Chapter 1238: Crisis on the Island

"Thank you, young master... this old woman is finally free..."

In the final moment of her life, the old woman neither screamed nor struggled. Instead, her eyes showed a faint sense of relief.

She had never truly been able to choose her own fate, but at least she died as a human, rather than a man-eating demon.

Lin Mu sighed softly. "I never imagined such devils would be hidden within the Sea of Miracles. Granny Ma might have deserved her punishment, but the cultivators who forced her into becoming a man-eating fiend are far more deserving of death!"

Ling Feng drew in a long breath and said calmly, "You are right. Such a world should not exist. If I ever encounter those cannibals from Heavenly Pool Island, I will make them understand what retribution truly means!"

"I will not let them go either," Lin Mu said, his expression turning unusually solemn.

Soon after, Ling Feng and Lin Mu dug a deep pit near Granny Ma's wooden hut. They carefully gathered the scattered bones of Ma Chunhua and her son, burying them together beneath a simple gravestone.

Their fate had been too tragic. At the very least, they deserved peace in death.

"Granny Ma, I will avenge you," Lin Mu whispered. Then, on the tombstone, he carved the words: "Tomb of the Humans, Ma Chunhua and her son."

The word "Human" held a special meaning for that mother and child.

"Let's go," Ling Feng said, patting Lin Mu's shoulder.

This man was sentimental and flamboyant at times, yet he was the kind of person worth befriending.

"

Mhmm

."

Lin Mu nodded. The two followed their original path back, but before they reached the shore, a chilling, distorted laugh echoed from their temporary camp by the coast.

"Shit! Could those man-eating cultivators from Heavenly Pool Island be here?" Ling Feng's expression changed. Tuoba Yan was still on the beach. He had left her some medicinal pills to restore elemental force, but no one knew how powerful those cannibals might be!

In an instant, Ling Feng and Lin Mu accelerated, racing toward the coast.

From the distance, Ling Feng saw a dark shape darting rapidly through the air, circling above the camp. It locked onto the humans below, letting out a bone-chilling laugh.

It moved at a speed nearly equal to that of a mid-tier Human Emperor!

"What in the world is that?"

Ling Feng focused his gaze. In the sky, the creature's silhouette revealed a pair of enormous wings. It resembled a bat, but its wingspan was far larger, exceeding two meters!

"This is the aura I sensed earlier!"

Ling Feng furrowed his brows. He had felt a strange presence ever since being on the island. It was neither beast nor demon, neither human nor devil. It faintly resembled the Devils from Beyond, yet it was not pure, carrying the unsettling scent of mutation.

"So this is what Granny Ma meant by those man-eating cultivators. I did not expect them to mutate into something like that!"

Lin Mu said, frowning deeply. The power of these creatures was beyond his imagination!

Ling Feng sped up, rushing back to the shore. Lou Qianzhong stood on guard there, his mid-tier Human Emperor aura flaring outward.

That pressure seemed to be the only thing keeping the creature from attacking.

"Ling Feng!"

"The fat one is back!"

Tuoba Yan and Lan Yuhuang both looked visibly relieved as they hurried to meet Ling Feng.

"Fatty, is this island that big? Why did you take so long?" Lan Yuhuang asked urgently.

"Not now." Ling Feng frowned and glanced toward Lou Qianzhong. "Brother Lou, when did that thing appear?"

"About fifteen minutes ago."

Lou Qianzhong replied in a grave tone. "Fortunately, I spotted it early. Otherwise, that monster would have dragged someone away already. By the way, thank your little wife for the medicinal pill that restored my elemental qi."

"My little wife?" Ling Feng was stunned for a moment.

"Don't talk nonsense!" Lan Yuhuang snapped. "This grandaunt is not his little wife!"

Lou Qianzhong chuckled. "You were in his arms, weren't you? Hugged tight too. Sounds like one to me."

"Enough. This is not the time," Ling Feng said firmly. "Brother Lou, listen carefully. It turns out there are other humans inside the Sea of Miracles besides us, though calling them human is not quite accurate anymore."

Lou Qianzhong blinked. "Humans who aren't human? What are you talking about, brother? You're confusing me."

"I'll explain on the way!" Ling Feng looked up at the monster in the sky. "That thing might be summoning its kin. None of us will escape if we delay any longer!"

He drew his flying sword, seized Tuoba Yan and Lan Yuhuang by the arms, and took off into the sky.

Lin Mu nodded to Lou Qianzhong and followed closely behind. Seeing the two of them so tense, Lou Qianzhong waved his hand and shouted, "Move!"

Half an hour later, the group had already left the island. They landed atop a massive reef some distance away.

"Are you certain about what you said?" Lou Qianzhong asked, his expression dark and his voice trembling slightly. "You mean this place is a world of cannibals, and those cultivators left behind in the Sea of Miracles gained power by consuming humans?"

The other Human Emperors all looked grim and remained silent.

If what Ling Feng said was true, the Sea of Miracles had become a realm of horror. Judging from the strength of the monster they saw earlier, even these man-eating creatures possessed the power of Human Emperors. If they encountered them again, victory was far from guaranteed.

What made things worse was that once their elemental qi was completely depleted, they would become ordinary mortals. That was the most terrifying fate of all!

Would they be forced to eat humans too?

"Damn it," Lou Qianzhong muttered. "I didn't expect the dangers of the Sea of Miracles to be far worse than the rumors. But why is the Venerable of the Desolate Sea unharmed?"

"This isn't the time to question that," Ling Feng said coldly. "From what I know, the space within the Sea of Miracles is too unstable to accommodate truly powerful cultivators. With our current strength, we might still be able to fight back against those man-eating cultivators."

"I agree with Brother Ling," Lin Mu said. "For now, we should pool our resources. The medicinal pills that restore elemental force must be conserved. No one should travel alone, or they'll become easy prey for those monsters."

Just then, a chilling laugh broke the tense silence.

"

Hehe,

what a joke! Pool our resources? You just want an excuse to trick us into handing over our medicinal pills, don't you?"

It was Zong Lian. He grinned with a twisted sneer. "You know we can't replenish our elemental force in this cursed place. Whoever holds the pills holds everyone's lives. You want to use that to control us?

Heh,

you think I'm three years old?"

"

Uh..

."

The others grew visibly uneasy. Zong Lian's words struck a nerve, and the Human Emperors who had been ready to cooperate began to waver again.

Ling Feng shook his head. Human nature was truly ugly. Even in the face of a common enemy, they could not stand united.

Zong Lian would become a burden to them sooner or later!