Chapter 38 — The Abyss of the Dead
劍問蒼天 · Page 4 of 8
Above, the thunder grew fiercer. The great mountain came down with irresistible force, and it seemed the four of them would be crushed to paste. Lu Xueqi's face was cold as frost, her long hair streaming and dancing in the wild wind, like a fairy maiden of the nine heavens! The blade of Tianxuan trembled faintly, as if it sensed its mistress's heart; like an angry dragon leaping at the sky it soared upward, ten thousand beams of blue light in an instant illumining the whole vast cavern, then merging into one in the air as it slashed down upon the mountain!
"Zheng!"
Sand flew, stones hurtled, the wild wind howled. All gazed into the air, but saw only a vast torrent of air, almost as though it had taken tangible form, surging savagely outward in every direction. Lu Xueqi hung in midair, the color draining from her face, and the whole of her was driven by the tremendous recoil straight into the stone wall.
But the great mountain, struck full by the pillar of blue light, was checked in its descent. It trembled a few times in midair, and with a great crash it shrank back; in a moment, amid the flying sand and hurtling stones, the whole mountain dissolved into nothing, and reappeared within the Mountain-and-River Fan.
Lin Feng, his face full of evil, glanced at the fan, and his brows knit at once. Upon the painting, the mountain that had once stood so majestic now had a great fissure running from its summit to its flanks — and the fan's surface, once so harmonious, looked as though its face had been scarred, grown somewhat stiff and harsh to the eye.
On the Canglan Sect's side, the divine sword Tianxuan flew back as though it had a spirit of its own, while Lu Xueqi slid down the stone wall. The moment her feet touched ground she felt her legs give way and nearly sank down where she stood; but luckily the others had already come over. Zhang Qingyue saw it and caught her by the arm.
Lu Xueqi gasped for breath. Her nature was proud and strong, and she would have pushed Zhang Qingyue away, but her hand had gone only halfway when she felt a sudden warmth at her lips — a trickle of blood had run out.
The deep red blood ran across skin like congealed cream, red upon white, a beauty startling and dreadful to behold.
Zhang Qingyue stood stunned — and then he heard Lin Feng cursing furiously from afar, finger pointed: "You foul woman! You dared to ruin my treasure! Ten deaths would not pay for it!" As he spoke, the evil-reeking man had already leapt into the air. The Mountain-and-River Fan glittered with golden light, ill-matched to the evil that clung to him, yet it still opened and closed in the air as he came charging in.
In the distance, Elder Nian had ceased loosing his red beams; the Crimson Demon Eye had returned to normal, and he stood where he was. The beautiful young woman beside him stepped forward, glanced at Lu Xueqi of the Canglan Sect, and said in a low voice: "Did you see it clearly?"
Elder Nian's face was grave. "It is Tianxuan!"
The woman gave a cold hum. "To think such a divine thing should fall into the hands of this young pup!"
Elder Nian watched Lin Feng, now locked in combat with the Canglan Sect, and said: "The divine sword Tianxuan is a weapon of the nine heavens. It was by that very sword that our Blood Refining Hall's founder, the Venerable Blackheart, was defeated in his day. Come what may, today we must seize that sword!"
The beautiful young woman nodded. "Then Lin Feng—"
Elder Nian sneered. "That boy, relying on some distant kinship with the Old Ancestor of Wind and Moon, has always held his nose in the air. Were it not that we have need of men just now, I would have been rid of him long ago. Let him take the vanguard, then. You and I will watch for our chance and snatch the divine sword."
The woman nodded and fixed her gaze upon the field.