Chapter 79 — Seven
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 5 of 6
The three of them employed almost the same tactic they had used against Lin Jinghong: the long halberd striking from the front, the flying sword leaping up, and the White Bone Sword poised to strike from hiding. But the old man paid no heed at all to the yellow flying sword or the White Bone Sword; the Dragon-Slaying Sword became a pillar of light like a mountain, crashing down upon them with the force of an avalanche. The Demonic Cult follower who wielded the halberd turned pale with fright and hurriedly raised his halberd to parry—but with a single crisp crack, the Dragon-Slaying Sword, as though slicing ice or cleaving snow, sheared the halberd clean in two, and without the slightest pause came slashing down upon his head.
"Sss—"
Before Lin Jinghong's gaping eyes, and amid the terrified gazes of the crowd, the Demonic Cult man was split clean in two from head to foot, blood spraying like rain. And scarcely pausing, amid that rain of gore, the green radiance—now almost demonic—whirled about and rushed at the other two.
The flying sword and the White Bone Sword, which had been attacking the old man, were now struck with utter terror; how would they dare press the attack? They fled backward at once, frantically summoning their treasures. But the Dragon-Slaying Sword, its keen radiance filling the sky, was upon them in a twinkling, and before everyone's eyes it crashed straight into them.
There was scarcely even a cry of alarm; the green radiance swallowed the two whole, and in an instant a burst of shattering sounds arose—what, exactly, befell those two, no one could tell.
Cold sweat streamed down Lin Jinghong's face; his senses nearly deserted him!
Zhou Yin, standing farthest off, turned ashen, knowing this old man was truly a terrifying master before whom he was no match. He wheeled at once and fled.
But the green radiance came on like the roar of mountains and the surge of the tide, mingled now with a crimson stain of blood, streaking like lightning in hot pursuit.
Zhou Yin's cultivation was, after all, somewhat higher than the others'. His hand suddenly flicked, and a wisp of black qi flickered faintly into view—and the sky-filling green radiance actually paused for a moment before him.
The next instant, Zhou Yin's face changed, and he cried out, "It's you! You are Wan—"
Before the words were out, the mountain-like green radiance that filled the space between heaven and earth bore down and crushed the black qi he struggled to sustain, then came cleaving down upon him, striking Zhou Yin full in the chest.
With a miserable scream, Zhou Yin was sent flying far away, and by the look of him he would not live.
In but a few moments, the four Demonic Cult followers who had strutted so proudly a moment before were all dead.
The sky-filling emerald radiance suddenly drew back like a great whale sucking in water, gathering into the Dragon-Slaying Sword, which flew back to the old man's hand.
Lin Jinghong's mouth fell slightly open, but no words came.
The old man shook his head slightly, as though sighing to himself over something, then cast one last deep look at the Dragon-Slaying Sword in his hand, and tossed it to Lin Jinghong.
Lin Jinghong caught it by reflex, and heard the old man turn back toward the Ancestral Hall, saying slowly as he walked, "The Dragon-Slaying Sword was forged from ten thousand years' green crystal taken from the bitterest reaches of the southern frontier, and has slain countless villains and evildoers. To wield this sword, one must press ever forward, making attack one's defense; even if one's cultivation is insufficient, one must be resolved to cut down every strong foe without exception—only so can its divine power be unleashed. You would do well to remember this!"