Chapter 250: Hunt

Chapter 250: Hunt

Clash! Clash!

The moment their palms met, a fierce gale burst forth.

The air was immediately filled with intense reverberations, and the sound of explosions rang out ceaselessly.

The surrounding Bone Mountain was the first to bear the brunt.

In an instant, the bones shattered, and skulls cascaded down like a storm. The area where the two stood was instantly cleared, creating a vast empty space.

The bones on the ground cracked and crumbled, pulverized into dust by the sheer force of their internal energy.

As their feet landed firmly, they stood upon a network of blood channels.

Just as Su Mo had previously speculated, the ground here closely resembled the deep valley within Profound Theory Valley.

The blood channels crisscrossed the ground, intended to refine those who stood here into blood slaves.

Yet, they had never succeeded in this endeavor.

Instead, the area had been buried under a mountain of bones, hiding its original appearance.

Now, as the gale from Su Mo and Night Lord's clash swept through, the true nature of the place was unveiled.

Su Mo, however, was taken aback.

Night Lord's internal energy was indeed profound—not only profound but also incredibly cunning and peculiar.

During their palm clash, Su Mo realized that the internal energy he had directed toward Night Lord was dissipating piece by piece, as if it were being dissolved by Night Lord's own energy.

What kind of energy-dissolving technique was this?

Unbeknownst to him, this was one of the profound divine abilities from the Eternal Night Demon Record.

This martial art was intricately tied to the time of day and the interplay of light and darkness.

At the stroke of midnight, it reached its peak strength.

A myriad of mysterious techniques could be unleashed at this time.

However, engaging in combat during the day would greatly diminish the effectiveness of the martial arts.

But fighting in a dark room during the day would yield different results.

Though not as effortless as at night, the power of the martial arts would still be significantly amplified.

At this moment, it was not midnight, but rather around the hour of Yin.

Combined with the deep darkness of the underground, Night Lord's Eternal Night Demon Record could exert a tremendous effect.

The internal energy Su Mo had directed toward him was not entirely absorbed. Instead, Night Lord used a technique from the Eternal Night Demon Record called "Pitch Black Darkness" to shift it layer by layer.

He transferred all of it into the surrounding darkness, where it could no longer cause any disturbance.

Thus, the force Su Mo could exert on Night Lord at this moment was only about one-tenth of the full power of his palm strike.

This left Su Mo deeply impressed, and he nodded in admiration.

"As expected of the Night Lord, such deep internal energy!"

Hearing this, the Night Lord nearly coughed up blood, almost dying of rage.

What gives you the right to say that?

Earlier, when he used the "Forsake Light for Darkness" technique from the Eternal Night Demon Record to hide his form, Su Mo had relentlessly mocked him.

Putting other things aside, that one line—"You're a senior in the martial world, a sect leader, yet you fight a junior like me"—really hit a nerve with the Night Lord.

But he had always been one to hide his emotions, and besides, Su Mo was an opponent worth his attention.

That's why he didn't let any weakness show when he heard those words.

But now, during this palm strike exchange, Su Mo says it again...

Just who is the Night Lord?

Having mastered the Eternal Night Demon Record to this level, he's reached a realm no one has ever achieved before.

He's fought the leaders of the seven major sects single-handedly twice and walked away without a scratch. In one-on-one combat, forget others—even Li Zhengyuan isn't someone the Night Lord takes seriously.

And now... to be praised for his internal energy by Li Zhengyuan's grand-disciple?

This is absolutely maddening!

Right away, he shifted his stance, took a deep breath, and a shadow separated from behind him.

The shadow appeared suddenly, didn't hesitate, and turned to strike Su Mo's side with a palm.

"Huh?"

Su Mo was shocked, then heard a deep, bell-like sound boom from his body.

Right after, a golden ancient bell illusion suddenly surrounded Su Mo.

The shadow's palm strike was just as powerful, almost as strong as the Night Lord's.

But Su Mo could clearly tell this was still just a human skin.

Yet the internal energy it could use far exceeded the shadow tricks the Night Lord had used earlier.

And that wasn't all!

Suddenly, shadows started appearing one after another from behind the Night Lord.

Six shadows in all.

Some threw punches, others jabbed with fingers, all aiming for Su Mo.

Seeing this, Su Mo took a deep breath, and the golden bell around him grew even more solid.

No matter how the shadows attacked with fists and palms, they couldn't touch Su Mo.

"So this is the Eternal Night Demon Record?"

Su Mo glanced up at the Night Lord.

At this point, the Night Lord couldn't keep up his elder's composure, his thin, blade-like lips parting slightly:

"Die!!!"

As the word echoed, a surge of formidable internal energy abruptly surged forward.

It was evident that even now, my lord had not yet exerted his full strength.

They say even an eagle uses its full strength to catch a rabbit.

However, in the martial world, people are always cunning and deceitful.

Without knowing your opponent's limits, going all out could backfire.

Su Mo had just used such a tactic to deceive my lord, who thought Su Mo was at his limit, only to fall into a huge ambush.

In truth, one cannot blame my lord for being easily deceived.

After all, by normal reasoning, even if Su Mo had started practicing martial arts since birth, achieving such a powerful palm strike could only be attributed to a series of lucky breaks and constant miracles.

Who could have imagined that he also had a system?

Thus, various supreme skills kept coming his way, and at a young age, his martial prowess had already gone beyond what anyone could imagine.

Even my lord, with his deep scheming, was thoroughly caught off guard by this completely unconventional situation, leading to the current clash of inner strength with Su Mo.

Now, the techniques from the Eternal Night Demon Record were unleashed, and there was no time to consider anything else.

He simply wanted to make Su Mo understand the sheer power!

But when this profound internal energy pushed forward, it stopped at the point where their palms clashed...

Su Mo grinned: "Since my debut, my lord is the first to match me to this extent!"

In the next moment, a dragon's roar burst forth from Su Mo's body.

The golden bell phantom around him shook violently, showing glimpses of several dragon-shaped energy streams rising from his back, radiating a dazzling purple light.

With this force, Su Mo's feet slammed into the ground with a resounding crash.

The sound of cracking and shattering rang out nonstop.

His immensely powerful martial skills were only now starting to show their true power.

In an instant, the ground churned with flying debris, and the surrounding piles of bones were lifted into the air.

As Su Mo's internal energy shifted, my lord felt his own internal energy not only being directly returned but also surging back through his meridians!

The sleeves on his arms burst into pieces, and in the next moment, his arms could no longer hold on.

He could only let go, allowing Su Mo to charge forward, with a resounding crash.

Two palms struck directly at my lord's chest and abdomen.

With a tearing sound, Su Mo actually passed right through my lord's form.

Upon turning back, he saw two pieces of human skin lying on the ground.

"Huh?"

Su Mo suddenly looked up and saw a black shadow merging into the portal from which they had come, ascending the steps with a speed truly like fleeting light and shadow.

"...How could I let you get away!?"

Ever since they had discussed with Li Zhengyuan within the Purple Sun Sect, they knew the Night Lord was almost certainly targeting the Ghostly Forest.

Su Mo, not only interested in the situation within the Wraith Courtyard, also wanted to capture the Night Lord who had been stirring up trouble in East City.

This is why Li Zhengyuan had Su Mo deliver a palm strike for him.

However, the Eternal Night Demon Record was too bizarre. If the Night Lord had taken that palm strike directly, even if he didn't die, his meridians would have been completely severed.

But who would have thought that at this critical moment, the Night Lord could still use a technique like shadow cloning to escape from Su Mo's palm?

Without hesitation, Su Mo dashed up the stairs like a gust of wind.

The Night Lord's lightness skill was unmatched in the current era, and with a relentless pursuer on his tail, he didn't dare stop for even a second.

The two of them, one chasing the other, moved like two gusts of wind.

While it had taken some time to descend earlier, now climbing up, they reached the top in an instant.

The Night Lord clearly knew this place better than Su Mo.

As he paused, two shadows separated from his body.

Simultaneously, he reached out to activate a mechanism, and the sound of gears turning echoed as the entire staircase began to rise.

But when he glanced back, a chill ran through his heart.

These two shadows were conjured using the profound techniques from the Eternal Night Demon Record, each only slightly less powerful than he was.

At that moment, the two shadows could only hold Su Mo off for three to five moves.

Su Mo tore them apart effortlessly, reducing them to fragments on the ground.

The human skins used for these two shadows were distinct.

One originated from Thien Fo Temple.

The great monk of Thien Fo Temple possessed a divine skill known as the "Golden Buddha Body Technique."

Once mastered, it rendered one invulnerable to swords and spears, like a golden Buddha!

However, throughout history, few have mastered it to its peak.

The original owner of this human skin was a master who had cultivated this skill to the seventh level.

Such human skin was exceedingly rare in the world.

The other had a peculiar origin, having learned a martial art that was as slippery as a fish.

Even the Night Lord had to put in some effort to capture this person.

Through secret methods, he processed these two human skins, almost perfectly preserving their original characteristics.

Yet, even so, they were no match for Su Mo.

He tore them apart with ease, reducing them to fragments on the ground.

At this moment, the Night Lord felt as if he was being cornered by a fierce pursuer, on the brink of desperation.

He couldn't help but feel a sense of absurdity.

He was a seasoned practitioner of the demonic arts, unmatched in the martial world for twenty years, roaming freely across the land. Yet now, he was being chased by a disciple of the Purple Sun Sect, with no escape to heaven or earth...

How could this be justified?

As Su Mo charged forward again, Night Lord gritted his teeth and sent out two more shadows from his feet.

This time, he wasn't aiming to kill, but merely to delay Su Mo briefly.

But who was Su Mo, really?

As soon as the two shadows moved, Su Mo had already seen through Night Lord's intentions. How could he allow his scheme to succeed?

With a mere flicker of his body, Su Mo slipped between the two shadows.

The shadows reached out to grab Su Mo's ankles, but with a single lift of his foot, Su Mo sent them flying away.

In the next instant, Su Mo's Purple Sun Divine Palm was already before Night Lord.

"Do you truly believe I fear you?"

Night Lord was furious, driven to such a state by a junior, his heart ablaze with rage.

But in the blink of an eye, his figure vanished into the darkness.

Su Mo was momentarily stunned,

"Weren't you just claiming you weren't afraid?"

Without hesitation, Su Mo paused briefly, and a purple light erupted from his body.

Night Lord's move of abandoning light for darkness depended on the shadows.

Su Mo's pure yang energy suddenly burst forth, illuminating the dark corridor as if a purple sun had risen.

In that moment, Night Lord had nowhere to hide.

He lunged forward with a palm strike aimed directly at Su Mo.

"Here it is!"

Su Mo wasn't afraid.

But as he extended his palm, he employed the Great Open Yang Scattering Palm.

The Great Open Yang Scattering Palm seemed broad and sweeping, but in truth, it concealed cleverness within its simplicity.

Night Lord was solely focused on escaping, so why would he truly confront Su Mo directly?

Su Mo understood this well. Had he used the Purple Sun Divine Palm or the Three Yang Heart-Burning Palm, he would have inevitably been entangled for a few moves, allowing Night Lord to escape.

Instead, by using the Great Open Yang Scattering Palm, he created a continuous, grasping motion that kept Night Lord from breaking free.

However, Su Mo had underestimated Night Lord's martial prowess.

Relying on the Eternal Night Demon Record, Night Lord's internal energy was profound, second only to Su Mo's.

But with his mastery of martial techniques, he was one of the rare grandmasters of his generation.

In the midst of combat, his tactical brilliance and quick thinking were unmatched. Seeing Su Mo abandon the Purple Sun Divine Palm, he immediately transformed his palm into a claw in response.

His five fingers moved, black energy swirling around them. With a casual hook and grab, in mere moments, he had already countered over ten variations from Su Mo.

The corridor was narrow, restricting their movements.

Now, in this confined space, both unleashed their martial prowess, each move exquisitely refined.

However, this exchange was a major setback for Night Lord.

In a direct confrontation, his martial arts were outclassed by Su Mo's.

Now forced to counter Su Mo's moves, every time their palms met, he could feel the searing intensity of Su Mo's pure yang internal energy.

Moreover, Su Mo's entire body was unyielding as tempered steel.

The Great Open Yang Scattering Palm, which Night Lord considered a trivial skill, when executed by Su Mo, was devastatingly potent.

Even when Su Mo occasionally revealed openings, after Night Lord managed to strike, beyond a faint sting from the backlash, he couldn't harm Su Mo in the slightest.

At this moment, Night Lord experienced the same despair that Sect Leader Youquan had felt before his death.

This... how am I supposed to win this?

In a moment of distraction, Su Mo's claw had already penetrated Night Lord's defense between his arms, closing in on his throat.

Just as the claw was about to take hold, both felt a sudden tremor under their feet.

The staircase had finally come to an end.

Without a second thought, Night Lord's shadow shot up from the floor, only to be pierced by Su Mo's grasp.

Meanwhile, Night Lord himself darted off, instantly reaching the main hall.

When Su Mo emerged from the corridor, pulling the decoy skin, he saw Night Lord standing before the hundred-ghost relief, turning to smile at Su Mo.

Then, his hands a blur, he instantly struck dozens of reliefs.

"Damn it..."

This move even Su Mo didn't see coming.

Looking back, he saw the hundred-ghost statues suddenly turn, each facing a different direction.

They were aimed at every corner of the hall.

Then, a sharp whistling filled the air.

From the mouths of these statues, razor-thin steel needles shot out.

The needles rained down, with Night Lord standing before the hundred-ghost relief in their direct line of fire.

But as the needles swept past, Night Lord was gone in an instant.

All that remained was a piece of skin.

Su Mo let out a light shout, a bell tolling around his body, and a golden bell descended, blocking all the surrounding steel needles.

With a quick tap of his foot, he leaped up, crashing through the roof with a loud bang and vanishing into the darkness.

Scanning the area, he spotted a shadowy figure fleeing toward the Wraith Courtyard.

Having pursued him this far, if Night Monarch escaped into the Wraith Courtyard, leveraging his knowledge of the terrain, it would be nearly impossible to kill or capture him today!

Furious, he bellowed:

"Night Monarch, if you have the courage, don't run!"

He darted forward, a flash of purple light signaling the use of the "Purple Qi from the East" technique he had mastered from Li Zhengyuan.

This technique was primarily a movement skill, not particularly notable for long-distance travel.

However, mid-air, as he executed his movement skill, he reached the courtyard wall.

With another tap of his foot, he unleashed the "Divine Movement: Hundred Transformations" and charged straight at Night Monarch.

Disciples of the Youquan Cult still lingered in the Wraith Courtyard, but these stragglers had already been subdued by Evernight Valley's forces.

And the Evernight Valley contingent here was small.

Only a few dozen, now scouring the Wraith Courtyard.

Hearing Su Mo's shout from above, "Night Monarch, if you have the courage, don't run!", they were all stunned.

Who was this daring and fearless individual?

What did this imply?

Did it mean that Night Monarch had fled?

Across the Eastern Wilderness, even the leaders of the seven major sects wouldn't dare utter such words!

And in the Wraith Courtyard, who would have the audacity?

But looking up, they saw Night Monarch indeed fleeing in disarray under the night sky, with someone in hot pursuit.

Both figures moved like fleeting shadows, their lightness skills unparalleled.

In an instant, they vanished.

But in that brief moment, everyone present saw how wretched Night Monarch was.

And Su Mo... how domineering his aura was.

A faint purple light enveloped his body, blazing in the air like raging demonic flames!

Where had this demon come from?

How could he make Night Monarch flee in such wretchedness?

The Evernight Valley disciples rose, ready to give chase and intercept.

But then they heard Night Monarch's voice from afar:

"Leave this place at once, retrieve the Seven Ghost Shadows, and do not reveal yourselves!"

By now, he naturally knew who Su Mo was.

Since Su Mo was here, all the previous plans must have already fallen apart.

As for the ominous Wraith Courtyard, he dared not occupy it any longer.

It was only natural to leave first.

After saying this, he spun around and bellowed in anger:

"Don’t you care at all about what happens to Liuyin City?"