劍問蒼天 - 第215章 弒師 - 翰墨軒

Master Shui Jing continued: "The three of us watching from hiding had long since lost our heads, and now, seeing the sect master suddenly turn on the two senior brothers and strike with murderous hands, we were utterly at a loss. Yet just as the two seemed about to perish under Uncle-Master Tian Chengzi's palms, Senior Brother Daoyan suddenly twisted about, still clinging to the sect master's leg, and in an instant had swung himself behind Uncle-Master Tian Chengzi's back. Quick as lightning, he had locked the sect master's arms, and at the same time a brilliant blue light blazed from his whole body, holding Uncle-Master Tian Chengzi fast." "Senior Brother Wan seemed not to have expected this, and froze for a moment. But though Uncle-Master Tian Chengzi was mad, his cultivation remained, and with his hands pinned by Senior Brother Daoyan, he lashed out with a kick that sent Senior Brother Wan flying. Senior Brother Wan flew a full two zhang and spat out a mouthful of blood." "The scene was changing violently now, and the three of us stood dumb as fools, staring blankly, with no notion of what to do. Then we heard Senior Brother Daoyan shout: 'Junior Brother Wan, why do you not act?' At these words Senior Brother Wan visibly began to tremble all over, yet he did not move, his eyes fixed deadly on his master and Senior Brother Daoyan." "Uncle-Master Tian Chengzi was of profound cultivation and fought back with all his strength. Though Senior Brother Daoyan still held the master fast, within moments his face flushed crimson and he too spat out several mouthfuls of blood, while the blue light on his body dimmed with extreme swiftness—clearly, in those days his cultivation still fell short of Uncle-Master Tian Chengzi's by some margin. At that moment, just as Senior Brother Daoyan seemed about to fail, a white shadow suddenly flashed past—it was Senior Brother Wan... The three of us watched transfixed as Senior Brother Wan gave a mad roar and came hurtling from afar; with a sharp cry, his Dragon-Slaying Sword was already in his hand, and he drove it straight through Uncle-Master Tian Chengzi's chest!" Dead silence fell over the little hut, as though it were that bleak night of old, the hush after the tragedy, the pain left in the wake of surging killing intent, all sunk into soundlessness.

Lu Xueling's face was pale, and after a long while she said in a low voice: "The sect records say that Uncle-Master Tian Chengzi passed away in meditation a hundred years ago before the ancestral tablets in the... in the Ancestral Hall, and on his deathbed passed the leadership to Uncle-Master Daoyan." Master Shui Jing gave a bitter laugh, shook her head, and said in a low voice: "Witnessing that tragedy within the sect, with the two who had slain their master being none other than the two senior brothers we revered most in daily life—I, Junior Sister Su, and Tian Buhui were utterly bereft of our senses, at a loss. In her agitation Junior Sister Su even made some small noise by accident. But perhaps because they had just killed their master and were themselves overwrought, they did not notice us. After gazing at each other for a long time, the two of them slowly knelt before Uncle-Master Tian Chengzi's body and spoke together. From their words, we three finally learned the true cause of this tragedy. It turned out that within our sect, the peerless divine weapon passed down from Patriarch Qingye, the Ancient Sword of Immortal Slaying, held an immense secret: though this divine sword destroyed all demons and evils, perhaps because it had slain too much and too greatly, as the years deepened the blade itself had come to possess a strange demonic nature. Once the wielder roused the full spiritual might of the sword, he would suffer the backlash of the sword's demonic spirit, which would gradually seize control of his mind, making him cruel and murderous—and no matter how high one's cultivation, none could withstand it. From the dying instructions l