Chapter 42 — Dead End

~rPeriod:~21 September r~

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Net. The waves on the Sea of Heartlessness gradually subsided, yet the dread in everyone's heart did not lessen in the slightest. The colossal body of the Blackwater Serpent coiled before them, towering there like a demon beast from the dawn of time.

And this behemoth's serpent head swayed slightly, as though it too had not expected to encounter the breath of living people here beneath the Vale of Death Spirits. It cast several more glances at the group, yet for the moment made no move.

Lu Xueling, being of a calm disposition, was the first to recover. Turning her head, she saw Zhang Qingyue still staring blankly upward at the Blackwater Serpent, and gave his sleeve a gentle tug. Zhang Qingyue shuddered and turned; Lu Xueling said softly, "Let's back away."

Zhang Qingyue came to his senses at once, nodded repeatedly, and helped Lu Xueling retreat. The veiled woman standing behind Bili caught this from the corner of her eye and cried out, "Don't move..."

Zhang Qingyue and Lu Xueling both froze, but in the blink of an eye, green light flared wildly in the Blackwater Serpent's vast eyes, as though something had startled it, and it let out a heaven-shaking roar. Everyone present clapped their hands over their ears, yet still heard a ringing buzz.

In the midst of his horror, Zhang Qingyue saw the Blackwater Serpent's body stir; its enormous tail, which had been soaking in the seawater, swept out, instantly raising a wall of water several zhang high and dozens of zhang wide, blotting out the sky as it came. And amid the spray, that black serpent tail was mingled in, charging forward with boundless force.

The spray was still several zhang away, yet a gale already struck their faces, almost enough to stagger them. If they were truly struck by this tsunami-like wall of water, or touched by that enormous serpent tail, they would surely be smashed to bits. Zhang Qingyue could not spare the thought; his right arm swept around Lu Xueling, he summoned the black iron staff, and flew backward with all his strength.

But the wall of water moved like the wind, faster than any motion. Zhang Qingyue had not flown even a zhang before it overtook him. The roar of water was like thunder, almost at his ear. Every muscle in his body drew taut; almost no thought remained in his mind. At the brink of life and death, Zhang Qingyue gave a great shout and flew upward with all his might, but he had risen barely a zhang from the ground when he felt a chill over his whole body.

"Boom!"

He was swept helplessly into the towering wave, drenched through in an instant. He heard Lu Xueling's cry of alarm beside him, and his grip loosened; under that irresistible force, he and Lu Xueling were torn apart.

Zhang Qingyue paled with fright and struggled to reach Lu Xueling, but such was the power of the wave that in an instant the two were already several zhang apart.

Watching the sky-high waves surge with a roar, Lu Xueling — who had been at his side but a moment ago — vanished in the blink of an eye into the surging darkness. Zhang Qingyue trembled all over, his mind a chaos, and was carried by the great wave, tumbling forward through the spray.

Just as the roar shook the heavens and Zhang Qingyue felt every inch of his body compressed by the enormous force until he was nearly split apart, he suddenly caught sight of something: in the spray, amid the booming roar, a black shadow flashed — the Blackwater Serpent's immense black tail, rushing at him like a mountain.

Wherever that black tail passed, the spray burst apart, and for some reason enormous rocks and sand flew hurtling through it as well, a spectacle of unmatched force. Zhang Qingyue would not have believed, not if you killed him, that he could survive being struck by that vast tail.

At this instant of life and death, Zhang Qingyue rallied his remaining courage, and strength he knew not from where surged up within him. In the spray, the dark blue light bloomed once more; Zhang Qingyue rode upon it, fleeing for his life, soaring skyward, and actually rose more than a zhang above that sky-high wave.

He was just rejoicing inwardly when suddenly he felt an irresistible force sweep past beneath him. His whole body convulsed; though he was struck only by its aftermath, his vision went black and he nearly fainted. Had he not known this was truly the crisis of life and death and forced himself to stay conscious, he would have come very close to dying there.

Even so, the sweep of the Blackwater Serpent's tail carried such might that Zhang Qingyue was shaken through and through, his bones aching as though they would crack, his whole body on the verge of flying apart. And in that great wave he had no strength left at all; struck by that enormous force, he was sent flying far away.

He was in the air, borne helplessly forward into the boundless darkness ahead. As his body turned, he looked down and saw the mountain-like waves and that vast serpent tail swallow Bili and the others in an instant. The men in yellow scattered in flight, but were immediately struck down by the waves.

The woman in green leapt up, her hands forming a gesture, and white light blazed forth. The white flower in her hand rose before her, and in a moment it conjured six strange blossoms encircling the one at the center, each linked to it by a thread of pure white light, so that the whole formed a white wheel of radiance.

Then Bili's face turned pale, though her expression seemed unflustered. The instant the white wheel of light took shape, it spun up swiftly, and its dazzling white radiance met the sky-high wave and actually held it back for a moment. There in midair the wave piled up like a mountain, its booming roar near terrifying.

Seizing that brief respite, Bili sprang into the air. But just then the clamor in the waves suddenly swelled, and with a thunderous crash, that enormous black serpent tail swept across at that very moment.

In an instant the white wheel of light was annihilated, unable to hold for even a moment. It seemed the girl in the flower of her youth would be struck by that vast tail — when suddenly, amid the spray, the veiled woman appeared. A soft, pale yellow round object flashed in her hand as she came swift as wind and lightning, overtaking the tail, and gave Bili a supporting shove from beneath.

Thus Bili narrowly avoided the thing that would have taken her life, though she was still struck by its aftermath; her whole body went light, and she drifted far back into the darkness behind. And in the next instant, the veiled woman's figure too was swallowed once more by the sky-high waves.

Such was the unimaginable power of the Blackwater Serpent's tail sweep. Zhang Qingyue, in midair, heard the wind whistling past his ears as he flew on and on backward.

If he should suddenly strike something — a hard rock or a sheer cliff — every bone in his body would surely shatter. But knowing this did not help; Zhang Qingyue had no power to control himself. His body was not his own, and he could only leave it to fate.

Yet the Vale of Death Spirits proved truly enormous. He flew for a good while and still met nothing. Even Zhang Qingyue could feel his speed gradually slackening, and that he was slowly sinking — clearly the remnant force was fading.

Landing on the ground would be no pleasant thing, but a face full of dirt was far better than smashing into a wall. Zhang Qingyue was just rejoicing inwardly when suddenly he felt the darkness ahead solidify into a mountain and press down upon him.

A cliff like a mountain, barring his way. Zhang Qingyue tucked his head and curled up, and slammed into it with all his force.

"Bang!"