Xuanwu Body

The boat sailed onward.

The azure sea surged!

Several days had passed since they departed from Ice Fire Island.

The sky was very blue, and the clouds were very white. Zhong Qing stood at the bow of the boat, occasionally taking a sip of fine wine.

He watched the ebb and flow of the distant tide, and observed the rising winds and surging clouds on the horizon.

Such a life, if one were to calm their heart and experience it, truly held a unique flavor.

Just as Zhong Qing was about to finish a pot of wine, the boat’s speed suddenly slowed.

It was as if it had fallen into a quagmire, and finally, it was even forced to a complete stop.

“Master, it seems something is blocking the boat’s path!”

From within the cabin, Mei’s surprised voice drifted out.

Zhong Qing put down his wine pot, his brows slightly furrowed.

He didn’t need Mei to tell him; he had already noticed the problem.

Just then, a gust of wind and waves swept over, accompanied by an ancient and desolate aura.

He looked up, and in front, there seemed to be something, a vaguely visible writhing black shadow.

Within the black shadow, an ancient monstrous beast seemed to be hidden, its fierce might intimidating.

These past few days, Zhong Qing had traveled across the sea.

Aside from the Deep Sea Tiger Shark Clan, he had also encountered many fierce sea creatures.

However, no matter how ferocious those sea creatures were, any that dared to provoke Zhong Qing were instantly killed by him with a casual flick of his hand.

But the thing before him gave Zhong Qing an unusual feeling.

The newcomer was extraordinary!

After a moment of contemplation, he released the aura unique to his Myriad Laws Realm sixth-level cultivation!

In an instant, winds surged, clouds gathered, and the world changed color.

Zhong Qing took a step forward, cupped his fists, and loudly declared, “I am merely passing through on this journey and have no other intentions!”

“If you can grant me passage, I will be most grateful!”

“If you insist on blocking my way, feel free to try your hand!”

For Zhong Qing, if a conflict could be avoided, it would naturally be for the best.

If the other party wanted to fight, he would see it through to the end.

Although the opponent was quite extraordinary, it had not reached the point where he felt fear or retreat.

The wind howled, and the waves surged.

Zhong Qing stood quietly at the bow of the boat, ready to act at any moment.

Soon, the black shadow responded.

A pair of scarlet eyes glinted, seemingly wary of the aura emanating from Zhong Qing.

Finally, it chose to retreat.

As its body moved, a massive vortex, shaking half of the sea, emerged from around it.

Only then did Zhong Qing clearly see a corner of its true form.

It stood a thousand zhang tall, its body as black as obsidian jade, its eight tentacles as thick as mountains, and an aura of ancient years flowed around it.

In a blink of an eye, it vanished from the sea surface.

It retreated back to the seabed.

“So it was a giant octopus!”

Zhong Qing understood.

Of course, this giant octopus made Zhong Qing feel an aura from antiquity.

Could it be that the other party was a creature that had survived from ancient times?!

On the bow of the boat, Zhong Qing indifferently watched the departing figure, his thoughts drifting.

He had once again deeply experienced the difficulty of crossing from the Eastern Domain to the Central Continent.

They hadn’t even reached the Heavenly Abyss yet, and a great fiend surpassing the Three Yang Realm had already appeared.

He truly wondered what terrifying existences and unknown dangers awaited them at the Heavenly Abyss.

Zhong Qing shook his head!

He suppressed the complicated thoughts in his mind and once again instructed Mei to propel the boat onward.

No matter what, reaching the Central Continent was imperative for him!

And without the obstruction of that great fiend, the boat’s journey this time encountered no problems.

Soon, they left this sea area.

Inside the cabin, Mei, who was piloting the boat, had an abnormal paleness on his face.

He was purely scared.

The aura Zhong Qing had just displayed was like heavenly might, like divine wrath; even thinking about it now, he still felt a lingering fear.

Mei knew that his newly recognized master was very strong.

But he had never imagined that he would be terrifying to such an extent.

In an instant, he piloted the boat with even greater diligence!

The profound qi controlling the boat poured out as if it were limitless.

Just like that, the boat’s speed was actually two-tenths faster than before.

The rest of the journey encountered no special incidents along the way.

Another few days passed!

On this day, the boat arrived at a solitary island.

Several days of sailing had made Zhong Qing’s mouth feel bland.

He planned to land on the island and rest for a night.

He wanted to see if he could find some wild game.

Moreover, on the vast ocean, there was nothing but water.

Although the sea view was good, seeing too much of it inevitably made it feel dull.

This was like a principle in life.

No one could endure an unchanging, monotonous life.

A change of scenery could greatly uplift one’s mood.

Thinking of this, he said to Mei in the cabin, “Stop the boat and dock it. Tonight, we will rest on this island!”

“Yes, Master!”

Mei’s voice carried a hint of gratitude.

During this time, he had been fully focused on controlling the boat, not daring to slack off in the slightest.

He was so tired he was practically foaming at the mouth.

But he dared not relax even a bit.

He could only grit his teeth, swallow the foam from exhaustion, and continue forward.

Now, hearing that he could rest, he truly felt so happy he wanted to cry.

What is happiness?

Happiness is having a full meal when hungry, getting rest when tired, and gaining wealth when poor.

Anyway, at this moment, Mei felt extremely happy.

He quickly docked the boat and then humbly followed behind Zhong Qing.

He was truly like a loyal lackey.

The master and servant landed on the island.

What met their eyes!

The island was enormous, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Green vegetation covered the island.

Red flowers and green fruits.

A scene of vibrant life.

“Master, this island seems a bit unusual?”

Mei surveyed the island and finally offered his opinion.

“It is indeed a bit different; the vitality on the island is a bit too rich.”

Zhong Qing nodded.

Islands in the ocean are often subjected to wind and waves.

Even with vitality, there shouldn’t logically be such dense forests.

It seemed strange no matter how he looked at it.

Zhong Qing extended his divine sense and investigated.

The result, however, startled him.

The core of this island was actually the corpse of a Profound Tortoise!

The Profound Tortoise was an extremely powerful race among the ancient spirit beasts.

Legend has it that this race could grow indefinitely.

Adult Profound Tortoises, when fully grown, could move mountains and carry seas!

In historical records from early years, there was an account of a Profound Tortoise breaking through its shackles and attaining the position of Great Emperor; its power was even capable of carrying an entire starfield!

Compared to that, this Profound Tortoise, which had transformed into an island a hundred miles in diameter, was still not an adult within the entire Profound Tortoise race.

But even so, it was astonishing enough!

Its size could transform into a hundred-mile sea island, so one could imagine that if it stood upright, even the mountains of the world would appear tiny before it.

And what truly made Zhong Qing wonder was this:

Even a Three Yang Realm expert could preserve his corpse for a thousand years without decaying, ten thousand years without perishing.

This Profound Tortoise, by all appearances, was an existence above the Three Yang Realm, so why had it decayed and turned into a sea island?

Becoming nourishment for the island to nurture life?

…