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Lo and behold, the innkeeper was here.... Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed.

That said, Xu Qing’s primary reason for coming here was to earn profit. And considering how hard he knew it would be to kill the innkeeper, he stifled his killing intent and scanned the area again.

The people here were all extraordinary, especially the people who were here on their own and not with groups. There were many that Xu Qing sensed were very dangerous. That was one reason why he’d slaughtered the pirates who had provoked him. At a young age in the slums, he had learned that being deceptive about your true skills and abilities had both advantages and disadvantages. Sometimes, being deceptive would end up causing you even more trouble.

Therefore, he’d struck like lightning, openly displaying a bloodthirsty and baleful aura to shock the onlookers. It was something he had planned to do from the moment he arrived, and was a tactic he had honed in the slums.

In certain moments, baring your fangs was the best way to give a warning to others and say, Don’t mess with me!

The reason he had beheaded them was twofold. First, he wanted to intimidate the onlookers. Second... there were bounties on those heads.

After looking around, Xu Qing flicked his finger to send some poison powders filtering down in the area around him. Then he closed his eyes to meditate and wait for the sealizards to come. His actions had achieved the desired result. Everyone seemed afraid of him. What was more, they acknowledged that he qualified to be there, and also approved of how, in the end, he maintained the previous balance in which everyone tolerated each other’s presence.

Because of that balance, nothing else happened as the night came and went. As the sun rose the following day, Xu Qing opened his eyes and looked down the mountain. At the same time, seven or eight other pairs of eyes did the same thing.

Further down, beyond the line of sight of anyone present, there were loud rumbling sounds, as though some colossal creature were on the move. As the sounds drifted up the mountain, the cultivators present seemed to pulse with somber and deadly auras.

A moment later, Xu Qing watched as a 25-meter-long sealizard appeared within the trees. It was pitch black, with skin that looked like the bark of an old tree, and sharp claws on all four limbs. Its skin bore the scars of age, and reflected the morning sun as it moved. The skin already seemed to be ready to slough off, indicating that the lizard was about to shed. It seemed to be gasping for breath as it climbed, as though each step caused it pain. Yet it moved without pausing for a moment.

Despite its apparent weakness, it emanated fluctuations comparable to the eighth level of Qi Condensation. Everyone present tensed; there was no way the lizard didn’t realize there were so many cultivators in the area. That said, it didn’t seem to care. As it struggled up the mountain, more rumbling sounds could be heard from behind it. Trees crashed to the ground as another sealizard appeared. Then a third and fourth. In total, six sealizards could be seen climbing up the mountain.

Six eighth-level sealizards!

Xu Qing was starting to get a bit excited. He knew that in the Port District in Seven Blood Eyes, the skins of these lizards were worth a lot of money. Probably 500-600 spirit stones each.

His eyes glittered as he looked at the lizards. It was almost like he wasn’t looking at mutant beasts, but rather, spirit stones. However, seeing that no one else present moved a muscle, he waited quietly to see what would happen next.

The rumbling sounds continued as the six sealizards crawled up to the top of the mountain. Not even glancing at the surrounding cultivators, they crawled into the basin. Releasing powerful roars, they began to wriggle out of their old skins. The sound of the roars left the surrounding cultivators feeling shaken.

As for Xu Qing, he watched with sharp eyes as the sealizards’ struggle made the top layer of their skin fall off.

The entire process took about an hour. The first lizard to completely shed its skin looked rejuvenated, and left without ever looking at the cultivators. The shed skin was exactly the same size as the lizard that had shed it, but it wasn’t black. Instead, it was partially translucent and cyan in color, with visible striations. It glittered almost like a jewel.

Still, no one made a move.

Xu Qing stayed put, his eyes flashing.

A short time later, the second lizard shed its skin and left. Then the third and fourth. It was only after the last lizard finished shedding that someone took action.

It was the innkeeper from Plankspring Way, who shot down into the basin like an arrow loosed from a bow. Then the other cultivators sprang into action, their killing intent raging.

Xu Qing did the same, leaving behind a string of afterimages as he dropped down from the tree and shot with astonishing speed into the basin.

There were about thirty cultivators in total, all of them trying to take six lizard skins. In the blink of an eye, merciless and deadly fighting broke out.

As booms echoed, Xu Qing became like an unsheathed sword as he got close to the nearest skin. Next to him was a nonhuman cultivator wearing a woven rush raincoat, his eyes glittering coldly.

“Screw off!” the nonhuman said, waving his hand. The spirit power of the ninth level of Qi Condensation erupted out with crushing pressure toward Xu Qing.

Xu Qing didn’t spare a look or even a change in expression for the man. Clenching his left hand into a fist, he threw a punch. As his fist flew through the air, a projection of energy and blood appeared. The spectral drought demon roared noiselessly as its fist combined with Xu Qing’s to strike the enemy.

The nonhuman’s face fell. He had known from the beginning that this Seven Blood Eyes disciple had an unusually powerful cultivation base. But it wasn’t until he saw the spectral drought demon that his heart started to pound with fear.

“A projection of energy and blood? You’re in the great circle of body refinement!”

He tried to back away, but was too slow. Xu Qing’s fist slammed into him, causing blood to spray out of his mouth.

He was also an extraordinary cultivator; using some unknown technique, he blurred, then disappeared. An instant later, he reappeared off in the distance, still coughing up blood. His rush raincoat had been half-shredded to pieces, revealing that he had blue skin. As he looked at Xu Qing, his eyes flashed with fear.

Xu Qing ignored him, reached out, and grabbed the lizard skin. Then, just as he was preparing to secure a second skin, he heard a shout from off in the distance.

“Are you trying to get us all killed?”

Xu Qing turned to see a rogue cultivator who had arrived to the scene too late to join in the fight for lizard skins, and thus, was heading toward the last of the departing sealizards.

Before he could get close to it, he was intercepted by a burly nonhuman with a long nose that looked like an elephant trunk.

“You damn idiot!” the trunked cultivator yelled. “Don’t you know that if you kill even a single sealizard, we’ll all die?”

Furious, he knocked the rogue cultivator to the side. The other surrounding cultivators glared at the newcomer with overt killing intent.

The rogue cultivator’s expression flickered as he backed up and said, “It’s just one sealizard! How could it possibly kill all of us?”

“You’re new here, aren’t you? Do you know why there aren’t any Foundation Establishment cultivators here or in the surrounding waters? Do you really think we’re standing on an island? Listen up. This is not an island. We’re standing on the back of a gigantic lizard! These mountains are the ridges on its back!” The trunked nonhuman’s eyes shone with killing intent.

“The reason there are so many sealizards here is that they’re the offspring of the big one! In order to protect them, it keeps the area clear of anything above the Qi Condensation level. Now you’re trying to kill one of its offspring while standing on its back? Are you freaking tired of living? If you piss off the big one, we’re all dead!! The only reason it allows Qi Condensation cultivators here is because we’re too weak for it to care about!”

The trunked nonhuman unleashed another attack, as did some of the other rogue cultivators who had failed to secure a lizard skin. An agonized shriek rang out as the newly arrived rogue cultivator was hit from multiple sides, and then died. A moment later, his belongings were being split up by those who had attacked him.

Meanwhile, Xu Qing sucked in a breath as he finally came to understand why there were no Foundation Establishment cultivators nearby. Glancing down at the ground beneath his feet, he then shot toward a group of cultivators fighting over one of the skins. His dagger flashed with cold light. Whoever got in his way, he cut down, and as the wind lifted his hair, his eyes shone harshly. After cutting down three cultivators, Xu Qing secured a second lizard skin. Looking around, he saw that the other lizard skins were all accounted for. Already, he could identify who the top cultivators were. Each of them was splattered with blood, and had risen to the top by slaughtering everyone around them.

Xu Qing had acquired two lizard skins, as had the innkeeper from Plankspring Way. Of the remaining two, one fell into the hands of a lone nonhuman, and the other was taken by a group of five. Although everyone present was more than willing to fight and kill, for the moment, they were holding back.

Xu Qing scanned the area, his gaze lingering on the innkeeper, and especially the anaconda behind him.

The huge snake met his gaze, and actually nodded to him.

Xu Qing didn’t return the nod. Seeing that the fighting was done, he returned to the treetop and sat down cross-legged.

The other parties seemed relieved that he wasn’t taking further action, and also fell back to their waiting spots.

The basin once again became tranquil. However, the cultivators who had not acquired lizard skins had grim expressions as they looked at Xu Qing and the others who had.

Meanwhile, the old innkeeper took out a pipe and started smoking, looking very content. However, after a moment, he seemed to remember something, and quickly took out a generic antidote pill and consumed it. Next to him, the anaconda made some cooing sounds, but he ignored them.

Eventually, the huge snake nudged him, and the innkeeper looked over, annoyed, and said, “Like hell I’m going to ‘remind’ him. He’s a greedy wolf who kills without batting an eyelid. I don’t need to remind him of anything. You think he doesn’t know there’s gonna be a big fight tonight? You ingrate! Why do you care so much about him, huh? Ai. I treat you so well. I raised you! But you don’t care at all about my old bones! I was just poisoned, for goodness sake!”

As the old man griped, Xu Qing studied the area through narrowed eyes. He was careful to take note of everyone with vile dispositions, and especially, their bags.

Licking his lips, he scattered some more poison powder in the area.

The day passed and night fell.

Stark moonlight shone through the trees, creating countless mysterious shadows that swayed and danced like ghosts in the night. Slowly but surely, the cold night filled with killing intent. Not even the moonlight could cover over the greed of the cultivators. And the somber sea breeze moaned like a dirge.