Chapter 241 — The Wheel of Reincarnation
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 3 of 7
By the end, the Nether King's voice and countenance were both harsh in the extreme. Mr. Ghost did not even need to turn his head to feel a killing intent rushing at his back like a blade, yet he showed not the slightest alarm. Instead, in a voice full of weariness, he lightly indicated the Coiling Dragon Cauldron hovering in midair and said faintly, "Sect Master, why not take a look at the Coiling Dragon Cauldron first?"
The Nether King looked up, but at first saw nothing amiss. The Cauldron still hung suspended in midair, and all around was still a crimson sea of blood. "What am I supposed to look at?" he said. "Everything is perfectly—" Halfway through, his voice caught, and he could not go on. His eyes seemed to freeze, fixed upon the Coiling Dragon Cauldron above.
Amid the crimson glow, on the demonic face upon the front of the hovering Coiling Dragon Cauldron, at the very center of its brow, there was now—no one knew since when—a beam of strange white radiance, like a dagger of light thrust straight into the demon's crown. And upon the demon's face, which had turned wholly blood-red, the red around that dagger of light had all receded; above both eyes, the surface had returned to the Coiling Dragon Cauldron's original archaic blue-green hue.
The Nether King's expression changed drastically. He whirled around to face Mr. Ghost. "What is this?"
Mr. Ghost sighed, and said in a low voice, "All was well before. The Four Spirit Blood Formation of the Coiling Dragon Cauldron was on the verge of completion. But today, just as the formation reached the moment when the blood aura was at its fullness and the Asura power had gathered, this seal suddenly sprang up from within the Cauldron, seizing the vital gate of the ancient Cauldron's life vein and forcibly scattering the blood aura that had been gathered and merged. In the midst of it, the blood formation's Asura power, unwilling to be bound, rose up in resistance, and even I could not control it. Yet in the end it could not withstand this divine seal; instead, the Asura power, with no outlet left, surged and crashed about in all directions—and that is how it ran out of control."
The Nether King drew a sharp breath. He turned and stared at that beam of light, which seemed so faint and frail, for a long while. At last he said in a low voice, "What seal is this? How can it possess such power as to pin down the divine might of the Coiling Dragon Cauldron, which could destroy heaven and earth?"
Mr. Ghost hesitated a moment. "I cannot be entirely certain," he said, "but I am all but sure it is a kind of ancient divine seal handed down from antiquity—the Universe Lock!"
"The Universe Lock?" The Nether King frowned and repeated the words in a low voice. "How is it I have never heard of such a thing?"
Mr. Ghost shook his head. "This divine seal has never appeared in the mortal world. Since ancient times there have been only a few vague mentions of it in sundry fragmentary scrolls and old texts, and no one ever truly believed such a thing existed." Here Mr. Ghost paused and glanced at the Nether King, who was still staring fixedly at that slender dagger of light in midair, his face now exceedingly grim.
Mr. Ghost sighed inwardly and went on, "It is said that this kind of divine seal was used by the gods of remote antiquity to imprison demons. It cannot be undone by human power; unless one can find another ancient divine artifact, there is only a faint hope."
The Nether King's body gave a slight start. He turned. "What ancient divine artifact?"
Mr. Ghost smiled bitterly. "That, even I do not know."
"Then all we have done for this Four Spirit Blood Formation has been for nothing?" the Nether King said furiously.