At this critical moment, Yang Kai forced himself to stay perfectly still, pouring every ounce of his concentration into enduring.
Boom…
The eighty-first toll arrived right on schedule. The violent impact nearly tore his entire body apart, and the pain that plunged into the depths of his soul forced a bestial roar from his throat. Blood flowed from all seven of his orifices simultaneously, leaving his appearance ghastly to behold.
The savage primal power rampaged and boiled through his body, and the ceaseless cracking of bones shifting out of place echoed without end.
Yang Kai felt as though he were dying. That aura of death chilled him to the core, turning his hands and feet to ice.
With a great shout, he rallied his source power, pushing his cultivation to its absolute limit.
Yet what felt like a mere instant to Yang Kai seemed to stretch on for millennia. When the aftershock of the final toll finally dissipated, his eyes suddenly blazed with brilliant radiance.
He had succeeded! After a year and a half of grueling effort, he had finally withstood all eighty-one tolls of the Mountain and River Bell without being cast out. Though his appearance was wretched, he had at least held his ground.
If what Qi Hai had said was true, then his perseverance and tenacity would earn the recognition of the Mountain and River Bell's artifact spirit, making him the bell's new master.
At the thought, Yang Kai raised his head and gazed up at the Mountain and River Bell with an expression full of hope.
But what he saw made his face freeze.
The surface of the Mountain and River Bell was glowing with a blinding light once more. Yang Kai's face went pale in an instant, shock flooding through him.
He had witnessed this phenomenon countless times over the past year and a half. Every time the bell's surface lit up, it meant another toll was coming.
It wasn't over yet?
A wave of despair and helplessness crashed over him. At his current level of strength, having spent this long, enduring eighty-one consecutive impacts in a single session had been the absolute limit of his limits. If even one more toll struck, he would never survive it — there would be a very real risk of death.
His very first instinct was to retreat and preserve his life.
Whether Qi Hai's method was ineffective or the records had been wrong, he had already given it his all. Even if he failed, there would be no regrets.
But almost immediately, a surge of unwillingness rose from within.
He had already endured so much — to give up now, would all his previous efforts be for nothing?
A hot surge of blood suddenly surged through his chest. Yang Kai let out a resolute roar, and instead of retreating, he surged forward, channeling his source power in a violent rush straight into the Mountain and River Bell.
What happened next took him by complete surprise. His source power flowed into the bell with perfect smoothness — something that had never happened before. Throughout a year and a half of attempts, Yang Kai had tried this very thing on numerous occasions, but every single time the power had been rebounded back at him, inflicting even greater harm.
But now, his source power was being accepted by the Mountain and River Bell.
Yang Kai was stunned for a heartbeat, then wild joy erupted within him.
However, the very next moment, a tremor from the deepest recesses of his mind and soul struck like a thunderclap. His vision went black, his mind went completely blank, and he slumped into unconsciousness.
The Mountain and River Bell, meanwhile, blazed with radiant light. Rays of brilliance emanated from its surface and enveloped Yang Kai, wrapping him entirely. A primordial aura permeated the void. As time passed, the phenomenon gradually faded, and the bell slowly shrank until it was no larger than a palm, dropping gently to the ground beside Yang Kai.
He did not know how long had passed before Yang Kai slowly opened his eyes. Every single part of his body was in agony — even the simple act of forming a thought sent a splitting pain through his skull, drawing an involuntary groan.
He remembered everything that had happened before he lost consciousness. The very first thing he wanted to do upon waking was check the state of the Mountain and River Bell.
He was desperate to know whether he had truly succeeded in taming this extraordinary treasure from the age of antiquity.
But when he looked up, the spot where the Mountain and River Bell had been was completely empty. The primordial treasure had seemingly vanished into thin air.
Yang Kai's face darkened. He assumed it had torn through the void and disappeared once again, and a wave of loss crashed through his heart. He had worked so long in this spatial rift for the sake of the Mountain and River Bell, and in the end he was left with nothing…
That would be a bitter pill for anyone to swallow.
But before long, Yang Kai noticed something amiss.
A faint, mysterious sense of connection hummed within him, drawing his gaze involuntarily to the side.
There, floating quietly beside him, was a small bell no larger than his palm. It looked ancient and unadorned, utterly unremarkable.
"The Mountain and River Bell!" Yang Kai's eyes lit up.
Though the primordial treasure had shrunk countless times over, he recognized it in an instant.
With delight surging through him, he reached out with a beckoning gesture, and the Mountain and River Bell flew into his palm. The moment it touched his skin, that hazy sense of connection became far more vivid and clear.
Yang Kai stood in silence for a long moment. Then, at last, a broad grin spread across his face.