Chapter 148 — Internal Strife
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 7 of 7
The two skeletons slashed down with their sabers at the same moment, but before they came within three chi of the black staff, under the urging of Mingli's strange true arts a red light flashed suddenly along its length. The shaft lit up at once, black qi surging; it was more ghostly than the two skeletons themselves. In an instant the two sides collided, and Mingli's black staff pierced the demonic bodies of the two skeletons as though cutting tofu. The black qi churned; a moment later the two skeletons gaped wide but could make no sound, and thus silently dissolved away. The last remnant of black qi was drawn into the staff as well.
Upon Mingli's demon staff, besides the Blood-Devouring Pearl, that object of utmost evil, the staff's original substance, Soul-Stealer, was the true ancestor of all such ghostly and demonic arts, and their natural bane. Years ago, when the Blood-Devouring Old Demon had ambushed him—still Zhang Qingyue then—with a skeleton formation, it was on this very point that the old demon had suffered such a heavy, hidden loss.
Chuwu plainly had not expected these people to break its shamanic arts so easily, and could not help but be taken aback. It was at that very moment that Mr. Ghost completed his casting. His arms suddenly jerked, and a red light descended from the sky—it was the Dragon-Subduing Cauldron, which he had summoned. In an instant the sky was a deep crimson, and within the red light could faintly be heard the cries of birds and the lowing of oxen, shrill and mournful, its might seeming even greater than in years past.
The red light descended like a curtain, enclosing Chuwu within it at once. Chuwu felt as though a great mountain had suddenly been pressed upon its body, so that it could scarcely breathe. But the beast demons of the southern border had ever been fierce of nature; trapped in adversity, Chuwu only grew more furious, and with great roars it struggled desperately.
At that moment a figure flickered above the Dragon-Subduing Cauldron, and the Ghost King descended from the sky, swooping down through the red light like a bolt of lightning.
Chuwu seemed to sense something and raised its head in fury, but the Ghost King was already above it. With a long cry, the red light trembled wildly, blindingly bright, so that those outside could not clearly see what happened within; dimly they glimpsed the Ghost King's figure flickering as an object suddenly appeared in his hand, and with an aura of auspicious vapor it came sweeping down and struck Chuwu squarely on the brow.
Chuwu's body convulsed violently, trembling from head to foot. After a moment the red light gradually quieted, and the mysterious object in the Ghost King's hand vanished as well. But Chuwu's pelt, once so brilliant, had suddenly gone dull, and blood flowed from all seven openings of its tiger head. The Ghost King gave a long laugh and drove his right hand down, plunging it straight into Chuwu's hard skull.
Chuwu let out an earth-shaking roar, swayed a few times, and at last collapsed, unable to hold itself up any longer.
Note 1: The Classic of Mountains and Seas, "Within the Seas, North Classic," on Chuwu: In the state of Lin there is a rare beast, as large as a tiger, complete in five colors, whose tail is longer than its body; it is called Chuwu, and one who rides it travels a thousand li in a day.
Another note: The Treatise on Gods and Demons, "Beast Demons," on Chuwu: In the southern border of the Divine Land there is a strange beast, shaped like a tiger, with a five-colored pelt and a long tail; it commands the hundred beasts, and is called the King of the Hundred Beasts.