Chapter 216 — The Blood Array
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 5 of 6
And within the stone chamber, Hades too stood gazing at the door for a long while, his face expressionless, as though pondering something. At last, however, he shook his head, turned, and walked to the far end of the chamber. He struck the stone wall in a certain spot several times, and moments later the wall—which had appeared a seamless whole—slid aside, revealing a secret passage just wide enough for one person. A thick stench of blood wafted out from within.
Hades stepped through, his face still without expression, and the stone wall slowly closed behind him.
Somewhere in the Central Plains, a thousand li and more from the Southern Borderlands, though somewhat nearer to Mount Canglan.
This was wild, desolate country, seldom trodden by human feet. The land rolled in ridges and valleys, and a long river ran through it.
Measured carefully against the geographical records, these nameless mountains ought to be counted as the tail end of the vast Canglan range, and the long river winding among the steep peaks could be reckoned one of the upper tributaries of the river outside Heyin City. But after all, this place lay far from the vein of the Qingyun spirit, and here one saw only fierce beasts prowling and apes wailing and tigers roaring—not the faintest breath of immortal spirituality.
Yet today, in this place forgotten by heaven and earth, the stillness was shattered.
Two figures streaked across the sky in pursuit, one after the other. The one in front was shrouded in black shadow; the one behind flickered with grey light. Both were swift as lightning. The black shadow darted high and low through the air, now plunging into the wild forest, twisting and turning with every trick at his command, yet the grey shadow behind him truly possessed unfathomable powers, countering each move as it came, clinging close in pursuit without yielding a hair's breadth—and indeed was gradually drawing nearer.
Suddenly the black shadow ahead seemed to know he could not for the moment shake off his pursuer. In the midst of his lightning flight his body jerked to a halt, and the black shadow quivered, nailed in place as though by a spike. Almost in the same instant he spun about with incredible speed and stabbed five times at the empty air with his right hand.
With a series of "thuck, thuck" sounds, there in the wild forest, under the broad daylight, five points of eerie fire flared into being. Within the flames loomed hideous skulls, and with a howling wind they hurtled at the grey shadow chasing behind.
The grey shadow was in an instant upon him, yet stopped the very moment he chose. He was wholly focused, as though facing a mighty foe, plainly unwilling to take those five points of eerie fire lightly. A moment later, cold light swirled about the grey figure's hand, and he brought forth a crystalline, translucent tube-shaped magical instrument, pointed at both ends.
The instant the instrument appeared, a layer of white frost settled over the ground and the branches of the withered trees all around, and the air turned bitterly cold. The five points of eerie fire came on like the wind; the grey figure spun his instrument in the air, and drew all five points of eerie fire onto the body of the tube.
Moments later, as fire meets ice, the five points of eerie fire slowly dimmed and were at last extinguished.
And the black light and grey mist gradually dispersed.
"The Ninefold Chill Ice Spike... a formidable instrument indeed!" Whether in lament or in admiration, there was no trace of vexation in the tone. The man in black spoke quietly.
Facing him stood a grey-robed elder—none other than Shangguan Lue, the second figure of the Fenyin Valley in the Southern Borderlands; and the instrument in his hand was, of course, the Ninefold Chill Ice Spike that had once given even the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox some pause.