Chapter 285: How Shall I Punish You?
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
"Just bring this soul remnant with you to the underground,' said the creature in the stone wall. "The Sword Spirit will sense it and find you then."
"I see!" Xu Que raised his eyebrows, smiled a wicked smile then turned away and left.
The creature in the stone wall was stunned for a while, before erupting in anger.
"You little scoundrel! Come back!" he shouted. "Haven't you forgotten something?"
"I don't think so!" replied Xu Que with a cunning smile. "Look, I'm in a hurry here! I must go and find the Sword Spirit you know!"
"Didn't you promise me you'd release me?" said the voice in the stone wall anxiously.
"Yes, I did," answered Xu Que. "Rest assured that I will come back and save you after two thousand years. Just wait for me!" Xu Que then walked away without looking back once.
Behind him he could hear a series of curses hurled out by the deity in the stone wall.
"Damn you, you shameless bastard! How dare you betray me when I trusted you! I could get myself out of here in two thousand years, you little shit! Come back here, you son of a bitch! Goddammit, are you really leaving me here? Come back here you little shit! Don't you know that without me you'll never defeat the Sword Spirit? Don't you know how bad his temper is? Damn it, what a big loss for me! I was thinking of taking the soul remnant back from the shameless bastard after he released me, but now he's really taken it! Aaaargh! I'm telling you bastard! You're dead when I get out of here! Without my guidance, the Sword Spirit will surely kill you, just wait and see!"
...…
Xu Que ignored the noises behind him and walked on with a big grin on his face.
Did the creature think he was a fool? He would only have been asking for trouble if he had released him from the stone wall. Xu Que knew at a glance that the creature was not to be trusted. Who wouldn't go berserk after being trapped inside a stone wall for so many years?
Xu Que had realized that he just couldn't take any unnecessary risks before he found the Sword Spirit.
It was a pity that the creature in the stone wall hadn't come up with any good ideas to go against the Sword Spirit. The only thing he saw through was the fact that there was no chance that Xu Que would ever control the Sword Spirit, which was why he had given him the soul remnant.
But Xu Que wasn't scared at all. Besides, he could always run away when he couldn't fight anymore!
And so, Xu Que walked on quickly through the passageway with the piece of iron in the palm of his hand. It almost turned him into a walking lamp, illuminating the way wherever he went.
Soon afterwards, he came to the end of the passageway. There was a huge lava cave in front of him where the scorching walls glowed red-hot as if magma flowed inside it.
However, the hot magma inside was covered completely by the chill air of the Sword Catacomb. Xu Que couldn't feel the slightest bit of heat emanating from the cave at all, and the surrounding area was as bone-chillingly cold as anywhere else.
Bang!
Boooom!
Waves of loud noises emerged from the cave not far away from where Xu Que stood. The raucous sound resembled a fierce battle, which sounded as if it was getting nearer and nearer to the lava cave.
Whooosh! Whooosh!
Xu Que's eyes shone as he approached the direction of the noises to see what was happening. A few other ear-splitting booms were heard before a dozen figures emerged from a passageway of the lava cave.
Xu Que's eyes followed these figures for a while before he realized that they were chasing after a man.
"Give us that sword, Lin Guan, or you die!"
"You have no right to take that sword! Don't force us to kill you!"
"How dare you take the sword fancied by the Legendary Swordsman Ye Chang Feng!"
"Lin Guan, if you take that sword away, you along with the entire Spirit Treasures Pavilion will be in deep shit!"
These people all shouted threats and warnings to the man they were pursuing.
Still, the man who was being hunted never stopped or even slowed his steps. His face was visibly darkened by rage.
"You crooks! I obtained this sword with my own skills! Ye Chang Feng only said a few words and all of you obeyed him like dogs! Have you no dignity? Even though the Spirit Treasures Pavilion may be weak, that doesn't mean that we're afraid of you!"
The man kept fleeing at his top speed while a trail of blood flowed down the corner of his mouth. He'd obviously been hit by heavy blows.
Is this man from the Spirit Treasure Pavilion? Xu Que thought, surprised. Then a great idea popped up in his mind.
He took a step and blocked the exit of the lava cave.
His whole body exuded a bright glowing light and the auras around him condensed into numerous swords because of the remnants of the Sword Spirit's soul in the piece of broken iron in his hand. The swords hovered in the air in front of Xu Que, making him look frightening and formidable.
Then, before Xu Que could open his mouth to announce his intentions, the man who called Lin Guan saw him and was immediately dumbstruck by the sight. He halted his steps abruptly, face was full of apprehension.
Obviously, Xu Que's appearance was too astounding!
...…
"Why aren't you running now?"
"Hahaha, perhaps he finally understands that he's made a huge mistake!"
"The Legendary Swordsman has his eyes on that sword, so you should've given it up to him from the start!"
"You should've known that the only person in the whole world who's qualified to wield such a great sword is Ye Chang Feng!"
Those people who were chasing Lin Guan all thought that he'd stopped because he was finally giving up the sword to them. They were all laughing and sneering at him as they quickly caught up to where Lin Guan and Xu Que were.
Then, suddenly, they all jerked to a stop when they noticed Xu Que in front of them.
"What… What is that?"
"A shining ball of light? No, I can see a vague figure inside."
"Look! The aura around the light has turned into swords!"
"Oh my god, that's the Sword Essence, only very strong Sword Essence can look like that!"
"Does that mean that it's the… the Sword Spirit?"
In that instant, everyone there was stunned and rooted to the spot. Talented swordsmen had entered the Sword Catacomb since time immemorial, yet none had ever encountered the Sword Spirit. In fact, some even doubted if the Sword Spirit actually existed.
Therefore, after a long period of time, the swordsmen who entered the Sword Catacomb stopped intending to look for the Sword Spirit. They instead went in search of ancient swords which had the quality of four stars and above, or the remnants of Sword Essence.
But now, the sight of Xu Que had completely flummoxed the entire group of swordsmen. He was shrouded in a brilliant light and was exuding remarkable Sword Essence, which was taking the form of many swords.
Understandably, they had mistaken Xu Que for the Sword Spirit!
Once Xu Que heard their words, he was so amused that he almost lost his composure. Him, the Sword Spirit? Haha, wouldn't that be something?
Xu Que's figure trembled slightly, then both of his feet took off into the air and his whole body was suspended in mid-air. He then slowly floated into the lava cave.
Wherever he went, the aura around him would follow him, along with the swords that had formed out of the condensed aura. Furthermore, the soul remnants that he held in his hand exuded a strong Sword Essence, making him look very majestic indeed.
"What impudence!" said Xu Que in a deliberately deep voice. "How dare you disturb the peaceful slumber that I have enjoyed for tens of thousands of years! How shall I punish you?"
Gasp!
In an instant, everyone there gasped sharply in fear, their faces turning deathly pale from shock and horror.
"Sword Spirit… It really is the Sword Spirit!"
"We're doomed! This is the Sword Spirit who has existed since the beginning of time! No one has ever met him in the Sword Catacomb, yet he's here now!"
"Holy hell… and he seems to be angry!"
"What should we do?"
The group of people suddenly panicked. Because of their intense fear of the Sword Spirit, they were completely at a loss as to what to do, and their knees buckled so much that they couldn't even run way.
Xu Que slowly drifted to and fro in the air in front of the swordsmen. whenever he neared the men, he could see their bodies instantly shrink away from him and shake in fear.
"Have you all turned deaf? I asked you how I shall punish you!" said Xu Que again. This time, he made sure that he sounded wrathful!