Pursuit of the Truth
chapter-176

The girl’s eyes were big and sparkling with a charming light. There was a wild beauty in her eyes that made all those who looked into her eyes feel enchanted.

"It’s nothing. Someone touched something that belongs to me. But that person can’t take it away."

The man in green robes smiled faintly and no longer looked at the horizon. He lifted the chess piece and placed it down on the board instead.

At the entrance to the second layer of Han Mountain City, Nan Tian and the others looked at the Alpine Dark Turtle in the sky. Their expressions were grave, with a hint of amazement hidden within. They heard the sound just now and saw the fog protecting the mountain of Puqiang Tribe dissipating because of that sound.

After a long while, Nan Tian took a deep breath and spoke slowly ."Brother Leng, you have your answer to your question now…"

Leng Ying was silent as he nodded.

"When Sir Si Ma came to Han Mountain City, he came for Han Mountain Bell… He observed the bell for several days and only sounded the bell three times. That’s why if any people heard it, they forgot about it quickly. Very few people know that he sounded the bell before," Xuan Lun said hoarsely from the side.

"Three chimes… I was with the tribe leader of Lake of Colors Tribe at that time, and I saw it with my own eyes," Ke Jiu Si mumbled softly.

"Sir Si Ma fused twelve chimes together with the first chime. No matter how you hear it, it’s just one chime, but if you saw it yourself, it’d be different…

"At that time, a sealed beast also appeared, but before that beast had completely manifested, it was shattered by Sir Si Ma’s second bell chime. The Alpine Dark Turtle was the same. Before it even manifested, it was shattered by the third bell chime.

"As for the third bell chime… Sir Si Ma bled a little, but no other sealed beast appeared. After that, he stayed by the bell for several days before he left."

A strange light appeared in Leng Ying’s eyes. He looked at the stone gate lying not too far away and a frenzied look appeared in his eyes.

Nan Tian cast Leng Ying a glance before he spoke coolly. "Unless you want to challenge the Chains of Han Mountain, then don’t try it. The three tribes know that this bell is a priceless treasure… but it belongs to Sir Si Ma."

Leng Ying remained silent, but the frenzied look in his eyes gradually disappeared.

Su Ming stood by the bell and looked at it. The scene just now made him feel shaken, causing him to form a new speculation regarding the bell!

‘Han Mountain Bell is definitely a priceless treasure! He Feng might not even know about this, but it’s been here for years, and no one took it. There’s definitely something out of place about this!

‘There’s only one explanation to this. This bell has a spirit. Unless someone obtains its acknowledgement, then no one can take it away… Han Cang Zi once said that Si Ma Xin came to Han Mountain City in the past. I wonder if he realized the secret of this bell.’

The light in Su Ming’s flickered. Right then, the sound from the bell was still echoing in his head.

Nine… The two bell chimes and the Alpine Dark Turtle’s howl had formed that word once they fused together as if it contained a great mystery. It surrounded Su Ming’s heart and made the light in his eyes grow brighter.

At that moment, another long arc traveled out from the mountain of Puqiang Tribe that had most of its fog dissipated. There was an old man within that long arc. He had an incredibly respectful look on his face and was already in the Transcendence Realm. He approached the city quickly and did not dare stand in midair. He descended on the ground 100 feet away from Su Ming and wrapped his fist in his palm towards Su Ming before he bowed deeply.

"By the orders of the Elder, we are to deliver the plate to you. We hope you will not mind what happened before."

As the old man spoke, he took out the plate and placed it on the ground before taking a few steps back with a conflicted look on his face and turning around to leave.

Su Ming did not look at the plate on the ground. His gaze was still fixed upon Han Mountain Bell. The light in his eyes flickered. He could already tell that the number of times the bell sounded was not the source of obtaining the acknowledgement from the tribes.

‘What they want is…’

A pensive look appeared in Su Ming’s eyes. He had somewhat understood it, but the whole idea behind it was still a little obscure to him.

"I would suggest that you don’t do it."

As Su Ming was still mulling over it, light suddenly flashed on the stone gate that led to the second layer by his side. Four people walked out from within!

The appearance of these four people immediately made the crowd who was originally silent burst into commotion once again.

"Nan Tian, Xuan Lun, Ke Jiu Si, and Leng Ying! Besides Yun Zang, all the Transcended Berserkers in Han Mountain City have appeared!"

"This is the first time I saw the four of them together!"

"He’s Sir Leng Ying. I heard about him before. Now that I see him, he’s just like the rumors described him. As long as he’s around, even sweltering lava will freeze in an instant."

Su Ming turned around and looked at the four people walking out of the stone gate. A faint smile appeared at the corners of his lips, which was hidden under the black robes. From the group, he had already met Nan Tian and Xuan Lun before.

The one who spoke was Nan Tian.

Nan Tian looked at the man in black robes who had his face covered. The man had his head lowered and he could not see his face, but he had a feeling that he had seen the outline of this person’s body before.

"Sir, what do you mean?"

Su Ming did not want to be recognized by others at this moment. This was not according to his plans to enter Freezing Sky Clan, that was why he asked in a hoarse voice.

Nan Tian took a close look at Su Ming. After a while, he frowned and spoke slowly. "It’s nothing, just a reminder. Perhaps the owner of this bell won’t like it."

Su Ming fell silent for a moment before he lifted his right hand and seized the air. Puqiang Tribe’s plate instantly flew up into his hand from the ground. At that moment, he had the plates from the three tribes. He had obtained the right to go to Han Mountain’s summit. He could go there and challenge one of the three Chains of Han Mountain that led to one of the three tribes.

Nan Tian smiled faintly and withdrew half a step. Ke Jiu Si and the others did the same and opened up a path to the stone gate.

Su Ming looked at the stone gate. He knew that the gate led to the second layer. There would be no more road blocks if he went further up. He could go straight to the summit. However… A glint appeared in Su Ming’s eyes and he looked at Han Mountain Bell.

"It doesn’t mean I can’t snatch it… even if it has an owner!" Su Ming mumbled and jumped up. He lifted his right foot and spun around, landing a kick on the bell!

Su Ming’s actions focused Nan Tian’s attention on him. By his sides, Ke Jiu Si and Leng Ying’s eyes also became bright. Only Xuan Lun stared at Su Ming, as if he had just recalled something.

"The bell sounded again! 22, 23, 24…"

"This person must have Transcended, but that’s odd… The bell chime this time doesn’t have that shocking feel just now."

"25, 26, 27… Just how many times is he going to sound the bell? The rebound is too strong!"

The crowd was in an uproar. Most of them had even instantly retreated. With Su Ming and the bell as the center, layers upon layers of invisible ripples spread out, causing the ground in Han Mountain to shake. It even made the leaders of the three tribes in the mountains around the city focus their eyes towards the place.

Su Ming stopped in midair. Just as he was about to land on the ground, he lifted his head swiftly, as if he had finally found a vague sensation. He lifted his right fist and hurled it towards the bell.

The instant his punch landed, a shocking rebound landed on his body. It caused blood to trickle out of Su Ming’s mouth. He fell to the ground, and once he took seven to eight steps back, he coughed out a mouthful of blood.

Dong!!

The 28th chime surpassed the previous chimes, even the fused sound that had dissipated the fog enveloping Puqiang Mountain. It turned into one single sound that replaced everything in the world and shook all hearts. It made all those who heard the sound tremble furiously. No matter what level of cultivation a person had, the mighty sound appeared in their minds and made their heads blank!

The ringing of that sound made the Alpine Dark Turtle in the sky howl towards the heavens. As it howled, its body shattered. Its body was not the only one that shattered, the mountain on its back also crumbled!

The crumbling sounds caused a huge crash that fused with the bell chime, making all those who heard it to be unable to differentiate whether the bell chime was real, or that it was multiple bell chimes that had blended into one single sound that was difficult to tell apart. At that moment, the sounds mixed together and caused the sky and earth to change. That muffled voice that seemed to have come from the distant past rang out once again!

"Nine… Headed Dragon…"

This was the only sound in the world. It reverberated, floated, and spread out, causing all those who heard the voice to feel dazed as if they had just lost their minds. It was as if at that moment, their consciousness had been absorbed by that sound.

Yan Luan fell into that state, the Elder of Tranquil East fell into that state, everyone, without exception, fell into that state!

Su Ming had the strongest sensation. A boom resounded through his head, and his mind was left in a blank state.

A gigantic bell flared up gloriously in his mind. It was Han Mountain Bell!

That booming sound was replaced by bell chimes that reverberated through Su Ming’s mind, causing him to not know just how much time had passed until he slowly regained consciousness.

The moment he woke up, his ears still rang with the lingering sounds of the bell chime. He could clearly see that the people around him were all still standing around him with dazed looks on their faces, still and unmoving.

Su Ming breathed rapidly. Then, as if he sensed something, he lifted his head swiftly and saw the illusion of a ferocious beast in the sky that only he could see clearly!

It was a gigantic beast. Its features were still obscured, but he could still tell that the beast had nine heads. Each head had a different look. Some of them looked like they belonged to dragons, some to snakes, and some to humans. They were all incredibly bizarre, but what made Su Ming take in a sharp breath was this sight - out of the nine heads, he saw that six of them had their eyes closed, and only three of them had their eyes opened!

Out of the three heads that had their eyes open, one of them was looking at him gently. Su Ming could see himself in its eyes.

The other two heads were looking at him with an arrogant and cold air, and Su Ming saw an extraordinarily handsome person in green robes in their eyes!

At that same moment, at the foot of the seven colored mountain located far into the distance from Han Mountain City, the man in green robes placed the white piece in his hand down.

"Big brother Si Ma, you lost this round."

The girl by his side laughed happily. Her laughter sounded like tinkling silver bells and was very pleasant to the ears. She quickly placed the black piece in her hand down, and her petite face was filled with delight and happiness.

"Lost..?"

The man in green robes smiled faintly. His smile looked very gentle, but the chill in his eyes could not be seen by the girl, neither could the voice in his heart be heard by her.

‘That might not be the case.’