Even flying in the air above the river did the same thing. As they proceeded along, that force of resistance grew stronger and stronger. Eventually, when the little turtle had traveled a distance of several tens of thousands of meters, the force grew so intense that Bai Xiaochun and the Saint-Emperor were visibly shaken.
The two of them exchanged a glance, and each could see how shocked the other was. Obviously, if they didn’t have the little turtle on their side, then even if they found the ravine outside, and somehow managed to enter this area, they still wouldn’t have been able to travel along the river.
The Eternal River twisted and bent randomly, and also had many branches, some larger than others. However, the area they were flying over was so wide that it was obviously the main branch.
As they traveled along, the little turtle would stop at each area where the river forked, and would take time to cast his senses about before picking a path. And thus, they traveled through the huge maze that was the Eternal River.
Days passed, and thankfully, they didn’t run into any dangerous situations or entities. Bai Xiaochun and the Saint-Emperor were even able to advance their cultivation to a degree. However, it was to Bai Xiaochun’s profound frustration that… the little turtle kept getting lost.
Every time it happened, he would let out a surprised exclamation, and would scratch his head in confusion before going back to pick a new path. The first few times, Bai Xiaochun simply took it in stride, but after a few dozen times, he was starting to get very annoyed.
“We went this way already, little turtle! Can you actually do this? Do you really know where you’re going?”
“Of course I can do it. Don’t worry!”
It was hard to say how much time passed. Even the Saint-Emperor was starting to get frustrated, and it reached the point where the little turtle was also getting visibly nervous.
“No, this isn't right,” he murmured. “How come I can’t find the right path…?” At a certain point, he got so anxious that he stuck his neck out and bit it again, using the power of his blood to aid his efforts. Afterward, he took a deep breath, inhaling some of the water vapor in the area. At that point, his bloodshot eyes lit up.
“Got it!” he shouted. After his head reattached itself to his body, he led Bai Xiaochun and the Saint-Emperor down one particular branch of the river. Eventually, a fragrant aroma reached their noses, whereupon Bai Xiaochun and the Saint-Emperor sent their divine sense out to see what was ahead of them.
A few days later, Bai Xiaochun and the Saint-Emperor both shot to their feet, shocked as, there within their divine sense, they saw… a glowing sphere of light at the end of the river!!
The glittering light somehow seemed familiar to both of them, and they felt much the same way that a weary traveler would feel when unexpectedly seeing a family member. It was something in their blood, and even their souls, that filled them with indescribable warmth!
Surrounding that light was a huge, semi-transparent bell!! Previous Chapter Next Chapter
Please go to
install our App to read the latest chapters for free
Chapter
1274: The Bell Tolls For The Eternal
“The Eternal Mother!” the Saint-Emperor said with a gasp. Flying out of the turtle-shaped boat, he approached the semi-transparent bell, his expression that of complete excitement.
Even as an archaean, he was deeply shaken to be able to personally lay eyes on the Eternal Mother, and the shock he felt immediately showed on his face.
The Eternal Mother represented the will of all the Eternal Immortal Domains. She was the Eternal Flower, the mother of all living beings, the entity which had created everything.
The Saint-Emperor wasn’t the only one to be excited. Bai Xiaochun approached the bell, and for some reason, it almost felt like he was in the presence of his own mother.
However, despite the fact that they could both see the brightly glittering light, they couldn’t sense any life force. It was as if the light was simply naturally present, and didn't represent any form of thought or intelligence.
Bai Xiaochun’s heart sank a bit, and he looked over at the Saint-Emperor, who was currently suppressing his excitement and sending divine sense out to examine the bell. Originally, he had assumed that doing so would be difficult, but as it turned out, nothing blocked his divine sense. It entered the bell with no problem, and touched the light, whereupon it issued a call.
However, there was no reaction whatsoever. The Saint-Emperor tried a variety of methods to call out to the Eternal Mother, and to wake her up, but none of them worked. Bai Xiaochun tried as well, with the same results. No matter what either of them did, absolutely nothing happened.
The Saint-Emperor’s expression continued to grow more unsightly, and in his nervousness, the fluctuations of his divine sense grew more intense.
“Eternal Mother! Please, wake up!!”
The little turtle watched their efforts as he swam lazily in the Eternal River. Finally, when the Saint-Emperor started calling out, he looked over at him and cleared his throat.
“There’s no point in yelling. The Eternal Mother is sleeping. She’s actually been asleep for years now. And whenever she wakes up, it’s really just her sending out a bit of divine sense.
“You could yell until you lose your voices, and waste all your divine sense too, and it still wouldn’t do anything.
“The only way to wake her up… is to strike the bell. The toll of the bell connects to and represents all living beings….” The little turtle was clearly very pleased in his knowledge about the matter.
Without any hesitation, the Saint-Emperor stepped forward, performed an incantation gesture, and then struck out toward the bell.
He used all the power he could muster, causing archaean fluctuations to roll out, as well as an incomparably holy aura, like that of a saint. The energy formed into a multi-colored hand, completely corporeal in nature, which flew forward along with the movement of his hand, to slam into the bell.
A rumbling boom resulted, causing waves to roll out on the Eternal River. In fact, the Eternal Immortal Domains as a whole began to quake, and waves could even be seen on the Eternal Sea.
The Saint-Emperor really had gone all out in his strike, unleashing shocking energy and causing deafening booms. However, it seemed to have little effect on the bell. It tolled, but the Eternal Mother did not awaken. And to the Saint-Emperor’s shock, a backlash attack slammed into him with devastatingly destructive power!
The mighty Saint-Emperor staggered backward several paces, coughing up a massive mouthful of blood, and his face turning ashen. When he finally lurched to a halt, he seemed to be teetering on the verge of collapse.
“How is this even possible!?!?” he blurted.
“How could it not be possible?” the little turtle said with a sigh. Looking at the bell with a bit of envy, he continued, “You jumped the gun! Lord Turtle didn’t even finish explaining. Striking the bell is the only option here, but succeeding is easier said than done. The bell has a very powerful backlash. You can hit it as much as you want, and it won’t hurt the bell, but it will certainly hurt you.”
The Saint-Emperor’s expression was very grim as he ignored the little turtle and looked over anxiously at Bai Xiaochun.
Bai Xiaochun was now feeling quite leery; it had been a bit of a startle to see that backlash slam into the Saint-Emperor. Now, with the addition of the little turtle’s further explanation, and seeing the Saint-Emperor looking at him, Bai Xiaochun hesitated for a moment.
“Ah, whatever,” he thought. “I guess if there’s no other way, then I’ll just have to go for broke!” Eyes flashing with determination, he gritted his teeth and began to stride forward. Obviously, he couldn’t hold anything back. If he did, it would reduce the backlash, but would also reduce the overall effectiveness, and would be a waste of energy.