Chapter 167 — The Decisive Battle
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 5 of 6
It was then that a roar came soaring up from behind the crowd, piercing the sky. Beneath the Yuheng Hall of Heaven-Reaching Peak, in the waters of the Cold Ice Pool, a great vortex suddenly appeared. The water spun faster and faster, more and more violently, and that roar—like a dragon's chant, like a tiger's cry—grew louder and louder, until it forcibly drowned out the voices of all those countless beast-demons ahead.
Then, within the Cold Ice Pool, a column of water surged upward with a roar, shooting straight into the sky to a height of several dozen zhang. The column held without dispersing, like wild blossoms bursting into bloom, and there emerged the vast form of the Water Qilin—the divine beast that guarded Mount Canglan, the Spirit Sovereign.
The Qingyun disciples upon Heaven-Reaching Peak were first stunned, then, wild with joy, shouted aloud, their spirits soaring. Beneath the gaze of the multitude, the Water Qilin raised its head and let out a long cry to the blue heavens, then shook its head and swung its tail, flew forward from the water column, and descended from the clouds.
The towering column of water came crashing down with a roar, like a mountain torrent, drenching everything around the Cold Ice Pool in icy wetness. Righteous disciples who had no time to dodge scrambled for cover, cutting a rather sorry figure for a time.
But most people had no mind for such trifles now. Their eyes were all fixed upon the blue heavens, where the Water Qilin stood in midair, eyes glaring, roaring without cease. And a figure in dark green robes slowly descended—upon the Water Qilin's back, facing forward toward that Beast Sovereign who now seemed all but invincible.
Dao Yan!
The Beast Sovereign's cold face showed no change; his gaze met Dao Yan's across the void. Beneath his feet, the giant demonic spirit snarled fiercely at the Water Qilin, and the Water Qilin, plainly harboring no goodwill whatsoever toward such a creature, looked even more ferocious, its maw bared with rows of fangs, roaring again and again.
Amid the roaring, the Water Qilin suddenly raised its head; a faint azure light flashed, and from its mouth it spat a longsword that seemed stone yet not stone. It flew into the air, and Dao Yan reached out his right hand and caught it.
In that instant, all of Mount Canglan suddenly fell still. A moment later, a shout like thunder burst forth in a tidal wave.
The Immortal-Slaying Ancient Sword!
The legendary Immortal-Slaying Ancient Sword—unrivaled, indestructible—the supreme immortal weapon of the righteous path for subduing demons and vanquishing evil, had at last, after ten years, reappeared in the world.
A beam of light flowed from that legendary ancient sword like gentle water, passing to Dao Yan. Amid the countless joyous cries from the crowd, just as Dao Yan's hand closed upon the hilt, his body somehow gave a faint shudder—and then, once more, firmly, steadily, heavily, he gripped the Immortal-Slaying Ancient Sword in his hand.
"A sword bestowed by heaven—to slay the wicked and the demonic!"
Dao Yan's face was as ever, his expression calm. He simply held the Immortal-Slaying Sword and raised it level, pointing it at the Beast Sovereign ahead, speaking thus lightly—and in the eyes of countless people, he was already as an inviolable immortal.
Beneath the Immortal-Slaying Sword, countless people cheered together. And before the immortal blade, the Beast Sovereign gazed at that ancient sword for a long while, then studied Dao Yan carefully. Suddenly his cold face changed; incredibly, he shook his head and burst into laughter—loud laughter that echoed through heaven and earth, and now and then interspersed with a few faint coughs.
"A fine sword, a fine sword!" The Beast Sovereign actually clapped his hands in admiration. Yet there was a note of mockery in his tone. "A sword so fierce and peerless as this—even I fear it somewhat. I never expected it to appear in your hands. Truly... hahahahaha..."