Chapter 245 — Earthshaking

The ground shook ever more violently, and perhaps because the walls had split and widened, the chamber's soundproofing was far worse than before; from afar came faintly the desperate, frantic cries of people. Amid the blood-stench that turned the stomach, Mr. Gui and Ming Li both changed countenance again.

That mysterious, uncanny power, which had lain quiet for ten days, had in this moment awakened once more.

The stone walls and floor around them shook ever more violently. This time the uncanny force seemed to erupt with particular ferocity, showing not the slightest sign of abating. Ming Li darted to the ice-cold stone platform and shielded Bi Li's body, while Mr. Gui looked around, brows tightly knit, saying not a word, as though pondering something, a faint unease and doubt upon his face.

From afar, roars and shrieks rose and fell; it seemed the outside world had plunged once more into its former terror and madness. The cracks in the walls were still slowly widening, and the ceaselessly falling stones, amid the endless trembling of the ground, seemed all the more startling.

"Boom!"

Suddenly a great crash came from the stone door at the chamber's entrance. A massive boulder had been shattered to pieces by sheer force and scattered across the floor. Amid flying rock fragments, a figure darted in with incomparable speed, face full of urgency—it was the Nether King.

The moment the Nether King entered, he looked toward the stone platform. Ming Li was already stationed at Bi Li's side; though the ground shook violently and rubble kept falling from above, every stone that fell within the range of the ice-cold platform was sent flying by a mere gesture of Ming Li's hand. The Nether King breathed a sigh of relief, somewhat eased at heart, but his expression did not relax. Then his gaze shifted and he saw Mr. Gui, of all people, on the other side of the chamber. His brows knit, and he said to Mr. Gui, "What are you doing here? Go at once and—"

Halfway through, the Nether King suddenly broke off. Mr. Gui seemed to understand; he nodded, and his form stirred as though to leave, but then he suddenly recalled something and turned his eyes to the ground. There lay the jade plate—whether one called it the "Star Plate" or the "Qiankun Reincarnation Plate"—quiet upon the floor. Mr. Gui took a step toward it, then suddenly felt a sharp gaze strike his back, icily cold. He slowly turned his head; Ming Li had casually batted away a falling boulder, and his eyes were fixed upon him.

Mr. Gui was silent a moment, did not step forward again, then slipped out of the chamber. His dark figure flickered a few times like a ghost, and he was seen no more.

Now only Ming Li and the Nether King remained in the chamber. The Nether King glanced at the jade plate on the ground, then looked at Ming Li. Silent for a moment, he seemed about to speak but held back, and only gave a soft sigh. Setting aside why Mr. Gui had been here, Ming Li had brought that jade plate into the ice-cold stone chamber, naturally in the hope of saving Bi Li—and from the look of things, there was no need to ask: Bi Li had shown not the slightest improvement.

The Nether King walked silently to the other side of the ice-cold platform. Just then a boulder overhead, unable to hold on amid the violent shaking, finally came loose and fell. The Nether King gave a light wave of his hand; the boulder, as though struck by a heavy blow, flew off at an angle in midair and, with a great boom, smashed to pieces against the neighboring wall.

Ming Li glanced at the Nether King and said nothing. The two men stood in silence beside the woman who slept so quietly, patiently and thoroughly guarding her. A faint smile still lingered on Bi Li's face; perhaps in her heart, she too was somewhat happy.

Another half cup of tea's time passed, yet this uncanny earthquake still showed no sign of stopping. On the contrary, that mysterious power, laden with a thick stench of blood, rampaged through the depths below. Both the Nether King and Ming Li, whose cultivations were exceedingly high, clearly sensed that this was no ordinary earthquake: the force had a spirit of its own, like a trapped behemoth roaring in fury, straining to break free of its shackles and chains—and to that end, it cared not in the least if it destroyed heaven and earth.

Outside the chamber, since the stone door had been shattered by the Nether King, the frantic roars and ever more frequent shrieks from the Nether King Sect disciples in the distance grew louder and more piercing. The Nether King's expression gradually turned fretful, and anger slowly surfaced on his face. Ming Li, standing to one side, sensed the change in the Nether King's mood and glanced his way—and was startled at heart.

The muscles of the Nether King's face were slightly distorted, making him look rather savage, utterly unlike his usual bearing. And strangely, a layer of dark red had suddenly risen in his eyes, like a faint crimson glow flowing within his sockets.

Ming Li's heart stirred, and just then the Nether King happened to look over as well. Their eyes met, and the Nether King suddenly gave a cold laugh. His voice was chilly as he said mildly, "What are you looking at?"

Ming Li met his gaze without flinching, and in equally indifferent tones said, "Nothing."

The Nether King's gaze sharpened, coldness radiating from his eyes as he stared at Ming Li. The atmosphere between them, which had been relatively calm, suddenly and inexplicably grew tense again. But just then, after one violent tremor, both men sensed at once that the mysterious power beneath their feet had suddenly ebbed.

Sure enough, moments later the shaking of the ground and the surrounding walls swiftly ceased, and the stones falling like fine rain finally stopped. The uncanny blood-stench in the air quietly dispersed as well. Ming Li let out a soft breath and looked toward the ice-cold platform; Bi Li lay there safe and sound, sleeping quietly with a smile on her face.

Then Ming Li turned to look at the Nether King, and saw that he too was silently gazing at Bi Li. The anger and the faint killing intent of moments before had both quietly vanished. In this world, perhaps only when gazing upon this one beloved daughter could the Nether King be roused from his wrath and grow calm again.

The Nether King gazed at Bi Li for a long while, his eyes full of tender affection, before he slowly looked away and said in a low voice, "Take good care of her."

Ming Li nodded and said, "I will."

The Nether King turned on his heel and strode out, his figure vanishing in moments. Ming Li stood there a while; from the corner of his eye he caught sight of the ground, and saw that the jade plate still lay where it had fallen. Strange, given how thick the falling stones had come—not one of them had struck it.

Ming Li walked over, picked the jade plate up from the ground, and examined it closely for a time. Then he took the black cloth from his bosom, wrapped it, and put it back. Outside the stone chamber, the distant roars were now gradually dying down; yet in the aftermath of the calamity the clamor still rose and fell, plainly because many had not yet woken from their earlier terror.

Ming Li frowned, his gaze drifting slowly over the ruined surroundings. After this violent battering, the stone chamber, already cracked before, was now scored and gashed beyond measure. And unlike the last time, it was not only the surrounding stone walls that had suffered grievous damage—this time even the floor beneath his feet had begun to show sizable fissures, and in places had been torn open into no small sinkholes.

If the Ice Stone Chamber had been wounded even to this degree, one could well imagine the devastation out in the passages and the places where the Nether King Sect disciples dwelled; the ceaseless groans drifting in from afar seemed to offer the best footnote to it.