劍問蒼天 - 第245章 地動 - 翰墨軒

Ming Li glanced at the Nether King and said nothing. The two men stood in silence beside the woman who slept so quietly, patiently and thoroughly guarding her. A faint smile still lingered on Bi Li's face; perhaps in her heart, she too was somewhat happy.

Another half cup of tea's time passed, yet this uncanny earthquake still showed no sign of stopping. On the contrary, that mysterious power, laden with a thick stench of blood, rampaged through the depths below. Both the Nether King and Ming Li, whose cultivations were exceedingly high, clearly sensed that this was no ordinary earthquake: the force had a spirit of its own, like a trapped behemoth roaring in fury, straining to break free of its shackles and chains—and to that end, it cared not in the least if it destroyed heaven and earth.

Outside the chamber, since the stone door had been shattered by the Nether King, the frantic roars and ever more frequent shrieks from the Nether King Sect disciples in the distance grew louder and more piercing. The Nether King's expression gradually turned fretful, and anger slowly surfaced on his face. Ming Li, standing to one side, sensed the change in the Nether King's mood and glanced his way—and was startled at heart.

The muscles of the Nether King's face were slightly distorted, making him look rather savage, utterly unlike his usual bearing. And strangely, a layer of dark red had suddenly risen in his eyes, like a faint crimson glow flowing within his sockets.

Ming Li's heart stirred, and just then the Nether King happened to look over as well. Their eyes met, and the Nether King suddenly gave a cold laugh. His voice was chilly as he said mildly, "What are you looking at?"

Ming Li met his gaze without flinching, and in equally indifferent tones said, "Nothing."

The Nether King's gaze sharpened, coldness radiating from his eyes as he stared at Ming Li. The atmosphere between them, which had been relatively calm, suddenly and inexplicably grew tense again. But just then, after one violent tremor, both men sensed at once that the mysterious power beneath their feet had suddenly ebbed.

Sure enough, moments later the shaking of the ground and the surrounding walls swiftly ceased, and the stones falling like fine rain finally stopped. The uncanny blood-stench in the air quietly dispersed as well. Ming Li let out a soft breath and looked toward the ice-cold platform; Bi Li lay there safe and sound, sleeping quietly with a smile on her face.

Then Ming Li turned to look at the Nether King, and saw that he too was silently gazing at Bi Li. The anger and the faint killing intent of moments before had both quietly vanished. In this world, perhaps only when gazing upon this one beloved daughter could the Nether King be roused from his wrath and grow calm again.

The Nether King gazed at Bi Li for a long while, his eyes full of tender affection, before he slowly looked away and said in a low voice, "Take good care of her."

Ming Li nodded and said, "I will."

The Nether King turned on his heel and strode out, his figure vanishing in moments. Ming Li stood there a while; from the corner of his eye he caught sight of the ground, and saw that the jade plate still lay where it had fallen. Strange, given how thick the falling stones had come—not one of them had struck it.

Ming Li walked over, picked the jade plate up from the ground, and examined it closely for a time. Then he took the black cloth from his bosom, wrapped it, and put it back. Outside the stone chamber, the distant roars were now gradually dying down; yet in the aftermath of the calamity the clamor still rose and fell, plainly because many had not yet woken from their earlier terror.