No one knew how long the black river was in the Forest of Death nor did anyone know where it started and ended.

Nonetheless, the bamboo rats in the forest knew. The little bamboo rat would lie on a leaf and travel along the black river once in every century. It would look at the beautiful scenery along the way to get rid of the loneliness and depression in its heart.

The river was winding like a giant black dragon.

At the end of the black river stood an ancient tower that had been sealed by dust.

The ancient tower was dilapidated and covered with spider webs. The stones below were covered with moss, hiding all the knife and sword marks on the stones. The tower had a total of 9 floors, which were meant to represent the advancement into heaven one floor at a time. The door was made of the best pear wood, and the most precious banner was hung on the top. Even so, the ancient tower was also eroded by time as it was already very ruined. When the cold wind blew, the whole tower shook as if it would collapse at any time.

Nevertheless, the main door that was eroded over time was tightly shut.

Behind the ancient tower, there was a small gazebo made of bamboo. Inside the gazebo, a big bell could be seen.

Runes that jumped like tadpoles could be seen on the big bell. At the top of it, the pattern of a dragon and a phoenix was engraved on it. The dragon was an azure dragon that was vaguely seen in the clouds. On the opposite side of it was a phoenix, whose feathers were colorful and incomparably beautiful. The dragon and the phoenix stared at each other with their eyes wide open while their auras stirred the void.

A wooden stick with the width of a pail and made of an unknown material was hanging next to the big bell.

This was a forbidden area in the Forest of Death. Other than bamboo rats, no other ferocious beast—not even fierce beasts with the strength of Venerable Ones—dared to stay here. The water of the black river flowed out from a cave below this ancient tower.

As the name implied, the black river was slightly black. Its color was the same as when 5 to 6 drops of ink were dropped into a small bowl of water.

2 bamboo rats—1 big and 1 small—stood side by side under the small gazebo. The big bamboo rat narrowed its eyes and looked at Ou Yangming solemnly as it said in a deep voice, "I've stayed in the Forest of Death for thousands of years. Apart from guarding this forbidden land, I'm also here to ring this big bell. You're the first batch of beings to come here throughout the thousands of years." While it spoke, it pointed at the big bell with its sharp finger.

The big bamboo rat's brown pupils were hollow and made it look like it had seen the vicissitudes of life. It also looked like it could see through the secular world.

Ou Yangming took in the look of vicissitudes in the bamboo rat's eyes. He knew the hollowness in its eyes was not it pretending to be profound but was naturally displayed due to its rich experience.

This might be because it had seen too much of the fickleness of human nature, as well as the hypocrisy of the world.

Ou Yangming exhaled a breath of cold air and focused as he cupped his hands. He asked with respect, "Senior, how long has this ancient tower been around? What's the meaning of ringing this big bell?" The young fellow asked two questions in a row as they were questions that he desperately wanted to know. He vaguely felt that the ancient tower might have a great connection with the Forest of Death's formation. People would be curious about the unknown, and Ou Yangming was no exception.

The big bamboo rat sensed the unusual and special aura on Ou Yangming's body. It answered him in a gentle voice, "This ancient tower has existed for 10,000 years. As for the significance of ringing this bell, I have no idea. I only know that it's a mission that flows in bamboo rats' bloodline." There was something else that it did not say. It was true that the ringing of the big bell was a mission, but it was also a shackle that was tightly bound to its head, and it was getting tighter such that it could not break free.

It looked at Ou Yangming with anticipation.

As for the little bamboo rat, it looked at Big Yellow with curiosity. After thinking for some time, it turned to look at Multi-armed King Kong. Most of the savage beasts in the Forest of Death were covered in spurs, which were appalling. It was the bamboo rat's first time seeing such a furry creature like the big yellow dog. As for the king kong, it looked even more bizarre as it had a human body but an ape's head, so the little bamboo rat could not take its eyes off of it.

'10,000 years again?' Ou Yangming muttered to himself. Inside the big formation set up by Xu Junqing, he found out that a great disaster would take place in the Spiritual Realm once in every 10,000 years, causing all living things to be plunged into misery. Even Venerable Ones dared not say that they would be able to survive the calamity.

Now, this ancient tower had also existed for exactly 10,000 years. Was this a coincidence, or was there an unknown conspiracy? This was intriguing. Ou Yangming felt like his brain had just been stirred by a pair of chopsticks as it was in chaos.

'Master, what's wrong?' Multi-armed King Kong asked Ou Yangming through its conception in its spiritual world as it noticed his poor complexion.

'Nothing—my mind is just in a mess.' Ou Yangming said internally, and his voice immediately sounded in the king kong's mind.

This kind of communication was not noticed by the bamboo rats.

Ou Yangming shook his head and suppressed the messy thoughts in his head. He exhaled a breath of cold air and threw a stone into the black river, causing ripples to spread out.

Subsequently, he took 2 steps forward and looked at the big bamboo rat. He asked, "Will there be unexpected dangers when you ring the big bell?"

The big bamboo rat spread out its front legs and shook its head. "I don't know. This big bell hasn't rung once in the past 10,000 years. No matter how I tried to ring it, it wouldn't make a sound. Do you see the wooden stick next to it?"

Ou Yangming's gaze shifted, and he nodded right away.

A rare look of fear could be seen in the big bamboo rat's eyes. It expressed seriously, "Usually, it'll be difficult for me to even lift the wooden stick."

"Huh?" Ou Yangming's face changed. He thought, 'How's that possible? How can such an ordinary-looking wooden stick be so heavy?'

No matter how heavy a treasure was, it should not be a problem to a Venerable One. Moreover, judging from the bamboo rat's aura, it was not weaker than Multi-armed King Kong, which overcame 6 Heavenly Thunderbolts. In fact, it was better than the king kong in some aspects.

It would not be an exaggeration to describe a Venerable One's mightiness as being able to uproot a mountain with overwhelming strength. Therefore, it was unbelievable when the big bamboo rat said that it was difficult for it to lift the wooden stick.

The big bamboo rat was undoubtedly a ferocious beast with great wisdom. When he saw the look on Ou Yangming's face, it knew what he was thinking.

It looked like it was reminiscing as it explained, "2,000 years ago, my father was about to reach his end. He channeled all of the spiritual power in his dantian but still couldn't ring the big bell. Since he didn't ring it, the heavy responsibility was then placed on my shoulders. At that time, I had just passed the Heavenly Disaster. I was ambitious and unwilling to be bound to the Forest of Death. As such, I rang the bell every day for 30 years, but it didn't ring even once. Later, I understood that it was luck, fate, and the responsibility that the Bamboo Rats had to bear. After that, I sat down for 100 years while I calmed my heart and waited for the person who was qualified to ring the bell. Hehe, until today, perhaps I finally met the right person."

The big bamboo rat looked deeply at Ou Yangming, and it spoke more seriously than before, "If you're this person, then this big bell can finally be rung." According to the ancestral teachings of the Bamboo Rats, only a certain person could ring the big bell.

Even though the big bamboo rat sounded calm, Ou Yangming could hear the helplessness in its voice.

Ou Yangming was shocked. He observed for a long time and uttered, "Fate and luck are things that can't be grasped nor guessed."

He lamented when he said that. Originally, if he did not obtain the Heavenly Phoenix fire, he would live a plain life and would have to worry about daily necessities. It was because of the Heavenly Phoenix Fire that the trajectory of that young fellow's life underwent a drastic change. He ended up walking on a colorful and gorgeous path.

The big bamboo rat was like a wise old man. It raised its head and looked at the sky, then it noted sternly, "It's getting late. Get ready to ring the bell!"

Ou Yangming's eyes lit up. He asked in a low voice, "Do you need me to do anything?"

The big bamboo rat looked meaningfully at him and chuckled. "Of course. I need to take a drop of blood essence from your body."

"I dare not disobey you!" Ou Yangming cupped his hands respectfully.

Big Yellow and the Multi-armed King Kong's eyes were also burning with anticipation.

With that, the big bamboo rat walked into the gazebo and pointed its furry front leg forward. Its sharp nails flashed coldly and directly imprinted on the spot between Ou Yangming's eyebrows as if it ignored space. The young fellow only felt an itch between his eyebrows, then a drop of scarlet blood essence that was brimming with vitality flew out and spun on the bamboo rat's front leg without stopping.

The big bamboo rat then pressed its front leg forward, where white light flickered on its fingertip. Consequently, the air in front of it exploded with a bang and was stripped outward.

It gently exhaled through its sharp and thin mouth gently before it growled, "True Awakening!"

A dense and heavy aura spread out like a heavy mountain pressing down on Ou Yangming's heart. Even someone as strong as Multi-armed King Kong felt a faint pressure in its heart. One could imagine the big bamboo rat's cultivation base.

Quickly after, the drop of blood essence turned into a blood mist and assimilated into the big bell.

The complicated and devilish patterns on the big bell were pushed up bit by bit from the bottom. Brilliant lights of dissimilar colors could be seen, and they illuminated the bell's surroundings with unparalleled brightness.

Following that, the big bamboo rat gathered its Qi and exhaled, spitting out an arc-shaped hurricane.

Its small body suddenly expanded, and the soft hair on its body stood up. It looked less weak and more awe-inspiring. As its body extended, it finally became incredibly strong. The big bamboo rat's muscles were like squirming green insects, and its whole body was filled with explosive power.

The little bamboo rat crossed its front legs in front of its chest, and its eyes were filled with astonishment.

It was clear that it had never seen such a scene before.

"Ha!" The big bamboo rat moved. With a single step, it advanced tens of meters and arrived below the gazebo.

Its claws separated, and it directly grabbed the wooden stick that was as thick as a pail. A look of comprehension appeared in its eyes, and it wondered, "Could it be that this young fella's really a suitable candidate? Is that why this wooden stick has become so light as if it's nothing?' Without any hesitation, a cyclone suddenly appeared in the bamboo rat's dantian. It stirred up all of the spiritual power inside and converted them into energy that was transmitted into the claws that had gone through a lot.

The big bamboo rat roared loudly, then a bright light flashed in its eyes as it forcefully pushed its claws outward.

In an instant, the wooden stick, which carried a boundless momentum, crashed into the big bell.

"Bang..."

The big bell first dented inward, then it stuck out. The process repeated as it vibrated non-stop. Furthermore, the light it emitted became even brighter like a burning star that was tremendously hot. Soon after, a ripple and a loud boom spread out at the same time. The sound completely broke the silence in the Forest of Death...