37: Chapter 37 The World Changes

Night had fallen.

A bonfire was burning by the seashore.

The firelight was not particularly bright, just enough to illuminate the surrounding circle of sand.

Qin Mo squatted by the bonfire, holding a long spear in his hand with several pieces of snail meat impaled on it.

He brought the snail meat close to the fire, slowly turning it as it sizzled, giving off an enticing aroma.

Qin Yin sat on a rock to the side, holding her long saber, slowly wiping it with a piece of coarse cloth.

Traces left on the blade from slaying Cone Snails during the day were wiped away clean bit by bit.

The East Sea had been far from peaceful lately; every now and then, Cone Snail Demons or other monsters would come ashore.

That was why Qin Mo and Qin Yin had not returned to their houses to sleep, but were keeping watch here instead.

Thanks to Lord Qinling's gifts, which had allowed them to become martial artists, they had enough blood qi to sustain themselves through the night watch.

"Sis."

Qin Mo called out.

Qin Yin turned her head to look and saw Qin Mo holding up the long spear with roasted snail meat impaled on it, grinning at her.

"Have a taste, I roasted it. You know, these Cone Snails look pretty disgusting, but the meat actually tastes decent."

"You eat it."

Qin Yin shook her head.

Just then, within the area illuminated by the bonfire, several faint glimmers appeared out of thin air.

A total of six faint glimmers.

These six faint glimmers silently hovered right before her and Qin Mo.

Once Qin Mo saw clearly what the glimmers were, he nearly dropped the snail meat in his hand.

"Aren't these Lord Qinling's divine talismans?"

Qin Mo exclaimed in surprise.

Last time, he had seen these divine talismans up close in Qin Yin's hands, so he knew he couldn't be mistaken.

"That's right, they are Lord Qinling's divine talismans."

Qin Yin nodded in confirmation, looking at the familiar patterns on those divine talismans.

golden light talisman, Mind-Clearing Talisman, Protection Talisman.

She recognized every single one of them.

Back then, she had personally used every single one of these divine talismans.

But why would these divine talismans appear here?

Qin Mo looked at the divine talismans before him and slowly reached out his hand.

Three of the talismans seemed to sense something, gently floating down and landing in his open palm.

Seeing this, Qin Yin reached out her hand as well.

The remaining three talismans landed in her palm, identical to the three in Qin Mo's hand.

She lowered her head to look at them, watching the faint glow of the divine talismans swirl in her palm.

Qin Mo held the three talismans, turning them over and over to look at them.

"Sis, did Lord Qinling give these to us?"

He scratched his head, somewhat puzzled.

"But we don't need divine talismans to kill these Cone Snails now, do we?"

Currently, both Qin Yin and Qin Mo were First-Turn mid-stage martial artists; killing these Cone Snails that had just turned into demons indeed required no divine talismans.

Qin Yin was also looking at the talismans in her hand, her brow slightly furrowed.

Lord Qinling wouldn't grant talismans for no reason.

And he gave six all at once.

What did this mean?

Could it be that something might happen tonight?

Just as she was about to speak, a giant sea clam suddenly landed on the beach.

"Bang!"

Sand on the beach splashed into the air.

Qin Mo was startled and nearly jumped up, sending the roasted snail meat on his long spear flying.

Only when he saw that it was this sea clam did he breathe a sigh of relief.

Naturally, he also knew that this Clam Spirit had been subdued by Lord Qinling and usually hid in the small pond beside the shrine.

The Clam Spirit shook off the seawater on its shell, opened its valves, and flicked its tongue, saying:

"Lord Qinling wants you to guard the village tonight."

"What about you?"

Qin Mo asked curiously.

"I will guard the village like you."

The Clam Spirit continued.

Standing to the side, Qin Yin's brow remained furrowed as she asked the most crucial question.

"Why is Lord Qinling doing this? Is Lord Qinling leaving the village?"

The Clam Spirit's tongue poked out from the gap in its shell, pointing toward the sea.

Qin Yin looked in the direction its tongue pointed.

The ocean surface was pitch black; nothing could be seen.

"What is Lord Qinling going into the sea for?"

The Clam Spirit's tongue paused.

Then it made a gesture.

Raising its tongue high, it slashed downward fiercely.

Neither Qin Yin nor Qin Mo understood what it meant.

Just as the two were about to ask further, a beam of golden light shot into the sky from within the shrine!

Streaking across the night sky like an unsheathed sword, the golden light flew straight toward that pitch-black sea!

Qin Mo felt his vision blur; the golden light was already some distance away from him.

Qin Yin stood by the seashore, gazing in the direction where the golden light had vanished, looking at the pitch-black sea, and watching the surging waves.

The sea breeze grew stronger.

The waves swelled higher.

Tonight, something big was definitely going to happen!

Qin Yin tightly gripped the talismans in her hand, turned around, and looked at Qin Mo.

"We must guard the village well."

Qin Mo nodded vigorously.

He gripped his long spear tightly, tucked the three talismans into his shirt, and stood beside Qin Yin.

The brother and sister stood side by side by the sea.

Behind them was the entire Qin Family Village.

Before them was the pitch-black sea.

...

The golden light came to an abrupt halt near the shore.

Qin Ling's avatar hovered three zhang above the sea, his robes fluttering despite the lack of wind, moonlight casting a faint silver rim over him.

Indeed, what had come ahead was his avatar.

Currently, his avatar possessed the strength of a late Third-Turn.

What's more, he could also test this Little Li Dragon's current strength once more.

Below was the ocean.

An ocean that was thoroughly black.

Yet in Qin Ling's perception, the things hidden within this darkness were as clear as day.

That aura was far too dense.

Qin Ling raised his right hand.

His five fingers clenched gently, and then he casually swung his hand downward.

But at the very moment he swung his hand—

A beam of golden light shot out from his palm!

No gathering of power, no preparatory stance.

With just a casual wave, that golden light formed from divine power tore through the night sky and slammed straight into the seawater!

"Boom—!"

The sea surface exploded!

A water pillar dozens of zhang high soared into the sky, and the surging waves flared out wildly in all directions!

The moment the golden light plunged into the water, the entire sea area shook violently, as if a colossal beast had been struck hard.

Then, a furious roar echoed from the depths of the seabed.

The roar was laced with pain and rage, as well as madness suppressed for who knows how long.

Immediately after—

The ocean surface exploded once again!

A massive black shadow rushed out from the East Sea!

It was precisely that Little Li Dragon.

Its body was over twenty zhang long, more than half of its scales molted away, revealing the festering, blackened flesh underneath.

A section of the horn atop its head was broken, the snap still oozing a viscous black fluid.

Its front left claw was severed at the root, leaving only a hideous scar.

Its state was even worse than when Qin Ling had seen it before.

But it was a dragon lineage after all, and even a demon that had once reached the Fourth-Turn realm!

The Little Li Dragon burst out of the water and hovered in midair, its dragon eyes—void of any remaining clarity—fixing upon Qin Ling.

Malicious qi continuously oozed from its festering wounds, dispersing into strands of writhing black threads in the night wind.

Then, it opened its jaws.

"Roar—!!!"

A roar!

Thunder light exploded from within its body!

It was not summoned heavenly thunder, but a phenomenon triggered by its own dragon blood boiling.

Golden thunder light mingled with black evil qi, wrapping around its battered dragon body, crackling and illuminating the entire night sky.

Dark clouds began to gather.

Gales began to howl.

Ocean waves began to surge.

Within a radius of ten li, the heavens and earth changed color.