Chapter 82 — Ten
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 8 of 10
That heaven-shattering sword struck down from overhead; before it even reached the ground, a rumbling roar burst forth, the earth for a zhang around Zhang Qingyue split apart in every direction, and a howling gale engulfed him—his death was certain.
Zhang Qingyue glared with bloodshot eyes, pinned by the formless sword-qi, unable to break free; grief and hatred surged beyond all checking in his heart as he watched that dread giant sword come screaming down with boundless killing intent, and he opened his mouth and screamed.
"Aaaaaaah—"
The sound shook the wilds and changed the color of heaven and earth, yet the Shixian marvel of a sword was like some heartless thing born to annihilate gods and buddhas alike, and it still came at him without mercy; in another instant Zhang Qingyue would be a soul beneath that blade, his body ground to dust.
Then, all at once, the world fell silent—even the earth-shaking momentum of the Shixian Sword Formation was hushed in an instant...
That gentle, pale hand, once so familiar in the passage of years, appeared at Zhang Qingyue's side; with a faint, clear tinkle of bells, it pushed him aside.
A voice that seemed to have lain sleeping a thousand, ten thousand years now quietly arose, murmuring softly for the beloved of her heart:
Spirits of the nine underworlds, gods and demons of every heaven, take my flesh and blood as sacrifice...
She stood in the raging wind, her faintly reddened eyes fixed on Zhang Qingyue, and on her pale face there seemed to be a faint smile.
The wind caught her water-green robes and set them dancing, snapping and streaming—the most desolate beauty in all the world.
Zhang Qingyue's heart sank.
Suddenly he opened his mouth to scream, but the gale drove it back down his throat; he sprang up like a madman and lunged toward Bili, only to be flung back by some mysterious force, and from his blood-red eyes red tears flowed down his cheeks.
That woman in the wind spread both arms wide, facing the rain of swords, facing the giant sword that had stolen all the majesty of heaven and earth.
...Through three lives and seven ages, forever fallen into Yama's realm, for love alone—though I die, no regret...
The raging wind abruptly shifted direction, becoming a vast vortex swirling about Bili; that gentle, beautiful woman was lifted by the gale into midair, rising to meet the seven-colored master sword.
She was, in that moment, the only radiance in all the world!
An instant...
Countless blood-red mists burst from her body in an instant, congealing before her into a wall of blood clear and bright as red jade; at the same time, from her pale face drifted nine faint wisps of smoke, which melted into the blood wall.
The blood wall seethed in an instant, burning on like the blazing fire of a love beyond all reason, blazing with all her passion and despair, bursting forth in radiance beyond compare—and surging upward against heaven itself!
And it collided with the Shixian master sword with a thunderous roar!
The radiance was so dazzling that no one could open their eyes.
A crash beyond all words shook the whole vault of heaven; the irresistible Shixian sword was hurled back, and the qi-swords filling the sky fell into disarray. And on Jietian Peak the mountain itself heaved, rocks flying wildly, and countless enormous fissures split its body as though it had been slashed apart—as if doomsday had come.
Dimly, a slender, sorrowful figure drifted slowly down from midair.
Heaven and earth suddenly fell utterly silent, and there was only one voice, howling as though its heart were being torn apart.
"No—!"
Endless darkness shrouded the whole world; he trembled in that darkness, not daring to move, not daring to face it, not daring to wake!
But in the end, he woke.
His trembling hand slowly clenched, then released; slowly he opened his eyes, as though even this required all the courage he had.