Zhu Xian: The way of heaven collapses, and I only have one sword!

Chapter 54: Hehuan Bell, Love Curse!
As the last character of the first volume of the Heavenly Book sank into Chen Qiye's body, the inscriptions that once densely covered the stone walls vanished completely, and the entire stone chamber fell into a brief silence. Chen Qiye's aura suddenly changed, and his already deep eyes now took on a sharper, more penetrating brilliance. He gently opened his eyes, and the light that flashed in them was fleeting.

"Hoo—" Chen Qiye slowly exhaled. The stone chamber was so quiet that he could only hear the slight flutter of his clothes. He stood up and gently stroked the smooth stone wall. It had once been the carrier of the "Heavenly Book", but now it was only cold to the touch.

At this moment, Lu Xueqi slowly woke up, feeling dizzy and weak all over. She subconsciously moved her body, only to find herself lying on the dry ground, with Chen Qiye, who looked focused, beside her.

"Seven Nights..."

Chen Qiye heard the sound and turned his head suddenly, his eyes full of surprise. He quickly walked to Lu Xueqi's side, squatted down, and asked with concern: "Qier, you're awake! How do you feel?"

Lu Xueqi slowly sat up, rubbed her head, and looked around at the unfamiliar environment, wondering, "Where is this? How did we get here?"

Chen Qiye helped Lu Xueqi stand up and whispered to her in detail about their previous experience and their current situation in the Bleeding Cave.

When Lu Xueqi heard this, a flash of panic flashed across her beautiful eyes, but she quickly calmed down and looked at Chen Qiye and whispered, "So the current situation means we can't get out for the time being?"

"Maybe." Chen Qiye nodded slightly and said.

On the other side, Bi Yao also came to a medium-sized stone chamber. There were many shelves on one side, and a pile of ironware and other things on the other side.

Bi Yao glanced at it for a moment before losing interest. She turned and walked over to the shelves. After searching for a long time, she only found a small iron box. The iron box was quite heavy, and she shook it gently a few times, but no sound came out.

After placing the iron box on the ground, Bi Yao took a deep breath and waved her right hand. A white light lit up in the stone chamber, and a jade-like flower appeared in the air, emitting a faint fragrance. At the same time, the white light instantly enveloped the entire iron box.

After completing all the preparations, Bi Yao reached out to open the iron box. With a slight sound, before she could see what was inside, she saw a black gas emerge first.

The small white flower above the iron box tightly enveloped the black energy. After a moment, the black energy gradually shrank, and the jade-like white flower gradually turned black, as if it had absorbed the black energy.

Bi Yao's face changed slightly, and she whispered, "It's actually the ancient corpse poison! The black-hearted old ghost actually refined this kind of thing!"

As the black gas dissipated, the object in the iron box finally revealed its true form. It was a small bell that was completely golden.

Bi Yao was stunned for a moment. She had obviously never expected that such a rare and highly toxic substance as the Ancient Corpse Poison would only be protected by such a small bell. After hesitating for a moment, she slowly reached out and picked up the small bell.

After looking at it for a while, Bi Yao liked the little bell more and more, so she tied it around her waist. As she turned her body slightly, it suddenly emitted a series of crisp bell sounds, which were extremely pleasant to the ear.

Seeing that there was nothing good left in the stone chamber, Bi Yao turned around and walked out of the stone chamber, returning to the original stalactite cave, and sulked at the skeleton. Her sad flower was now completely black.

He immediately transferred his resentment to the skeleton. Without any hesitation, he waved his sleeves, and the Sad Flower circled around the skeleton. Then, a sound of bones cracking was heard, and the skeleton fell to the ground in pieces.

Bi Yao was slightly startled, and saw a few lines of words carved on the stone wall that was just covered by the skeleton. There were only four lines of words written on the wall:
The bells are chiming, the flowers are withering,
The figure gradually became thinner and his hair turned white.

Love is bitter, life is bitter,

Infatuation is only painless.

……

"What are you looking at? So seriously?"

Bi Yao was startled and turned around abruptly. The Sad Flower in her hand instantly burst into a sharp light, and she was about to attack the person behind her. When she saw that it was Chen Qiye and the sober Lu Xueqi, the wariness in her eyes slowly faded: "You walk without making any sound?"

Chen Qiye raised his eyebrows slightly, a faint smile appearing on the corner of his mouth, "Sorry, I was distracted and didn't pay attention to my steps. What did you find?" As he spoke, his gaze passed Bi Yao and fell on the stone wall with the words engraved on it.

Bi Yao looked at the words on the stone wall with a complicated expression, then looked at Chen Qiye who was holding Lu Xueqi's hand, and sighed softly, "It's just the sentiments of our ancestors. Infatuation only leads to the pain of heartlessness, which is so true." She turned her head away, not wanting Chen Qiye to see the loneliness that flashed across her eyes.

Lu Xueqi's expression was stern as her eyes fell on the words. Something inexplicably moved within her, but she quickly regained her composure, returning to her usual calm demeanor. She subconsciously tightened her grip on Chen Qiye's hand, as if he was the only person who could bring her a sense of security in this mysterious, blood-dripping cave.

"Since it's just the sentiments of our ancestors, there's no need to dwell on it." Lu Xueqi's voice was cold and clear. She looked at Bi Yao with a distant look, though not hostile. "Now that we're here, our most urgent task is to find a way out and leave this dangerous place as soon as possible."

Upon hearing this, Bi Yao let out a slightly sarcastic chuckle. "Miss Lu, that's easy to say. This Blood Cave is so full of traps, how could it be so easy to escape? You people from Qingyun Sect usually live a life of luxury, and I'm afraid you've never experienced such a dangerous situation."

Seeing the two women about to fight, Chen Qiye had an idea and came up with a plan. A look of pain instantly appeared on his face. His body swayed and he almost fell. Blood from the wound on his back seeped out again, soaking his clothes red.

Chen Qiye frowned, a look of pain on his face, "Stop arguing, my wound seems to have split open."

Lu Xueqi and Bi Yao's attention was instantly drawn to Chen Qiye, and the originally tense atmosphere came to an abrupt end.

Lu Xueqi was terribly anxious and quickly reached out to support Chen Qiye. "Qiye, how are you? Sit down and let me see your wound." Her voice trembled, her eyes filled with worry. Bi Yao also hurried forward, the mockery on her face vanishing, replaced by concern. "What happened? You were fine just now. It's all because of that damned Black Water Serpent. If it weren't for it..." She bit her lower lip, a flicker of regret in her eyes.

Chen Qiye waved his hands, suppressing the pain and forcing a smile, "It's okay, maybe I accidentally pulled it when I was walking just now. It's okay, let's think about how to get out first." As he spoke, he quietly observed the reactions of the two women. Seeing that they temporarily put aside the dispute, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Lu Xueqi took out a small jade bottle from her bosom, poured out a healing pill, and handed it to Chen Qiye, "Take this medicine quickly, it will relieve some pain and help the wound heal."

Chen Qiye took the pill, put it in his mouth, tilted his head back and swallowed it.

Bi Yao watched Lu Xueqi's skillful movements, a complex mix of envy and a hint of disappointment welling up in her heart. She lowered her head and fished out a clean cloth from her storage bag. "Use this to clean the wound, to prevent infection." She handed it to Lu Xueqi, her voice unconsciously lowered.

Lu Xueqi was slightly startled, and looked up at Bi Yao, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes, but she quickly regained her composure. She took the towel and said softly, "Thank you." As she spoke, she carefully helped Chen Qiye wipe the wound, her movements gentle, for fear of hurting him.

"Those four lines of words are not complete, there should be more behind them." Chen Qiye glanced around and said, then he waved out a spiritual power and swept the corpse aside.

There were some words on the spot where the skeleton was sitting. Bi Yao looked over there and saw a few lines of words carved there:
My heart is in pain, I can't help looking back,
Too late to regret, difficult to get along with.

The golden bell is clear and blood-sucking,
Lifetime...

Until the fourth sentence, the writing became increasingly weak, especially the third character "总", which was so sloppy that it was almost indistinguishable. In the end, it was simply passed over with one stroke and ended there.

In the cave, Lu Xueqi and Bi Yao were silent for a while. Between the lines of these two paragraphs, there must be a sad story. The woman was heartbroken, and the man regretted it in the end.

Chen Qiye took a deep breath and murmured to himself, "My life is always filled with infatuation..."

As soon as Chen Qiye finished speaking, the entire cave seemed to be stirred by his words. The previously calm stone wall suddenly glowed with a strange glimmer. The three of them were all attracted by this sudden change, their eyes fixed on the stone wall.

In the flickering light, the previously visible words began to flow slowly, like living things. Then, as if drawn by an invisible force, new words gradually emerged on the stone wall:

Love is lingering, dreams are hard to wake up,
The entanglement of love and hate will eventually make you lonely.

Blood and tears have dried up and the soul has returned.

Only the golden bells remain weeping in the desolation.

Lu Xueqi looked at these newly appeared words, a trace of sadness flashed in her beautiful eyes, and she subconsciously held Chen Qiye's hand tightly.

But Bi Yao who was standing aside frowned, staring at the lines of words, muttering: "The crisp sound of the golden bell sucks blood, the crisp sound of the golden bell sucks blood... Golden bell? Ah, that's right, Golden bell!" She seemed to have thought of something, and shouted happily, her face full of joy.

"You want to talk about Madam Jinling, right?" Chen Qiye said.

Bi Yao nodded and said happily, "Madam Jin Ling is a great figure in our Holy Church. It is said that she is extremely intelligent and has profound Taoism. She has a deep understanding of the Holy Church's classic, the Heavenly Book. She single-handedly founded the Hehuan Sect within the Holy Church. She is a top-notch figure among the women in our church!"

Bi Yao's face was filled with pride as she recounted the legendary story of Madam Jin Ling, her eyes full of admiration. Lu Xueqi listened quietly, and although she didn't say much, she couldn't help but feel curious about this mysterious Madam Jin Ling.

Suddenly Bi Yao remembered something and grabbed the golden bell at her waist. After examining it carefully, she became very excited and laughed out loud, "Could this be Madam Jin Ling's Hehuan Bell?"

Chen Qiye looked at the Hehuan Bell worn on Bi Yao's waist, then looked at the four sentences left by Madam Jinling, and the last word "bitter".

"Infatuation only leads to the bitterness of heartlessness. The 'mouth' under the last word 'bitter' is sunken. Judging from its size, it should be about the same size as your Hehuan Bell."

When Bi Yao heard what Chen Qiye said, a hint of excitement and anticipation flashed in her eyes. Without hesitation, she untied the Hehuan Bell from her waist and cautiously approached the depression in the stone wall. When the Hehuan Bell fit perfectly into the depression, the stone wall vibrated.

Bi Yao then quickly retreated with the golden bell.

With a loud bang, a layer of the originally smooth stone wall collapsed, revealing the inner layer, which also had words carved on it.

Bi Yao looked at the words on the stone wall, her expression changing from gloomy to bright. She whispered, "Nine Netherworld spirits, gods and demons of the heavens, I offer my bloody body as a sacrifice. For three lives and seven lifetimes, I will be condemned to eternal damnation, all for love. Even in death, I will never regret it... So this is the love curse..."

"If it is not necessary, it is best not to cast this kind of spell. If you cast it, you will die." Chen Qiye said after taking a look.

"This spell was comprehended by a female ancestor from the Heavenly Book back then, but it can only be practiced by women. I heard that it was transformed from a woman's essence and blood into a fierce spell, and it is extremely powerful..." Bi Yao nodded and said.

(End of this chapter)