劍問蒼天 - 第204章 斷劍 - 翰墨軒

Yet after some time had passed in this fashion, though the black skull shrouding Xiao Wan held firm and did not disperse, and the red light in its eyes burned as brightly as before, the mysterious man had changed. He seemed to have seen through something; with a cold laugh he suddenly rose and flew straight at Xiao Wan through the rain of ghost arrows.

All the ghost arrows seemed in that instant to lose their aim and slid past him, their sharp shrieks ringing out as they flew off to either side. The Wild Wolf Daoist and the others blanched, and Xiao Wan too went pale. Seeing that black silhouette about to close on her, she clapped her hands sharply together before her chest, and at once, under the urging of her spell, the black skull gave a shriek and suddenly shrank by half—but at the same time it interposed itself before Xiao Wan. The seven blood-jade bone shards, flashing red, whirled rapidly, and from the black skull's eyes a curtain of red light spilled out in an instant, cutting off the mysterious figure's approach.

The mysterious man gave a snort; it seemed that even a cultivator of his attainment held some scruple toward that curtain of red light, for he abruptly checked himself and stopped. Xiao Wan, by contrast, though for the moment out of danger, suddenly—for what reason none could tell—gave a shudder, as if her vital essence had been gravely wounded all at once, and a flash of black passed over her face. A moment later, the spell in her hands and the black skull before her both began to tremble faintly.

Even the ghost arrows she was directing were at once affected; from the piercing, irresistible momentum of a moment ago they turned weak and feeble. And the curtain of red light she had cast earlier finally, under her strained expression, began to quiver and at last scattered away.

Unexpectedly, once Xiao Wan suddenly showed signs of faltering, the mysterious man did not attack again. Instead he stood where he was, watching the maiden who was gradually failing across from him, and a cold gleam flickered through his eyes.

The Wild Wolf Daoist was frantic. He could not understand how Xiao Wan, who had seemed to hold such a clear advantage only a moment before, had suddenly fallen back as if gravely wounded. He hurried forward to steady her as she swayed on her feet—and the moment he took hold of her, he was greatly startled. Not only was Xiao Wan's body bitterly cold, but within that chill there was an eerie, unfathomable ghost-power and demon-qi hissing out from her, as if eager to devour someone.

Fortunately the sensation faded quickly as Xiao Wan sank down helplessly. The Wild Wolf Daoist dared not be careless; he supported her as she slowly sat down. Zhou Yixuan walked over quietly, looked closely at her face, shook his head with a sigh, and said nothing.

Xiao Wan now looked utterly spent, as though she could not even speak. The black skull in midair gradually faded and at last dispersed, leaving only the seven blood-jade bone shards, now plain and unremarkable once more. They hung in the air for a moment, then fell, striking the flagstones before Xiao Wan with several clear, ringing notes.

The mysterious man looked at Xiao Wan and suddenly said, "This 'Blood Soul' art—how long has she practiced it?"

Zhou Yixuan walked slowly forward to stand before Xiao Wan, blocking the man's view of her. The mysterious man looked at him, and Zhou Yixuan said mildly, "Only about a month."

The mysterious man was silent for a moment. The two points of red light in his eyes dimmed slowly, none knew when, and as they weakened he seemed somehow to look a little more human, and the ferocious aura about him thinned considerably.