Chapter 235 — Conspiracy
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 1 of 7
On Fox Qi Mountain, deep within the underworld sect, lay the Blood Pool.
The situation of the Four Spirits Blood Array within the pool had changed yet again from the days before. The four enormous spirit beasts seemed to have lost their spiritual nature entirely, lying prostrate in the bloody water, barely clinging to life, while the dark red aura shrouding them had grown faint—so faint that, without close inspection, it was nearly invisible. Only a few lingering threads of spiritual energy could still be seen being drawn steadily upward into the Coiling Dragon Cauldron overhead.
In stark contrast to the beasts' collapse, the entire Blood Pool seemed in thrall to some invisible, colossal force. Across its vast surface the water appeared to boil, bubbles rising and bursting without cease, giving off a dull, muffled sound. At the same time the blood water, which had once been largely still, had begun to rotate of its own accord; several shafts of strange light shot down from midair to strike the surface, and wherever they fell the blood surged in violent waves.
The air was thick with the reek of blood.
Upon the Coiling Dragon Cauldron, the last remaining pattern of a ferocious deity had at last turned the same color as the rest of the ancient vessel. The cauldron now looked utterly transformed, its former air of antiquity wholly gone; on the contrary, having devoured such immense spiritual power, the sinister magic within this ancient vessel seemed to be slowly awakening.
Suspended alone in the void, the Coiling Dragon Cauldron looked down upon all things, as though everything lay beneath it, groveling at its feet. And in that vast space, around the cauldron, there faintly came the sound of wind and thunder; in answer to it, the strange lights across the cauldron's body flickered bright and dim by turns, as if it were breathing—now present, now absent—utterly eerie.
An invisible power seemed to be quietly gestating in that vast space, like a god slumbering for a thousand, ten thousand years, on the verge of waking.
That surging, uncanny force coursed like a tide across the Blood Pool, recklessly battering the stone walls around it.
Watching this spectacle of strangeness, the Underworld King and Master Ghost stood side by side, neither speaking. Yet plainly there was not the slightest trace of fear or retreat in either of them.
After a long while, the Underworld King let out a deep chuckle. "Truly formidable. The forty-nine days are not yet complete, the Four Spirits Blood Array has not taken shape—and already it possesses such might!"
Master Ghost did not answer at once. After a moment's silence he said, "Sect Master, that disturbance several days ago was indeed caused by this Four Spirits Blood Array. I was remiss in guarding the formation, and I beg the Sect Master's punishment."
The Underworld King waved a hand, without looking at Master Ghost, and stepped forward, his gaze still fixed on the Coiling Dragon Cauldron. "A trifling matter. Say no more of it. The power of this formation is too great—not you alone, even I could not have foreseen it. A momentary lapse on your part was unavoidable."
Master Ghost hesitated, then said, "I thank the Sect Master for his magnanimity. It is only..."
The Underworld King turned. "Only what?"