Chapter 112: The Punishment of Extermination
Xu Qing’s eyes snapped open. Getting silently to his feet, he straightened his clothing and walked out of his boat.
It was a gloomy day. The sun had risen, but it seemed like the light of dawn had sensed the aura of slaughter in Seven Blood Eyes, and had donned a gray battle robe that sucked away all the light and warmth. Beneath the dark clouds, numerous figures came forth from different parts of the Seven Blood Eyes Port District and headed toward the central altar. They seemed vicious, like cold blades. And all of them had extraordinary cultivation bases, with the weakest being in the sixth level of Qi Condensation. There were also a good number who were in the eighth and ninth level.
In Seven Blood Eyes, where disciples were like venomous bugs in a jar, all such people would have their own way of surviving. Even kind, warm people who were in an environment like that would change. Those who didn’t would die.
As they emerged, an aura of killing spread out in all directions, becoming a stifling force that weighed down on the city, and ensured that most common citizens in the Port District stayed indoors. Those few who did venture out would stick to the sides of the streets, and would quickly make room for any disciples they saw.
The voice these people had just heard was like the howl of the ultimate wolf, calling all the other vicious, bloodthirsty wolves to a gathering.
Xu Qing hopped off of his dharmaboat, then waved his hand, causing the dharmaboat to shrink down and shoot into its bottle, which he kept in his bag of holding. He began walking, and his first step took him nine meters. It wasn’t flying, but it was something ordinary pedestrians weren’t capable of, and it enabled him to move down the street at incredible speed.
A whistling sound met his ears, and he looked up to see some disciples using flight talismans. However, most just ran along the streets. Upon passing the Violent Crimes Division, he spotted the Captain.
The Captain smiled, tossed him an apple, and quietly said, “Don’t look so sullen. It doesn’t matter which nonhuman species we target. The point is to get rich. Whatever the true goal is, it’ll be handled by the Onpeak bigwigs.” The Captain looked at him and blinked a few times.
Xu Qing nodded. Then he and the Captain sped toward the center of the city.
And thus, the 4,000 disciples participating in the Seventh Peak’s Grand Competition closed in on the central altar.
Xu Qing spotted it from a distance. It was a massive circular spell formation, covered with countless magical symbols both large and small. Each symbol glittered with bright, violet light that seemed to connect the formation to the dome of heaven.
It was fully 300 hundred meters tall, and as Xu Qing neared, he saw that the magical symbols were arranged in numerous concentric rings. The rings were all rotating at different rates of speed, and at the same time, a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering aura pulsed out. The closer he got, the stronger and more terrifying that aura became, and thus, he slowed down.
By the time he arrived, there were already over 2,000 people present.
Everyone who approached had to slow down and eventually stand and wait. Though everyone maintained distance from everyone else, their desolate auras combined, causing the clouds above to grow denser. It was just barely possible to see something astonishing in those clouds, like a dragon, surrounded by countless lightning bolts. It was also possible to hear muffled thunder.
Xu Qing waited quietly for the time it takes an incense stick to burn. At that point, everyone was gathered. No one spoke.
However, all of the icy gazes were focused on the enormous spell formation.
The formation, which had been in constant motion this entire time, began to rumble.
Then, a long streamer of violet silk emerged from the formation, stretching up into the air. A thump could be heard after that as a figure appeared at the end of the streamer. Along with it came the fluctuations of a Foundation Establishment cultivation base.
Things weren’t over yet. More silk streamers appeared, until there were a hundred of them.
And at the end of each one appeared a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
The auras of 100 Foundation Establishment cultivators caused even more weight to crush down onto the disciples present. That included Xu Qing, who stood there, his mind spinning.
Then an additional thirteen violet streamers emerged from the formation, like thirteen dragons flying into the air. Upon those streamers appeared thirteen god-like individuals. They included men and women, and their faces were blurry, making it impossible to see them clearly.
Rumbling sounds filled the entire area, and Xu Qing found himself gasping for breath. Although he couldn’t see their faces, he had felt something like this before when in the presence of Elder Zhao.
“Greetings, Elders!” said the 100 Foundation Establishment cultivators, their voices rolling out like a massive wave.
The thirteen elders ignored the greetings of the Foundation Establishment cultivators, and instead inclined their heads to a spot higher in the air.
“We offer respectful greetings, Peaklord!”
As the words left their mouths, lightning crashed above, causing the dark clouds to part, revealing the enormous creature therein. It was a massive dracolizard, pitch black with vertical golden pupils, at least 3,000 meters in length. There was something holy about it, and each of the black scales that made up its armored hide radiated terrifying fluctuations that caused all light around it to dim, and whipped the wind and clouds into a fury. If it had wings to flap, it could cause a tsunami, and if it roared, it could reduce all living things around it to ashes.
Shockingly, a host of luxurious palaces existed on its back. They weren’t constructed; they were grown, as if they were a part of the creature’s body!
Standing atop the tallest of the palaces was a lone figure. That person was too high off the ground for Xu Qing to make out any details, but he could sense a spectacular might and pressure coming from them.
Compared to him, the thirteen elders seemed much less impressive. In his presence, the 3,000-meter dracolizard seemed docile. That level of strength... was beyond anything Xu Qing had encountered before, and defied description. Without any hesitation, he bowed his head.
“That’s the peaklord’s dreadnaught!” said the Captain, who was standing next to Xu Qing. “Remember, dharmaboats are classified as boats, skiffs, ships, and cruisers. But above those four classifications are the legendary dreadnaughts....”
Mind reeling, Xu Qing was about to ask a question when the highest-ranking elder began to speak, his words echoing like claps of thunder.
“Listen well, disciples of the Seventh Peak. The Merfolk were once our allies. But they have broken faith and abandoned righteousness. They have forgotten favors and violated justice. How? By colluding with the mortal enemies of Seventh Peak, the Seazombies. They have offended Seven Blood Eyes in the deepest manner, and thus, by unanimous decision of the seven peaklords, the location of the Seventh Peak’s Grand Competition will be located in the Merfolk Isles. Furthermore, the Merfolk... are sentenced to the punishment of extermination!
“For every Merfolk cultivator you kill, you will earn 10,000 merit points. More points will be awarded for those you kill with higher cultivation bases. As was previously announced, whoever takes first place will be named a conclave disciple! All battle trophies are yours for the taking, and do not need to be reported to the sect! Now... let the Seventh Peak’s Grand Competition begin!”
As the words left his mouth, the spell formation rumbled even more loudly, and the concentric rings rotated even more rapidly. Then, dazzling light rose up from the circular structure.
Up in the sky, the dracolizard threw its head back and howled, and then dove into the spell formation.
After that, the light of the spell formation suddenly increased in size by several times over, covering the entire central altar, and rising high into the sky. And the light swept over the 100 Foundation Establishment cultivators, the thirteen elders, and all of the thousands of Seventh Peak disciples, including Xu Qing.
As the sea of light expanded, they all disappeared!
***
Out on the Endless Sea, it seemed like any ordinary day in the Merfolk Isles.
In terms of strategic position, the Merfolk Isles were in a superior location compared to South Phoenix. They also had an advantage in trade. That was because they were located in between South Phoenix and the Revered Ancient mainland. The isles’ western borders neared the Westcoral Archipelago, and its north border was close to one of the forbidden regions in the Endless Sea. In some respects, that geographical position affected the temperament of Merfolk in general.
They were fickle and rebellious. When facing a more powerful force, they wouldn’t hesitate to bend the knee. They could even offer sincere smiles when being harmed. But as soon as they got a chance, they would immediately bare their fangs and viciously take a bite.
That was what happened thirty years in the past. They had gone out of their way to provoke Seven Blood Eyes, and had acknowledged allegiance only after being crushed. They bent the knee and chose to become allies. Thirty years later, the Seazombies rose to prominence, so they started working with them in an attempt to lash back at Seven Blood Eyes.
Unfortunately for them, Seven Blood Eyes couldn’t tolerate such behavior.
It was a clear day on the four islands that made up the Merfolk Isles. But then, in the blink of an eye, dark clouds roiled out, obscuring the sky and covering the sun. Immense darkness and terrible pressure weighed down everywhere. The sea was whipped into a fury, wild waves running amok from the pressure. Thunder crashed and lightning fell. Other bizarre meteorological or astronomical phenomena attracted the attention of Merfolk far and wide.
Everyone knew that today was when the Seventh Peak’s Grand Competition was to begin. And though the Merfolk had long learned that the target was the Northspirit people, they had remained on guard anyway. Even still, when Seven Blood Eyes rose to action, it was hard to be completely prepared!
As the thunder crashed, a violet light appeared, spreading out in all directions. In the shortest of moments, it filled the dome of heaven above all four of the islands, turning the sky into a sea of violet light.
Then came a roar that could shake heaven and earth as, within that sea of violet light, a huge black dracolizard appeared. Below, all Merfolk were shocked to the core. As the dracolizard howled, it spit out a black pearl. It looked small, but was actually dozens of meters in diameter. When it appeared, rumbling sounds filled heaven and earth. Lightning crashed around it, and it emitted crushing pressure as it dropped toward the four islands.