Blackness Descends

"When it rains, it pours—the demons of Yuanjia Ridge have caught up!"

Su Yun's heart sank. He set down the firewood. "We left no tracks, but the snow has stopped. They can follow the firelight here! There are demons from Yuanjia Ridge outside, and that ghost carrying its head. We're caught in a pincer attack..."

The sound of neighing horses drew ever closer to the Venerable Sage Temple.

Su Yun packed up swiftly. "Second Brother, wake them up. We leave immediately!"

Flower Fox hurriedly woke Hu Buping, Qingqiu Yue, and the others. Su Yun tied up his bundle and slung it over his shoulder, then leaned toward the window and looked out. He saw the giant ghost lift its enormous head out of the courtyard in one thick hand, then cradle it in both hands and place the disheveled head atop its neck.

The ghost held its head with both hands and shook it from side to side, seemingly trying to find the right position.

A curse came from outside the temple. "Damn it, I put it on backward again!"

Su Yun saw the giant ghost remove its own head again, turn the back of its head and its face around, then set it back down. At its neck, countless writhing tentacles seemed to grow out and connect with its head.

"Heh, that's better!"

The giant ghost beamed, lowering its head from outside the temple and bending into the courtyard to look toward Su Yun behind the western wing's window.

"Little thing, you look rather tasty..."

The giant ghost had only just said this when an aged voice suddenly rang out from outside. "What demon dares obstruct Yuanjia Ridge's business? Do you know Ancestor Yuan San?"

Boom!

A violent shockwave rolled through the area. A great demon had struck, attacking the giant ghost.

The giant ghost cried out in pain. It suddenly stretched out a hand, seized the old tree in the Venerable Sage Temple's courtyard, uprooted it, and swung it in a wide arc before smashing it outward!

From the window, Su Yun saw men and horses outside the temple swept high into the air. Torches were flung skyward, spinning as they fell.

He could not help staring. "Why are they fighting each other first? These Yuanjia Ridge demons really have fiery tempers."

Ancestor Yuan San was one of Yuanjia Ridge's great demons, immensely powerful, and he actually fought the giant ghost to a standstill!

One was a ghost, the other a great demon. Riding sinister winds and demonic qi, they fought as they moved away. From the snowy ground outside came the sounds of gigantic objects colliding, along with trees snapping and crashing down. It was terrifying!

Su Yun immediately pushed open the western wing's door and said gravely, "The Venerable Sage Temple can keep out ghosts, but not demons! Now's our chance—go!"

The three little foxes transformed into three children, each carrying a small bundle as they filed out. The child transformed from Flower Fox followed behind them.

They reached the wall, leaped over it, and hurried through the snow in crouched postures.

Under the moonlight of the snowy night, the ghost and Yuanjia Ridge's great demon fought their way into the forest, making the trees tremble without end.

Su Yun and Flower Fox continued onward when they suddenly heard an ape demon shout, "They're not in the temple!"

"There are footprints by the wall!"

"Chase them!"

Su Yun's heart sank. He said quietly, "Second Brother, take them and go first. Find a temple to hide in! I have the Immortal Rope. I'll stay behind and hold them off! If you can't wait for me, go to Tianshiyuan Station and wait there!"

Knowing the urgency of the situation, Flower Fox said gravely, "Be careful." With that, he led the three children deeper into the mountains at greater speed.

Su Yun surveyed his surroundings, then leaped onto a large tree, hanging upside down from it like a Flood Dragon as he waited for an opportunity.

"Flood Dragon's Chant movement techniques all stay close to the ground. Fighting in such deep snow leaves little room to use them. Ape Master's Art, with its soaring leaps and bounds, is the real killing move in this situation!"

Light flickered in his eyes as he silently activated the Immortal Ape Qi Cultivation Chapter.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

As his qi and blood surged, the cartilage between the bones throughout his body swelled. His muscles and tendons bulged, his qi and blood expanded, and his body grew larger and stronger!

He visualized the internal structure of the White Ape transforming into the Golden Ape, using qi and blood to form bones, tendons, and flesh. Bone, flesh, muscle, and membrane expanded within him, filling him in an instant with strength beyond anything he could usually imagine!

Driven by the violent qi and blood within him, the Immortal Ape Qi Cultivation Chapter charged through barrier after barrier from the first level. After Su Yun circulated his qi and blood through several Greater Celestial Circuits, it directly reached the sixth level!

As for Ape Master's Art, he had directly attained its third achievement!

Ordinarily, even with Su Yun's profound cultivation, practicing a new technique would require more than ten days to reach the sixth level and attain three achievements.

But Su Yun was no ordinary person. The key to the Immortal Ape Qi Cultivation Chapter was to seize the heart ape and tame the will horse, and having devoured the Old Sage Classics from cover to cover, he had long since achieved this.

After the Tianmen Town case of old, Mister Wild Fox moved his classroom to the schoolhouse and accepted several fox Scholars as students. One day, a little blind person came to the schoolhouse and leaned beneath the window to eavesdrop.

For several days running, Mister Wild Fox encountered the little blind person. He eventually invited him inside and set questions for him and the other little foxes.

The little blind person answered fluently, citing the classics and drawing upon the histories, and took first place.

That little blind person was Su Yun.

He possessed comprehension far beyond ordinary people. The Fox Demons were all extremely clever as well, but ever since Su Yun had arrived at the schoolhouse, Flower Fox and the others had never placed first again!

His understanding of the Immortal Ape Qi Cultivation Chapter was no less than that of a great Confucian scholar. Even if Qiu Shuijing were to explain the Immortal Ape Qi Cultivation Chapter, he might not explain it any better.

What Su Yun lacked was sight. He could not visualize, nor could he cultivate those agile, ever-changing techniques. But now, none of that was a problem.

His sight had returned, and he also bore the Tianmen Town imprint between his brows. Within it lay the Eight-Sided Facing Heaven Palace. He could open the Heaven Gate and enter another world, face the Immortal Diagram directly, gain the most intuitive visualization through it, and learn the most precise techniques!

Hoofbeats approached. Ape demons rode toward him one after another, holding torches aloft and shouting wildly.

After the lead horse rushed past, Su Yun suddenly leaped down from the tree and pressed his palm onto the face of the ape demon riding the second horse!

White Ape Hanging Tree!

The force of this blow was immense, wrenching the ape demon's body right off the horse's back.

Su Yun held down his head and slammed it viciously into the head of an ape demon on another horse running alongside them. The force of White Ape Hanging Tree finally erupted in full!

At that instant, Su Yun even had the illusion that he was not gripping a head, but clutching an egg and smashing it into another egg!

The result of two eggs colliding was obvious!

He pressed the two corpses to the ground. The moonlight was bright, and blood painted the white snow red!

"Yuan Qing! Xiao Qi!"

The ape demons behind gave chase on horseback. Seeing this, they were so enraged that their eyes nearly split. Su Yun immediately sprang up, landed atop a horse, and clamped his legs hard around its sides. The horse shot forward.

The ape demons ahead had already reined in their horses and turned around.

One ape demon leaped up and stood on his horse's back. The moment he assumed his opening stance, Su Yun recognized the move he intended to use: Crossing the Ancient Ravine.

Yuan Wu had used this move against Su Yun before. The user leaped like an old ape jumping from a tree across an ancient ravine to land on a tree on the far side, using the powerful momentum to heighten the force of his attack. Its power was tremendous!

Sure enough, the ape demon ahead leaped up and sprang toward Su Yun's horse!

At the very moment he jumped, Su Yun also leaped into the air—but head downward and feet upward, using Ape Lord's Sword Flick.

The ape demon's Crossing the Ancient Ravine unleashed its power. One punch smashed the head of the fine horse Su Yun had just ridden to pieces. At the same instant his fist came down, Su Yun flicked a finger against the crown of his head.

Smack!

The ape demon's skull split apart, and shattered bone pierced his brain. Without a sound, he toppled into the snow.

Su Yun landed and sprang away like a Spirit Ape. Behind him came the whistling sound of sharp arrows tearing through the air. More than ten ape demons had ridden after him, drawing their bows and firing.

Su Yun became even more ape-like than the ape demons themselves, dodging again and again through the snow. Suddenly, he leaped into a tree, drifting and swinging from one tree to another, using the techniques of seizing the heart ape.

The dozen or so ape demons continued shooting from horseback as they chased Su Yun into the forest. Su Yun relaxed. This way, Hua Erge and the others will be safe.

Suddenly, an arrow struck his back. Su Yun hurriedly activated the Great Furnace Transformation: Qi Cultivation Chapter. His qi and blood transformed into dragon scales, blocking the arrow. Yet he had been a moment too slow; the arrow still pierced his flesh. Though it was not deep, it hurt badly.

Su Yun endured the pain, pulled out the arrow, and used qi and blood to form dragon scales over the wound.

The arrow had already affected the coordination of his movements. Blood seeped through his clothes, making his back feel uncomfortable.

Those ape demons continued their pursuit, but horses could not move easily through the forest piled with snow. Before long, many horses stepped into empty spaces and twisted their legs, unable to continue.

The ape demons abandoned their horses and climbed into the trees, leaping from branch to branch as they pursued him.

"Once they abandon their horses and leap through the trees, carrying weapons becomes inconvenient. They'll throw away their bows and arrows as well. Without weapons, I can fight them."

Su Yun used the moonlight to inspect the path ahead. The trees, their branches—everything was reflected in his eyes.

In his mind, the Great Yellow Bell rotated. Its divisions of moments and seconds advanced layer by layer. His eyes judged the positions of objects in relation to himself, while the Yellow Bell calculated time. His body adjusted accordingly, allowing him to avoid obstacles along the way and keep branches from tripping him or blocking his path.

At the same time, his body coordinated itself into its most energy-saving state. In that state, his stamina and strength could be preserved to the greatest extent for the battle ahead.

His Yellow Bell was a Spiritual Ability, though Su Yun did not know that yet. He merely regarded the Yellow Bell as a simple timekeeping tool.

"I need somewhere without light. Somewhere most advantageous to me."

His gaze searched. Chased by these ape demons, his strength and stamina would sooner or later run dry. When that happened, he would be in grave danger. He had to end this quickly!

Suddenly, Su Yun spotted a temple amid the forest. His heart stirred, and he immediately rushed toward it.

The temple was surprisingly new, likely built only recently. Though not large, it had all the necessary trappings.

After several leaps, Su Yun landed in the temple courtyard, then quickly rushed into the main hall.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

One ape demon after another leaped into the courtyard and charged into the main hall. They searched in all directions, but Su Yun was nowhere to be seen.

Then came the creak of a closing door behind them. The dozen or so ape demons hurriedly turned around and saw Su Yun shutting the hall doors.

"Brothers of Yuanjia Ridge."

Under the moonlight, a smile appeared on Su Yun's face. His eyes slowly closed as he said softly, "Darkness has descended."

The hall doors shut, and the interior instantly sank into darkness.

Su Yun's voice came from the blackness. "Are you prepared to face the darkness?"

The ape demons roared and attacked in all directions. Su Yun was like a king of the night, strolling through the darkness as though in a leisurely courtyard, precisely evading every attack from the ape demons.

The youth of Tianmen Town raised a hand and made the gesture of striking a bell. In his mind, the Yellow Bell seemed to ring.

Dong—

The timing began.

Thunder erupted throughout the hall, like the long cry of Flood Dragons, mixed with furious shouts, miserable wails, the sounds of bones breaking, and the hissing splatter of blood against the windows.

After a long while, all sounds subsided.

The hall doors creaked open. Moonlight streamed inside, and a youth's figure stepped into the moonlight and out of the main hall.

Su Yun raised his head and opened his eyes to the bright moon.

Behind him, ape demon corpses lay scattered across the hall.