Dark Force

Dark Force

Before Ye Yun could make a decision, the Fiery Sun Tiger had already climbed to its feet and pounced at him again from afar.

Seeing this, Ye Yun had no room left to choose. Driven into a corner, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and continue fighting the Fiery Sun Tiger.

Using his agile footwork, Ye Yun continued to entangle himself with the Fiery Sun Tiger. More and more wounds appeared on his body, and the burning pain all over him stimulated his nerves. But he could no longer care about that. He continuously drove his inner energy to circulate at high speed, raining punch after punch upon the Fiery Sun Tiger. Every fist carried surging force.

As Ye Yun continuously swung his fists into the Fiery Sun Tiger's body, the joints in his fingers had long since gone numb with pain. After all, there was still a vast difference between a human body of flesh and blood and a demonic beast.

Gradually, amid this battle of fist striking flesh, Ye Yun slowly grasped a trace of the essence of Dark Force.

Ye Yun had seen descriptions of Dark Force in the Layered Waves Fist manual. However, the senior who created the Layered Waves Fist had not explained how to cultivate Dark Force, leaving behind only one sentence: "True meaning reveals itself in the minutest details."

Ye Yun had not taken those words to heart at the time. Yet he had never expected that, in this perilous battle with the Fiery Sun Tiger, he would slowly sense the subtle changes in his fist force.

Though the wounds on his body throbbed violently during the battle, Ye Yun still keenly caught that tiny difference.

Ye Yun was overjoyed, as though he had glimpsed hope of survival. He immediately immersed himself in comprehending the minute changes within that thread of fist force. The pain in his body had long been thrown to the back of his mind.

Ye Yun kept dodging the Fiery Sun Tiger's attacks, while his mind continuously comprehended the mystery of that subtle change. He now had some clue about Dark Force.

Time trickled away second by second. The Fiery Sun Tiger grew increasingly frenzied, and the frequency of its attacks became faster and faster. Ye Yun's speed, meanwhile, slowly declined as time passed.

One minute.

Two minutes.

Five minutes.

"Ha ha ha, I understand now!"

Suddenly, Ye Yun threw back his head and laughed wildly, seeming almost insane.

A terrifying gleam flashed in his eyes. His figure flickered, and he appeared beside the Fiery Sun Tiger, lightly striking its head with a single punch.

The next moment, the Fiery Sun Tiger froze in place as though it had been immobilized. Several seconds later, it crashed to the ground and did not rise again.

This was Dark Force. Only now did Ye Yun understand what Dark Force was. It differed from ordinary force: it could directly pierce through defenses and attack an enemy's insides. If it had to be described in one phrase, it could only be called sinister and vicious.

Ye Yun had used Dark Force just now, passing through the Fiery Sun Tiger's fur and shattering its brain.

Ye Yun leaned against a tree to recover his strength. Looking at the Fiery Sun Tiger lying ahead, he felt as though he had escaped death by a hair's breadth. Had he not comprehended Dark Force in time, he might have been the one lying on the ground.

Ten minutes later, Ye Yun had recovered some of his strength. He walked toward the Fiery Sun Tiger's corpse, intending to collect the valuable materials from it. He also wanted to see whether it had a demonic beast crystal core.

Just as he was about to begin, Ye Yun's ears twitched. He said in a low voice, "Who is it? Come out."

"Ha ha, boy, you still discovered me." A person emerged from the distant grass.

When Ye Yun saw the newcomer clearly, his appearance gave him a fright. The person who had emerged was a short, ugly old man with a pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks. Judging by his aura, he was also at the high stage of the Body Tempering Realm. As for how many acupoints he had opened, that was impossible to tell.

Ye Yun noticed that the old man was greedily staring at the Essence Fruit behind him. Seeing this, Ye Yun inwardly thought that things were bad. Gritting his teeth, he said, "This junior is Ye Yun, a disciple of the Purple Extreme Sect. May I ask what guidance you have for me, Senior?"

Ye Yun hoped to use the sect's reputation to intimidate the old man.

But unexpectedly, the old man merely smiled disdainfully upon hearing this and said contemptuously, "So what if you're a disciple of the Purple Extreme Sect? It's not as if I haven't killed any before. Boy, I'm in a good mood today, so I'll give you a chance. Leave now, and I'll spare your worthless life."

Ye Yun secretly cried bitterly. He had fought the Fiery Sun Tiger for a long time not long ago, and his strength had yet to recover. Now this ugly old man had appeared, and Ye Yun had no confidence in winning a battle.

"Senior, do you truly mean that? If this junior leaves now, will you really spare my life?" Ye Yun continued stalling for time. Every bit of strength he recovered gave him another measure of odds.

"Rest assured, I keep my word. Leave at once and stop babbling, or don't blame me for going back on my word," the old man said impatiently.

"Then this junior shall... take his leave." As Ye Yun spoke, he gathered strength. The instant his words fell, he charged toward the old man.

In the blink of an eye, he arrived before the old man and swung his fist at him.

Seeing this, the old man did not grow angry but laughed instead. "You don't know the immensity of heaven and earth." Rather than defend himself, he raised his fist and punched directly at Ye Yun's attack.

Seeing the old man's movements, a gleam flashed in Ye Yun's eyes. The old man's actions had all been within his expectations.

Just as their fists were about to collide, Ye Yun forcibly changed his move. He used his right shoulder to receive the old man's fist, while lifting his left leg and kicking the old man in the chest.

Bang!

The sound of collision rang out, and both of them were sent flying backward. Ye Yun crashed to the ground. Having taken the old man's punch head-on, his injuries piled upon injuries. He spat out a mouthful of blood and passed out completely.

The forest was especially quiet at night. On the ground before a small hill, near the boundary between the outer and inner regions of the Blackwater Mountains, lay four figures.

"Eh, where is this... Looks like I won the gamble."

After being unconscious for more than three hours, Ye Yun finally woke up. He looked around and saw the old man's corpse lying not far ahead. Ye Yun could not help letting out a sigh of relief.

At the time, Ye Yun had been gambling on whether the old man would underestimate him. Ye Yun had won. In the old man's eyes, a severely injured Ye Yun was beneath notice, so he had not taken Ye Yun's attack to heart.

Ye Yun had taken advantage of the old man's mindset. Just as he was about to strike, he switched moves at the last moment, using his right shoulder to take the old man's attack head-on while pouring all his strength into a kick to the old man's chest. Dark Force penetrated the old man's body and shattered his heart, allowing Ye Yun to claim victory. Counting it all up, Dark Force had saved Ye Yun twice today.

"This place is not suitable for lingering. I need to leave quickly." Every demonic beast possessed an especially strong sense of territory. Unless necessary, they would not easily enter another demonic beast's territory. Within several miles of this place, the Fiery Sun Tiger's aura had kept other demonic beasts away, which was why none had appeared while Ye Yun was unconscious. But now that the Fiery Sun Tiger was dead, its aura was gradually dissipating. Demonic beasts could appear at any moment.

Ye Yun forced himself to stand and walked toward the Fiery Sun Tiger's corpse. Before long, he had collected its valuable materials. To his disappointment, the Fiery Sun Tiger did not possess a demonic beast crystal core. He then turned to the Essence Fruit, plucked it, and carefully stored it away. When he came to the old man's corpse, Ye Yun could not help feeling like vomiting as he looked at it, because this was the first person he had ever killed.

Suppressing the urge to vomit, Ye Yun searched the old man's body. Strangely, he found nothing. He searched again carefully and still found nothing, discovering only a palm-sized black pouch at the old man's waist. Ye Yun did not pay it any mind and casually tucked it into his robes. Then he swiftly gathered all his belongings and endured the pain throughout his body as he hurried toward the cave.

End of Chapter