Chapter 58 — Heartbreak

Counting the days, Bili reckoned Zhang Qingyue must have arrived. After the life-and-death ordeal together in the Blooddrop Cave of the Death Spirit Abyss, and then the time they had spent together on the road, Bili found herself inexplicably concerned for this ordinary Qingyun disciple. One night, with the moon white and the wind clear, she suddenly could bear it no longer and wished only to see this Zhang Qingyue again. So she slipped out in secret, made her way to the Canglan Sect's quarters, and found no Zhang Qingyue there—but was spotted by Tian Lingsu and the others, who chased her out.

In truth, by then Zhang Qingyue ought to have reached Liubo Mountain long ago. But no one had expected that on his first journey out, Zhang Qingyue would muddle-headedly lose his way on the eastern sea and lose many days; Bili, by contrast, had arrived a few days before him.

To run into Zhang Qingyue by chance on this islet tonight—Bili had been overjoyed, and having just wounded him by mishap, she felt no small guilt as well.

But when Zhang Qingyue woke, before one could tell whether he was hurt, one could already see this wretched boy lose his soul the moment he laid eyes on his sister, utterly besotted, not even knowing his own name. Bili's anger rose at once; her guilt was gone, and she wished only to seize the boy and give him a beating first and talk later!

Zhang Qingyue looked at Bili, saw her furious expression, then turned to look toward his sister's side, where Tian Lingsu and his two senior brothers stood with eyes wide, faces full of puzzlement.

Caught between them, he wanted to explain to his senior brothers and sister but did not know what to say. He turned to Bili, and at the sight of that demon-cult girl's water-like gaze, his heart gave a lurch, his chest tightened, and with a *wa* he spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Ah!" Tian Lingsu and Bili cried out together.

In truth there was nothing much wrong with Zhang Qingyue. Just now in midair he had taken the full brunt of four attackers' combined strike; though the true arts shielded his body and the black-iron staff before him had blocked most of the force, Song Dayi and the others were all deeper in cultivation than Zhang Qingyue. Though they had sensed something amiss and held back some of their strength, the force still smashed him down. And luckily the sea lay directly below, softening the shock—had it been hard ground, Zhang Qingyue would have been in for it.

As it was, his chest had already been stifled, and this awkward scene goaded him further; his qi and blood surged, and the mouthful of blood burst out. But it was stagnant blood—dramatic in the extreme, yet no great harm.

How could Tian Lingsu and the others know that? She and this young junior brother had been close since childhood, and in her worry she ran over at once—only to see, as she started forward, that the demon-cult girl across from her was also rushing over, her face full of alarm.

Tian Lingsu was a girl, after all, delicate of feeling, and stopped in astonishment. But Song Dayi and Du Biyan, seeing it, took it for the demon wench seizing the moment of their junior brother's injury to strike while he was vulnerable. With a shout, Song Dayi's "Ten Tigers" immortal sword swelled in the wind and came cleaving down at Bili's head.

Bili had been worried about Zhang Qingyue, and now, anxious as she was, this big fellow barred her way—a surge of fury, though the onslaught before her was not to be made light of. She twisted her body into a green gleam and, in that sliver of an instant, passed through the radiance of the Ten Tigers. Yet she had not flown a full fathom when white light glittered ahead, and a strangely shaped square magic treasure came flying at her.

Bili could not make out what it was at first and dared not take it head-on, so she halted. Her right hand beckoned in the wind, and between her jade-like fingers appeared a small white blossom—her prized magic treasure, the Heartbreak Flower.

At Bili's spell seal the Heartbreak Flower rose into the air and caught the strange thing. Bili looked closely, and was caught between anger and laughter: the object ahead was a six-faced cube, carved with little dots and numbers—a die! To think that among the righteous there could be such a heterodox magic treasure; it was rare indeed.

The Heartbreak Flower's white light pressed forward and drove Du Biyan's die back a full fathom—Du Biyan, it seemed, was rather outmatched by Bili. But though Du Biyan's cultivation fell short of Song Dayi's, he was far quicker of wit. Seeing his cultivation was not enough, he did not contend head-on; he summoned two more dice and sent them darting and skipping about.

The three dice flew swift as lightning—one striking high, one charging low, wheeling this way and that, covering left and right. They could not break into the Heartbreak Flower's range, but Bili for a time could not break through either. In that brief delay, Song Dayi behind her had already charged up again.

Bili had crossed swords with Song Dayi just now and knew his cultivation was deep; in single combat she might not best him. Add this shifty fellow in front, and that "Ling'er sister" of Zhang Qingyue's standing to the side, and she reckoned she would gain nothing tonight. She cast a distant look at Zhang Qingyue and cursed inwardly: "You little wretch!"

Song Dayi was about to give chase when he saw the demon girl fighting Du Biyan suddenly hurtle backward, and the flower in her hand abruptly bloomed into a thousand strange blossoms that blotted out sky and sun. Startled, he hurriedly gathered his focus to guard—but this was only Bili's feint. Amid the myriad blooms, Bili's green figure shot skyward and streaked away.

Song Dayi was about to pursue when he heard Du Biyan say, "Eldest senior brother, don't chase."

Song Dayi came to his senses, hastily put away his immortal sword, and ran with the others toward Zhang Qingyue.

Liubo Mountain in the eastern sea: the island's peaks were grand and steep, and it covered a vast expanse—by size it could in fact be counted first among the islands and mountain ranges of the eastern sea. But because it lay remote, with human traces seldom seen, its fame fell far short of the eastern sea's other two famed mountain islands—"Penglai Immortal Mountain" and "the Isle of Yama."

Yet at this moment Liubo Mountain was enjoying its busiest days since ancient times. For days on end the demon cult figures seemed to be searching for something among the hills. Though the mountain was vast, cultivators came and went on their swords at what speed—often they stumbled upon one another unawares. The two sides were "deep in bitter hatred"; no sooner did they see and recognize each other than they loosed their magic treasures and smashed away. Back and forth, the din shook the heavens, fellow disciples and Daoist friends hurried to aid, and there arose the posture of a "mass brawl," with countless magic treasures—some dazzling bright, some sinister and vicious—flying to and fro above Liubo Mountain.

For several days running, each side lost a dozen or more dead and wounded, and countless little peaks and hillocks on Liubo Mountain were innocently sheared flat or blasted to rubble.

Since joining Tian Lingsu and the others that night, Zhang Qingyue had at last, under their guidance, found where Liubo Mountain lay, and had seen his master Tian Buhui and his master's wife, Su Wan.

This time the demon cult had risen with tremendous momentum. Not only had old demons who had lain hidden for years come forth again, but countless new faces had emerged, and their cultivation was mostly high besides—showing that over these years the demon cult had nurtured its strength in concealment, truly scheming long and moving only when sure.