Begin your practice with the crane-shaped stance.

hum!

The cold air around them rippled slightly.

Behind Xia Dong, a phantom image of an ancient bronze bell, much larger than his own body, quietly appeared.

The illusory image of this ancient bell is elusive, existing between illusion and reality. Its surface lacks any elaborate or ornate lighting, but exudes a sense of desolation and weightiness etched by the passage of time, both ancient and mysterious.

clang!

The phantom of the ancient bell trembled slightly, and a clear and ancient bell chime rang out in the dark ice cave.

As the bell rang, an indescribable force rippled outwards from Xia Dong, spreading like waves.

Xia Dong found it difficult to define or imagine just how powerful this force was. He only felt that the flow of the surrounding space seemed to have changed in the face of this force.

The ripples of the bell's sound swept across the ferocious creature that was lunging forward.

Like an elephant moving forward, trampling over everything.

The demon-faced spider, exuding a fierce and oppressive aura, was instantly frozen in place upon contact with the bell's ripples, as if struck by an unshakeable boulder, completely unable to move.

The pale white face on its carapace, which had originally been filled with greed and resentment, was now twisted to the extreme, its features squeezed inward, revealing an extreme pain originating from the depths of its soul.

Then, under the invisible, powerful force of the ancient bronze bell, a chilling scene unfolded.

The hard shell of the Ghost-Faced Spider, which was the size of a calf, began to shrivel and collapse at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Accompanied by a series of subtle peeling sounds, wisps of pungent blue smoke rose from the spider's body.

Its flesh and blood, essence, demonic power, and even its soul were forcibly crushed and extracted by the great power of the ancient bell.

In an instant, the scene of creation and transformation unfolded before Xia Dong's eyes once again.

This rare and troublesome alien beast didn't even have time to utter a sound before it was completely captured and refined by the ancient bronze bell.

As the lingering echoes of the bell gradually faded, the phantom image of the ancient bell behind Xia Dong also disappeared into nothingness.

On the deathly silent ice cave floor, the violent demonic aura had vanished completely.

Instead, a complete ghost-faced spider-like beast skin lay limply on the solid ice.

On the back of the animal hide, the pale human face remained frozen in a state of extreme distortion and pain before death, appearing exceptionally eerie and terrifying in the dark and cold depths of the abandoned mine.

...

...

With the crisis completely over, Xia Dong could no longer hold on. Her legs gave way, and she collapsed onto the hard, cold ground.

A ferocious demon comparable to the late stage of Qi Refining was killed by him and the ancient bronze bell in a short time.

It all happened so fast that he didn't even have time to react before the life-or-death battle was over.

"this one?"

Xia Dong gasped for breath, staring blankly at the complete and eerie ghost-faced spider skin on the ice in front of him.

His emotions fluctuated, a mixture of excitement at surviving a close call and turning the tables, and a sense of disbelief and bewilderment.

However, this feeling did not last long, and the extreme weakness that came from his body quickly brought him back to reality.

The most pressing crisis right now is that the magical power in his dantian is completely depleted.

Not only that, but his divine sense was also severely overdrawn and almost completely exhausted when he forcibly controlled the ancient bronze bell to suppress the ghost-faced spider.

The sharp pain and dizziness surging through his mind served as a stark reminder of his terrible condition.

Xia Dong dared not be negligent in the slightest.

He forced himself to endure the near-complete exhaustion of his body and mind, and squeezed out the last bit of divine sense and magical power from his almost depleted sea of ​​consciousness and dantian, and opened the storage pouch at his waist with great difficulty.

With a faint flash of light, Xia Dong quickly took out a Yin Sha Pill and a Qi Gathering Pill, and without hesitation, tilted his head back and threw them into his mouth.

The pill entered the stomach and quickly transformed into two streams of energy.

His depleted magical power and divine consciousness finally began to recover little by little, like rain after a long drought.

These Yin Sha Pills were made from ordinary low-level Yin spirits, and they no longer provided any substantial help in improving his spiritual cultivation.

However, if used purely for quickly restoring depleted spiritual energy after a battle, the effect is still quite remarkable.

The same applies to ordinary Qi Gathering Pills. For him now, they are more of a consumable for quickly replenishing mana, and their effect on improving cultivation level is very limited.

Xia Dong closed his eyes, held his breath, and guided the medicinal power to slowly circulate throughout his body for one cycle.

As his breathing gradually calmed down, his consciousness and magical power finally recovered somewhat.

Although he is still far from being at his peak, at least he has regained control over his body, and he is no longer in the same predicament as before, completely exhausted and at the mercy of others.

After regaining some strength, Xia Dong's first reaction was to cautiously look around.

The dark, icy cave was deathly silent, with only the ghost-faced spider's hide lying quietly.

After confirming that there were no new dangers lurking, he then focused his attention back into his own mind.

As soon as he focused his mind, Xia Dong's expression changed slightly.

He keenly sensed that the Xuan Yin magic power he had just recovered was being slowly drained away by the ancient bronze bell again.

Although this time the speed was not as violent and rapid as before, it was continuous.

"Again?" Xia Dong couldn't help but mutter under his breath.

He dared not be negligent in the slightest, fearing that the foundation he had painstakingly built up would be drained again, so he hurriedly stuffed Yin Sha Pill and Qi Gathering Pill into his mouth again.

As his magical power gradually increased under the influence of the elixir, Xia Dong gritted his teeth and painfully pulled out a mid-grade spirit stone that shimmered with a lustrous sheen from the depths of his storage pouch.

He gripped the spirit stone tightly, and a vast amount of pure spiritual energy instantly surged into his body.

However, this abundant spiritual energy didn't even have time to transform into Xuan Yin magic power in his meridians before it was completely absorbed by the ancient bronze bell in his sea of ​​consciousness, like a whale sucking up water.

And then, for who knows how long.

Suddenly, Xia Dong felt a slight weight in his palm, just like when he used Yin Souls to refine Yin Sha Pills before.

He lowered his head and opened his palm, only to find three round pills appearing out of thin air in his palm.

The three pills had a faint, ethereal glow on their surface, emanating an indescribable, pure and ethereal aura. Just a gentle sniff was enough to clear one's mind and refresh one's spirit.

Within his sea of ​​consciousness, several twisted, scarlet characters slowly emerged on the ancient bronze bell's simple surface, providing an explanation for the three pills: "Yin Spirit Pills, three pills."

Clearly, the powerful spirit of the late-stage Qi Refining Ghost-Faced Spider had been refined into three Yin Spirit Pills by the ancient bronze bell. Judging from the quality and aura of these pills alone, they were far superior to the previous Yin Fiend Pills.

Xia Dong was initially overjoyed, but before this joy could spread, his expression froze, and he was suddenly startled.

He discovered that after spitting out the three Yin Spirit Pills, the ancient bronze bell in his sea of ​​consciousness fell into an unprecedented silence.

No matter how Xia Dong called out and communicated with it in his heart, the ancient bell seemed to have become a lifeless, inanimate object, giving not even the slightest response.

If it weren't for the fact that it was still truly suspended and residing deep within his sea of ​​consciousness, Xia Dong would have even suspected that the ancient bronze bell had completely collapsed and disappeared.

"Is the price for wielding a bronze bell really this high?" Xia Dong thought to himself, speechless.

Not only was his hard-earned magical power completely drained in an instant, but even his "innate qi," which was the source of his life and had been accumulated for a long time, was consumed by a small portion.

Even more terrifying was that just by wielding the ancient bell to unleash that earth-shattering strike, his divine consciousness was almost completely depleted.

Now, even the ancient bronze bell itself has fallen into this almost "dead" state of hibernation.

Xia Dong knew very well that he couldn't use the ancient bell again until it revived on its own. As for how long that revival would take?

He had absolutely no confidence.

Unconvinced, he tried to actively channel spiritual energy and magical power into the ancient bell, even painfully diverting a wisp of his innate Qi, but the bronze bell was like a mud ox sinking into the sea, showing no reaction and refusing to absorb anything.

After a series of futile attempts, Xia Dong looked at the three precious Yin Spirit Pills in his hand and suddenly felt less happy.

His biggest trump card had temporarily failed, which made him feel less secure.

"Oh well, at least I've survived." Xia Dong could only sigh helplessly.

The good news is that if the ancient bronze bell can be revived, he will have a very powerful trump card to save his life.

Such an attack might be too much for even a Foundation Establishment cultivator to withstand.

But before that?

Xia Dong looked at the Yinling Pill in his hand.

He made up his mind; he would break through his spiritual cultivation right here.

After fully restoring his consciousness and magical power using the Yin Sha Pill and the Qi Gathering Pill, Xia Dong adjusted his mind to a state of clarity and tranquility.

Although the ancient bronze bell has fallen into silence, its innate talent for eternal proof remains.

In Xia Dong's mind, the illusory sound of bells still rang.

However, the ancient bronze bell did not react at all and remained silent.

This state is truly mysterious.

Distracting thoughts arise and vanish in a state of clarity and understanding.

Xia Dong picked up a Yinling Pill and swallowed it directly.

"Break it!"