After being reborn, all I want to do is run away.

Chapter 157 Island in the Lake

After killing the demon tiger, Shen Xu followed the tracks of the dust ox herd and headed towards the blessed land where many creatures were making pilgrimages.

What puzzled Shen Xu was that although he had been in the Kunyuan Secret Realm for almost four days, he had not encountered any other swordsmen except for the girl he met at the beginning.

This troubled him. Just how big was this secret realm? Nearly 80,000 people were scattered within it, yet he had been walking for several days without seeing a single person. At this rate, let alone finding the Red Jade Society's headquarters, it was questionable whether he could even find someone to ask for directions.

Since he was already there, he might as well make the best of it. There was nothing he could do if he couldn't find anyone. He could only look around the water source to see if there was anything or anyone that could solve his current predicament.

The moisture along the way became increasingly abundant, and Shen Xu could feel the thickness in the surrounding air, which condensed into tiny water droplets that even dampened his clothes. This forced him to disperse the dense moisture around his body in order to keep himself dry and comfortable.

At the same time, the trees on both sides became increasingly dense and tall. Those towering trees were like giant green umbrellas, completely blocking out the sunlight, leaving only a few dappled shadows on the ground.

If he hadn't been in the wilderness yesterday, he would never have believed that a short walk back would lead to a barren red land.

After Shen Xu finally managed to traverse the dense forest, his view suddenly opened up dramatically. A vast, shimmering, turquoise lake came into view.

The lake was unusually calm, like a crystal-clear green gem set in the earth, with almost no ripples or waves in sight.

Various kinds of creatures are drinking water around the lake, creating a vibrant scene.

A thin layer of mist slowly rose from the tranquil lake surface, gradually spreading outwards, making the distant scenery hazy and dreamlike, making it difficult to see its true appearance.

However, Shen Xu still vaguely discovered some clues in the blurry scene. There seemed to be a small black dot in the center of the lake, which looked like a small island in the middle of the lake.

Even a fool could tell that there must be something good on that island, but even a fool could tell that this calm lake was definitely hiding countless dangers.

Judging from the wary look of the creatures drinking from the lake, there must be dangerous carnivores in the shallow waters near the lake.

Since the Four Directions Sword Alliance dared to let them in, it means that there shouldn't be any overly powerful creatures in the entire secret realm. Therefore, the small island in the middle of the lake should be worth exploring. However, he needs to figure out a way to get there first, and not only that, but also that he can come back.

With his current strength, he can walk on water for a certain period of time using the power of water, but the vital energy in his body certainly cannot support him to walk on water for such a long distance.

Moreover, the monsters in the water are probably not to be trifled with, so building a boat is probably not feasible. If he could get a monster that could carry him to the island in the lake, that would be great. With that thought, he crouched down near the lake.

They waited until the afternoon, and the lakeside was deathly silent. Even the animals that usually came to drink water were nowhere to be seen. The quiet of the entire lakeside was unsettling.

In the midst of this tranquility, suddenly, ripples appeared on the calm lake surface, and then, one after another, huge, deep blue figures slowly emerged from the water.

These figures were enormous and powerful, each with an astonishing size. They slowly and steadily climbed onto the lake shore, moving their somewhat short but thick and powerful limbs.

Once ashore, these enormous creatures lay there motionless like sculptures, basking in the warm sunshine, looking quite relaxed.

Shen Xu's gaze also locked onto them—blue-lipped crocodiles.

Adult blue-snout crocodiles can reach an astonishing five meters in length and about one meter in width. Such a huge body can easily support the weight of a person and can support the person to reach the small island in the lake.

However, their strength is directly proportional to their size. Among this group of blue-snouted crocodiles, Shen Xu keenly spotted several beings exuding powerful auras; these were all giant crocodiles at the Qi Condensation Realm, their enormous bodies standing out prominently among the other blue-snouted crocodiles.

He naturally wouldn't target those blue-snout crocodiles at the Qi Condensation Realm; his target was the adult male blue-snout crocodiles that had broken away from their group.

Although those guys were still quite strong, they were much easier to deal with compared to those Qi Condensation Realm overlords.

Moreover, they were also eyeing the position of the clan leader and often showed restless behavior, so the few Qi Condensation Realm Blue-snout Crocodiles drove them out of the clan.

But since those blue-snouted crocodiles have desires, he can help them fulfill their desires. As a price, being his mount a few times shouldn't be too much to ask!

He quickly found a target: a blue-snouted crocodile that was on the verge of breaking through to the Qi Condensation Realm. Its aura was very solid and restless. In terms of strength, it should be a bit stronger than the wolf king, after all, its size advantage was obvious. Its scales made Shen Xu have no desire to fight it.

Having been driven out of its group, it is now in a bad position. Not only is it far from its group, but no female crocodiles are willing to pay attention to it, and the sun here only shines on half of its body.

This annoyed it greatly, and it turned to look at the several huge blue-snouted crocodiles in the group, its eyes flashing with hatred. But with its current strength, it was far from being a match for those leaders, so it could only turn its head away unwillingly, constantly shifting its body to try to let every part of its body get some sun.

Suddenly, it discovered that a white mist, seemingly from nowhere, had enveloped its body and blocked the little sunlight it could get. This enraged it, and it began to growl at the mist, as if trying to disperse it with its cries.

But the fog did not dissipate because of his shout; instead, it began to change. He saw a blue-snouted crocodile that looked exactly like him suddenly appear in the fog, challenging another blue-snouted crocodile that was much larger than him. However, the larger blue-snouted crocodile beat him badly and made him flee in a sorry state.

Seeing this result only made it angrier. It charged at the giant blue-snouted crocodile in the mist, trying to help the other blue-snouted crocodile defeat the larger one. But in the end, it only smashed the image. Seeing the image disappear, a hint of doubt flashed in its eyes.

But soon another scene appeared before its eyes. It saw a strange creature walk up to it, stand on its back, and carry the strange creature to the land in the lake, and then carry it back.

Then the strange creature gave it something strange to eat, and after it ate it, its body suddenly grew to the size of the leader, and it defeated the leader, becoming another leader in the tribe.

This result made him extremely excited. He waved his huge tail and slapped the water. He had never dreamed of such a clear scene.

The fog instantly dissipated, and it really saw the strange creature walking towards it. It looked at the creature in front of it in disbelief, and then remembered the scene from earlier, so it quickly turned around and floated into the water.

Shen Xu smiled upon seeing this, then slowly climbed onto the back of the blue-snouted crocodile. As soon as he was steady, the crocodile accelerated and carried him toward the small island in the middle of the lake.

The blue-snouted crocodile is the overlord of this lake, with virtually no natural enemies. As a result, Shen Xu's journey was very smooth. Most of the other monsters in the lake avoided him after sensing the blue-snouted crocodile's presence.

However, he also saw some unusually large black shadows slowly swimming in the lake, but fortunately they did not attack him.

As the blue-snout crocodile carried him toward the small island in the middle of the lake, the island's true appearance was fully revealed before him.

"No way!" Looking at the huge gray-brown palace getting closer and closer, Shen Xu could hardly believe his eyes.