Chapter 59: Blown Away

Last night, after picking up the storage ring, He Liang had calmed down significantly after the initial wave of excitement. Within the Vast Expanse Sect, getting such a massive windfall for nothing would make anyone realize that things were likely not that simple.

Following the elation came anxiety; he feared falling into someone else's trap. Therefore, he had intended to hand the ring over to Li Xun and let him decide how to handle it.

However, his mind was soon overtaken by intense greed. After much internal struggle, he ultimately decided to keep the storage ring for himself.

He repeatedly warned himself in his heart that this ring had appeared under suspicious circumstances, and neither it nor the magical treasures inside must ever be displayed before outsiders—especially while still within the Vast Expanse Sect, where it must remain entirely unseen.

Though He Liang had calculated things clearly in his mind, he was now driven to a desperate impasse by Wan Yi. Having lost his composure, he had long since cast his own warnings from the previous night to the winds.

At this moment, he had only a single thought: to destroy Wan Yi! As for anything else, it was no longer important.

The instant the golden bronze bell was drawn out, Wan Yi felt a surge of secret delight: "Damn it, you finally couldn't help yourself!

I refused to believe that after setting out such a fine bait, I wouldn't be able to catch a few big fish!"

With the bronze bell in hand, He Liang’s aura shifted drastically. Looking at Wan Yi with a ferocious expression, he roared, "Go to hell!"

As he spoke, he held the bell in one hand, pointing its opening directly at Wan Yi, while his other hand struck fiercely against the body of the bell!

"Hum!" Accompanied by a resonant chime, a powerful wave of energy surged forth from the mouth of the bell like a tangible force, blasting straight toward Wan Yi.

Wan Yi, who had been prepared all along, held his long spear horizontally across his chest and forcefully withstood this wave of attack.

At the same time, the expressions of the various bigwigs from the Vast Expanse Sect sitting in the audience changed drastically. Wei Wuhai could not help himself and cried out in shock, "This is Lin Junxiu's Heaven-Shaking Bell!"

As the Peak Master of the Artifact Peak, he was more than familiar with this Heaven-Shaking Bell.

Back then, while in the mystic realm, Lin Junxiu had not only obtained the legacy of a mysterious Emperor-realm expert, but had also brought out a shattered Heaven-Shaking Bell.

Later on, it was Wei Wuhai himself who had personally stepped in to repair this bronze bell for Lin Junxiu.

Now, seeing the Heaven-Shaking Bell appear in He Liang's hands, everyone simultaneously shifted their gazes toward the members of the Celestial Master Mansion.

Unaware of the situation, the people from the Celestial Master Mansion were somewhat bewildered by these stares.

Meanwhile, Zhao Tongzhou led the Law Enforcement Hall members and instantly surrounded them.

Seeing this, Li Xun and Zhao Changhe were deeply alarmed. Looking toward Lin Qiaosheng, they asked, "Sect Master Lin, what is the meaning of this?"

With a sullen expression, Lin Qiaosheng said coldly, "Meaning?!

My Vast Expanse Sect's Peak Master Lin Junxiu met a tragic end at the hands of another not long ago, and now his personal magical treasure has appeared in the hands of a disciple from your Celestial Master Mansion. Shouldn't you give me an explanation?!"

"What's going on?"

As soon as Lin Qiaosheng's words fell, not only were the people from the Celestial Master Mansion bewildered, but the bigwigs of the other sects were equally confused.

Didn't you members of the Vast Expanse Sect claim earlier that Lin Junxiu died at the hands of the cannibalistic monks? Why are you now saying this is connected to the Celestial Master Mansion?

Li Xun's expression turned ugly as he cast a dark, inscrutable gaze at He Liang on the arena stage. Zhao Changhe, however, hurried to explain to Lin Qiaosheng, "Sect Master Lin, this must be a misunderstanding. I will have He Liang step down right now to explain everything clearly."

Who would have thought that just as these words left his mouth, another twist would occur on the arena stage.

While they had been negotiating, Wan Yi and He Liang had been engaged in an intense battle on the stage, neither able to gain the upper hand.

The Heaven-Shaking Bell was, after all, a top-tier spirit artifact. Although He Liang had not yet had the time to refine it, a supreme spirit artifact remained a supreme spirit artifact; relying solely on sonic attacks, it had beaten Wan Yi to the point of having no room to fight back!

Growing fiercer with every battle, He Liang's eyes were now bloodshot with murderous intent. His palms struck the body of the bell in rapid succession, sending wave after wave of potent sonic blasts continuously crashing toward Wan Yi.

Meanwhile, while dealing with He Liang's attacks, Wan Yi observed the situation off the stage. Seeing that the bigwigs of the Vast Expanse Sect had already recognized the origin of the bronze bell, the corners of his mouth lifted in a smirk as he thought to himself, "Since you've recognized it, let me fan the flames a bit more for you!"

At the same time, Zhao Changhe down below was about to open his mouth to stop He Liang and order him off the stage to give a clear explanation.

How could Wan Yi, who saw everything unfolding before him, possibly give him the chance to speak?

With a single thought, he circulated the *Five Elements Qi Sea Art* to manipulate the metal essence energy, propelling the bomb hidden inside the bronze bell directly toward himself.

"Boom!"

A deafening explosion shook the earth, ringing so loudly in everyone's ears that it caused temporary deafness. The powerful shockwave blew all the disciples gathered around the arena flying outward.

Having prepared in advance, the moment the bomb detonated, Wan Yi hastily projected his true qi outward to protect his entire body. Utilizing the shockwave generated by the explosion, he threw his upper body backward and sprang away like a coiled spring!

Simultaneously, the Taotie Gold-Inlaid Spear slipped from his grip and was hurled straight toward the utterly bewildered He Liang opposite him.

At that moment, He Liang was staring blankly in sheer disbelief at the bronze bell in his hands; he never expected that this bronze bell could also fire cannons!

Yet, just as he was lost in his daze, a streak of white light shot through the air, piercing straight through his chest with a dull "thud"!

Wan Yi had used his absolute full strength in that throw! The Taotie Gold-Inlaid Spear did not lose momentum after piercing He Liang; instead, it impaled his entire body upon the spear shaft and carried him flying backward.

"Bang!"

Not until the Taotie Gold-Inlaid Spear drove deep into the wall of the Grand Assembly Hall did its forward momentum finally halt, leaving He Liang hanging from the spear shaft, completely devoid of life!

Looking at He Liang's corpse dangling from the spear shaft and swaying in the wind, everyone could not help but draw in a sharp breath of cold air.

Just then, a crisp "ding" sounded. A storage ring slipped from the bosom of He Liang's corpse and dropped onto the ground.

When the bigwigs of the Vast Expanse Sect clearly saw the style of that ring, their expressions changed once again. They all recognized it instantly: this was Lin Junxiu's storage ring.

On the other side, Zhou Tong let out a cry of alarm and lunged toward Wan Yi in the distance.

Although Wan Yi looked thoroughly battered at the moment, he was not actually injured in the slightest. Everything was entirely within his calculations; how could he possibly have placed himself in real peril?

However, the requisite act still had to be put on, otherwise the ruse would be exposed!

With reddened eye rims, Zhou Tong ran to Wan Yi's side and saw him with his clothes in tatters and his entire body charred black. Large, heavy tears finally spilled over, no longer able to be held back.

Meanwhile, Wan Yi reversed his cultivation technique to force out a mouthful of fresh blood, then feigned weakness as he said, "Silly girl, don't cry, I'm fine!"

Wiping away her tears, Zhou Tong helped Wan Yi up from the ground, her voice choked with sobs as she said, "You're coughing up blood and you still say you're fine?"

With that, she turned her gaze toward Zhou Shuo: "Father, quickly give me the Heaven-Mending Pill."

Yet Zhou硕 stood there as if he hadn't heard her at all, staring in deep concentration at the large crater blasted into the arena stage with a solemn expression.

Not only him, but all the peak masters and hall masters of the Vast Expanse Sect, as well as the bigwigs of various other sects, wore identical expressions.

After a long while, someone finally snapped out of it and muttered, "This is identical to the way the Dan Ding Sect was blown up!"

With a face ashen with fury, Lin Qiaosheng said, "My Junxiu Peak was also blasted completely flat by that exact same thing just now!"

As soon as those words were spoken, the way all the bigwigs looked at the people from the Celestial Master Mansion underwent a complete transformation!

Realizing something was terribly amiss, Li Xun recalled the attack on the Dan Ding Sect days ago, a scene he had personally visited to inspect.

The aftermath of those buildings being blasted apart was an exact replica of the current situation. By now, even if they had a thousand mouths, they would likely never be able to clear their names!

Seeing that the situation had turned sour, he leaped upward, attempting to flee from this place of right and wrong.

Yet, the moment he moved, someone shouted out: "Not a single person from the Celestial Master Mansion is allowed to leave! Anyone who moves rashly will be executed by all of us together!"

To be continued...