Long Chen closed his eyes. Above his Dantian, a cluster of flames in the form of a human slowly formed hand seals.
Buzz.
As a result, Long Chen’s Dantian quivered and a ball of light opened. Using the power of the spirit flame, Long Chen finally managed to restore his connection to the primal chaos bead. With the primal chaos space open, he sighed with relief.
With the primal chaos bead, he would be able to shatter the power of the formations binding him. However, he didn’t immediately do that. What would be the point? He would still be trapped here.
Once the formations were broken, the divine families would definitely sense it. At that time, an army of experts would arrive and he would still be unable to escape.
After opening the primal chaos space, surprisingly, the first thing to react was the bronze fragment. That was a fragment of the Eastern Wasteland Bell. It began to glow.
With a thought, Long Chen summoned the bronze fragment, which began to rapidly flicker. At this moment, space fluctuated according to a certain rhythm as if transmitting something.
Suddenly, an illusory figure appeared before Long Chen. Upon seeing it, Long Chen cried out in shock. That figure was the Eastern Wasteland Bell. It was no longer as broken down as it was when he had first met it. Although it was just an illusory image before him, its aura was grand and sacred.
“Eastern Wasteland Bell, what are you doing here?”
“Hehe, it really is fate. You came.” The Eastern Wasteland Bell laughed with a trace of relief.
“Senior, save me!” said Long Chen excitedly.
“I’m the one who needs saving.”
“What?” Ice water washed over Long Chen. He angrily said, “Look at what state I’m in! How am I supposed to save you?!”
Long Chen had been tortured to the point where he no longer looked human. Without the slightest energy, he couldn’t even save himself, let alone someone else.
“Don’t panic. First listen to my explanation. These bastards concealed my body within eight hidden worlds. I’ve been searching for those fragments one by one during these years, but I’m still missing two fragments. One is the piece you have in your hand, while the other is sealed at the bottom of this world. There is an Eternal Azure Vine, an immemorial lifeform absorbing its power there,” said the Eastern Wasteland Bell. As it spoke, Long Chen’s bronze fragment slowly merged into its illusory image and faded into it.
The image of the Eastern Wasteland Bell grew more complete. Its aura also grew explosively.
“Even you, the leader of the five supreme divine items, are unable to deal with it?” asked Long Chen in disbelief.
“Killing it would be simple. But there are two thorny problems. If I kill it, the energy of mine that it has been absorbing throughout all these years will be lost. Even if I obtain that fragment, I won’t be able to regain all that power. The other problem is that it is protected by formations. If it is killed, it will immediately be sensed. That’s why I’m currently pondering how to eliminate it. But now you’re here. It really is perfect,” said the Eastern Wasteland Bell.
“What can I possibly do against it?”
“Bring out your black soil. I’ll make it wither and slowly spit out all my energy. It won’t alarm anyone this way.”
“Is that Eternal Azure Vine an idiot? It won’t resist? It won’t alert anyone?” asked Long Chen.
“No, it does not possess such a spirit. In any case, this method will definitely work. Bring out your black soil,” said the Eastern Wasteland Bell.
At the next moment, the black soil began to fly out, forming a current that flowed into the image of the Eastern Wasteland Bell. It emitted a ray of light to absorb all the black soil.
“That’s enough!” After an incense stick’s worth of time, the Eastern Wasteland Bell cried out excitedly. It sent a rune into Long Chen’s body. “I still can’t save you in this state. If you encounter danger, shatter that rune and I will try to help. However, it would be best if you can stall for some time. If I cannot recover all my power, I won’t be able to defeat the Heaven Devastating Bracelet,” instructed the Eastern Wasteland Bell.
Long Chen nodded. That fragment and the energy that had been absorbed from the Eternal Azure Vine were critically important to the Eastern Wasteland Bell, and thus also to the Martial Heaven Continent’s survival.
As a result, Long Chen definitely couldn’t shatter that rune too early, or it would ruin all the efforts of the Eastern Wasteland Bell.
After that, the image of the Eastern Wasteland Bell vanished. Long Chen didn’t know in which corner of this world its true body was hiding, but it seemed that the Eastern Wasteland Bell had to have entered just recently, or it would have gone to find him for his black soil long ago.
“Relying on myself is better than relying on others.”
Long Chen couldn’t help sighing. Seeing the Eastern Wasteland Bell had made him think that he was saved, but he hadn’t expected that it also had its own troubles.
Originally, Long Chen was planning on drawing all the formations binding him into the primal chaos space. He couldn’t control it fully, but once foreign power attacked it, it would automatically strike back. He was confident that its power could shatter these formations.
However, that would definitely send an alarm through the divine families. If he couldn’t escape, it was meaningless.
Long Chen decided to wait until the Heaven Executioner returned. Long Chen could capture him when he least expected it and force him to open the spatial gate.
The arrival of the Eastern Wasteland Bell forced him to be passive. He had to wait for it to finish.
Time passed day by day. The Heaven Executioner always returned every few days to torture him. During this period, Long Chen almost killed him several times, but he still endured.
The Heaven Executioner didn’t sense the change in Long Chen, but he was growing more and more explosive. Long Chen’s unshakable will made him despair.
On this day, the Heaven Executioner returned once more. However, he didn’t immediately start with his tortures this time.
“It’s the twenty-ninth day today. The deadline is tomorrow, and it is your final chance. I’m going to tell you some news that you won’t like. Long Aotian has become a Sovereign along with the heavenly geniuses of the other worlds. As tomorrow is the day of the assault on the Martial Heaven Continent, its destruction is already set in stone. Everyone related to you will die. Those people that you’re close to, especially your women, will definitely find death to be a luxury. The Lord Saint has said that as long as you tell us your secrets, he can spare your women. You don’t need to answer me right away. I’ll give you one day to consider it. If you still don’t give me any satisfactory answers when I return tomorrow, I’ll execute the death torture on you.”
The Heaven Executioner left after saying that. Long Chen’s expression was gloomy. Was their cultivation speed really so fast?
“Eastern Wasteland Bell, how much longer?” asked Long Chen. This was no good. They had no more time.
“Almost! Trust me, we’ll make it,” answered the Eastern Wasteland Bell.
The next day arrived far too quickly. At this moment, the Heaven Executioner glared at Long Chen. “The battle has started. There is no longer a use for you.”
