劍問蒼天 - 第216章 血陣 - 翰墨軒

Mr. Ghost, standing to one side, took in every shift of his expression. With his experience and eye, he could not help but start, and said in some surprise, "You have traded blows with someone—who was it, to have such cultivation?" Hades drew a deep breath; his features had now fully returned to normal. He closed his eyes for a moment, then slowly opened them, and cold, icy light flashed within. In a chilling voice he said, "The Great Brahma Prajna and the Supreme Purity Mystic Way... truly peerless techniques, each without equal in this world. Their edge may not match our Demonic Sect's divine arts, but their staying power is long and abundant—fearsome indeed." Mr. Ghost frowned, a strange light flickering in his eyes. "Him? Why on earth would you cross blades with him..." Here he paused, as though something had occurred to him, and said, "Could it be over Taotie?" Hades gave a cold snort and did not answer; he only said mildly, "That boy's cultivation advances at a pace that truly exceeds all expectation. I fear that in days to come... he may well prove a root of disaster." Mr. Ghost looked at Hades deeply, then shifted his gaze away and said slowly, "For the present, the matter of greatest urgency is still the Four Spirits Blood Array; other things should be avoided where possible." Hades nodded slightly. "True. I know what matters and what does not—set your mind at ease." Mr. Ghost pondered a moment, then said, "But with Ming Li's cultivation now so unfathomable, and with the blood-reeking anomalies bound to grow harder to conceal as the array draws in more spiritual power in the days ahead, his presence here will only add a few more variables. To guard against mishaps, you had best find some pretext and send him away." Hades was silent a moment, then said, "You are right." With that, he frowned slightly, turned, clasped his hands behind his back, and slowly walked out of the blood pool chamber. Only after Hades's figure had gradually vanished did Mr. Ghost slowly turn and walk to one side of the platform, looking down.

He saw that Taotie, which had been struggling desperately, seemed at last to have lost the will to resist under the twofold suppression of the blood pool and the strange light of the Dragon-Subduing Cauldron; it now lay limply in the blood, panting without cease. Watching this scene, Mr. Ghost, from beneath his black veil, slowly gave a cold laugh devoid of all feeling.

"Heh heh... the gates of Shura, is it..." Footsteps sounded outside the stone door, quick and urgent; plainly the newcomer had come running, in great haste. In no time a figure appeared outside the door of Ming Li's stone chamber, dropped to one knee, and called out loudly, "Vice Sect Master, the Sect Master Hades sends word: he bids you come to him." The voice was loud enough that a few faint echoes came back within the stone chamber—but there was no answer. The newcomer started, yet did not raise his head at once; within the Hades Sect, Ming Li had long borne a name for slaughter, and ordinary disciples scarcely dared approach him, let alone be disrespectful.

Mustering his courage, the man raised his voice and repeated himself, but still no one responded. Only then did he lift his head to look into the stone chamber, and what met his eyes was a scene of chaos—but where were Ming Li and the monkey Little Gray, ever at his side?

The man cursed his ill luck, shook his head, and ran off with great strides.

At that moment Ming Li was walking along the long corridors of the Hades Sect, the monkey Little Gray resting quietly on his shoulder. Ming Li gazed ahead; though he could not see the end of the path, he knew well enough that these corridors led to where Hades dwelt.