Chapter 240 — The Universe Lock
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 2 of 5
Even Mr. Ghost was caught utterly off guard by this anomaly, wholly at a loss. He sprang to his feet and fixed his eyes on the Coiling Dragon Cauldron hovering in midair. After studying it closely, his gaze suddenly froze: upon the demonic face that had turned entirely blood-red, at the very center of its brow, a tiny point of soft white radiance had somehow appeared. This speck of white light was, of course, utterly disproportionate to the bloody aura that shrouded the whole cavern—the difference was too vast. Yet strangely, not only could the mysterious power from the Cauldron not extinguish it, but even beneath the sky-filling, roaring blood light of terrifying majesty, that faint white glimmer still shone brightly, showing no sign of dimming.
Mr. Ghost's body convulsed; the blood drained from his face, and he cried out, "The Universe Lock... how is that possible?"
As though the blow had been too great and too sudden, Mr. Ghost, who was always so composed, was struck into open dismay. Pacing anxiously to and fro upon the platform beneath the Cauldron, he muttered to himself, "Impossible, impossible—how could such an ancient divine seal be upon the Coiling Dragon Cauldron? What is this, what is this?"
Suddenly his body went rigid again. Almost at the same instant as his keen perception, the mysterious white point within the demonic face upon the Cauldron suddenly brightened, and a beam of soft white light shot forth, sharp as a dagger, glaringly conspicuous amid the sky-full crimson glow.
From afar, that white blade of light looked as though it had been driven straight into the center of the demonic face's brow, pinning the visage fast.
A shrill wailing suddenly rose throughout the cavern; the sky-filling red light spun violently, and a mighty power filled the entire space. The stone walls around the cavern began to quake, great boulders tumbling down again and again, while in the Blood Pool countless enormous whirlpools appeared upon the bloody water. The four spirit beasts, listless in the blood, raised their heads to gaze at the sky, utterly at a loss. The shrill wailing grew ever sharper, like a furious roar, surging from every direction of the cavern toward the Coiling Dragon Cauldron hovering in midair. At the storm's heart, the blood-red light upon the demonic visage trembled and flickered violently, its features twisted horribly, hideously grotesque.
Yet beneath that incomparably dreadful power, amid the blood light surging around like furious waves, that faint white radiance stood proud and unyielding. Those fearsome forces looked capable of destroying heaven and earth, yet they could do nothing against this slender white beam. Let the blood light pound from every direction—in the end, under Mr. Ghost's bloodshot, unblinking stare, the white blade of light remained lodged in the demonic face.
How long passed, none could say, but at last the dreadful power weakened; the violently spinning blood light gradually subsided, and the strange sounds within the Blood Pool cavern slowly stilled. Before Mr. Ghost's somewhat despairing eyes, the blood-red demonic face that had come so near to completion was driven back by that seemingly gentle white blade of light, losing the greater part of its crimson, and the blood-hued glow over the whole Coiling Dragon Cauldron dimmed considerably as well.
"How is it possible, how is it possible..." With a note of desolation, Mr. Ghost stood blankly upon the platform, looking as though he were dead, utterly lifeless. The mysterious power upon the Coiling Dragon Cauldron before him had truly consumed his life's energy in pursuit; to say his very fate rested upon it would not be an exaggeration—and yet, just as success was in sight, this astonishing change had come!