Chapter 326 – Ideas for Improving Gathering Immortal Bell: Immortal-Suppressing Bell

“Alright, Old Xu, we can discuss matters later. Let’s not waste the time of the young ones gathered here either.”

Wan Qingkun, the teacher from Xuanjia Dao Academy, patted the shoulder of Xu Heng, the teacher from Lihuo Dao Academy.

The slap from this Golden Core Stage Body Cultivator was no light matter.

It forced Xu Heng to immediately activate his Protective Qi.

He looked at Wan Qingkun with an expression as if facing a murderer, saying irritably, “Old Wan, did you do that on purpose?”

If Xu Heng hadn’t reacted quickly enough to that slap,

he might have been dislocated.

Facing Xu Heng’s ‘accusation,’ Wan Qingkun smiled and rubbed his bald head, saying, “I just made a breakthrough and haven’t fully mastered my strength yet.”

“You’d better be telling the truth.”

After speaking, Xu Heng led the students from Lihuo Dao Academy toward the distant Arena.

The other teachers and students from Xuanjia Dao Academy quickly followed.

There were still half a day left before the exchange between the two Dao Academies—no need to rush.

Unlike the coffin-like fire arena of Fire Toad Academy,

Xuanjia Dao Academy’s Arena appeared relatively normal.

From the outside, it resembled a massive steel furnace.

Square-shaped walls with a gray metallic luster gave off an inexplicable sense of power.

After arriving at the Arena, Lu Chen glanced at his phone.

Finding that no new Instance had been activated, he put his phone away.

Thinking about it, new Instances weren’t that easy to activate.

It made sense that none had appeared.

Lu Chen felt somewhat curious about this Arena,

mainly because he sensed that the Xuan Iron used to construct this Xuanjia Arena was clearly no ordinary metal but possessed some special properties.

While others rested in the Arena’s lounge, Lu Chen stepped out alone.

He walked to the center of the Arena and observed the massive Xuan Iron pillars before him.

From a distance, these Xuan Iron pillars didn’t look much different from ordinary pillars.

But up close, one could see faint patterns covering their surfaces.

These patterns were clear and orderly, combining to give a sense of natural perfection.

With some curiosity, Lu Chen extended his divine sense, attempting to probe the essence of these Xuan Iron pillars.

To his surprise,

his divine sense couldn’t penetrate the Xuan Iron pillars and was completely blocked.

Although he was only at the Golden Core Stage,

his divine sense wasn’t much weaker than that of an ordinary Nascent Soul Stage cultivator.

If even he couldn’t penetrate these pillars with his divine sense, others certainly couldn’t.

Interesting. Not just these pillars—the entire Xuan Iron Arena seemed to hold hidden mysteries.

“Old Heng has visited our Xuanjia Dao Academy many times without noticing its wonders, yet you, young friend, discovered the secrets of our Xuanjia Dao Academy on your first visit. Truly worthy of being the Immortal Alliance’s top Sword Cultivator in ten thousand years—your talent is truly remarkable.”

Lu Chen turned and saw Wan Qingkun, the teacher from Xuanjia Dao Academy, standing beside him.

Wan Qingkun looked at Lu Chen standing beneath a Xuan Iron pillar and smiled, patting the pillar beside him.

This pat made Lu Chen’s expression shift noticeably.

Because the echo produced when the Xuan Iron pillar was struck was remarkably deep,

with clearly distinguishable layers within it.”You could tell?”

Lu Chen nodded and said, “I never expected this Xuan Iron to be composed of multiple layers. I suppose the surface patterns are the result of these layers pressing against each other?”

Wan Qingkun was taken aback, seemingly surprised that Lu Chen had immediately discerned the nature of the Xuan Iron.

Then he gave Lu Chen a peculiar look.

If not for Lu Chen still wearing the Lihuo Dao Academy uniform,

he might have suspected Lu Chen was a student of Xuanjia Dao Academy.

No, even among Xuanjia Dao Academy students, few knew the true nature of their academy’s Xuan Iron.

Most simply assumed their academy’s Xuan Iron was naturally formed.

Perhaps out of professional excitement, or perhaps because Lu Chen’s reputation made Wan Qingkun feel less need for caution,

he directly revealed Xuanjia Dao Academy’s secret.

“Young friend Lu, you must have noticed our academy’s Black Xuan Mountain when you arrived?”

Lu Chen nodded.

“I only briefly mentioned the origin of this Black Xuan Mountain earlier, but didn’t explain what arrangements our Xuanjia Dao Academy has made for it.”

“Leaving other things aside, just these twelve Earth Dragon Pillars before us aren’t made from ordinary Black Xuan Stone.”

As he spoke, Wan Qingkun raised his fist.

“Do you know why our academy is called Xuanjia?”

Lu Chen recalled information about Xuanjia Dao Academy within the Immortal Alliance.

The entire Xuanjia Dao Academy was a standard Body Cultivator academy.

Essentially everyone in the academy were Body Cultivators.

They didn’t accept other cultivators.

But unlike typical Body Cultivators who focused on physical training and disliked relying on external objects,

Xuanjia Dao Academy was most famous for the Xuan Armor they wore in battle.

These Xuan Armors were not only comparable to Magic Treasures but also provided astonishing defense,

allowing Xuanjia Dao Academy’s Body Cultivators to exhibit greater aggression in combat than ordinary Body Cultivators.

However, if that were all,

then Xuanjia Dao Academy’s Xuan Armor wouldn’t deserve the “Xuan” in its name.

After all, any armor-type Magic Treasure could achieve similar effects.

What truly made Xuanjia Dao Academy famous was that their Xuan Armor could continuously grow alongside the cultivator.

Thinking of this, a flash of insight struck Lu Chen.

Because he remembered what Wan Qingkun had said earlier.

‘Our academy’s Black Xuan Mountain grows every year…’

“Teacher Wan, your Xuan Armor probably requires students to temper it every year, doesn’t it?”

“Hmm?”

If Wan Qingkun had been only slightly surprised by Lu Chen’s Comprehension Ability before,

now he was genuinely astonished.

Because Lu Chen’s words directly touched upon the foundational principles of not just Xuanjia Dao Academy, but even its parent organization, the Xuanjia Sect.

“You’re absolutely right. This is actually why our academy only accepts Body Cultivators.”

“Because only Body Cultivators can continuously temper this Black Xuan Iron, and only Body Cultivators can bear the increasingly heavy Xuan Armor.”

As he spoke, Wan Qingkun produced a piece of black Xuan Iron from somewhere.

Holding the Xuan Iron in one hand, he squeezed forcefully.

The next moment, the fist-sized Xuan Iron was compressed into a pellet shape.

Holding this black iron pellet, Wan Qingkun explained: “Black Xuan Iron has a hard texture and possesses inherent growth properties, continuously absorbing surrounding heaven and earth Spiritual Power to strengthen itself.”

“Our Xuanjia Sect’s Cultivation Manual was precisely created based on this Black Xuan Iron.””The principle isn’t difficult to grasp. You can think of our Xuan Realm as a flattened sponge.”

“Under normal circumstances, this sponge remains in its compressed state.”

“When needed, we unfold it to cover our physical bodies.”

“This creates a problem: depending on each person’s cultivation Realm and innate talent, the weight of sponge they can carry varies greatly.”

“Because even identical sponges differ in quality.”

“The better the sponge, the heavier it naturally becomes, and the greater its absorption capacity.”

“Think about it – what would happen if a Xuanjia Cultivator couldn’t suppress the sponge within their body?”

After brief consideration, Lu Chen gave the answer.

“Physical explosion and death.”

“Correct.”

Wan Qingkun nodded and tossed the iron pellet in his hand.

The pellet, previously compressed by Wan Qingkun’s immense power, now began to expand at a visible rate.

However, this expansion wasn’t infinite – it stopped when reaching approximately the size of a ping pong ball.

It didn’t return to its original fist-sized form.

“The nature of Black Xuan Iron dictates that Magic Treasures and Magical Artifacts forged from it will only grow larger and heavier.”

“Cultivating with such special metal naturally presents the same challenges.”

“Therefore, in our Xuanjia Sect, the Realm of Cultivation Manuals is measured by how many times you’ve tempered your lifebound Xuan Armor.”

“Ten temperings for initiation, one hundred for Foundation Establishment, one thousand for core condensation, ten thousand to form the Yuan, one hundred thousand to transform the Dao, one million for Immortal Ascension.”

“To date, even our sect’s founding Ancestral Master only reached three hundred thousand temperings, never achieving the million mark.”

“Thus we don’t know what effects the Xuan Armor would possess beyond one million temperings.”

“Presumably, the weight of such armor alone could crush a mountain, or even an entire continent.”

Wan Qingkun’s excited expression showed he was vividly imagining such a scene.

Lu Chen now understood the profundity of both the Xuanjia Sect and this Black Xuan Iron.

In essence, Black Xuan Iron was a special metal that could absorb Spiritual Power and continuously grow.

Each tempering process compressed the Black Xuan Iron’s mass.

The more temperings performed, the greater the effects gained with each growth cycle of the Black Xuan Iron.

Theoretically, both the Black Xuan Iron and the Xuan Armor forged from it possessed limitless potential.

But this remained merely theoretical.

Because Lu Chen felt that after ten thousand temperings, each subsequent tempering would become extremely difficult.

Let alone reaching one hundred thousand or one million.

One could only say that while the Xuanjia Sect’s Cultivation Manual appeared simple, sometimes simplicity proved most challenging.

Because this meant there were essentially no shortcuts available.

Nevertheless, the special properties of Black Xuan Iron genuinely intrigued Lu Chen.

Because this presented possibilities for improving the ‘Gathering Immortal Bell.’

The current Gathering Immortal Bell was merely an imitation Lu Chen had created using Divine Ability, combined with Gathering Immortal Bell Fragments.

If Lu Chen wanted to advance the Gathering Immortal Bell further,

He could either find more Gathering Immortal Bell Fragments to activate additional effects,

Or find ways to reconstruct its bell body.

The infinitely growing Black Xuan Iron showed him this possibility.

Without exaggeration, if he used Black Xuan Iron tempered one hundred thousand times to forge the Gathering Immortal Bell’s body…Lu Chen didn’t even dare to imagine how heavy this bell was.

By then, even ignoring the soul-trapping effect of the Gathering Immortal Bell, its sheer weight alone could crush many cultivators to death.

The so-called Gathering Immortal Bell might well become the Soul-Suppressing Bell.

Thinking of this, Lu Chen inquired, “I wonder if someone from outside Xuanjia Dao Academy could request a piece of Black Xuan Iron?”

“You want a piece of Black Xuan Iron?”

Wan Qingkun looked at Lu Chen in surprise, seemingly not expecting him to say this.

If anyone else had said this, Wan Qingkun would have ignored them completely.

But coming from Lu Chen’s mouth, it was entirely different.

Because Lu Chen was not only the youngest Golden Core Stage cultivator in the Immortal Alliance, but also a monster who had mastered the Harmony Realm while still at the Golden Core Stage.

That’s right, only a few within the Immortal Alliance currently knew that Lu Chen had stepped into the Transformation Dao Realm.

So they only knew that Lu Chen had entered the Harmony Realm.

But even the Harmony Realm was beyond what ordinary people could compare to.

After thinking for a moment, Wan Qingkun said, “This matter isn’t difficult. After this exchange ends, you can come find me directly.”

Hearing this, Lu Chen immediately cupped his hands and said, “Thank you, Teacher Wan.”

“No need for formalities. Our Dao Academy may not have much else, but we have plenty of Black Xuan Stone.”

“Alright, the competition is about to start. You should probably head back now.”

Wan Qingkun looked around the arena at the gradually increasing crowd.

He understood that their match against Lihuo Dao Academy was about to begin.

Although the outcome was a foregone conclusion, they still wanted to use this opportunity to gauge Lihuo Dao Academy’s strength.

Besides, what if they got lucky and won in the end?

But often, ideals are abundant while reality is cruel.

Although the team Xuanjia Dao Academy sent this time was quite capable, they still fell short when facing Lihuo Dao Academy’s prodigies.

Even against just Lihuo Dao Academy’s substitutes.

The entire match was basically one-sided.

Without even needing Lihuo Dao Academy’s main team to take action, the substitute members easily defeated Xuanjia Dao Academy’s students.

However, it must be admitted that Xuanjia Dao Academy’s ‘Hundred Refinements Xuan Armor’ indeed had its merits.

Body Refining stage Xuan Armor cultivators could only cover one of their four limbs with the armor.

Foundation Establishment cultivators could cover half their body.

Golden Core Stage cultivators could cover their entire body.

And these Xuan Armors were practically impervious to water and fire.

This might not be very noticeable during the Body Refining and Foundation Establishment stages.

But once reaching the Golden Core Stage, their defensive power far exceeded the Protective Qi of ordinary Golden Core Stage cultivators.

On larger-scale battlefields, Xuan Armor cultivators would likely have better survival rates than regular cultivators.

Due to their good relationship with Xuanjia Dao Academy, the group from Lihuo Dao Academy didn’t leave after the competition ended.

Instead, they planned to stay for a few days.

Naturally, Lu Chen took this opportunity to find Wan Qingkun.

Before long, Wan Qingkun brought Lu Chen to the core area of Xuanjia Dao Academy.

Black Xuan Mountain.

When they reached the foot of Black Xuan Mountain, Lu Chen realized that the entire mountain was a seamless whole, like a giant meteorite that had crashed right into Xuanjia Dao Academy.

“How about it? Magnificent, isn’t it?”

Wan Qingkun raised his head proudly as he looked at the Black Xuan Mountain before them.

Lu Chen agreed – this Black Xuan Mountain was indeed extraordinary.

“Alright, follow me.””With your cultivation level, ordinary Black Xuan Iron likely cannot meet your requirements.”

“I’ll take you to the Thousand Refinements Iron area of Black Xuan Mountain. The Black Xuan Iron there should satisfy your needs.”

After speaking, Wan Qingkun led Lu Chen deeper into Black Xuan Mountain.

During this process, Lu Chen began continuously observing the actual conditions of Black Xuan Mountain, constantly comparing them with the Black Cauldron from the Pot-Lifting Brute Instance in his mind…

(End of Chapter)