Sacrificial Artifact System: From Bell-ringer to the Ancestral Patriarch

The day broke.

Immortal Forest Town was as quiet as the dead.

Every household had tightly shuttered windows and doors, and not a single shop along the street had yet to open.

Only some government officials in armor could be seen resting on the street.

Inside a house.

A dozen or so Inner Sect Disciples of Divine Sword Sect were gathered together.

Nearly every one of them was injured, clearly having been through a fierce battle.

"Alas, we somewhat miscalculated this time. Who would have thought that old fellow reached Half-step Innate and also practiced a secret technique that could stimulate potential, allowing him to escape."

Pang Bai's bald head still bore traces of blood that he had not yet had a chance to clean.

Although all the followers of the Sacrificial Fire Temple had been eliminated.

The prime target, the temple master, Daoist Ye Huo, had escaped.

Essentially, this meant their mission was a failure.

At that moment, someone hurried in, "Brothers, people from the Xuanjian Division said a corpse suspected to be Daoist Ye Huo was found near Wutang Village."

"What?"

Three faces displayed shock and confusion.

Immediately, the three of them set out with the other Inner Sect Disciples and rode their fast horses straight to Wutang Village.

After arriving at Wutang Village, people from the Xuanjian Division had already sealed off the scene.

"Good gracious, was Daoist Ye Huo split in half by a single blade?"

Pang Bai showed a look of surprise upon observing the scene.

He turned to a Xuanjian Division official, "Officer Liu, have you found any clues?"

"Pang hero, we asked people from Wutang Village... They said last night there was a carriage that had stopped outside the village and later left. They were afraid to come out to see, so they don't know who it was. We examined the scene and indeed found traces of two carriages having stayed, with at least nine people present, both adults and children..."

Officer Liu of the Xuanjian Division quickly reported.

"My guess... Daoist Ye Huo fled here after sustaining injuries from us and having used a secret technique, which left him in a bad state. He likely intended to prey on the people sheltering here to replenish his blood... yet he ran into someone formidable."

The young man in white robes, Chu Yuan, suddenly spoke up, "What if... it was Li Qian?"

"Li Qian?"

Pang Bai and Yuan Mingzhu were both startled upon hearing this.

"There's that possibility. Last time I saw Li Qian, there were indeed two carriages at the scene... and they left in this direction too..."

Yuan Mingzhu said thoughtfully after pondering for a moment.

"Considering the strength aspect, Daoist Ye Huo was wounded by us and had used his secret technique, weakening him greatly... Even if Li Qian's strength was somewhat lacking, the likelihood of him being able to make the kill is still very high."

Chu Yuan continued.

Daoist Ye Huo, this kind of Half-step Innate, reached it after cultivation to the Ninth Layer of Acquired Realm and taking an Innate Pill but failing to comprehend any secret skills or, on a higher level, Martial Intent... He does not count as a real Innate Martial Artist.

In the Divine Sword Sect, this is only considered Half-step Innate.

"Hm, this possibility is indeed high. Well then... Since Daoist Ye Huo is dead, our mission can be deemed perfectly complete."

Pang Bai nodded with a lightened mood.

Although there was a small mishap in the end, the task was still accomplished.

....

Several days later.

The caravan slowly arrived outside Lijian City.

"Madam Lin, having escorted you here, my task is also complete."

Li Qian rode his horse to the side of the carriage and spoke.

"Li Qian, you have had a hard journey."

Lin Yun descended from the carriage.

The journey had been arduous even for her, just sitting in the carriage, let alone for Li Qian who had to constantly watch the surroundings while escorting her.

"I bid you farewell."

Li Qian bowed with his hands and then with a tug of the reins, his gallant horse turned and bolted towards the direction of the Divine Sword Sect.

....

Chen Bell Platform.

This departure had been rather long, a full twenty days or more.

The bell tower was covered in dust everywhere.

When he returned, he even saw a wild chicken fluttering away.

Li Qian didn't rush to clean up, but first estimated the current time and started adjusting the long-unused hourglass.

After making the preparations, he finally began to clean the dust in the room.

Come the time of hai (9-11pm), Li Qian ascended to the top of the Bell Platform.

Touching the worn striker that had developed a patina, a sense of deep calm suddenly arose in Li Qian's heart.

He did not feel the least bit rusty having not rung the bell for over twenty days.

The connection he shared with the Chen Bell persisted no matter the distance that lay between them.

Standing beside the Chen Bell at this moment, he felt a special kind of closeness as if he shared a blood bond with it.

As the appointed hour arrived, he inhaled deeply, pushed the striker, and struck the Chen Bell forcefully.

Along with the ringing of the clear bell sound.

The Chen Bell Sound, which had disappeared for more than twenty days, once again echoed among the peaks and mountains of Divine Sword Sect.

Dong dong dong dong dong...

Six continuous chimes reverberated non-stop.

Li Qian only felt that the Inner Qi and spirit that had been sealed within him for a long time were as if suddenly revived, becoming incredibly lively and invigorated.

Thus, beside the Chen Bell Platform, he began to practice the Pure Sword Body.

During the over twenty days he was on the escort mission, he would still practice the Pure Sword Body every day.

The influence of the bell sounds did have some effect.

However, compared to practicing next to the Chen Bell Platform after striking the bell, the difference was very significant.

In any case, his cultivation over the past twenty days had only made a slight progress in the Pure Sword Body.

After completing a round of Pure Sword Body practice, Li Qian felt an invisible soreness and swelling in his meridians, yet he found it extremely comforting.

Not long after, Chen Yong's voice rose from below.

"Brother Qian."

Chen Yong was very happy at the moment.

He knew that Li Qian had returned as soon as he heard the bell sound.

"You sure got here quickly?"

Seeing Chen Yong running out of breath, Li Qian asked with a smile.

"Brother Qian, I heard people say... Over at the Inner Sect, due to some extermination mission, quite a few Inner Sect Disciples were lost or injured."

Chen Yong hurriedly spoke.

Although he was a servant disciple, after making it onto the list of combatants—even at the bottom—in the Chores Hall, his social circle gradually expanded, and he was able to obtain some information about the Inner Sect.

Li Qian must have been away for a task in the Inner Sect during the time away from Chen Bell Platform.

So he was somewhat worried about Li Qian.

"I'm fine."

Li Qian jumped down from the Bell Platform, "Looking at you, with your abundant yang energy and bulging temples, it seems you have reached the level of the Governing Vessel, haven't you?"

The Governing Vessel is one that distributes and circulates along the back of the body, with the back representing yang. When Inner Strength flows, it drives the yang energy within the body, thereby forming various signs on the body's surface.

And a bulging temple is a major indication.

Usually, it represents that one's Inner Strength cultivation has reached a certain level.

"I only started practicing it half a month ago, but the Governing Vessel is really difficult to cultivate..."

Although Chen Yong was speaking humbly, his face was filled with joy.

For someone his age, to attain such a level under extremely limited resources was quite impressive.

All this, in addition to his diligent practice, was also due to the guidance from Li Qian, the Inner Sect Disciple.

The biggest problem for servant disciples, aside from cultivation resources, is the lack of guidance; they have to explore on their own, not knowing how many detours they must take, thus wasting a lot of time.

The teachers in charge of guidance in the Chores Hall were all qualified, but their services often came at a high price, beyond what ordinary servant disciples could afford.

Moreover, since these teachers were also servant disciples, their own cultivation was mostly self-taught, and one could imagine the level of their guidance.

Why is working as a servant disciple at the Seven Main Peaks so sought after?

Isn't it to get close to Inner Sect Disciples?

With some luck, perhaps an Inner Sect Disciple, or even an elder, would take a fancy and give some spontaneous guidance.

"Yes, it is indeed much more difficult compared to the other six meridians."

Li Qian nodded.

He had a deep understanding of this.

Without the aid of the Chen Bell in his cultivation, with his root bone qualifications, he feared his situation would be similar to Chen Yong's, if not worse.

Having come from Earth, he simply did not possess Chen Yong's hardworking and enduring character.

Li Qian then went on to correct some of Chen Yong's issues with the Sword Stabbing Fist.

In the end, a greatly benefitted Chen Yong left the mountain happily.

Peace returned to the Chen Bell Platform.

Li Qian went back inside the bell tower, and took out the two halves of a cowhide booklet wrapped in a silk scarf.

There was still a faint scent of blood on it.

Li Qian, with great care, pieced together the cowhide booklet.

This Blood Transformation and Star Absorption Technique was divided into two parts.

The upper part described how to consume the fresh blood of living creatures to transform blood into Qi Cultivation.

The lower part consisted of two secret techniques, namely the Blood Burning Technique and the Spirit-breaking Finger.

The Blood Burning Technique involved burning one's own essence blood to burst forth power beyond one's limits for a short period of time, though it had severe side effects.

The Spirit-breaking Finger was an attack secret technique, capable of breaking a segment of a finger bone to shoot out like a hidden weapon, possessing considerable power.

"Although they are evil martial arts, the ideas behind them really have redeeming qualities."

After Li Qian finished memorizing them, he quietly shattered the Blood Transformation and Star Absorption Technique with his Inner Qi, throwing all the fragments into the furnace.

The Blood Burning Technique, for instance, had very severe side effects.

However, his Chen Bell had restorative effects on the body, and even if there were side effects, they could be slowly eliminated by the sound of the bell.

What he valued most was the power beyond one's own limits that could be exploded from the Blood Burning Technique, which might, at a critical moment, allow him to turn the tide.

Although he cultivated within the Divine Sword Sect, the likelihood of encountering life-threatening danger was very low.

However, it's always better to be prepared than to be taken by surprise.

The only problem now was that the Blood Burning Technique and the Spirit-breaking Finger could only be practiced using the foundation of the Blood Transformation and Star Absorption Technique.

He could not possibly cultivate the cruel and vicious evil technique of Blood Transformation and Star Absorption Technique.

Once discovered by others, things would get very problematic.

So he wondered if he could borrow the principles of the Blood Burning Technique to develop a burst secret technique suitable for his own cultivation?

Even if some issues emerged while revising the secret technique, he could rely on the Chen Bell to recover.

....