Ch. 633 - Demon-Locking Bell

"Ancestral records?" Xu Zimo asked curiously.

"In the Ancient God Race's weapon records, there are three legendary artifacts noted: the Heaven-Measuring Ruler, the Demon-Devouring Jar, and the Demon-Locking Bell."

"You’re not about to tell me that this bell is the Demon-Locking Bell, are you?" Xu Zimo asked with a laugh.

"I’m not sure, but I have some reason to suspect it," Jiu You replied. "Otherwise, I wouldn’t bother coming to steal just an ordinary artifact."

"At least you’re honest," Xu Zimo chuckled.

"It doesn't matter if I tell you. You're not of Ancient God Race blood, so you can't use it anyway," Jiu You said.

"What does the Demon-Locking Bell do?" Xu Zimo asked.

"It’s used specifically to imprison powerful demons," Jiu You replied.

"All I know is from the records in the clan’s genealogy. I wasn’t alive during the God-Demon War. The Demon-Locking Bell is as renowned as the Demon-Sealing Tower in Mount Shu of the Northern Region. Both are considered the strongest sealing artifacts in the world."

"Then help me open it," Xu Zimo said.

"I'm not strong enough. Unless you can obtain the God Key from my clan," Jiu You replied.

"I knew you were being so forthcoming for a reason. Clearly scheming," Xu Zimo laughed.

"That’s just how it is. Either you find a Ancient God Race expert to open it, or you go get the God Key and use its power to unlock it," Jiu You said.

"Of course, if you think it's useless, you can give it to me. I can trade anything I have for it."

"Forget it. You can go," Xu Zimo waved his hand.

"One more thing you should know. Now that you have the Demon-Locking Bell, real or not, countless Ancient Gods will come looking for you in the future," Jiu You warned before leaving.

"Let them come," Xu Zimo said calmly.

"I’m suggesting we work together," Jiu You said, looking at Xu Zimo.

"Work together? How?" Xu Zimo asked with interest.

"You’ve taken the Demon-Locking Bell, which makes you an enemy of the Ancient God Race. And I’m already a wanted criminal among the Ancient God Race. We share a common enemy, we could cooperate," Jiu You proposed.

"You sure you’re really a remnant of the Ancient God Race?" Xu Zimo asked.

"There are things I can’t explain to you. Just say yes or no, are we working together?" Jiu You asked.

"Alright. I was planning to visit your Ancient God Race’s ruins anyway," Xu Zimo said.

……

By the time Xu Zimo returned to the inn with Jiu You, it was already afternoon.

Lin Feng had originally wanted to return to the sect with Mu Changge, hoping to use the time to strengthen their relationship, but Mu Changge had other matters to attend to.

So he handed over the woman in the purple dress to Lin Feng’s group, instructing them to return to Nine Heavens Imperial Sect first.

The setting sun painted the sky, casting its final rays of brilliance.

When Xu Zimo arrived with Jiu You, everyone at the inn looked surprised.

"Senior brother, who is she?" Jiang Changsheng asked from the side.

"A friend of mine," Xu Zimo replied.

"You can just call her Jiu You. I plan to bring her to the sect for a while."

"Jiu You?" Lin Feng frowned slightly and said, "Don’t just bring people of unknown origin into the sect."

"Are you some gossiping housewife? Gotta butt into everything?" Xu Zimo said indifferently. "I’ll report this to Dad. Don’t need your opinion."

Lin Feng glared at Xu Zimo darkly and turned away, saying no more.

Everyone planned to stay at the inn for the night and return to the sect the next day.

After dinner and before resting, Xu Zimo said to Jiu You, "My previous maid ran off with someone else, so you're in luck. When we get to the sect, I’ll tell Father that you're the maid I brought back. He’ll agree to let you stay."

"Why should I be your maid?" Jiu You asked with a frown.

"You need some kind of identity. Otherwise, how will you stay?" Xu Zimo said casually.

"Whatever," Jiu You muttered and slammed the door behind her as she entered the room, seemingly annoyed.

Xu Zimo looked out the window with deep eyes and chuckled, "All the shame my former self left behind, I'll settle it all during the Nine Heavens Grand Gathering."

……

The sun rose in the east, and summer light came early.

At dawn, everyone finished packing and left Bright Flame City.

After entering Nine Heavens Imperial Sect, Lin Feng frowned slightly and said to Murong Yan’er, "Strange. The sect said they’d send an elder to meet us. Why haven’t we seen anyone?"

"Maybe something held them up," Murong Yaner replied with a shake of her head.

The trees of Nine Heavens Sect were lush, the forest calm and cool, with cicadas occasionally chirping in the background.

"Blood!" As the group moved forward, Ye Kai suddenly shouted.

They spotted a patch of bright red on a nearby tree.

"The blood hasn’t dried yet, it must’ve happened just recently," Ye Kai examined it and said.

Looking ahead, they saw droplets of blood scattered along a trail to the left.

It looked like someone had been seriously injured and fled that way.

"Should we check it out?" Ye Kai asked.

"Better not. We have a mission. Let’s return to the sect first," Lin Feng said after some thought.

Before anyone could respond, Jiu You picked up a token from the grass beside her.

"Is this a Nine Heavens Imperial Sect token?" she asked.

Xu Zimo turned to look. The token was palm-sized, with the characters “Grand” and “Cheng” inscribed on the front and back.

"That’s Elder Cheng’s identity token from Grand Heaven Mountain," Ye Xuan immediately recognized it.

"Elder Cheng was supposed to be the one coming to meet us, right?" Ye Kai guessed.

"We should check it out, just in case something happened."

Lin Feng thought it over and nodded.

Following the blood trail, the group continued forward.

After about five minutes, they found a man lying in a pool of blood among the thick bushes ahead.

"It’s Elder Cheng, no doubt about it," Jiang Changsheng hurried over and said.

Elder Cheng’s body was mangled, bleeding from all seven orifices, and most notably, a palm strike had caved in his back.

The palm mark was pitch black, clearly poisonous and almost certainly fatal.

"He’s dead," Lin Feng examined the body and said grimly.

"Who could’ve done this?" Ye Kai said with a serious expression.

Just then, a gust of wind swept in from the distance.

Three figures suddenly flew toward them.

"Oh, you’re all here. Saves me the trouble of hunting you down."

A voice rang out as the three figures appeared just in front of them.

The three were cloaked in large black robes, hiding their true faces.

They hung upside down from tree branches, staring intently at Xu Zimo and the others.

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