Chapter 91 — The Oriole
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 7 of 7
A colossal pillar of light refracted downward. Before it touched the ground the righteous disciples nearby had already scattered, and within several zhang of Yuyang Zi the wind howled; trees and waterweeds were torn up root and all—a spectacle of appalling might!
Yuyang Zi gave a long, shrill cry; his robes billowed out all about him, and the Yin-Yang Mirror rose floating into the air, radiating the twin wonders of black and white, which in an instant fused into one. Plainly, after that fierce battle, Yuyang Zi too had spent every ounce of his strength, staking all on a desperate defense!
"Boom..."
The enormous pillar of light crashed down upon Yuyang Zi's Yin-Yang Mirror and in moments drove his body a foot into the earth. A look of agony flashed across Yuyang Zi's face—but in the sky Lu Xueling's body too gave a sudden violent shudder, and her face paled a shade.
Yet the great pillar of light in the field showed no sign of abating; it poured ceaselessly from the divine Tianya Sword, lightning flaring wildly, striking down with fury. Yuyang Zi held it off with his single arm, his face growing grimmer by the moment. Had the Divine Sword Art of Thunder not been so overwhelming that the righteous disciples could not get a hand in, a thousand blades and ten thousand swords would have fallen upon him even now, and in a twinkling Yuyang Zi would have been hacked to mincemeat.
Yu Yangzi's eyes were full of venomous hatred. A moment later the muscles of his face twisted in a spasm; he bit down hard, biting through his tongue, and spat a mouthful of blood onto the Yin-Yang Mirror. For some unknown reason the mirror's radiance flared brilliantly at once, and it forced Lu Xueling's vast pillar of light back head-on.
Xiao Yichen and the others saw that something was wrong and rushed forward together. Yu Yangzi gave a shrill cry, leaped into the air, and swept the Yin-Yang Mirror behind him. The mirror, ignited by his own vital blood, poured forth a surging tide of spiritual light, and Xiao Yichen and the rest dared not meet it head-on, falling back one after another.
Mighty as this move of Yu Yangzi's was, anyone could see that after such violent fighting he had resorted to this vicious and uncanny art at the cost of grievous damage to his vital essence; even his steps faltered several times. Yet the man was truly formidable. Even in such a state he forcibly gathered his breath, leaped up, and at last vanished into the darkness.
Li Xun and the others wanted to give chase, but Xiao Yichen weighed the gains and losses in an instant and called out loudly to stop them. "Do not chase a cornered foe! The Dead Marsh is treacherous on every side, and we are unfamiliar with it. Caution above all!"
Though Li Xun was unwilling in his heart, Xiao Yichen had read the situation like a god tonight, and he genuinely felt some admiration for him, so at last he halted.
That night, that battle, ended at last in the crushing defeat of the Devil Sect's Longevity Hall.
It was only that in this clash between the righteous and the demonic paths, the righteous side too had suffered some losses—though compared with Longevity Hall, they had come off far, far better.