Chapter 143: The Bell Tolls...

Ye Jiuyao stepped out of the grand hall, his gaze sweeping over the ravaged ruins of the Qianye Sect. A look of longing flickered across his face. Perhaps, from this day forward, the Qianye Sect of the Southern District would undergo unprecedented transformations, and in due time, it would inevitably align with the path he required.

Though much of the Canglang Map had been illuminated, the number of realms he had truly managed to conquer remained few. After all, the perils within the Canglang Map were far too terrifying; his last attempt had left him in a state of considerable distress. As his cultivation grew more profound, the influence exerted by the Canglang Map would become even more formidable, and the treasures it yielded would surely ascend to a higher plane.

"The road ahead may be even more arduous. I wonder how Qingyu is faring now?"

Ye Jiuyao turned his gaze toward the direction of the Fanshi Kingdom, his eyes softening with a tenderness that reached the deepest recesses of his heart.

...

Meanwhile, in the Fanshi Kingdom, Luo Qingyu sat with her eyes tightly shut, her hands crossed in a meditative posture. A stream of energy flowed around her, inhaled and exhaled in a rhythmic cycle, seeping into her body.

"The Exquisite Jade Heart Technique... I have broken through."

Luo Qingyu whispered softly. At this moment, her cultivation technique, the Exquisite Jade Heart Technique, had reached the third level, and her strength had become unfathomable. This technique was a legacy of the Tianyu Sect, passed down by none other than Ye Jiuyao’s mother, Mu Wan; naturally, it was extraordinary.

"No wonder Mother said the third level is only the beginning. Once reached, the essence of one's vital energy condenses, and cultivation flows like a river; as long as one reaches a bottleneck, the breakthrough happens as naturally as water carving a path."

Luo Qingyu gained a deeper understanding of the technique, and her aura surged, the power of a Sage permeating the cave dwelling.

"I am a Sage now. I wonder what level Brother Jiuyao has attained? He must have surpassed me by a great margin..."

Luo Qingyu emerged from her meditative state, her eyes drifting toward the Qianye Sect in the Southern District, filled with a hazy, lingering sense of yearning.

...

At the Qianye Sect, Ye Jiuyao sat cross-legged upon the very rock where he had subdued the Heavenly Demon Fire. He watched the sky with a calm expression, though a long, spectral ruler seemed to dance within his pupils.

The next moment, the winds and clouds shifted violently. Countless strands of spiritual energy coalesced into tidal storms. Ye Jiuyao slowly raised his right hand, and a long ruler suddenly manifested.

"Strike!"

Ye Jiuyao commanded in a low voice, and the ruler shot forth. Vital energy rapidly swirled around the weapon, forming a terrifying shroud of power.

"Heaven-Shattering Ruler!"

Ye Jiuyao roared, and in an instant, the attack erupted, slashing across the firmament. With a sharp, tearing sound, a fissure instantly appeared in the void. It looked like an eye opening in the sky, though this scar was far longer, and upon closer inspection, it did not resemble an eye at all. Instead, it looked more like... an abyss. It was an abyss that belonged to the heavens!

The disciples of the Qianye Sect had already gathered, and as they gazed at the spectacle in the sky, they were all struck speechless by shock.

"What... what is this?!"
"I can feel a terrifying power lingering within it..."
"It is as if it intends to shake the very foundations of the world—no, to be more precise, it is shaking the heavens and the earth itself!"

The crowd below broke into a flurry of discussion, watching the long scar in the sky, which seemed to stretch across the horizon like a brilliant rainbow before vanishing. Suddenly, the heavens began to rumble and boom; the atmosphere between heaven and earth grew erratic and eerie.

"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"

The sounds did not diminish with distance; instead, they grew stronger, pulsing with a rhythmic, intense cadence.

"This... this power has already surpassed the early stages of the Sage realm. Who is so powerful?!"
"Have your studies rotted your brain? That must be Ye Jiuyao!"
"During the Four Districts Competition, Ye Jiuyao turned the tide single-handedly, sweeping through the other three districts and taking first place in both the inner and outer sects."
"If it isn't him, I truly cannot imagine who else it could be."

The disciples of the Southern District’s Qianye Sect were in an uproar. As the rumors grew more exaggerated, many began to regard Ye Jiuyao as the peerless prodigy of the younger generation.

As for Ye Jiuyao himself, he looked at the rift in the sky with a hint of dissatisfaction, then closed his eyes to reflect. He began to reconstruct the nuances of wielding the "Heaven-Shattering Ruler" in his mind, summarizing his previous attempts, while his hands began to move instinctively.

A long ruler hovered before him, shimmering with flowing energy. The next moment, a faint, ethereal mist began to swirl around it.

"Again!"

Ye Jiuyao had entered a state of deep cultivation, his mind focused solely on the hovering ruler. In an instant, he brought it down!

The vital energy of the surrounding world was frantically absorbed by the "Heaven-Shattering Ruler," as if the weapon were a man who had starved for years, now gorging himself on essence. The ruler expanded rapidly, ballooning until it seemed to span the breadth of the sky.

"Shatter the heavens, suppress the yin and yang!"

Ye Jiuyao bellowed, and the ruler erupted, releasing a force far more terrifying than before!

"What is that?!"
"How could it be so terrifying?!"
"Look, that is the place Senior Sister Cao Sisi likes to visit most..."
"Could it be..."

The disciples fell into another round of speculation, while the three Grand Elders and the deacons looked on with gratification. The stronger Ye Jiuyao became, the higher the hopes for the All-Sect Competition. If they could win the title, it would mean more than just glory—it would offer a glimmer of hope for the merger of the four districts and a successful ascent into the Upper Realms.

"Boom!"

A sky-shattering roar echoed, instantly spreading throughout the entire Southern District’s Qianye Sect, leaving countless disciples in awe.

Cao Sisi stared at the giant ruler in the sky, her expression one of utter disbelief, tinged with a sense of helplessness. If she had once harbored a shred of aspiration, at this moment, she no longer dared to hope for a place in that man’s gaze; she only wished to follow in his footsteps, silently trailing behind him.

Ye Jiuyao looked at the earth-shaking strike, his own heart filled with astonishment. If the first level of the "Heaven-Shattering Ruler" was already this terrifying, he could only imagine what lay in the levels to come.

Just as the crowd stood stunned, the sect's bell suddenly began to toll.