Chapter 241 — The Wheel of Reincarnation
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 1 of 7
"Crack, crack, crack, crack…"
A shrill, earsplitting roar came at them from all directions at once. Ming Li and the Nether King turned to look, and saw that the stone walls of the ice chamber—walls that had remained intact until now—had at last given way beneath this sudden, uncontrolled eruption of power. The walls on all four sides split apart simultaneously, the cracks spreading at a speed almost visible to the naked eye, and at the same time the ground beneath their feet began to shudder violently, giving one the distinct illusion that heaven and earth were collapsing and the world was coming to its end.
Beyond the stone chamber, terrified cries began rising from everywhere, accompanied by more and louder rumbling. Ming Li and the Nether King did not need to look to know that things outside were far worse than within the ice chamber—but at this moment, neither of them had the slightest mind to spare for it.
Ming Li gritted his teeth and lifted the Universe Reincarnation Wheel, bringing it close to Bi Li. At the same time, the Aeon Bell trembled faintly, and its clear, crisp chime seemed so utterly distinct amid the violent roaring all around. Faint as it was, in the ears of Ming Li and the Nether King that sound rang louder than any true collapse of heaven and earth.
Within the soft white radiance of the Universe Reincarnation Wheel, the Aeon Bell floated and dipped in midair, trembling ever more violently. Its chimes came now quick, now slow, and faintly carried a note of pain. Both Ming Li and the Nether King were sweating at the brow, not daring even to blink as they fixed their eyes on the trembling Aeon Bell.
Suddenly, the immense, uncanny force around them vanished in an instant, and the rumbling that had echoed everywhere ceased at once. Only the distant reverberations still lingered, bearing traces of that upheaval, and like a great whale drawing in the sea, that dreadful power was swiftly withdrawn.
This was the very moment when, in the depths of the cavern beneath Mount Huqi, at the Blood Pool, Mr. Ghost had watched the ancient divine seal, the "Universe Lock," unleash its full might and forcibly pin down the Coiling Dragon Cauldron.
Before Ming Li and the Nether King, however, matters had taken an unexpected turn.
It had been the Aeon Bell that changed strangely within the radiance of the Universe Reincarnation Wheel, seeming faintly on the verge of breaking free, while the Wheel itself had shown not the slightest change. Yet just as that force suddenly faded, the Universe Reincarnation Wheel abruptly seemed to sense something; some invisible power was calling to it from afar, and the formerly soft white light blazed up.
Both Ming Li and the Nether King were shaken to the core. "What?" they blurted out in unison.
The white radiance over the jade wheel turned dazzling in an instant, almost unbearable to look at, and the countless tiny jade pieces at the wheel's center that slid of their own accord were now, astonishingly, moving more than ten times faster. Countless jade blocks glided and raced, a bewildering blur of motion, and the strange characters originally carved upon each one lit up, one after another.
As the Universe Reincarnation Wheel underwent this transformation, the Aeon Bell, which had been trembling moments before, quickly quieted. Even its chimes grew slow, and soon it was utterly silent.
The Nether King was beside himself with alarm. "What's happening?" he roared.
Ming Li was equally frantic. "I don't know either," he said through gritted teeth.
The two watched helplessly as the radiance of the Universe Reincarnation Wheel grew brighter and brighter, until at last even the patterns of stars and rivers carved along its rim seemed to come alive. The whole Wheel seemed to have been given life, whistling without cease—as if calling out to something, or answering some distant cry.