Chapter 42: Soul Reaping Hammer
This wasn't a matter of pride for anyone here.
A Purple Mansion cultivator wielding a grade-5 weapon was enough to make all of them apprehensive, talk more of a Golden Core expert.
The brilliance of many movement arts came into play as everyone ran with all they had.
Even though they could all fly, doing that now would only make them an easy target for the hammer-wielding guy.
"Don't think you can go too far!" The man smiled brazenly as he flung his hammer into the distance.
The weapon flew and crossed the distance like lightning.
Dun!
It struck the back of one of the cultivators from the Jade Puppet sect. Contrary to what was expected, despite the hammer's speed and force, the cultivator's body wasn't smashed or hurt; rather, his soul had been erased.
He crashed to the ground, rolling lifelessly.
The hammer returned to where it came from, before shooting out again, striking another cultivator.
This continued for a while, soul after soul was erased and destroyed.
"We shouldn't have come here, Luan!" Ji Lan exclaimed as the sight of people being killed without their bodies being damaged only shed light on the true strength of the hammer wielder.
This type of attack or ability isn't something a Golden Core cultivator is capable of. They even doubted if a Second-Dimensional being could achieve such.
But what they couldn't understand was, how it was possible for anyone from that realm to be on a level this low? They would normally be in levels that matched their true strength.
"I did tell you that the danger I sensed from the pillar was comparable to what we faced in that palace."
"Comparable!? This is worse than that, this one is actually attacking us and killing people in such a bizarre way!"
Jasmine couldn't help but look at the duo and wonder how they were able to run as fast as she was running. She understood that they were anomalies, but she didn't believe that it was to the point where their movement arts could be compared to hers.
Ji Lan's own most especially, he was moving so fast so effortlessly. And then when she observed Luan's movement art, despite the speed he was displaying, she couldn't help but feel like the art was hugely unrefined.
Nonetheless, this wasn't the most pressing issue at hand, the creepy hammer behind was the issue.
Should I break my limits here? Jasmine wondered. Her ears perked up as she listened to their conversation.
"That guy… he's something similar to those dark shadows we saw." Luan pointed out.
"A shapeshifter?" Ji Lan uttered.
"No… There would have been other distinct features. To me, it seemed like there was a disconnect between the two or three entities harboring one body."
It was weird for Luan to explain this. Possessing both the sixth sense and spirit sense, both forms of perceiving reality functioned through different spectrums and gave him perks.
Under the influence of his sixth sense, his spirit sense was able to perceive what others couldn't.
"Possession then? Yes, that's highly likely. The possession must have been recent if the guy's cultivation has only risen to the Golden Core level." Ji Lan inputted.
Jasmine, once again, was shocked.
What dark shadows? How had they come to such a conclusion? Was there something about this level that they were privy to that she didn't know?
That was possible, but highly unlikely. Her family had gotten information about the terrain and topography of Aethelgard from the Emperor of the Darke Empire himself.
It was part of the deal.
But there was nothing in the information provided about dark shadows. And if those dark shadows were capable of possession, didn't that mean that they were doomed?
Jasmine was seriously considering breaking her limits and escaping the area.
"If it's truly a dark shadow, then is it possible for another wooden puppet to appear and restrain this guy?"
"I don't know…"
As they were running, they remained alert, and soon their senses rang with impending crisis.
The hammer was heading for them. More accurately, it was heading for Luan.
With a serious look on his face, Luan retrieved the pearl that was obtained from Steward Jo and infused it with his qi. Now that he had awakened his spirit sense, he was capable of controlling the object with his mind.
Let's hope you can hold up. He reasoned. Luan didn't want to use his sword. Mainly because he was cautious of letting the hammer come too close, and also, his sword was sure to break if he used it against a high-grade weapon.
Luan waited until the hammer was a few feet away from him before turning to face it. He threw the pearl with everything in him.
Dun!
Boom!
A silent concussive wave of force erupted from the collision of the two objects. Both were sent flying back. The explosion pushed Luan and those around him forward, increasing the distance between them and the hammer-wielding guy.
The pearl shot past Luan like a meteor, shattering through trees and carving a trench in the earth before skidding to a halt.
It was only briefly, but Luan was able to observe the pearl when it whooshed past him.
It was still intact.
Could that pearl also be a grade-5 treasure? If it wasn't, then it had to be higher. Luan didn't think a grade-4 treasure would be able to withstand the force of grade-5.
At the same time, the hammer returned to its wielder.
"Huh? What was that? That didn't feel like a graded treasure, a very hard rock?" He muttered, a bit confused.
The hammer was a part of him, an extension of his consciousness and limbs, so when it collided with the pearl, he could feel the hammer tremble a bit, as if it had come in contact with something that could harm it.
"Let's have a closer look." The man vanished from his spot, chasing after Luan in person now.
Luan had just retrieved the pearl from a tree when his senses rang with danger. He quickly ducked and drew his sword out, coating its edges with his qi.
His sword qi raged out sharply, as the sword cut through the air.
Right behind Luan was the hammer-wielding guy, he hadn't expected Luan to be able to react fast enough to dodge his attack. His brows rose in surprise.
The gap between their cultivation was more than a major realm. One was just in the Foundation Building realm and the other in the Golden Core realm.
"You're one of those types of geniuses aren't you?" He uttered with a voice that seemed to claw at Luan's ears.
He regained his footing in an instant and his form blurred as he swung the hammer down in a blow meant to shatter Luan and his sword.
From the corner of his eye, the man saw a pearl charging at him. Normally he would have ignored it, but every part of his mind screamed for him to dodge it.
There's something unusual about this pearl. It's not a weapon, but it's lethal to beings like me. Where did this kid get this thing from? Are those beings still in the Sylvian Weave?
Many questions ran through his mind, but the one that made him scared and apprehensive was the last question.
Because the hammer-wielding man had to dodge the pearl, Luan had a chance to maneuver and attempt another angle. He slashed at the man's neck this time, aiming to behead him.
Unfortunately, while his reaction speed was immaculate, his attacking speed couldn't really compare.
The man stepped back, dodging the sword easily. He raised his hammer once again and swung downwards, only to stop midway and change its direction.
Dun!
Hammer and pearl collided again.
This time, Luan used a lot of his will and mental strength to hold on to the pearl. If he lets it fly out of the range of his spirit sense, he might be in trouble.
The pearl skidded in the air, creating sparks as Luan struggled to drag it back, and blood even began seeping from his nose.
"Die, boy!"
The hammer had just begun descending when its wielder sensed another trouble. It wasn't as uncanny and dangerous as what felt from the pearl, but it was trouble in its own way.
It was a fist.
Ji Lan's fist!
"What's taking you so long to get away from this creep!?" He said as his fist connected with the jaw of the man.
Ji Lan had initially been running away without looking back. He and Jasmine had no intentions of stopping when they saw that Luan was the target.
However, Ji Lan found his conscience eating at him, which was rare in his case. He blamed it on his benevolent heart and quickly returned. If it came to it, he had trump cards that could tip the scales of the battle.
Boom!
The jaw of the man was crushed.
Even if the aura the man exuded was in the Golden Core spectrum, the body of the person possessed was no different from a normal Foundation Building expert.
Not everyone cultivates their body. That was a hassle of its own.
Ji Lan sent him stumbling a few feet away, crashing into a tree.
At the same time, the pearl descended like a miniature meteorite, striking the man's nape.
Crack!
Bones were broken, across the man's ribs and he was embedded in a tree.
However, the duo didn't think they had won, rather, this was their chance to resume their escape.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
the_fallen
the_fallen Power Stones please
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