Chapter 213 — The Inner Demon
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 5 of 6
Then the Nether King's features gradually emerged from within the red radiance; his white hair flew wildly, his eyes were crimson, his killing intent flared — no trace remained of his usual composed bearing; he was nearly a murderous fiend. And yet Mingli showed not the slightest fear; instead he strode forward, pressing in close.
The Coiled Dragon Cauldron spun ceaselessly, the eerie inscriptions on its body flickering without pause, red light pulsing in waves. The Nether King raised his right hand, and the great ancient cauldron came to rest upon his palm, looking like a demon lord descended upon the world, utterly terrifying. As for Mingli, radiance cloaked his whole body — plainly he too had gathered all his divine powers and magic, ready for a decisive battle here.
The two great masters faced each other, killing intent thick in the air; it seemed both had long since forgotten the cause of this sudden strife — only that at this moment, as though reason, suppressed in each of their hearts for many years, had suddenly snapped, they struck with all their might, their inner demons dancing wild.
Mingli strode forward, drawing closer and closer to the Nether King, while the killing aura in the Nether King's eyes grew ever denser; the Coiled Dragon Cauldron slowly tilted in midair, turning to face Mingli's body.
A great battle was on the verge of erupting.
No one would ever have imagined that the two most important figures of the present-day demon cult would, in such a remote stone chamber, inexplicably fall into a struggle to the death.
"Boom!"
A tremendous crash rang out from within the stone chamber.
The Nether King and Mingli, the two men, seemed each to see the other's eye corner twitch faintly, but in that split second, on the very brink, neither of them moved.
The door of the stone chamber slowly toppled, and beyond the doorway a figure gradually appeared — a figure that seemed to tremble slightly all over.
"Stop!"
The voice was slender and clear, carrying anger, bewilderment, and a measure of alarm. Yousi, her face veiled in black gauze — she who was also the Vermilion Bird of the demon cult — stood in the doorway.
The expression beneath her black veil could not be seen, but the fury in her was unmistakable, bursting forth: "You... what are you two doing? Have you both gone mad?"
Silence fell over the stone chamber; the two men faced each other and were silent, saying nothing, and in the air that killing intent still hung, impossible to dispel.
"Fine, fine, fine!" Yousi seemed to speak through clenched teeth, biting her lip in anger. She raised her hand and pointed in that direction: "Then kill, kill! Just kill each other and be done with it — dead, and all will be quiet. Do you even remember — that place, that place..."
Her voice caught a little. "In that Cold Ice Stone Chamber, is there not still someone lying upon the stone platform? Have you all forgotten?"
"Which of you still remembers the two words — Bili!"
The red blood-radiance quietly dispersed; the dazzling azure and golden light gradually withdrew and faded.
The killing intent and the smell of blood that had flowed through the stone chamber receded at some unknown moment, like the ebbing tide.
Only silence remained, lingering here as before, unwilling to leave.
The two men gazed at each other, and deep within their eyes it seemed some unspeakable light clashed.
Yousi stamped her foot in vexation, turned, and left without a backward glance; judging by the direction she took, it must have been toward the Cold Ice Stone Chamber where Bili lay. And the two men still lingering in the stone chamber seemed still locked in confrontation, quietly probing at certain secrets.