Chapter 972: The Wheel of Heavenly Fate Never Ceases

“Our Holy Master possesses boundless magical power and a heart to save the world, often manifesting beyond the heavens to inscribe a Heavenly Mandate True Talisman, preserving this realm and allowing us to rise from the ashes.”

“Now, at the end of this aeon, as the great calamity draws near, storms gather from all directions.”

“There are foreign religions—Shamanism, Hongyang Sect, White Lotus Sect, Tianli Sect—pouring into Zhigucheng. This is the Master’s seat; our followers must quell chaos and maintain stability here.”

The crow slowly turned its head, glancing at the dozens of disciples it had chosen, a flicker of unusual light in its eyes.

“The Master wields boundless power and inscribed eight Heavenly Mandate True Talismans, each possessing inconceivable might…”

“Knowing your cultivation is low and you cannot yet serve our sect, I petitioned the Master for these eight true talismans, to be cultivated by each of you.”

A group of disciples, clad in black robes, arrived atop the Drum Tower.

Chang Yan, standing there, suddenly turned to face these newly initiated juniors.

“This golden bell is the first talisman—the Great Primordial Immovable Golden Bell Divine Talisman—and the gentlest of the eight Heavenly Mandate True Talismans.”

“With your current cultivation, touching any other Heavenly Mandate Talisman would surely disrupt your mind.”

Chang Yan lightly cradled the three-foot-tall golden bell in her right hand.

“Only by first cultivating this one can you accommodate the other talismans…”

The golden bell floated slightly, rotating slowly.

It reflected a sacred, yet unblinding, golden glow in the sunlight.

As the bell’s surface turned, its five thousand characters glowed one by one.

The archaic, obscure inscriptions, written in ancient Jin script, were exceedingly difficult to comprehend; even Chang Yan herself could not cultivate the Golden Bell Time-Wheel Immovable True Scripture unless Qian Chen personally explained it to her.

“When the Master once taught me this scripture, he asked me to circle the characters that best encapsulated its meaning.”

The golden bell in Chang Yan’s hand trembled slightly, and everything around them slowed instantly.

The once bustling Drum Tower, filled with crowds and noise, fell utterly still.

The Xuanzhen disciples looked around and saw the people below, moving back and forth, now moving with excruciating slowness…

Fan Cun, hidden among them, desperately masked the shock in his eyes.

He had once been a dwarf, but after Qian Chen’s miraculous intervention, he was now merely short!

To others, Chang Yan’s use of the Great Primordial Immovable Golden Bell Divine Talisman appeared divine; but the Xuanzhen disciples, brainwashed for years, believed their Master was omnipotent, so they only grew more fervent in their gaze.

But Fan Cun was a true Reincarnator.

His cultivation was mediocre—merely a fourth-rank Golden Core cultivator from the Earth Immortal Realm.

Yet, among all else, his perception and insight were equal to any grand sect’s true heir.

Thus, he saw at once: the faint resonance of the golden bell could halt time.

Even among artifacts used by Primordial Spirit Immortals, those capable of interfering with time were already top-tier; to completely halt time—even if only for an instant—was a feat achievable only by the most advanced first-rank Golden Core cultivators who had cultivated specific space-time spiritual seeds.

After all, it was merely halting time, not freezing space.

The effect was merely an apparent acceleration of speed several-fold…

Yet this golden bell had only stirred slightly.

Chang Yan wielded it without so much as a flushed face or labored breath—clearly a trivial technique.

Moreover, this time-stopping effect was not an accelerated consciousness, nor limited to one person—it enveloped dozens of them, allowing all to move freely.

This meant the golden bell effortlessly accelerated the flow of time for so many.

Such a spiritual power was far beyond the capability of ordinary Primordial Spirit Immortals…

And according to Chang Yan, this wondrous bell was merely a single talisman casually written by the Xuanzhen Master—the implications were terrifying.

“The Xuanzhen Master…”

Fan Cun concealed his inner shock, thoughts surging in his mind: “This Master is surely a true Immortal of Eternal Life, possessing unique authority and cosmic laws of this world—not some novice as the Captain claimed!”

“Damn it! What about Yang Qin…”

“Fan Cun!”

Chang Yan called out to him: “You too—circle one character. Whatever you choose will be your destiny.”

The short man Fan Cun looked up quickly, saw the scripture scroll rotating on the bell, and hastily circled a character that radiated solemn, still grandeur.

Chang Yan glanced at him in surprise.

“Yue?”

“Yes. Though not one of the Master’s three core characters, it is still among the highest-tier characters in the scripture.”

Chang Yan touched her finger to the ancient Jin character ‘Yue’ on the bell; the character transformed into a golden seal that flew out and imprinted itself on Fan Cun’s right palm.

“Go on—try it on them.”

Chang Yan urged.

Fan Cun felt a strange power hidden in his right hand; with only a small amount of magic energy, he could wield it effortlessly.

He opened his palm and launched a golden ‘Yue’ character—immediately, the surrounding disciples were crushed as if under a mountain, pinned helplessly to the ground.

All of them were immobilized without resistance!

Chang Yan smiled sweetly: “Good. Though you’ve only unleashed less than one percent of its power, this ‘Yue’ character, as its meaning suggests, is like a mountain, a peak—its most basic function is to suppress all things. With just this one character, even at your cultivation, you can summon a mountain of ten thousand juns to crush them into paste.”

“With your shallow spiritual nature, merely holding this talisman lets you suppress third-rank cultivators—that is the power of the Master’s Heavenly Mandate True Talismans.”

Fan Cun had used only a fraction of a Qi Refining cultivator’s magic energy to unleash this mountain-like suppression.

He could feel that, had Chang Yan not restrained most of the ‘Yue’ character’s power with the golden bell, this single imprint would have crushed all dozens into pulp.

“Could this really be a Heavenly Mandate True Talisman?”

Fan Cun began to doubt.

In the Reincarnation Realm, Golden Core cultivators of the sixth reincarnation or higher, divine artifacts, Heavenly Mandate Talismans, and arrays with sentient cores represented the highest tier of treasures.

That is, among the external paths of cultivation, they equaled the level of Primordial Spirit Immortals.

A talisman cultivator who completes one Heavenly Mandate True Talisman becomes equal to a Primordial Spirit Immortal!

“Impossible, absolutely impossible! It must merely be a literal Heavenly Mandate talisman transmission…” Fan Cun denied inwardly.

Meanwhile, at Wanghai Tower, Qian Chen was deeply solemn.

“No, I’ve tried countless methods with these eight talismans—only within this world can they be called Heavenly Mandate True Talismans, and even then, mostly because I am the Creator of this world.”

“They all draw upon the power of the Jiazi Divine Path, locking in seven Jiazi Divine Positions, seizing this world’s cosmic laws. Outside this world, except for the Great Primordial Immovable Golden Bell Divine Talisman—which draws on the Artisan Path and the Buddhist Great Way—all others would drop to the Primordial Spirit level.”

“It seems my talisman cultivation has only just entered the Heavenly Mandate tier.”

“To usurp the title of the Great Demon Sovereign, forged by the primordial ancestor of talisman cultivation, Yuan Shi Dao Zu, remains far beyond reach.”

Looking at the Supreme Demon Secret Talisman, which had undergone three million simulations and even drawn the Kunlun Mirror to ask him about it, Qian Chen closed his eyes: “Can I never remove that one thread of falsity?”

“Must I be reduced to this?”

He looked up at the sky, as if seeing the brightest light at the universe’s apex, his own detached true spirit observing the entire world, the shadow of the Dao Dust Pearl.

“Move! My Supreme Wisdom!”

Qian Chen shouted inwardly, activating the false Wisdom Fruit within the Dao Dust Pearl.

The Wisdom Fruit, corrupted by the demonic nature of Pan Gu the Demon Sovereign, emitted a slow, rasping, grating sound—like a rusted door hinge untouched for three thousand years!

The rusted Wisdom Fruit finally sparked…

That spark landed on Qian Chen’s nine-thousand-year-estimated Supreme Demon Secret Talisman and ignited a roaring fire…

On the Drum Tower, Chang Yan finally touched her finger to an ancient, natural character on the golden bell.

She transformed it into a golden imprint and drove it into everyone’s right palm.

“This is one of the core inscriptions of the Golden Bell Time-Wheel Immovable True Scripture—‘Ding’!”

“When cast, this talisman can freeze any cultivator below the Eternal Life Saint Realm for a breath’s duration—even Eternal Life Saints will be affected.”

“With this Body-Fixing Talisman, you may advance or retreat freely. Unless they are already monstrous, non-human cultivators, even fourth- or fifth-rank ones, you have a chance to kill them. But those who cannot be killed—you must not provoke.”

“But when you proceed to the second Heavenly Mandate Talisman, that may no longer hold!”

“This Body-Fixing Talisman has another use: fixing yourself. When demonic thoughts stir, you may freeze your own mind to prevent transformation into a monster.”

“This is the necessary path to wielding the second Heavenly Mandate Talisman.”

“Apart from the Great Primordial Immovable Golden Bell Talisman, the other seven true talismans are far too malevolent. If you sense anything amiss, immediately use the Body-Fixing Talisman to freeze yourself. If necessary, fully detonate it—you will become golden figures, frozen within a temporal amber, unharmed by anything below Eternal Life. Your companions will bring you back, and I will rescue you.”

A group of Xuanzhen disciples, each marked with the character ‘Ding’ on their right palms, were led away by the crow.

They returned to the eastern city gate, where the crow spread its wings, its eyes burning with emerald fire, casting green light to illuminate the path ahead.

On the ground, a trail of footprints stretched all the way to Jintang Bridge.

Wu Bonu stood there, arms crossed—once bustling with crowds, the eastern gate and Jintang Bridge were now utterly empty.

“The second Heavenly Mandate Talisman is called the Eighteen Nihil Hells Naihe Path.”

“Its original form is ‘Yin’—the Master drew this talisman from a mark left by a cosmic entity. Wu Bonu’s footprints and handprints are its manifestation.”

“To cultivate this talisman, first tread upon these footprints to meet him…”

Fan Cun was the first to step onto the footprints. As his sole met the imprint, the surroundings dimmed slightly, a chilling cold swept over him, accompanied by an oppressive silence.

With the second step, the colors grew ever darker—he seemed to enter another world.

As they followed the footprints, the Xuanzhen disciples’ faces gradually turned bluish-black, losing vitality, their expressions growing more monstrous.

When they finally reached Wu Bonu.

They had become demons, eyes glowing crimson, only the golden light clutched tightly in their right palms preserving their fading sanity.

Wu Bonu slowly turned, gazing at the few remaining Xuanzhen disciples clinging to a shred of reason, and sighed sadly: “Without the Master, we would never dare face this truth.”

The crow spoke calmly: “Your Eighteen Nihil Hells Naihe Path is now at its weakest—and yet its strongest. With this talisman, you could once walk between Yin and Yang, opening the path to the Netherworld. But now, our entire world is indistinguishable—ghosts and mortals alike have sunk into decay. What meaning is there in the Netherworld?”

“They have walked your footprints and regained their true forms!”

“Now, open this gate for them!”

“To save this world is the destiny of us all…”

Wu Ponu nodded slowly: “To fulfill this destiny, we need them to restore their true forms, reclaim the power that lay dormant in the embers after countless descents into the abyss.”

His gaze turned to Fan Cun, the leader among that group of demons.

Although Fan Cun’s face was also bluish-black, compared to his companions behind him—who had fully become demons, heavy with resentment, even burning with the fire of destruction’s tribulation—he had only revealed his ghostly form.

“He’s truly human!”

Wu Ponu said coolly: “Stranger! A terrible law protects him, solidifying the barrier of perception, preventing him from discovering the truth that this world has perished, and shielding him from erosion by reality and destruction.”

“Thus, he can only awaken the ghostly form of yin-yang transformation, but cannot obtain the tribulation fire and collapse power you gain from the world’s total destruction.”

The crow said calmly: “His affairs are already arranged by me.”

Upon hearing this, Wu Ponu also nodded, then pressed his hand lightly upon the Jintang Bridge, leaving a palm imprint.

One by one, the Xuanzhen disciples stepped forward and pressed their hands against the imprint; in that instant, they transformed from ghosts back into humans, forgetting the mad, infernal memories just experienced.

The group of Xuanzhen disciples stared at each other, the memory of that moment instantly fading from their minds.

Yet they now held the key to unlocking their original forms—the demonic bodies.

The crow said only: “This talisman of ‘The Eighteen Nihil Hells: The Path of Naihe’ is the transformation technique.”

“It allows you to temporarily assume the appearance of the dead who have become ghostly entities, granting you demonic abilities. Meanwhile, your ghostly form is immortal and indestructible—nothing can kill you. But if you feel you are losing control, you must immediately use the Stillness Talisman to sever this talisman’s power and restore your true form.”

“Within a short time, the Stillness Talisman can restore your true form; if too much time passes, even the Transformation Talisman will no longer be able to return you to your original state!”

“At that point, you must use the window of clarity granted by the Stillness Talisman to find us—or locate a bloodied palm print at one of the four gates of Zhigucheng and press your hand upon it…”

Wu Ponu added: “During this time, I will wander the surrounding areas, leaving palm prints behind.”

“You may also follow my footprints into the Yin Path, transforming into ghostly beings to traverse yin and yang—your speed will be immense, covering a hundred li in the blink of an eye.”

Fan Cun had now regained his composure; hearing this, he felt an increasing sense of strangeness.

“Stillness Talisman, Transformation Talisman, Yin-Yang Path… why do these talismans granted by the Xuanzhen Sect feel so odd?”

“Am I also a Destiny-Bearer?”