The sky was as blue as the sea, the sea as blue as the sky.
No wind, no cloud.
Faint ripples spread across the surface of the sea. The scorching sun hung overhead, and even the sea breeze blowing against their faces was hot.
A vessel fifty feet long and ten feet high cut through the waves, leaving trails of rippling wake behind it.
On the broad deck, the devastatingly beautiful and alluring Nine-tailed Heavenly Fox lay reclining on a soft couch, idly playing with a fluffy tail in her hand. Her sharp little oval face was pale and bewitching. Though she had been under the blazing sun for many days, her skin was still fair, tender, and delicate enough to seem as if it would break at a touch.
Xu Qi’an sat cross-legged on the deck. The gentle and delicate mermaid attended obediently at his side, shelling one crimson, translucent clam after another, each as lustrous as agate.
This kind of shellfish was called a “Red Fire Clam”. It grew near undersea volcanoes in the South Sea. They fed on the spiritual power of flames to grow, and were a rare kind of elemental creature.
The shells of the Red Fire Clam contained violently explosive energy. Crush one, and the resulting blast was comparable to a cannonball.
But what truly attracted Xu Qi’an was the meat. It was soft, tender, fragrant, and sweet, melting in the mouth without a trace of fishiness, with an excellent texture.
All of a sudden, I don’t want to leave. Overseas produce is abundant, and all sorts of delicacies are here…
After eating the last piece of Red Fire Clam meat, Xu Qi’an looked at the mountain of shells piled in front of him and patted his stomach in satisfaction.
“Many thanks, Queen Zhenzhu. If you run into any trouble in future, just come to me.”
He made the promise casually.
Though both were guides, the Mermaid Queen and the Nine-tailed Fox were different. The latter only knew the sea routes. On the few occasions she had gone to sea, she had always come and gone in haste, searching for things with a clear purpose.
But the Mermaid Queen was a native of the overseas lands. Not only did she know the situation overseas like the back of her hand, she also knew where all the finest food was.
The travel experience had instantly shot upwards.
The silver-haired enchantress smilingly chimed in,
“You can trust him. This stinking male of the human race has never broken a promise to a woman. If he says it, he’ll do it.”
Have I ever broken a promise to a man? Who doesn’t know that Silver Gong Xu’s word is worth a thousand gold… Xu Qi’an grumbled inwardly.
Zhenzhu looked exceedingly delighted, and a soft, pure smile bloomed on her face.
Naturally, she was deliberately currying favour with this strongest expert of the human race, hoping to gain his friendship. According to the human race’s ranking system, Beyond-rank was equivalent to the mightiest gods and demons, while first rank beneath Beyond-rank was, even among gods and demons, no weak existence.
Of course, Zhenzhu still didn’t quite understand the standing of a first-rank martial artist among first-rank experts. Otherwise, she would have grasped Xu Qi’an’s terror even more clearly and directly.
The silver-haired enchantress reminded her at the right moment,
“But you’d better stay on your guard forever. Otherwise, a few years from now, you might end up returning to Mermaid Island with a human-merfolk mixed-blood child in your arms.”
The Island Master Nulang at the ship’s rail listened in silence. After several days of observation, he had realised that this human male was very likely a powerhouse on the same level as the Nine-tailed Heavenly Fox.
That could be seen from the attitudes of the Nine-tailed Fox and the Mermaid Queen.
While wary, Island Master Nulang was even more pleased. The stronger his allies were, the greater their confidence in exploring the Gods and Demons island.
Xu Qi’an rose and walked to the other side of the rail, gazing out across the boundless ocean. The hardest part of going to sea was the eternally unchanging scenery, monotonous enough to drive a man mad.
Judging by the changes in temperature, the farther south they went, the hotter it became. He reckoned they were nearing the equator.
Once the great calamity was settled, if I can survive, I’ll bring Lin’an and the others out to sea for a holiday. With the Mermaid Queen as guide, we’ll eat our way from place to place… Xu Qi’an indulged briefly in a vision of future life.
But after the satisfaction and excitement came the feeling that bringing them along would cause a great many inconveniences.
For example, when he was flirting around, would the other fish come and watch? When he and Lin’an were teasing and cooing at each other, would the other fish become displeased?
More likely, every single fish and I would treat each other with perfect courtesy, while I spent every day trapped in a terrifying Asura battlefield… He sighed soundlessly and gave up the thought of taking his fish out to sea.
At that moment, in the sight of the beyond-mortal experts aboard, several little black dots appeared on the rolling blue surface in the distance.
As the two sides drew nearer, Xu Qi’an saw clearly what was coming towards them, not what people, but what descendants of gods and demons.
They were… Ninja Turtles!
And they were Ninja Turtles riding dolphin-like mounts. The only difference was that these Ninja Turtles were black, not green.
Xu Qi’an also noticed that several of the black Ninja Turtles were wounded. Some had shells covered in cracks, some had splits in their thick black flesh, and the most severely injured one had even lost an arm.
The dragonman Nulang walked over and stood shoulder to shoulder with Xu Qi’an, transmitting his thoughts:
“They’re the ‘Bu Clan’ from Divine Turtle Island in the East Sea. It’s said they carry the bloodline of that god-demon from ancient times who was skilled in divination. This branch is extremely weak in combat. There isn’t even a beyond-mortal expert in the clan.”
At that, the dragonman gave a scornful laugh.
“And they still dared come to explore the Gods and Demons island.”
He called out in the language of gods and demons:
“Great Elder of the Bu Clan, who attacked you?”
That group of Ninja Turtles had originally wanted to avoid the unfamiliar ship, but when Nulang called out, the old turtle leading them seemed to recognise the dragonman island master, and immediately steered his mount closer.
“So it’s Island Master Nulang. You’re going to explore ‘the Gods and Demons island’ as well?”
The leading old turtle had only suffered superficial wounds. He looked very old, with slack flesh.
Island Master Nulang gave a slight nod.
The old turtle waved his hands repeatedly and said,
“Don’t go. It’s very dangerous there.”
Nulang thought he meant the god and demon aura that could drive people mad, and said,
“I know. Before you got here, I’d already explored the area in advance. I know how to avoid the god and demon aura.”
To his surprise, the old turtle still shook his head and waved his hands.
“That’s not what I mean. A few days and nights ago, a powerful and terrifying being arrived outside the Gods and Demons island. It ate quite a few god and demon descendants gathered outside the island, and drove the rest of them a hundred li away.
“It threatened us not to go near the Gods and Demons island. Otherwise, it’d eat every one it saw.”
A powerful and terrifying god-demon? Nulang, the Nine-tailed Heavenly Fox, and the Mermaid Queen looked at one another.
Because he couldn’t understand the language of gods and demons, Xu Qi’an was temporarily excluded from the conversation.
Island Master Nulang pondered and said,
“Who is it?”
The Great Elder of the Divine Turtles shook his head.
“I’ve never seen him before, and none of the descendants gathered outside the Gods and Demons island recognised him either.”
As he spoke, the elder with the slack flesh took on a recollective expression.
“His body was enormous, as large as a small island. He had six curved horns on his head, and one of them was chipped. His face resembled that of the human race, and his aura was like a god-demon returned to life…”
As the turtle elder spoke, the Nine-tailed Heavenly Fox’s expression changed dramatically. She looked at Xu Qi’an and exclaimed,
“Desolation, it’s Desolation…”
She had learned Desolation’s appearance from Xu Qi’an.
Desolation has come to the Gods and Demons island too? Hah, enemies do cross on narrow roads. No, the Gods and Demons island is connected to the ancient gods and demons, so it’s inevitable it’d draw him here… After hearing the Nine-tailed Fox’s translation, Xu Qi’an’s face grew grave.
He suddenly understood why Desolation had taken the Jianzheng overseas.
“Did the appearance of the Gods and Demons island happen because of him?” The Nine-tailed Fox was quick-witted, and instantly linked many things together.
Xu Qi’an gave a slight shake of his head.
“More likely, he knew when the Gods and Demons island would appear.”
The silver-haired enchantress nodded slightly, agreeing with Xu Qi’an’s judgement. With a grave expression, she said,
“He drove away the god and demon descendants because he wants the island all to himself? What does this island mean to him? Hm, perhaps there’s something on the island that matters to him.”
To know the answer to that question, they first had to understand what sort of existence the Gods and Demons island really was.
Xu Qi’an said,
“I told you before, Desolation’s true body suffered an accident and has been sleeping all this time. That’s why, after sealing the Jianzheng, he didn’t dispatch his true body to wipe out the Great Feng. If his true body had awakened then, the National Teacher and I probably wouldn’t have been able to withstand him.
“But he didn’t. Instead, he took the Jianzheng and left the place where he had originally been sleeping.
“There’s one more thing. Desolation may be powerful, but he isn’t Beyond-rank. In his hungry state, he can’t compete with Beyond-ranks like the Buddha and the Warlock God.
“Put those two things together. Do you understand his purpose now?”
The Nine-tailed Heavenly Fox slowly let out a breath. Her voice unconsciously dropped.
“To recover his peak strength and return to Beyond-rank.”
Only then could he contend with the Beyond-ranks of the Kyushu continent.
In that case, what was on the Gods and Demons island hardly needed stating, something that could help him return to Beyond-rank.
The Mermaid Queen had been listening to their jabbering in gibberish she couldn’t understand, while their expressions grew grimmer and grimmer. After enduring it for a while, she seized a gap in the conversation and asked,
“What are you talking about?”
Island Master Nulang and the Great Elder of the Divine Turtles both looked over. She had spoken in the language of gods and demons, which both of them understood.
The silver-haired enchantress gave a soft laugh and said,
“When you were children, whose terrifying legend did you grow up hearing?”
Island Master Nulang was the first to react. This dragonman, whose mane was threaded with silver strands, changed expressions wildly. His slit pupils contracted sharply, and an extremely complicated look appeared on his face.
It was a mixture of profound fury and intense fear.
In ages long, long past, a dreadful powerhouse had rampaged across the ocean, launching a bloody feast upon the beyond-mortal descendants of gods and demons overseas. It had nearly exterminated all such descendants above third rank.
The Arsu Archipelago had also been caught in the disaster. Island Master Nulang’s father’s father had died beneath that being’s fangs.
His father, though also beyond-mortal, had instead survived by sheer luck because his rank had been too low.
Nulang had not personally experienced that terrifying upheaval, but he had grown up listening to that story.
The Mermaid Queen and the Great Elder of the Divine Turtles understood the Nine-tailed Fox’s meaning one after the other. The scales on the lower half of the former’s body stood up one by one like the fur of an alarmed cat, and the flower-like beauty of her face turned pale at speed.
In the scorching weather, she actually shivered. A layer of goosebumps rose on her snow-white lotus-root arms.
The Great Elder of the Divine Turtles’ legs trembled. Both frightened in retrospect and horrified, he stammered,
“I’ll take my leave, I’ll take my leave…”
He immediately planned to ride his great fish away and flee back to Divine Turtle Island.
A fluffy snow-white fox tail shot out and wrapped around the turtle elder.
The silver-haired enchantress snorted.
“Finish talking before you go. Otherwise I’ll pry off the shell on your back and use it as a pot.”
“Th—this…”
The Great Elder of the Divine Turtles kept looking towards Island Master Nulang. They had met a few times and had some friendship, so he hoped the dragonman would say a few words for him.
But to the elder’s disappointment, Island Master Nulang remained silent, adopting the posture of someone who had no right to speak.
The turtle elder had no choice but to go on.
“We didn’t dare face him head-on, so we withdrew, thinking that island was sealed off by a powerful restriction anyway, and that he wouldn’t be able to get in.
“But unexpectedly, not only could he approach the Gods and Demons island, he even used the horn on his head to forcefully break through the restriction… If it was that one, then perhaps it isn’t strange after all.”
Island Master Nulang frowned.
“What about the other god and demon descendants? Did they all follow that one inside?”
The turtle elder shook his head.
“After he went in, the restriction closed again. Also, he subdued the Dragon Whale, the Black Horse, and the Flame Bird, and made those three descendants guard the entrance, driving away any descendants who approached the Gods and Demons island.
“They’re too powerful. Before I retreated, beyond-mortal god and demon descendants had already died at their hands.”
Of the three descendants of gods and demons, the Mermaid Queen had only heard of the Black Horse.
Island Master Nulang nodded and transmitted his thoughts:
“The Dragon Whale, the Black Horse, and the Flame Bird are all extremely powerful descendants of gods and demons. The Black Horse is about as strong as I am, while the Dragon Whale is much stronger than me.”
As for the Flame Bird, sky and sea were not the same domain. Which was stronger depended entirely on whose home ground it was.
After finishing everything he had to say, the Great Elder of the Divine Turtles rode his mount and led his clansmen away at speed, fleeing far from this place of trouble.
Island Master Nulang watched the turtles depart, then turned to the Nine-tailed Heavenly Fox and said helplessly,
“Let’s turn back.
“the Gods and Demons island has already been occupied by that one. Going near it would only lead to death.”
That wasn’t even taking into account the restriction shrouding the island’s exterior.
…
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