Chapter 205 — Schemes Within Schemes
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 1 of 6
The Southern Borderlands. The Ten Thousand Wild Mountains.
The icy, sinister wind gradually made its chill felt. In the sky, the low-hanging black clouds and the increasingly distinct dark cavern ahead both signaled that the legendary demon's cave was drawing near. Lu Xueling and her companions halted a dozen or so zhang from the Zhenmo Ancient Cave and gazed toward it.
In the distance, a stone statue with its back to them, facing into the depths of the cave, stood alone at the entrance of the Zhenmo Ancient Cave. Beyond it, there was nothing else at all.
Li Xun looked at the cave, seemingly gripped by some inexplicable tension, and said in a low voice, "This is the place."
The sinister wind howled, suddenly rising several notes in pitch, startling one to the bone. Lu Xueling, Zeng Shuyan, Li Xun, and the others possessed profound cultivation and naturally did not fear the yin energy carried within that wind, and the dozen or so Fenxia Valley disciples who had come with them were all one-in-a-hundred masters; none of them showed much sign of discomfort either.
Zeng Shuyan turned his head and said, "The demonic aura here is indeed extremely heavy, but we have observed for quite some time and not a single demon beast has appeared. That is rather strange."
Lu Xueling nodded, yet her cool, aloof expression did not change in the slightest. She said mildly, "Since we have come this far, let us go over. If there are any demon beasts or foul things about, better to deal with them early." With that, without waiting for a reply from Li Xun or the others, she walked straight ahead.
Li Xun and Zeng Shuyan exchanged a glance. Zeng Shuyan gave a dry laugh, shrugged his shoulders, and followed. Li Xun watched that slender, graceful figure from behind and suddenly sighed to himself in secret. For him, that silhouette had truly appeared in his dreams more times than he could count; yet now that the chance to be together had finally come, it seemed instead that she had only grown more distant.
He stood in silence for a moment, then waved his hand to summon the junior disciples behind him and followed as well.
In the distance, near the mysterious stone statue at the mouth of the Zhenmo Ancient Cave, a dark shadow suddenly flashed and darted into the cave. It was none other than Hei Mu.
Almost the instant Hei Mu's figure slipped to the cave mouth, a low roar came from the depths of the cave out of empty air—the voice of the fierce spirit Black Tiger. Then the illusory mist in midair began to gather, and it looked as though the fierce spirit would manifest once more. At that very moment, Hei Mu, hidden behind his black robes, suddenly said in a sharp, urgent voice, "Elder Brother, do not come out yet. Hear me first."
The fierce spirit Black Tiger gave a cold laugh, but the white mist was still gathering; plainly he had not heeded Hei Mu's words. "You beast, you dare to come back?"
Hei Mu stood in the shadows at one corner of the cave and said, "If you show yourself, you will inevitably alert these people who are coming. Those who come to the Zhenmo Ancient Cave today are arriving in an endless stream—do you still not know why?"
The illusory white mist suddenly stalled in midair, no longer increasing, yet showing no inclination to disperse. After a moment, Black Tiger's voice said coldly, "What do you mean?"
Hei Mu said coldly, "They come here, naturally, to deal with the one inside this cave. However you look at it, is that not precisely what you desire? What is more, you already let someone in earlier. Now what harm is there in letting a few more in?"
Outside the cave mouth, the sound of footsteps rose in the distance. That party of travelers was approaching this ancient, deep cavern.
The white mist abruptly scattered, dissolving into nothingness in an instant within the powerful sinister wind that blew out from the depths of the cave. And almost at the same moment, Hei Mu's black figure vanished into the darkness as well.