Chapter 72 — Desperate Straits

The red light screen abruptly shuddered, and in midair the Nether King, along with the other black-clad figures of the demon cult—and even the trapped marvel-beast Kui Niu—almost all turned their heads to look at once.

A flash of red light, and Tian Lingsu gave a start; she saw the crimson glow quivering wildly around the dark red iron spike, yet the spike itself, shielded by that light, did not stir in the slightest.

In an instant everyone around had grasped what was happening, and the black-clad demon cult followers came charging in from all sides. Tian Lingsu's face went deathly pale, her breath coming in shallow gasps; just as panic seized her, her eyes suddenly lit up, and with a sweep of both hands the amber-red silk plunged straight into the earth.

In midair, the Nether King's expression changed drastically; he stamped his foot and roared in fury: "You reckless little wretch, you've ruined my great design!"

His figure flickered again and again, and he hurtled down with unmatched ferocity—but at that very moment, sharp whistles rose and fell in the distance, and in an instant countless lights blazed forth: the orthodox cultivators and the demon cult's main forces had both arrived. The killing surged and paused and surged again; fiercest of all were Cangyan Daoren against Baiduzi, and Tian Buhui against Duanmu Laozu, while Su Wan alone held off two—the wounded Bloodsucking Old Fiend and that young master Lin Feng from beneath the Abyss of the Dead.

As for the rest—the monks of the Brahma Sound Temple and the disciples of the Burning Cloud Valley, including Venerable Dali and his disciple—they too had come to this place.

So many arrivals suddenly beheld that vast wall of light upon the beach, with a monstrous, grotesquely shaped beast imprisoned within it, and for a moment their hands slowed. Baiduzi and Duanmu Laozu sprang apart at the same instant, abandoning Cangyan Daoren and Tian Buhui.

Cangyan Daoren and Tian Buhui had no heart for battle now either, and let them go; Tian Buhui especially—gazing into the distance, he seemed to see his own daughter surrounded and hemmed in by the demon cult, and his face changed; he made as if to charge toward her.

Baiduzi and Duanmu Laozu stood together, and first looked toward the battle where Qinglong was fighting; seeing that Qinglong still had strength to spare against three foes at once, their expressions shifted, and Baiduzi snorted. Then they looked up at the sky, where the Nether King was swooping down, but that ancient cauldron still revolved slowly aloft, casting red light in every direction.

Baiduzi's brow suddenly knitted, and he said in a low, heavy voice: "The Subduing Dragon Cauldron!"

Duanmu Laozu, standing beside him, was startled and hastily looked up at the sky—and at once froze as well.

Both were cultivators of the deepest seniority in the demon cult, their insight and vision far beyond the ordinary rank and file; that ancient cauldron, seen from afar, had a plain, archaic shape, with dragon-head reliefs carved upon the twin rings at its sides—and together with the mysterious formation before them, it greatly resembled the "Dragon-Imprisoning Enclosure" of demon cult legend.

And this mysterious Dragon-Imprisoning Enclosure formation had always required the Subduing Dragon Cauldron to be worked at all: with the cauldron's spiritual power as the medium, one could rouse the killing qi of heaven and earth, and no matter how profound your cultivation, you would be trapped within, unable to escape.

Indeed, were it not for such a peerless treasure, the Nether King and his allies could hardly have hoped to imprison a primal marvel-beast like Kui Niu.

Back on the field, nearly all the combatants had by now paused, their attention drawn to this place.

The Nether King was hurtling down from midair; Tian Buhui, anxious for his beloved daughter, was still flying in on his sword though far away; and close at hand, Zhang Qingyue—having followed earliest—was now the nearest to Tian Lingsu, though several black-clad demon cult followers had already rushed in as well.

The situation was poised to explode at a touch, and the crux of it all lay with Tian Lingsu.

Seeing the black-clad figures nearly upon her, Zhang Qingyue felt desperate; he leaped with all his strength and flew to land behind Tian Lingsu, and while still in midair his Dark Iron Staff blazed with blue light, sweeping down a wall of radiance before the black-clad men.

The black-clad figures shrieked in fury, and in an instant several magical treasures came flying at him; Zhang Qingyue's body shook violently, but he had bought a moment's delay nonetheless.

And in that very instant, swift as lightning, Tian Lingsu gave a cry of joy—the amber-red silk burst up from the ground, forcing an iron spike up out of the earth with it.

At once the red light rocked violently, and the whole Dragon-Imprisoning Enclosure formation flashed with wild arcs of lightning; its footing thrown into chaos, especially right before Tian Lingsu, a gap the height of a man was torn open in an instant.

Within the red light screen, the marvel-beast Kui Niu gave a long bellow that shook the wilds, and with a surge of its single leg charged toward the opening.

Joy lit Tian Lingsu's face; she was just about to recall her treasure, the amber-red silk, when suddenly she heard Zhang Qingyue cry out behind her in alarm: "Senior Sister, look out!"

She gave a start and jerked her head up—and there before her was the enormous beast, already upon her; with a thunderous crash, that vast bulk slammed full into the light screen.

By now the Dragon-Imprisoning Enclosure formation was in disarray, and struck by that immense force, the man-high gap instantly spread and widened several times over—almost enough for Kui Niu to break free. At the same time the red light shuddered wildly, waves of it radiating outward, and it actually flung the descending Nether King's figure aside.

Kui Niu's huge eyes glared round, savage light shooting from them; it cared nothing that it was Tian Lingsu who had shaken this strange formation—with a roar of "Gan-ao!" it swung its massive head and lunged to bite at her.

Tian Lingsu went pale with terror; a bloody maw came charging at her, the stench of gore assaulting her nostrils, and she was so frightened she froze where she stood, unable to move.

Kui Niu was plainly on the verge of breaking out; with the fearsome might it had shown while trapped in the Enclosure—might that had still shaken more than a dozen people to death—the black-clad followers all drew back as one, without needing to be told. Only Zhang Qingyue, aghast, still charged forward through gritted teeth, his Dark Iron Staff gleaming blue as he struck at Kui Niu's head.

In the distance, Qinglong knocked Song Dayi's Ten Tigers Immortal Sword aside and happened to glance toward Zhang Qingyue—just in time to see the Dark Iron Staff hurtling toward Kui Niu. Suddenly his whole body convulsed, and he nearly lost his wits; he actually cried out aloud: "This—"

On the field, Kui Niu—worthy of a primal marvel-beast—sensed the treasure coming, swung its enormous head, and rammed the Dark Iron Staff head-on with its skull. With a boom, the staff flew back; Zhang Qingyue's body was violently shaken, and he felt a might like heaven and earth collapsing come surging at him, and he staggered back several steps.

That brief check by Zhang Qingyue brought Tian Lingsu back to her senses; pale as a sheet, she tried to retreat. But Kui Niu, having been tricked by these humans tonight—who knew how many thousand years it had lived, yet surely it had never suffered such an affront—was in a towering rage, and cared nothing for who stood before it; it meant to kill first and vent its fury after.

Before Tian Lingsu had drawn back even half a step, just managing to summon the amber-red silk and about to take flight, that dreadful bloody maw came snapping down at her once more.