Chapter 75 — The Third Chapter

Countless whispers drifted to and fro over the sea of clouds, like the drifting vapor itself.

Song Dayi and Tian Lingsu both kept their faces tight, pretending not to notice the surrounding gazes. After a moment, a man stepped out from the crowd and walked toward the three of them.

Zhang Qingyue looked at him and recognized him: Chang Jian, a disciple of the eldest branch whom he had seen on his last visit to Jietian Peak, and who had crossed swords with Song Dayi at the Seven Branches Martial Gathering.

Song Dayi knew him too. Seeing him approach, he cupped his hands and said, "Senior Brother Chang, it has been a long while. I trust you are well?"

Chang Jian hurriedly returned the courtesy, but his gaze still flicked a few times toward Zhang Qingyue. Then he said, "Senior Brother Song, Uncle Tian Buhui arrived here a short while ago and instructed me in particular that as soon as the three of you arrived, I was to lead you straight to Yuheng Hall."

Song Dayi nodded. "Then we must trouble you, Senior Brother Chang."

Chang Jian smiled faintly and turned aside. "Then please follow me, all of you."

He led the way, with Song Dayi, Tian Lingsu, and Zhang Qingyue following behind. Through the sea of clouds, through the gazes of countless Qingyun disciples, they came to the edge of the Rainbow Bridge and stepped onto it.

Just then the first ray of morning sunlight reached the world at last, falling softly upon Jietian Peak. In the clear rippling water on either side of the Rainbow Bridge, a beautiful rainbow appeared amid the spreading rings.

Zhang Qingyue drew a deep breath and looked into the distance. The boundless heavens and earth were like an inconceivable vast painting, and he himself was, in the end, no more than a tiny ornament within it.

They walked on, crossing the Rainbow Bridge and coming to the edge of the Jade Pool, where they saw the broad flight of steps leading straight up to Yuheng Hall. Only the Canglan Sect's guardian spirit beast, the Water Qilin, was nowhere to be seen—most likely still in the Jade Pool.

"Dang!..."

From Yuheng Hall atop the peak came another clear ring of bell and cauldron.

Chang Jian smiled at them. "We're almost there. Let's go."

Song Dayi answered, but could not help glancing at Zhang Qingyue, and saw his little junior brother staring blankly at the summit, face without expression.

This place was far quieter than the sea of clouds. Along the way they saw almost no Qingyun disciples. A few young novice Daoists sweeping the path saw Chang Jian and greeted him with palms pressed together.

One step, one stair.

Zhang Qingyue walked slowly upward, climbing higher and higher, yet for some reason he felt his heart sink lower and lower. The closer he came to that ethereal place ahead, the faster his heart beat.

An unknown, nameless tension enveloped him. And what awaited him there?

From Yuheng Hall on Jietian Peak came another distant bell, drifting among the mountain peaks...

At the foot of the Canglan Mountains, in a secluded place, four figures stood side by side—three men and one woman—gazing quietly at the mountain.

After a while, the eldest, the Poison God, suddenly smiled and said, "I never thought that in my lifetime I would return to this place."

The King of the Underworld, standing beside him, smiled faintly. "With you directing matters, Senior, returning here is nothing. In a little while, even standing atop Jietian Peak will be no surprise."

The Poison God shook his head at once and laughed. "Brother King of the Underworld, did we not agree long ago? In this great matter, it is Brother Yuyang Zi of the Longevity Hall who directs affairs. We are all merely foot soldiers."

With that he turned to the man on the other side. "Isn't that so, Brother Yuyang Zi? Ha ha."

Yuyang Zi, master of the Longevity Hall, one of the four great branches of the Demonic Cult, had brows that swept to his temples and was exceedingly handsome, looking like a man just past thirty, though he was in truth a cultivator of the Demonic Cult who had trained for several hundred years.

Among the Demonic Cult, the Longevity Hall was a most peculiar faction, for it had always been this branch that guarded the cult's most sacred ground in the wild wastes—the Holy Hall—and this lineage's particular purpose, as its name suggested, was the pursuit of longevity alone. Yet though they ranked among the four great branches of the Demonic Cult, they were often unscrupulous in their methods, utterly opposite to the way of seeking longevity as taught among the Orthodox path. But that is a matter for later.

On this occasion the Demonic Cult had come in secret and in great force to the Canglan Mountains. Yuyang Zi, having arrived here and after several secret councils, had been put forward by the others as the director of this great cult undertaking, and could not help feeling somewhat pleased with himself. He laughed and said, "The Canglan Sect has bullied our Holy Cult in every way for a hundred years. Today we shall surely settle accounts with them."

The King of the Underworld smiled. "Well said."

With that he turned to the woman who had stood beside them all along—the only female master among the four great branches, the Three Wonders Fairy of the Enchantment Sect—and said with a smile, "In a little while, we shall also be counting on your wondrous arts, Fairy."

The Three Wonders Fairy came from the Enchantment Sect, one of the most notorious branches of the Demonic Cult. Her beauty was naturally exceptional, yet she showed no trace of wantonness; her face was cool and pale, untouched by powder, and she possessed instead a kind of frosty, otherworldly beauty—rather resembling, in fact, Xue Qi of Xiaozhu Peak in the Canglan Mountains.

Hearing the King of the Underworld's words, the Three Wonders Fairy smiled faintly. "The three of you, Senior Brothers, are great figures who have seen the world, far above a little woman like me. It is only that we have all sworn a solemn oath before the Holy Mother and the Radiant King that this time we must work with one heart and one strength to wash away the shame of the Holy Hall's humiliation in those years. I only hope the three of you will set aside former grievances together, and not fail to honor our pledge."

The King of the Underworld and the other two exchanged glances, and all said, "Rest assured, Fairy. We have no divided loyalties."

The Three Wonders Fairy smiled slightly, then turned to the King of the Underworld and said, "Brother King of the Underworld, I have been here several days now—why have I not seen your niece?"

The King of the Underworld started. "You mean that girl Bi Li? The child is fond of play and has run off somewhere—I don't know where. Is there some matter you wished to see her about, Fairy?"

Fairy Sanmiao said coolly, "Nothing much, only that I have lately heard that your daughter has come into a treasure—the Hehuan Bell, a wondrous relic handed down from Lady Jinling. Is this so?"

Both the Poison God and Yuyangzi shifted slightly; plainly the name of Lady Jinling was one that even grandees of the demonic path such as they could not treat lightly.

The King of Hell's expression changed, a faint gleam stirring in his eyes. "I wonder where the fairy came by this news?"

Fairy Sanmiao raised a hand like polished jade and lightly smoothed her temple, her face without expression. "Naturally I heard it. Brother King of Hell, Lady Jinling was an elder founder of our Mihun Sect eight hundred years ago, and the Hehuan Bell she left behind has always been our sect's treasure of treasures. This, I imagine, you also know?"

The King of Hell said no more, but he stood with hands clasped behind his back, bearing composed and erect, not a trace of retreat about him. The harmony of a moment before had in an instant turned to swords drawn and bows bent.