Chapter 142 — Calamity
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 5 of 6
His face was stern, his clothes long since stained with blood. A fierce wind swept past as he paused on a branch jutting out sideways, cast a quick glance all around, then looked behind him.
Among the trees of the forest, which had been calm a moment before, a piercing howl suddenly rang out; with a great beating of wings, that enormous white-boned demon serpent hurtled into the air, its two huge eyes instantly reflecting Qinglong's figure ahead. With a great roar it lunged at him. And close behind it, black smoke rolling and hissing cries surging like a tide, countless demon beasts came swarming, all rushing at Qinglong together.
Not long before, the place where the Miao people of Qili Dong had gathered had suddenly been surrounded on all sides by countless demon beasts, led by this most fearsome of monsters, the white-boned demon serpent. The serpent's body was immense; wherever it passed, its white bones swept out and men and beasts alike were struck flying, and it could spew poison gas that killed any it touched. As for the other ordinary demon beasts, they too had boundless strength and were cruel beyond measure.
Brave and fierce as the Miao were, how could they be a match for such monsters? In moments Qili Dong had become a hell on earth, a slaughtering ground. Seeing the danger, Qinglong made his decision at once: he had the Miao chieftain Tumagu withdraw the remnant of the Miao into the altar grounds, where the shamans, who knew something of the southern borderland's shamanic arts, could hold out for a time; while he himself charged forward, took the white-boned demon serpent by surprise with a sneak attack, and at the same time, with swift movements, struck heavy blows again and again, slaying demon beasts—and so drew the attention of most of the monsters upon himself.
The other demon beasts were one thing, but that white-boned demon serpent was no small matter. Even with Qinglong's cultivation, and bearing the wondrous treasure the Qiankun Qingguang Ring, he still could not overcome it. And the demon beasts around him only gathered thicker, the pressure on Qinglong growing greater and greater. Alarmed at heart, and minded to draw these monsters away, he made for the mountain heights, and indeed lured many of the creatures—the white-boned demon serpent among them—after him.
Yet since his aim was to draw the monsters off, he was unwilling to take to the sky, and instead skimmed along above the forest floor. But beyond all his expectations, it seemed that all the beasts and birds of these mountains had undergone some strange change: either they had been slaughtered, or they had become demon beasts of extraordinary ferocity, appearing wherever he went and attacking him—truly a vexing foe.
Now Qinglong took flight once more, dodging the blow of the huge tail the enraged white-boned demon serpent lashed out at him. Below, three or four ancient trees that had stood for unknowable ages were swept aside by the monster as easily as rotting wood, with a great clattering crash. In the process they struck many of the smaller demon beasts outright, and howls of anguish rose on every side.
Seeing Qinglong take flight, the white-boned demon serpent reared its head skyward and roared; then, with a sudden beating of its three pairs of wings, its enormous body actually rose into the air and lunged at Qinglong mid-flight.
Qinglong was taken aback. He had seen from the first that the monster had three pairs of wings, but for so vast a shape to truly take flight—the menace of it was truly startling. For a moment that enormous body came bearing down on him, blotting out heaven and earth.
But Qinglong was no ordinary man after all. First among the Four Holy Envoys of the Hades Sect, he had naturally about him something beyond the common. His body twisted, and he forced his way clean through the gaps between the writhing coils of the white-boned demon serpent's body, flying off in the direction opposite to Qili Dong.