Outside of Time

Some words didn’t need to be spoken. Actions could represent one’s standpoint.

Xu Qing sat cross-legged on the tree crown. He was no different from before he left. Regardless of his movements or expression, there was no difference at all. However, the feelings of the cultivators in the surroundings of the basin were already worlds apart from before.

Those who were wary of him before became afraid.

Those who ignored him before were now paying extreme attention to him.

All of this caused the atmosphere around the basin to become increasingly oppressive. It was only late at night when a rumbling sound rang out from the foot of the mountain and two sea lizards comparable to the eighth level of Qi Condensation staggered over that things changed.

Their appearance attracted the attention of all the cultivators present. However, even after the sea lizards crawled into the basin and finished molting, no one dared to snatch them. They could only watch as five people from the Sea Ghost Organization entered the basin, as though they wanted to collect the skins.

Only Xu Qing was different.

Xu Qing opened his eyes. The instant the two sea lizards finished molting, he stood up.

His rise immediately attracted the attention of everyone in the surroundings.

Xu Qing didn’t care about the gazes on him. He calmly leaped down from the tree crown and transformed into an afterimage, heading straight for the basin at an extremely fast speed.

Even though there were cultivators from the Sea Ghost Organization in the basin, Xu Qing didn’t even glance at them. He headed straight for a lizard skin. At that moment, beside this lizard skin, there was a nonhuman cultivator from the Sea Ghost Organization. When he saw Xu Qing approaching, his expression darkened.

As his gaze flickered, he suddenly lifted his right hand. Immediately, his fingernails extended rapidly like sharp blades as he swung them fiercely at Xu Qing.

“Friend, this lizard molt is my Sea…”

Before the nonhuman cultivator finished speaking, Xu Qing grabbed the other party’s palm. He then abruptly pulled it toward him and his knee ruthlessly smashed into the nonhuman cultivator’s chest.

The chest of the nonhuman cultivator instantly caved in. Cracks rapidly spread throughout his body and finally, with a boom, he shattered into pieces and collapsed on the ground.

However, what collapsed wasn’t flesh and blood but wooden blocks.

This nonhuman cultivator wasn’t a real person but a puppet.

The expressions of the cultivators from the Sea Ghost Organization in the basin changed one after another. While they were on guard, Xu Qing had already taken away the lizard skin and was coldly looking at them.

At that moment, not far away, all the cultivators of the Sea Ghost Organization, who were sitting cross-legged, stood up one after another. While they were afraid, a sense of cruelty also filled the air.

Both sides looked at each other for a long time.

In the middle of the Sea Ghost Organization was a tall and burly man with a bare upper body. Right now, flesh and blood squirmed on his chest, revealing a sinister face.

This face was like a newborn baby. Although it was filled with wrinkles, it was faintly filled with vitality. Its red eyes stared at Xu Qing and suddenly spoke.

“Friend, you destroyed my toy but this is nothing. This sea lizard… my Sea Ghost wants half of it. It’s not too much, right?”

Xu Qing glanced at this face but didn’t say anything. He then took the lizard skin he had obtained and returned to the tree crown, continuing to meditate.

His goal was very clear. He had come to the Sea Lizard Island for the sea lizard skins, not to kill. Of course, if there were any obstructions during the process of obtaining the skin, it would be a different matter.

Also, he wasn’t overly greedy.

Xu Qing was very clear that this current state was actually more beneficial to him. After all, the Sea Ghost had intimidated others, causing other rogue cultivators to not dare to fight for the skins. This way, he would gain more.

Although his combat strength was sufficient, these desperadoes who had struggled between life and death definitely had some trump cards. Hence, Xu Qing felt that there was no need to kill.

Since his goal could be achieved, he naturally agreed with the other party.

Just like that, three days passed.

During these three days, Xu Qing directly took away half of the sea lizard skins without any obstructions. However, he still had doubts about the arrival of the Sea Ghost and the reason why the other cultivators hadn’t left yet.

On the third night, when a huge boat appeared on the distant sea, Xu Qing’s suspicion reached a certain height.

This boat was a thousand feet in size and completely pitch-black. It was different from the style of the Seven Blood Eyes’ magic boat. It was more like the shape of a maple leaf. The most strange thing was that when one’s gaze landed on this boat, they couldn’t help but feel a chill in their hearts. It was as though there was a strange forbidden zone hidden in this boat.

And the reason for all of this was the boat’s paint.

The pitch-black color wasn’t natural but was some kind of blood. It was this blood that gave Xu Qing that eerie feeling.

“Litu Sect!”

“They’re actually here too!”

The location of the basin allowed the people here to see the sea in a more comprehensive manner. At that moment, just like Xu Qing, they all noticed the black boat that was rapidly approaching. Immediately, someone exclaimed in a low voice, their voice filled with deep fear.

The over ten cultivators from the Sea Ghost Organization had solemn expressions as well. They chatted in low voices as though they were facing a great enemy.

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes. He wasn’t unfamiliar with the Litu Sect.

Back then, the little girl at the scavenger campsite had a brother who was the captain of the Litu Sect’s law enforcement team. She was taken away by her brother.

At that time, outside the general store, he heard some scavengers discussing the Litu Sect. Their words were all expressing the meaning of the other party being a group of lunatics.

It was only when he entered the Seven Blood Eyes and flipped through the information in the Homicide Department that Xu Qing gained a better understanding of the Litu Sect.

The Litu Sect was one of the four largest forces of the human race in the Nanhuang Continent. It was on par with Purple Earth, the Seven Blood Eyes, and the True Words. Its doctrine was to follow the ancient kings and sovereigns and stay away from the Endsoil World.

Their doctrine kept proclaiming that the holy lands established by the ancient kings and sovereigns were a paradise. There was no famine, no cold, no killing, and spirit energy was pure.

They also proclaimed that the holy lands would open the gate to the Endsoil World and guide all those who believed in them over.

This was the faith of the Litu Sect. At the same time, to everyone who didn’t agree with this faith, they were all heretical existences in the eyes of the Litu Sect. They would be punished and their right to life would be stripped.

And this extreme doctrine naturally brought about a group of lunatics.

“I wonder how she is now.”

Xu Qing muttered inwardly. He recalled the piece of candy the little girl had once given him. However, Xu Qing quickly returned from his memories and stared at the Litu Sect’s boat that was getting closer and closer.

“What exactly will happen on this Sea Lizard Island?”

Just as Xu Qing’s doubts grew deeper and deeper, the old man from Panquan Road, who was behind the boulder in the basin, sighed when he saw that the Litu Sect had arrived.

“It’s over. This time, the Sea Ghost and the Litu Sect came one after another. They should have the same goal as me.”

The old man slapped his forehead. Just as he was feeling very vexed, the large snake at the side gurgled. The old man glanced at the large snake and pondered for a moment.

“What you said makes sense.”

With that, the old man’s body swayed and he suddenly stood up, heading straight for the tree where Xu Qing was at. The large snake followed excitedly. However, very few people could recognize this excitement.

His movement immediately attracted the attention of the cultivators around the basin.

The Sea Ghost cultivators also looked over, but the Litu Sect was about to arrive, so they weren’t in the mood to stop him.

Very soon, as Xu Qing narrowed his eyes and stared at the other party’s neck, the old man brought the large snake to a place 100 feet away from him.

“Kid, let’s discuss this. Don’t release poison. Disperse the poison powder here and I’ll tell you something.”

Xu Qing looked at the old man and roughly guessed his motive. He waved his hand, as though he was dissipating the poisonous gas.

When the old man saw Xu Qing’s actions, he heaved a sigh of relief and stepped into the range of 100 feet.

After taking a few steps, he carefully stopped when he was 30 feet away from Xu Qing.

“Kid, are you wondering why the Sea Ghost and the Litu Sect are here?”

“I won’t waste my breath and will tell you directly. According to the calculations of the seasons, there’s a high chance that a Foundation Building sea lizard will shed its skin during this period of time. The value of a Foundation Building sea lizard’s skin is astonishing. It’s worth 2,000 spirit stones at the early stage, 5,000 spirit stones at the middle stage, and at least 10,000 spirit stones at the late stage.”

“This old man is alone and weak, so I came to form an indestructible alliance with you. You and I will join forces to snatch the resources and we will give our trust to each other. We’ll split the gains 50-50.”

The old man from Panquan Road spoke passionately and quickly. After he finished speaking, he looked at Xu Qing. However, his expression quickly changed. He hurriedly took out a large number of medicinal pills and swallowed them. He then pointed at Xu Qing and cursed angrily.

“Brat, didn’t you say that you wouldn’t release poison!!”

“I didn’t release poison. It permeated this place earlier.” Xu Qing pondered over the information in the other party’s words and casually explained.

“F*ck, then why did you wave your hand just now?!” The old man was even angrier.

“You were the one who made me dissipate the poison gas.” Xu Qing frowned.

“…Then did you dissipate it?” The old man glared.

“My poison can’t be dispelled.” Xu Qing felt a little impatient. The other party was someone who was listed on his bamboo slip. If it wasn’t for the fact that the forces here were chaotic and it was inconvenient for him to make a move, he would have wanted to kill the other party immediately.

The old man was speechless. He looked at Xu Qing and let out a long sigh.

“I feel that I can’t communicate with you! You mean that you can’t dissipate the poison but in order to comfort me, you feigned it?”

Xu Qing coldly looked at the old man and didn’t speak.

The veins on the old man’s forehead bulged. When the huge snake saw this scene, it hurriedly gurgled.

The old man gritted his teeth and swallowed another handful of medicinal pills as he glared at Xu Qing.

“Alliance, yes or no.”

“Alright,” Xu Qing replied without hesitation.

Seeing that Xu Qing agreed so quickly, the old man sighed and was about to speak. However, at that moment, the Litu Sect’s boat in the distance had already arrived at the shore.

One figure after another walked out of the boat. There were about seven to eight of them and they stepped into the jungle.

Under the moonlight, these people’s appearances couldn’t be seen clearly. One could only see that their robes were black and even their heads were covered. A murderous and bloody aura were being emitted by them. After they stepped into the jungle, they headed straight for the mountain peak where the basin was located.

“The Litu Sect is filled with lunatics. There have always been rumors on the sea that they secretly control some islands and seem to be conducting some strange research. However, the locations are hidden and until now, very few outsiders have been able to reach them.” The old man’s expression was ugly as he spoke gloomily.

When Xu Qing heard this, he narrowed his eyes and looked over.