The Eastern Emperor Bell from the Start

Reach out and pluck the stars. Who cares if you're a god...

Beneath an enormous ancient statue with a human face and a serpent's body, its whole form bright red, middle-aged and elderly tribespeople in animal skins sat quietly practicing their breathing. "When practicing breath control, breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth. Draw the breath in gently and slowly; this is called prolonged breathing. There is one kind of inward breath and six kinds of outward breath. The inward breath is inhalation. The six outward breaths are chui, hu, xi, he, xu, and dao; all are exhalations. Ordinary people breathe in and out without using these methods, but those seeking prolonged breathing should know them. When the weather is cold, use chui; when warm, use hu. Each has its own use in treating illness. Chui dispels heat, hu dispels wind, xi dispels vexation, he brings down qi, xu disperses qi, and dao relieves exhaustion." An old man spoke slowly.

Look closely, and among the adults there was a boy practicing his breathing. He wore white animal skins, unlike the tiger and leopard skins worn by the others. He had delicate features and clear, bright eyes, and looked about sixteen or seventeen.

As they practiced more deeply, the shadows of statues with human faces and serpentine bodies gradually appeared behind them.

The manifestation behind the boy in white animal skins differed from the others. Yet he held a bell in his hands, with strange beasts soaring and roaring across its surface, gods and demons demonstrating their martial arts as its designs continually shifted.

This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental. Please do not imitate.