Chapter 42 — Dead End
劍問蒼天 · Page 1 of 7
~rPeriod:~21 September r~
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Net. The waves on the Sea of Heartlessness gradually subsided, yet the dread in everyone's heart did not lessen in the slightest. The colossal body of the Blackwater Serpent coiled before them, towering there like a demon beast from the dawn of time.
And this behemoth's serpent head swayed slightly, as though it too had not expected to encounter the breath of living people here beneath the Vale of Death Spirits. It cast several more glances at the group, yet for the moment made no move.
Lu Xueling, being of a calm disposition, was the first to recover. Turning her head, she saw Zhang Qingyue still staring blankly upward at the Blackwater Serpent, and gave his sleeve a gentle tug. Zhang Qingyue shuddered and turned; Lu Xueling said softly, "Let's back away."
Zhang Qingyue came to his senses at once, nodded repeatedly, and helped Lu Xueling retreat. The veiled woman standing behind Bili caught this from the corner of her eye and cried out, "Don't move..."
Zhang Qingyue and Lu Xueling both froze, but in the blink of an eye, green light flared wildly in the Blackwater Serpent's vast eyes, as though something had startled it, and it let out a heaven-shaking roar. Everyone present clapped their hands over their ears, yet still heard a ringing buzz.
In the midst of his horror, Zhang Qingyue saw the Blackwater Serpent's body stir; its enormous tail, which had been soaking in the seawater, swept out, instantly raising a wall of water several zhang high and dozens of zhang wide, blotting out the sky as it came. And amid the spray, that black serpent tail was mingled in, charging forward with boundless force.
The spray was still several zhang away, yet a gale already struck their faces, almost enough to stagger them. If they were truly struck by this tsunami-like wall of water, or touched by that enormous serpent tail, they would surely be smashed to bits. Zhang Qingyue could not spare the thought; his right arm swept around Lu Xueling, he summoned the black iron staff, and flew backward with all his strength.
But the wall of water moved like the wind, faster than any motion. Zhang Qingyue had not flown even a zhang before it overtook him. The roar of water was like thunder, almost at his ear. Every muscle in his body drew taut; almost no thought remained in his mind. At the brink of life and death, Zhang Qingyue gave a great shout and flew upward with all his might, but he had risen barely a zhang from the ground when he felt a chill over his whole body.
"Boom!"
He was swept helplessly into the towering wave, drenched through in an instant. He heard Lu Xueling's cry of alarm beside him, and his grip loosened; under that irresistible force, he and Lu Xueling were torn apart.
Zhang Qingyue paled with fright and struggled to reach Lu Xueling, but such was the power of the wave that in an instant the two were already several zhang apart.
Watching the sky-high waves surge with a roar, Lu Xueling — who had been at his side but a moment ago — vanished in the blink of an eye into the surging darkness. Zhang Qingyue trembled all over, his mind a chaos, and was carried by the great wave, tumbling forward through the spray.
Just as the roar shook the heavens and Zhang Qingyue felt every inch of his body compressed by the enormous force until he was nearly split apart, he suddenly caught sight of something: in the spray, amid the booming roar, a black shadow flashed — the Blackwater Serpent's immense black tail, rushing at him like a mountain.
Wherever that black tail passed, the spray burst apart, and for some reason enormous rocks and sand flew hurtling through it as well, a spectacle of unmatched force. Zhang Qingyue would not have believed, not if you killed him, that he could survive being struck by that vast tail.