Stranger Danger
Chapter 1381: The Earthly Sovereign Bell’s Ploy

Chapter 1381: The Earthly Sovereign Bell’s Ploy

Right now, the Heavens’ Eye looked dim and covered in cracks. But even in this state, it was still giving off a stunning, spine-chilling, terrible aura and pressure.

It wasn’t just the Heavens’ Eye’s own power. There were also the remnants of the Clear Sky Mirror and the Xuanyuan Sword’s power and a mixture of various auras. It all combined into a terrifying pressure.

Anyone below the Trueman stage and Grandmaster stage would instantly experience true death if they were foolish enough to get close to the Heavens’ Eye and make contact with the remnant energies on it. Their body would be ground to paste, and their soul would scatter into nothing.

Such was the lingering energies that even Ye Qing was feeling a bit of pressure.

Of course, that was all he felt.

After all, this Heavens’ Eye was nothing compared to the prime Heavens’ Eye that had wiped out the Nanjiang Royal Court and all the land around it in one blast.

“Found you!”

After flying circles around the Heavens’ Eye for a few breaths, Ye Qing’s eyes suddenly lit up with joy. It was because he sensed the Earthly Sovereign Bell’s aura.

He appeared in front of a broken cliff in a flash. There! Both the Earthly Sovereign Bell and the Heavens’ Eye were embedded in the mountain in front of him.

Ye Qing stepped forward. He was just about to remove the Earthly Sovereign Bell when suddenly, he stopped in his tracks.

It was because he noticed that the Earthly Sovereign Bell was in an abnormal state right now.

No, it wasn’t that the Earthly Sovereign Bell’s essence was damaged by the Heavens’ Eye, nor had it been sucked into a useless pile of metal.

On the contrary, the Earthly Sovereign Bell looked to be in excellent condition. Impossibly excellent condition, even. It looked better than when he initially surrendered it to Fang Zhiyong.

It was almost as if the Earthly Sovereign Bell had never been fed on by the Heavens’ Eye.

“Huh? The Earthly Sovereign Bell is absorbing the Heavens’ Eye’s origin power!”

The next moment, Feng Qingyou appeared next to Ye Qing. A strange expression overcame her features when she saw the Earthly Sovereign Bell and the Heavens’ Eye sticking inseparably to each other.

“Er... it sure seems that way.”

Ye Qing also noticed that the Earthly Sovereign Bell was sticking to the Heavens’ Eye and sucking out the last vestiges of its origin power like a locust or a mosquito.

The Heavens Eye was helpless to resist because one, it had taken a huge blow from the Xuanyuan Sword before it recovered its strength; two, it was forcefully activated by an enraged and crazed Emperor Jing Run; and three, it was sent flying by the combined strike of the Clear Sky Mirror, Xuanyuan Sword, and Profound Yellow Bell. Like a gravely ill old man with one leg in the grave, it was simply powerless to resist the Earthly Sovereign Bell. It could only do nothing while the Earthly Sovereign Bell sucked out the last remnants of its power.

Even Feng Qingyou was so dumbfounded by this turn of events that she unconsciously rubbed her nose like Ye Qing usually did[1]. “What goes around, comes around I guess?”

Earlier, the Heavens’ Eye was sucking the Earthly Sovereign Bell’s power with zero regard for its victim’s condition or feelings. Now, the victim had become the oppressor instead.

Karma really was a bitch, wasn’t she?

Suddenly, Feng Qingyou looked at Ye Qing and asked, “Tell me the truth, Joyless. Is there something that you neglected to tell me?”

Ye Qing rubbed his nose and tried to figure out what Feng Qingyou was saying. It was then a memory jumped out of his head, and he blurted out in realization, “Now that you mention it, the Earthly Sovereign Bell did not feel sad or angry when I traded it away for the hostages. In fact, it looked rather happy.”

Thanks to his constant care and nourishment, the Earthly Sovereign Bell had gained a semblance of a sapient mind. Like a young child, it possessed various emotions such as joy, anger, sorrow and more.

When he traded the Earthly Sovereign Bell for the hostages, the Earthly Sovereign Bell had not expressed any sorrow or displeasure. In fact, it felt eager and full of anticipation.

At the time, he was too busy focusing on the dangerous men in front of him to ponder about its feelings. But now that he thought about it, it was very strange.

If he wasn’t mistaken, it was probably because the Earthly Sovereign Bell had an inkling that it would survive this tribulation. Not only that, it would benefit greatly from it.

It sounded ridiculous, but the Earthly Sovereign Bell was a natural sacred artifact and a creation of fate. It wasn’t surprising that it would have the power to predict its future or something.

Hindsight was 20/20.

“Who would have thought that the Earthly Sovereign Bell is the final oriole?”

Feng Qingyou easily figured out the truth as well.

“I know right?”

Ye Qing wasn’t sure whether to laugh at this situation. In any case, he reached out to grab the Earthly Sovereign Bell.

When his fingers made contact with the Strange Artifact though, it shook a little and repelled him.

It wasn’t because the Earthly Sovereign Bell no longer acknowledged him as its master. It was simply because it wasn’t done feeding yet.

Yep. Ye Qing could tell this because that was the thought the Earthly Sovereign Bell had transmitted to him during that brief contact. “Dude! Are you seriously risking your life over a treat?!”

Ye Qing was both frustrated and amused. What a glutton!

Buzz buzz...

The Earthly Sovereign Bell buzzed and glowed slightly to express its displeasure.

“Can you carry the Heavens’ Eye with you? If you can, then you have all the time in the world to eat and digest it, right?”

Ye Qing subconsciously suggested. However, he immediately realized what he just did and looked at Feng Qingyou.

Feng Qingyou mentioned that the Heavens’ Eye was her goal. His arbitrary decision might displease her.

“I don’t have a problem with this. The Heavens’ Eye already lost most of its origin power anyway. It’s useless to me in its current state.”

Feng Qingyou shrugged uncaringly. “Besides, this is the Earthly Sovereign Bell’s opportunity and your fortune. I see no reason to take it from you two.”

There were so many things Ye Qing wanted to say, but in the end, the only words that came tumbling out of his lips were, “Thank you, Qingyou.”

“We’re way past that point already. Just remember to pay back the favor, okay?” Feng Qingyou giggled.

Ye Qing let out a good-natured chuckle. “Haha! Simply ask, and I will die a million times if I have to.”

Feng Qingyou smiled. “I will remember your promise.”

While the two humans were conversing, the Earthly Sovereign Bell was already taking action. It abruptly swelled to the size of a mountain before covering up both the Heavens’ Eye and the mountain it was embedded in. Vibrating and chiming slightly, it slowly began to shrink.

At first, the Earthly Sovereign Bell shrank very, very slowly. It was as if something was preventing it from shrinking down to size. It was totally the Heavens’ Eye confined within its walls.

Although the Heavens’ Eye was close to dead at this point, the saying “A camel that died from starvation is still bigger than a horse” was true here. It was not an easy task even for the Earthly Sovereign Bell to suppress the Heavens’ Eye.

That said, the Heavens’ Eye was completely cut off from its owner, but the Earthly Sovereign Bell had the support of its master, Ye Qing.

Without hesitation, Ye Qing manifested his Earthly Sovereign True Body and poured all of his power into the Earthly Sovereign Bell.

Immediately, the Earthly Sovereign Bell became much more powerful than before. Its profound light reached the heavens, and its bell chimes washed all the way to the horizon. Most importantly, it began shrinking at a much faster rate.

A dozen or so breaths later, it had shrunk down to its normal size. Then, it rose into the air and slowly flew toward Ye Qing.

Normally, it took the Earthly Sovereign Bell no effort at all to fly. This time though, it was wobbling and moving slowly like a man who stuffed himself so full he could barely walk.

“Heavens, that is quite the weight.”

When Ye Qing lifted a hand to catch the Earthly Sovereign Bell, his hand sank a few inches before he caught himself, and his feet sank deep into the ground. He felt like he was carrying a mountain, not a bell.

“There’s nothing you won’t eat, is there? Aren’t you afraid that you’re going to die from indigestion and bloating one day?”

Ye Qing chided the Strange Artifact after catching his balance. The reason the bell was so heavy wasn’t just because it had swallowed the Heavens’ Eye, but also because it consumed one half of the Star Embracing Mountain.

Buzz...

The Earthly Sovereign Bell wobbled lazily before transforming into a beam of light and entering Ye Qing’s headspace. The next moment, Ye Qing felt his entire headspace shaking, his head becoming heavy beyond imagination, and his consciousness stuffed so full that he could black out.

“Oof!”

Ye Qing shook his head slowly. It took him another dozen breaths or so before he finally adapted to the new literal weight inside his head.

“We’re done here. Let’s go.”

Feng Qingyou walked up to his side, and the duo disappeared together. When they next reappeared, they were already fifty kilometers away from their previous spot.

Ye Qing closed his eyes. At the same time, some sort of invisible, rhythmic shockwaves washed out of his person. A dozen or so breaths later, a black fog rose from the horizon and rapidly approached them. One could hear the sound of horses neighing amidst the black fog.

The black fog engulfed Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou, and a shabby-looking horse carriage appeared in front of them.

1. Just fuck already! ☜