劍問蒼天 - 第196章 功德 - 翰墨軒

The spirit pondered a moment; within the grim ghostly aura his expression seemed to shift uncertainly. "Do you know why I guard the mouth of this cave?"

Ming Li said, "I do not."

The spirit said, "Naturally, I guard the Goddess's sacred image. But beyond that, I stand watch here for two reasons: first, that no outside force may revive this fiend; second, that ignorant men may not enter and throw their lives away. Do you understand?"

Ming Li nodded.

The spirit gave a bitter smile. "And yet in the end I failed the Goddess's great trust, deceived by that beast, and committed a grave error—the fiend was revived, and the world's living things were plunged into misery." His voice trailed off toward the end. Then, as if steadying himself, he went on, "I had already fallen into despair, thinking there was no one left in the world who could stop this fiend from ravaging all living things. But some time ago, he returned gravely wounded. The Central Plains are rich in talent and spirit—there are still masters there who could deal him a heavy blow. That was truly beyond my expectation."

The corner of Ming Li's eye twitched slightly. He gave a sudden cold laugh. "You need not trouble yourself over it too much. The Beast Sovereign was defeated, yes—but whoever defeated him is hardly much better off!"

The spirit was taken aback, not knowing what Ming Li meant by this, but at the moment he could not be bothered to probe further. He said, "If this fiend can be destroyed, so much the better. That wish has been in my heart for several thousand years. My only regret is that even in the days before he awakened, I was no match for him. You come from the Central Plains—perhaps you may succeed where I could not. If you truly do"—the ghostly aura around the spirit abruptly drew inward, and he stared wide-eyed, crying out in a loud voice—"then I shall thank you here on the Goddess's behalf!"

So saying, he slowly shifted his body aside, opening a path and revealing the dark, bottomless ancient cave behind him.

Ming Li gazed once into the depths of the cave, then turned and gave the vengeful spirit a long, deep look. The spirit was gazing back at him.

Ming Li nodded slowly and said no more. He walked slowly inside. As he passed the spirit, the monkey Xiao Hui on his shoulder suddenly raised its head and looked with some curiosity at the spirit's gigantic frame, its three eyes unblinking.

The malevolent spirit suddenly called out toward Ming Li's retreating back, "One more thing you must guard against. That day the Beast Sovereign did not return alone. Besides the vicious beast Taotie at his side, there was another demon of exceedingly high cultivation. You must be careful."

Ming Li paused in his steps and said, "As far as I know, all thirteen of his demon beasts were wiped out."

The malevolent spirit shook its head. "It was not one of the thirteen. Before that day, even I had never seen this demon. You must be careful."

Ming Li nodded slowly and continued deeper into the ancient cave.

Jin Pingyue followed slowly after. The two of them and the monkey drifted gradually into the darkness, their silhouettes swaying onward through the depths of shadow, slow and unsteady, until at last they could be seen no more.

The ghostly aura of the malevolent spirit's form likewise began to blur, but its enormous eyes remained fixed on the darkness deep within the cave. Suddenly it loosed a roar toward the deepest dark like a thunderclap, a howl that surged forth like a tidal wave overturning mountains and seas, so that even the piercing cold wind was driven back, and the exceedingly hard rock walls rang out with the crash of heaven splitting and earth rending.

Amid that wild howling, the malevolent spirit's massive form slowly sank into the darkness.