Chapter 67 — Crimson Flame
劍問蒼天 · Page 1 of 7
~r period:~ September 21 ~r~
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The Vampire Fiend gave a cold snort, showing not the slightest fear. A savage, murderous look rose on his withered face. "In those days you so-called orthodox cultivators relied on nothing but numbers. Do you really think I was ever afraid of you?"
As he spoke, he flung both hands outward. The skull before him, glowing red, gave a mournful "woo" and streaked across the air, whirling furiously around his body. His eyes, too, began slowly to redden.
Tian Buhui drew a deep breath and focused his mind in guard. A hundred years ago he had already been one of the outstanding men of the Canglan Sect; in the hunt for the demon cult's remnants he had been one of the chief pursuers, and he had crossed blades with the Vampire Fiend before. He knew this man was not to be taken lightly, and that the Vampire ** was more formidable still.
By now the clouds that filled the sky were gathering once more. The rents torn by Tian Buhui's earth-shattering sword had vanished without a trace, and the night had deepened again.
Faintly, from afar, came the sound of ocean waves, mingled in the vast, biting wind, swelling gradually. That long cry, now hidden, now revealed, as if concealed in the deep sea, drifted softly through the night beneath the vault of heaven.
Zhang Qingyue came slowly to his senses, feeling a tight, stifling discomfort in his chest. Just then he heard someone give a startled "yi," and a fair, jade-white hand reached over and pressed gently a few times upon his chest.
After a moment, the qi and blood that had been pent up in his chest seemed to flow freely again, and even his spirit recovered a good deal at once.
Zhang Qingyue looked up and saw it was his master's wife, Su Wan, supporting him with a silent smile.
His face flushed, and he said in a low voice, "Thank you, Master's Wife."
Su Wan said softly, "Are you all right?"
Zhang Qingyue nodded. "I'm just a little tired now. Nothing else."
Su Wan smiled and nodded, then said with a sudden soft laugh, "Good, then. Now watch your master get even for you!"
Zhang Qingyue was startled. Following Su Wan's gaze, he was shaken to the core.
Beneath the dark vault of heaven, amid the low-hanging black clouds, there hung a blazing, radiant mass of light that lit half the sky, so that even the edges of the dark clouds seemed rimmed with brightness.
Tian Buhui stood proud and aloof above the clouds like an ancient fire god, transforming the burning flames of the "Crimson Flame" into fire dragons that filled the heavens, tearing open the black clouds and soaring into the highest sky.
The Vampire Fiend was nowhere to be seen; yet there at the cloud's edge hung a gigantic skull, howling and shrieking in frenzy. Wind and cloud shifted and churned, and a ghostly, baleful blood-light surged up into the sky, battling the fire dragons without cease.
The black clouds that filled the sky were now all boiling, rolling and roaring. Seen from the ground, the two men were like gods and demons of the ninth heaven, locked in furious, deadly combat.
Zhang Qingyue watched spellbound, his admiration for his master beyond all measure. He saw the fire dragons howl madly, their cries shaking the four wilds, appearing and vanishing among the clouds—truly a majesty to shake heaven and earth. It was somewhat like the fire dragon the three-tailed fox spirit had summoned with the Mystic Fire Mirror beneath the Black Stone Cave some days before, yet its power was far greater.
At that thought, his body suddenly gave a jolt. He felt a surge of hot air rise from the Mystic Fire Mirror on his right arm, as if stirred by some stimulus, and run through his whole body.
Su Wan, standing beside him, sensed something and turned to look at him. Concern in her eyes, she asked, "Xiaofan, why is your body suddenly so hot? It isn't a fever from your wounds, is it?"