Darkness Descends

Chapter 41: Darkness Descends

"When it rains, it pours. The monsters from Yuanjia Ridge are chasing us!"

Su Yun's heart sank. He put down the firewood. "We didn't leave any tracks, but the snow has stopped. They can still track us by the firelight! Now we have monsters from Yuanjia Ridge outside, and this ghoul carrying a head, a pincer attack..."

The sound of horses' hooves grew closer to the Venerable Sage Temple.

Su Yun packed his belongings and said quickly, "Second Brother, wake them up. We need to leave immediately!"

Flower Fox hurriedly woke up Hu Buping, Qingqiu Yue, and the others. Su Yun slung his packed bag over his shoulder and leaned towards the window. He saw the giant ghoul's thick palm lift its large head out of the courtyard, holding the messy head with both hands and placing it back on its neck.

The ghoul shook its head left and right with its hands, as if searching for the right position.

A curse came from outside the temple: "Damn it, put it on backwards again!"

Su Yun watched as the giant ghoul took off its own head, reversed the position of the back of its head and its face, and then put it back on. It looked as if many wriggling tentacles had grown from the ghoul's neck, connecting to its head.

"Heh, there we go!"

The giant ghoul grinned and poked its head in from outside the temple, bending down into the courtyard. It looked towards Su Yun, hidden behind the west wing window.

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

Just as the giant ghoul finished speaking, an old voice suddenly came from outside: "Who dares to obstruct the business of Yuanjia Ridge? Do you recognize Ancestor Yuan San?"

BOOM!

A violent tremor shook the ground. It was a great demon making its move, attacking the giant ghoul.

The giant ghoul cried out in pain and suddenly reached out, grabbing the old tree in the courtyard of the Venerable Sage Temple. It uprooted the tree and swung it outwards with great force!

Su Yun, by the window, saw people and horses being swept into the air outside the temple, torches falling and spinning as they were thrown.

He couldn't help but stare blankly. "Why did they start fighting each other first? The monsters from Yuanjia Ridge really have fiery tempers."

Ancestor Yuan San, a great demon from Yuanjia Ridge, was incredibly powerful. He was fighting the giant ghoul to a standstill!

One was a ghoul, the other a great demon. They manipulated yin winds and demonic energy, fighting as they moved. The sounds of colossal bodies colliding and trees breaking and collapsing echoed from the snowy ground outside, truly astonishing!

Su Yun immediately pushed open the west wing door and said in a deep voice, "The Venerable Sage Temple can defend against a ghoul, but not against a demon! Now's our chance, let's go!"

The three little foxes transformed into three small children, each carrying a small bundle on their backs. Flower Fox, transformed into a child, followed behind.

They reached the wall, leaped over it, and stepped onto the snowy ground, crouching low as they moved swiftly away.

In the snowy night, under the moonlight, the ghoul and the great demon from Yuanjia Ridge fought their way into the forest, making the trees tremble.

As Su Yun and Flower Fox continued forward, they suddenly heard a monkey demon shout loudly: "They're not in the temple!"

"Footprints by the corner of the wall!"

"Chase them!"

Su Yun's heart sank. He said in a low voice, "Second Brother, take them and go ahead. Find a temple to hide in! I have the Immortal Rope, I'll cover our retreat! If you don't see me, go to Tianshiyuan Station to wait for me!"

Flower Fox knew the situation was urgent and said in a deep voice, "Be careful." With that, he led the three children and quickened his pace into the mountains.

Su Yun surveyed his surroundings and leaped onto a large tree, hanging upside down like a flood dragon, waiting for an opportunity.

"The Flood Dragon's Chant movement technique is designed for ground combat. Fighting in such deep snow hinders its effectiveness. On the other hand, the Ape Master's Art, with its leaping and soaring, is the killer move in this situation!"

A light flashed in his eyes as he silently activated the Immortal Ape Qi Cultivation Chapter.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

As his Blood Essence surged, the cartilage between his bones bulged, his muscles and fascia swelled, his Blood Essence expanded, and his body grew stronger!

He visualized the internal structure of the White Ape transforming into a Golden Ape, using his Blood Essence to strengthen his bones, tendons, and flesh. His bones, muscles, and fascia expanded within his body, making him feel an unimaginable surge of power!

Driven by the violent Blood Essence circulating within him, the Immortal Ape Qi Cultivation Chapter broke through from its first level all the way to the sixth! After a few major cycles of Blood Essence circulation, it reached the sixth level!

Furthermore, the Ape Master's Art was directly cultivated to its third achievement!

Logically, even with Su Yun's profound cultivation, mastering a new technique to the sixth level and achieving three accomplishments would normally take over ten days.

But Su Yun was no ordinary person. The most crucial part of the Immortal Ape Qi Cultivation Chapter's mental cultivation was "capturing the restless ape and taming the wild horse." Having read the Old Sage Classics extensively, he had already achieved this.

After the Tianmen Town case, Mister Wild Fox moved his classroom to the Village School and took in some fox scholars. A small blind boy came to the Village School and listened outside the window.

For several days, Mister Wild Fox encountered this little blind boy, so he let him in and gave him a test along with the other little foxes.

The little blind boy answered fluently, quoting classics and making allusions, and came in first.

That little blind boy was Su Yun.

He possessed extraordinary comprehension. The fox demons were also extremely intelligent, but ever since Su Yun arrived at the Village School, Flower Fox and the others had never scored first place again!

His understanding of the Immortal Ape Qi Cultivation Chapter was no less than that of a Great Scholar. Even if Qiu Shuijing were to interpret the Immortal Ape Qi Cultivation Chapter, he might not be able to do a better job.

What he lacked was sight, the inability to visualize, and the inability to practice those fluid and changing movements. But now, all of that was no longer a problem.

He had regained his eyesight, and in the center of his brow was the imprint of Tianmen Town, containing the Eight-Sided Facing Heaven Palace. He could open the Heavenly Gate and enter another world, directly facing the Immortal Diagram. Through the Immortal Diagram, he could gain the most direct visualization and learn the most precise techniques!

The sound of horse hooves approached. Monkey demons, riding horses and holding torches, were shouting and chasing them.

As the lead horse charged forward, Su Yun suddenly leaped from the tree and pressed his palm onto the face of the monkey demon on the second horse!

White Ape Hanging from a Tree!

The force of this blow was immense, sending the ape demon's body flying from its horse.

Su Yun pressed down on its head, slamming it into the head of another ape demon on a parallel horse. The full power of the "White Ape Hanging from a Tree" technique finally erupted.

In that instant, Su Yun even had an illusion, as if he wasn't holding a head, but rather an egg, smashing it against another egg!

The result of two eggs colliding was, as one could imagine!

He brought the two corpses down to the ground. The moonlight was bright, and the white snow was stained red!

"Yuan Qing, Xiao Qi!"

The ape demons behind them spurred their horses in pursuit. Seeing the scene, their eyes threatened to split open. Su Yun immediately leaped up, mounted a horse, and with a powerful squeeze of his legs, the horse shot forward.

The ape demon in front had already reined in its horse and turned around.

The ape demon leaped up and stood on its horse. As soon as it struck its starting pose, Su Yun immediately recognized the technique it was about to use: "Ancient Ravine Crossing."

This was a move Yuan Wu had used when facing Su Yun. It involved leaping up like an old ape crossing an ancient ravine from a tree to the opposite bank, using immense impact force to amplify its attack power.

As expected, the ape demon in front leaped up and jumped towards Su Yun's horse!

The moment it leaped, Su Yun also leaped, but headfirst and feet up, executing the "Ape Master's Plucking Sword" technique.

The ape demon's "Ancient Ravine Crossing" technique unleashed its full power, smashing the head of the horse Su Yun had been riding into pieces with a single punch. As his fist landed, Su Yun flicked his finger and struck the ape demon's crown.

Crack!

The ape demon's skull cracked, bone fragments piercing its brain. It fell silently into the snow.

Su Yun landed and leaped up like a nimble ape. Behind him, the whistling sound of arrows pierced the air. Over a dozen more ape demons were pursuing him on horseback, drawing their bows to shoot.

Su Yun became even more like an ape than the ape demons. He dodged repeatedly in the snow, then suddenly leaped onto a tree, swinging and gliding from one tree to another, using the "Capturing the Monkey Mind" technique.

The dozen or so ape demons continued their pursuit, shooting arrows as they chased Su Yun into the forest. Su Yun felt relieved, "This way, Hua Erge and the others will be safe."

Suddenly, he was hit by an arrow in the back. Su Yun quickly activated the "Great Furnace Transformation: Qi Cultivation Chapter," and his Blood Essence transformed into dragon scales, blocking the arrow. However, it was still a bit too late. The arrow pierced his flesh, not deeply, but it was still very painful.

Su Yun endured the pain, pulled out the arrow, and covered the wound with dragon-scaled Blood Essence.

This arrow affected his coordination, and his blood seeped through his clothes, making his back feel uncomfortable.

The ape demons were still chasing, but their horses had difficulty moving through the snow-covered forest. Soon, many horses stumbled and twisted their ankles, unable to proceed.

The ape demons abandoned their horses and leaped into the trees, pursuing him.

"After abandoning their horses, they'll have trouble carrying weapons while leaping through trees, and they'll likely discard their bows and arrows. Without weapons, I can fight."

Su Yun scanned his surroundings in the moonlight. The trees ahead, their branches, everything was reflected in his eyes.

In his mind, the Great Yellow Bell spun, and with each passing second, his eyes judged objects and his position. The Yellow Bell calculated time, and his body adjusted accordingly, allowing him to avoid obstacles and prevent branches from tripping him or blocking his path.

Simultaneously, his body coordinated itself into the most energy-efficient state, preserving his stamina and physical strength to the maximum for the upcoming battle.

His Yellow Bell was a Spiritual Ability, though Su Yun didn't know it yet. He simply treated the Yellow Bell as a timer.

"I need a place without light, a place that is most advantageous to me."

His gaze searched. Being chased by these ape demons, his stamina and physical strength would eventually be depleted, leading to a dire situation. He had to end this quickly!

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

The temple was surprisingly new, likely built not long ago. Though small, it was complete.

With a few leaps, Su Yun landed in the temple courtyard and quickly rushed into the main hall.

Thump, thump, thump!

One by one, the ape demons landed in the courtyard and rushed into the main hall. Their eyes scanned everywhere, but Su Yun was nowhere to be found.

Just then, the creaking sound of a closing door came from behind them. The dozen or so ape demons quickly turned around, only to see Su Yun closing the hall door.

"Esteemed brothers from Yuanjia Ridge."

Under the moonlight, a smile appeared on Su Yun's face. He slowly closed his eyes and whispered, "Darkness has fallen."

The hall door closed, plunging the interior into darkness.

Su Yun's voice echoed from the darkness, "Are you ready to face the darkness?"

The ape demons roared and attacked in all directions. Su Yun, like a king in the night, moved leisurely in the darkness, precisely dodging the ape demons' attacks.

The young man from Tianmen Town raised his hand, making a bell-ringing gesture. The Yellow Bell in his mind seemed to emit a chime.

Dong—

The countdown began.

The hall was filled with the sound of thunder, like the long cry of a flood dragon, mixed with shouts, cries of agony, the sound of bones breaking, and the sizzling of blood splattering against the windows.

After a long while, all sounds subsided.

The hall door creaked open, and moonlight streamed in. A young figure walked out into the moonlight, emerging from the great hall.

Su Yun tilted his head back, opening his eyes to face the bright moon.

Behind him, the hall was filled with the corpses of ape demons.