talent is the best talent. In the Immortal Realm, there is a divine medicine called Spirit Seeking Grass. This immortal herb exists for those without spiritual roots; it can awaken the innate talent within the body."
The Eastern Emperor Bell explained.
Xia Feng's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and his interest grew even greater.
He had always wanted to bring Xia Lin with him. She was his only family.
"Since this immortal grass is so powerful, it must be difficult to find, right?" Xia Feng asked.
"Very difficult, but there is at least a chance," the Eastern Emperor Bell replied.
Xia Feng pondered for a moment. This suited his thoughts perfectly; if the item were common, it wouldn't be considered precious.
At the very least, the Eastern Emperor Bell had given Xia Feng a new direction.
Being able to leave Earth for ten days would have no impact on Xia Lin.
For safety's sake, Xia Feng would not leave immediately after deciding to depart.
Even if he were to go for ten days, he needed to make proper arrangements and plan ahead.
"Alright, let's leave it at that for now. Send me when I'm ready to go," Xia Feng said, preparing to rise and leave.
"Yes, Master," the Eastern Emperor Bell replied.
Xia Feng left the Penglai Immortal Mansion and returned to the airspace above the Nangong family. He shouted down to the waiting people, "You may all disperse."
After saying this, Xia Feng's figure vanished from their sight.
The crowd bowed respectfully:
"We respectfully send off Senior."
............
(Only one chapter today, I apologize to all my dear readers as I am not feeling well. o(╥﹏╥)o)