Chen Hu sneered coldly at Lin Feng's look of surprise. "So you do remember me, kid? Blame your own insolence! If you'd known your place and surrendered Cave 168 to me back then, you wouldn't be facing death today!"
Lin Feng frowned. "All this... over a Grade One cave dwelling? What exactly do you want? I inspected that cave thoroughly; there was nothing special about it."
"Heh heh... whether it's special or not, I'll find out for myself soon enough!" A flash of murderous intent crossed Chen Hu's eyes as he grinned ferociously. "For now… it's time to send you straight to the Yellow Springs!!"
"Swish!!"
Before his words fully faded, Chen Hu abruptly raised his hand. A golden spear materialized out of thin air, shooting towards Lin Feng with startling force!
Simultaneously, Chen Bao summoned a millstone-sized stone wheel artifact, hurling it at Lin Feng with crushing momentum.
Both artifacts were Mid-grade Spirit Artifacts, the brothers' strongest offensive tools. Despite facing an opponent they believed to possess a lower cultivation base, they launched a coordinated, full-strength assault without underestimation. Their intent was clear: eradicate Lin Feng instantly.
"Hummm… CLANG!! CRASH!!"
To their utter shock, however, Lin Feng remained unmoved against the converging attacks. A shimmering golden barrier manifested before him. The spear and stone wheel slammed into it simultaneously... only to be violently repelled!
"Upper-grade Spirit Artifact!!" Chen Hu's eyes blazed, a mix of shock and greedy delight. Something capable of effortlessly deflecting two Mid-grade Spirit Artifacts had to be an Upper-grade Spirit Artifact—a treasure rare among Golden Core cultivators. Finding one now, poised to become his spoils of war, filled him with vicious glee.
"Kid!" Chen Hu barked, his left hand hidden behind his back already clutching a peak Grade Three Golden Blade Talisman. "Hand over your treasures willingly, and I might just spare your miserable life!"
"..." Lin Feng couldn't be bothered with words. He merely curled his lip disdainfully and calmly raised his right hand. At his mental command, a deep crimson fireball bloomed upon his palm.
"Hmph! Trying to strike back? You truly court death!" Contempt flickered in Chen Hu's eyes. His left hand snapped forward like lightning, unleashing a razor-sharp golden sword beam that struck Lin Feng's protective barrier in an instant.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!"
Deafening explosions rocked the air. Beyond the powerful golden beam, Chen Hu and Chen Bao whipped their spear and stone wheel into another furious assault. The golden barrier shielding Lin Feng trembled violently under the onslaught. Sustained attacks like this would overwhelm even an Upper-grade barrier in time. Moreover, Chen Hu smirked inwardly, Lin Feng's true essence reserves would likely deplete long before the barrier shattered.
Lin Feng, naturally, had no intention of passively enduring. As the second wave of attacks hammered the barrier, the fireball in his hand shot forward.
"Whoosh… FWOOM!!" The fireball streaked through the air, then abruptly expanded into a fiery net several meters wide, sweeping towards Chen Bao on the right.
"Pathetic tricks!" Chen Bao snorted dismissively. He flicked his hand, conjuring a simple orange light blade that easily sliced the flaming net in two.
"Huh?!" Chen Bao's expression instantly changed. He realized the severed net didn't dissipate! Both halves surged onward, curving towards him relentlessly. Worse, an alarmingly powerful aura suddenly radiated from the flames!
Lin Feng's self-created technique, the 'Abnormal Fire Net', was now exquisitely refined. Its deceptive simplicity consistently caught Golden Core opponents off guard. Chen Bao was no exception. By the time he sensed the danger, evasion was impossible. He only managed to activate his own defensive spirit artifact at the last possible second before the scorching net engulfed him.
"Abnormal Fire?!" Chen Hu gasped, recognizing the phenomenon the instant his brother was swallowed by flames. Disbelief warred with shock on his face. His right hand flashed, producing a white, Upper-grade Grade Three Ice Storm Talisman to aid Chen Bao's escape.
"Hey!!"
A sharp call, almost like a warning, suddenly rang out from ahead. Chen Hu jolted, instinctively whipping his head around. His eyes widened as he saw Lin Feng standing composedly, right arm extended horizontally, index finger pointing directly at him.
Before Chen Hu could grasp the meaning, a brilliant point of light ignited on Lin Feng's fingertip. A thin, piercing streak of purple light lanced forth!!
The speed of this beam defied description. Chen Hu, a Golden Core seventh layer cultivator, couldn't trace its path. The thought "dodge!" barely flickered in his mind when a chilling numbness spread through his chest. Stunned, he looked down. A finger-sized hole gaped directly over his heart…
His protective robe and inner armor offered no more resistance than paper. He hadn't even felt the impact; the wound seemed to have manifested from nothingness.
Feeling his life force gush out through the hole in his chest, Chen Hu's vision blurred. Strangely, his expression held little pain or terror, mostly profound confusion and disbelief. Death had arrived too abruptly. He couldn't comprehend why he was suddenly dying, what attack Lin Feng had unleashed, whether it was an artifact or a spell. Understanding was lost to him forever…
"Big Brother!! NO!!"
Beside him, Chen Bao, still struggling within the confines of the Abnormal Fire, watched Chen Hu be obliterated in an instant. Utter horror seized him, ripping a scream of primal terror from his throat. Rational thought vanished.
"Whoosh… KABOOM!!" A fireball the size of a water barrel screamed through the air, detonating against Chen Hu's plummeting corpse. The blast utterly obliterated it, shattering the body beyond recognition. A flying sword and a spatial ring flew out from the dissipating flames, dropping neatly into Lin Feng's waiting hand.
Calmly stowing the sword, the ring, and the now ownerless golden spear, Lin Feng finally turned his impassive gaze towards Chen Bao.
"Aaah!!" Chen Bao finally grasped his own mortal peril. Questions of how this disaster unfolded vanished. Survival was all that mattered. "D-don't kill me!!" he shrieked, voice cracking with panic. "PLEASE!! Don't kill me!"
Lin Feng observed the thoroughly broken man for several silent moments, his expression unreadable. Finally, he spoke, his voice low and steady.
"Explain. Why target me?"
"I... we..." Chen Bao's eyes darted frantically. "I-I can tell you the secret of the cave dwelling! Just... just swear to spare my life..."
A glacial light flashed in Lin Feng's eyes. "Speak. NOW." His voice was a whip-crack.
Feeling the constricting flames around him surge menacingly, Chen Bao nearly fainted with terror. "Alright! ALRIGHT!! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"
"The Cave Dwelling 168 you're renting now... it hides a huge secret! Before you, the tenant was a cultivator named Wen Qi. He was also a regular rogue cultivator. We often teamed up for expeditions into the Starry Sea. About a year ago, we found a cave dwelling on a nameless little island…"
Desperate to live, Chen Bao held nothing back. He poured out the entire story, meticulously detailing the sequence of events. As he spoke, Lin Feng finally understood the truth behind the deadly pursuit...