Clang!
A long, resonant bell rang through the air. The instant Su Yun collided with Ancestor Yuan San, the incomparably violent force in Ancestor Yuan San's cudgel directly crushed Su Yun's strength.
Su Yun had thought he would be smashed into pulp by that blow, but with the ringing of the bell, he felt the unbearable force rapidly being absorbed by the Yellow Bell.
Ancestor Yuan San's strike was immensely powerful, but most of its force had been drawn away by the Yellow Bell, as though his cudgel had struck the Yellow Bell itself.
Even so, Su Yun could not withstand that divine force and was swept flying by the cudgel!
His backside faced backward, his hands and feet stretched before him as he flew into the sky. Ancestor Yuan San's strength was plain for all to see!
Yet at the very instant Su Yun was swept away, a white ape imprint on the bronze hoop of Ancestor Yuan San's Iron Cudgel unexpectedly leaped from the cudgel's tip. With White Ape Hanging Tree, it seized Su Yun's right foot!
The force of White Ape Hanging Tree erupted. Su Yun's upward momentum instantly became a downward plunge, and he was smashed hard into the snow. The Yellow Bell rang out with another great clang!
As the first white ape leaped from the Iron Cudgel's tip, a second white ape followed. Just as Su Yun bounced up from the snow, this ape used Crossing the Ancient Ravine, its fist crashing into Su Yun's cheek.
Clang!
The Yellow Bell gave another crisp, lingering chime, and Su Yun was sent spinning through the air like a top!
The second white ape landed, while the third had already reached above Su Yun. Using Fishing the Moon from the Well, it seized the youth by the neck, turned, swung him around, and smashed him down!
The fourth white ape carried on the third's assault. With Old Ape Hugging Bell, it clasped its hands into fists, raised them high overhead, and viciously hammered Su Yun's forehead.
The fifth white ape charged in from the diagonal. As Su Yun rolled and tumbled through the snow, it subdued him with Seizing the Heart Ape, gripping his chest and shoving him forward!
Crack!
Pressing down on Su Yun's chest, the white ape rammed him through an old tree in the snow. It then leaped up as the sixth white ape rushed in, using Ape Lord's Sword Flick. Its right hand clenched into a fist, gathering all its strength there. When it reached Su Yun, all its qi and blood surged into its index finger, which flicked out!
Clang—
The Yellow Bell boomed. Su Yun was like a rag-stuffed doll, rolling end over end with his limbs flailing weakly as he was sent flying six or seven zhang away.
From his head-on clash with Ancestor Yuan San in midair, where he lost to Ancestor Yuan San's divine strength, to the Iron Cudgel's Spiritual Abilities taking the form of six white apes attacking one after another, only a single breath had passed.
Yet Su Yun had already suffered seven attacks and been knocked more than ten zhang away, utterly unable to strike back!
Ancestor Yuan San sprang forward, leaping up from the snow as he swung the Iron Cudgel with a whoosh. The six white apes flew up one after another with the movement of his cudgel. After several crisp dings, they returned to the cudgel's bronze hoops and became white ape imprints once more.
Ancestor Yuan San swung his cudgel down viciously at Su Yun in the snow. But at that moment, Su Yun, who appeared to have lost all ability to defend himself, suddenly moved through the snow like a Flood Dragon swimming beneath the depths, as though slipping into a swamp—soundless, yet extraordinarily nimble.
"Thank you, Ancestor Yuan San!"
Su Yun retreated, weaving through the snow as he smiled. "I've already figured out how to use Spiritual Abilities!"
Ancestor Yuan San's cudgel missed. Another white ape leaped from its tip and pounced at Su Yun, but at that moment, the Yellow Bell above Su Yun's head spun, and a white ape also leaped from its markings.
The two white apes met in midair and fought!
Ancestor Yuan San's white ape ability used the fixed moves of Ape Lord's Judgment, while Su Yun's white ape ability used the Unbound Moves of Ape Lord's Judgment. Fast against slow, he used half a move of Fishing the Moon from the Well, seized the white ape's head, and twisted hard!
Ancestor Yuan San's white ape exploded with a bang, turning into a cloud of qi and blood that dispersed.
When Ancestor Yuan San had cultivated Ape Lord's Judgment, he likely had not received guidance from a famed teacher like Qiu Shuijing. He had instead explored the path of cultivation on his own, attaining what he had today.
When it came to adapting to changes, he was far inferior to Su Yun. He had no idea that Ape Master's Art could be broken apart into thirty-six forms of Unbound Moves.
A second white ape leaped from Ancestor Yuan San's cudgel tip, but a second white ape also flew from Su Yun's Yellow Bell, slightly faster than Ancestor Yuan San's.
Again, one white ape used a complete move from Ape Master's Art while the other used Unbound Moves. The outcome was decided in an instant: the white ape from the Great Yellow Bell killed the white ape from the Iron Cudgel.
In but a brief moment, six white apes flew from both the Iron Cudgel and the Yellow Bell. After a single encounter, every white ape imprint of Ancestor Yuan San was torn to pieces!
Ancestor Yuan San brandished the Iron Cudgel and charged forward. The white apes formed from Su Yun's qi-and-blood imprints pounced on Ancestor Yuan San, while Su Yun controlled all six white apes at once, executing six forms of Unbound Moves in perfect order.
The white apes formed from those qi-and-blood imprints seemed connected to his mind and spirit, able to attack according to his will.
The difficulty was that using one mind for two purposes was already arduous; using one mind for six purposes was harder still. Controlling the attacks and coordination of six white apes at once was difficult beyond imagining.
Ancestor Yuan San was exceedingly formidable. He let out an unending roar as the Iron Cudgel unfolded—smashing, lifting, striking, and battering—each blow directly reduced a white ape to qi and blood.
Su Yun immediately felt his qi-and-blood cultivation plummet. His vision darkened somewhat, and he decisively raised a hand to point at the sky. The Immortal Rope shot from the bundle on his back with a whoosh, carrying him high into the air.
Ancestor Yuan San shattered every white ape and Flood Dragon, turning them into dispersing qi and blood. Looking up, he saw Su Yun, nimble as an ape, climbing the rope and vanishing into the clouds.
Ancestor Yuan San was about to pursue when his vision suddenly darkened in waves. The wounds left from his earlier battle with the giant ghostly monster had burst open again, draining his qi and blood. Su Yun's destruction of his six white apes only made matters worse.
"That little brat is ruthless and vicious. He killed so many of my clansmen—I can't let him go just like that!"
Ancestor Yuan San sat cross-legged, activated the Immortal Ape Qi Cultivation Chapter, breathed in and out spiritual qi, and absorbed the sun's essence to temporarily suppress his injuries.
After cultivating to the Spirit Infusion Realm and becoming a Spirit Scholar, one needed to change cultivation methods and abandon the original Foundation Establishment method. But Ancestor Yuan San lived in the countryside, in a place like the No-Man's Land of Tianshiyuan, where poor mountains and foul waters bred troublesome folk. Naturally, no one was willing to teach him.
He had no subsequent cultivation method, so he could only continue cultivating the Immortal Ape Qi Cultivation Chapter. Even his Spiritual Abilities had been developed through his own fumbling, rather than being orthodox arts taught in official academies.
It was precisely because of this that Su Yun could see through his method of using Spiritual Abilities at a glance and steal it to use against him.
Thus, neither of them possessed orthodox Spiritual Abilities.
To cultivate orthodox Spiritual Abilities, one still had to enter an official academy to study, seek guidance from famed teachers after class, and cultivate for several years before truly mastering them.
Su Yun raced through the clouds atop the Immortal Rope. After traveling the length of one rope, he immediately slid down it, leaping and bounding like a spirit ape through the snowy forests as he rapidly approached Tianshiyuan Station.
I wonder whether Second Brother and the others have reached the station already? he silently thought.
The sun gradually moved overhead, and the snow's reflection made the sunlight especially dazzling.
Flower Fox led the three little children through the snow. A layer of ice had formed atop the snowpack, crunching and squeaking sharply beneath their feet.
They had traveled through the night, terrified in their hearts, but fortunately they had encountered no other dangers along the way.
The four little children transformed from fox demons had walked from night until now, exhausted and sleepy. Fortunately, there were rabbits, mice, and other game in the snow to fill their bellies.
By noon, the sun had softened the snowpack. The snow began to melt, but it became even colder.
Their shoes were filled with icy snowmelt, and even walking such a long distance had not warmed them.
By afternoon, even the sunlight had lost its warmth. Their shoes became colder still. The four children wrapped their clothes tighter and followed the snowy road around a hill. For some unknown reason, there was no snow at all upon that hill. Its grass and trees remained lush, though its summit was bare.
Once they passed the hill, a station of blue tiles and white walls appeared before them.
Outside Tianshiyuan Station was a long corridor that kept off the rain but not the wind. Only farther ahead were there rooms where travelers could lodge, though they were not large enough to hold more than a dozen people or so.
The four children trudged with difficulty toward the station. When they reached the corridor, they saw a mountain road beneath it that led who knew where. It was five or six zhang wide, free of snow and paved with stone slabs, upon which enormous claw prints could be seen.
Then they heard a familiar voice. "Second Brother."
Flower Fox's body trembled. Turning around, he saw Su Yun walking toward them against the setting sun and the cold wind blowing from the valley. Red ice chips formed from frozen blood hung from his body, and his newly changed clothes were torn in many places.
Yet his steps remained steady, his stride still broad, and his gaze as sharp as ever.
"Brother Xiao Yun is alive!"
Qingqiu Yue ran toward Su Yun, hugged his leg, and burst into tears. Hu Buping and Xiao Fan also ran over, hugging his other leg as they cried, "We all thought you were dead! None of us dared to speak along the way!"
Su Yun placed his palms on their hats and rubbed them, smiling at Flower Fox beneath the corridor. "Second Brother, I'm fine."
Flower Fox turned away to wipe his tears and smiled. "I knew you would make it here alive. You keep your promises. Even if you died, you would turn into a Spiritual Nature and come!"
The three little ones, Qingqiu Yue and the others, finally settled down and stopped crying. Su Yun gathered them close and led them into the corridor. Looking down the mountain road, he saw that it stretched from a snowy mountain. From afar, it resembled a dragon or python-like road crawling over the snow-covered mountain, extending to some unknown place.
Looking toward the other side of the road, however, they saw that it passed between several great mountains.
The four little demon children had already run to the rooms ahead. Su Yun hurried after them and saw several old soldiers gathered around a fire in the station. Several long spears, each around sixteen or seventeen feet long, leaned against the wall behind them.
Their padded coats were thick, their hands large and callused. Their faces were an unhealthy red, whether from the cold wind or the fire was impossible to tell.
Su Yun looked carefully and saw bloodstains still on the spearheads.
They guarded Tianshiyuan Station. Whenever night fell, they had to guard against danger striking, so blood on their spears was inevitable.
"Going to Shuofang City?"
One old soldier raised his head and glanced at them. His deep voice carried the distinctive accent of the Northern Frontier. "Four half fares, one full fare. Half fare is ten coins, full fare is twenty coins. Sixty coins altogether."
His gaze fell on Su Yun, and his brows rose slightly. Clearly, he had noticed the blood on Su Yun.
"So expensive!" Su Yun felt somewhat dizzy. He did not know whether it was because his head-on clash with Ancestor Yuan San had injured his vitality, or because the price had frightened him. He hurriedly steadied himself.
This was nearly half their wealth. Still, he took out his money pouch and counted out sixty Five Zhu Coins.
Qingqiu Yue looked up and asked, "Uncle, can we go without paying?"
The old soldier withdrew his gaze from Su Yun and shook his head. "If you don't pay, you'll have to walk. With your little arms and short legs, it'll take you half a month to reach Shuofang. And even if one of you is a Spirit Scholar, you definitely won't survive crossing the No-Man's Land! But if you buy tickets, you'll reach Shuofang tonight."
"A Spirit Scholar?" Flower Fox and the others froze, then turned to look at Su Yun.
Su Yun smiled faintly. His qi and blood stirred, and the Great Yellow Bell slowly emerged above his head. "I only discovered recently that I had already become a Spirit Scholar three years ago."
Zhai Zhu: I only discovered while looking in the mirror that pigs could be this handsome too! I'd definitely look good laid out on the table for New Year!
Before you continue