劍問蒼天 - 第169章 妖獸 - 翰墨軒

With that, holding the ancient sword Slaying Immortals, he gave it a light wave, and at once the sky-filling sword radiance, as though in answer, trembled as one, majestic and awe-inspiring. But at that very moment a flicker of pain unexpectedly crossed Dao Yan Zhenren's face; brief as it was, it did not escape the Beast Sovereign's eyes.

The Beast Sovereign stood suspended in the void, strange light keen in his eyes, yet a faint smile at the corner of his mouth. "Such a supremely baleful divine sword," he said mildly, "and on top of it the spiritual qi of these green hills below—that you can hold out this long without showing weakness, you are truly beyond common men."

Dao Yan Zhenren frowned and said in a low voice, "What do you mean by that?"

The Beast Sovereign smiled and did not answer, only shaking his head. "The ancient sword's malevolent spirit must have been born of the baleful qi of heaven and earth, of one origin with me—how could I not know? You force the sword to fight me, and the outcome is uncertain, but most likely the sword qi will turn against you. Such a thing, harming others and yourself—you are no common man, why need I say more? Heh heh." Here the Beast Sovereign gave two cold laughs and went on, "I advise you to cast the sword aside early, or when the sword spirit turns on you in days to come, your fate will be a thousand, ten thousand times worse than mine."

Dao Yan Zhenren gazed at the Beast Sovereign for a long while, then suddenly shook his head and laughed aloud, his eyes full of scorn. "Demons and heretics—what do you know of the benevolent heart of us Daoists! And moreover, the true dharma of our Dao and its supreme divine sword—how could your reckless words comprehend them?"

He gave a clear, long whistle; his arm shook, and the sky-filling sword qi trembled. "Fiend," he said sternly, "meet your death!"

The Beast Sovereign sneered, flame-like light flickering in his eyes, and said fiercely, "Good—today I shall show you the power of the sorcery of my southern wilds!"

Scarce had the words fallen than black qi arose; from his bare skin black breath suddenly flashed, and in a moment his once-fair skin had turned black as ink, and beneath the skin it began to writhe—countless tiny swellings, as though alive, began to quiver without cease.

In far, unknown places, in the empty wilds on every side, a deep, deep "dong, dong" of strange sound suddenly came, like a human heartbeat, utterly uncanny. And gazing at the horizon, beyond the blinding radiance of the Slaying Immortals formation, the sky suddenly dimmed; black clouds came rushing from all four directions, swiftly gathering beside the Beast Sovereign.

Dao Yan Zhenren's face was grave; every part of him on guard, he stared at that strange transformation ahead.

Amid the wreathing black qi, that deep strange sound, as though from the depths of the Nine Netherworld, came faster and faster, denser and denser, so that one could not help feeling one's own heartbeat quicken with it, faster and faster, until at last it seemed about to burst; a few of the orthodox disciples of lesser cultivation could no longer hold out and could only collapse to the ground, struggling to resist with their arts.

And in midair, as the black qi grew ever denser, suddenly a deep roar came—like a beast's growl, or a strange insect bursting from its cocoon. All saw clearly: upon the Beast Sovereign's ink-black body, the skin at his left arm burst open, and from among the countless tiny swellings that writhed ceaselessly beneath the skin, another thing slowly emerged—with hand and fingers, the shape of another arm. And this newborn arm had strong bones, far larger than his own arm, so that no one could imagine how it had stretched out from the original.