Chapter 203 — The Mysterious Figure
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 3 of 6
The Wild Wolf Daoist started and retreated a few steps by instinct. He had just meant to ask Zhou Yixuan what was wrong when he saw the man's palm suddenly clench, and the beast-fang treasure gave out a harsh "kaka" sound, like bones grinding. The Wild Wolf Daoist recoiled in horror, and saw the yellow light surge wildly and then at once scatter. Amid the "kaka" sounds, like the final moan of a savage beast in its death throes, there came a "hong"—and the Wild Wolf Daoist's beast-fang treasure was crushed to powder by that man's bare hand. The shards flew outward like blades, and in an instant the "duo duo" of their impact rang out without cease, every one of them striking the spot where the Wild Wolf Daoist had just been standing.
The Wild Wolf Daoist was both heartsore and terrified, and for a moment could not speak. The eerie figure's face was still shrouded in a cloud of mysterious shadow even now, and the three of them could not make out his features. They only heard his voice, low and hoarse, as he slowly raised his head to look at the sky—yet the dark aura and shadow on his face did not recede, indescribably strange. Having destroyed the beast-fang, he seemed to feel some sort of release, and began slowly to laugh coldly. Hearing it, set against this eerie mortuary and the howling yin-wind that filled the air, Zhou Yixuan and the other two all felt their hair stand on end.
Zhou Yixuan was stewing in unease when his gaze suddenly fixed on the strange man's arm. On the hand that had crushed the beast-fang, a faint layer of blue light had at some point arisen—and that blue light was utterly different from the aura that pervaded the man's body: pure and gentle, it was the very height of the purest, most refined true Daoist arts.
Zhou Yixuan raised his head in astonishment and took a step forward, forgetting his caution for the moment and ignoring Xiao Wan's and the Wild Wolf Daoist's surprised attempts to hold him back. "Who exactly are you, sir? You wear the Canglan Sect's robe, and you cultivate the Taiji Mystic Pure Dao at no lower than the Shangqing stage—which master of the Canglan Sect are you, to be doing such absurd things at such a time?"
The blue light flashed and was gone. The man slowly turned his gaze toward Zhou Yixuan, and through that layer of blurred, eerie black aura on his face, Zhou Yixuan felt a chill run through his whole body. The man said coldly, in that hoarse voice: "You know a great deal."
Zhou Yixuan gave a humph, his expression grave, and kept studying the man, the bewilderment on his face growing deeper and deeper. "You are indeed of the Canglan Sect, sir, and certainly no ordinary disciple. But who are you, and for what reason do you play these tricks here?"
The man gave a cold laugh and did not answer. Zhou Yixuan suddenly sensed something and looked back—it was Xiao Wan, gently tugging at his sleeve. She whispered: "Grandfather, this man reeks of ghostly aura—I can feel it. There isn't a single wandering spirit left anywhere around this mortuary; I fear he's scared them all away. If not for that, I would have known something was wrong here long ago. How could a man like this be of the Canglan Sect?"
Zhou Yixuan's face shifted through uncertain expressions, his look complex, his thoughts clearly somewhat tangled. Facing this mysterious figure who was yet so inextricably linked to the Canglan Sect, he seemed, oddly enough, not to show the usual fear, and even appeared somewhat lost in thought.
The eerie figure's attention was now slowly gathering on Zhou Yixuan. He looked him up and down a few times, then suddenly gave a cold laugh and said in a chilling voice: "Whoever you are, whoever dares defy me—dies."