Flying Snow Reflects Spiritual Power

Chapter 44: Spiritual Power Reflected in Flying Snow

Clang!

A clear bell sound echoed through the air. The moment Su Yun and Ancestor Yuan San collided, the ferocious power in Ancestor Yuan San's staff instantly overwhelmed Su Yun's strength.

Su Yun thought he was about to be smashed into a pulp by the staff, but with the chime of the bell, he felt the unbearable force being rapidly absorbed by the Yellow Bell.

Ancestor Yuan San's strike was incredibly powerful, but most of its force was siphoned off by the Yellow Bell, as if he had struck the bell itself.

Even so, Su Yun couldn't withstand the divine power and was sent flying!

His backside faced forward, his limbs trailing behind him as he flew toward the sky. The sheer strength of Ancestor Yuan San was evident!

But the instant Su Yun was sent flying, a White Ape imprint on the bronze hoop of Ancestor Yuan San's iron staff leaped from the staff head. With a move called "White Ape Hanging from a Tree," it latched onto Su Yun's right foot!

The power of "White Ape Hanging from a Tree" erupted, and Su Yun's upward momentum instantly turned into downward force. He was smashed into the snow, and the Yellow Bell rang out with another loud clang!

As the first White Ape leaped from the staff head, the second White Ape followed. The moment Su Yun sprang from the snow, this White Ape used a move called "Ancient Ravine Flying Across" and punched Su Yun in the face.

Clang!

The Yellow Bell let out another crisp and melodious chime. Su Yun was hit so hard that he spun through the air like a top!

As the second White Ape descended, the third White Ape was already attacking above Su Yun. With a move called "Moon Scooped from a Well," it grabbed the youth by the neck, spun him around, and smashed him down!

The fourth White Ape caught the third White Ape's offensive. With a move called "Old Ape Embracing the Bell," it clenched its fists, raised them high above its head, and brought them down fiercely onto Su Yun's forehead.

The fifth White Ape charged in from the side. Su Yun tumbled and rolled in the snow, and was captured by the White Ape's move "Capturing the Monkey's Heart." It grabbed his chest and pushed him forward!

Crack!

The White Ape pressed down on his chest, smashing through an old tree in the snow. It then leaped up, and the sixth White Ape charged in with a move called "Ape Master's Flicking Sword." Its right hand was clenched, all its power concentrated in its fist. By the time it reached Su Yun, all its Blood Essence surged into its index finger, which it flicked out!

Clang—

The Yellow Bell rang loudly. Su Yun, like a rag doll, tumbled and rolled, his limbs flailing weakly as he was sent flying six to seven zhang away.

From his initial head-on collision with Ancestor Yuan San, where he was outmatched by the divine power, to Ancestor Yuan San's Spiritual Abilities manifesting as six White Apes attacking him from all sides, it all happened in the space of a single breath.

Yet, Su Yun had already endured seven attacks and was sent flying over ten zhang, completely unable to retaliate!

Ancestor Yuan San leaped forward, rising from the snow. He swung his iron staff, and the six White Apes flew out in succession with his staff's movements. With a few crisp clinks, they returned to the bronze hoop of the staff, transforming back into White Ape imprints.

Ancestor Yuan San swung his staff down fiercely towards Su Yun in the snow. But at this moment, Su Yun, who seemed to have lost all defensive capability, suddenly moved like a flood dragon lurking and swimming, slithering through the snow as if diving into a swamp, silently yet incredibly agile.

"Thank you, Ancestor Yuan San!"

Su Yun retreated, weaving through the snow, and laughed, "I've figured out how to use Spiritual Abilities!"

Ancestor Yuan San's strike missed. Another White Ape leaped from the staff head and lunged at Su Yun. Just then, the Yellow Bell above Su Yun's head spun, and a White Ape leaped out from its scale as well.

The two White Apes met in mid-air and began to fight!

Ancestor Yuan San's White Ape Spiritual Abilities used fixed moves from the Ape Master's Art, while Su Yun's White Ape Spiritual Abilities used the unorthodox moves of the Ape Master's Art. He fought speed against slowness, using half a move of "Moon Scooped from a Well" to grab the White Ape's head and twist it forcefully!

With a boom, Ancestor Yuan San's White Ape exploded, dissipating into a cloud of Blood Essence.

When Ancestor Yuan San cultivated the Ape Master's Art, he likely didn't have the guidance of a renowned master like Qiu Shuijing and had to figure it out on his own to reach his current level.

In terms of adaptability, he was far inferior to Su Yun, completely unaware that the Ape Master's Art could be broken down into thirty-six unorthodox moves.

The second White Ape leaped from Ancestor Yuan San's staff, but Su Yun's Yellow Bell also produced a second White Ape, slightly faster than Ancestor Yuan San's.

Again, one White Ape used a complete move from the Ape Master's Art, while the other used unorthodox moves, deciding the outcome in an instant. The White Ape that flew from the Great Yellow Bell killed the White Ape that flew from the iron staff.

In a short moment, six White Apes had flown out from both the iron staff and the Yellow Bell. In a single exchange, all of Ancestor Yuan San's White Ape imprints were torn to shreds!

Ancestor Yuan San wielded his iron staff and charged. The White Apes formed by Su Yun's Blood Essence imprints lunged at Ancestor Yuan San. Su Yun controlled these six White Apes simultaneously, executing six unorthodox moves in an orderly fashion.

These White Apes, formed from Blood Essence imprints, seemed connected to his mind, able to attack at his will.

The difficulty lay in the fact that controlling two things at once was already challenging, and controlling six was even more so. Su Yun had to coordinate the attacks and cooperation of six White Apes simultaneously, the difficulty of which was imaginable.

Ancestor Yuan San was formidable, his roars incessant. He unleashed his iron staff, striking, parrying, poking, and hitting, destroying one White Ape into its Blood Essence form with a single blow.

Su Yun immediately felt his Blood Essence cultivation plummet, his vision darkening. He decisively raised a hand and pointed towards the sky. The Immortal Rope from his backpack shot out, carrying him high into the air.

Ancestor Yuan San shattered all the White Ape and Flood Dragon imprints, which dissipated into Blood Essence. He looked up and saw Su Yun, agile as an ape, climbing the rope and disappearing into the clouds.

Ancestor Yuan San was about to give chase when his vision suddenly darkened. The wounds he sustained from fighting the giant ghost earlier had reopened, causing him to be deficient in Blood Essence. Su Yun had also shattered his six White Apes, further exacerbating his Blood Essence deficiency.

"This little brat is ruthless, killing so many of my kin! I can't let him get away with this!"

Ancestor Yuan San sat down cross-legged and activated the Immortal Ape Qi Cultivation Chapter, inhaling and exhaling spiritual energy, absorbing the essence of the sun, and temporarily suppressing his injuries.

Upon reaching the Spirit Infusion Realm and becoming a Spirit Scholar, one needed to change their cultivation technique, abandoning their original Foundation Establishment method. However, Ancestor Yuan San was in the countryside, in a desolate area like the Tianshiyuan no-man's-land, where uncivilized people abounded. Naturally, no one was willing to teach him.

Without a follow-up cultivation method, he could only continue practicing the Immortal Ape Qi Cultivation Chapter. Furthermore, even his Spiritual Abilities were something he had figured out on his own, not orthodox secret arts from the official academy.

It was precisely because of this that Su Yun could see through the method of his Spiritual Abilities at a glance and steal it to use against him.

Therefore, neither of them possessed orthodox Spiritual Abilities.

To cultivate orthodox Spiritual Abilities, one still needed to study at an official academy, and after classes, they needed to find a renowned master for guidance, practicing for several years before achieving mastery.

Su Yun moved rapidly on the Immortal Rope in the clouds. After traveling the length of one rope, he immediately slid down, leaping like a spirit ape, darting through the snow-covered forests, and rapidly approaching the Tianshiyuan Station.

"I wonder if my second brother and the others have already arrived at the station?" he thought to himself.

The sun gradually moved to the zenith, the snowy landscape reflecting the sunlight, making it exceptionally dazzling.

Flower Fox led three little cubs across the snow. The surface of the snow layer had frozen into a thin ice, which crunched audibly with each step.

They had traveled through the night, filled with trepidation, but fortunately, they encountered no other dangers on the road.

The four fox spirits, transformed into children, had been walking from night until now, exhausted and sleepy. Fortunately, there were wild game like rabbits and mice in the snow to fill their bellies.

At noon, the snow layer softened considerably under the sun's rays, and it began to melt, but the air grew even colder.

Their shoes were filled with icy snowmelt, and they hadn't warmed up even after walking a long distance.

In the afternoon, the sunlight lost its warmth, and their shoes felt even colder. The four children tightened their clothes and skirted a mountain along the snowy path. For some reason, this mountain was bare of any snow, with lush vegetation, only the peak was bald.

After rounding the mountain, they saw a station with blue tiles and white walls appear before them.

Outside the Tianshiyuan station, there was a long corridor that only offered shelter from the rain, not the wind. Moving forward, they found the rooms available for lodging, which were not large, capable of accommodating about ten people.

The four children trudged towards the station. Reaching the corridor, they saw a mountain path below, leading to an unknown destination. It was about five to six zhang wide, with no snow on it, paved with flagstones, and marked with huge claw prints.

Just then, they heard a familiar voice: "Second Brother."

Flower Fox's body trembled, and he turned to see Su Yun walking towards them, against the setting sun and the cold wind blowing from the valley. His body was covered in red ice shards formed from frozen bloodstains, and his newly changed clothes were torn in several places.

However, his steps were still steady, his stride still long, and his gaze still sharp.

"Little Yun Brother is alive!"

Qingqiu Yue ran towards Su Yun, hugging his thigh and crying. Hu Buping and Li Xiaofan also rushed over, hugging his other thigh and crying, "We thought you were dead, no one dared to speak on the way!"

Su Yun placed his hand on their hats and ruffled them, smiling as he looked at Flower Fox below the corridor, "Second Brother, I'm fine."

Flower Fox turned and wiped away his tears, smiling, "I knew you would make it back alive. You keep your promises; even in death, you would come back as a spirit!"

Qingqiu Yue and the other two little ones finally calmed down and stopped crying. Su Yun gathered them and walked into the corridor. Looking down the mountain path, they saw it was laid out from a snowy mountain. From afar, the path snaked like a dragon or a python across the snowy mountain, extending to an unknown destination.

Looking the other way, the mountain path wound through several large mountains.

The four young fox children had already run to the houses in front. Su Yun quickly hurried after them, seeing several old soldiers by the fire inside the station, roasting themselves. Leaning against the wall behind them were several spears, about six to seven feet long.

Their padded jackets were thick, their hands were large and calloused, and their faces, whether from the cold wind or the fire, were an unhealthy red.

Su Yun looked closely and saw that the spearheads still had traces of blood.

They guarded the Tianshiyuan station, and every night, they had to guard against incoming dangers, so it was inevitable that their spears would be stained with blood.

"Going to Shuofang City?"

One of the old soldiers looked up, glanced at them, and said in a deep voice with Shuofang's unique accent, "Four half-tickets, one full ticket. Half-ticket is ten coins, full ticket is twenty coins. Sixty coins in total."

His gaze fell on Su Yun, and his brow furrowed, clearly noticing the bloodstains on Su Yun's body.

"So expensive!" Su Yun felt dizzy, unsure if it was the damage to his Origin Energy from the hard fight with Ancestor Yuan San or the shock of the price. He quickly composed himself.

This was almost half of their entire fortune. Still, he took out his money pouch and counted out sixty Five Zhu Coins.

Qingqiu Yue looked up and asked, "Uncle, can we not pay?"

The old soldier withdrew his gaze from Su Yun and shook his head, "If you don't pay, you have to walk. With your short arms and legs, it would take half a month to reach Shuofang. Moreover, even if one of you were a Spirit Scholar, you definitely couldn't survive walking through the no-man's-land! But if you buy a ticket, you'll arrive in Shuofang tonight."

"Spirit Scholar?" Flower Fox and the others were stunned and looked towards Su Yun.

Su Yun smiled slightly, circulated his Blood Essence, and the Great Yellow Bell slowly appeared above his head, explaining, "I only recently discovered that I had become a Spirit Scholar three years ago."

Zhai Zhu: I only realized when I looked in the mirror that pigs could be this handsome too! They'll definitely look good on a table during the New Year!