Chapter 142 — Calamity

Among the trees of the forest, which had been calm a moment before, a piercing howl suddenly rang out; with a great beating of wings, that enormous white-boned demon serpent hurtled into the air, its two huge eyes instantly reflecting Qinglong's figure ahead. With a great roar it lunged at him. And close behind it, black smoke rolling and hissing cries surging like a tide, countless demon beasts came swarming, all rushing at Qinglong together.

Not long before, the place where the Miao people of Qili Dong had gathered had suddenly been surrounded on all sides by countless demon beasts, led by this most fearsome of monsters, the white-boned demon serpent. The serpent's body was immense; wherever it passed, its white bones swept out and men and beasts alike were struck flying, and it could spew poison gas that killed any it touched. As for the other ordinary demon beasts, they too had boundless strength and were cruel beyond measure.

Brave and fierce as the Miao were, how could they be a match for such monsters? In moments Qili Dong had become a hell on earth, a slaughtering ground. Seeing the danger, Qinglong made his decision at once: he had the Miao chieftain Tumagu withdraw the remnant of the Miao into the altar grounds, where the shamans, who knew something of the southern borderland's shamanic arts, could hold out for a time; while he himself charged forward, took the white-boned demon serpent by surprise with a sneak attack, and at the same time, with swift movements, struck heavy blows again and again, slaying demon beasts—and so drew the attention of most of the monsters upon himself.

The other demon beasts were one thing, but that white-boned demon serpent was no small matter. Even with Qinglong's cultivation, and bearing the wondrous treasure the Qiankun Qingguang Ring, he still could not overcome it. And the demon beasts around him only gathered thicker, the pressure on Qinglong growing greater and greater. Alarmed at heart, and minded to draw these monsters away, he made for the mountain heights, and indeed lured many of the creatures—the white-boned demon serpent among them—after him.

Yet since his aim was to draw the monsters off, he was unwilling to take to the sky, and instead skimmed along above the forest floor. But beyond all his expectations, it seemed that all the beasts and birds of these mountains had undergone some strange change: either they had been slaughtered, or they had become demon beasts of extraordinary ferocity, appearing wherever he went and attacking him—truly a vexing foe.

Now Qinglong took flight once more, dodging the blow of the huge tail the enraged white-boned demon serpent lashed out at him. Below, three or four ancient trees that had stood for unknowable ages were swept aside by the monster as easily as rotting wood, with a great clattering crash. In the process they struck many of the smaller demon beasts outright, and howls of anguish rose on every side.

Seeing Qinglong take flight, the white-boned demon serpent reared its head skyward and roared; then, with a sudden beating of its three pairs of wings, its enormous body actually rose into the air and lunged at Qinglong mid-flight.

Qinglong was taken aback. He had seen from the first that the monster had three pairs of wings, but for so vast a shape to truly take flight—the menace of it was truly startling. For a moment that enormous body came bearing down on him, blotting out heaven and earth.

But Qinglong was no ordinary man after all. First among the Four Holy Envoys of the Hades Sect, he had naturally about him something beyond the common. His body twisted, and he forced his way clean through the gaps between the writhing coils of the white-boned demon serpent's body, flying off in the direction opposite to Qili Dong.

The white-boned demon serpent hissed again and again, beat its wings, and gave chase.

Qinglong flew on for a while, and being after all deeply versed in the Dao, he gradually left the white-boned demon serpent and the other monsters far behind. Seeing that the distance had grown considerable, he was just wondering whether he ought to shake off these monsters and turn back to Qili Dong to see how the Miao were faring—

—when at that moment, from the corner of his eye, he caught a flash of purple light in a patch of forest below, and then blood splashed up, and the hissing roars of demon beasts rose and fell on every side. In an instant, demon beasts from all directions were rushing toward the spot beneath him.

Seen from the air, countless hideous demon beasts came clawing and fanging, surging like the boundless waves of an evil sea—a sight truly breathtaking.

And mingled among them was the angry shout of a woman.

Qinglong's heart stirred; several thoughts flashed through his mind like lightning, and at last he wheeled downward to take a look.

The moment he entered the forest he caught a foul stench that made him want to retch. Everywhere lay the corpses of demon beasts, torn limb from limb upon the ground, blood splashed all about. And not far off there was indeed a woman fighting a horde of demon beasts, in her hand a treasure that flashed with purple radiance, its edge flickering bright—plainly no common thing.

Qinglong's eyes narrowed, and he blurted out, "The Purple Radiance Blade... you are Jin Pingyue?"

The woman seemed startled as well. She glanced back, her body drifting over, yet her hands never paused; where the purple radiance flashed and extended, three more demon beasts were cut down.

"Who are you?" Jin Pingyue said coldly, alighting beside Qinglong.

Qinglong was puzzled. With Jin Pingyue's cultivation at this moment, why did she not rise into the air and fly? Once in the sky, only a scant few of these demonic beasts could follow; would that not make things simple?

Though such thoughts ran through his mind, Qinglong still made ready to answer. Yet before he could open his mouth, he and Jin Pingyue both shuddered at once, as though struck by some premonition, and together they raised their heads and looked ahead.

The countless demonic beasts that had been sunk in a frenzy only a moment before suddenly receded like the turning tide. But from deep within the forest ahead, a cold killing intent came sweeping toward them, and the chill of that formless intent was such that even two figures of their lofty cultivation could not help but shiver.

A shock ran through Qinglong's heart. In the southern borderlands there could still be such a terrifying thing as this!

Even as they stood frozen in dread, the next instant, behind a giant tree ahead, a figure flickered abruptly into view, and a man came slowly walking out.

He was clad in garments of vivid silk, his black hair falling loose upon his shoulders, his hands long and white. His features were handsome beyond measure; he was a youth so beautiful as to verge on the bewitching.

Qinglong stared, somewhat dumbstruck. But almost at that very moment he suddenly sensed that Jin Pingyue's body beside him, for some unknown reason, had begun to tremble faintly after the youth appeared.