The sinister aura of the rattle bell — the moment it was produced, everyone within several kilometers of the arena felt waves of nausea, their heads spinning with an indescribable sense of distress.
On the arena itself, the clear blue sky seemed to grow overcast and heavy in an instant.
Mie Chenzi raised the bell high in his left hand and gave it a single shake.
Ding-ling-ling!
The bell's sound spread through the arena like some eerie arcane melody.
At first listen, the sound didn't seem particularly remarkable.
But as it rippled outward across the arena, echoing back and forth, that strange rhythmic cadence formed into a bizarre arcane melody that filled the air above the arena.
In that instant, even the currents of the void seemed to shift their trajectories, producing an inexplicable sense of dislocation, of distortion.
Jiang Chen, concealed within the void, heard the arcane melody enter his ears, and his spiritual consciousness wavered ever so slightly.
The next moment, Jiang Chen's expression darkened. The arcane melody produced by the rattle bell could actually attack spiritual consciousness, scrambling one's mind.
It wasn't merely a spiritual attack — it could also disrupt one's physical functions.
Even Jiang Chen, at this very moment, felt a nearly uncontrollable sense of disarray, as though many parts of his body might at any moment slip beyond his command.
Jiang Chen's mind steadied with a jolt, and he immediately activated the Heart of Rock to resist the arcane melody.
He had to admit — this arcane melody was extraordinarily powerful. It could not only twist and destabilize the physical body but also scramble the mind and nerves, attacking both flesh and spirit simultaneously to destroy an opponent.
If it were some genius with weaker willpower, they would likely have been thrown into complete chaos under the first wave of this arcane melody, reduced to a walking corpse, helpless before their enemy.
Jiang Chen activated the Heart of Rock at full power, countering the rattle bell's arcane melody.
But inwardly, he was already plotting: "This Mie Chenzi truly came prepared. A rattle bell like this is not something a rogue cultivator could possess. This man must be a genius from some great sect or major power. This bell can attack both the body and the spirit — it's an exceedingly rare treasure. It seems this person really did come specifically for me."
Realizing this, a surge of anger rose in Jiang Chen's heart.
"Mie Chenzi, mere sonic attacks — you may confuse others, but how could you confuse Zhen?" Jiang Chen murmured softly, then let out a long, piercing cry.
The next moment, Jiang Chen pushed his True Dragon bloodline to its absolute limit. His dharma body burst from the void and soared into the sky, coiling in the air like an ancient primordial dragon, swallowing wind and drinking rain!
And the cry from his mouth grew ever more resonant and powerful.
In the faint echoes of it, it was as though an ancient true dragon was roaring.
"Dragon Roar!?"
Hearing that endless, reverberating cry, the spectators — still reeling from the sudden shift in the battle — all wore expressions of utter shock.
Dragon Roar!
This was undoubtedly a true dragon divine ability! Jiang Chen had previously manifested a true dragon dharma image, which had already amazed everyone and left them wondering whether he truly possessed true dragon bloodline.
Now Jiang Chen unleashed the Dragon Roar divine ability, as though a true dragon had descended into the mortal world. The dragon's roar filled the void, seeming to saturate the entire vicinity of the Glazed Pagoda.
The next instant, the rattle bell's sound was like a little brook suddenly swallowed whole by a mighty river.
The dragon's roar suppressed everything.
Mie Chenzi's face went pale with shock. Just a moment ago, he had been sitting as steady as a mountain, confident that having played his trump card — the Soul-Lost Rattle Bell — victory was all but certain.
Mie Chenzi had never seen anyone who could resist the Soul-Lost Rattle Bell. Especially against a surprise attack, opponents of the same level — even those slightly stronger — had virtually no defense against this bell.
After all, the rattle bell was an artifact passed down from antiquity.
But this time, Mie Chenzi had miscalculated.
Under the Soul-Lost Rattle Bell's assault, the opponent's mind hadn't fallen into disarray, nor had his physical body collapsed. Such a monstrous instantaneous defense left Mie Chenzi utterly stunned.
What was most terrifying was that, in the span of just a few moments, the opponent had found a means to counter him.
The moment that dragon roar rose up, it was like a vast ocean swallowing a tiny stream. The rattle bell's sound was engulfed in an instant, rendered completely ineffective.
The power of the Soul-Lost Rattle Bell lay in its peculiar rhythmic cadence and the disorientation and distortion it produced — as for the raw sonic force itself, it simply couldn't compare to the Dragon Roar divine ability.
The Dragon Roar of this Pill King Zhen was like a tidal wave, sweeping away everything. This overwhelming torrent of sound scattered the rattle bell's sonic waves in an instant, devouring them whole.
Most terrifying of all, this dragon roar attack was already turning into a threat against Mie Chenzi himself, crashing toward his eardrums, launching a fearsome assault and devouring force against his spiritual consciousness.
The true dragon's imperial might carried within the dragon roar was majestic and grand, possessing an innate momentum of heaven and earth, giving one the sensation of looking down from above, ruling over all.
By comparison, Mie Chenzi's rattle bell melody seemed like nothing more than a buffoon's antics — utterly wretched and petty.
He had earlier mocked his opponent for using heterodox methods, but in the face of this stark contrast, Mie Chenzi felt he was the one who looked more like a clown.
But right now, he had no time to dwell on such thoughts.