bullyxtreme Chapter 140 Only the sound of bells and chimes could be heard
Chapter 140 Only the sound of bells and chimes could be heard
A halo around the moon foretells wind, and dampness on the foundation foretells rain.
There was no sun or moon in this land. Mei Shiyu's gaze shifted from the hazy sky downwards to the pavilions, towers, and covered walkways within the market. The wind and clouds were beginning to rise, and a mountain rain was about to come. The sliver of light in the sky was gradually thinning over the distant mountains.
The wind carried a strange, salty, and damp smell.
Yun Songxuan pinched his nose, turned his head to look at the few Yunlan Sect disciples still standing in the distance, a thought flashed through his mind, and suddenly his expression changed drastically. He exclaimed, "Not good!"
The younger generation of the Yunlan Sect are trying to contact the sect leader, Yun Songhe.
After repeated attempts and failures, the formation they had set up finally began to react.
One of them was about to report this "good news" to Yun Songxuan when, without noticing the sudden change in the light emitted by the formation, he turned around and saw the elder waving at them in a panic.
Yun Songxuan shouted, "Get out of there! Get away!"
The young man didn't realize what was happening.
They stood there motionless, unaware of what was happening.
A cold wave surged from the ground, accompanied by fierce winds and torrential rain. Several towering columns of water shot out, growing and climbing rapidly like thick vines, instantly destroying and engulfing the entire magic array.
The watercourses crisscross and intertwine, and any prey caught in them will be instantly strangled.
Yun Songxuan was startled and tried to step forward, but Mei Shiyu pressed down on his shoulder.
The array set up by the Yunlan Sect disciples had been tampered with, attracting some ferocious creature. The water column soared into the air, reaching a height of ten zhang, like a tsunami rising from the ground. The surrounding tall buildings appeared as tiny boats on the sea in comparison.
If you rush forward at this moment, you will surely be swept into the swirling eddies of water.
The highest virtue is like water, which benefits all things without striving. It should be extremely yin and gentle, nourishing all things. However, the "water formation" in front of us is coming fiercely, with heavy rain and strong winds... Mei Shiyu seemed to have expected it. She held tightly to Yunsongxuan, as firm as a rock and as immovable as a mountain, letting her sleeves flutter in the wind.
The rising steam hits you like a tiny needle piercing your skin.
Such a change happened in the blink of an eye.
Yun Songxuan watched helplessly as the people caught in the center of the water formation perished in an extremely tragic manner—their struggling bodies were squeezed and torn apart, the water blades churned them into a bloody pulp, and the gushing blood flowed into the water, turning into a river of blood, which was then diluted by the subsequent waves in the blink of an eye.
As the tide rises and falls, it washes away all the filth and dirt.
The salty, damp smell in the air grew stronger, completely overpowering the stench of blood, like a sea breeze.
Seeing the bloody tragedy unfold before his eyes, Mei Shiyu was powerless to do anything. He had considered using ice to freeze the creature, but doing so would only embolden it.
When ice meets water, it's like fire riding the wind; the flesh and blood sealed within the ice crystals will freeze and shatter, breaking into countless tiny ice crystals that will disperse in the wind... It's not much better than the current situation.
"It's him... Xue Rendong!" Yun Songxuan gritted his teeth and said, "That merman from the Taiji Palace!"
It was that wretched "piranha" that was causing the trouble.
Mei Shiyu couldn't help but feel a sense of unease.
If you were to ask him who he least wanted to encounter in the Taiji Hall, the first person he would say would be Li Tingyun, and the second would be Xue Rendong.
But Mei Shiyu was just so unlucky. First, she ran into Li Tingyun for no reason, and then she met Xue Rendong. She suffered just as many misfortunes as she was destined to suffer, and she couldn't avoid them even if she wanted to.
Lord Xue of Xuanwu City is notorious for his cruelty and bloodthirstiness, which is no less than that of Li Tingyun. Although he is not as strong as Li Tingyun, there is one thing about him that makes Mei Shiyu quite wary.
Xue Rendong's spiritual root attribute is water, specifically the Yin Water of the Northern Darkness.
Although there has always been a saying in the cultivation world that "water spiritual root is relatively weak among the five elements of spiritual root", this statement is actually completely wrong, especially for high-level cultivators, as it is misleading.
In the later stages of cultivation, advanced cultivators usually need to make up for the other spiritual roots they lack, and the water spiritual root is especially rare.
Water-elemental cultivators often progress slowly in the early stages of cultivation, but once they get through that most difficult period, they will be invincible.
Those born with a water elemental root will find it easier and smoother to cultivate the other four elemental roots later on.
Water nurtures all things, harmonizes yin and yang, changes with form, and follows the natural flow. Nothing in the world is softer than water, yet nothing can overcome the hardest things.
Xue Rendong was of high talent and had profound cultivation. If compared with other cultivators in the world of immortal cultivation, he would undoubtedly be one of the best and would be among the strongest.
Most importantly, he belongs to the category of "his strength is unknown, but he becomes stronger when facing strong opponents," and he has never been defeated.
Facing an opponent stronger than himself, he may not win, but he will never lose, much less lose miserably.
No matter how strong a person is, once they are entangled with Xue Rendong, they are destined to be worn down by him.
Unless you're strong enough to crush him.
One move decides the outcome, life or death.
We did not give him any chance to retaliate.
Mei Shiyu admitted that he did not have this ability.
Looking across the entire cultivation world, there are very few people who can achieve such a feat, defeating an opponent of unfathomable strength in a single move—it's truly unimaginable.
The sound of bells and chimes drifted from afar.
The distance was too great, and the music carried by the wind was almost imperceptible, but Mei Shiyu still managed to catch this unusual sound.
Yun Songxuan listened intently, then his lips trembled as he said, "This voice sounds familiar; I've heard it before outside Xuanwu City..."
It was like hearing a death knell tolling, sending chills down his spine.
Trouble has really come knocking.
Xue Rendong was nearby, but he did not show up for a long time.
Mei Shiyu pondered, "This should be the sound of the floating golden bell and the sinking bright chime."
Having spent so many years in the Taiji Palace in his previous life, he had a fairly deep understanding of the four city lords of Sixiang City.
As far as he knew, Xue Rendong, the lord of Xuanwu City, was particularly fond of music, and in this respect, he was a descendant of his ancestor, Emperor Zhuanxu.
Emperor Zhuanxu left behind two magical treasures in the human world: the Floating Golden Bell and the Submerged Bright Chime. Now, both of these items are placed on the Xuanwu Spirit Platform in the north of the Taiji Hall.
Every winter, starting from the winter solstice, the north wind blows from the north, and the sound of bells and chimes, a long and melodious sound, will last for a long time, spanning the entire coldest period of winter, for a full eighty-one days, until spring returns to the earth and it will finally stop.
It resembled a mysterious and grand sacrificial ceremony.
In winter, whenever the cold wind howls, you can clearly hear the echoing of bells and chimes from anywhere in the Taiji Hall or the Four Symbols City.
The Master of Taiji Hall loathed any "noise" from the outside world that disturbed the peace, yet he was remarkably tolerant of it. Mei Shiyu could sense that Li Tingyun liked this sound very much, even... he enjoyed it.
Mei Shiyu could always see Li Tingyun standing outside the Taiji Hall, gazing at the sky against the backdrop of swirling snow. As for why he could always see this scene... it was because he often did the same thing himself.
The two of them always tacitly chose to stand under the same eaves at the same time to enjoy the snow. There was no definite order of arrival; it was simply a matter of arriving a little earlier or a little later.
Every time we bumped into each other, I felt awkward and thought I should go somewhere else next time. It turned out the other person thought the same thing. After bumping into each other several times, the awkwardness got to the point where it wasn't so awkward anymore.
Later, they got used to it and would spontaneously walk out of the palace on snowy days to gaze into the distance and watch eagles circling and wild geese flying through the snow.
Yu Guangzhong could always catch a glimpse of another person.
Those were rare moments of peace between the two of them.
Although he didn't say a word more.
The atmosphere, however, was not cold or tense.
Now, when Mei Shiyu hears the familiar music again, it feels like a lifetime ago—in fact, it has been a lifetime since he last heard the bells and chimes that once resounded throughout the Taiji Hall. It is so familiar that it feels strange to him.
In stark contrast to Yun Songxuan's chilling feeling, as if he were hearing a funeral dirge, Mei Shiyu discerned an unusual tranquility in the deep, ancient tones of the bells and chimes.