Chapter 157 – The Vicious Tiger Emerges from the Cage (1/2)

Many boats of various sizes were docked at the wharf.

The drizzle continued to pour down, creating countless ripples on the lake’s surface. A thin layer of fog formed above the lake. The firelight in the glazed covers on the boats created a hazy yellow. Everything seemed peaceful.

Many men were left behind to watch over the boats to prevent anyone from severing their path of retreat. Inside their cabins, they all discussed the great laughter from the island earlier.

With a thunk, a double-masted boat seemed to hit something. It shook violently before rapidly sinking.

The men left behind on the boats all heard that. They emerged on their decks and saw the boat of the Blue Wolf gang sink. Apart from the people of the Blue Wolf gang who fell into panic, the others all stood on their decks and laughed aloud, watching on leisurely.

However, there was another great thunk very soon, and another boat began to sink slowly. A third soon followed.

Everyone all sensed that something was wrong. They called out, “What’s going on?” “Oh no, there’s a water ghost sinking the ships!” “If you can swim, go down and take a look!”

By water ghost , they were obviously not talking about an actual ghost, but someone lurking under the water.

Immediately, over a dozen able-bodied figures leapt into the water. After their eyes grew accustomed to the darkness in the water, they became stunned. All they saw was two large balls of fire, red in the centre and white on the edges, in the pitch-black, icy depths. None of them had ever seen such brilliant, lively fire before.

The fire rapidly expanded as they grew closer. They finally could see the source of the two balls of fire now. They could not help but become dumbfounded.

It was a huge skull that stood even taller than a man, like the skull of a giant. However, it seemed like it had been revived from the abyss of hell right now. Its eye sockets were brimming with lively fire as it looked at them brilliantly.

Afterwards, it opened its mouth and lunged towards them. The same kind of fire burned within its mouth like gates to the furnace of hell.

Xiao An stood in the pitch-black depths with his hands together in a prayer position. He controlled the Skull Prayer Beads and swallowed these people one by one before smashing it towards the other ships. The huge skull would immediately leave behind a great hole after a single collision.

With each thunk, a boat sank.

On the wharf, no one could hide their fear anymore. The boats were all destroyed, and the people who had entered the water had not emerged either. They had no idea what was hiding in the water. They were trapped here now.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! There was a string of gentle sounds, and the people on the shore collapsed on the ground like puppets cut from their strings.

No one could see the white streak that rushed through the rainy night. The Skull Prayer Beads had already reverted to their original, bead-like form, moving rapidly through the rain; it was like a sixth layer Qi Practitioner controlling an artifact. It was not something these people of the jianghu could discover.

Even more people collapsed on the ground. The cowardly swung their weapons wildly. They looked around, but all they saw was the dark of night. The calmer people tried to find out the reason for the deaths of the others. Very soon, they discovered a thumb-sized hole that connected their chest and back, but there was not a shred of blood from the wounds at all.

Just as they contemplated this, someone shouted out, “It seems to be… fire!”

The other people also discovered that the holes seemed to possess a speck of firelight. The wounds rapidly grew, and the holes grew as well. However, not a single droplet of blood was shed the entire time. The fire devoured the flesh and blood of the deceased quietly.

Every single person who had the right to receive an invitation to this Island of Cherishing Flowers were people who had lived with their lives on the line every single day; they were people who would even lick the blood off their blades. However, they all became frightened out of their wits when they saw the people beside them drop dead one by one, unable to see the enemy and only left with this strange sight. They all staggered backwards.

The flames swallowed all of the flesh and blood, reducing it to white bones in the blink of an eye. The colour of the flames became brighter as well, brimming with life. Afterwards, as if they were not done, they swelled and erupted, turning into thousands of sparks and landing on the other people.

The fire passed through their clothes without leaving behind a trace. However, once it came into contact with fresh blood and flesh, it was like fire to oil. It would rapidly spread and evolve into a roaring flame.

A series of miserable shrieks rang out at the wharf, with several dozen people on fire. In the blink of an eye, not a single sound was left. All that remained were several dozen sets of white bones.

Xiao An emerged from the water and counted to himself. Six hundred and ninety-seven.

The remaining sets of skeletons were now clad in a layer of pale flames. The white bones melted like snow very soon, turning into several droplets of fluid before merging with his body.

Just when Xiao An wanted to make his way to the garden and assist Li Qingshan, he suddenly sensed something and turned around.

His flaming eye sockets pierced through the fog. From extremely far away, he saw a great, black ship slowly sail over.

Xiao An thought about what to do. He still ended up deciding to go to the garden.

……

“Hah!”

Li Qingshan sucked in and produced an explosive shout. Pure true qi mixed with daemon qi turned into a Tiger Demon’s Fierce Roar with a great gust of wind, directly landing on the few incoming martial arts practitioners. They were immediately blown away as they spat out blood. Their faces and chests were reduced to a bloody mess. It was impossible for them to survive.

Although this was a Tiger Demon’s Fierce Roar that had been weakened countless times, it was still not something mere masters of the jianghu could endure.