The weather was still hot, but no longer as sweltering. The sea breeze, laden with the scent of brine, felt even cooler.
The hidden crevice at the sea cliff was not small, stretching for a hundred or two hundred meters and eighteen or eighty meters wide.
But it was shaped like the character for “eight,” narrower at the top, making the sky look like a thin line when you looked up.
The seabed within the fissure was uncommonly deep and was just like the waters outside the sea cliff, not at all resembling a natural coastline.
Chen Mu sat cross-legged, floating on the sea surface with support from black smoke beneath him. It was another day of routine fishing.
Looking at the cluster of brilliant red resembling peanuts in the Five Ghosts Bag, Chen Mu nodded in satisfaction.
“Fishing in the sea is indeed gratifying!”
With the lure of drunken bait, it was very easy to attract a large school of fish.
Plentiful in number and large in size, the accumulation of the brilliant red was rapidly increasing.
“With this cluster of brilliance, it’s enough to sustain the Five Ghosts Bag for a year,” Chen Mu silently estimated.
The Five Ghosts Bag was easy to sustain; if it was just for maintenance, its appetite was comparable to that of three large dogs.
Of course, the more you fed it, the more spirited it became, and Five Ghosts Moving became even more second nature.
“I need to reduce the frequency of fishing,” Chen Mu thought to himself as the month of November approached and the large overseas ships were imminent.
Hordes of people were increasingly flocking to Shouyang Mountain. Carelessly using the Five Ghosts Bag could easily lead to being seen.
…
In his right hand, the black smoke whirled as a Bronze Bell materialized.
Chen Mu looked at it for a long while before shaking his head with a sigh, “Without the corresponding Curse Command, it’s just decor, what a pity.”
Ask Cheng Yi for it?
As long as he doesn’t fight me to the death, that would be fine.
The Wu Yin?
Forget it, I just duped the old man; what if he were to turn around and con me.
Thinking of Wu Yin, Chen Mu took out the Bronze Water Droplets.
“Could it be the clapper of the Heartless Bell? But there’s no structure for hanging a clapper either,” he mused.
The inside of the Heartless Bell was smooth, with no hooks. The Bronze Water Droplets were round and seamless, without hanging rings.
He had previously speculated but decided not to experiment because of this.
With that thought, Chen Mu turned the bell upside down and placed the Bronze Water Droplets inside the bell.
Hum!
A soft sound resonated, and the Bronze Water Droplets unexpectedly floated in mid-air inside the bell!
“Like magnetic levitation?” Chen Mu was instantly pleasantly surprised.
He shook it subconsciously.
Hum!
The deep and heavy sound, reminiscent of a bell toll, suddenly echoed within the crevice.
Chen Mu raised an eyebrow, “That actually sounds quite nice!”
He struck it another two times, then pursed his lips in disappointment, “Pity it’s not really useful.”
He knew the Heartless Bell was capable of capturing souls, but it definitely required a Curse Command to activate.
Simply striking it was not very effective.
“A chicken rib,” he muttered.
Just as he was about to put away the bell, Chen Mu abruptly noticed that, unbeknownst to him, the waters below were now filled with fish, their white bellies turned skyward.
“This isn’t the right timing, is it?” Chen Mu frowned.
He had just put down the drunken bait; the fish couldn’t be intoxicated that quickly.
Chen Mu glanced at the bell in his hand.
Hum!
The resonance of the copper bell suddenly sounded again.
Chen Mu stared intently at the sea surface, then saw the water bubbling with white foam.
Before long, a group of disoriented fish floated up.
“This… can also be used for fishing?” Chen Mu couldn’t help but laugh at the moment.
Hum hum hum…
In a short while, the sea surface of the cliff’s narrow fissure was mostly covered with belly-up fish!
“This is great stuff!”
This time Chen Mu was genuinely delighted; this was much more efficient than the drunken bait!
“Five Ghosts Moving Mountain!”
After a good while, supported by the Five Ghosts, Chen Mu climbed swiftly up the smooth rock wall.
“Fishing just got a lot simpler.”
“It’s not that the sound of the Heartless Bell is useless, it’s just that I didn’t feel it,” Chen Mu realized.
The Heartless Bell of Qingfeng Observatory had never worked on him.
“The Grey Wall!” Chen Mu knew the reason immediately.
“Also the terrifying environment of the Ghosts. I am afraid too, but that’s just a psychological fear, not the alarmed spirit influenced by the ghostly Illusion Realm.”
Deserving of being an external aid!
“Wonder how the Heartless Bell affects ordinary people,” Chen Mu pondered privately.
…
Evening, camp on the mountain wall.
A stone block about half a meter tall and the size of a square table was placed in the open space.
Its top surface shone like a mirror with two cylindrical depressions carved in the middle, filled with brilliant crimson charcoal.
Atop one depression sat a copper pot, while the other was covered with an iron net.
Surrounded by various ingredients like fish slices, goat meat slices, venison slices, and vibrant green vegetables.
“You don’t have an innate Taoist bone, do you?” Tu Shan asked skeptically while eating and looking at Chen Mu.
At such a young age to have the strength of a Shell Soul, it must take a tremendous amount of energy. Where would there be time to refine cooking skills? Unless the talent was exceptional.
“Even if you compliment me, you’re still the one washing the dishes later,” Chen Mu said indifferently.
Tu Shan rolled his eyes and then exclaimed with emotion, “Tsk tsk… not even the head chefs at the capital’s finest First Heaven Floor can compare to you.”
“They indeed cannot compare to me,” Chen Mu said with a calm face.
“You really don’t hold back, do you?” Tu Shan chuckled.
Chen Mu didn’t even glance at Tu Shan. Did you think Third Rank cooking skills were a joke?
After the meal, Chen Mu sat in a rocking chair sipping tea.
Tu Shan was scrubbing dishes next to him, panting away.
Suddenly, Chen Mu said, “I see you’re working hard, let me show you a treasure.”
Then he took out the Heartless Bell.
“You’re really Brother Sincerity?” At once, Tu Shan subconsciously picked up two wooden bowls and held them up in front of him like a shield, “Are you going to attack me?!”
“You’ve misunderstood me too deeply,” Chen Mu frowned with displeasure. “I haven’t even chanted the Curse Command, what are you afraid of!”
Tu Shan asked warily, “Then what do you want to do?”
“I just want to ring the bell to liven things up for you.”
Tu Shan stared at Chen Mu in silence. Are you helping me get in the mood to wash dishes?
Hum!
A sudden sound of a bronze bell echoed within the mountain camp.
“Hmm?”
“Oh?”
“Oho…hahaha…hiss…”
Chen Mu: “…”
What the heck is this noise!
Tu Shan’s face was full of spring fever, his rough and dark complexion flushed red.
“Awesome!”
“Do it again!”
Chen Mu: “…”
This isn’t right, is it?! Wasn’t it supposed to captivate souls? Why does it sound so indecent?
It took Chen Mu a while to understand its effect.
“The bell’s sound can slightly vibrate qi and blood, relieving fatigue. Listening to it for a long time can even strengthen the body?” Chen Mu looked at the Heartless Bell oddly.
It was probably akin to the tingling sensation after one’s legs wake up from being numb.
Taoists meditating for extended periods inevitably stiffen up, suffering from sore limbs. A ring of this bell could revitalize them.
The effect was actually quite respectable.
Then he heard Tu Shan, with an excited face, shouting, “Oho…!”
Chen Mu: “…”
What the heck did I loot?!
It’s so darn indecent!
The most annoying part is… it’s useless on me!
…
Da Liang, year 642, October 25th.
Chen Mu floated as usual in the crevice of the cliff.
Holding a bronze bell, he gently swayed it.
Hum!
The calm sea surface immediately rippled.
Gurgle… a string of white bubbles appeared from the depths of the sea. Soon, fish started flopping weakly on the surface of the water, in slow motion.
Chen Mu watched with envy.
Even a group of fish were enjoying more than him!
Chen Mu, supported by the dark clouds, slowly moved from inside to outside along the crevice, ringing the bell every time he changed positions.
From the innermost part to the outside, it only took five or six rings to stun and catch all the fish in the crevice.
Combined with a weaker version of the drunken bait set in advance for attraction. In less than a quarter of an hour, he could harvest a large pile of fish.
Chen Mu, carrying the Heartless Bell, floated to the mouth of the crevice and gave one last shake of the bronze bell.
Hum!
The ripples spread out from the mouth of the crevice.
Chen Mu couldn’t help but look towards the sea.
Then, he saw a myriad of bubbles starting to emerge from beneath the dark blue sea outside the cliff.
One, three, five… Soon countless bubbles came up from the sea bottom, frothing like boiling water.
Chen Mu was dumbfounded.
Just how many fish had he stunned with that last ring?
Casting a glance at the distant Shouyang Palace atop the mountain, Chen Mu felt frustrated, “The more fish there are, the more attention they attract, and the less I dare to catch them.”
Then, he just watched as the bubbles became more and more numerous, even bubbling like boiling water.
“This isn’t right, is it?”
Before he could figure it out, a huge shadow appeared on the dark blue sea and rapidly expanded underneath it.
Boom!
With a loud noise, a series of more than ten meter high sprays burst forth from the sea.
A massive creature covered in ferocious spikes suddenly surged out of the water.