Chapter 359: Bell

Chapter 359: Bell

Hui drew about half of the molten metal out of the small bucket all at once. His brows furrowed, and he focused. The metal swirled in midair, obeying his urges. He shaped the rough form of a bell all at once, shaping more a simple bowl than a true bell shape. I dont need it to sound good or look good, I just need it to resonate!

Turning his attention inside the bell, he drew out a crossbar at the top of the bell, then shaped a clapper from the crossbar. The clapper ran out of metal halfway. Hui quickly fed more metal through the crossbar and into the clapper, adding a round portion at the clappers bottom.

Okay. Now separate the clapper and the crossbar!

Hui circulated his qi between the clapper and crossbar, forming a small space between them so they no longer touched. His mental energy strained as he focused on every part: on the hole between the clapper and crossbar, on the bell shape, on maintaining the clapper and crossbar themselves. Hurry up and cool! Cool, dammit!

Groping in his robes, Hui found an ice talisman and slapped it on the floor, urging it to life with a tiny bit of qi. A blast of ice and cold rushed out from the talisman. The metal cooled, the clapper and crossbar fully solidifying almost instantly.

Once he no longer had to focus on the internal workings, Hui refocused his mental energy on shaping the external parts of the bell. He gently gave it a more bell-like curve and a heavier bottom lip before the metal cooled.

Hui sighed, releasing his focus at last. He held out his hand. The bell fell into it, still warm.

Now, for the spell

Since Ive already extracted it, Ill insert it back into the bell. I can focus on comprehending the spell after I put it in the bell. If anything, it might even aid my final comprehension, if I can see it acting in the bell and compare it to how it functioned in the hammer.

Of course, it does mean its currently a one-time-usage enchantment, and not something I can turn into a talisman, which is unfortunate, but I can work on comprehending it and turn it into a talisman later. I already failed to comprehend this spell once, after all. Back then, my realm was lower, but it remains true. If I lack karma with this spell, I might be unable to comprehend it forever but I can use it anyways, as long as I successfully transplant it into this bell.

Flipping his hand, Hui summoned the pill bottle again. He drew out the spell and guided it into the bell, reshaping it into a cylindrical shape to better fit in the bells smaller body. As the warmth of the furnace faded from the metal, he circulated his qi and a tiny bit of life qi into the bell, anchoring the spell into the bells metal. Imitating what little hed comprehended from the heat augmentation enchantment, he drew qi passages through the bell, so that any qi that entered would circulate the bell and automatically stimulate the spell inside, even without conscious thought. That way, I dont have to activate my bell the way I activate a talisman. As long as Im using my qi and some qi enters it, it will passively act.

It isnt as good as having some kind of power source to independently power the spell and allow it to sense conditions and go off completely automatically but thats a level of skill far beyond this small cultivator, and maybe even beyond this world!

Hmm, no, thinking about it, spells of that level must be what are used for sects Great Barrier Formations and the like. After all, Im not powering Unrivaled Peaks barrierif I even couldand Peak Lord is doing just fine hiding behind it. I suspect those formations are tied into the geological phenomenon things like qi veins, dragon veins, whatever you want to call them. In other words, tied into the natural qi flow of this world. However, if I studied one of them perhaps I could understand how to create a fully-automatic enchantment with an independent power source!

Peak Lords voice sounded in Huis head. Senior, why do you put such thoughts in small cultivators head? My hands are already full managing the lotus plant sproutlings and looking after Masters peak, and now you want me to comprehend Great Barrier Formation-level spells, too? Do you really think Im that idle?

Hui raised his eyebrows. By making it weaker, Ive made it less of a direct weapon, but now it can almost be considered a mental weapon. After all, it produces sound waves now and adding enough force to sound waves can mess with the inner ear.

Ah, how wonderful, how wonderful! Ive created a perfect weapon for me. A subtle weapon that seems harmless, but can slowly deteriorate the enemys balance and stability. It isnt suited for short battles, but in drawn-out battles, it can make a big difference. Besides, if I use it to disorient my opponent, theyll be less likely to check my corpse in detail! When they go stagger off to puke, I can jump up and run away. Perfect, a perfect weapon!

So what do I put it on?

Hui patted around his clothes. He considered his robes, only to find the jade bird already hanging there. He frowned. You? But Ive lost two parts of my soul, and Master hasnt stepped in. What use are you?

Wait, actually Im a clone, and Im wearing new robes. How did this bird end up with me? And actually dont we all have our own bird charm? I

A wave of mental pressure pushed against Huis consciousness. Hurriedly, he retreated. Dont think about it, dont think about it. Yes, yes, its very normal for us all to have a bird charm. Yes.

He shook his head. Right. Thats out. So er, a hairpin? Its a bit weird for a boy to wear a bell in his hair, but not unheard-of. Though... no, no. Its too distinctive. I dont want to become the man with any face and a bell in his hair. Dead giveaway.

Anything too visible is out. Hmm. Thinking about it, why dont I attach it to my weapon? Bells dangling from ones sword hilt isnt that unusual. Its a bit weird, but its normal to dangle a charm from the end of ones hilt in this world. I usually wear my sword, but now that I have one sword and six bodies, it moves around a lot. And though its still distinctive, by the time I draw my sword, the situation has fully deteriorated, and theres no hope at bluffing or playing dead immediately.

So decided, Hui summoned Moonlight Cutter. He drew a bit of string from his storage and tied the bell to dangle off the bottom of Moonlight Cutter. Putting his hand on his chin, he nodded then froze.

Eh, but I usually do long, graceful slashes with Moonlight Cutter. There isnt much chance for it to ring, and I need it to constantly ring. Instead, a bludgeoning weapon would be much better, with the short strokes and jarring strikes with lots of reverb on the blow. A bludgeoning weapon

His eyes traveled to the headless hammer shaft slotted into his belt. Hui grinned. Isnt there one right here?

Humming to himself, he untied the bell from Moonlight Cutter and tied it onto the end of the blunt metal rod. I could use Song Weilais hammer instead, but theres something poetic about putting the bell back on the hammer I took it from. Besides, I dont know how to properly wield a hammer, and the heavy hammer head at the end of the shaft makes swinging it unwieldy for such a scholarly and refined man such as myself. Instead, a beating stick suits this small Hui much better. After all, Im very familiar with being at the other end of such a stick!

Hui swished his hand and called forth the remaining metal from the bucket, hovering it in the air until it hardened into a rough ingot. He sent that ingot back into the node and tucked the beating stick into his belt.

My first time forging a weapon went better than expected. Maybe I have some talent with the forge, after all!