Chapter 174 — The Man in Black
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 3 of 6
It was like the wailing of the wind and rain, and like the roar of a beast—yet when the heart suddenly leapt in alarm, one found it seemed to be one's own heartbeat.
That heart, it seemed, was beating faster and faster!
Zeng Shuchang's old face was lit by the glorious gleam of his immortal sword, growing ever more somber. From deep in the woods ahead came a faint, mysterious hostility; though the feeling was vague, so vague that he could not even be certain whether it was an enemy at all, the eerie palpitations that came at him in waves would not let him take it lightly.
He had not felt such a thing in a long while. The last time, he recalled, seemed already a hundred years ago—when he and Tian Buhui and a few others had followed Senior Brother Wan Jiangu of the eldest branch as they charged into the wild lands and struck straight at the demon cult's lair. Time flows on; in the blink of an eye, so long had already passed…
He wondered—had Senior Brother Wan, who died so young, been reborn yet?
Such a strange thought suddenly popped into his head, and even he could not help but feel surprised and amused at himself. He drew a deep breath and braced his spirit. Somehow, today truly was different from other days!
"Boom!"
Another thunderclap burst forth with a crash; the majesty of heaven and earth shook the world for a moment, and even the ground beneath their feet seemed to tremble. Almost in the same instant, a bolt of lightning tore across the vault of heaven, bursting through the clouds and descending upon the mortal world.
Like a blade of heaven, cleaving down upon the earth!
The crowd was struck with terror; among the disciples, hearts raced and minds reeled, and some could not compose themselves. One man, gazing up at the sky, stumbled over something at his feet and fell flat—so furious that he nearly cursed aloud. But when he turned to look, there in the lightning's glow he saw, right before him, a mud-covered body lying face down on the ground, utterly motionless.
"Ah!…" A shrill cry suddenly rang out. "Here—here—"
"Gah!" A muffled thud, and the disciple's cry broke off short—but in that brief moment, everyone had already been startled awake, and in an instant all had whirled about and come charging over.
A dark figure shot up from the ground, but before he could steady himself his body had already swayed several times, and he nearly collapsed. In the space of a breath, more than a dozen magic treasures came hurtling over, carrying wind and rain with them.
Ming Li's heart turned cold, but in the end he was unwilling to wait for death like this. Gritting his teeth, he dashed forward—only to feel, after a few steps, a sharp agony in his chest; he could hold on no longer, and pitched headlong to the ground.
Behind him a cheer went up from the crowd, and the foremost Qingyun disciples had already caught up, hands outstretched to seize Ming Li.
It was at this moment that the darkness deep within the dense forest seemed suddenly to swell, like some monstrous beast voicing a soundless, savage cry; and there in the depths of that darkness, a light flashed past.
Zeng Shuchang, standing to one side, felt his eyes fly wide in an instant. He lunged forward at once, crying out in a sharp voice: "All disciples, fall back—quickly!"
Before the Qingyun disciples could react, they saw that Zeng Shuchang had already plunged alone into the depths of the darkness ahead. His immortal sword had been blazing with light in his hand, yet the moment he threw himself into that mass of black, the light of his sword could be seen no more; only angry shouts and whistling winds came drifting back without cease.