Chapter 26: The Formidable White-Robed Young Man

“Surrender, open your divine sense, and let me plant a prohibition mark on you—then you might suffer a bit less physical pain.”

Canfeng hunched over, his gaze cold and sweeping across the four of them, his voice sinister and dripping with undisguised threat.

The mid-Golden Core pressure radiated outward without restraint, making even the early Golden Core cultivators among them catch their breath.

“What the hell is Soul Wraith Island? Never heard of it!”

Miss Zhou pointed at Canfeng, her face full of fury, her voice sharp.

“I come from the Zhou family of the Jade Clarity Sect—our sect has two Nascent Soul ancestors watching over it! If you know what’s good for you, scram, and don’t court trouble!”

The brocade-robed Huang raised a hand to stop his companion, his eyes darting between the two sides. His brows furrowed for a moment, then relaxed slightly.

“Fellow Daoist, while you may be at mid-Golden Core, we still have four cultivators here. To come in, demanding our allegiance and surrender right off the bat—isn’t that a bit too arrogant?”

As he spoke, multicolored light around him grew brighter, golden spiritual energy surging and dancing around his form, faintly exuding a sharp, penetrating aura.

The man surnamed Gao beside him also stepped forward half a pace, black spiritual energy coiling around him, killing intent blazing in his eyes as he stared fixedly at Canfeng.

Only the young man surnamed Gu took a few inconspicuous steps back, his eyes locked on Canfeng, a cyan light flickering at his fingertips—clearly ready to act at any moment.

Canfeng took in everyone’s movements with a single glance. He let out a cold snort, swung the giant skull hammer in his hand with sudden force, and without warning, launched himself straight at the highest-ranked cultivator among the four—the burly man surnamed Huang.

Seeing Canfeng charging straight at him with overwhelming momentum, the man’s expression changed instantly. He grit his teeth and raised a mana barrier, shouting at the same time.

“Old Gao, help me!”

Canfeng’s hammer slammed solidly into the burly man’s barrier. The tremendous force pushed him back dozens of steps, cracking the ground beneath his feet with every stride.

The man surnamed Gao clearly shared a deep bond with the burly Huang. Seeing his companion attacked, three small black swords materialized beside him, spirit energy coiling around them, transforming into three sharp sword beams that shot toward Canfeng’s back.

“Old Huang, don’t worry—Black Gold Spirit Swords, go!”

Canfeng’s lips curled into a sinister grin. He kicked off the burly man’s barrier, using the force to leap back several steps, narrowly dodging the three small black swords.

At the same time, he raised his right hand high overhead. The giant skull hammer above him grew with the wind, instantly expanding to dozens of zhang in size. With a roaring wind, it came crashing down toward the burly man’s barrier.

Boom—!

A deafening thunderclap.

The burly man’s barrier shattered on impact. He flew backward, slamming heavily into the giant rock behind him. Broken stones flew, dust filled the air. He spat out a mouthful of blood, his face instantly turning deathly pale.

“Old Huang!”

The man surnamed Gao shouted, rage surging across his face. He changed his hand seals again, the three small black swords turning their blades to stab straight at Canfeng.

A hint of disdain flickered in Canfeng’s eyes. He planted one foot on the giant hammer, spinning his body, and swung the entire massive hammer in a wide arc.

The skull hammer’s power was ferocious—it effortlessly knocked the three small black swords flying, embedding them deep into the ground around them.

With his natal magical artifact damaged, the man surnamed Gao staggered back a few steps, one hand clutching his chest as he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Nearby, Miss Zhou was frantic, momentarily unsure what to do. Seeing two companions easily defeated by the opponent, a trace of retreat flickered in her eyes, her fear plain on her face.

“Miss Zhou.”

The young man surnamed Gu’s steady voice came through, like a stabilizing pill.

“Go check on Fellow Daoist Huang’s injuries. I’ll handle him.”

Before the words had even faded, he had already charged forward.

Miss Zhou stood dumbfounded for a moment, then grit her teeth and ran toward the burly Huang’s direction, pulling a healing pill from her storage pouch as she went.

“Fine, fine, fine—toast you refuse, but you’ll drink the penalty.”

Canfeng’s voice was sharp and hoarse, contempt filling his eyes.

“Since you’re all so devoted to each other, then die here together!”

He lifted his hammer and charged straight at the young man surnamed Gu.

The young man surnamed Gu raised his hand in a beckoning motion. Light flashed on his body, and a golden long spear appeared in his hand. Faint dragon roars echoed from the spear shaft as spiritual light swirled around it, its aura extraordinary.

He made hand seals, and the golden spear flew from his grip, instantly splitting into dozens of spear shadows—dense, covering the sky—shooting toward Canfeng.

“Heh, interesting.”

Canfeng snorted coldly, not dodging or evading. He swung his hammer fiercely, and it instantly split into three identical skull hammers, meeting the rain of spear shadows head-on.

The two waves of attacks clashed violently in midair. Each collision erupted with fierce mana fluctuations that sprayed outward. Craters formed on the ground, plants were reduced to ash, and stones flew everywhere.

But in the end, Canfeng’s mid-Golden Core cultivation won out. Within the time it took to brew a cup of tea, he had already gained the upper hand.

A cold smile tugged at the corner of Canfeng’s lips. He charged directly into the spear formation, grabbed the true skull hammer, and sped up toward the young man surnamed Gu. It looked like he would break through the blockade at any moment.

Just then—

The young man surnamed Gu’s eyes turned fierce in an instant. He slapped his palm down sharply.

One by one, crimson-gold flames suddenly erupted from those golden spear shadows! Blazing, dancing flames with rolling waves of heat directly began to burn the ghostly cyan mana around Canfeng.

“This is… supreme yang spirit fire!”

Canfeng exclaimed in shock, his expression shifting drastically.

That crimson-gold flame could directly counter his mana, and was even suppressing the operation of his techniques, making the spiritual power in his body sluggish and stagnant.

In an instant, Canfeng’s figure was engulfed in flames. With a thunderous boom, a massive fireball exploded in midair.

The young man surnamed Gu stared fixedly at the direction of the fiery explosion, panting heavily. Clearly, that attack had cost him dearly.

Besides, that spirit fire was something he had acquired from an ancient ruin at the brink of death. He hadn’t wanted to reveal it easily, but if he didn’t use it today, he might have died here.

The other three, seeing this, widened their eyes. Feeling the immense pressure radiating from that flame, they were utterly stunned.

“Brother Gu has such a formidable divine ability!”

The burly man surnamed Huang, supported by Miss Zhou, slowly crawled out from the rubble. After taking the healing pill, his complexion had improved significantly, and his voice was full of surprise.

“You really kept your big brother in the dark. I truly thought you weren’t skilled in combat.”

The man surnamed Gao also forced himself to stand steady, his gaze narrowing slightly as he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Just as everyone’s tension began to ease—

“Not good!”

The young man surnamed Gu suddenly sensed something wrong and shot backward instantly.

A claw attack slammed into the spot where he had just been standing, carving three deep trenches into the ground and sending dust flying.

“It seems I truly underestimated you all.”

Canfeng’s voice slowly emerged from the fire.

As the smoke cleared, his figure appeared, seemingly uninjured. But beside him stood that late Golden Core Soul Wraith Puppet.

Now, however, the puppet’s aura was listless and weak, its ghostly light dimmed—clearly, that fatal blow had been taken by the puppet on his behalf.

“If it weren’t for this Soul Wraith Puppet, personally refined by the ancestor, I might have really fallen to your tricks today.”

As he spoke, Canfeng glanced at the puppet beside him with a pained expression, then ground his teeth and spoke again.

“How dare you damage the Soul Wraith Puppet bestowed by the ancestor—truly deserving a thousand deaths, a thousand deaths!”

Then, his gaze turned vicious, locked onto the young man surnamed Gu, eyes filled with undisguised, sky-high killing intent.

The young man surnamed Gu sensed great danger. He quickly retreated a few steps, the golden spear in his hand blazing with spirit light. He swung it violently, and crimson-gold flames leaped around him, rolling waves of heat forcing Canfeng back a few paces.

Canfeng raised an eyebrow, his gaze sweeping over the other three. He directly commanded the Soul Wraith Puppet.

“Go. Deal with those three.”

Then, his gaze returned to the young man surnamed Gu. He took half a step forward, the giant skull hammer in his hand blazing with cyan light. He slowly raised the hammer, pointing it at the young man, his voice cold and arrogant.

“For a bunch of scattered cultivators like you to reach the Golden Core stage counts as good karma accumulated by your ancestors.”

“Pity, though. Scattered cultivators are still scattered cultivators—no sect heritage, no master’s protection. The little bit you’ve scraped together through blood and sweat isn’t even worth the spare change from one of my magical artifacts.”

“People like you—you toil your whole lives, and in the end, all you do is sew a bridal gown for someone else to wear. Dying by my hand is still better than dying in some nameless corner, with no one even to collect your corpse.”