Nonetheless, everything instantly returned to normal.
Even so, the big bell did not stop ringing. It spread out in all directions as if it was coming from the nine heavens, and it was extremely profound.
In fact, even the dead Qi within 3 kilometers above the bell was blown away in an instant. It was the evening at the moment. As soft golden light shone down, the darkness and dampness in the Forest of Death were mostly dispersed. All of the ferocious beasts within 500 kilometers raised their heads at the same time and looked with fear in the direction where the big bell was.
Before the first chime disappeared, the second chime sounded again.
The sound was even louder and more majestic. It was as though a giant dragon was about to emerge from the bell.
Moreover, the dragon and phoenix pattern engraved on the bell also emitted a shocking red glow.
The big bamboo rat looked mad as it thought, ‘The Dragons! This fella really has an unspeakable relationship with the Dragons! The shackles that have been bound to us for 10,000 years are also finally going to be broken." It looked dotingly at the little bamboo rat, then it turned to look at Ou Yangming with grat.i.tude.
After looking away, the big bamboo right slightly adjusted its Qi momentum and grabbed the wooden stick with his claws to push it outward again.
The third, the fourth…
When the ninth chime was heard, the dragon and phonics pattern on the bell began to glow with a blood light as if it would come to life at any time.
The big bamboo rat let out a low growl, and the spiritual power in its dantian burst out even more intensely. The power gushed into the wooden stick like a torrential river. Subsequently, the bamboo rat pushed the stick forward with force, causing the moss-covered limestone under its feet to be crushed into powder.
“Boom…”
The universe rumbled, and the sound was deafening.
Quickly after, a 33-meters long azure dragon emerged from the top of the bell. Its body was covered with scales that were 10,000 times harder than refined iron, and its eyes were filled with arrogance and indifference. Its aura was incomparably powerful, and its majestic pressure spread out in all directions, bringing with it a power that could shake the heavens. After circling in the sky, the dragon crashed into the dilapidated gate of the ancient tower!
“Bang!” Following a light sound, the ruined gate turned into ashes without any resistance.
The azure dragon then turned into a beam of green light and merged with the gloominess in the ancient tower. After some time, a pitch-black tunnel appeared in front of everyone. A black light spread out from the tunnel and kept changing like flowing water, giving one gooseb.u.mps.
“Go in!” A voice appeared in Ou Yangming and Big Yellow"s head at the same time.
Big Yellow took a step forward. It was as if something unknown in the ancient tower was attracting it, and it looked rather absent-minded for a second.
Ou Yangming flashed he patted Big Yellow"s shoulder forcefully and only then it came back to its senses. Nevertheless, its eyes were filled with lingering fear.
After the big bamboo rat was done with everything, it spat out a mouthful of blood and looked dispirited.
The little bamboo looked anxious. It ran toward the big bamboo rat and squeaked twice, and a quick-witted look could be seen in its eyes. Following that, it cast a look of enmity at Ou Yangming.
Upon seeing this, the big bamboo rat patted the little bamboo rat"s head and explained, “This is fate. No matter how you go around it, you"ll eventually go back to the start without being able to avoid it. Don"t blame the little friend. This is Heaven"s will, which is hard to go against…” Its words were meant for not only the little bamboo rat but also Ou Yangming and Big Yellow. It knew they were worried, hence it was telling them that this was Heaven"s will, which was unavoidable.
“Let"s go!” Ou Yangming looked at Big Yellow. The calling in his mind was getting stronger, and his eyes were burning. He also wanted to know what kind of secret was hidden in the ancient tower.
With a flash, he stepped into the pitch-black tunnel below the ancient tower. Big Yellow followed closely behind him, and they disappeared in a split second.
When Multi-armed King Kong saw what happened, it flashed and rushed toward the black tunnel like a black whirlwind. Despite that, the moment it was near, the mottled black spots on the ancient tower lit up, and the black Qi above the Forest of Death seemed to be attracted. They turned into countless complicated restrictions and blocked the king kong"s path. It would be fine if that was all, but the restrictions intersected with each other, and an invisible ripple reverberated. In a flash, a powerful rebound force acted on the king kong"s body, causing it to stagger 3 to 4 steps back.
Multi-armed King Kong"s fighting will surged. Just as it was about to give it another try, the big bamboo rat"s voice was heard again. “Don"t try anymore; it"s useless. If you can"t enter, it means that the opportunity isn"t yours, so wait quietly outside!” As it spoke, it walked to the gazebo, where it placed its front legs together and sat cross-legged. No matter how one looked at it, it looked like a cultivator who was sitting with its legs crossed to guard its heart and soul.
King Kong hesitated for a long time before it finally controlled its temper and waited quietly.
After entering the black vortex, Ou Yangming"s mind was in a daze.
The young fellow"s mind was muddled as if the 2 worlds—Yin and Yang—were constantly intersecting. Furthermore, his memory became scattered and finally, he fainted after a “bang” was heard in his head.
When Ou Yangming opened his eyes again, he had already appeared in a long corridor. Big Yellow was beside him. It licked the saliva at the corner of its mouth and smacked its lips. Just then, a gust of strong wind blew, stirring up countless sand and stones that were sucked into the big yellow dog"s mouth. In the end, they were bitten by its sharp teeth, which chewed them gently. From time to time, a look of satisfaction appeared on the yellow dog"s face. No one knew what it was dreaming about.
“Don"t sleep anymore!” Ou Yangming bent down and called out to it softly by its ear.
Seeing that Big Yellow did not react to him and was still grinding its teeth, Ou Yangming kicked it gently. The big yellow dog bounced up from the ground at once and looked around in panic as if it was frightened. After seeing that there was no danger, it let out a long sigh of relief.
Ou Yangming could not help but laugh and asked, “What did you dream about?”
Big Yellow felt discomfort inside its mouth. It spat out the sand and stones and stuck out its tongue again. Instead of answering, its eyes flickered twice, and it changed the topic right away. “Is this the first level of the ancient tower? There"s nothing special about it!”
As Big Yellow spoke, it pretended to look around. It shouted with joy after a while, “Lil" Ming, look over here. There"s a mural on the wall.” This mural was hidden in the corner of the long corridor. If one did not look carefully, one would not be able to find it.
Ou Yangming walked to Big Yellow"s side and thought, ‘The lines are sharp yet smooth, and there aren"t any breaks in between. This was carved with a special craft knife. The font used was the lesser seal, and the strokes were powerful. I really don"t know who left this. This ancient tower has towered in the Forest of Death for 10,000 years, but it looks like the words had just been carved. This is really strange."
He settled down his mental conception and entered the states of the integration of Heaven and man, as well as the thoroughly meticulous.
The mural showed a barren land, where there was only the sky and the sea. They were connected, by which a blue and yellow arc extended to the horizon and finally connected in the distant horizon.
Big Yellow touched the mural with his paw and felt that it was a little cold. It asked softly, “Lil" Ming, why is this painting so weird? There"s only the blue sky and the sea; there isn"t any useful information.”
Ou Yangming shook his head and replied to it, “Perhaps this is just an ordinary mural, so there"s no need to think too much about it.” While he said that, he had a vague feeling that the mural might not be as simple as it seemed.
Having said that, no matter how he observed and pondered, he still could not get anything.
Ou Yangming frowned slightly and began to rummage through the long corridor. The corridor was not too long as it was only 100 to 133 meters long and about 6 meters wide. Soon enough, it was thoroughly searched by the young fellow and the beast. Not to mention useful information, other than occasional strong winds, there was not even a single piece of debris. It was utterly clean as if it had been robbed by a skilled bandit, by which anything that could be taken away was not left behind.
“Forget it, let"s go to the second floor and take a look.” When they were searching in the long corridor earlier, they had found at the edge a staircase leading to the second floor of the ancient tower, so they followed the broken staircase. Ou Yangming was in front while Big Yellow was behind. One after the other, they went up to the second floor of the tower. As soon as they arrived on the second floor, their eyes widened at once. There was no need to search as a huge mural stood in the middle with a mysterious light arc lingering on it. The young fellow looked over.
“The sunset and the lonely ducks fly together; the autumn water is the same color as the sky!”
It was worth noting that the painting was exquisite, and every break made was just right. With one more stroke, it would be dense; with one less stroke, it would be spa.r.s.e. It was as if it contained the heavenly law, and it gave off an overwhelming feeling where one was inside the painting itself.
Ou Yangming"s eyes were blurred as he gradually immersed himself into the world inside the painting.
An elder appeared in his mind out of the blue. His eyes were red, and he stood in the air. He sneered and pointed at the sky as he cursed, “When"s the end of the huge disaster that happens once in 10,000 years? One day, I"ll turn this world upside down!” The young fellow was watching everything like a bystander but spiritually, he could feel the elder"s helplessness and hesitation.
Before the elder could finish talking, numerous red thunderbolts descended from the sky, forcefully tearing apart the blue sky and causing the world to tremble.
The elder lifted his hand and turned it over. The mountains and rivers within 333 meters below him crumbled bit by bit. He later pinched with his bare hand, where he pulled out countless earth dragons made of sand and stone from the ground. They charged towards the red thunderbolts in the sky.
It was then when the image in Ou Yangming"s mind faded. He was detached from the world inside the painting.
Ou Yangming wondered for a moment and muttered to himself, ‘Another thing that"s related to the big disaster that happens once in every 10,000 years. What exactly is this disaster?"
Big Yellow also opened its eyes at this time. It looked confused as it asked, “Lil" Ming, what"s going on? Why did I enter a strange world just by looking at it? There was an old man, red thunderbolts, and countless earthly dragons that were made of sand and stone.”
Ou Yangming explained, “The person who carved this mural could enter the path through paintings. He could hide images that he wants others to see inside a painting so when someone looks at it, the images will be triggered. Chess is played such that chess pieces outside of the chessboard are paid attention to, whereas in painting, it"s important that people can be immersed in what is drawn. It"s a higher boundary than chess pieces outside a chessboard. At this point, whether one wants to leave or go, it all depends on a single thought. One that can do this has at least found that path.”
Big Yellow nodded and raised another question, “But with this cultivation base, he was still so hopeless about the disaster that happens once in 10,000 years. How fearsome is the disaster?” A look of fear appeared in its eyes as it looked at Ou Yangming. Even its paws were shaking.