While Liu Xing wanted to hurry on with his business, move southeast, and focus on getting stronger to save his friends, he couldn’t leave the island just yet. How could he? His little shark was in bad shape, and there were too many corpses that didn’t deserve to be left to rot.

  After securing a small spatial bag from the demonic cultivator who was now just a bloodstain on the ground, he inspected its contents. It was full of spirit stones, pills of dubious origin, and several cursed treasures, amongst them were a sword that whispered in his ear as he held it, a gourd that sounded as if it contained a haunting ghost, and more. Liu Xing moved back inside and began to wonder what to do with the bodies. The best options were to either bury them or cremate them. Burying them would require countless coffins, and cremating them would create a huge fire with smoke that could be seen from afar. He was still trying to move stealthily, and a part of him knew the most covert option was to leave the corpses alone. Still, the thought left a bad taste in his mouth.

  As he freed them from the walls, Liu Xing considered his options. Then, he lined the corpses up on the ground. Thirty people in total. Some of them were women and children. As he worked, Liu Xing continuously projected his potent qi into the mouth of his shark. His little shark was still lying on a table. He had removed the knives and cookware from the kitchen area, washed the blood from its small body, and replaced the chopping block with a small blanket. It now looked like a sick patient rather than a meal about to be cooked. The shark remained motionless, as if dead, but the more qi he channeled into it, the stronger his connection to it grew. He could feel it beginning to recover, even if there was no outward sign.

  After a minute of thought, he decided what he had to do. He would burn them, not with firewood, but in the volcanic mountain that watched over the settlement. He didn’t know if it was a decent thing to do, but he felt it was his best option.

  Soon, Liu Xing began his preparations. He entered each house and grabbed blankets or large pieces of cloth. He didn’t want to burn the bodies as they were; instead, he decided to shroud each one completely. He thought it was a small gesture of respect. He didn’t want to see them tossed carelessly into a volcano. He wanted it to look as if he were laying them to a peaceful rest.

  Soon, every person was covered. The sight reminded him of Mamat again, but he shook the distracting thought away. He shrouded the bodies and his shark in his potent qi, then stepped out of the building. The blanket-covered corpses floated behind him. Some of the blankets were pure white, but most were colored green, yellow, blue, and many others. Once outside, Liu Xing activated his invisibility, touched a man covered by a blue blanket, and willed the invisibility to spread, making the deceased touch one another to pass it along. He had no intention of walking. He planned to leap through the air and land near the volcano. Such a maneuver, especially accompanied by thirty corpses, would attract attention. The invisibility would conceal them.

  When he was ready, Liu Xing aimed for the peak of the volcano and leaped from the ground. He shot through the air, the wind whipping his invisible hair and robe as thirty invisible dead followed behind him. He landed once on the side of the volcano—the peak was still far away—so he jumped again, finally arriving at the mouth. It was quite large, about twenty meters in diameter, and smoke poured continuously from it. He looked down, and though the smoke was thick, he could see lava bubbling below.

  Nodding, Liu Xing lined the deceased along the rim of the volcano and began to lower them slowly. Once they were inside the mouth, he released their invisibility. He watched as they descended, their backs touching the lava at the same time. The blankets and skin began to smoke, and he released the potent qi that shrouded them. They burned for a while, and as they began to sink slowly into the molten rock, he clasped his hands and prayed. He hoped they would all be reincarnated into better lives, ones that would end peacefully, perhaps as old people surrounded by loved ones.

  As he finished praying, he looked to the side where his little shark was floating. It was still unconscious, its eyes dull, but Liu Xing thought he saw them shine for a moment, as if it too wanted to witness the final departure of the dead.

  For a while, Liu Xing stood there. Their number was exactly thirty. His mind tried to find a strange connection to Fang Ruxue and the others, but he shook his head, convincing himself it was merely a coincidence.

  Hugging the little shark to his chest, Liu Xing leaped over the volcano, crossing through the billowing smoke. Once he was clear, he flicked his wrist to summon his compass, adjusted his direction, and kicked his shield to launch himself southeast as Tide Walker was swallowed by invisibility.

  With this detour complete, he was ready to brave the patch of sea where demonic cultivators rampaged. He pressed his lips together and gripped his gun, vowing to make sure that every Nether Lotus Sect disciple he encountered would end up as a stain on the ground, just like the one on the volcanic island.

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  Using his shield, which occasionally appeared and disappeared, Liu Xing maintained his speed. As before, he flew at a measured height and speed, making sure he remained mostly undetectable. In front of him, dark and ominous clouds dominated the sky, as if a huge, eternal storm encompassed the entire area where the demonic cultivators ran free.

  As he flew, feeding qi directly into Tide Walker’s mouth, he thought about the wealth he had suddenly possessed. All of it was the result of murder. The spatial ring he now wore was gold with a single green gem for an eye. It was plain, but the space it had was vast enough to store a large amount of spirit stones, talismans, treasures, pills, and more. The loot from the recent demonic cultivator was stored inside, and he decided he wouldn’t touch the pills or cursed treasures. They were probably valuable, but the pills were likely created from… people. He hesitated to consume them. The fact that he didn't know their effects was another major reason for his caution. They might be capable of increasing his power, but he was afraid of the side effects. He decided he would only use them if he were cornered or if he learned exactly what they did. The treasures and pills from the Jin clan, on the other hand, were not cursed or dubious, and Liu Xing knew what several of the pills were for. They had a ledger, after all, one that listed each item and its effect.

  Deciding it was a good time to consume some of those pills, Liu Xing flicked his wrist, and a pill appeared in his invisible hand. It was pure white, as if made from chalk. He flicked it into his mouth and swallowed it. A surge of energy spread through his qi paths, bringing a refreshing feeling, as if his channels were dried and cracked ground finally soaked by rain. This pill’s function was to purify one’s qi paths, making the qi flow smoother. After the effect finished, Liu Xing popped another of the same pill into his mouth. There were five of them, and he intended to consume them all. One by one, he swallowed and digested the pills, making the qi cycle inside his body move faster than before. The effect wasn’t heaven-defying—he suspected it was not a high-grade pill—but it would help.

  After the five purification pills were consumed, Liu Xing moved on to a pill that widened his qi paths. There were five of these as well, and he consumed them one by one. These pills were not as gentle as the previous ones. They were wild and violent, moving along his qi paths and pushing them outward like a mole forcing its way into a tunnel slightly too small for it. The sensation was hot and painful, but nothing he couldn’t handle. When he had finally consumed all five and let the qi cycle through his body, he felt the difference. Almost all his qi paths were wider, able to accommodate more qi at once, and his qi also moved faster. Just like that, he had become stronger.

  There were more pills from the Jin clan. Some were for enhancing organs, bones, and muscles, but he didn’t eat them, since he knew they would have no effect on him. His body had already been enhanced by the Diamond Pills; consuming these would be like throwing more water into the ocean. There were also pills to replenish qi, replenish blood, and mend broken bones, as well as general healing pills and others for specific conditions. He couldn’t consume all of them, so he stored them for now. Then, there were the pills that could aid in increasing one’s cultivation. They were mostly for those in the Lock Opening realm, but two could be beneficial for a Core Splitting cultivator.

  Liu Xing flicked his wrist, and a pill that looked as if it were made from a chunk of the ocean appeared in his hand. It was blue with swirls of white, and one could hear it emit a sound like crashing waves. Liu Xing consumed it without hesitation. Once it was in his stomach, he felt a cold sensation, and qi began to spread through his body. He opened a hole to his consciousness and sent the energy toward his main core. The core began absorbing it like a long noodle of glittering light, but the speed was slow, and there was no eagerness from his core. It was to be expected. This pill was meant for cultivators who centered their cultivation around water, while Liu Xing focused on lightning. When it was fully absorbed, Liu Xing summoned the second pill. This one was for cultivators with fire affinity. As the qi spread from his stomach, instead of sending it directly into his consciousness, he willed his gun to absorb it. The gun easily pulled the energy in, converting it into six bullets before Liu Xing pulled it back into his body and into his consciousness.

  This time, his core absorbed the qi eagerly. The process was faster, but the amount of qi was not that much. All in all, while his cultivation increased a little, it wasn’t a significant boost, which was normal. The Jin clan was a small clan. Its pills and treasures and talismans could not be compared to those from the Purple Moon Sect, though they did have quite a lot of spirit stones. As for techniques, Liu Xing got his hands on several. The Jin clan’s techniques were stored separately from their treasure rooms and had likely been destroyed or buried. Liu Xing didn’t have much time to search for them.

  Still, even this handful of techniques would be useful. He planned to dissect them all.

  The treasures were another matter. He now had a large collection of spears, swords, sabers, and various other treasures in the shape of weapons, clothes, gourds, and more. Most of them were low-grade, but one was promising.

  Liu Xing summoned a sword to his right hand. It was a long, double-edged white sword, straight as an arrow. The handle was made from light green jade, while the crossguard was shaped like a flower. The sword’s name was Harmony of Two Seas. The last time Liu Xing had channeled qi into it, it had shot a jet of water. He concluded that he could control the amount and intensity of the water, perhaps even manipulate its form. It wasn’t a sword for lightning, but water and lightning had great compatibility, and he began to wonder what kind of attack he could create using it.

  The moment he thought that, he saw an island in the distance. The island was dark, concealed by a vast black cloud from which lightning rained down occasionally. It was an ominous sight.

  Liu Xing kicked his shield and decided to visit that island, hoping it was filled with demonic cultivators.

  keep the lights on.