Xu Qing sat cross-legged on the treetop, looking off in the direction of the old man from the Banquan Road tavern. His heart was filled with vigilance.
At the same time, killing intent flickered in his heart. This old man was someone who had appeared on his bamboo slip. However, Xu Qing hadn't been confident in being able to kill him, so he had never gone to Banquan Road.
Now that he had …. Xu Qing's eyes narrowed.
However, considering that he was here to reap the rewards, and that this old man wouldn't be so easily killed, he suppressed his killing intent and looked around.
Everyone here was extraordinary, especially the lone wanderers. There were a few who gave Xu Qing a vague sense of danger, which was why he had immediately killed the pirates who had provoked him.
He had grown up in the slums, and knew very well that there were pros and cons to hiding one's strength. Often, hiding one's strength could lead to unnecessary trouble.
Therefore, using the power of lightning to act decisively, and using the murderous aura of blood to intimidate others, had been Xu Qing's idea since arriving. It was also something he had done during his time in the slums.
When the time was right, he would bare his fangs and warn everyone.
Don't provoke me!
The reason he had cut off their heads was partly to intimidate others, and partly because … their heads were worth a lot of money.
Xu Qing looked away, then flicked his finger, causing a cloud of toxic powder to fall down around him.
Having done that, he closed his eyes and began to meditate, waiting for the Sea Iguana to arrive.
Xu Qing's attack just now had indeed achieved his goal. Everyone in the area was now filled with fear of him. Although they acknowledged his qualifications to be here, they were also on guard. Because of that, the balance in the area was once again restored.
It was in this wondrous balance that time passed. The night went by, and as the first rays of the morning sun began to shine down, Xu Qing suddenly opened his eyes and looked down at the foot of the mountain.
Almost at the same time that he looked over, seven or eight pairs of eyes also looked over at the same time.
Rumbling sounds could be heard coming from the foot of the mountain, as if some enormous creature were moving forward with great difficulty. The sound attracted the attention of many Cultivators, and a somber aura began to spread out.
It didn't take long for Xu Qing to catch sight of a seventy to eighty feet long lizard in the forest.
The lizard's entire body was black, and its skin was like the bark of an old tree. Traces of time could be seen on its skin, and it reflected a dark glow under the sunlight. There seemed to be a gap between its skin and its body, and it was slowly being peeled off.
Its four claws gave off a sharp feeling. At this moment, it was panting as it crawled over. It seemed that every step it took would bring some pain, but it did not stop at all.
Although his aura was weak, the ripples emanating from him were comparable to that of an eighth level Qi Condensation Cultivator. Everyone present held their breaths. There was no way the Sea Iguana wouldn't notice that someone was nearby, but it didn't seem to care.
As it struggled to climb to the top of the mountain, the rumbling sounds behind it never stopped. It could see trees collapsing one after another. A second, a third, a fourth ….
A total of six sea lizards appeared one after another.
"Six eighth level Qi Condensation sea iguana skins!"
Xu Qing's breathing quickened slightly. He knew very well that this kind of skin could be sold for as high as five to six hundred spirit stones at the Seven Blood-pupil port.
As he looked at the lizards, his eyes glittered, almost as if he were looking at spirit stones, rather than Outsider beasts.
However, no one else dared to act rashly. Xu Qing waited silently.
The rumbling sounds grew closer and closer. Eventually, the six Sea Iguanas reached the top of the mountain. Ignoring all of the surrounding Cultivators, they entered the basin under the watchful gazes of all of the spectating Cultivators.
As soon as the six sea lizards entered the basin, they began to emit roars. Their bodies trembled violently, as if they were using all of their power to shed their skin.
Their roars echoed out in all directions, causing the hearts of all the Cultivators who were watching to tremble.
Xu Qing's eyes shone with sharpness as he watched the sea lizards struggle. Their skins, which were already separated from their bodies, began to shed at an even faster rate.
The entire process lasted for about an hour.
The first sea lizard successfully shed its skin. Its aura recovered, and it strode off. From beginning to end, it didn't even look at the surrounding Cultivators.
The sea lizard's skin that remained in the basin was no longer black, but rather, emitted a green glow. The patterns on its surface were clearly visible, and even seemed somewhat translucent. It glittered with the light of treasures, and looked almost exactly the same size as a sea lizard.
Still, no one made a move.
Xu Qing's eyes narrowed, but he didn't move either.
They waited for a bit longer. One by one, the second, the third, and the fourth sea lizard finished shedding its skin and left. The moment the final sea lizard's skin fell to the ground, someone made a move.
The person who made the move was none other than old man Banquanlu. He moved with incredible speed, shooting toward the basin like an arrow.
Next, the other Cultivators in the area also charged forward, their killing intent exploding out.
Xu Qing's body flickered, leaving behind afterimages in the treetops. He moved with shocking speed, causing whistling sounds to echo out as he charged into the basin.
In the blink of an eye, more than thirty Cultivators had entered the basin. Their goal was none other than the six sets of sea lizard's skin. In the blink of an eye, they began to mercilessly fight over them.
Rumbling sounds filled the air. Xu Qing was like an unsheathed sword, radiating a sharp aura. As he neared, he reached out to grab one of the sea lizard's skin. Next to him was an Outsider Cultivator in a straw raincoat. His eyes shone with a cold light as he stepped forward to block him.
"Screw off!"
Said the Outsider. He waved his hand, causing the spiritual power of the ninth level of Qi Condensation to emanate out from him. It transformed into a powerful pressure that crushed down on Xu Qing.
Xu Qing's face was expressionless. He didn't even look at the incoming Outsider. He clenched his left hand into a fist and punched out.
As soon as the fist struck out, Xu Qing's qi and blood exploded out. A rapier shadow appeared behind him, emanating a ferocious aura. A soundless roar could be heard as Xu Qing punched out toward his opponent.
The raincoat Outsider's face fell. Earlier, he had determined that the Cultivation base of this seven blood-eyed disciple was extraordinary. However, as soon as he saw the rapier shadow, his heart began to thump.
"Qi and blood shadows! You're in the great circle of Body Refinement!"
Even as he spoke, he began to back up. However, he was too late. Xu Qing's fist landed, and a boom filled the air. The raincoat Outsider's body shook violently, and blood sprayed out of his mouth.
However, he wasn't ordinary either. It was hard to say what technique he used, but his body blurred, and he reappeared off in the distance. More than half of his raincoat had been destroyed, revealing his blue skin. He looked up at Xu Qing, and his eyes shone with unprecedented fear.
Xu Qing didn't have time to pay attention to him. He grabbed the lizard slough, put it away, and then turned to go grab the second one. However, even as he was about to make another move, a roar could be heard from off in the distance.
"Are you trying to get us killed?!"
Xu Qing turned his head to see a rogue Cultivator off in the distance. Apparently, he didn't have time to grab the lizard slough, so he had set his sights on the last remaining Sea Iguana.
However, he was blocked by a burly Outsider with a nose that resembled that of an elephant's.
"You damned bastard," said the rogue Cultivator. "Don't you know that if one of these lizards dies, we'll all die?"
Enraged, the burly man shoved the rogue Cultivator aside. Everyone in the area looked over at the rogue Cultivator, their eyes filled with killing intent.
The rogue Cultivator's face flickered, and he fell back.
"It's just a Sea Iguana, right? How could it possibly cause our deaths?!"
"You're new here?
Do you know why there aren't any Foundation Establishment Cultivators here? And why no Foundation Establishment Cultivators would dare to pass through this part of the sea? Do you really think we're standing on an island?
Let me tell you something. This island is nothing more than a tiny bump on the back of an enormous lizard! "The killing intent in the elephant-nosed Outsider's eyes grew even stronger.
"Why are there so many Sea Iguanas here? Because they're all the Sea Iguanas' offspring. In order to protect its offspring, it won't allow any Cultivators beyond the Qi Condensation stage to appear. It won't allow any Cultivators to attack the Sea Iguanas. And now you're on its back, trying to kill its offspring? Are you sick of living?
If it gets angry, we'll all die!!
"The only reason Qi Condensation Cultivators like us are here is because it doesn't care about us!"
Even as he spoke, the elephant-nosed Outsider attacked. The other rogue Cultivators who hadn't been able to grab the lizard slough also attacked, their eyes filled with greed.
A bloodcurdling scream rang out as the rogue Cultivator was besieged and killed. His belongings were divided up among the attackers.
When Xu Qing heard their words, he took a deep breath. Finally, he understood why he hadn't seen any Foundation Establishment Cultivators along the way. He looked down at the ground beneath his feet, then silently charged toward the group of Cultivators fighting over the lizard slough.
A cold glow flickered as he pulled out his dagger. Anything that got in his way was instantly cut down. A cold wind blew, causing Xu Qing's hair to flutter about, revealing a fierce look in his eyes.
In the end, he managed to snatch a second lizard slough from three other Cultivators. As of this moment, the other four sloughs all had owners. Each one was incomparably bloodthirsty, and had gained a foothold in slaughter.
Like Xu Qing, the old man from Banquanlu had acquired two sloughs. As for the other two, one had been taken by the lone Outsider, and the other had been taken by a group of four or five people.
Everyone was filled with killing intent, and yet they restrained themselves from attacking each other.
Xu Qing looked around, and when he saw old man Banquanlu, he noticed the huge snake behind him.
When the snake saw Xu Qing looking at it, it nodded at him.
Xu Qing ignored it. His gaze flickered, and he gave up on attacking. Instead, he backed up and returned to the top of the tree, where he sat down cross-legged.
The other three groups let out sighs of relief, and then began to back up.
The basin gradually returned to calm. However, it was possible to see numerous unfriendly gazes sweeping over Xu Qing and the others from the Cultivators who hadn't managed to acquire the lizard slough.
At that moment, the old man was sitting there. He picked up the chimney and took a puff. He seemed to be very satisfied, but he quickly thought of something. He quickly rummaged through his pocket, took out an antidote, and swallowed it.
He ignored the gurgling sounds off to the side.
After the huge snake bumped into him, the old man said impatiently, "What do you mean?
That's a wolf who eats people without spitting out their bones, who kills people without blinking an eye. Does he really need me to remind him?
Do you think he doesn't know that people are going to attack him tonight?
"I say, you ungrateful snake, why are you so concerned about him? Sigh, I've been so good to you, and raised you. Why don't you care about this old bag of bones? I think I was poisoned just now."
While the old man was feeling dissatisfied, Xu Qing, who was on the top of the tree in the distance, slowly narrowed his eyes. There was a cold glint in his eyes, and he was also sizing up those unfriendly people, focusing on their pockets.
Then, he licked his lips and added more poison powder into the air.
A day passed by slowly.
Night fell.
The pale moonlight shone on the earth. Under the moonlight, the desolate trees gave birth to countless mysterious shadows. They swayed with the wind, and from afar, they looked like demons and monsters dancing under the gloomy moon.
The cold night slowly couldn't conceal the murderous intent that filled the air.
The dim moonlight gradually couldn't contain the greed of all living beings.
Thus, the bleak sea breeze blew the funeral song ahead of time.
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There will be a third update in a while!
I'm not going out to play, I'm going to write my story!