Chapter 22: Silver Bells
After the last explosion that demolished the guest accommodation, Yan Ping’s unwavering determination led her to finally grasp the basics of soul cultivation. Despite being initially confused over the limit of her astral journey, she persisted. Yet, every hour, without fail, she would be pulled back into her body forcefully. She thought her insufficient control over soul projections caused it. However, the timely coincidence could not be explained. Refusing to give up, Yan Ping conducted numerous experiments to measure her soul exploration journey and the time to traverse space. After many trials and errors, she realised it was the bell tower that always brought her back.
A few decades ago, when Yan Ping was still travelling in search of the hero who would defeat the demonic cultivation cult, she visited a fellow sage who was a revered monk in the Shaolin temple. The Buddhist monk was the first to teach her the art of meditation to attain a different kind of enlightenment because Yan Ping had been very vexed. No matter how far she travelled, she could not find Zhao Mingfeng back then. Among the other preaching that he taught her, Yan Ping recalled the fundamentals he taught. The only book she had related to soul cultivation was a Buddhist scripture he gifted her. There were many mantras in that book that made little sense to cultivators. However, the ritual setup mentioned in the book was exactly what she needed now.
Silver bells.
Although many cultivators wore them on their belts or the hilts of their swords as decorations and good luck charms, there was more to these shiny trinkets than their beautiful chimes. Many silver bells were also known as warding bells. They appear in many legends and folk tales to guide lost souls with their sound. Maybe there was some truth to this.
Unlike the clock towers at the Shaolin temple with bronze bells, most cultivation sects used silver bells even if they cost more. Any cultivators believe that silver helped to purify any unclean energy and was seen as a good omen. Some people even claimed that the symbol of cultivation sects was their silver bells in the clock towers. Not many cultivation schools could afford to build them, and it was a sign of prestige over wealth. The Celestial Dragon Sect was one of the most prestigious sects in recent years. It was only natural for them to have at least one silver bell clock tower. Unfortunately, that created a different problem for Yan Ping.
The sound of a silver bell could easily bring back a lost soul. Although there were ways to avoid being pulled back by the sound of a silver bell in soul cultivation, Yan Ping was merely a beginner and did not know how to counter that. Unless a person’s will to live is very weak, the silver bell’s ringing was the most effective way to pull a person back to the realm of the living.
Thankfully, there were a few spells and arrays that the prophet knew would act as a compass for her soul during her astral journey. Tasking Mingfeng to provide her with the materials and location needed for her breakthrough, Yan Ping secretly observed her student from afar. Although she could not see how much Anji had physically grown, the child’s intellect shone through her lessons. The Doctrine of the Mean was not an easy textbook to understand. Many people cannot understand how the Zhongyong principles could be applied even with a teacher. Memorising every word in it wasn’t enough.