Chapter 86: The Fierce God Lands on the Island

Gray-brown skeletal remains were scattered across the black sand beach; some had already weathered, revealing a sandpaper-like roughness, while others seemed to have existed for only a short time, still draped in fragments of rotting flesh.

The sea breeze blew, stirring up the sand and gravel on the ground, piling them into the skulls of humans and beasts, swirling them around.

The entire Sea Lizard Island, reflected in Xu Qing's eyes, was filled with gloom and cruelty; only the sunset, falling onto the beach like a piece of crimson leaf, seemed to cover their deaths with a burial shroud.

Unfortunately, this burial shroud was also red.

Xu Qing withdrew his gaze from the surrounding remains and, as the world gradually darkened, walked calmly toward the jungle; as he drew closer, his figure disappeared within.

The moment he stepped into the jungle, the night descended like a pair of giant hands covering the sky, turning the firmament pitch black and forcing the day to yield.

Inside the jungle, Xu Qing’s figure was like a ghost, moving at extreme speed, rising and falling across the trees; his gaze was like that of a Pseudo-tooth Bird, calmly observing his surroundings as he moved forward.

Xu Qing was no stranger to jungles.

Although this was an island and not the forbidden zone of his past, the experience of surviving in a jungle was universal here, especially since some common medicinal herbs existed among the vegetation on the ground, which allowed Xu Qing to feel familiar while his figure moved through the jungle like a fish in water, with incomparable agility.

But he also gradually discovered some peculiar things.

In this jungle, many trees had collapsed, and the areas of collapse mostly formed a line connecting to the location of the ocean.

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes. Arriving at a place where trees had collapsed, he stood there and first observed the surroundings, the positions where the trees had snapped, and the direction they had fallen, then lowered his head to scan the ground and the damaged trees.

"There are scales on the trees..." Xu Qing picked up a palm-sized, gray-black thin flake from the debris on the ground, which still retained a faint, fishy odor.

"It is Sea Lizard skin, and it has been some time." Xu Qing already had a judgment in his mind; clearly, the Sea Lizards had crawled out from the sea and traveled all the way to the jungle, knocking over trees along the way.

"There are multiple such paths, which means every Sea Lizard that comes here to shed its skin takes a different route; this is also reasonable."

"I just don't know if the final location chosen by the Sea Lizards for shedding their skin is random or... if there is a general area."

Xu Qing pondered and decided to follow this path, which the Sea Lizard had traveled some time ago, to see what was going on. After making his decision, his speed suddenly increased, following the guidance of the path, faster and faster.

But the sense of vigilance in his heart grew stronger.

Xu Qing did not know if there were any cultivators here with a cultivation base beyond Foundation Establishment. Although he had analyzed it on the way here, while Sea Lizard skin was valuable, those at Foundation Establishment would likely not care for it.

But he had to be on guard; after all, many things could not be ignored based on simple judgment.

At this moment, the forest wind blew, carrying the scent of rotting vegetation. Xu Qing took a breath and did not smell any other aura within it, so he did not pause and continued forward.

Until half an hour later, when the sky grew even darker, in an area near the mountains, Xu Qing leaped up and crouched on a tree canopy, a cold glint in his eyes as he gazed into the distance.

In front of him was a broken piece of Sea Lizard skin, overall gray-black and very dry; it was clearly old, seemingly torn apart due to a struggle.

Xu Qing had checked the information before coming and knew that Sea Lizard skin only possessed value if preserved using special methods immediately after being shed; otherwise, once it had been shed for too long and its spiritual essence dissipated, it would have no value at all.

This was also the reason why the struggle for Sea Lizard skin was bound to be bloody, because everyone who came to this island like Xu Qing needed to wait and then strike to snatch it the moment the Sea Lizard skin was shed.

Xu Qing pondered, left the canopy, and expanded his search range in the surroundings.

Until he had explored around the mountains and stepped a distance further along the mountains, he saw multiple pieces of such Sea Lizard skin. At the same time, he discovered that the places where the Sea Lizards shed their skin were mostly near the mountains, and clearly, the higher up the mountain, the larger and more numerous such remains were.

All of this gave him the answer in his heart.

"Sea Lizards shedding their skin must exist in specific areas, and they yearn for higher ground?"

Xu Qing raised his head and looked toward the highest of the several mountains on Sea Lizard Island, his gaze becoming sharp.

"That place should be the true treasure land on this island. Anyone who can go there must be a powerful Sea Lizard, and their skin is the most valuable!"

Thinking of this, Xu Qing no longer hesitated and headed toward the highest mountain peak at full speed. He did not stop for a moment along the way, and while nimbly weaving through, he also noticed the figures of cultivators crouching on various mountains.

These people were basically rogue cultivators with cultivation bases around the fifth level of Qi Condensation. Although they were not very strong, the ruthlessness in their eyes was clearly visible.

And they clearly had self-awareness, choosing the shorter mountains. Noticing Xu Qing’s arrival, they all watched him with vigilance, and only after noticing he was just passing by did they breathe a sigh of relief.

Xu Qing also breathed a sigh of relief. He felt that since so many low-level cultivators were gathered here, it meant his previous judgment was likely correct; the probability of Foundation Establishment cultivators being here was not very high.

But he did not let his guard down, because if there really were Foundation Establishment cultivators, then in all likelihood, they would be at the place he was currently heading to.

Just like that, before long, at Xu Qing’s speed, he crossed one mountain after another and finally arrived at the highest peak on Sea Lizard Island. As he arrived, strands of aura suddenly erupted from the mountaintop, locking onto him.

Xu Qing’s footsteps paused. After sensing carefully, his expression was somewhat strange; he still did not discover the aura of Foundation Establishment.

So he walked forward with a calm expression, while also noticing the large amount of broken Sea Lizard skin on this mountain peak.

The aura emitted from these Sea Lizard skins was at least that of the fifth or sixth level of Qi Condensation, which confirmed Xu Qing’s judgment: Sea Lizards indeed yearn for higher ground when shedding their skin.

As for the auras probing him, Xu Qing ignored them and headed straight for the summit, reaching his destination quickly.

The summit area was a huge basin. Surrounded by trees, many cultivators were scattered about. Their cultivation bases were clearly much stronger than those on the other mountains, mostly at the eighth or ninth level of Qi Condensation, and there were even several at the Great Perfection of Qi Condensation.

There were indeed no Foundation Establishment cultivators!

And the cultivators here all had eyes that were either ferocious or cold, revealing bloodthirst; they were clearly all desperate people.

And the human race was not the majority here; instead, alien races occupied the majority, some alone and some in groups.

There were even some who clearly had a heavy fishy smell on them, obviously pirates who had spent years at sea.

They were staring at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing also scanned them as he walked over and immediately recognized three or five figures from the wanted list, so a strange glint appeared in his eyes.

But he did not choose to strike, instead finding a large tree and sitting cross-legged on it to rest.

Although he had some judgment in his heart about the lack of Foundation Establishment cultivators here, Xu Qing still felt that if there wasn't even one Foundation Establishment cultivator, the reason was probably not what he had thought.

After sitting cross-legged, as Xu Qing pondered, he withdrew his gaze from the surroundings. He was no stranger to the malice of the cultivators here; whether it was the slums or the scavenger camps, they were all much the same.

So he sat there calmly and was just about to cultivate, but his brows furrowed slightly, and he looked coldly at the pirates not far away who were still looking at him.

These pirates were a small group consisting of eight cultivators, two of whom were human and six were alien. The latter had different appearances; some had bodies covered in tentacles, some had three eyes, and one had wings on his back.

They looked at Xu Qing with unkind gazes, containing fierce glints. The winged alien whispered to his companion, and then Xu Qing saw the three-eyed alien from among these pirates stand up and walk toward him.

"This place does not welcome disciples of the Seven Blood Eyes, so you either get out immediately or stay here as fertilizer." The three-eyed alien approached, grinning as he spoke, while his cultivation base of the eighth level of Qi Condensation was released without restraint, forming a deterrent.

Xu Qing carefully sized up the alien in front of him, wanting to determine if the other party's neck was a vital point, then looked at the other party's companions not far away, knowing full well that this was a probe by this group of cultivators. If he were easy to bully, he would become their target for plunder.

As he watched, Xu Qing suddenly raised his right hand and grabbed fiercely behind him.

The next instant, a semi-transparent figure that had suddenly appeared behind him was grabbed tightly by the neck by Xu Qing’s hand.

Amidst violent struggling, the semi-transparent figure rapidly became clear, revealing an alien with blue hair and scales all over his face. Judging by his attire, he was clearly from the same group of pirates.

At this moment, the alien’s eyes revealed terror, and he was just about to counterattack, but as Xu Qing’s right hand squeezed fiercely, with a crack, the alien’s neck shattered directly.

It didn't end there. The power of the Sea Transformation Scripture surged in, and in the blink of an eye, the blood inside the alien’s body was controlled by Xu Qing to directly burst through his body, causing the alien’s body to collapse and explode with a bang.

A pile of flesh and blood, yet not a single drop stained Xu Qing’s body.

The organs inside an alien were different from those of a human, but Xu Qing did not want to distinguish where the vital points were; destroying them completely would kill them all the same.

At this moment, while shattering the alien, Xu Qing’s gaze did not reveal the slightest fluctuation, as if he had just pinched an ant to death, and he continued to look coldly at the three-eyed alien in front.

The three-eyed alien’s body trembled slightly, his breathing clearly rapid, and the companions behind him also had their expressions change, each one becoming incomparably vigilant and solemn.

"Misunderstanding." The three-eyed alien took a deep breath, sensing that Xu Qing was not to be trifled with, so he spoke in a low voice while slowly retreating.

But he did not know Xu Qing, nor did he know that Xu Qing’s principle was that any existence that threatened his life safety must be thoroughly slaughtered to the best of his ability, so almost the moment the three-eyed alien retreated, Xu Qing moved.

His speed erupted with a boom, his whole body turning into a blur. The moment the three-eyed alien’s face changed drastically and he waved his hand to form a spiritual energy defense, Xu Qing had already arrived and struck directly with a punch.

Amidst the roar, the three-eyed alien’s spiritual energy defense collapsed and shattered into pieces. The three-eyed alien inside had his eyes contracted to the extreme and was just about to speak, but Xu Qing’s fist was like a hot knife through butter, landing directly on his chest.

With one punch, the three-eyed alien’s body trembled violently, his chest caved in, and all the organs inside his body collapsed directly.

The pirates not far away had their expressions change completely. As they stood up with low shouts, intending to strike, Xu Qing’s speed was faster than theirs. In fact, when he struck to kill the first one, he had already decided to root out this group of pirates.

At this moment, in a flash, Xu Qing’s speed was astonishing. Under the gaze of the many rogue cultivators and aliens around, his figure charged into the pirate group, and shrill screams and the sound of roaring spell collisions immediately spread out.

In the blink of an eye, six pirates were killed or injured. The remaining winged alien, with unprecedented terror in his expression, took to the air to flee, but the next instant, a sharp dagger whistled through the air, piercing directly into the center of his brow, causing his body to plummet from mid-air and land with a bang.

Everything was over.

Sounds of gasping were heard one after another from the surrounding cultivators, and their gazes at this moment also became incomparably solemn, each one looking with trepidation at the expressionless Xu Qing who was walking out from among the pirate corpses.

Xu Qing ignored the surrounding gazes, used his dagger to cut off the heads of the pirate corpses one by one, walked all the way to where he had been resting, and then hung the pirates' heads on the tree as a sign.

After doing all this, Xu Qing sat cross-legged and looked toward the other end of the basin, where there was a mountain rock; behind the rock, a huge snake head was revealed, and beneath the snake head was a familiar figure.

"He is also here!" Xu Qing was vigilant in his heart; he knew the strangeness of the other party, so he narrowed his eyes and scanned the large snake behind the other party.

This figure was exactly the old man from the Banquan Road Inn. He saw Xu Qing at this moment, and his heart was also depressed.

"Why is this kid also here!"

The two looked at each other across the basin, but soon both withdrew their gazes.

"Bad luck." The old man said in a low voice, but the large snake beside him had eyes that clearly lit up.

"Gurgle gurgle."

"What do you mean 'hello, Senior Brother', he can't understand your gurgling." The old man glared at the large snake in annoyance.

"Gurgle gurgle, gurgle."

"What the hell? You want to ask him if he likes snakes or if he likes eating snake gall? Are you crazy? Is that even worth asking? Didn't you notice just now? He scanned your gall again."

"Gurgle!"

"You don't believe me?" The old man was speechless.

"Gurgle gurgle."

"I'm not helping you ask. Didn't you secretly sign up to join the Seventh Peak Intelligence Division behind my back? Go back and check for yourself how many snakes this kid has killed."

The old man couldn't be bothered to pay attention to the large snake beside him; he felt that ever since this snake saw that kid Xu Qing, it seemed to have become obsessed, its brain sick.

"Insisting that he was looking at your figure, hehe."

Should I add a chapter on the weekend, or go out and play for a while...