Chapter 72 — Desperate Straits
劍問蒼天 · Page 5 of 11
Behind him, it seemed, came a deep sigh from the Nether King.
Tian Lingsu's face was utterly bloodless; she took a few steps forward, then suddenly stopped. The short distance between her and Zhang Qingyue had suddenly become so vast, so impossible to cross!
"Xiaofan—" she said, very low, as though in a voice she herself no longer believed: "What these masters say—is it true?"
Zhang Qingyue's lips began to tremble, as though the deepest fear were rising up bit by bit from the bottom of his heart. He looked past Tian Lingsu, to his master, to all his fellow disciples in the distance—and every face was so strange to him.
He suddenly wanted to shout aloud, but his mouth fell open, and not a single word came out!
The evening wind stirred his garments, setting them gently fluttering.
"That's right, it's the Blood-Devouring Orb, there's no mistaking it!"
Suddenly, as though the nightmare had not yet ended, another cry of astonishment rose once more. Qinglong stood to one side, his face covered in shock.
At these words, everyone present changed color, whether they were of the demon cult or the righteous path.
"The round bead at the tip of the magical treasure in his hand, wrapped about with threads of blood, and just now it had the power to devour the Kui Ox as well—it must be the Blood-Devouring Orb of the Black-Hearted Old Man from eight hundred years ago!"
The crowd erupted in an uproar, every face wearing an expression of horror—only Zhang Qingyue could hear nothing, nothing at all. In his senses, everyone around him was shouting so loudly, countless people were demanding answers of him, and yet he could hear none of it!
Slowly he turned his body. The Nether King had at some point vanished behind him; before him there was only the strange beast Kui Ox, trapped within the Dragon-Trapping Array, circling in frantic confusion, but in the end it seemed to accept its fate, standing motionless and letting out a despairing roar at the sky!
That sound echoed through the empty night sky, desolate beyond measure.
Zhang Qingyue slowly raised his head and looked up at the heavens.
That expanse of cold night—dark and boundless, as though it would suffocate a man.
Suddenly he laughed—a laugh of despair, a silent laugh—his body swayed, and he fell straight down, crashing heavily to the ground.
Before his eyes all was pitch-black, as though that endless dark night sky were pressing down upon him, boundless and without limit!
Then he lost consciousness.
!###!Chapter Ten — You Si
This dream seemed to pass another thousand years.
He walked alone through the darkness, until he saw that village—a place of bright sunshine and familiarity. He ran toward it, and those familiar faces smiled at him, teasing him.
The air was so fresh it seemed sweet to the heart, and on the grassy field beside the village where he played, he could not help but roll about freely, laughing with all his heart.
Around him, many more children suddenly appeared, rushing at him, and that ever-cheerful Jingyu laughed and said, "Do you yield? Do you yield?"
Do you yield
He murmured to himself alone, as though repeating the words of those years ago.
Of a sudden heaven and earth went dark, black clouds pressing down so low it seemed the sky had collapsed. Everyone around him vanished all at once, and the warm village in the distance disappeared as well. Darkness fell upon the land, and only a faint beam of light shone upon that terrified, helpless child
Suddenly he cried out in alarm: "I yield, I yield!"
He twisted upright, drenched in sweat, gasping for breath without cease.
"Xiaofan, what's wrong?" A familiar voice beside him, as though startled, seized Zhang Qingyue by the shoulder and asked anxiously.