The grayish-brown broken bones were scattered on the black beach. Some of them had weathered and were rough like sand. Some of them didn't seem to have died for long and there were still pieces of rotting flesh hanging on them.
The sea breeze blew over, stirring up the gravel on the ground. It then piled up in the human and beast skulls and curled up.
The entire Sea Lizard Island was reflected in Xu Qing's eyes. It was filled with gloom and cruelty. Only the setting sun that was like a red fallen leaf falling onto the beach seemed to have covered their deaths with a pall.
Unfortunately, this pall was also red.
Xu Qing retracted his gaze from the broken bones in the surroundings. As the world gradually darkened, he calmly walked toward the jungle. As he got closer, his figure disappeared.
The moment he stepped into the jungle, the dark night covered him like a pair of large hands. The sky was pitch-black and the sun had stepped aside.
In the jungle, Xu Qing's figure was like a ghost. His speed was extremely fast as he moved on the large trees. His gaze was like a pseudotooth bird's. As he moved forward, he calmly observed his surroundings.
Xu Qing wasn't unfamiliar with the jungle.
Although this was an island and not the forbidden zone back then, the experience of surviving in the jungle would work here as well. This was especially so for the vegetation on the ground. There were also some common medicinal herbs which were familiar to Xu Qing. At the same time, his figure was like a fish in water in the jungle, his movements incomparably agile.
However, he also gradually discovered some special places.
In this jungle, many trees had collapsed, and the collapsed areas were mostly connected to the sea.
Xu Qing narrowed his eyes. He arrived at a place where trees had collapsed. Standing there, he first observed his surroundings as well as the locations where the trees had broken and the direction they had fallen in. After that, he lowered his head and swept his gaze across the ground and the broken trees.
"There are scale fragments on the trees..." Xu Qing picked up a palm-sized grayish-black fragment from the broken wood on the ground. There was a faint fishy smell lingering on it.
"It's the skin of a sea lizard, and it's been some time." Xu Qing had already made a judgment in his mind. Clearly, the sea lizard had crawled out of the sea and walked toward the jungle. Wherever it passed, trees would be knocked down.
"There are many such locations. This means that every sea lizard that comes here to shed their skin will take a different path. This is reasonable."
"I wonder if the final location chosen by the sea lizards to shed their skin is random or... there's a general area."
Xu Qing mumbled and decided to follow the path the sea lizard had taken a long time ago to see what was going on. After making a decision, he sped up while following the traces on the path.
However, his vigilance grew increasingly intense.
Xu Qing didn't know if there were any cultivators here who had surpassed the Qi Condensation Realm. He had analyzed on the way here that although the sea lizard skin was expensive, Foundation Building cultivators most likely wouldn't fancy it.
However, he had no choice but to be wary. After all, many things couldn't be ignored based on a simple judgment.
The wind from the forest blew over, bringing with it the smell of rotting vegetation. Xu Qing took a deep breath but didn't smell any other auras. He didn't stop and continued forward.
An hour later, when the sky was getting darker, Xu Qing leaped up and squatted on a tree crown near the mountain range. There was a dark glint in his eyes as he stared not far away.
In front of him, there was a piece of broken sea lizard skin. It was grayish-black and very dry. Clearly, it had been there for a long time, as though it had shattered from fighting.
When Xu Qing came, he had checked the information and knew that the sea lizard skin could only be preserved in a special way when it was just shed. Otherwise, once it was shed for too long and its spirituality dissipated, it would have no value.
This was also the reason why the competition for the sea lizard skin was bound to be bloody. This was because everyone who came to this island like Xu Qing had to wait and fight for it the moment the sea lizard skin shed.
Xu Qing left the tree crown, expanding the scope of his exploration in the surroundings.
This lasted until he scouted the surroundings of the mountain range and followed the mountain range for a distance. He saw many sea lizard skins. At the same time, he discovered that the places where the sea lizards shed their skin were mostly near the mountain range. Moreover, it was obvious that the higher the mountain range, the greater the number of broken skins.
All of this gave him an answer.
"The molting of sea lizards is done in a specific area and they yearn for higher places?"
Xu Qing lifted his head and looked at the tallest mountain among the several mountains on the Sea Lizard Island. His gaze then turned sharp.
"That place should be the true treasure land on this island. Only the powerful sea lizards would be able to head there. Their skins are the most valuable!"
Xu Qing no longer hesitated and headed toward the highest mountain peak at full speed. He didn't stop at all on the way. As he nimbly shuttled through, he also noticed the figures of cultivators waiting on other mountain peaks.
These people were basically rogue cultivators. Their cultivation levels were around the fifth level of Qi Condensation. Although they weren't very strong, the ruthlessness in their eyes was clearly visible.
They clearly knew their limits and chose the shorter mountain ranges. All of them stared warily at Xu Qing's arrival and only heaved a sigh of relief when they noticed that he was only passing by.
Xu Qing also heaved a sigh of relief. He felt that with so many low-level cultivators gathered here, it meant that his previous judgment shouldn't be wrong. The chances of Foundation Building existence here weren't very high.
However, he didn't let his guard down. This was because if there was really a Foundation Building cultivator, there was a high chance that they would be at the place he was going to now.
Just like that, not long later, with Xu Qing's speed, he traversed through many mountains and finally arrived at the tallest mountain on Sea Lizard Island. As he arrived, strands of qi instantly erupted from the mountain peak and locked onto him.