Chapter 42 — Dead End
劍問蒼天 · Page 2 of 7
At this instant of life and death, Zhang Qingyue rallied his remaining courage, and strength he knew not from where surged up within him. In the spray, the dark blue light bloomed once more; Zhang Qingyue rode upon it, fleeing for his life, soaring skyward, and actually rose more than a zhang above that sky-high wave.
He was just rejoicing inwardly when suddenly he felt an irresistible force sweep past beneath him. His whole body convulsed; though he was struck only by its aftermath, his vision went black and he nearly fainted. Had he not known this was truly the crisis of life and death and forced himself to stay conscious, he would have come very close to dying there.
Even so, the sweep of the Blackwater Serpent's tail carried such might that Zhang Qingyue was shaken through and through, his bones aching as though they would crack, his whole body on the verge of flying apart. And in that great wave he had no strength left at all; struck by that enormous force, he was sent flying far away.
He was in the air, borne helplessly forward into the boundless darkness ahead. As his body turned, he looked down and saw the mountain-like waves and that vast serpent tail swallow Bili and the others in an instant. The men in yellow scattered in flight, but were immediately struck down by the waves.
The woman in green leapt up, her hands forming a gesture, and white light blazed forth. The white flower in her hand rose before her, and in a moment it conjured six strange blossoms encircling the one at the center, each linked to it by a thread of pure white light, so that the whole formed a white wheel of radiance.
Then Bili's face turned pale, though her expression seemed unflustered. The instant the white wheel of light took shape, it spun up swiftly, and its dazzling white radiance met the sky-high wave and actually held it back for a moment. There in midair the wave piled up like a mountain, its booming roar near terrifying.
Seizing that brief respite, Bili sprang into the air. But just then the clamor in the waves suddenly swelled, and with a thunderous crash, that enormous black serpent tail swept across at that very moment.
In an instant the white wheel of light was annihilated, unable to hold for even a moment. It seemed the girl in the flower of her youth would be struck by that vast tail — when suddenly, amid the spray, the veiled woman appeared. A soft, pale yellow round object flashed in her hand as she came swift as wind and lightning, overtaking the tail, and gave Bili a supporting shove from beneath.
Thus Bili narrowly avoided the thing that would have taken her life, though she was still struck by its aftermath; her whole body went light, and she drifted far back into the darkness behind. And in the next instant, the veiled woman's figure too was swallowed once more by the sky-high waves.
Such was the unimaginable power of the Blackwater Serpent's tail sweep. Zhang Qingyue, in midair, heard the wind whistling past his ears as he flew on and on backward.
If he should suddenly strike something — a hard rock or a sheer cliff — every bone in his body would surely shatter. But knowing this did not help; Zhang Qingyue had no power to control himself. His body was not his own, and he could only leave it to fate.
Yet the Vale of Death Spirits proved truly enormous. He flew for a good while and still met nothing. Even Zhang Qingyue could feel his speed gradually slackening, and that he was slowly sinking — clearly the remnant force was fading.
Landing on the ground would be no pleasant thing, but a face full of dirt was far better than smashing into a wall. Zhang Qingyue was just rejoicing inwardly when suddenly he felt the darkness ahead solidify into a mountain and press down upon him.
A cliff like a mountain, barring his way. Zhang Qingyue tucked his head and curled up, and slammed into it with all his force.
"Bang!"