Stranger Danger-Chapter 1819: Let The Chime Fly

“So this... is the legendary Primal Chaos Ocean.”

Eyes wide, Xiahou Zun stared at the grotesque and variegated, treacherous and everchanging sea before him with unbridled shock. “I’ve heard about it for a very long time, but only now that I realized that the stories do not even describe one-ten-thousandth of its true appearance! What... What a masterpiece of nature it is! I both love it and fear it in equal measure!”

It was less beauty and more a primal expression of destruction. It was a kind of chaotic beauty that would make any soul shudder.

“Amitabha, benefactor Xiahou is not wrong. This place is gorgeous, mysterious, and overflowing with deadliness.”

Hands clasped together into a prayer, Long-browed Divine Monk eyed the chaotic sea in front of him with a hint of fear while saying in a low tone, “Back in the day, I once pursued a criminal heretic to this place and accidentally entered the shallow regions. The distorted spacetime, the chaotic origin qi, it was so terrifying that the fear remained with me even to this day. If I didn’t happen to be protected by a Buddhist treasure at the time, I would probably have died and become a part of the Primal Chaos Ocean a long time ago.”

“The Primal Chaos Ocean is the convergence point of the four seas. It is also the hub of countless incredible powers.”

The Old Heavenly Master ran a hand across his fluttering beard with an equally serious expression. Sharp eyes eyeing the everchanging scenery before him, he said solemnly, “The Five Phases of this place is utterly discombobulated, yin and yang are are completely thrown into disarray, and even time and space are distorted or shattered. There are no patterns or frame of reference to speak of. If an ordinary being were to stumble upon this place, they would instantly lose their way and become incapable of identifying direction or time.”

A pause later, the Old Heavenly Master continued, “Even worse, the everpresent, orderless energies of primal chaos will eat away at an intruder’s vigor and mind at all times. At best, their physical form would mutate, and their consciousness would collapse. They would transform into a mad creature who only knows slaughter. At worst, their body and mind would collapse completely, and rebirth is permanently denied from them.”

“Even at our level, our powers would be greatly suppressed in the inner regions of the Primal Chaos Ocean. Forget staying for a prolonged period of time, the very foundation of our Way may become corrupted or damaged if we’re unlucky!”

“Is it that scary?”

Princess Furi turned a little pale and knitted her eyebrows tightly. She asked in a worried tone, “Doesn’t that mean it would be incredibly disadvantageous for us to fight the World Ender Jiuying?”

“Well, the good news is that the World Ender Jiuying faces the same limitations as us. No one has the home ground advantage here.”

Ye Qing had been staring straight ahead with a calm expression. When he turned around to respond to Princess Furi’s concern, he wore a confident expression that betrayed very little worries. “Besides, do not forget that I possess the Earthly Sovereign Bell. It can pacify the Five Phases and sort out yin and yang. It can hardly transform the entire Primal Chaos Ocean, but it can definitely affix the Five Phases, stabilize yin and yang, steady time and space, and isolate most of the erosion of Primal Chaos within our battlefield.”

Xiahou Zun’s taut nerves instantly relaxed when he heard this. “That’s very good to hear!”

“Without further ado...” The Chief Libationist swept his gaze across the rampaging, chaotic sea region and declared, “Let us enter the Primal Chaos Ocean and search for the Blue Hole of Primal Chaos.”

This taboo ocean was overflowing with dangers and threats. The faster they found the World Ender Jiuying and slew it, the sooner they could get away from this place and be safe.

“There is no need to go through such trouble.”

It was at this moment Ye Qing spoke up again. His voice was uncannily steady compared to the violent environment around them.

The Chief Libationist raised his eyebrows slightly and asked, “Oh? Do you already know the precise location of the Blue Hole, Joyless?”

“No, I don’t.”

Ye Qing shook his head before looking in a certain direction as if something was drawing his gaze. “But the Earthly Sovereign Bell does.”

Before his voice faded, Ye Qing slowly raised his right hand with the palm facing upward.

Buzz—!

Space shook a little, and the old and heavy Earthly Sovereign Bell quietly made its appearance. It was hovering soundlessly above Ye Qing’s palm and emitting a faint dark yellow halo.

The next moment, the Earthly Sovereign Bell abruptly swelled in size and left his palm. Hovering above everyone’s heads with old, deep patterns that looked like they recorded the history of the world itself, its dark yellow qi descended like a thin curtain or a waterfall that created a relatively stable zone around the group and isolated most of the primal chaos energies.

Ye Qing looked up and stared at the Earthly Sovereign Bell for a moment. Then, he raised an index finger with an indescribable air of Dao surrounding his fingertip.

He bent the finger and knocked lightly.

Thang—!

A bell chime rang.

The bell chime wasn’t high-pitched or shrill. In fact, it was low and sonorous like a sound that had survived countless ages.

As the chime spread, a formless ripple too slowly spread toward the deeper areas of the orderless Primal Chaos Ocean.

Everything within the Primal Chaos Ocean was, well, chaos. Time and space were distorted, the Five Phases were thrown out of order, and the energies ran rampant and without control. Logically speaking, any sound that entered its range would be instantly shredded, distorted, and engulfed. It should disappear instantly like it had run into a sound-absorbing wall.

However, the sonorous chime seemed to ignore all the rules of this place. It was neither ripped apart by the chaotic energies nor warped by the distorted time and space. On the contrary, it moved forward unyieldingly like it had a life of its own.

Wherever the chime passed, the boiling, rampaging, grayish black sea water of the Primal Chaos Ocean seemed to freeze a little. Even the everchanging light shows seemingly stopped for an instant.

The sonorous chime penetrated the many barriers of chaos and continued into the heart of the Primal Chaos Ocean.

The chime should have weakened as it traveled farther and farther away, but it was the opposite. It only grew louder and clearer over time.

The chime slowly flew in the air. It passed through the violent winds, soothed the angry waves, ignored the lightning and thunder, and melted the ice and hail. Eventually, it was resounding throughout the entire Primal Chaos Ocean.

Staring at the strange scene and listening to the seemingly omnipresent chime, Xiahou Zun could not help but ask with a frown, “Are you sure this is... useful, Joyless?”

“I’m sure,” Ye Qing replied simply but firmly. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Xiahou Zun waited for moments longer, but the Primal Chaos Ocean remained the same as ever. It looked like nothing was happening. Even more puzzled than before, he could not help but say, “It... looks like nothing is happening though.”

“Patience.”

Ye Qing calmly asked for patience from Xiahou Zun. “Let the chime fly a little longer.”

About a teatime later, the resounding chime finally touched something.

Everyone sensed the commotion and turned their gaze in that direction at the same time.

As if on cue, an indescribable throb came from the deepest area of the Primal Chaos Ocean. It felt like the awakening of a slumbering ancient beast.

Haotian Hong frowned deeply as he stared ahead. “Here it comes!”

Before this, the sea was only stirring chaotically. But now, as if someone had chucked a giant rock into a pot of boiling water, the sea began boiling like never before.

The grayish black sea water boiled madly and crashed into invisible barriers again and again, eliciting muffled, horrifying roars. It was terrifying just to hear them.

The next moment, an indescribable pillar of dark yellow light burst into the sky from the center of the ocean. It was also where the boiling was the fiercest.