Chapter 116: Behind is Poisonous

Xu Qing watched the captain’s figure leap into the giant deep pit formed by the fish eye ahead. The captain’s words seemed to fall at the same moment, not into the pit, but into Xu Qing’s mind.

There, these words stirred up waves, constantly spreading into ripples.

Before this, Xu Qing had perceived the restricted areas of this world to be similar to the jungle near the Scavenger Camp. He thought that the deeper one ventured, the more eerie, sinister, and dangerous they became. Even the Phoenix Forbidden Zone on the other side of Southern Phoenix Continent, he believed, was merely larger in scope, with more numerous and powerful beasts and anomalies. But now he understood that while his perception wasn't entirely wrong, it was only a partial view.

This world was vast. Humanity was just one of its inhabitants. There were many other races and numerous dangerous restricted zones. Above these restricted zones were forbidden lands. The existence of forbidden lands completely surpassed the level of restricted zones, capable of giving birth to new species. And then there was… the captain's vaguely mentioned divine realm.

"Therefore, there are many powerful individuals and anomalies existing in this world," Xu Qing thought. He recalled the stone sculpture of a knife-wielding deity he saw in the Scavenger Forbidden Zone, the giants pulling the dragon carriage he sensed underwater, and the true form of Sea Lizard Island.

After a long time, he looked back at the Sea Corpse Race fighting Ding Xiaohai behind him, a deep glint appearing in his eyes. The Sea Corpse Race born from the edge of the Corpse Forbidden Zone was very strong.

Even at the Great Circle of Qi Condensation, if it were the Mermaid Race or human cultivators, Xu Qing's kills wouldn't be so slow; his attacks would be much swifter. "What about a Foundation Establishment Sea Corpse?" Xu Qing mused, his heart filled with vigilance. He believed there would definitely be more Sea Corpse Race members beneath the deep pit, and Foundation Establishment cultivators among them were a certainty. Although the formation in the sky suppressed all their cultivation to the Qi Condensation Realm, Xu Qing had to be intensely wary of such Sea Corpse Race members, especially as the formation seemed to be growing increasingly unstable.

Xu Qing fell silent. The more he understood the mysteries of this world, the more he felt how small he was. At this moment, his desire to achieve Foundation Establishment as quickly as possible grew even stronger. Xu Qing took a deep breath, his gaze sharp, and leaped towards the deep pit of the fish eye.

The deep pit was like a massive tunnel, vast in scope and incredibly deep, with no end in sight.

As Xu Qing leaped in, he could only see the captain's figure far below, a small dot rapidly descending. He squinted, not controlling his speed, but instead relying on the natural force of gravity, moving forward while observing his surroundings.

The earth around the deep pit was pitch black, becoming increasingly damp as he descended. Abundant moss-like vegetation covered the area, and occasionally, small black flowers could be seen blooming, exuding a chilling aura. The dampness quickly intensified until Xu Qing heard a splash echo from the captain's location below. It sounded not like an attack, but rather like someone landing in water.

Xu Qing immediately activated his cultivation, and a black iron skewer appeared in his right hand. He plunged it into the earth beside him, and with a scraping sound, the skewer carved a long mark directly into the wall.

Using the skewer's leverage, Xu Qing's descent gradually slowed until, moments later, he saw a body of water at the bottom of the tunnel. The water was pitch black, concealing whatever lay within, but it was clear that this tunnel was far from its end; the journey ahead would require going underwater. Xu Qing pondered, then scattered a handful of poison powder.

After waiting a moment to confirm it was safe, he took precautions by placing all non-waterproof items into his storage bag. After organizing, he plunged into the water. His Sea Transformation Scripture spread within him, forming a protective barrier that prevented the seawater from encroaching, allowing him to descend and continue forward.

However, Xu Qing hadn't been moving underwater for long when he looked down, a sense of alarm rising in his heart. He didn't see the captain's figure anywhere.

It was as if some unknown danger lurked in this pitch-black tunnel, completely swallowing the captain's figure.

Without hesitation, Xu Qing immediately pulled a pouch filled with various mixed poisons from his storage bag. He pushed it beyond his protective layer, allowing the pouch to quickly soak and release a large amount of poison into the water.

As the poison diffused, Xu Qing, still clutching the pouch, rapidly descended. Wherever he passed, the black seawater became even darker under the influence of the poison.

Perhaps Xu Qing's poison was very potent, as he encountered no danger during his descent while the poison powder dissolved. By the time he gradually reached the end of the tunnel, there wasn't much poison left in the leather pouch.

Xu Qing didn't pause. He swung the leather pouch forcefully, sending it directly towards the exit of the underwater tunnel. The moment it emerged, it suddenly burst open in the water, releasing all its remaining ink-like poison, which rapidly swirled outwards.

If no enemies were ambushing there, then fine. But if there were, this poisoned water would make them regret their choice. The next instant, amidst the swirling poisoned water, shrill screams erupted. Six Mermaid Race cultivators who had been ambushing there recoiled in the poisonous water, their bodies visibly turning greenish-black and rapidly decaying. Xu Qing's eyes gleamed with coldness, and he accelerated, directly rushing out of the exit.

The moment he emerged, waves of magical fluctuations thundered from all directions, and muffled roars echoed underwater. A chaotic battle was underway here.

At the same time, a magnificent and wondrous underwater world unfolded before Xu Qing's eyes as he burst forth.

Compared to the island shore, everything here was inverted. However, if one were to orient themselves upside down here, with their feet on the soil of the island's underside, they could clearly see countless colorful coral formations on the ground.

The entire world seemed to be composed of coral, which formed luxurious structures. Large numbers of sea anemones grew on these corals. Their centers were crimson, their grayish-white petals resembled sharp teeth, and barbed tentacles extended and swayed in the water. These tentacles varied in length, some dozens of feet long, others just a few. Light flowed across them, making the entire underwater world appear incredibly vibrant.

In the direction of the seabed, countless translucent eggs floated. Each egg was about the size of a seven or eight-year-old child, and within them, one could clearly see the young of the Mermaid Race.

This was the underwater world built by the Mermaid Race on the island's underside, their true foundation. As Xu Qing clearly saw all this, he also witnessed the pervasive battles all around.

Large numbers of Seven-Blooded Pupils disciples were seizing the coral and all valuable items in the area, while even more Mermaid Race cultivators were ferociously attacking the Seven-Blooded Pupils. Being underwater, blood didn't fall to the ground but diffused into the seawater, forming clouds of blood mist that spread with the fluctuations of the battle. Before Xu Qing could survey the entire area, a cold glint suddenly flashed in his eyes. He forcefully slammed his body backward, directly colliding with a Mermaid Race cultivator who was attempting a sneak attack.

With a bang, the Mermaid Race cultivator's bones and flesh shattered, releasing a large amount of blood mist. Nearby, a sea anemone suddenly opened a large mouth and lunged to bite Xu Qing.

Its surrounding tentacles rapidly coiled, but as soon as they approached, they immediately withered. The sea anemone itself did the same, withering and turning pitch black before it could even bite. Ignoring the sea anemone, Xu Qing immediately moved forward, continuing to observe his surroundings.

On the battlefield in this world beneath the island, not only the Mermaid Race were battling the Seven-Blooded Pupils disciples. Xu Qing also saw Sea Corpse Race cultivators. A quick glance revealed roughly a hundred dispersed Sea Corpse Race members.

Each of them was ferocious. Seven or eight of them exhibited fluctuations infinitely close to Foundation Establishment, often requiring more than five Seven-Blooded Pupils disciples to surround and suppress them.

As Xu Qing watched this, he suddenly raised his right hand, and the black iron skewer shot out, heading directly for a figure rapidly approaching him from the left. To the opponent's horror, it pierced through their brow and then returned to Xu Qing's side.

Xu Qing didn't pause; he continued to speed forward.

He rarely initiated attacks; killing wasn't his primary objective this time. After arriving in this underground world, he assessed the approximate location of the fluctuations he had previously sensed from the Spirit Breath Lamp.

He wanted to leave this battlefield and take a look at that place, to confirm whether his desired conjecture truly existed. Just as Xu Qing was moving through the battlefield, a sudden sense of crisis emerged in his heart.

Xu Qing paused, his gaze sharply lifting towards the distance.

Almost simultaneously with his glance, at the edge of the battlefield, dozens of unusual Mermaid Race members suddenly appeared.

These Mermaid Race members wore white robes, and the fluctuations emanating from their bodies were very strange—neither alien substance nor spiritual energy, but an indescribable sensation. Upon seeing them, Xu Qing's mind recalled the divine aura contained within his own Dharma Boat, causing his eyes to narrow.

And beside each of these Mermaid Race members, there were terrifying, grotesque beasts!

Some of these strange beasts were humanoid but elongated, several dozen feet tall like bamboo skewers, with disproportionately large heads and eerie green skin. Others resembled giants but possessed two heads, both faces bearing a ferocious expression, tearing at each other even as they advanced. Still others were enormous eyeballs covered in festering boils, with extremely long tongues growing within their pupils, exhibiting astonishing ferocity wherever they went. There were even small, decaying sharks, impaled with countless rusted weapons, charging headlong through the chaos.

"Divine Officers!" Xu Qing's mind instantly recalled the description of a special class of Mermaid Race cultivators from the chubby boy's jade slip.

This type of cultivator was extremely rare, calling themselves Divine Officers. Their techniques were not spiritual energy, but borrowed from the deities they worshipped, hence they called them divine arts.

And those grotesque beasts were the physical manifestations of their divine arts! Their appearance now significantly impacted the battlefield, causing some disarray among the Seven-Blooded Pupils disciples. However, the Seven-Blooded Pupils disciples were inherently fierce, having been raised through a brutal competitive process. Although Divine Officers had appeared among the Mermaid Race, many also targeted these Divine Officers. After all, within the Mermaid Race, Divine Officers held extremely high status and were far wealthier than ordinary cultivators.

Xu Qing did not join the fray. He withdrew his gaze from the Divine Officers and was about to leave. But just then, a strange expression appeared on Xu Qing's face. He saw a seemingly wretched corpse rapidly crawling through the nearby battlefield. The corpse was covered in blood, its entire body riddled with shocking wounds, presenting a truly gruesome sight.

It crawled sometimes, paused at others, and whenever it passed by the corpses of Mermaid Race and Seven-Blooded Pupils cultivators, it would familiarly search through them, take items, and then continue crawling.

If a powerful enemy approached, the corpse would immediately feign death, remaining perfectly still. But if the newcomer's cultivation was ordinary, the corpse would suddenly erupt at the moment they passed, launch a sneak attack, kill, and then swiftly dart to another spot, resuming its role as a corpse. Despite the excellent disguise, Xu Qing still recognized his identity: it was Senior Brother Zhang San.

The moment Xu Qing spotted Zhang San, a fluctuation came from behind him. Xu Qing lunged forward, then abruptly spun around, his right hand about to throw the black iron skewer, when a hurried voice called out, "It's me, Vice-Captain Xu."

The newcomer was the captain.

However… the captain at this moment was somewhat different from what Xu Qing had seen outside.

His body was distinctly greenish-black, showing familiar signs of poisoning. His lips were purple, and as he approached, he was continuously swallowing antidote pills.