劍問蒼天 - 第228章 血兆 - 清風書屋

The Nether King, however, seemed not to heed her tone. At the two words "Ming Li," his face suddenly darkened, and with a snort he said, "That fool knows nothing of what matters. Do not mention him before me!"

You Si studied the Nether King's face and saw anger lurking there. She was about to say something when a wave of weariness suddenly swept over her heart, and for a moment she felt utterly disheartened. She shook her head and said, "Enough, enough. Suit yourselves. In any case, you had best look to yourselves—I truly cannot manage it, and I have no heart to try."

With that, she turned and walked toward the door. The Nether King watched her receding figure and frowned, as though he wanted to say something to her, but in the end he did not speak.

Just as You Si's hand was about to reach the heavy stone door, her hand suddenly halted in midair. Almost at the same instant, the Nether King, standing behind her, sensed something too, and a fierce light flashed in his eyes.

A vast, formless power, irresistible in its force, swept past deep beneath the earth at their feet like a surging, roaring tide. Both the Nether King and You Si were people of profound cultivation, and in that moment both paled at this uncanny power.

Yet where You Si was shocked, the Nether King's surprise was tinged with delight, and the light in his eyes flickered without cease.

This strange tidal surge came wave upon wave, like a swelling sea that never rested. Slowly, You Si clearly felt that the earth beneath her feet was trembling faintly—and the trembling was slowly growing stronger.

Her face went slightly pale. This sudden uncanny force was of a magnitude beyond imagining, enough to strike terror, something no human could withstand. In her alarm she turned to look back, and saw the Nether King's expression was strange, his eyes blazing, though she could not tell what he was thinking—only that there was not much fear on his face.

At that very moment, within this cold-ice chamber that appeared to be enclosed by countless layers of thick rock and wall, indestructible, several sharp cracks rang out in succession, as though something had burst apart.

This time, the Nether King's expression changed drastically, just as You Si's had.

In their shock they looked at once, and saw that on the stone wall, which had been supremely solid, several short fissures had actually opened. From the broken edges small stones kept dropping, and at the same time the ground beneath their feet seemed to shake ever more violently.

Fortunately, this uncanny force seemed to have found a vent when it tore at the mountain's solid rock. Not long after the wall split open, the two of them keenly sensed that the strange, mysterious power deep in the earth beneath their feet was rapidly weakening, and soon it vanished without a trace.

You Si stood in silence for a long while, her brows tightly knit. Had it not been for those startling cracks still in the stone wall, she might almost have thought it had been her imagination. But the cracks, like knife cuts, were truly carved into that supremely hard stone.

You Si turned to look at the Nether King. For some reason, he gave her but a single glance, then turned back to look at Bili.

"Do you know what this was?"

A shadow suddenly passed through You Si's heart, and she had a bad premonition.

The Nether King slowly shook his head and said mildly, "I do not know either. Later I will send men to survey the terrain thoroughly, to see whether it was an earthquake."

You Si pondered a moment, then said, "It should not be an earthquake. That surging force just now was like a great tide, and there was clearly a fierce killing intent in it—it was no natural disaster."

The Nether King was silent, and only after a moment said, "I will look into this matter thoroughly. You need not concern yourself with it."