Chapter 38 — The Abyss of the Dead
劍問蒼天 · Page 2 of 8
Those two great instruments of malevolence, fused into one, checked and restrained each other, so that their murderous breath turned inward instead. And with Zhang Qingyue's vital blood bound within, only Zhang Qingyue could wield it. It was for this reason, too, that it had escaped the notice of the elders of the Canglan Sect, and that Zhang Qingyue had come back from the very gate of death.
Yet at this moment, the big man sought to use the Crimson Demon Eye's red beams against the Black Iron Staff, and so of course got nothing for his pains. This was still because Zhang Qingyue was young and knew nothing, carrying a mighty treasure without knowing it. Had it been that old ancestor of the Demonic Sect from a thousand years ago, the Venerable Blackheart, he would have needed only the Blood-devouring Pearl, and a few waves of it would have drained the big man dry, leaving nothing but a Crimson Demon Eye spinning on his shriveled corpse.
But of all those present, not one could have conceived of such fantastic things. The big man was concentrating with all his might upon the foe, yet still could not stop Zhang Qingyue's slow, step-by-step approach — when the youth who had stood silent at the side from the very beginning, his face full of evil, suddenly sneered: "Elder Nian, your Crimson Demon Eye is fine to look at but useless in a fight. You can't even handle a few young pups of Qingyun. And to think you were scolding Wild Dog just now! I say you may as well hand over your position as sect master to me and be done with it."
The big man and the beautiful young woman beside him both changed countenance. The woman frowned first and said: "Fellow Daoist Lin Feng, the enemy is right before us — how can you speak such words at a time like this?"
Lin Feng, his face steeped in evil, cast a sidelong glance toward the Canglan Sect group, and let his eyes linger a while longer on Lu Xueqi. Then he sneered: "If these yellow-haired brats count as a great enemy, on what grounds does our Blood Refining Hall still stand within the Holy Sect of the Immortal Way? What talk is there of restoring the great enterprise that Senior Blackheart founded a thousand years ago?"
The big man surnamed Nian shot a red beam at Zhang Qingyue, checking his advance for the moment, then snarled at Lin Feng: "What can you do but talk big? Why don't you come up here and try for yourself?"
A strange smile spread over Lin Feng's pale face. "Very well. I'll make you concede with all your heart."
With that he drew from his bosom a gold-traced fan and fanned himself with it.
All of the Canglan Sect had heard their exchange and had grown warier of this youth reeking of evil. But after a long while they saw that he did nothing but wave his fan, unhurried, looking quite elegant and not stirring a step, and they were all taken aback.
Could it be that Lin Feng truly was all talk and nothing more?
Elder Nian was beside himself with fury. "Lin Feng, if you haven't the skill, then stand aside! I can deal with these Qingyun pups myself. I don't need your snide remarks from the sidelines — and you might look to your own abilities first!"
Lin Feng's face changed; he gave a cold snort. "I had no wish to join forces with you — a victory shared would be no glory. But since you take me for a liar, I shall have to show you a trick or two."
As he spoke he tossed the gold-traced fan carelessly into the air. The whole fan gave off a faint golden light, and with a swish it opened.
On the gold-traced silk was painted, in the meticulous gongbi style, a mountain, a river, and a great roc — fine in brushwork, lifelike in every detail.
The wind rose, the clouds surged, thunder rolled, lightning flashed.