Chapter 67 — Crimson Flame

~r period:~ September 21 ~r~

, 51

The Vampire Fiend gave a cold snort, showing not the slightest fear. A savage, murderous look rose on his withered face. "In those days you so-called orthodox cultivators relied on nothing but numbers. Do you really think I was ever afraid of you?"

As he spoke, he flung both hands outward. The skull before him, glowing red, gave a mournful "woo" and streaked across the air, whirling furiously around his body. His eyes, too, began slowly to redden.

Tian Buhui drew a deep breath and focused his mind in guard. A hundred years ago he had already been one of the outstanding men of the Canglan Sect; in the hunt for the demon cult's remnants he had been one of the chief pursuers, and he had crossed blades with the Vampire Fiend before. He knew this man was not to be taken lightly, and that the Vampire ** was more formidable still.

By now the clouds that filled the sky were gathering once more. The rents torn by Tian Buhui's earth-shattering sword had vanished without a trace, and the night had deepened again.

Faintly, from afar, came the sound of ocean waves, mingled in the vast, biting wind, swelling gradually. That long cry, now hidden, now revealed, as if concealed in the deep sea, drifted softly through the night beneath the vault of heaven.

Zhang Qingyue came slowly to his senses, feeling a tight, stifling discomfort in his chest. Just then he heard someone give a startled "yi," and a fair, jade-white hand reached over and pressed gently a few times upon his chest.

After a moment, the qi and blood that had been pent up in his chest seemed to flow freely again, and even his spirit recovered a good deal at once.

Zhang Qingyue looked up and saw it was his master's wife, Su Wan, supporting him with a silent smile.

His face flushed, and he said in a low voice, "Thank you, Master's Wife."

Su Wan said softly, "Are you all right?"

Zhang Qingyue nodded. "I'm just a little tired now. Nothing else."

Su Wan smiled and nodded, then said with a sudden soft laugh, "Good, then. Now watch your master get even for you!"

Zhang Qingyue was startled. Following Su Wan's gaze, he was shaken to the core.

Beneath the dark vault of heaven, amid the low-hanging black clouds, there hung a blazing, radiant mass of light that lit half the sky, so that even the edges of the dark clouds seemed rimmed with brightness.

Tian Buhui stood proud and aloof above the clouds like an ancient fire god, transforming the burning flames of the "Crimson Flame" into fire dragons that filled the heavens, tearing open the black clouds and soaring into the highest sky.

The Vampire Fiend was nowhere to be seen; yet there at the cloud's edge hung a gigantic skull, howling and shrieking in frenzy. Wind and cloud shifted and churned, and a ghostly, baleful blood-light surged up into the sky, battling the fire dragons without cease.

The black clouds that filled the sky were now all boiling, rolling and roaring. Seen from the ground, the two men were like gods and demons of the ninth heaven, locked in furious, deadly combat.

Zhang Qingyue watched spellbound, his admiration for his master beyond all measure. He saw the fire dragons howl madly, their cries shaking the four wilds, appearing and vanishing among the clouds—truly a majesty to shake heaven and earth. It was somewhat like the fire dragon the three-tailed fox spirit had summoned with the Mystic Fire Mirror beneath the Black Stone Cave some days before, yet its power was far greater.

At that thought, his body suddenly gave a jolt. He felt a surge of hot air rise from the Mystic Fire Mirror on his right arm, as if stirred by some stimulus, and run through his whole body.

Su Wan, standing beside him, sensed something and turned to look at him. Concern in her eyes, she asked, "Xiaofan, why is your body suddenly so hot? It isn't a fever from your wounds, is it?"

Zhang Qingyue was startled; he had not expected his master's wife to be so keenly perceptive. For a moment he did not know what to say, and could only stammer, "N-no, it's nothing..."

Su Wan frowned and was about to question him further when she sensed something and turned to look behind her. Footsteps sounded throughout the forest, and in a moment more than a hundred people had emerged from every corner—all of them orthodox cultivators. Among them were Fa Cheng and Fa Jing of the Brahma Sound Temple, and Li Xun and Yan Fei of the Burning Cloud Valley; and at their head walked Daoist Cangyan.

Su Wan rose to her feet and said with a smile, "Brother Cangsong, you've come too."

Cangsong nodded slightly and said mildly, "Brother Tian is putting on such a mighty, earth-shaking display here—we are not blind or deaf, so we came to have a look."

Su Wan's brows knit slightly, sensing a barb hidden in his words. But before she could say anything, the Dazhu Peak disciples following behind had already caught sight of Zhang Qingyue, stained with blood and sitting on the ground with a haggard face.

Tian Lingsu gave a cry of alarm and ran forward, with Song Dayi, Du Biyan, and He Dachuan following at her heels, anxiety written on their faces. But they had taken only a few steps when a white blur flashed by—a figure had rushed forward faster than they. Looking closely, it was Lin Jinghong.

Lin Jinghong darted to Zhang Qingyue's side, crouched down, and seized his arm. His face slightly pale, he said, "Xiaofan, are you all right?"

Zhang Qingyue felt the worry in his eyes and warmed inside. He nodded and smiled. "I'm fine now. It's nothing."

Lin Jinghong looked him up and down, then glanced at the wound on his chest. Only then did he relax, and he let out a long breath. "Who wounded you?"

Zhang Qingyue pointed upward. "That demon there. From what my master called him just now, he seems to be something like the 'Vampire Fiend'?"

Lin Jinghong's body gave a start; he clearly knew of this devil. "So even this old wretch has come out into the world?" he said in surprise, and raised his head to look up.

By now Tian Lingsu and the others had also reached Zhang Qingyue's side, peppering him with questions. Zhang Qingyue met Tian Lingsu's concerned gaze, then lowered his head and answered his senior brothers' questions in a low voice, saying he was no longer in any danger.

The fierce battle in the sky was at its height. Lin Jinghong stood beside Zhang Qingyue and gazed upward for a while, then suddenly said, "Xiaofan, I never imagined your master, who usually doesn't look like much, could be so skilled in the Daoist arts!"

Hearing this, Tian Lingsu was annoyed. Ever since she had lost to Lin Jinghong at her own doorstep years ago, she had taken a dislike to this young man. She gave a cold snort. "My father's Daoist arts are profound—how could a boy from Longji Peak like you possibly see the measure of them?"

Lin Jinghong frowned and turned to look. Meeting Tian Lingsu's glaring eyes, utterly unyielding, he was taken aback for a moment—then suddenly smiled. "You're right, Junior Sister Tian."

Tian Lingsu was rather thrown off. She had not expected this youth, once so arrogant, to have grown so well-mannered. But she saw Lin Jinghong smiling and looking elsewhere. Following his gaze, she saw him exchanging looks and smiles with Qi Hao, who stood far off beside Daoist Cangyan.

Tian Lingsu was clever enough to realize in an instant that Lin Jinghong must have refrained from arguing with her out of his long-standing respect for his senior brother Qi Hao. Though she herself felt no such embarrassment, at this moment, meeting Qi Hao's eyes, she could not help the sweetness that welled in her heart.