Chapter 109: Detention Island

As the bead descended, it seemed to conjure a tidal force. The sea abruptly surged, and the surrounding waves transformed into a raging tsunami, as if a colossal giant hidden beneath the ocean had raised its hand to seize the four Mermaid Islands.

But just then, a colossal light barrier suddenly emerged from all four islands of the Mermaid race.

This light barrier was the Mermaid race's formidable protective formation. Fully activated, it instantly slowed the black bead descending from the sky, but its immense pressure caused violent fluctuations in the defensive array.

The tsunami waves crashed against the protective array, which held firm, echoing with a resounding roar. Simultaneously, an enraged bellow erupted from Yimeiqi Island, one of the four islands.

"Seven-Blooded Pupils, what is your intention!"

The roar shook the heavens, and accompanying it, a colossal face materialized.

This illusory face ascended from the island, growing progressively larger until it was comparable in size to the entire landmass.

It was the face of an old man with gills, his eyes wide with shock as he glared furiously at the figure atop the sky lizard-dragon.

However, the instant his furious roar reverberated, suddenly...

On these four Mermaid islands, numerous array core structures linked to the protective formation simultaneously collapsed from within, exploding violently. At that precise moment, the Mermaid race's grand protective array experienced a critical failure!

More than forty array cores, seemingly compromised by hidden methods, were triggered and instantly crumbled.

Furthermore, each of the four islands simultaneously pulsed with potent energy, rumbling from deep within.

The Seven-Blooded Pupils had long plotted the destruction of the Mermaid race. Their clandestine infiltration and intelligence gathering were thorough. Their arrival now clearly indicated absolute confidence in their success.

As the Mermaid elder's expression drastically changed, the black bead in mid-air suddenly pulsed with a dark radiance. This light intensified, eventually forming a colossal hand that seemed to blot out the sky, streaked with countless purple lightning bolts, which then slammed down onto the illusory face and the protective array on the island below.

A deafening, widespread roar exploded. The Mermaid race's grand array was the first to succumb, rapidly caving inward before finally collapsing, leaving a massive, palm-shaped breach.

Innumerable purple lightning bolts swiftly spread along the fractured edges of the protective array, causing the formation to completely collapse wherever they touched.

The entire process took merely a dozen breaths, and the Mermaid race's protective array visibly disintegrated.

The ensuing backlash caused numerous areas on the four islands to explode, plunging them into chaos.

After shattering the array, the palm print expanded further, suppressing the illusory face manifested by the Mermaid elder with a single devastating blow, slamming it onto the island's surface.

This was Yimeiqi Island.

The island reverberated, and a colossal palm print, clearly visible from the sky, now marked its very center.

All around the palm print lay demolished buildings and scattered remnants of flesh and bone. Only at its very center stood a tower, not entirely obliterated but heavily cracked.

This tower, resembling a temple, was constructed from white bones. It appeared grand yet unsettlingly eerie, radiating sorrow and indignation.

This was because the countless white bones forming the tower were, strikingly, all human!

The residual spiritual energy within the bones revealed that most had belonged to disciples of the Seven-Blooded Pupils.

At that moment, the Mermaid elder who had manifested the colossal face rapidly flew out of the temple-tower. He spat a mouthful of blood, his face a mask of extreme pallor, as he looked up at the sky, his body swaying before he rapidly charged forward, ready to retaliate.

In the sky, inside the palace atop the lizard-dragon, the standing figure's gaze settled on Yimeiqi's temple. A chilling voice resonated across the heavens and earth.

"Mermaid race!"

"Over the years, my Seven-Blooded Pupils sect has treated your race with considerable generosity."

"After your race became our sect's ally, we repeatedly provided substantial material aid. Twenty-three years ago, when your race faced a calamity of anomalous matter, our sect offered full assistance, providing countless resources worth at least a hundred million spirit stones."

"Sixteen years ago, when your race was attacked by the Spirit-Withered race and faced annihilation, no other race came to your aid. Only I, with my disciples, arrived in person. Many disciples sacrificed themselves to avert your crisis, and countless members of your race personally requested that our fallen disciples be buried here as a testament to our friendship."

"These sacrificed disciples should have been revered by your race. Yet, to curry favor with the Sea-Corpse race, your race exhumed their remains to construct this tower as a pledge of allegiance."

"Such ingratitude, repaying kindness with malice. If your race is not eradicated today, neither heaven nor earth shall endure it." As he spoke, the figure stepped out into mid-air. It was none other than Grandmaster Seven, the master of the Seventh Peak.

Clad in a purple Daoist robe, his eyes seemed to crackle with lightning. He possessed an inherent, formidable authority, his presence extraordinary. His resonant words, each like a polished gem, echoed through the skies. He delivered another palm strike towards the Mermaid Grand Ancestor charging from Yimeiqi Island, then flicked his sleeve, pointing his left hand towards the void to his left.

Amidst the roar, the Mermaid Grand Ancestor below was suppressed. Innumerable water droplets enveloped him, instantly coalescing into a colossal sphere of water.

Trapped within, the Mermaid Grand Ancestor struggled futilely, his face contorted in a low growl.

"Zheng Kaiyi, spare me your useless words. What if we exhumed them? The Sea-Corpse race now protects us Merfolk. Your invasion will undoubtedly provoke their army, which is already en route to stop you!"

"I'll be waiting."

Grandmaster Seven spoke calmly, his gaze fixed on the void where his finger had pointed.

The space there twisted, and another figure abruptly materialized.

It was not a Merfolk, but a human cultivator of middle age.

He wore black armor, his aura formidable, yet permeated with an intense deathly chill. His skin was covered in livid spots, and one could even discern maggots wriggling within them, as if he were already a reanimated corpse.

This individual had evidently arrived in stealth, intending to launch a sneak attack. Now discovered, his attempts to retaliate were fruitless. He was instantly sealed by myriad water droplets, transforming into a sphere of water that floated in mid-air alongside the Mermaid Grand Ancestor.

Having sealed the two figures, Grandmaster Seven disregarded them and pointed a finger towards the four Mermaid islands below.

Instantly, the lizard-dragon roared, and rows of astonishing magical artifacts emerged from its back, unleashing torrents of devastating spells directly onto the islands.

Concurrently, within the celestial purple sea, figures materialized – these were the Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Seven-Blooded Pupils' Seventh Peak. Alongside them, remarkably impressive magic ships also took form.

These magic ships varied in size, yet each exuded an awe-inspiring presence. They appeared in unison, forming a formation in the sky, their magical power channeled to its utmost, as they unleashed a sudden barrage upon the four islands below.

The spell energies from the Foundation Establishment magic ships transformed into over a hundred death-dealing spears, hurtling downwards. Concurrently, thirteen even more immense magic warships, spanning seven to eight hundred zhang, materialized from the void, directly descending upon the four islands.

Amidst the resounding impact, the four islands vibrated violently. The Seven-Blooded Pupils' attack objective was clear: targeting all magical artifact locations and Core Formation cultivators across these islands.

In the next instant, countless magical artifact locations on the four islands collapsed entirely. Core Formation cultivators had nowhere to hide; all were targeted, extracted by the spells, and suppressed one by one in mid-air.

At this point, there were no longer any Core Formation cultivators remaining on the four Mermaid islands below!

With these tasks accomplished, Grandmaster Seven waved his hand. The purple sea of light in the sky suddenly descended, roaring as it directly enveloped the four Mermaid islands, forming an "Absolute Heaven Array" that served as a powerful suppression.

Inside the array, wails of anguish erupted as every Mermaid cultivator spurted blood.

While Qi Condensation cultivators were relatively unaffected, Foundation Establishment cultivators found their cultivation suppressed, each dropping by a major realm, reduced to the level of Qi Condensation Grand Completion.

Simultaneously, on the forbidden sea outside the four Mermaid islands, streaks of purple teleportation light flashed, and the disciples participating in the Seventh Peak Grand Competition materialized one after another.

They found themselves above the forbidden sea, yet none were surprised. Instead, they immediately summoned their magic boats, which, with a rumbling sound, descended into the waters.

Xu Qing was among them.

At that moment, Grandmaster Seven, high in the sky, spoke calmly.

"The Seventh Peak Grand Competition has begun. Go, my wolf cubs. Many races are watching this competition... so kill fiercely, and demonstrate the might of my Seven-Blooded Pupils."

After speaking, he flicked his large sleeve, instantly conjuring a storm across the surrounding sea. This gust propelled the disciples' magic boats, accelerating them like sharp blades surging towards the four Mermaid islands!

In that instant, these four to five thousand disciples, empowered by the storm, locked onto their targets and charged towards the various islands.

Xu Qing gazed in awe at the multitude of formidable magic ships in the sky, then turned to the ravaged islands ahead, now shrouded in purple light. His heart was filled with profound shock.

For him, it had been but an instantaneous teleportation. He hadn't expected to arrive and find the battle seemingly decided, confirming his captain's earlier remark that truly significant events were determined by those higher up.

As for them, the disciples from the lower ranks, the primary goal of this competition was to acquire wealth, assuming they survived to claim it.

A keen glint flashed in Xu Qing's eyes. Having already made his decision, he now adjusted his magic boat's course, charging towards Juying Island.

His objective was the Foundation Establishment sacred artifact and Foundation Establishment pills on Juying Island. While the sacred artifact's effect was common, he aimed to sell it for half a million spirit stones...

Many disciples shared his ambition, most of them high-level Qi Condensation cultivators. From above, over a thousand magic boats could be seen heading towards Juying Island.

Even some faster magic boats had already reached the island.

Xu Qing wasn't far behind. Soon, he neared the shore, retracted his magic boat, leaped onto land, and headed straight for the forest ahead.

As he drew near, a cold glint flashed in Xu Qing's eyes. He instantly accelerated, dodging the barrages of spells that materialized as arrows from within the forest, then charged directly into the fray.

Within the forest, several Mermaid cultivators, upon seeing Xu Qing, fixed him with murderous gazes and growled as they advanced. Xu Qing, maintaining his speed, charged straight past them.

As his dagger flashed, heads flew. After swiftly killing three opponents, Xu Qing abruptly retreated, his right-hand dagger appearing behind him to unleash a vicious slash. As blood spurted, the abdomen of a monstrous Mermaid cultivator attempting a sneak attack from behind was ripped open.

Simultaneously, other Mermaid cultivators in the surrounding jungle, feral and bloodthirsty, surged towards him.

Xu Qing's eyes narrowed. Though he loathed the Merfolk, his objective here was to acquire the Foundation Establishment sacred artifact, and he was unwilling to waste time in prolonged entanglement. He shifted his body, preparing to disengage.

He intended to leave, but more Merfolk cultivators appeared ahead, closing in, forming an encirclement with those behind him, their killing intent palpable.

Realizing he couldn't escape, Xu Qing simply charged forward, and a resounding roar immediately echoed.

Moments later, he swiftly emerged from the combat zone, blood dripping from the dagger in his hand as he swayed and sped deeper into the jungle.

Meanwhile, across the four Mermaid islands, the fierce battle between the Seventh Peak disciples and the Mermaid cultivators was escalating, with clashes erupting in numerous locations.

The fighting grew increasingly intense!