Chapter 163 — Fierce Battle
劍問蒼天 · Page 1 of 5
A thick stench of blood hung over the Heaven-Reaching Peak of Canglan Mountain. Even the Water Qilin, the mountain's guardian spirit beast that was usually so lazy and indolent, now seemed restless and agitated, swimming ceaselessly to and fro in the icy pool and giving vent to low, rumbling growls. And the lofty masters of the righteous path standing atop the Yuheng Hall all wore grave expressions as they gazed down the mountain. Beyond the Rainbow Bridge lay the vast Cloud Sea Plaza, and there, at this very moment, a fierce and brutal slaughter had already been raging for a full day and a night.
Though they had anticipated the horror and savagery of this war against the beast-demons, the cruelty unfolding before their eyes still chilled the hearts of many among the righteous path. The beast-demons had surged up from the foot of the mountain, sweeping forward like a violent storm. Though the righteous cultivators harried them relentlessly from the flanks, the vast torrent formed by countless beast-demons seemed utterly indifferent to those few attackers on the periphery, rolling onward like thunder, like a furious tide, crushing all before them in an instant. And those who struck and obstructed from the sides were left with a sense of utter helplessness—facing that black, seething mass, slaying one or two, or even a dozen beast-demons, amounted to practically nothing at all!
And so the defensive plan the righteous path had devised—using the mountain's terrain to slow the beast-demons' advance—was torn to shreds in the blink of an eye by these seemingly savage, mindless beasts. The righteous cultivators were forced to retreat up the Heaven-Reaching Peak, until the beast-demons stormed onto the Cloud Sea Plaza. There, Dao Yan Zhenren and the others made their decisive judgment, gathering the bulk of the righteous path's strength to face the enemy head-on across the vast plaza. In an instant, amid a sky full of flying treasures and radiant beams, above the Cloud Sea of the Heaven-Reaching Peak, flesh and blood flew through the air, and screams and howls filled every ear without pause.
Wave after wave of the dark tide came surging in with mad fury, and before them, several hundred righteous cultivators—half standing upon the ground, half hovering in the air—raised countless brilliant, dazzling lights that reared up before the crowd into a cold, many-colored wall of ice, radiating a chill, piercing gleam.
The beast-demons seemed utterly ignorant of pain or fear. On they came like a great tide, hurling their bodies of flesh and blood against the wall of light that stretched nearly several li wide. In an instant, the cold gleam shuddered, strange lights flashed wildly, and a soul-shaking sound swept across the summit of the Heaven-Reaching Peak like a driving rain, piercing straight into the depths of the heart.
The foremost several hundred beast-demons were in an instant ground into shattered flesh and blood by the icy, radiant beams. The thick stench of gore swept past the ear like a gale with a mournful "wu," and a rain of blood burst forth in the sky with a thunderous roar before slowly drifting down, drop by drop, onto the faces and hands of the righteous cultivators.
The stench was enough to make one retch!
Before anyone could steady themselves, the beast-demons behind came surging forward once more. The once-smooth wall of light was abruptly pressed inward by immense force, bulging in many places into irregular curves. In several spots, where disciples of lesser cultivation and weaker resolve faltered for but a moment and lost their grip on their treasures, the surging force broke through. With a chorus of shrieks, the beasts pounced, bearing several men to the ground—and amid the screams, no one ever saw them again.