Chapter 67 — Crimson Flame
劍問蒼天 · Page 6 of 7
Then suddenly the thunder pealed again! With a mighty crash, heaven and earth changed color, and that incomparably vast pillar of light shot forth, piercing all the black clouds, outshining the red sun of summer, and rushed at the Vampire Fiend—irresistible, never turning back.
A moment later, the Vampire Fiend was engulfed in a blaze of light; even the red glow of the Blood Skull vanished utterly in that instant.
A figure fell from above the clouds.
Tian Buhui gripped Crimson Flame tightly and drew a deep breath. His face was slightly pale, but as he stood at the cloud's edge he was like a god of heaven.
After the first stunned silence, a great clamor burst from the ranks of the orthodox cultivators, and cries of awe and admiration filled the air. The Dazhu Peak disciples were all jubilant, and Zhang Qingyue too stared slack-jawed, his admiration beyond words. When at last he tore his gaze from Tian Buhui, he saw that everyone around him was smiling, and Tian Lingsu was beaming with delight.
In the midst of the joy, something occurred to Zhang Qingyue. He turned to look toward Xiaozhu Peak, and sure enough, he saw Lu Xueling gazing silently upward, her eyes fixed on Tian Buhui's figure in midair, staring blankly, lost in a trance.
The same move, the "Divine Sword Summoning the Thunder True Art"—yet in Tian Buhui's hands its power was greater than Lu Xueling's by more than tenfold.
The Vampire Fiend's face was red as blood, and his body plummeted uncontrollably. Daoist Cangyan gave a cold snort and shot a glance at Qi Hao and the others. Qi Hao understood at once. With a wave of his hand, six or seven disciples leaped out from the orthodox side and charged together toward the spot where the Vampire Fiend was falling, their magic treasures flying forth all at once.
In midair, the Vampire Fiend's body convulsed violently. His hands flailed wildly as though he meant to resist, but after only a couple of twitches, a red light flashed across his face and he abruptly coughed up a mouthful of blood, his countenance turning ashen in an instant.
The crowd burst into laughter, all of them seeing plainly that the old fiend could no longer fight back. Just as Qi Hao and the others were about to take the Vampire Fiend alive, Su Wan suddenly cried out in alarm: "Look out!"
Qi Hao, Lin Jinghong, and the rest felt their hearts lurch. Before their eyes everything blurred for a moment, and in an instant purple rays and black qi streaked past as several surges of immense force struck from out of the darkness. The two flying at the very front—one a Qingyun disciple and one a monk of the Brahma Sound Temple—were instantly struck so hard that they spat blood and were sent flying backward.
Qi Hao and the others were greatly shocked and forcibly halted in their tracks. But in that brief instant the forces had already reached them, surging forward like a tidal wave sweeping the heavens and the earth. Qi Hao shouted: "Fall back, quickly!"
At the same time, he clenched his teeth, and the Frost Immortal Sword in his hand flashed again and again, laying down seven walls of ice in front of him in an instant to shield his fellow disciples and comrades. But before the others could retreat even a few steps, the forces crashed into the ice walls and, with the irresistible momentum of a splitting bamboo, shattered them like rotting wood and came straight on.
Qi Hao bore the brunt of it and for a moment nearly stopped breathing altogether—then a green ray flashed past, and it was Lin Jinghong, seeing that his senior brother was in deadly peril, flinging all caution aside and charging over on the Dragon-Slaying Sword.
Qi Hao cried out in dismay: "Lin, get out of here!"