Chapter 224 — Striking at the Heart
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 3 of 7
Indeed—what was there to say? That Daoyan, ten years ago for the righteous way of the world, and ten years later for the vast multitudes of living beings, had risked himself twice by wielding the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation, and come to this?
Cause and effect, right and wrong, justice and evil—so tangled, so hard to tell apart. What sport heaven makes of us, to bring things to such a pass!
Within the abandoned mortuary, Daoyan had in that instant seized the whole momentum of the scene. Tian Buhui had been all righteous fury, resolved to sacrifice himself for what was right, but he had never expected that though Daoyan had fallen to demonic ways, not only had his mystic powers strangely not diminished—his reason and consciousness seemed perfectly clear as well. A few exchanges had left Tian Buhui trembling slightly, unable to strike.
In truth, these things were clear not only to Tian Buhui but to Lu Xueling as well, plain as a mirror. If one truly reckoned the matter, Daoyan had all but remade the world and the righteous path; on any ordinary day, raising a statue or carving a stele in his honor would hardly have been too much. Yet heaven's sport had brought him to this end. Had Daoyan lost his mind after falling to demonic ways and simply slaughtered all before him, Tian Buhui and the others might be no match for him, but at least they would not have to think too much. But now Daoyan had asked them those few clear questions, and at once they were cornered.
As for the world's reasons and principles—who could say what was right anymore?
Just then Ming Li spoke coldly. "The living beings of the world are nothing to me. What merits you have earned, I care nothing for. I ask you only for that one sword strike of ten years ago—the one that destroyed Bil'i!"
Before the words faded, the Soul-Devourer blazed with green light. In an instant an icy chill rolled in from every direction, filling the mortuary within and without. A sharp whistle split the air, and Ming Li had already driven his magical artifact straight at the center gate.
Daoyan's expression shifted slightly. He seemed not to have expected Ming Li's cultivation to have advanced so far in ten years. From this single strike alone, the Soul-Devourer seemed slow but was truly swift, secretly carrying the force of wind and thunder, green light flickering—this was the Canglan sect's Taiji Profound Pure Way, and its level was plainly that of one who had broken through the Yuqing realm to master Shangqing powers. Moreover, in Daoyan's discerning eyes, this youth had in the Shangqing realm itself cultivated to the very peak, faintly pressing toward the legendary Taiqing realm.
Daoyan took it all in. Standing to one side, Tian Buhui and Lu Xueling were both outstanding figures of the Canglan sect, and at that glance both paled slightly. They could not help exchanging a look, and each saw the astonishment in the other's eyes.
Only in Tian Buhui's eyes was there more wonder. In Lu Xueling's, after the wonder came a faint, indefinable disappointment—swiftly overwhelmed by a surge of joy.
The three of them could not possibly know that Ming Li, for all the setbacks and twists of fortune he had suffered in recent years, had also known his share of lucky chances. As he stood there now, he was the only person in the world to have mastered all of the Heavenly Scroll, the foremost wondrous book of heaven and earth. The Scroll's origins were mysterious, handed down from remotest antiquity, its marvelous arts and powers ever-changing beyond measure. Indeed, most of the world's thriving schools of cultivation had some connection to this book: the many powers of the Fanyin Temple derived from the fourth volume of the Heavenly Scroll, and the Demon Sect's manifold strange arts had always been said to spring from it as well. Ming Li alone cultivated all four volumes, and his present powers could well be imagined.