Chapter 142 — Calamity

Among the forest trees that had been level ground, a piercing long howl suddenly rang out; with a great beating of wings, that giant white-boned demon serpent burst into the air, and in its two huge eyes at once was mirrored Qinglong's figure ahead. With another great roar it lunged. And close behind it, rolling black smoke and wave upon wave of hissing—countless demon beasts came swarming, all hurling themselves at Qinglong.

Not long before, the Miao settlement at Qili Dong had suddenly been encircled on every side by countless demon beasts, led by this most terrifying of monsters, the white-boned demon serpent. The serpent's body was enormous; wherever it passed, its white bones swung and swept men and beasts alike away, and it could belch poison that killed on contact. As for the other, commoner demon beasts, they too possessed boundless strength and utter savagery.

Brave and fierce as the Miao were, how could they be a match for such monsters? In the blink of an eye Qili Dong had become a hell on earth, a field of slaughter. Seeing the situation turn desperate, Qinglong made his decision on the spot: he had the Miao chieftain Tumagu withdraw the remnant Miao into the sacrificial altars, where the wizards, who knew a little of the southern frontier's sorcery, could hold out a while; meanwhile he himself charged forward and struck the white-boned demon serpent by surprise, while with swift, agile footwork he dealt blow after heavy blow, wounding and slaying demon beasts, and indeed drew the greater part of the monsters' attention upon himself.

The other demon beasts were one thing, but the white-boned demon serpent was no small matter. Even with Qinglong's cultivation, and bearing the wondrous treasure the Qiankun Qingguang Ring, he still could not prevail. And the surrounding demon beasts only gathered thicker and thicker, the pressure on Qinglong mounting ever greater. Beyond his shock, he was also minded to draw the monsters away, so he seized an opening and fled up the mountain, and indeed lured many of the creatures, the white-boned demon serpent among them, after him.

Yet since his purpose was to draw the monsters off, he was unwilling to take to the sky, and instead flitted along the forest floor. But to his surprise, it seemed the birds and beasts all over the mountains had undergone some strange change: either they had been slaughtered, or they had turned into demon beasts of extraordinary ferocity, appearing wherever he went and attacking him—truly a thorny business.

Now Qinglong soared up once more, dodging the lash of the huge tail the furious white-boned demon serpent hurled at him. He saw three or four giant trees, of unknowable age, swept aside together by the monster as though rotten wood, raising a clatter of crashing sound, and in the process smashing down many smaller demon beasts, so that wails rose on every side.

Seeing Qinglong take flight, the white-boned demon serpent reared its head skyward with a roar, and suddenly its three pairs of wings quivered, and its vast body actually rose into the air, lunging at Qinglong in mid-sky.

Qinglong was taken aback. He had seen from the first that the monster had three pairs of wings, but for so vast a shape to truly take wing—the menace of it was startling indeed. For a moment that enormous body came crashing down, blotting out sky and earth.

But Qinglong was no ordinary man after all. First among the Four Holy Envoys of the Nether King Sect, he naturally had gifts beyond others. He twisted his body and squeezed clean through the gaps of the white-boned demon serpent's writhing bulk, flying off in the direction opposite Qili Dong.

The white-boned demon serpent hissed again and again and beat its wings in pursuit.

Qinglong flew on a while. His cultivation was deep, after all, and he gradually drew far ahead of the white-boned demon serpent and the other monsters. Seeing the distance had grown considerable, he wondered whether he ought to shake off these creatures and turn back toward Qili Dong to see how the Miao were faring.

Just then, a sweep of the corner of his eye caught, in a patch of the forest below, a flash of purple radiance, and then blood spraying up and the hissing of demon beasts rising one after another, until beasts from every direction came rushing toward the place beneath him.

Seen from the air, countless hideous demon beasts came leaping and clawing, like the surging swell of a boundless sea of evil—truly breathtaking.

And amid it all was mingled a woman's angry shout.

Qinglong's heart stirred; thoughts flashed through his mind like lightning, and at last he folded his body and dove down to investigate.

Scarcely had he entered the forest when a reeking stench assailed him, foul enough to turn the stomach. Everywhere lay the carcasses of demon beasts, torn limb from limb upon the ground, blood splashed on every side. Not far off, sure enough, a figure in the shape of a woman was battling countless demon beasts, in her hand a treasure gleaming with purple radiance, its edge flashing in and out—at a glance no common thing.

Qinglong's eyes narrowed, and he blurted out, "The Purple Radiance Blade... you are Jin Pingyue?"

The woman seemed startled too. She glanced back, her body drifting over, yet her hands never paused; where the purple radiance flashed and lengthened, three more demon beasts were slain.

"Who are you?" Jin Pingyue alighted beside Qinglong and said coldly.

Qinglong was puzzled. With Jin Pingyue's cultivation at this moment, why did she not rise into the air and fly? Once in the sky, only a scant few of these demonic beasts could follow; would that not make things simple?

Though such thoughts ran through his mind, Qinglong still made ready to answer. Yet before he could open his mouth, he and Jin Pingyue both shuddered at once, as though struck by some premonition, and together they raised their heads and looked ahead.

The countless demonic beasts that had been sunk in a frenzy only a moment before suddenly receded like the turning tide. But from deep within the forest ahead, a cold killing intent came sweeping toward them, and the chill of that formless intent was such that even two figures of their lofty cultivation could not help but shiver.

A shock ran through Qinglong's heart. In the southern borderlands there could still be such a terrifying thing as this!

Even as they stood frozen in dread, the next instant, behind a giant tree ahead, a figure flickered abruptly into view, and a man came slowly walking out.

He was clad in garments of vivid silk, his black hair falling loose upon his shoulders, his hands long and white. His features were handsome beyond measure; he was a youth so beautiful as to verge on the bewitching.

Qinglong stared, somewhat dumbstruck. But almost at that very moment he suddenly sensed that Jin Pingyue's body beside him, for some unknown reason, had begun to tremble faintly after the youth appeared.