Right at this moment, Xu Qing’s mind suddenly trembled. An indescribable pressure descended from the sky, enveloping the sea in all directions.

Xu Qing couldn’t see the situation on the surface of the sea but he could sense how terrifying this pressure was.

This wasn’t something that could be formed by a Foundation Building cultivator. It was more like a certain colossus spreading its aura. At the same time that this pressure appeared, the auras that seemed to have locked onto him instantly became chaotic, as though they were fleeing in panic.

While he was shocked, Xu Qing still knew to use this chance to speed up. After he moved far away and couldn’t sense the lock on his aura, he hesitated for a moment before continuing to move forward.

However, he was clear that he couldn’t do this for long. The danger under the sea had not appeared, but it would definitely be more dangerous if he continued to move under the sea.

Hence, after confirming repeatedly that he sensed no danger on the surface, Xu Qing carefully ascended. The moment half of his head appeared on the surface of the sea, he quickly looked around. However, at the next instant, he was attracted by the scene in the sky.

It should have been morning but the sky had turned pitch-black.

The reason why the sky was pitch-black was because of a majestic black cloud.

The range of this black cloud was too large, covering hundreds of kilometers and blotting out the sky.

The sea area Xu Qing was in was currently enveloped in its shadow.

The sound of wind and lightning, as well as rumbling sounds came out from the black clouds. There were even bolts of astonishing lightning swimming within like there was a calamity brewing in the sky.

Wherever it passed, the sea would stir up a storm, as though it was kowtowing to this existence in the sky!

If that was all, it would be fine. What shocked Xu Qing was that within this moving black cloud, there was an unimaginable existence. A portion of its body that was revealed seemed to possess the power to suppress lifeforms, causing Xu Qing’s flesh and blood to stiffen. His soul was rumbling and his mind was blank.

Only his eyes could move, allowing him to see the blurry appearance of the terrifying existence in the black cloud clearly.

It was a gigantic creature that looked like a phoenix or an eagle with its entire body burning with black flames!

Phoenix head, snake neck, swallow chin, turtle back, fish tail!

Within the black flames, its entire body was shining with five colors and was so dazzling that the black flames couldn’t hide it at all. It was soaring in the black clouds in the sky and was filled with divinity.

In fact, it even had some faint resemblance to the aura of the god’s fragmented face.

Clearly, it was its appearance that caused those unknown cultivators who had ill intentions toward Xu Qing to have no choice but to give up on pursuing him and retreat.

The world rumbled. As the black clouds sped away, they slowly left the sky, revealing the bright sky behind the clouds. Xu Qing also gradually recovered his mobility and he instinctively inhaled.

However, the instant he inhaled, the extremely terrifying existence in the black clouds in the distant sky suddenly turned its head and glanced at the distant sea.

With just this glance, a large area of the sea dozens of kilometers away from Xu Qing instantly rose. Waves surged into the sky like a tsunami. The anomalous substances became denser, as though they were being pulled into a spot.

Even though Xu Qing was very far away and couldn’t see clearly, his body still swayed with the waves and his mind rumbled.

That phoenix-eagle retracted its gaze and entered the black clouds again. Amidst the rumbling thunder, it disappeared into the distant horizon.

After a long time, when the waves of the sea calmed down, Xu Qing let out a long breath. His face was pale as he looked at the distant horizon, his mind in chaos.

The feeling this divine bird gave him was unprecedented. Even the giant pulling the bronze dragon carriage at the bottom of the sea seemed to be weaker in Xu Qing’s perception.

“What is it? It is flying toward the Nanhuang Continent…” As Xu Qing mumbled, he suddenly realized something.

“Nanhuang Continent’s ‘phoenix¹‘…”

Xu Qing had read many books and dossiers in the Homicide Department. He thought of the name of the forbidden zone on the other side of the Truth Mountain Range that occupied 70% of the Nanhuang Continent.

“The largest forbidden zone in the Nanhuang Continent, the Phoenix Forbidden Zone…”

Xu Qing’s heart shook as he made a guess. A moment later, he took a deep breath and suppressed this guess. He was going to inquire and search for information to confirm it when he returned.

With this thought in mind, Xu Qing sank back into the sea. After speeding for several hours, he sensed that no one was pursuing him. Only then did he return to the surface of the sea. He took out the swift boat and leaped onto it, controlling it to speed up his escape.

Very soon, three days passed. Xu Qing was extremely careful on the way. He probed many times and finally confirmed that those pursuing auras had really disappeared. Only then did he heave a long sigh of relief.

He guessed that the phoenix’s appearance had imperceptibly given him some help, causing those malicious cultivators to be unable to clearly investigate his location and lose track of him.

However, Xu Qing didn’t dare to let his guard down. Although he no longer moved under the sea, he still controlled the boat to move at its full speed. He didn’t hesitate to spend spirit stones.

During these three days, more than half of his injuries had healed. His face was no longer pale and the fatigue from the slaughter had dissipated.

Recalling the massacre earlier, even though his cultivation and combat strength were extraordinary, he still felt a fatigue he hadn’t felt in a long time. Fortunately, the benefits this time could be said to be astonishing which caused him to reveal a satisfied expression.

Other than the three divine molts, he also obtained more than ten eighth or ninth level Qi Condensation lizard molts. As for low-level lizard molts, he had even more of them.

Other than that, there were also a number of treasures.

He even obtained three talismans. Although the runes on them were already blurry and he couldn’t use them many times, they were still valuable.