Chapter 85: The Summit of a Fiendish Island
Grayish-brown bones were scattered on the black sand. Some had been wiped clean by the wind-blown sand. Others were fresher, and still had bits of rotting flesh on them. Thanks to the wind, the sand piled up against the bones, and filled the skulls of people and beast alike.
Sealizard Island looked like a sinister and brutal place to Xu Qing. The red glow of sunset created dappled light on the beach, like red leaves. It looked almost like a crimson shroud laid over the dead.
Xu Qing looked away from the scattered remains, and in the gathering darkness, he headed into the jungle. The moment he stepped into the trees, it was as if two hands had blotted out the sky, turning everything pitch black.
Xu Qing was like a specter moving through the jungle, eyes darting back and forth to coldly look at his surroundings as he moved. He wasn’t unfamiliar with jungles. Granted, this was an island in the middle of the sea, so the jungle wasn’t exactly the same as the one he had become familiar with. But there were a lot of similarities. For instance, the vegetation on the ground included many common medicinal plants.
Xu Qing was like a fish in water, moving along without any problem. He quickly identified some of the unique aspects of this place. There were many fallen trees, and upon examination, he realized that the line of fallen trees led straight back to the water. Standing atop one such area, he looked at the surrounding trees, then closely examined the ground.
There are scales on the trees.
He even picked up a palm-sized scale, which was grayish-black and still smelled like the sea.
This is from a sealizard. And it’s fresh. From what Xu Qing could tell, this was a path a sealizard had taken after crawling out of the water. It was what had knocked down the trees.
There are other paths here. Each was left by a shedding sealizard. It makes sense that they all go in different directions. I wonder where they go to shed. Is it random... or is there one specific place they gather?
After some thought, he decided to follow the trail. Having made his decision, he started moving, going faster and faster. At the same time, he kept fully on guard. He had no idea if there were cultivators here who were beyond the Qi Condensation level. On the one hand, sealizard skins were very valuable. On the other hand, they weren’t very useful for Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Regardless, he needed to be careful. After all, a small lapse in judgment could be deadly.
The breeze in the jungle carried with it the scent of rotting vegetation. Xu Qing inhaled, but didn’t detect any other odors. Therefore, he proceeded onward steadily. About an hour later, it was night, and he was getting deep into the mountains. Leaping up into a tree, he crouched down, and looked at what was ahead.
Not too far away was a grayish-black lizard skin. It was broken down and dried-up, and had obviously been sitting there for a while. Most likely, it had been damaged in a fight.
Thanks to his earlier research, Xu Qing knew that there was a special way to preserve sealizard skins as long as they were harvested right after being shed. That was when they were most valuable. Without being preserved, they would degenerate and become worthless. That was why there was often bloody fighting that went on when sealizards shed. It was also why Xu Qing expected to run into other cultivators here.
Xu Qing dropped out of the tree and searched the area more thoroughly.
As he explored the mountains, he found more damaged lizard skins. At the same time, he came to realize that the shedding spots were all near the actual mountains. In fact, the higher into the mountains he got, the more skins he found. He was now starting to understand things better.
The sealizards must shed their skins at high elevation.
Looking up, he saw a very tall mountain in the distance. His gaze sharpened.
There. That must be the best spot on the island. The biggest and strongest sealizards must go there. And those skins will be the most valuable!
With such thoughts on his mind, he started heading toward that specific mountain. As he moved along swiftly, he finally started noticing other cultivators.
They were all rogue cultivators, and most were in about the fifth level of Qi Condensation. Although they weren’t very strong, all of them had vicious looks in their eyes. However, they knew their place. They were all on smaller mountains, and when they spotted Xu Qing, they simply watched him pass, then breathed sighs of relief when he was gone.
Xu Qing also breathed a sigh of relief. The fact that so many low-level cultivators were gathered here seemed to confirm his theory that it was unlikely he would run into anyone in Foundation Establishment.
That said, he didn’t lower his guard. After all, if there were Foundation Establishment cultivators here, then they would be gathered in exactly the location he wanted to reach.
As time passed and Xu Qing sped along, he passed through numerous mountains until he was at the tallest peak on the island. Looking up, he saw many auras erupt from the mountaintop and lock onto his position.
He froze. However, after sensing what was happening, a strange expression appeared on his face as he realized these weren’t the auras of Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Continuing on calmly, he noticed that there were more and more sealizard skins on the mountain. From the aura they emanated, they all seemed to be roughly in the fifth or sixth level of Qi Condensation. It seemed to also confirm his theory that the sealizards liked to get to a high elevation before shedding.
As for the energy fluctuations he had detected, he ignored them as he started speeding up the mountain.
The top of the mountain was actually a huge basin surrounded by a ridgeline with trees. There were quite a few cultivators there, and they were stronger than the cultivators he’d encountered so far. Most were in the eighth or ninth level of Qi Condensation, though he noticed a few in the great circle. Most importantly, there were no Foundation Establishment cultivators!
Everyone present had either brutal gazes or cold expressions. They seemed bloodthirsty, and the type who would kill anyone on the spot. There weren’t many humans present. The majority of the cultivators were non-human. Some cultivators stood alone, others gathered in groups. Many of the cultivators smelled like the sea, indicating that they were probably pirates who spent most of their time on the water. Virtually everyone present turned to look at Xu Qing when he arrived.
Xu Qing looked the group over and immediately recognized four or five criminals from the bounty list, causing his eyes to glitter. However, he didn’t make any move. Instead, he found a big tree where he sat down cross-legged to rest.
Although he was glad there were no Foundation Establishment cultivators present, he couldn’t operate under the premise that all his assumptions were correct.
After sitting down, he looked around to think. He was used to being in the presence of ill intentions. Whether it was in the slums or the scavenger basecamp, that had been a matter of course. Therefore, he just sat there calmly and prepared to do some cultivation. However, that was when he frowned and looked coldly at a group of pirates that had been eying him since he arrived.
It was a gang of about eight cultivators. Two of them were human, six were non-human. In terms of the latter, some had tentacles for hands, some had three eyes, and one of them looked human, but had wings. They were looking at Xu Qing with overt ill intentions and malice. The one with wings even turned to one of his companions to mutter something. After that, the three-eyed non-human stood up and started walking toward Xu Qing.
As he neared, the three-eyed non-human grinned nastily and said, “I’ve never liked Seven Blood Eyes disciples. So this one can either screw off, or he can stick around to be food.”
He emanated the fluctuations of the eighth level of Qi Condensation in an obvious attempt to seem threatening.
Xu Qing studied him, trying to determine if his throat was a vital spot. Then he glanced at the cultivator companions further back. Obviously, they were trying to feel him out, and if they determined that he was worth bullying, then they would target him.
After sizing up the situation, Xu Qing lifted his right hand and reached over his shoulder.
A moment later, a semi-transparent figure appeared behind him, with Xu Qing’s hand gripping its neck firmly. The struggling figure resolved into a blue-haired non-human covered with scales. From the clothing he wore, it seemed he was also a member of the pirate gang.
His eyes shone with terror as he tried to fight back. However, that was when a crack rang out as Xu Qing broke his neck.
Then Xu Qing sent the power of the Seaforming Scripture coursing into the nonhuman’s blood, causing him to explode. Blood and gore rained down everywhere, though none of it touched Xu Qing.
Non-humans had different organs and body structures than humans, and Xu Qing wasn’t interested in wasting time trying to figure out what vital spots to hit. Therefore, he just eradicated him by detonation.
In the instant Xu Qing killed the non-human, he didn’t show even a hint of expression in his eyes. It was almost as if he had just killed a bug. Then he looked coldly at the three-eyed nonhuman, who was now trembling in anxiety. What was more, his companions behind him all looked absolutely shocked, and were now completely on guard.
“Sorry, this was just a misunderstanding,” the three-eyed nonhuman said. Then he slowly walked back toward his companions.
Unfortunately, he didn’t know Xu Qing, and thus had no idea that Xu Qing didn’t allow any threats to his safety to exist. Even as the three-eyed nonhuman started moving backward, Xu Qing burst into motion. He became a string of afterimages that arrived so quickly the three-eyed nonhuman barely had time to throw up his spirit power defenses.
Xu Qing’s fist slammed into the defensive barrier, and it shattered. The three-eyed nonhuman’s pupils constricted, and he opened his mouth to speak. But before he could, Xu Qing’s fist smashed into his chest like a hammer crushing an ice cube. The nonhuman’s chest caved in and his organs exploded.
The other pirates shot to their feet, yelling in anger as they prepared to join the fight. However, Xu Qing was already moving toward them. The moment he had killed the first pirate, he had already made the decision to kill the others too. By doing so, he would cut the weeds and eliminate the roots.
Xu Qing moved with blinding speed. The surrounding rogue cultivators and nonhumans watched as he fell upon the pirates. Bloodcurdling screams rang out and booms filled the area.
In the blink of an eye, six pirates were dead, leaving behind only the nonhuman with the wings, whose expression was one of unprecedented terror as he backed away. However, a moment later, a sharp dagger whistled through the air and stabbed into his forehead. His body flopped to the ground.
It was over.
Gasps could be heard from the other cultivators in the area. Everyone had witnessed the event, and all of them were now looking from the corpses of the pirates to the expressionless Xu Qing.
Feeling the gazes on him, Xu Qing went one by one to each corpse and cut off its head with his dagger. Going back to his original resting spot, he hung the severed heads from a tree. With that done, he sat down cross-legged and looked across the basin to the opposite ridge. There, he saw a huge anaconda poking its head out from behind a boulder. Beneath that snake’s head was a familiar face.
He’s here too? thought Xu Qing, his guard going up even more and his eyes narrowing as he looked at the huge snake behind the gruish old man.
It was the innkeeper from Plankspring Way, and when he saw Xu Qing, his heart sank.
“What is that little punk doing here?” he murmured. Their eyes met, and then just as quickly, they looked away from each other.
“Bad luck,” the old man growled. Next to him, the anaconda’s eyes glittered.
“Coo. Coooo.”
“What do you mean by ‘hello, Elder Brother’?” the old man said, glaring. “He doesn’t understand your cooing.”
“Coooo, coo.”
“Uh, what? You want to ask which he likes, snakes in general, or eating snake gall bladders? Are you crazy? What’s the point in even asking? Didn’t you notice how he was looking at your gall bladder area?”
“Coo!”
“You don’t believe me?” the old man said incredulously.
“Coooo.”
“No, I’m not going to ask him for you. I know full well that you secretly signed up with the Seventh Peak Intelligence Division, so you can just go back and ask them how many snakes the brat has killed.”
The old man was fed up with the anaconda. From the moment the snake had laid eyes on Xu Qing, she had been bewitched. Gone crazy, even.
“Trust me,” the old man said with a sarcastic chuckle, “he’s not admiring your figure.”