Chapter 171 — Eleven
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 6 of 7
Yet then white light soared up in ten thousand fathoms of radiance, and the vast Slaying Immortals master sword gave forth a rolling thunder—and from among those dozens of black hands, clamped like iron hoops, it thrust down, starkly and slowly, all the same!
An inch, an inch, and another inch.
One black hand after another was swallowed by the blazing white light and dissolved away. That mad sword now looked like some supreme evil god, claws bared and fangs displayed, taking life, and with endless murderous intent it drove down, little by little, toward the Beast Sovereign's chest.
Black qi flickered; a shrieking cry rose to the skies; black blood sprayed forth. The Slaying Immortals sword had at last pierced the Beast Sovereign's chest, and was already sinking in, fraction by fraction, while the blazing white light flashed violently, like lightning careening across the sky, striking against the Beast Sovereign's skin.
Skin and flesh alike quietly fell away, and that enormous frame seemed to grow vague and insubstantial, as though about to be broken into the void by this earth-shaking power. The light in the Beast Sovereign's eyes grew weaker and weaker; at last he could not withstand such a peerless divine sword.
His form beneath the Slaying Immortals sword grew smaller and smaller—yet somehow, as though the collision of powers were consuming itself, as the Beast Sovereign's body shrank, the once-vast Slaying Immortals master sword too began to shrink, until only that halo of light remained, still so bright and dazzling.
This went on until at last the Beast Sovereign had returned to the size and shape of an ordinary man. The black qi shrouded him a moment, then burst apart with a roar, and all could see plainly that he had changed back into that youth's form—only now his face was ashen, his hair wild and disheveled; clearly, defeat was certain.
And more importantly, almost at the same moment the black qi dispersed, the Slaying Immortals master sword too dissolved—but that halo of light congealed before the Beast Sovereign, flickering without cease, and at last gathered between the two of them, taking shape as that ancient Slaying Immortals sword, neither quite stone nor quite jade, which now stood planted in the Beast Sovereign's chest, run clean through.
Daoist Zhenren Daoyan's figure slowly emerged from the light, though his face no longer wore its former air of immortal elegance; instead it had grown harsh and savage, and his eyes were shot through with blood red.
The Beast Sovereign gasped great breaths, coughing again and again, his lips trembling slightly as he looked down at his chest.
The Slaying Immortals sword stood planted in his heart, and the blood that flowed from its center was not red.
He smiled a bitter smile, gave a long sigh, and said, "Remarkable... re... markable!..."
Suddenly, scarce had the words fallen when he brought his hands together. His body had by now returned to the form of an ordinary man, his arms as those of any man—yet with that single clasp he had trapped the ancient Slaying Immortals sword between his palms, and at once black qi came surging and poured straight into the ancient blade of the Slaying Immortals sword.
"Crack!"
A sound so faint it could scarce be heard came from the blade of the ancient Slaying Immortals sword. Daoist Zhenren Daoyan's expression changed drastically, and he looked swiftly—and there upon the ancient sword a crack stood out clearly, running across the Slaying Immortals blade.
Daoist Zhenren Daoyan was shaken beyond measure. He gave a great shout and, summoning all the strength in his body, drew the sword out. Almost at the same instant, at the very moment the ancient Slaying Immortals sword was pulled from the Beast Sovereign's chest, as though a piercing agony had struck his heart, the Beast Sovereign too gave a great cry—a bitter, shrill sound—and his whole body leaped into the air, flying backward.