Chapter 40 — Reunion
劍問蒼天 · Page 1 of 6
"Clang!"
It was a sharp report in the darkness!
Lu Xueling's face was cold as frost as she stepped in front of Zhang Qingyue and drew her sword with all her might.
Tianxuan left its sheath!
Blue light erupted at once, a pure and brilliant pillar of radiance that lit up this dark world.
In an instant, all the ghostly glimmers of the yin spirits lost their luster before that blue light. Even so, the spirits seemed utterly unafraid, and still they came rushing in from every direction.
Lu Xueling gave a soft cry of rebuke. A flicker of pain crossed her pale face, but it was at once replaced by a look of even fiercer resolve.
Urged on by its master, the divine sword Tianxuan blazed with blue light, rays streaming ten thousand fathoms, and swept across the yin spirits charging from the front.
The instant the blue light touched those spirits, a sizzling sound rose, near to the crackle of oil in a hot pan, and dozens of the foremost yin spirits were annihilated on the spot, their souls scattered to the four winds.
That sound echoed through the vast, empty darkness, enough to make one's hair stand on end.
Yet for all the divine sword's tremendous power, it could not cow the remaining yin spirits. Even as Lu Xueling struck, several of them darted in from behind and lunged at Zhang Qingyue, who lay unconscious on the ground.
Catching sight of it from the corner of her eye, Lu Xueling whirled and charged back. The divine sword Tianxuan swept level over Zhang Qingyue's body once, and scattered those few spirits.
But the yin spirits around them were far too many to kill them all, and Lu Xueling had been wounded to begin with. Within a few exchanges she was drenched in fragrant sweat, her breath coming heavy. She felt as though a host of ghost faces danced and wailed all around her, gnashing fangs and clawing talons. The blue light of Tianxuan dimmed by degrees; Lu Xueling clenched her teeth, yet her legs still gave way, and she dropped down beside Zhang Qingyue.
Amid the howling of the spirits that filled the sky came faint, gloating ghost-cries. The pale white light flared wide, and the yin energy wove thick as cloth. Lu Xueling turned her head and looked at Zhang Qingyue.
The youth was unconscious, yet pain showed on his face — was he thinking of some grief, some sorrow?
Lu Xueling murmured low: "To think that today I should die here with you!"
She straightened her back. There was not a trace of color left in her face now, but still she would not give up. Her right hand's fingers curled and extended in the orchid-mudra spell; following her gesture, the divine sword Tianxuan paused in midair, then plunged point-down with a clang into the earth before her. Blue light rose again, and upon the ground appeared a ring of radiance centered on the divine sword that enclosed both Lu Xueling and Zhang Qingyue.
The yin spirits all around saw tender flesh and blood within reach. What did they care for anything else? One after another they hurtled forward — but a moment later the ring on the ground surged upward, blue light leaping high, auspicious qi steaming forth. The blue light seemed almost sentient; it arced over the two of them and instantly held the spirits outside.
Yet any discerning eye could see that this ring of light was far too weak. The auspicious qi within it, too, was listless and faint — it was no more than Lu Xueling's deathbed struggle.
Seeing the savory feast before them blocked once more, the spirits filling the sky flew into a rage. Their ghost-cries grew louder and louder, and countless spirits hurled themselves against that fragile ring. At every impact Lu Xueling's body shook, her face grew a shade paler, and the divine sword's brilliance dimmed a shade further. The ring, which had stood two men tall, was pressed down in mere moments to less than the height of one.