Chapter 68 — Azure Dragon
劍問蒼天 · Page 2 of 7
Duanmu Laozu's expression was complex; he rubbed his bald head and muttered a few words under his breath. The others could not make out what he said, but the last sentence came through clearly enough: "Heh heh, to think that dog-thief would die too, heh heh, heh heh, ha ha ha ha ha..."
As he spoke, the man could not help but break into wild laughter.
The faces of everyone on the Canglan Sect side changed. Daoist Cangyan stared at him and suddenly sneered: "What are you laughing at? He may be gone, but under the Canglan Sect there is no lack of those who subdue demons and vanquish devils—more than enough to deal with clownish demons like you."
"Bah!" A contemptuous voice came from beside him—it was that Baiduzi, who said viciously: "That we cannot kill this fellow with our own hands leaves a hatred in our hearts hard to dispel. Sooner or later we will storm Qingyun, grind his bones to dust and scatter his ashes, and give him no peace even in death!"
The Old Vampire shrieked from behind: "Quite right, just so, else this century-deep hatred of mine cannot be eased!"
Every righteous cultivator changed color; seeing these demon-cult fiends, each vicious and cruel, whose words implied they would not spare even the dead, they were filled with indignation.
Tian Lingsu quietly asked her senior brother Song Dayi beside her: "Eldest Brother, who is this Wan... this Uncle-Master Wan? He seems terribly formidable—even these demon-cult fiends fear him greatly. Why have we never heard of him?"
Song Dayi's expression stirred; he seemed about to speak and then thought better of it, and with a bitter smile said: "Little Junior Sister, when we have time and are back on the mountain, ask Master and Mistress yourself!"
Tian Lingsu pursed her lips, gave a little huff, and said with a touch of pique: "Fine, don't tell me—I'll ask Mother myself." And with that she made to step forward.
Zhang Qingyue saw it and grew anxious; he reached out and caught her, saying in a low voice: "Senior Sister, with a strong enemy before us, don't go up there—we can ask later!"
Tian Lingsu looked ahead, saw that the atmosphere in the field was indeed tense, and so halted, turning back to smile at Zhang Qingyue.
Zhang Qingyue's heart warmed, but unexpectedly another cold snort came from ahead, full of anger, from the demon cult side. He looked up and saw, behind the Nether King, Biluo slowly emerge, staring at him from afar.
For some reason Zhang Qingyue felt a shock at heart and unconsciously let go of Tian Lingsu's hand.
In the distance, among the people of Xiaozhu Peak, Lu Xueling slowly withdrew her gaze from Zhang Qingyue and let it fall upon Biluo ahead, quietly studying her.
At this moment, the Venerable Great Strength, who had all along kept his brows tightly knit and said nothing, suddenly spoke: "Baiduzi, Old Demon Duanmu, when you escaped by luck in those days, you ought to have washed your faces clean and turned over a new leaf. Today you still dare come out to make mischief—are you tired of living?"
"Bah!" The several of them cursed together, coarse words and foul language streaming endlessly.
The Venerable Great Strength's expression shifted slightly, and then he saw that pale-faced scholar who had stood by all along step forward and say with a smile: "This must be the Venerable Great Strength of the Vajra Sect, I presume?"
The Venerable Great Strength looked him over and said: "That is so. And who are you?"
The pale-faced scholar smiled faintly and did not answer, only saying for himself: "If Wan Jiangu of those days stood here and spoke the words you just spoke, we whom you regard as clownish demons would still have some scruples. But with the paltry tricks of cultivation you people of the Vajra Sect command, you had best hide behind the backs of those Canglan Sect folk!"
The demon cult crowd laughed aloud, and even from the dark woods behind them, faint sounds of mockery drifted out.