Chapter 70 — Ambush

Zhang Qingyue suddenly shook his head, not daring to look at Lu Xueling again, and gripping the Dark Iron Staff he charged toward their eldest senior brother, who was locked in combat with Elder Nian. Lu Xueling stood behind him, watching his receding figure; after a moment's silence she followed, and intercepted Wild Dog and Liu Gao as they moved to block the way.

With Lu Xueling joining the fight, the balance of the field shifted at once. Her cultivation had always been exceedingly high, and since escaping the Abyss of the Dead she had advanced still further; moreover, she held the divine weapon Tianya. Liu Gao and Wild Dog, two against one, were actually being driven back.

As for Elder Nian, the moment he saw Zhang Qingyue enter the fray his heart lurched. He did not fear the boy's cultivation, but he was deeply wary of that strange staff in his hand. Sure enough, the moment Zhang Qingyue arrived he wielded the Dark Iron Staff and blocked several red beams, his expression unchanged; the evil aura of the Crimson Demon Eye, which Song Dayi and the others so deeply dreaded, seemed to have no effect on him at all.

This freed Song Dayi and Du Biyan, and their immortal swords and dice immediately went for Elder Nian. Elder Nian howled in fury, but no matter how he poured power into the Crimson Demon Eye, Zhang Qingyue merely strained a little in blocking the force of the red beams, and was not in the slightest affected by the evil aura.

In but a moment Elder Nian was hard-pressed, and in his fluster he glanced aside, only to see that Liu Gao, Wild Dog, and even that beautiful woman could gain no advantage. He had no choice but to cry out, "Retreat!"

At his shout, the Crimson Demon Eye suddenly erupted as if bursting, shooting out seven or eight red beams in quick succession. Zhang Qingyue barely blocked five, but the remaining beams forced Song Dayi and Du Biyan back a step. Seizing the gap, Elder Nian turned and fled, and the several men of the Blood Refining Hall in the distance also withdrew.

Lu Xueling gave a cold snort and, heedless of Song Dayi shouting behind her, "Do not pursue a cornered foe!", the Divine Sword Tianya swept through the air in pursuit. Zhang Qingyue was startled and hurried after her.

The blue light of Tianya flashed like lightning and caught up in an instant. The Wild Wolf Daoist, running at the very rear, felt a chill wind at his back and the hairs on his spine stood on end; he could not help but shriek, "Help!"

Elder Nian and the others were greatly alarmed and hastily turned back, but just then, behind the men of the Blood Refining Hall, deep in the dark forest, a white light suddenly flickered, and a white flower drifted forth.

Zhang Qingyue, standing at the rear, halted his steps, struck dumb for a moment.

The strange white flower flashed again and again in the air; in an instant, where the white light swept, it seemed to conjure countless white petals into a rain of blossoms filling the sky, like a serene sea of flowers, rushing toward Lu Xueling's blue sword light.

Lu Xueling's Divine Sword Tianya gave not the slightest ground, charging straight up; in an instant the two strange lights, these exotic treasures, collided.

Time, in that moment, seemed to pause for a fraction of its radiance.

Suddenly an invisible yet violent shockwave burst from the two treasures, surging out in all directions from the two artifacts as their center; the falling leaves, like rain, were blown up into the sky, and several of the people on the ground were forced back a few steps.

Only after a long while did the bitter wind gradually quiet. Lu Xueling drifted back to stand beside Zhang Qingyue; he looked at her and saw that her face seemed paler still, as if even the color of blood had left it.

Lu Xueling seemed to sense Zhang Qingyue's worry, glanced at him, and gave a slight shake of her head to show she was fine. Zhang Qingyue turned his head and looked ahead.

In the darkness, the strange white flower slowly revolved in midair, and after a moment gradually descended. All was silent, when suddenly a jade hand, white as snow, reached out from the darkness and gently took hold of this "Flower of Sorrow."

Zhang Qingyue suddenly felt his heart give another leap.

Bi Li walked quietly, quietly out of the darkness. Elder Nian and the others all wore respectful expressions, but Bi Li did not even glance at them; her eyes gazed deeply at Zhang Qingyue alone, then shifted to the face of Lu Xueling beside him, studying her closely.

Lu Xueling's gaze gave not the slightest ground, and she too stared at the surpassingly lovely woman across from her.

No one in the field spoke; the atmosphere, from the fierce battle of moments before, abruptly turned cold and still, and there seemed even a faint, unspoken awkwardness.

Zhang Qingyue looked at Bi Li, then at Lu Xueling, and felt his mouth go dry. Just then, however, footsteps sounded softly, and it was Tian Lingsu who came to his side; glancing curiously at Lu Xueling and Bi Li as they faced each other, she said to Zhang Qingyue, "Xiaofan, what's the matter with them?"

Zhang Qingyue started, but in truth he did not much understand either; he only felt instinctively that it was awkward and strange, and suddenly questioned by Tian Lingsu at his side, he stammered and could not answer.

Yet at Tian Lingsu's question, Bi Li and Lu Xueling suddenly turned to look at her at the same time, those two calm gazes sweeping across Tian Lingsu's face.

Tian Lingsu was startled and instinctively took a step back, but Lu Xueling was, after all, her fellow disciple, so she said to her, "Senior Sister Lu, what's wrong?"

Lu Xueling was silent for a moment, then turned her head away and said in a low voice, "Nothing."

At the same time, Bi Li ahead also shifted her gaze away.

Zhang Qingyue stood frozen in place, then suddenly came to himself and silently cursed his own foolishness; here they all were in deadly peril, and he stood dazed on the spot like a fool—truly despicable. At once he said in a low voice to Tian Lingsu and Lu Xueling beside him, "Let's go quickly! There are far too many of the demon cult on this island."

A cold snort, tinged with a thin edge of anger, came from Bi Li standing ahead.

Zhang Qingyue did not dare look at her, and turning, retreated. Lu Xueling glanced once more at Bi Li ahead, then withdrew together with Tian Lingsu; when they had all returned, Song Dayi and the others helped up the wounded He Dachuan and said, "Let's go quickly."

With that he turned, ready to head for the seashore, while behind them Wild Dog was eager to try something, but Elder Nian seized him and said in a low voice, "Miss Bi Li is here; do not act rashly. Obey the miss in all things."

Bi Li heard this, yet remained unmoved, only watching as the Canglan Sect disciples, keeping guard against her side, gradually withdrew.

And her figure did not stir in the least.

In the distance, from the direction of the sea whither Zhang Qingyue and the others had retreated, a long cry suddenly came—and this time the sound was far beyond any of the cries earlier that night, like the roar of a dragon rising straight to the ninth heaven, its voice shaking the four wilds.

There came, too, a faint rumble of thunder, rolling toward them, but that sound seemed to rise from the very depths of the sea.

Bi Li stood where she was and suddenly raised her head, only to feel a coolness on her face; a drop of water had fallen upon it.

The wind had risen, and it had begun to rain. This chapter was posted by a reader of the web.

,ib.