Li Xiaoke looked up, startled by the clash above.
To him, the bronze bell was barely a copy at all. Beyond sharing the shape of a bell, it had little in common with his masterpiece. He had forged it in haste, using raw brass without refinement, copying the Carefree Bell's patterns directly onto its surface. That it had awakened spirit at all was a miracle. That it dared call the Carefree Bell a counterfeit was absurd.
He preferred symmetry in all things. Even when he killed the white-robed nuo immortal Chen Mianzhu, his sword had split the temple down its central axis. The man's skin had parted evenly, left and right in perfect balance. The same for Yuan Wuji and all the others.
But now the bronze bell carried eight foreign runes — eight, an uneven number, marring its surface. The sight irritated him deeply.
* * *
A mountain peak shattered. The bronze bell had been struck off-course, its attack missing the Carefree Bell and demolishing the summit instead.
The Carefree Bell was refined to perfection. It could activate different patterns independently, combining them into endless techniques. The bronze bell staggered left and right, unable to defend itself.
One looked like a golden god. The other like a mud-caked farmer being beaten for his insolence.
Yuan Qi watched, delighted. "Even that broken bell has its day of shame?"
Then he hissed in fury. "Only I get to defeat the bell! Only I make it kneel and beg forgiveness!"
The Carefree Bell's power surged. The patterns on its surface grew vivid — sun and moon revolving, rivers flowing, divine birds circling, dragons and qilin racing around it. Its might built and built.
Both Yuan Qi and Su Yan had seen the bronze bell at full power before. But its illusions had never been this clear, this real, this overwhelming.
The Carefree Bell was forged for one purpose: to carry Li Xiaoke through the heavenly tribulation and into the immortal realm. Naturally it surpassed a crude tool hammered together in three days.
At the peak of its power, a foreign rune on the bronze bell's surface suddenly blazed to life!
Heaven and earth changed color. Immortal music shook the air. Beams of immortal light descended from the sky, tearing through the Carefree Bell's illusions in an instant.
Clang!
The light struck the golden bell without resistance. The Carefree Bell stumbled. Vast swaths of its projections flickered and died.
It was furious and terrified. It had dominated every exchange — collision, technique, raw power — yet now this crude brass bell had struck it!
"I meant only to teach you a lesson," the Carefree Bell roared. "But you pushed too far!"
It tried to unleash its full power, to shatter the bronze bell entirely. But where the immortal light had struck, its body felt numb. A section of its patterns, its very substance, seemed to have vanished!
The bronze bell charged, striking again. Immortal light burst forth. The Carefree Bell tumbled backward, crashing into a hillside, raising a cloud of dust and stone.
It rose, shaken. The wounded area was gone — not damaged, but erased. Its once-unified illusions now had two gaping voids. Its power plummeted. Its techniques grew clumsy and incomplete.
The bronze bell pressed its advantage, hammering the golden bell until its surface was pocked and dented. Pattern after pattern vanished, sealed away by the strange rune.
That rune was one of the eight seal-script characters Su Yan had carved onto the bronze bell in his "Immortal Lord" state — the character "Seal"!
The bronze bell had triggered it unconsciously. It did not understand how the immortal rune worked. But with the Carefree Bell's techniques sealed, the golden bell was weaker. And the bronze bell intended to repay every humiliation with interest.
Hundreds of disciples across Jiucai Ridge watched in stunned silence.
They had grown up on stories of Li Xiaoke, the Carefree Bell, and the Han Sword. The golden bell was a myth of invincibility in their eyes.
Now that myth lay beaten and broken by an unknown bronze bell.
Xue Ying'an stared, murmuring, "Could it be true? Was the bronze bell the one he truly cared about? Was the Carefree Bell just a replacement?"
Li Xiaoke frowned. He glanced at Su Yan, then at the bronze bell, and smiled. "These runes — are they Friend Su's handiwork?"
Su Yan smiled back, hands clasped behind him. "They are. Do they please you?"
"Very much." Li Xiaoke's voice hardened. "Stop!"
The bronze bell halted at once. But the Carefree Bell, battered and enraged, lunged forward for revenge.
A palm struck it. The golden bell flew sideways, crashing into a ravine.
It rose, dazed. The one who struck it was Li Xiaoke's Primordial Spirit.
Why? It was his beloved treasure. His Dao companion. They were supposed to ascend together, never abandon each other.
Li Xiaoke's face was stern, his voice cold with anger. "Carefree Companion, I called for you to stop. The bronze bell obeyed. Why did you attack? If I were not here, you would have caused a catastrophe!"
He turned away in disgust. "To think you are a treasure I forged. Your character is so low I am ashamed to stand beside you!"
The Carefree Bell drifted in the air, heartbroken.
Li Xiaoke approached the bronze bell and gently touched its surface. "Companion, these three thousand years of wind and sun, suppressing demons — you have suffered. You achieved so much without pride. You came to me and were misunderstood. You have been wronged."
The bronze bell felt every hardship of three millennia become worthwhile.
Li Xiaoke raised it. The bell floated above his head, its size answering his will.
"Thank you, Friend Su, for adding these eight runes."
Su Yan raised an eyebrow. "It is not called Bronze Bell. It is called Bell Lord."
The bronze bell stammered, "A-Ying, please. He is my master, my creator. He may call me anything."
Li Xiaoke said solemnly, "You must not belittle yourself. You are my Dao companion, deserving of respect. From now on, you call me Xiaoke, and I call you Bell Lord. Together we will ascend!"
The bronze bell hesitated, thinking of Su Yan.
Yuan Qi swallowed the plate of dumplings whole. "Who says chives must be human-shaped?"
The bronze bell murmured, "My purpose was always to complete my duty and return to my master. Now that I have found him, I must follow him. I cannot wander with you anymore."
Yuan Qi started to argue, but Su Yan stopped him. "The bell stayed with us to heal. It used our qi and blood, and it saved us from disaster. It could have left long ago, but it stayed to protect us. Now it returns to its master. We should be happy for it."
Yuan Qi turned away. "I just hate goodbyes."
Li Xiaoke laughed. "Today is a day of reunion, not parting. Stay a few days, Friend Su."
The bronze bell urged, "A-Ying, Seven Lord, please stay!"
Su Yan agreed.
* * *
Xue Ying'an led them to the Fragrant Lodge, where honored guests were housed. As soon as they settled, Yuan Qi burst out, "Li Xiaoke is treating us like chives! Those immortal runes on the bell were carved by Immortal Lord! He saw them, got greedy, and stole the bell!"
Xue Ying'an reddened. "How dare you insult my master!"
Su Yan shook his head. "The bell's place is with its creator. That is natural."
Before Yuan Qi could reply, a cold laugh came from outside. "Insult? The boy speaks too lightly."
Xue Ying'an turned. The battered Carefree Bell drifted in, its surface pitted, its patterns flickering weakly.
"You think Li Xiaoke is good?" Its voice carried bitter mockery. "He cast me aside for a new favorite. Very well — he was unjust to me, so I will be unjust to him! Do you know why he sealed the demoness Qingbi along with the celestial?"
Xue Ying'an's face went pale.
"Qingbi was a beauty beyond compare. Li Xiaoke pursued her for ages without success. When he heard she was suppressing a rogue celestial, he followed her like a stray dog. Together they sealed the celestial beneath Little Stone Mountain. And when she refused him again..." The bell's voice dropped to a whisper. "He turned on her. Wounded her. Threw her into the same well!"
"No!" Xue Ying'an shook his head. "You're lying!"
"I sealed her myself. Would I lie?" The Carefree Bell laughed. "He slandered her afterward, called her a seductress who lured the celestial to chaos. When she broke free and hunted for him, did he dare show his face? Did he dare confront her?"
Xue Ying'an's world crumbled.
"He doesn't just eat people," the Carefree Bell continued. "He intends to eat all of you! You carry primal Dao essence. Its scent is unmistakable. He invited Su Yan here to devour him along with you!"