Chapter 259 — Killing the Immortal
The Sword Questions the Heavens · Page 4 of 10
This time, despite Master Pucheng's desperate direction, the righteous were thrown into utter chaos. On the Rainbow Bridge the demon cult host howled without cease, the pressure mounting ever greater, and the few righteous who still held on, hard-pressed on every side, could hold out no longer. With several resounding booms, a few bodies were sent flying—the very Cang Lan Sect disciples who had been guarding the bridge's edge.
In an instant, like a great dam bursting, the ferocious tide of humanity poured roaring down. Amid savage snarls and roars, countless demon cult minions swarmed forward, and the righteous were scattered every which way, their whole defense line smashed through.
A hell on earth seemed to stand before their very eyes!
In every heart, only one word remained: despair. Beneath that endless, crazed tide, the righteous were cut apart and isolated, so that often a single man faced dozens of dreadful, death-defying foes. Every man fought desperately, for if he did not kill the enemy he would be hacked to mincemeat. High above, the red clouds flickered and the blood-vapor steamed; that arrogant laughter seemed to ring ever louder, brimming with smug satisfaction.
Lu Xueling too was fighting amid the throng. The Celestial Dipper Divine Sword, gleaming with pale blue radiance, danced up and down around her; each time a cold, clear flash of light swept past, an enemy would scream and lose his life—but no sooner had one foe fallen than two or three, even four or five, would pounce upon her.
Her white robes were now dyed red with blood.
Gradually her strokes grew slower and slower, her arms heavier and heavier; the despairing howls bursting out around her had already grown numb in her ears. She had long since lost count of how many lives her sword had taken; she only strove, by sheer instinct, to protect herself.
Gritting her teeth, she swept her sword in a wide arc, forcing back three demon cult minions who had lunged at her. She was just about to parry a great saber chopping in from the left when her legs suddenly gave way—her body, utterly spent, crumpled.
Lu Xueling was seized with alarm. She threw herself sideways with the last of her strength, but in that instant her vision burst into stars and her head swam dizzily. A moment later a searing pain shot through her left shoulder, and blood sprayed into the air.
The pain, rather than weakening her, roused the last dregs of power within her. Gritting her pearly teeth, Lu Xueling reversed her grip and struck with her sword; the Divine Sword Tianxuan cut through resistance like a blade through rotten wood, and in an instant she had hewn the enemy to the ground. But at that same moment, dozens of monstrous figures around her had already hurled themselves at her.
A wave of despair swept through Lu Xueling's heart. Yet even then, no fear or terror showed on her face; beneath that blood-red glare that blotted out the sky, she gave a soft sigh, as though accepting her fate, and closed her eyes.
With a turn of her wrist, a brilliant pure light blazed from the Divine Sword Tianxuan, and she murmured low: "Xiaofan..."
In that faint, mournful voice, the Divine Sword Tianxuan swept toward her pale white throat.
It seemed Lu Xueling was about to meet her end, when at the critical moment a sudden howl of wind came rushing forth; a great force checked the Divine Sword Tianxuan three-tenths of an inch from her neck, and at the same time a whirlwind erupted, the newcomer having used formless vital energy to blast every one of the onrushing demon cult minions away.
Startled, Lu Xueling opened her eyes and saw that the one who had saved her life was her honored master, Shuiyue—Abbess Shuijing's face was far from well, plainly having expended no small amount of vital energy, and even her body bore several wounds.
Lu Xueling cried, "Master..." and could say no more.