Chapter 54 — The Demon's Passing
劍問蒼天 · Page 4 of 6
She landed before the six-tailed white fox, her face somehow bearing a measure of panic, and her once neat garments now torn and soiled in several places. It seemed that in the battle outside just now, she had come off somewhat the worse.
Zhang Qingyue was taken aback. He stood where he was and did not step forward; his gaze was drawn instead to the colossal fire dragon still wheeling in midair. The dragon's whole body was wreathed in blazing flame, burning fiercely, and even within its eyes were two great orbs of white-hot fire.
In this vast underground cavern of molten rock, the fire dragon seemed to have taken some nourishment, its presence growing ever fiercer. With a dragon's cry, it plunged headlong downward.
Zhang Qingyue was badly startled and hastily retreated several steps, only to see the fire dragon merely graze past him. Beneath the blast of heat that struck his face, the dragon roared and dove into the lava lake beneath their feet, vanishing in an instant—then, a moment later, it burst forth again, rolling and swimming contentedly in that searing, terrible lake.
Suddenly, from ahead came the faint voice of the three-tailed demon fox: "Elder Brother, are you all right?"
The six-tailed white fox smiled and said coolly, "This young brother of the orthodox path has not yet lifted a hand against this dying fox of mine."
Zhang Qingyue's face reddened, and then he frowned. From the six-tailed white fox's words, it seemed the creature was sick unto death.
The three-tailed demon fox's expression was somewhat sorrowful. She said in a low voice, "Elder Brother, besides the two who came with this youth, two more have come—from Fenxia Valley as well."
The six-tailed white fox's body seemed to quiver. It turned its head toward her and said, "Is it that old fellow Shangguan?"
The three-tailed demon fox shook her head. "No. They are two disciples of the younger generation, but their cultivation runs deep. I—I am no match for them..."
The six-tailed white fox was checked for a moment, then gave a faint sigh. "Ah. You have only three hundred years of cultivation. Even with the Mystic Fire Mirror, how could you stand against such outstanding disciples of the great orthodox sects? Let it be. Let it be."
Down the three-tailed demon fox's face—so utterly soft and bewitching—two streaks of tears now slid unbidden: "But Elder Brother, there is no way out from this Fire Dragon Cave now, and the four of them have sealed the way above. For the moment we hold them off only by the Great Black Leech's desperate effort, but I saw how formidable their magic artifacts are—I fear they will break through within the time it takes to burn a stick of incense. What—what are we to do?"
The six-tailed white fox looked at her and laboriously raised a forepaw, as though it wished to grasp her, but it lifted halfway and then fell back. It panted for a long while before saying, "Can you not see? Even if they do not come, I am finished."
The three-tailed demon fox's tears fell upon the white fox's snow-pure fur.
The white fox's voice, by contrast, sounded almost calm: "For three hundred years I have fled from place to place, living every day and every night in a sunless darkness, fearing always that the men of Fenxia Valley would come hunting me, and enduring day and night the icy poison of the Ninefold Frost Ice Spike as it worked upon my body. But now, at last, there is no escaping it."
The three-tailed demon fox said mournfully, "Elder Brother, say no more. I will take you and break through—we still have the Mystic Fire Mirror, and with your cultivation, you can surely..."
The white fox slowly shook its head and said in a low voice: "My nearly thousand-year foundation of cultivation—in these three hundred years, the icy poison of that Ninefold Frost Ice Spike has eroded it drop by drop. Now my whole body is cold, chill to the very marrow. It is over for me."
The three-tailed demon fox's body trembled, and she could speak no more.