Chapter 216: The Sound of Bells

"The mountain closure ends today. The various spirit fields within the territory have been lying fallow all this while. Sun Buzheng, from now on, take some people and start tending to these spirit fields." Han Li pondered briefly before instructing.

"Yes. May I ask what kind of spirit herbs you intend for us to plant, Elder Li?" Sun Buzheng acknowledged and then asked.

"First, clear out the abandoned spirit fields. As for what to plant, I will make arrangements later." Han Li said thus.

The group immediately acknowledged and was about to turn and withdraw.

"Qianqian, come with me for a moment." Han Li suddenly spoke, then turned and walked toward his cave dwelling.

"Yes!" Meng Qianqian was slightly startled, then a trace of delight flickered across her face as she followed, a series of crisp tinkling sounds coming from her.

Before long, the two appeared in a stone chamber within Han Li's cave dwelling.

At the center of the stone chamber was a small spirit-gathering array about three zhang in size, filling the room with abundant spiritual energy. In the center of the array lay a white giant egg, quietly resting.

Meng Qianqian had just stepped into the stone chamber, still somewhat excited and curious, but then her beautiful eyes were captivated by that white giant egg.

After more than thirty years of nurturing, the vitality contained within this egg grew stronger and stronger, yet to this day there was still no sign of hatching.

The young girl opened her mouth slightly, as if wanting to ask something, but then seemed to recall her elder brother's instructions and quickly closed her mouth, standing quietly to one side, blinking her big eyes, waiting for Han Li's orders.

“Qianqian, your next task is to find a way to help me hatch this egg. You cultivate a fire-attribute technique, and now that your Nascent Soul is formed, it may be of some help. During this time, you may freely enter and exit this cave dwelling and this stone chamber. Remember, you are not allowed to mention this matter to outsiders, not even your elder brother, understand?” Han Li looked at the white giant egg for a while, then spoke to give instructions.

As soon as his words fell, he flicked his sleeve, and a jade token and a storage bracelet fell into Meng Qianqian's hands.

“Yes! Qianqian will keep her mouth shut and do her utmost to complete the task assigned by Elder Li!” Meng Qianqian held the jade token and storage bracelet in both hands and quickly replied.

Han Li nodded, then left the cave dwelling on his own and headed down the mountain.

After a moment, he appeared in the cavern where the underground fire vein was located.

Compared to decades ago, the fire-attribute spiritual energy in the air here had stabilized considerably, but it was still scorching hot, as if even the void itself was burning.

Above the churning lake of magma, the fiery red giant cocoon shimmered with crimson light, expanding and contracting rhythmically, still continuously devouring the surrounding flame power.

Han Li released his spiritual sense to briefly sense the Essence Fire Bird within, and a hint of joy flashed across his face.

Having absorbed the pure fire power from the underground fire veins for so many years, the Essence Fire Bird had already recovered considerably. It was believed that given enough time, its power and spirituality could increase even further.

As if sensing Han Li's arrival nearby, a few clear chirps came from the giant cocoon, and it shook slightly a few times.

"Rest well here; there's no need to come out in a hurry," Han Li said with a slight smile.

As if his words had taken effect, the giant cocoon quieted down.

Han Li looked at the giant cocoon for a moment longer, then turned to leave.

Just then, the entire underground cavern shook violently.

An invisible but indescribable immense force burst forth from the depths of the earth, like surging, rolling waves and tides.

The top of the cavern shook violently, and countless red gravel fell like rain.

Even with Han Li's current cultivation, he was slightly startled by this immense force, his expression changing.

The next moment, another anomaly occurred!

Dong!

A deafening sound, like a giant bell tolling, came from deep underground.

The underground cavern shook violently again, and the lake of magma in the cave suddenly surged into a wave dozens of feet high, splattering hot magma in all directions.

The giant cocoon suspended in midair swayed a few times but soon returned to calm.

"So this is..."

Han Li's mind stirred, and he immediately recalled the legends about Bell Tone Mountain Range.

It was said that the place got its name because strange loud noises, similar to the sound of a bell, sometimes came from underground.

In all his years at Candle Dragon Sect, he had never heard the so-called underground bell toll, but today he happened to encounter it, just as the rumors said.

However, the force that had just burst forth from underground did not seem like crustal movement.

Han Li frowned in thought, then shook his head with a smile.

Whatever the reason, these matters had nothing to do with him. He had plenty of things to worry about as it was.

Han Li glanced again at the giant cocoon, then turned and walked outside.

The moment he took a step, his body suddenly whirled back like lightning, a blue glint flashing in his eyes before vanishing.

He turned so swiftly that the air let out a sharp crack, his gaze fixed intently on the distant lava lake.

Though only for an instant, out of the corner of his eye he had caught a faint, enormous red shadow flickering across the bottom of the lava lake.

The red shadow, like the tail of some creature, flashed and disappeared, its speed astonishing.

Han Li's expression grew serious.

He had already spread his divine sense the moment he noticed the anomaly, but he could no longer detect any trace of the red shadow.

Being underground, the chaotic mixture of various subterranean auras greatly limited the range of his divine sense.

"What was that?" Han Li wondered, full of doubt.

He stood silently in place for a long while, then looked up at his surroundings, a faint smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.

It seemed this Zhongming Mountain Range was far more complex than he had imagined. However, even if there were something unusual, it should pose no threat to the Blaze Firebird.

With this thought, Han Li turned and walked out of the cave.

A few hours later, at the Tai Xuan Hall on Jingyun Peak.

Inside the hall, in front of the white and cyan stone walls, elders and disciples of all kinds crowded together, craning their necks to look at the walls, hoping to select a suitable task.

In front of the dark gold stone wall at the back of the hall, however, there was no such lively scene. Only a few True Immortal realm cultivators stood there, their brows knitted into knots as they sighed at the wall.

"Why is it so hard to find a task that pays well and requires little effort..." a white-bearded elder in elder's robes sighed heavily, flicked his sleeve, and turned to leave.

Another young man, also dressed in elder's robes, passed him by and stopped in front of the stone wall.

It was Han Li.

He looked up at the wall, scanning the tasks from top to bottom, and like the others, his brow gradually furrowed.

The tasks recorded on this stone wall either had rewards disproportionate to their difficulty or required an extremely long time to complete. No wonder those True Immortal realm elders were shaking their heads and sighing.

Of course, the most conspicuous task was still the one requiring the cultivation of the True Speech Wheel Sutra to the second level.

Just then, a soft exclamation came from behind.

"Eh, isn't this Brother Li?"

Han Li turned around at the words and saw two familiar figures approaching together. The speaker was a bearded man on the left, the same inner sect elder surnamed Nan who had accompanied him on the Bear Mountain mission.

"Hehe, so it's Brother Nan and Brother Lu. Long time no see," Han Li said, cupping his hands in greeting.

"Indeed, a few days ago Brother Qi mentioned you were still in seclusion. I didn't expect you to have emerged by now," the bearded man returned the greeting with a smile.

"Brother Li, you're almost too diligent. You've just come out of seclusion—why not enjoy a few days of leisure before rushing to take on a mission?" Elder Lu also cupped his hands and teased with a grin.

"It's just that the deadline for the sect's routine steward-level missions is approaching. I thought I'd come pick one up and complete it as soon as possible to report back," Han Li shook his head and said.

Hearing this, the two exchanged a glance, and a strange expression appeared on their faces.

"Ahem... Brother Li, are you really going to do these three missions?" the bearded man asked with a dry cough.

"Yes, that was my choice when I entered the sect... Is there something wrong?" Han Li asked, puzzled by their expressions.

"This... although the rewards for regular sect-level missions are usually good, the conditions for completion are always quite stringent. It's not easy to finish them—either time-consuming and labor-intensive, or fraught with risk," explained the bearded man.

"Indeed, it's far less relaxing than serving as a century-long steward over a millennium. After all, regular sect-level missions are assigned by luck; whatever task appears on the merit register, you have to accept it, with no chance to switch. In my humble opinion, it's better to take on a few tasks here and earn enough merit points to offset the debt," added Elder Lu.

"I see... Thank you both for your kind advice. Since there are no suitable tasks on this stone wall for now, I'll first go check the situation and then weigh my options. But I still don't know where to claim tasks?" Han Li sighed softly, then asked.

"In that case, we won't press you further. There's a side chamber to the left of the rear hall of the Tai Xuan Hall; Brother Li can go there to claim tasks," said the bearded man.

"Thank you. Then I'll take my leave," Han Li cupped his hands to the two men and turned to depart.

He skirted around the broad, dark-gold stone wall, passed through a door on the rear wall of the hall, and entered the rear hall of the Tai Xuan Hall. Looking to the left, he indeed saw the entrance to the side hall.

He glanced up at the slightly ajar hall door, walked over, pushed it gently, and entered the hall.

The side hall was not large, about the same size as the guest room in Han Li's own courtyard. Above the ceiling was a skylight, through which a beam of sunlight fell, shining precisely on a potted plant placed on the right corner of a rosewood desk.

The potted plant was no more than half a foot tall, shaped like an ancient pine, its entire body a lustrous green. Under the sunlight, it appeared crystalline and translucent, with pale golden veins extending from the roots to every branch, shimmering like starlight.

Han Li took one look and sensed that this object was brimming with spiritual energy; it seemed to be a highly spiritual medicinal herb.

However, he did not recognize this medicinal herb, nor had he ever seen this method of cultivation. For a moment, he found himself unable to look away.