Chapter 54 — The Demon's Passing
劍問蒼天 · Page 1 of 6
Within the scorching underground cavern, waves of heat rolled endlessly. Beneath the platform, crimson magma churned and surged, now and then bursting forth with explosive cracks.
Zhang Qingyue felt his breathing gradually becoming difficult, as though even the air he drew in remained scalding all the way down into his lungs. In this place where a single carelessly placed step seemed liable to strike sparks, the white six-tailed fox ahead still lay quietly where it was, looking for all the world as though it were enjoying itself.
He stood rooted to the spot, gazing ahead, hesitating for a moment in his heart. In the end he walked forward, and as he did so, he unconsciously tightened his grip on the Dark Iron Staff in his hand.
The platform was long and narrow, stretching deep into the surface of the lava lake. As Zhang Qingyue drew nearer and nearer, the surrounding temperature grew fiercer still, until it was nearly unbearable.
Whether it was the searing heat or something else, Zhang Qingyue's throat was dreadfully parched, yet he dared not let his attention wander in the slightest. His eyes were fixed tightly upon that fox.
He came to a halt three paces away from it.
At this closer distance, he could see more clearly, and a sudden realization struck him: this was indeed a beautiful fox. Its pure white fur, from head to tail—especially in a place like this, a hell of flame—remained as snowy as ever. Not a single stray hair marred it; there was not even the faintest trace of singeing.
Only, its eyes were closed, and between them a slight furrow had gathered, as though a trace of pain hung upon its brow.
Zhang Qingyue looked at it, yet in his heart countless thoughts flashed by like lightning. From Xiaochi Town until now, all he had heard was that a "three-tailed demon fox" laired here and wrought havoc. But looking at the fox before him, it was clearly not the same three-tailed demon fox he had fought just moments ago.
He vaguely recalled that in his childhood he had once heard his eldest senior brother, Song Dayi, say that the world was vast and full of wonders, that where mountains and rivers held spiritual beauty, devils and demons were likewise plentiful. The old legends held that among beasts, the fox was a creature of exceptional intelligence, and many of them cultivated until they became demons. And within the fox-demon clan, one lineage possessed the greatest spiritual affinity, and it had a peculiar trait: the higher one's cultivation and the deeper one's mastery of the Way, the more tails one grew.
Looking at this six-tailed fox before him, Zhang Qingyue's heart gave a jolt.
Just then, the six-tailed fox seemed suddenly to wake from a deep sleep. Its tails swayed faintly, its head shifted slightly.
Then it opened its eyes.
Within those black, profound pupils was reflected the figure of the young man before it, faintly tense.
Zhang Qingyue started, stepped back, and held the Dark Iron Staff across his chest, concentrating his spirit in guard. Unexpectedly, the six-tailed white fox merely looked at him, its body still sprawled in that hollow of bluestone, showing not the slightest intention of attacking.
So man and fox faced each other in standoff. No sound surrounded them but the endless churning of the lava lake's surface, as though it had existed for ten thousand years—and yet it seemed so very distant.
The air remained scorching, drifting between man and fox.
"Young man." A low voice, seeming to carry a trace of weariness, issued from the fox's mouth and broke the silence here: "What have you come here for?"
From the fox-demon's voice, Zhang Qingyue once again confirmed that this fox bore wounds or illness—that was why it spoke so weakly. Yet even so, he dared not be careless. He said in a deep voice, "You demon creatures bring harm to the world. I am of the orthodox path, and today I shall rid the people of a scourge."