Ringing the Bell for a Hundred Years, I Became the Sect’s Ancestor – Chapter 122

Chapter 122: Breakthrough to the Celestial Being Realm

Xiao Wendao, who was originally stationed in Taiping County, immediately rushed to the deathly Shura field after receiving the Flying Eagle Message.

“Grand Martial Uncle, is this level of destructive power truly achievable by a Celestial Being?”

Yun Lei, the Dripping Water Peak Master, asked.

“No, not even a Top-Tier Celestial Being can achieve this.”

Xiao Wendao’s face was solemn as he shook his head and said, “Martial Intent at the True Image Level has limited destructive power, basically confined to one’s True Qi volume. Even if one can utilize Martial Techniques and Secret Techniques to draw upon a portion of Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi for amplification, tripling its power would be impressive, but still far from reaching this widespread destructive force.”

“Unless…”

He paused for a moment, then took a deep breath and said, “It’s a Celestial Being who has comprehended Celestial Image Level Martial Intent.”

“An Invincible Celestial Being?”

Everyone present gasped in shock.

Because a Celestial Being who has comprehended Celestial Image Level Martial Intent is known as an Invincible Celestial Being in Great Chang.

In other words, as long as a Celestial Being comprehends Celestial Image Level Martial Intent, they can easily defeat Celestial Beings who have only comprehended True Image Level Martial Intent.

“Indeed, it is said that Celestial Image Level Martial Intent can truly draw upon Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi on a large scale, resulting in an amplification that can increase power by hundreds of times, allowing one to single-handedly alter celestial phenomena and terrain.”

Xiao Wendao nodded and said.

He wondered if this was the work of that mysterious Celestial Being.

But this destructive power was too great, even Top-Tier Celestial Beings were far from achieving this.

Could it be that the mysterious expert was an Invincible Celestial Being?

If it wasn’t that mysterious Celestial Being, then who else would secretly inform Divine Sword Sect and annihilate Prince Ning’s Martial Arts Legion that was preparing to ambush Divine Sword Sect?

“This senior is becoming increasingly mysterious.”

Xiao Wendao muttered to himself, unconsciously placing the other party in the position of a senior.

In fact, he once had an incredible conjecture.

He had only read about this conjecture in an ancient text within Dragon Guarding Temple, and it had never been confirmed, so he always thought it couldn’t possibly exist.

It was said that there was another realm in this world, inaccessible to mortals, concealed by a powerful force.

It was said that only those who had reached a certain level of cultivation or certain truly exceptional geniuses had the opportunity to glimpse the truth.

It was all very vague and unclear.

He didn’t believe it before, thinking it was something made up by someone.

If such a realm truly existed, what kind of power could conceal it?

Why, in the history of Great Chang, were even Celestial Image Level Celestial Beings extremely rare, and Martial Saints, at that level, were mere legends, never appearing?

If they truly existed in the past, where did they all go?

Now, this mysterious expert, who seemed to have appeared out of thin air, made him feel that the realm inaccessible to mortals might actually exist.

Time Bell Pavilion.

After more than a day of rest and recuperation, Li Qian was once again full of vigor and vitality.

All the aftereffects were gone.

This was the effect of the Time Bell.

He was now back to his peak condition.

Using Great River Sword Qi twice more would definitely not be a problem.

As Divine Sword Sect began large-scale mobilizations to confront Prince Ning’s rebel army that was about to march westward, Li Qian could no longer cultivate peacefully.

A few days later, he was assigned a mission to recruit martial artists in Sihe County.

It turned out that Divine Sword Sect had received authorization from the imperial clan to form a Martial Arts Legion.

Moreover, this Martial Arts Legion would be personally commanded by Celestial Being Xiao of Divine Sword Sect.

As for the training methods of the Martial Arts Legion, Prince Qi’s Residence would also send people to guide and complete the process.

This situation delighted the high-level officials of Divine Sword Sect.

It was equivalent to Divine Sword Sect truly obtaining the right to form a Martial Arts Legion.

Unlike last time, although Divine Sword Sect was responsible for the preparations and formation, the control was in the hands of Prince Ye’s Residence.

The imperial clan’s reason for delegating the authority to form a Martial Arts Legion to a major martial arts sect like Divine Sword Sect was simple: the situation had drastically worsened, and to strengthen the force to suppress the rebels, they had to relinquish some control.

This was actually a very risky move.

But the imperial clan had no choice.

While Divine Sword Sect was hastily forming its Martial Arts Legion, the Martial Arts Legions of Prince Qi’s Residence and Prince Ye’s Residence had already arrived at the Min River front line in Taiping County, constructing a solid defense in cooperation with Divine Sword Sect and the He Family.

The rebel army from Prince Ning’s Residence had also successively arrived at the opposite bank of the Min River.

But strangely, the rebels did not launch an attack.

In fact, it wasn’t that Prince Ning’s side didn’t want to attack, but they were puzzled. A Martial Arts Legion and the Moon Worship Cult’s Half-Demon Legion that were supposed to launch a surprise attack on Divine Sword Sect more than half a month ago had mysteriously lost contact.

This resulted in their failure to capture Divine Sword Sect, losing the best opportunity to control Taicang Pass.

According to Prince Ning’s plan, after capturing Divine Sword Sect, their main force would immediately advance south, first annihilating Prince Qi’s Residence, then dividing their forces to attack Kunwu Circuit and Shuchuan Circuit, eliminating Prince Ye’s Residence and forcing Prince Fan’s Residence to betray the imperial court.

If successful, Prince Ning’s Residence would possess the vast territory of six circuits: Taixing Circuit, Kunwu Circuit, Shuchuan Circuit, Linyuan Circuit, Chi Li Circuit, and Zhenwu Circuit.

But now, not only had they failed to capture Divine Sword Sect, but the sect had also immediately set up defenses in Taiping County, and the dispatch of troops from Prince Qi’s Residence and Prince Ye’s Residence was surprisingly swift.

Under these uncertain factors, Prince Ning’s Residence had lost the initiative, resulting in the current stalemate.

At this moment, in Prince Ning’s rebel army camp on the opposite bank of the Min River.

“Is there still no news of Celestial Being Li’s Martial Arts Legion and the Half-Demon Legion?”

Sitting in the main seat was an elegant middle-aged commander. He was Prince Ning’s younger brother, known as the number one expert in Zhenwu Circuit, Ning Wushuang, a Top-Tier Celestial Being, commanding a powerful Martial Arts Legion called the Wushuang Legion.

It was this Ning Wushuang who served as the commander-in-chief for Prince Ning’s Residence’s attempt to seize Taixing Circuit, Kunwu Circuit, and Shuchuan Circuit.

Without a grasp of the true situation, Ning Wushuang did not dare to rashly attack at this moment.

After all, it was simply too outrageous for a powerful Martial Arts Legion and a Half-Demon Legion to vanish into thin air after entering the Tianzhi Mountain Range.

“Commander, the Tianzhi Mountain Range is too vast. Although we followed the trail and searched all the way, there are many Divine Sword Sect members guarding the area near Tianqi Peak, our people can’t get through.”

The person in charge of intelligence gathering hurriedly said.

During this period, his scout battalion had suffered heavy losses.

“It seems they must have encountered trouble, otherwise there wouldn’t be any movement at all.”

Ning Wushuang’s eyes were cold and sharp.

For a powerful Martial Arts Legion and the Moon Worship Cult’s Half-Demon Legion to disappear mysteriously, with not a single survivor escaping, they must have encountered an irresistible force.

But the problem was that this plan was highly confidential.

Very few people knew about it.

Could it be that there was an internal problem, leading to an information leak?

“Commander Ning, if we keep waiting like this, the defensive forces on the other side will become stronger and stronger. By then, it will be even more difficult for us to break through the Min River defense.”

A Celestial Being commander from Prince Chen’s Residence couldn’t help but say.

“It’s truly a pity to lose such a strategic opportunity. It seems we can only choose to attack by force.”

Ning Wushuang frowned.

This way, the losses of Prince Ning’s army would be immeasurable.

But he was also a decisive person, immediately issuing the order, “Beat the drums, gather the troops, prepare to cross the river and attack by force.”

Soon, war drums thundered in Prince Ning’s rebel army camp, countless well-equipped soldiers began to pour out of their tents, forming battle formations under the command of their officers.

The vast military morale and fighting spirit began to condense.

Such a large commotion in Prince Ning’s camp naturally alerted Prince Qi’s and Prince Ye’s camps on the opposite side.

A great battle was about to erupt.

Time Bell Pavilion.

After completing his mission, Li Qian finally had some free time to cultivate by ringing the bell.

However, in addition to cultivation, he would occasionally go to the front line to observe the battle and understand the situation.

If the situation became unfavorable, he might have to intervene.

He didn’t want a repeat of the rebels reaching Divine Sword Sect.

Although Taiping County wasn’t close to Divine Sword Sect, with his flying speed, it only took half a day to travel back and forth.

He no longer relied solely on the rudimentary Blood and Qi Sanctuary for flight.

That consumed too much Qi and Blood.

The Intent of the Vast Sword River, comprehended through Great River Sword Qi, allowed him to manipulate a large amount of Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi, complementing the rudimentary Blood and Qi Sanctuary for flight, achieving a synergistic effect and consuming less mental energy.

Therefore, he always chose to go out in the evening and return at dawn.

Under the joint resistance of Prince Qi’s and Prince Ye’s armies, coupled with the arrival of Prince Fan’s Martial Arts Legion in support, they managed to hold back Prince Ning’s rebel army at the Min River front line after paying a heavy price.

In the end, Prince Ning’s rebel army had to abandon their plan for a quick victory, causing the initially intense large-scale legion battles to gradually turn into small-scale skirmishes.

This gradually led to a stalemate.

Time flew by.

In the blink of an eye, more than half a year had passed.

The stalemate at the Min River continued, and although there were constant battles, big and small, during this period, there was no progress.

At Time Bell Pavilion.

Li Qian’s cultivation during this time was relatively smooth, without many setbacks.

After completing that mission, Divine Sword Sect rarely assigned him any tasks.

Dong, dong, dong.

The clear sound of the bell rang out, echoing throughout the sky above Divine Sword Sect.

◈◈◈

After striking the bell three times, Li Qian took Sword Eighteen and practiced Heartless Sword Manual. The abundant True Qi circulating within his body surged like a raging river.

The peculiar True Elixir also seemed to have reached its limit.

In fact, his current cultivation progress had reached True Elixir Realm Late Stage 98/100.

He was less than ten days away from breaking through to the Celestial Being Realm.

And the progress of his Heartless Sword Intent had also reached 89/100.

In less than a year, his Sword Intent could potentially break through to the Celestial Image Level.

After witnessing the power of Great River Sword Qi, he was even more eager to break through to Celestial Image Level Sword Intent.

After a long while, he stopped practicing his swordsmanship and let out a long breath.

Screech!

An eagle’s cry rang out.

Immediately after, a black hawk descended from the sky and landed on the bell tower.

Li Qian noticed that Little Black seemed to have lost some feathers and looked a bit battered.

It was clear that it had gone through a battle.

Little Black’s current size was many times larger than before, already considered a large eagle.

Coupled with the fact that it ate specially formulated Nourishing Pills every day, its combat power was definitely not something ordinary large eagles could match.

To be able to beat Little Black to this state, its opponent must have been very strong.

Li Qian swept his Spiritual Perception over Little Black and was relieved to find that it wasn’t injured.

So he tossed it a Nourishing Pill.

After swallowing the pill, Little Black began to preen its feathers.

A few days later.

After a cultivation session, Li Qian suddenly felt the True Elixir within his body vibrating, as if it would shatter at any moment.

He quickly checked the system interface and saw that his cultivation progress had indeed reached 99.

He could break through to the Celestial Being Realm.

“I wonder how much my strength will increase after breaking through to the Celestial Being Realm?”

Li Qian thought to himself.

Under normal circumstances, even if his cultivation reached the Celestial Being Realm, but his Sword Intent hadn’t improved, his strength increase would be very limited.

The only difference was that he would be a true Celestial Being.

Unlike before, where he only had True Image Level Martial Intent.

He wasn’t a true Celestial Being.

Nightfall.

Li Qian quietly left Divine Sword Sect.

This time, he chose to fly west and found a large lake.

This was Pingze Lake, the largest lake within Sword Province.

Although it wasn’t as large as Dream Cloud Marsh in Xuan Province, its surface area was still considerable.

On a small island in Pingze Lake.

A Spirit Gathering Formation had already been set up.

Holding two Yuan Stones in his hand, Li Qian began circulating Heartless Sword Manual, allowing his Immaculate Holy Body to freely absorb the Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi gathered by the Spirit Gathering Formation and the Yuan Qi within the Yuan Stones.

At the same time, his rudimentary Blood and Qi Sanctuary was fully released.

Compared to when his cultivation broke through to the Late Stage, the range covered by the rudimentary Blood and Qi Sanctuary had expanded, indicating its increased strength.

He began to frantically absorb Yuan Qi, refining it into True Qi.

After his body reached its limit, he began to store it within the rudimentary Blood and Qi Sanctuary.

At this moment, the True Elixir within his Qi Sea Dantian, under the impact of the massive True Qi, began to gradually melt, transforming back into nine strands of True Qi.

Suddenly.

The True Qi rapidly contracted.

The tenth strand of True Qi condensed and formed.

At the moment the tenth strand of True Qi formed, including the other nine strands, all ten strands of True Qi suddenly exhibited a repulsive force, circulating throughout his body, then emerging from ten specific acupoints.

After leaving his body, the ten strands of True Qi shuttled through the surrounding air, attracting Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi, then abruptly colliding together, intertwining and entangling in an incredibly complex structure, suspending above Li Qian’s head.

Billowing Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi converged and poured in.

At the same time, Li Qian infused the True Qi stored within the rudimentary Blood and Qi Sanctuary into it.

Dong, dong, dong!

Li Qian couldn’t help but close his eyes. The sound of bells echoed continuously in his mind. His consciousness seemed to expand infinitely, merging with Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi. It was as if he was the sky, he was the earth, he was all things. Endless insights surged from within his heart at this moment.

But soon, his perception seemed to touch upon an invisible and insurmountable membrane.

Blocking the expansion of his perception, his insights abruptly stopped.

The next moment, the sound of bells in his mind ceased, and he regained consciousness.

“Phew!”

He opened his eyes, let out a long breath, and looked up. A peculiar True Elixir had already re-condensed and formed above his head.

It was still in the form of a True Elixir.

But it was suspended outside his body.

Li Qian clearly sensed the difference in this True Elixir.

With a thought, the True Elixir abruptly entered through his Celestial Spirit Acupoint at the crown of his head, sinking into his Qi Sea Dantian. At the same time, an invisible wave emanated from the True Elixir, and his body unexpectedly levitated into the air.

“Is this how Celestial Beings fly?”

Li Qian muttered to himself.

The reason Celestial Beings could fly was because of this Celestial Being True Elixir.

This Celestial Being True Elixir seemed to have become a part of Heaven and Earth, allowing him to borrow the power of Heaven and Earth, enabling him to soar through the sky.

Suddenly, Li Qian felt something unusual about his Heartless Sword Intent.

He quickly summoned the system interface to check the latest information.

Host: Li Qian.

Cultivation: Celestial Being Realm （Initial Stage 11/100）.

Sacrificial Instrument: Time Bell （Law 6081/10000）.

Martial Arts: Sword-Piercing Fist （Perfection）, Heartless Sword Manual （Perfection）, Immaculate Holy Body （Perfection）, Soul-Chasing Sword Technique （Perfection）, Great River Sword Qi （Second Level 1/100）.

Martial Intent: Heartless Sword Intent （True Image 99/100）.

Divine Ability: Blood and Qi Sanctuary （Rudimentary Form 59/100）.

Secret Techniques: Myriad Transforming Sword Qi, Blood Burning Technique.

Auxiliary Techniques: Lion Camel Ridge Formation Manual （Mastery 28/100）.

His cultivation progress had reached Celestial Being Realm 11, clearly indicating that the True Qi stored within the rudimentary Blood and Qi Sanctuary had contributed to his subsequent cultivation progress.

As for the progress of Great River Sword Qi’s Second Level, it remained at 1. Although he had tried practicing it over the past six months, he hadn’t made any progress.

The reason was simple: it was related to his Sword Intent not reaching the Celestial Image Level.

Only with Celestial Image Level Sword Intent could he continue practicing the Second Level of Great River Sword Qi.

“But why did my Heartless Sword Intent suddenly increase to 99 progress?”

Li Qian’s attention fell on the Martial Intent section, and his heart was filled with shock.

He remembered that it was at 89 progress before.

His cultivation had broken through to the Celestial Being Realm, and his Heartless Sword Intent had also increased?

He suddenly recalled the peculiar state his consciousness had entered during the breakthrough.

Could it be that peculiar state that caused his Heartless Sword Intent to increase by ten points of progress at once?

Although it was only ten points of progress, it would have taken him more than ten months of comprehension under normal circumstances.

“Doesn’t that mean my Heartless Sword Intent will soon break through?”

A smile appeared on his face.

This was truly an unexpected surprise.

After all, with 99 progress, a breakthrough could happen at any time.

Suddenly, he recalled the peculiar membrane his consciousness seemed to have touched upon during its expansion.

“Wait, something’s not right. What exactly was that membrane?”

He muttered to himself.

He had a feeling that if it weren’t for the obstruction of that membrane, his Sword Intent might have already broken through to the Celestial Image Level during that moment of insight.

In other words, was there a peculiar membrane in this world that was preventing his Heartless Sword Intent from breaking through to the Celestial Image Level?

PS: We’re about to enter a crucial plot point, and it’s a bit slow to write, so the update is late. The second update is 4,800 words long. Please vote for double monthly votes!!!