Chapter 72 — Desperate Straits
劍問蒼天 · Page 2 of 11
The Nether King was hurtling down from midair; Tian Buhui, anxious for his beloved daughter, was still flying in on his sword though far away; and close at hand, Zhang Qingyue—having followed earliest—was now the nearest to Tian Lingsu, though several black-clad demon cult followers had already rushed in as well.
The situation was poised to explode at a touch, and the crux of it all lay with Tian Lingsu.
Seeing the black-clad figures nearly upon her, Zhang Qingyue felt desperate; he leaped with all his strength and flew to land behind Tian Lingsu, and while still in midair his Dark Iron Staff blazed with blue light, sweeping down a wall of radiance before the black-clad men.
The black-clad figures shrieked in fury, and in an instant several magical treasures came flying at him; Zhang Qingyue's body shook violently, but he had bought a moment's delay nonetheless.
And in that very instant, swift as lightning, Tian Lingsu gave a cry of joy—the amber-red silk burst up from the ground, forcing an iron spike up out of the earth with it.
At once the red light rocked violently, and the whole Dragon-Imprisoning Enclosure formation flashed with wild arcs of lightning; its footing thrown into chaos, especially right before Tian Lingsu, a gap the height of a man was torn open in an instant.
Within the red light screen, the marvel-beast Kui Niu gave a long bellow that shook the wilds, and with a surge of its single leg charged toward the opening.
Joy lit Tian Lingsu's face; she was just about to recall her treasure, the amber-red silk, when suddenly she heard Zhang Qingyue cry out behind her in alarm: "Senior Sister, look out!"
She gave a start and jerked her head up—and there before her was the enormous beast, already upon her; with a thunderous crash, that vast bulk slammed full into the light screen.
By now the Dragon-Imprisoning Enclosure formation was in disarray, and struck by that immense force, the man-high gap instantly spread and widened several times over—almost enough for Kui Niu to break free. At the same time the red light shuddered wildly, waves of it radiating outward, and it actually flung the descending Nether King's figure aside.
Kui Niu's huge eyes glared round, savage light shooting from them; it cared nothing that it was Tian Lingsu who had shaken this strange formation—with a roar of "Gan-ao!" it swung its massive head and lunged to bite at her.
Tian Lingsu went pale with terror; a bloody maw came charging at her, the stench of gore assaulting her nostrils, and she was so frightened she froze where she stood, unable to move.
Kui Niu was plainly on the verge of breaking out; with the fearsome might it had shown while trapped in the Enclosure—might that had still shaken more than a dozen people to death—the black-clad followers all drew back as one, without needing to be told. Only Zhang Qingyue, aghast, still charged forward through gritted teeth, his Dark Iron Staff gleaming blue as he struck at Kui Niu's head.
In the distance, Qinglong knocked Song Dayi's Ten Tigers Immortal Sword aside and happened to glance toward Zhang Qingyue—just in time to see the Dark Iron Staff hurtling toward Kui Niu. Suddenly his whole body convulsed, and he nearly lost his wits; he actually cried out aloud: "This—"
On the field, Kui Niu—worthy of a primal marvel-beast—sensed the treasure coming, swung its enormous head, and rammed the Dark Iron Staff head-on with its skull. With a boom, the staff flew back; Zhang Qingyue's body was violently shaken, and he felt a might like heaven and earth collapsing come surging at him, and he staggered back several steps.