Chapter 00265: Pursuit
# Pursuit
Chapter 265
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 265: Pursuit
As the commander-in-chief remained unharmed, the army of Xia Prefecture breathed a sigh of relief and once again fixated on the words "bounty."
As He Chunhua fled from the giant ape, He Lingchuan was already rushing back, producing the Tenglong Spear from his storage ring and thrusting it directly into the giant ape's right eye.
This massive monkey stood over ten feet tall; even while riding a horse, one would need a spear to reach its eye.
Upon seeing him, the giant ape’s eyes instantly turned red, clearly recalling the humiliating incident when it was crushed beneath a walnut boat.
Following that, the bone armor above its eye suddenly extended, completely covering its right eye.
He Lingchuan's spear immediately pressed against it.
That spearhead was forged with a mix of celestial meteorite iron, making its sharpness and hardness unmatched by ordinary swords.
The bone armor shattered as the Tenglong Spear pierced into the giant ape's right eye, and blood burst forth dramatically.
However, the resistance from the bone armor was immense; He Lingchuan's strength was spent, and the spear tip did not penetrate deeply.
As he hung in the air, contemplating how to withdraw and thrust again, the giant ape let out a deafening roar and captured him!
Its arm moved faster than before.
He Lingchuan had thought that the beast was slowed by the binding curse, but this time he was caught unawares.
The character for “bind” on its forehead shattered and vanished into thin air.
It was evident that this thrust had greatly provoked its ferocity, so much so that even the binding curses could not restrain it.
He Lingchuan suddenly felt his body trapped, his qi and blood being forced towards his limbs and head, leaving only one hand free to flail outside.
He felt like a balloon, at risk of being popped anytime.
His Floating Life Blade was also stuck at his waist, unable to be drawn.
Elder Liang, witnessing this scene, exclaimed, “How is this possible!”
This binding curse had taken him a full twenty-five years to refine, with the last fifteen spent cultivating a mute secret technique, making him a silent practitioner for years.
Thus, all the skills he cultivated in secrecy had been funneled into the nurturing of this curse, becoming increasingly profound.
This character spell placed less burden and backlash on him; its grand power meant even casting it upon the sect leader of the Yuncloud Pavilion could not be undone in such a short amount of time.
Yet, this giant ape had accomplished it; by what means?
He Chunhua’s eyes went wide with anger, “Chuan’er!”
Other soldiers from Xia Prefecture urged their spears forward, attempting to stab, but how could they penetrate the giant ape's bone armor?
It was merely scratching an itch.
The giant ape would show no mercy, and having caught He Lingchuan, it squeezed with terrifying force! With its strength, it could easily crush He Lingchuan.
However, it suddenly felt emptiness in its hand; the sensation of squeezing something had vanished.
Looking at its palm, the little thief who had injured it twice had truly vanished without a trace!
Yet, it seemed something was resting in its palm, very small and light, but it was whisked away by the wind before the giant ape could inspect it closely.
At that moment, He Lingchuan unexpectedly appeared behind it, and without giving the giant ape a chance to react, his Floating Life Blade was unsheathed.
The cold light sliced through the ape's two ankles, cutting through the gaps in its bone armor and severing its Achilles tendon in one blow!
The giant ape let out a pained howl, turning to grab him while simultaneously stepping back.
That single step pierced deeply into its heart.
He Lingchuan was alarmed.
Had he not timely tossed out the ghostly shadow cicada shed and employed the technique of swapping lives, he might have already been crushed like a balloon.
He Chunhua's despair and hope transformed instantly, and he commanded, “Chuan’er, give me the ghost-eye bow!”
Evading the giant ape’s attack, He Lingchuan took out the ghost-eye bow and, without hesitation, threw it over.
How could he have forgotten this precious item?
However, he was unwilling to exchange his life for its power.
He Chunhua caught the bow and arrows, not using them himself, but instead handed them to a nearby guard, sternly commanding, “Shoot!”
The guard showed no hesitation, nocking an arrow and taking aim at the giant ape.
The ghost-eye on the bow began to whirl chaotically, whispering insistently in his ear.
The loyal soldier declared, “I sacrifice five years of my life!”
Having accepted the sacrifice, the ghost-eye immediately opened, locking onto the giant ape's face.
With a whoosh, the arrow was released.
The giant ape, sensing danger, suddenly squatted down to avoid the shot aimed at its face.
However, ignorant of the ghost-eye bow's properties, it suffered greatly.
The arrow veered and circled back with increased speed.
After all, it was said to have eyes on the back of its head, and suddenly, it sprouted an extra hand from its back to grab at the arrow.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
With a dull thud, the arrow struck the giant ape's right side, exploding a large portion of flesh and blood.
From He Chunhua’s vantage, he could see a great hole blasted through its right chest.
“Kill it!” he commanded, and the soldiers from Xia Prefecture charged forward.
With the giant ape's right eye and chest severely injured, and its left Achilles tendon severed, it was no longer the powerful beast it once was.
As the saying goes, a broken drum may attract many strikes; the bone armor surrounding its wounds had already fallen off, unable to withstand human weapons.
The anguish from its wounds pushed it to retreat.
The giant ape struggled to rise, leaping and crawling as it swiftly made its escape into the countryside, disregarding the arrows and thrown spears behind it, smashing through any obstacles in its path.
Though its left leg could not bear weight, it still had three limbs to run.
Right now, it was a matter of life and death, and its speed was quite remarkable.
Meanwhile, the soldiers from Xun Prefecture sensed the impending doom.
Today, competing for merit was impossible, and the soldiers from Xia Prefecture grew stronger as they fought, with many cultivators among them, wielding techniques bolstered by Yuan power that were truly overwhelming.
If they did not retreat soon, they would likely be wiped out here.
The heavily injured Lord Baili, supported by his loyal soldiers, sounded the retreat.
Though it was termed a withdrawal, it was nearly a flight.
The morale of the Xia Prefecture army surged; He Chunhua pointed out two commanders, Zeng Feixiong and another, commanding them to pursue fiercely.
In the military camp, He Lingchuan rushed to inquire about He Chunhua's condition, “Father, are you alright?”
“I might have cracked a rib,” He Chunhua replied, his face pale, “but it’s nothing serious.”
He Lingchuan surveyed the battlefield.
Many of the Xia soldiers had fallen, especially those crushed beneath the giant ape's strikes—the casualties numbered over twenty.
The disciples from Yuncloud Pavilion fought for the first time, and several were injured.
The medicine monkey, Lingguang, suddenly appeared from somewhere, beginning to assist in tending to the wounded.
Grain was scattered everywhere, and several tents and carts were still ablaze.
However, compared to the devastating consequences of losing military supplies, these losses were indeed negligible.
If this batch of military provisions were to be snatched away, not only would the northern front waver again, but He Chunhua’s hard-earned prestige would also suffer a tremendous blow.
He said to He Chunhua, “Father, you oversee here. I will chase after that monkey.”
He Chunhua knew the giant ape was severely wounded, its threat greatly diminished, so he nodded, “Be careful of Dong Rui.”
He Lingchuan whistled, summoning a beast of burden that came galloping out from somewhere and stopped before him.
It had been chaotic just now, and he had worried the beast might be injured, but now it appeared quite clever, its entire body slick without a scratch.
After changing mounts, he called for Mao Tao, Shan Youjun, and the others, following the trail left by the giant ape.
Before leaving the camp, he seemed to hear He Chunhua issuing more orders: “You all go to Bailu Town to assess the situation! Be quick!”
That's right, Xinhang was attacked; who knew how the situation in Bailu Town was? The fleeing soldiers from Xun Prefecture were also retreating there.
However, the direction in which the giant ape fled was exactly opposite to that of the Xun soldiers, making it impossible for him to investigate the situation down that path.
Tracking the giant ape was not difficult; its wounds flowed blood like a waterfall, leaving clear traces, even under the night sky.
The most critical matter was not letting it vanish from sight.
He Lingchuan had not forgotten that this creature could grow big or small.
Fortunately, outside Xinhang, the terrain was rather flat, with only a few small hillocks spread over several miles and few tall trees, with dense shrubs carpeting the ground.
This sort of terrain was the least favorable for monkeys.
He Lingchuan led his men closely behind, maintaining the giant ape's silhouette within his sight.
Injured beasts were the most dangerous.
Now, with fewer than ten of them and no army to assist, the optimal strategy was to exhaust the giant ape's strength.
The larger it was, the harder it was to sustain.
Indeed, after ten miles of pursuit, the giant ape’s speed noticeably slowed.
It was no easy feat to walk on three legs, especially with so many wounds bleeding, and the faster it ran, the quicker the blood flowed.
Just then, Shan Youjun suddenly reminded him, “Boss, look up!”
He Lingchuan glanced up to see a large bird circling above in the night sky.
Strictly speaking, it was flying around the giant ape's head.
“That's Dong Rui's other demon puppet,” He Lingchuan squinted, but in the dark, he could not tell if there was anyone on its back.
This meant that the rock wolf had not completed its task.
At that moment, a few wolf howls echoed from afar.
He Lingchuan turned towards the sound, quickly spotting a dark shape approaching and growing larger in view.
As expected, here came the rock wolf.
Its tongue was out, mist billowing from its mouth, and they could hear its heavy breathing.
It appeared to have been running for a long time.
“What happened?” As the rock wolf ran alongside the beast of burden, He Lingchuan asked, “Where is Dong Rui?”
“On the bird's back!”
It turned out the rock wolf had left the battlefield to track the scent of the giant ape and was following it back.
Since Dong Rui had sent it, retracing its steps should allow it to find its master, right?
That logic was indeed correct; soon it discovered Dong Rui's figure over a hundred zhang away from the Xia army camp.
He was squatting on the roof of a civilian house, surveying the battlefield, wearing a bronze mask, with a bald-headed bird perched on his shoulder.
Getting closer, the rock wolf caught the scent of him—
This scent it would never mistake for anyone else.
Old grudges and new hatreds surged into its heart instantly.
It used the shadows below the house to hide and stealthily approached.
Yet, Dong Rui's spiritual senses were too sharp, especially the bald bird on his shoulder, which seemed to sense danger approaching, and let out a loud shout, forcing the rock wolf to leap early to attack.
Unfortunately, it was a moment too late.
The bald bird suddenly grew larger, kicking off with its legs and flapping its wings, taking Dong Rui up into the air.
This time, the rock wolf missed its pounce.
It accelerated for a running start on the roof, leaped again, and bit onto the bird's tail, dragging it down with all its might.
The giant bird desperately clawed at it, almost blinding its eyes.
Both above and below were engaged in battle, and Dong Rui seized the opportunity to cast a spell, injuring the rock wolf's front paw.
This large bird was exceptionally fierce.
Flapping its wings upward, it finally shook off the burden and escaped.
The rock wolf ended up with only a mouthful of feathers.
Refusing to give up, it continued to follow the soaring gigantic bird to this very spot, coinciding with its master’s presence.
(The End of This Chapter)