Feng Haiyang’s vision was quite discerning; after a series of attacks just now, he had almost grasped the nature of this golden ship.

Such prohibitions are often divided into Yin restrictions and Yang restrictions—Yin restrictions can destroy intangible Essence Qi, Yang restrictions can block tangible objects. From his attempts, he discovered that within an inch radius, every three breaths there is a change. The innermost part, without accident, should have a Yin Yang Mixed Prohibition Technique, meant to resist Dharma Treasure and Skills that can transform between tangible and intangible states.

He understood well that Yin and Yang restrictions were still manageable, but to penetrate the last barrier in an instant, though the Devil could achieve it, it would undoubtedly alert Zhou Huang, thus losing the advantage of surprise. He needed to use several methods in conjunction.

With a flick of his robe sleeve, he released a square, angular cyan stone hammer called the "Dayue Mountain Chisel," refined by several elders of the Nether Spring Sect and especially skilled at breaking prohibitions and opening formations, precisely suitable for dealing with this golden ship.

Just as he was about to take action, he suddenly sensed a radiance descending from Heaven, illuminating the area, causing him to frown. He had seen this Mirror Light once before and knew he could not evade it. With a snort, he also raised the Sun Cleansing Mirror and looked upward, wanting to see who had been scrutinizing him repeatedly.

Unexpectedly, when the two Mirror Lights reflected off each other, they disappeared mutually, leaving the mirror surface glowing with light and revealing nothing. He paused in surprise, and with a shift of thought, a look of realization appeared on his face as he murmured to himself, "What a treasure."

He was initially concerned that other Xuanmen people would spot his location and come to aid Zhou Huang, which would force him to retreat. But now that he had no such qualms, he shouted, raised the "Dayue Mountain Chisel" into the sky, and pointed downward. The treasure made a sound like a drum, flipped over, and struck the golden ship.

The golden ship was hit by this treasure as if colliding with a mountain peak, releasing a thunderous explosion. The golden light scattered chaotically, and the ship’s prohibition instantly weakened by one or two percent.

Zhou Huang had been confident that he had enough assurance to escape smoothly, but when the hammer struck, his expression changed drastically. He picked up a token and shook it, attempting to restore the prohibition, but no matter how he urged, he couldn’t consolidate it, causing his expression to become even darker with a sinking heart, thinking, "Could retreat be the only option?"

Yet, to retreat like this, he felt somewhat unwilling.

The Yuxiao Sect came to compete in sword fighting, gained nothing, and sacrificed numerous Protective Elders and two True Disciples. Returning empty-handed would not only result in punishment but also lead the elders within his clan to no longer regard him as highly.

Moreover, in the Zhou Clan, many were dissatisfied with his participation in the sword fight. It was easy to imagine how those people would seize the opportunity to disparage him upon his return.

But if he didn’t retreat and the Dharma Treasure struck dozens or hundreds more times, it would suffice to crack the golden ship, at which point he would lose his last reliance. Even with two treasures on him, they could only prolong resistance for a fleeting moment, to no avail for the bigger picture.

With two conflicting thoughts fighting within him, he eventually realized his life was most important, clenching his jaw inwardly, thinking, "Enough, keeping my life means there’s still a chance in the future!"

Raising his hand to his chest, he pulled out the token talisman, clutching it in his palm, his teeth lightly tapping as he recited a spell. After a few breaths, he felt all his Mana being drained by this item, not to mention that every inch of his body was utterly devoid of strength, leaving him unable to sit upright as he fell backward.

The token talisman gave a slight tremor, floated into the air, and began to hover within the cabin.

At this moment, for reasons unknown, Zhou Huang felt a strong sense of unease in his heart, yet the situation had reached this point, leaving him with only the hope that the token talisman would activate quickly and take him away from here.

Feng Haiyang, after using the "Dayue Mountain Chisel" dozens of times, saw no response from within the golden ship, as if it disregarded his strikes, realizing the time had come. With a thought, the long-awaiting Devil beside him gave a sinister laugh, shook its body, and drilled into the ship’s prohibitions.

After entering, each time encountering a Yin restriction, the Devil transformed into a tangible form; upon encountering a Yang restriction, it became intangible again, breaking through several layers of prohibitions with this pattern. Upon reaching the final layer, the Yin Yang Mixed Prohibition wasn’t penetrable by transformation alone, so it roared, and as the Dayue Mountain Chisel struck the ship, reducing the prohibition’s power, it charged aggressively inside.

With Zhou Huang’s Mana depleted, he was powerless to resist. Upon hearing the odd noise, he turned his head with great difficulty to see a Devil had penetrated from the outside, causing him to shiver all over.

Its eyes met his gaze, wearing a sinister smile on its face that shocked Zhou Huang to his core, causing him to shout as the Daoist robe on his body surged with a cloud-like mist, wrapping him inside.

Even the Daoist robe was a Mystical Artifact, but without Mana, the mist was merely thin and barely visible.

The Devil let out a grating laugh, shook its body, and lunged down, chomping and snapping off half of Zhou Huang’s head, then sucked forcefully, ingesting the Primordial Spirit into its body.

Just as it wanted to devour the remaining flesh, the token talisman hanging to the side suddenly emitted radiance, and with a flash, enveloped the headless corpse, flying high, smashing the golden ship into pieces, and rushing outward.

Feng Haiyang saw this radiant force charging out, its momentum unstoppable. His expression tightened, hastily dodging aside. Although he wasn’t directly affected by the light, the oncoming Qi Wave nearly injured him. After steadied himself and looked, it was already nowhere in sight.

He couldn’t help but lament inwardly, Zhou Huang, being a Disciple of the Yuxiao Sect in this sword fight, likely possessed remarkable Dharma Treasures. Had he stayed, the chance to seize the remaining token talisman would have been much greater.

... 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

...(To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)