Chapter 106 — Ancient Temple

As Ming Li stood deep in thought, he suddenly sensed something. He raised his head to the sky and saw a lone moon drifting among the pale black clouds, seeming of a sudden to take on a certain eerie quality.

A dark red beam of light suddenly appeared in the night sky. Beneath the clear radiance of the moon, it streaked across the heavens and descended toward a hilltop in the south.

Ming Li fixed his gaze on that strange red light, his brows gradually knitting. After a moment, he seemed to reach a decision. He patted Xiao Hui on the shoulder, and at once azure light flared beneath his feet; Soul Devourer glimmered with a faint, ghostly glow, bearing him and Xiao Hui slowly aloft. Then of a sudden he quickened his pace and gave chase in the direction of the red light.

At some unknown hour, black clouds had begun to gather in the night sky, and the lone moon's brilliance gradually dimmed, as though a dark, eerie aura peculiar to the southern borderlands were growing ever denser through the night.

The mysterious red light flew on for a time, then descended upon a mountain some ten li south of the hill where Ming Li had hidden himself. The southern borderlands were full of mountains, and the mountains were thick with vegetation—yet within the forest of this nameless little hill stood a desolate ancient temple. The red light landed before the temple; with a flicker of radiance, a gaunt, withered old man appeared.

He glanced around several times, and after making certain no one was about, walked into the ancient temple.

A wild mountain, a ruined temple—and yet someone had come here deep in the night. There was surely something unspeakable afoot. Moments later, from the shadows of the woods outside the temple, Ming Li's figure slowly emerged. His eyes swept over the nameless ancient temple, then he raised his head to look at the sky. The black clouds had grown heavier, gradually veiling the moonlight.

His form flickered, and he glided silently toward the ancient temple.

The temple had clearly long lain abandoned. Broken walls and crumbling ruins were everywhere within; even the main hall, seen from outside, was damaged beyond measure, riddled with holes. The night wind blew cold; the shattered windows creaked and swayed, their low sounds seeming especially desolate in the night, with a faint hint of something uncanny about them.

"Pop!"

A faint sound, as though someone had struck a tinder. A tiny point of lamplight flared to life within the great hall, but the light was dim and could illuminate only a small part of the main hall; the farther reaches remained shrouded in darkness.

"Ji-ji, ji-ji-ji, ji, ji-ji-ji-ji-ji..." Suddenly, a strange and inexplicable sound rose within the great hall. It was like the wailing of ghosts deep in the night, and like venomous insects crawling in the dark; hearing it, one's scalp immediately prickled, and it was unbearable in the extreme.

Ming Li, hidden in the gloom, quietly peered into the great hall.

There, in the dim lamplight of the hall, he was startled to see—besides the old man he had just observed—two others. One was a man of about thirty-odd years, of middling build; the other was rather tall, but for some reason was wrapped tightly from head to toe in a cloak, not a bit of him showing, and that strange, inexplicable sound was in fact coming from this very person, from beneath the cloak.

The sound echoed through the dark ancient temple, growing ever more eerie, as though an evil spirit had awakened.

Ming Li watched coldly. It was the first time he had ever heard such bizarre speech, and naturally he did not understand its meaning, but from the expressions of the other two, he knew something would come of it. Sure enough, after the mysterious one spoke for a while and paused, the middle-aged man standing beside him, who had been listening intently all the while, turned to the old man and said, "The clan chief says: this time we returned empty-handed, and worse, our clan has lost men and exposed our movements—all because your information was inaccurate. When the Beast Sovereign learned of it, he flew into a rage..."

When the middle-aged man uttered the words "Beast Sovereign," his voice suddenly dropped, and the tall figure wrapped in the cloak seemed to tremble as well.

The old man frowned as well. "We agreed from the start to tell the Beast Sovereign where that 'Celestial Emperor's Dark Stone' was. As far as we know, that wondrous stone is indeed within the Celestial Emperor's Treasury in the Death Marsh—how can you blame us for inaccurate information?"

He glanced at the mysterious figure beneath the cloak, and a flicker of mockery suddenly crossed his lips. "I fear it is rather that you yourselves lacked the strength to carry it through?"

At these words, the cloaked mysterious one at once responded: "Ji-ji, ji-ji-ji-ji, ji-ji-ji..." The strange sounds poured out in rapid succession. Ming Li, hidden nearby, did not understand their meaning, but the tone was urgent and shrill—plainly the mysterious figure was greatly enraged.

The mysterious one chirped on for quite a while, and the middle-aged interpreter's expression gradually darkened. At last, when the sounds ceased, the middle-aged man hesitated a moment before saying, "The clan chief says: though they have never been to the Death Marsh, they know it has always been uninhabited. But this time countless Central Plains cultivators suddenly appeared there—so naturally, naturally it is your information that was wrong."

Seeing that the middle-aged man seemed to have finished, the old man could not help but start. The mysterious one had spoken at such length, yet when the middle-aged man translated, it came to only this one sentence—evidently the mysterious figure had uttered many curses and foul words in between, which the middle-aged man was unwilling to translate.

The old man pondered for a moment; by the look of him, he still seemed unwilling to turn against the mysterious one. So he said, "The emergence of the Celestial Emperor's Treasury this time was attended by vast and mighty omens that shook the world. I imagine those Central Plains cultivators heard the news and went there as well—that is beyond our control."

The cloaked mysterious one, his anger unabated, let out another burst of strange sounds. The middle-aged man listened with ear inclined, nodding repeatedly, then said to the old man, "The clan chief says: that Celestial Emperor's Dark Stone is of the utmost importance to the Beast Sovereign; great matters hang upon it. This time, returning empty-handed, the Beast Sovereign flew into a fury and on the spot slew several of our clan members..."

Hearing this, the old man's expression grew grave, as though his heart were heavy—yet a trace of mockery in his eyes still flickered past, impossible to suppress.

The man in the middle went on translating: "So please make haste and find out into whose hands this gem has fallen, that they may go and fetch it once more to present to the Beast Lord!"

Hidden to one side, Ming Li felt his heart stir. They had spoken several times of this thing called the Heaven Emperor's Dark Stone—could it be that wondrous stone which Little Grey had swallowed?

At this the old man pondered a moment, then nodded and said, "Good. Leave this matter to us. Within three days we shall give you an answer."

The mysterious figure gave a snort and chirped a few words in that strange tongue. The middle-aged man nodded to the old man and said, "The clan chief has agreed. He says we are to meet again here in three days."

The old man nodded and was about to say something more, but the mysterious figure turned on his heel and strode straight out, without so much as another glance at them—insolent and rude beyond measure.