Chapter 202 — Sky

That pursuit was like life itself, never ceasing; only in the end, one knew not whether he had lost his way, or forgotten his original intent!

How long passed, he knew not; how far they chased, he knew not—he knew only that the terrain had slowly descended all along the way, as if they had gone deep into the earth's depths, and that all behind was silent; Golden Vase Moon had long since been left behind by the two of them, whereabouts unknown.

That mysterious figure suddenly stopped, turning around in the darkness to face the direction from which he had come; Ming Li immediately caught the movement, his form halting, and he too slowly came to a stop.

In the darkness the two faced each other, neither speaking for a time. After a moment, the blue halo on Ming Li's body lit up once more, illuminating the surrounding area—yet the darkness ahead seemed still impenetrable to the light.

The mysterious figure suddenly said: "What a divine power!"

The voice was soft and pleasing, though spoken lightly, yet somehow, hearing it, one felt a strange, stirring sensation.

Ming Li, in the faint blue light, gazed at that patch of darkness, his expression calm, his tone even, showing not the least sign of having just fought a soul-shaking battle with the person before him.

The woman's voice gave a cold laugh before saying: "In the space of an instant, you employed the demon sect's arts, the Great Brahma Prajna Buddhist dharma of the Brahma Sound Temple, and the Taiji Profound Clarity Way of the Canglan Sect—three of the foremost true arts of the present age—seizing the moment to use each as needed, shifting between them without the slightest pause. Clearly you have mastered them all completely. And each of the three is no small matter; with the Taiji Profound Clarity Way alone cultivated to such a degree, I fear that apart from that old man Dao Yan, there is no one in the Canglan Sect who can match you."

She paused slowly, then said, word by word: "Why does your cultivation advance so swiftly?"

Ming Li did not speak, only looked at that mass of darkness; suddenly he smiled and said slowly: "What, does it strike you as strange that my cultivation goes smoothly?"

In the dark shadows, a few familiar "zhi zhi" cries suddenly sounded; a moment later a figure darted out—looking closely, gray fur, a long tail: it was the monkey Xiao Hui. Grinning, it scratched its head, hopped twice on the ground, returned to Ming Li's side, and scampered up onto his shoulder, where it finally sat, its tail still swaying to and fro behind it.

The woman in the darkness did not speak, and fell silent.

Ming Li gazed at that patch of darkness, and feeling slowly came into his eyes; his voice seemed to soften as well, and smiling, he said: "It's you, isn't it? I truly never expected to meet you here."

The woman hidden in the darkness suddenly said: "Do you still remember me? Don't you have a ravishing woman at your side?"

Ming Li started, then could not help feeling a little awkward. With a bitter smile he said, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

The woman was plainly somewhat angered. Her voice turned cold. "Doing this—are you not afraid of wronging the one still lying on the ice bed?"

Ming Li shook his head. "You misunderstand. I did not know this place; it was the Sovereign of the Underworld who ordered her to lead the way." He paused, then said mildly, "You of all people know what manner of man I am."

The woman in the darkness gave a sniff, though by the sound of it she was clearly no longer so angry. "How would I know what manner of man you are? All I know is that men have never been any good!"

Ming Li frowned slightly, shook his head a little, and answered only with a bitter smile.

The patch of darkness ahead slowly dispersed, and beneath the glow of Ming Li's soul-devouring blue light a figure gradually came into view. Little Grey, perched on Ming Li's shoulder, bared its teeth at that slender silhouette and squeaked several times, altogether affectionately.

In the faint ghostly light, the woman was ravishingly beautiful, her soft charms steeped to the bone—who else could it be but Xiao Bai, the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox, so long missing?