Chapter 159: Twelve Strikes of the Copper Bell, Professional Painter (5k)

She truly felt that Wen Yan was completely different from Thirteen. In his youth, Thirteen was exceptionally handsome and unrestrained, passionate as fire. If you said Thirteen would take back what was his by force, she would believe it. But Thirteen likely couldn’t have made the item’s owner deliver it to Fuyu Mountain without them even knowing. The Old Fox, for instance, had long known the Phoenix Hairpin belonged to Fuyu Mountain and was highly significant to the Great Zombie, yet he never mentioned returning it. This time, however, it was returned willingly, and Fuyu Mountain would have to remember this favor. During this awakening, she hadn’t actually done much, but Wen Yan had already paved the way for the few things she was prepared to do.

She put away the box. With a turn and a wave of her hand, the stone chamber closed, the Stone Gate rapidly transforming back into a stone wall and vanishing from sight. She continued deeper, taking a pair of half-frame Glasses from her sleeve. Everyone thought that since she had openly taken the Wooden Armor Mask, the Glasses surely had nothing to do with her; moreover, the Glasses were of no use to her.Heh, they never expected it, did they? She just casually picked them up in the end.These Glasses were, in fact, one of the main reasons she had left the mountain.

She put on the Glasses. Her appearance began to subtly change. Her features retained a seventy percent resemblance, but her dignified and gentle temperament now included a hint of heroic spirit, and her eyes carried an extra touch of sharpness. Corpse energy began to circulate around her body, continuously seeping into the half-frame Glasses. Gradually, the aura of those Powers seemed to be affected, starting to change slightly. She stood still, waiting for the transformation. After ten-odd minutes, her aura and presence had both increased by more than a tier.

As her presence emerged, all the Zombies in the Zombie Cave felt oppressed. Those not yet awakened came to life and knelt on the ground, as if welcoming the arrival of their King.

Inside Fuyu Temple, the Grand Uncle Master, who had just gone to bed, sat up abruptly as if he had become a Zombie himself. He opened his eyes, which were bloodshot; Gan Tang had nearly exhausted him to death before. Gan Tang could go ten days and nights without sleep without any ill effect, but he could not. Just as he had drifted off, something else happened.

With an agility that belied his age, the Grand Uncle Master quickly put on his cloth shoes and made his way to the back hall. Here stood an Ancestral Master Statue. In its hand, a copper bell was ringing softly, TING, TING, TING, though there was no breeze. The sound was crisp and carried far. The Grand Uncle Master carefully noted the frequency of the bell’s ringing and counted a total of twelve chimes."When the copper bell strikes twelve times, it heralds a great calamity in the world."This great calamity signified the emergence of a Ba.

The Grand Uncle Master was shocked. He prostrated himself three times and kowtowed nine times before the Ancestral Master Statue, then took the Magic Sword from the statue’s hand. He immediately began a ritual, attempting to locate where the Ba had emerged. However, just a few minutes after he commenced the search, his expression turned strange. He looked toward the back mountain...How odd. A Ba is emerging from the back mountain? That can’t be right, can it?

After much deliberation, the Grand Uncle Master suppressed his doubts. He concluded the ritual, placed the Magic Sword back into the Ancestral Master Statue’s hand, and after respectfully offering incense and kowtowing, he went back to sleep.Anyway, regardless of the truth, as long as it’s one of our own, it shouldn’t be a major issue. I’d better hurry and get some sleep. Staying alive is paramount. I never thought that at my advanced age, I’d experience a day where I was nearly worked to death.

The Grand Uncle Master stepped out of the main hall and waved at several old Taoists waiting outside. "Nothing’s happened. You’re making a fuss over nothing. Go back to sleep."

The old Taoists watched the Grand Uncle Master’s retreating figure and exchanged bewildered glances.What was going on?

Deep within the Zombie Cave on the back mountain, Gan Tang, with the help of the half-frame Glasses, took on her sister’s appearance and aura, then strode deeper into the cave.

Such a wondrous item would be utterly wasted in the hands of an ordinary person, used merely to change appearance and identity. If one possessed Power and sufficient control, even one’s aura could be disguised—perfect for deception. Even if the disguised form lacked actual combat strength, it still offered a chance to glimpse something of the next level. Even catching just a glimpse, experiencing a mere fraction of it firsthand, is far better than simply observing others. Whether it’s external items or Divine Skills, relying on them as a foundation is to mistake the incidental for the fundamental. Using such things to enhance one’s own strength—that is the true path. Orthodox Mountain Sects have always defined Divine Skills as external tools or methods for protecting the Tao.

However, Gan Tang wasn’t actually focused on these philosophical points. Having transformed into her sister—the way she looked when Gan Tang last saw her—she reached the deepest part of the cave and placed a hand on the stone wall at its end. Corpse energy spread out, penetrating the stone wall. Slowly, a layer of gray ripples appeared on its surface. She extended a hand into the ripples, stepped forward, and vanished into the watery pattern.

The next moment, she found herself in a sealed tomb. As if sensing her presence, stones embedded in the walls began to glow, illuminating the dim interior. Shelves filled with bamboo slips lined the walls. At the center stood a single, very plain Stone Coffin. Gan Tang approached and pushed the Stone Coffin open. It was completely empty. A look of disappointment crossed Gan Tang’s face.