Chapter 90

Chapter 90: Madness-Inducing Golden Light

Soon, the Departurist Church group exited the jungle and appeared outside the mountain basin.

There were eight of them in total, and they all wore black robes embroidered with blood-colored suns that glowed with a strange luster. A cold and eerie feeling radiated off their bodies.

Black hoods covered their heads, and the indifferent eyes that occasionally peeked out as they walked forward showed absolutely no emotion. It was as if the lives of everyone here were entirely meaningless to the Departurist Church.

This kind of indifference made the loose cultivators in the basin extremely wary. Even the Sea Ghost Association that was known for its cruelty hadn’t filled them with this sort of dread.

After all, cruelty was still part of human nature. In contrast, these people from the Departurist Church were killing machines completely void of emotions.

As they walked, a cold aura spread out and suffused the entire basin. Many of the loose cultivators paled and finally decided to leave.

The group from the Departurist Church didn’t even look at those withdrawing loose cultivators. After they arrived, they sat down cross-legged and remained motionless.

Xu Qing glanced at the faces of the Departurist Church cultivators. He didn’t see the brother of that little girl from the scavenger camp, so he retracted his gaze and closed his eyes to meditate.

The old man from Banquan Road didn’t return behind his boulder. He found a spot that didn’t seem affected by poison and sat down, glancing warily at Xu Qing and the other cultivators in the surroundings and muttering internally.

“This kid agreed so quickly. Something feels off, there’s no way he doesn’t have other plans.”

Just like that, ten days passed under the suffocating atmosphere around the basin.

No more sea lizards came during these ten days.

This phenomenon caused all the cultivators here to have a faint premonition. Around the island, the waves gradually subsided and the surface of the sea became calm.

It was as if a storm was coming.

Around the basin, everyone was silent, aside from the big snake next to the old man. The snake often glanced at Xu Qing and made gurgling sounds.

Xu Qing didn’t understand it, so he just ignored the snake and continued to regulate his breathing, maintaining his peak condition.

He wiped the dagger and sharpened the iron skewer. As for the alliance, he had only agreed carelessly. Xu Qing wouldn’t really trust the old man, and the old man wouldn’t really trust Xu Qing, either.

The suffocating atmosphere finally had a change when dusk of the eleventh day arrived.

After ten days of calm, the sea seemed to awaken from a deep sleep. Violent waves immediately stirred, tumbling and crashing wildly on the surface of the sea.

Terrifying fluctuations rolled out from the sea, spreading in all directions. Xu Qing saw several whirlpools appear on the sea in the distance, and they rapidly approached the island.

Many cultivators noticed this scene. Although nobody spoke, they all circulated their cultivation bases in preparation to make a move at any moment.

Soon, the first whirlpool approached the shore. As seawater splashed everywhere, a huge purple-black creature over 150 meters long emerged from the sea and stepped onto the beach.

Its body seemed to be covered with a layer of armor that shone with a dark light and appeared extremely powerful. A pressure that far surpassed Qi Condensation erupted from its entire body.

Its aura seemed to cause the beach to explode, sand flying in all directions.

It was a Foundation Establishment sea lizard!

Whether it was the armor on its body, the sharp claws at the ends of its limbs, or the vertical pupils in its eyes, everything made this sea lizard emit boundless killing intent.

Moreover, it obviously possessed intelligence. After stepping onto the beach, it shook the water off its body and surveyed the island with a cold gaze. The last place it looked at was the basin at the highest peak, and there was a hint of contempt in its eyes. Booms rang out as the sea lizard stomped into the jungle.

Its aura was so strong that the cultivators on every mountain of the island felt their hearts tremble. Their complexions immediately turned pale, and they felt as if a heavy weight was pressing down on them.

And this wasn’t the only Foundation Establishment sea lizard.

After the first one, whirlpools approached the island one after another. The second Foundation Establishment sea lizard also stepped onto the island and entered the jungle.

Then came the third.

The aura of this third sea lizard was even stronger than the previous two, and its body was 300 meters long. As it stepped onto the beach, it roared up to the sky, immediately whipping up a storm that swept out in all directions.

The trees in the jungle shook violently, and even the cultivators high up in the basin could smell the fishy stench carried on the wind.

The sense of suppression originating from their cultivation bases grew even stronger.

Xu Qing’s pupils contracted rapidly as he sensed the might of these three Foundation Establishment sea lizards.

The first two were already very strong, but this third one was so powerful that his eyes stung just by looking at it..

Xu Qing took a deep breath and mentally compared them to the Vajra Sect ancestor. He quickly concluded that even the first two sea lizards could easily rip the Vajra Sect ancestor into pieces.

“Two middle-stage Foundation Establishment lizards, and the last one is actually at the late stage! The first two together are worth over 10,000 spirit stones, and the third… even if you just sell it casually, it’ll be at least 15,000 spirit stones! Xu Qing, let’s really form an alliance this time!” The eyes of the old man from Banquan Road shone as he quickly spoke up.

The eyes of all the cultivators around the basin were also shining. Whether it was the Sea Ghost Association or those other alien cultivators, greed filled their hearts. For cultivators like them, even in the entire Endlands world, tens of thousands of spirit stones was a massive amount.

Xu Qing also became solemn. As he watched the three Foundation Establishment sea lizards walking over one after another, he felt a strong sense of danger. All the hairs on his body stood up, and his skin trembled slightly.

This wasn’t only because of the Foundation Establishment aura pressing down on him. It was also Xu Qing’s body telling him that it was ready to strike at any moment.

“If I can get the shed skin of a Foundation Establishment sea lizard this time, this trip would be considered a great success. For the short term, I won’t have to worry about spirit stones. I’ll be able to cultivate freely and upgrade my magic boat at the same time!”

Xu Qing’s eyes became cold.

The sea lizard skins he had obtained before could be sold for over 2,000 spirit stones in total. If he added on the loot from people he’d killed and the gifts from Senior Sister Ding on the way, his profits until now were about 4,000 spirit stones.

“I’ll snatch a Foundation Establishment sea lizard skin and then leave immediately!”

As soon as Xu Qing made his decision, a loud rumble came from the foot of the mountain. The three Foundation Establishment sea lizards were already approaching the basin at the peak.

They didn’t choose to fly, instead crashing through the jungle and slamming into trees to make it easier for them to shed their skins.

Finally, they made their way to the top of the mountain, ignoring the surrounding cultivators and stepping directly into the basin with a bang.

Because they were so large, just the three of them instantly took up more than half the basin. Observing these Foundation Establishment creatures at such a close distance made all the cultivators there feel like their hearts were about to stop.

Soon, the three sea lizards roared up at the sky. In fact, even the roar of a Foundation Establishment sea lizard could be lethal.

As they roared, it seemed like heaven and earth were shaking as the mighty sound waves swept out in all directions.

Some of the cultivators with weaker physical bodies instantly trembled violently and coughed up blood, suffering injuries from the sound waves alone.

The surrounding trees were even weaker, directly shattering as soon as they were touched.

The sound waves formed by the three Foundation Establishment sea lizards’ roars continued to spread out, causing the same scene to appear on the surrounding mountains. All the trees were destroyed, and some of the weaker cultivators let out miserable screams and fell one by one.

Xu Qing’s body also shook violently, but with his physical strength, the sound waves didn’t affect him too much. However, the tree that he was sitting on instantly shattered into pieces.

Xu Qing landed on the ground, not caring at all about the destruction of the tree. His gaze was like a hawk’s as he stared at the basin, waiting for the moment that the sea lizards finished shedding their skin.

The old man from Banquan Road was also extremely focused, and so were the Sea Ghost cultivators and the alien cultivators. In fact, everyone who had endured the sound waves was like this.

Just like that, an incense stick’s worth of time slowly passed. Among the three Foundation Establishment sea lizards in the basin, the two sea lizards at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment finished shedding their skins with difficulty.

As soon as the lizard skin sloughed off, to everyone’s distress, the sea lizards turned their heads and bit off a large piece of their own lizard skin. After swallowing, they jumped up and flew out of the basin, roaring towards the sky.

Moreover, although a large portion of both shed skins had been eaten, the skins were still extremely bizarre and actually shrank by themselves, becoming palm-sized in the blink of an eye.

At that moment, the dozen over people from Sea Ghost rushed out, as well as the other alien cultivators around them. No one cared anymore about the Sea Ghost Association’s previous threat. With such huge benefits at stake, everyone’s eyes turned red.

The old man from Banquan Road was the same, also rushing over quickly.

And Xu Qing was even faster than everyone else. In an instant, besides the Departurist Church cultivators, every single cultivator around the basin rushed out.

More than a dozen people were instantly embroiled in fierce battle at the site of each of the two Foundation Establishment lizard skins.

Xu Qing chose the one closest to him, which was also the one the old man was going for. Although the two of them didn’t like each other, they still chose to cooperate for the time being. Of course, they didn’t let down their guard against the other.

In an instant, they neared the lizard skin along with the others and killing intent broke out explosively.

With a wave of Xu Qing’s hand, water droplets filled the surroundings and swept out in all directions. He took out his dagger and swung it coldly at an alien Sea Ghost cultivator.

This Sea Ghost cultivator was at the peak of Qi Condensation, but Xu Qing was even stronger. Clenching his left hand into a fist, he punched out at his opponent’s chest as the Droughtdemon Shadow appeared behind him with a roar.

The alien cultivator growled and immediately counterattacked, even taking out a talisman treasure. However, Xu Qing’s blow still made them cough up blood, nearly destroyed their talisman treasure, and sent them flying dozens of meters backwards.

The old man from Banquan Road was equally fierce. Ropes suddenly manifested around his body and everyone who came near him instantly had their necks caught. Some of the ropes even spread towards Xu Qing.

After blowing several opponents away, Xu Qing was about to grab the lizard skin when the ropes suddenly tried to entangle him. However, Xu Qing was already prepared for this. With a cold snort, his qi and blood suddenly erupted outwards.

With a bang, the ropes all shattered to pieces. Xu Qing’s hands almost touched the lizard skin, but four Sea Ghost cultivators suddenly rushed over with red eyes. Killing intent erupted from them as they quickly formed hand seals.

At that moment, loose cultivators also surrounded and blocked off the old man from Banquan Road.

While Xu Qing and the old man were held up, two Sea Ghost cultivators headed straight for the lizard skin. Just as they were about to grab it, the void next to the lizard skin twisted and a huge snake head appeared in midair. It instantly snatched the lizard skin with its mouth.

It had an excited expression. Looking back and forth between Xu Qing and the old man, it turned to help Xu Qing, but suddenly… The old man’s eyes lit up and he laughed loudly. The light of a talisman treasure appeared outside his body, blowing everyone away as he ran over to the big snake.

Giving it a hug, the old man spoke with excitement.

“Good, good. Well done!”

The Droughtdemon Shadow instantly appeared behind Xu Qing. With a roar, a sea of flames spread out, forcing the Sea Ghost cultivators surrounding him to cough up blood and back away. Xu Qing ignored them and turned to look at the old man. A cold light flashed through his eyes as he rushed over.

But at that moment, the 300-meter-long sea lizard whom no one dared to approach suddenly roared towards the sky.

The skin on its body split open and its new body crawled out. It seemed to have no time to bite off a piece of its shed skin as it immediately flew up to the sky.

Its qi and blood swelled, vaguely seeming to surpass the realm of Foundation Establishment!!

Its roar kicked off violent winds and delivered a heavy shock to everyone’s minds. As many cultivators bled from their seven orifices, the late-stage Foundation Establishment lizard skin suddenly shrank and split into three pieces.

The aura emitted by these three pieces of lizard skin was astonishing and far surpassed the previous two. Furthermore, there was a faint golden glow radiating off of them.

As soon as this golden light appeared, rumbling sounds reverberated in all directions, and even the clouds on high surged and tumbled. A hint of divinity spread out, giving Xu Qing a familiar feeling. It was just like the trial to enter Seven Blood Pupils back then, when he had to face the pressure of a divinity lifeform’s blood!

“This… my judgment was off. This late-stage Foundation Establishment lizard actually has a trace of divinity in its body. This lizard skin contains the aura of divinity! Its value is incomparably high!!” The old man’s eyes opened wide as he involuntarily exclaimed.

At that moment, the Departurist Church cultivators opened their eyes, revealing a cold light. This was what they had been waiting for!

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