Ghosts and Ghouls

The world was exactly the same as when he had last left it, as if the entire world had been frozen at the moment he departed. The only difference, he suspected, was the Immortal Sword that had been chasing him.

The Immortal Sword had vanished without a trace.

Su Yun cautiously surveyed his surroundings while rapidly moving his feet towards Uncle Qu's corpse.

He had to obtain what he wanted from the Immortal Diagram in front of Uncle Qu's corpse before the Immortal Sword could sense him, and then leave this place!

His time was extremely limited; he had to race against the clock, with no room for delay!

He arrived at Uncle Qu's corpse in a flash, bowed to him, and then raised his hand, placing his palm on the luminous Immortal Diagram!

The Immortal Diagram immediately cleared, and his heart was reflected within it!

Within the Immortal Diagram, sunlight poured down, illuminating mountains and rivers. Suddenly, towering mountains rushed towards him, and he saw a White Ape leaping through the forest like a flash.

The White Ape stopped at the mountaintop and began to breathe in and out towards the sun. The sunlight above was actually gathered, forming a fireball about a foot in size, rising and falling with the White Ape's breaths.

As the White Ape breathed, it moved its muscles and bones. The muscles on its back were like forged iron, and the number of its muscles was more than double that of a human!

The tendons on its back were also more than doubled and even thicker!

"Although the White Ape's body is strong, it's still not comparable to a true dragon!" Su Yun thought.

The White Ape's heavenly tribulation arrived abruptly. This tribulation was not the lightning tribulation of an alligator dragon or The Whole Village Eats, but Thunder Fire. Balls of heavenly fire rained down from the sky, bombarding the White Ape.

--It was called Thunder Fire because when the fireballs reached the White Ape, they exploded, emitting a thunderous roar.

When a fist-sized ball of Thunder Fire exploded, the flames could engulf an area of about an acre around it, which was astonishing!

The White Ape fought the Thunder Fire heavenly tribulation on the mountaintop. It was also undergoing tribulation, also transforming, evolving into a Golden Ape!

Its posture and movement were subtly in accordance with the Ape Master's Art from the Qi Cultivation Chapter of the Immortal Ape Arts!

While watching the White Ape undergo tribulation, Su Yun compared it with the Ape Master's Art. What he had previously failed to understand or comprehend was now suddenly clear, with no further obstacles!

This was almost equivalent to a White Ape undergoing tribulation personally teaching him how to cultivate the Ape Master's Art, and it was even more profound than being taught by a renowned master like Qiu Shuijing!

Su Yun comprehended rapidly. Every move and stance the White Ape used to fight the Thunder Fire was clear and distinct. He could even see the subtle movements of the White Ape's muscles, the opening and closing of its tendons, and even the way its Blood Essence flowed!

Especially the Blood Essence, which, when compared with the upper part of the Qi Cultivation Chapter, brought him immense gains!

The six moves of the Ape Master's Art were: the first move, White Ape Hanging Tree; the second move, Ancient Stream Crossing; the third move, Scooping the Moon in the Well; the fourth move, Old Ape Embracing the Bell; the fifth move, Capturing the Heart Ape; and the sixth move, Ape Master's Sword Flick.

Su Yun compared these six moves with the cultivation method of the upper part, and then recalled the scene he had just witnessed of the White Ape breathing in and out, transforming sunlight into a fireball. He suddenly understood!

The upper and lower parts of the Qi Cultivation Chapter of the Immortal Ape Arts were now connected for him!

"So that's how it is!"

Su Yun's eyes flickered. He had followed Mister Wild Fox to study the Old Sage Classics for six years. Although his achievements were not great, the reason the Old Sage Classics were difficult to learn was precisely their obscurity.

He had studied the Old Sage Classics thoroughly over these six years, but had never found a use for them. However, after coming into contact with the New Sage Absolute Arts from the outside world, he found that understanding them became incredibly simple!

He learned the Great Furnace Transformation and the Qi Cultivation Chapter of the Immortal Ape Arts with remarkable speed!

"The most marvelous aspect of the Ape Master's Art is this final move, Ape Master's Sword Flick! I wonder if this move can deal with that Immortal Sword?"

Just as Su Yun thought this, a sword light suddenly appeared in the Immortal Diagram!

The sword light flashed past. The White Ape, which was undergoing tribulation, assumed the posture of Ape Master's Sword Flick and flicked it at the Immortal Sword with a "ding" sound.

"It blocked it?" Su Yun was both surprised and delighted.

The next moment, the White Ape split neatly into two halves.

Su Yun's scalp tingled, and he turned to flee. In that fleeting glimpse, as the White Ape was cleaved, its internal structure also appeared in his mind.

"This is a good opportunity for Investigating Things to Gain Knowledge, to understand the White Ape's body structure and simulate it with Blood Essence to strengthen the power of the Ape Master's Art, but that sword was too terrifying!"

He moved like lightning, running with all his might, following the stone bridge towards the Heavenly Gate!

A ringing sound could be heard. It was the Immortal Sword's long cry, piercing through the air, chasing after him!

"This sword's speed seems to be faster than before!"

Su Yun was so oppressed by the sword light that he couldn't see anything, so he simply closed his eyes. He sensed that the Immortal Sword's speed was increasing, faster than when he had last been here, and his scalp numbed.

"With the move variations of the Flood Dragon's Chant combined with the power of the Ape Master's Art, I will definitely be able to escape!"

Su Yun activated his Blood Essence, and his thighs instantly became incredibly thick, like those of a raging ape. He squatted and leaped, moving as fast as a flying beast.

When he reached the broken bridge, the young man leaped. In mid-air, he transformed from an ape into a Flood Dragon, and with a surge, he leaped into the Heavenly Gate!

Behind him, the Immortal Sword flashed past!

Su Yun returned to his body and wiped his forehead, which was covered in cold sweat.

The bonfire was still burning, though its flames were smaller than before.

Su Yun added more firewood, the firelight illuminating his face. The young man thought about his recent encounter, still feeling a lingering fear.

"Even Ape Master's Sword Flick couldn't block that sword! That sword's speed was faster than last time!"

Su Yun steadied himself, his gaze fixed on the bonfire. If he couldn't block that sword, he could only sneak into the Heavenly Gate and couldn't explore what secrets that world held.

That world must be hiding countless secrets.

What was even more critical was, how much faster would the Immortal Sword's speed increase the next time it entered?

"Uncle Qu's body is there. Besides Uncle Qu, are there any others..."

He shook his head, clearing these thoughts from his mind, and thought, "The White Ape needs to undergo the Thunder Fire Tribulation to evolve into a Golden Ape. The Crocodile Dragon also needs to undergo a Thunder Tribulation to evolve into a Flood Dragon. So, what do humans evolve into? If humans evolve into that form, what kind of tribulation would they need to undergo?"

Were Uncle Qu and the others in Tianmen Town searching for the next stage of human evolution?

Had these elders undergone their tribulations?

His mind raced with thoughts as he guarded the campfire, occasionally adding more firewood.

Just then, a cold laugh came from outside the door: "Venerable Sage Gong indeed hid good food here!"

Su Yun's heart leaped in alarm. The west wing door was blown open by a chilling wind, and the campfire beside him instantly turned a ghastly green!

The boy shivered violently from the cold: "Something evil has entered!"

The campfire flames flickered backward, then suddenly began to spin. The verdant flames stretched higher and higher, as if trying to ignite the roof of the wing.

The firewood in the campfire burned at a speed visible to the naked eye, about to turn to ash!

Su Yun scrambled, desperately throwing more wood onto the fire, afraid it would go out.

However, the newly added wood wouldn't catch fire!

The green flames seemed to have no temperature at all!

The chilling wind from outside grew more urgent. Just as the campfire was about to burn out, a blinding flash of electric light suddenly illuminated the west wing, so bright it was painful to look at.

Accompanying the electric light was a crackling thunderous roar. Then, the campfire flames returned to their normal color, and the firewood Su Yun had just added began to crackle and burn.

Flower Fox, Li Xiaofan, and the others were awakened by the thunder. They looked around and saw that everything was as usual, feeling puzzled. Suddenly, the sound of something heavy landing echoed from the courtyard of the Venerable Sage Temple.

Su Yun got up and went to the window, pushing it open a crack to look. He saw a head the size of a small mountain descend into the courtyard of the Venerable Sage Temple. It was pitch black, and he had no idea where it came from.

Flower Fox also came over. Upon seeing the head, they exchanged a look, both utterly horrified.

Su Yun comforted the little foxes, saying, "It's okay, it's okay. The snow just collapsed the east wall."

The three little fox demons didn't suspect anything and fell back asleep. Hu Buping let out soft murmurs, curling up and hugging his tail, likely having a good dream.

Su Yun whispered, "Second Brother, we're out of dry firewood. You keep watch here, and I'll go get some from the east wing."

"Be careful!" Flower Fox said solemnly.

Su Yun quietly got up, opened the wing door, and walked out. Flower Fox silently closed the door behind him.

In the courtyard of the Venerable Sage Temple, the giant head suddenly twitched. Su Yun was startled and stopped abruptly. Flower Fox peered through the window, his heart leaping into his throat at the sight.

The strange head moved again but did nothing else.

Su Yun cautiously skirted around it.

Suddenly, he inadvertently saw a massive shadow moving beyond the temple wall. He quickly looked up and saw a giant, over ten zhang tall, far taller than the main hall of the Venerable Sage Temple, walking back and forth outside the temple!

The giant seemed to have its eyes covered, unable to see its surroundings, and was reaching out its hands, groping around.

Su Yun looked closely, his heart filled with dread. He saw that the giant had no head on its neck!

It walked back and forth outside the temple, as if searching for its head!

Su Yun became even more cautious, silently heading towards the east wing. At that moment, a pitch-black hand reached out from outside the temple, fumbling along the temple wall.

Just as it was about to touch Su Yun, he quickly opened the east wing door and entered, quietly closing it behind him.

The large hand fumbled outside the door for a moment before moving on to grope elsewhere. Su Yun swiftly picked up a bundle of firewood, quietly opened and closed the door, and made his way along the wall towards the west wing.

Just then, the large hand blocked his path from the front. Another large hand appeared behind Su Yun, trapping him from both sides.

Su Yun gritted his teeth and sprinted towards the large head.

The large head that had fallen from the sky was still moving, making heavy breathing sounds.

He held his breath and headed towards the west wing, noticing the firelight there growing weaker.

Su Yun hurried his steps. Just then, the two large hands finally felt their way to the center of the courtyard, groped the large head, then grabbed its messy hair and lifted it up.

The head had initially smashed face-down into the courtyard. Now, as it was lifted, it began to shake left and right like a rattle before opening its eyes.

The eyes were as large as bathtubs, shimmering with a verdant light.

Su Yun turned and came face-to-face with the large head.

Without hesitation, Su Yun clapped his hand on the dry firewood, sending two pieces flying. Su Yun flicked his fingers, executing the Ape Master's Art of Flicking Swords. The two pieces of firewood let out sharp whistling sounds as they struck the large head's eyes!

The large head let out a cry of pain. Outside, the headless body, holding the head in one hand, fumbled at its neck, seemingly trying to rub its eyes, but unfortunately, there was no head on its neck.

Su Yun immediately rushed towards the west wing, and Flower Fox quickly opened the door.

Suddenly, the sound of horses whinnying and hooves stomping echoed from outside the temple.

Someone shouted, "Uncle, there's firelight ahead! Those brats who killed Yuan Wu must be hiding there!"