Only I am Venerable

"Hahahaha! You filthy animal, you’re on death’s door yourself and you still want to eat us? Even if we’re to be eaten, it won’t be by a beast like you! Hahaha!" The restrained human Martial Artist laughed madly, even as tears streamed endlessly from his eyes.

The Great Witch Master glanced at the rapidly weakening Be, a look of resentment twisting his monstrously ugly face. With a wave of his hand, he ordered, "Return at once! Take Be to drink the Divine Water and eat the Divine Grass! Go!"

The group finally retreated, leaving behind the mangled corpse of the human Martial Artist. The sight of blood and flesh scattered across the ground added another layer of desolation to the entrance of the weed-choked, dreary village.

Before leaving, the Great Witch Master shot a final, reluctant glance back at the village, inwardly vowing to heavily fortify their defenses upon his return. ’If those two humans dare to show up, I’ll make sure they never leave alive!’

Only after the entire group had departed did the pair emerge from their hiding spot. Shangguan Shiyu’s eyes were rimmed with red, and she bit her lip forcefully. An aura of pure fury radiated from her, which, if not for the Innate Purple Qi concealing it, would have surely been detected by the Great Witch Master.

In that sense, the Great Witch Master’s ploy had been a good one. He had at least succeeded in provoking Shangguan Shiyu’s anger. However, the Great Witch Master could never have imagined that something as miraculous as the Innate Purple Qi actually existed in the world.

"These filthy animals... I’ll kill every last one of them!" Shangguan Shiyu ground out through clenched teeth.

After all she had been through, a trace of violent rage had finally been awakened in the bones of the once pure and kind Shangguan Shiyu. It was just as the saying went: in the Martial World, your fate is not your own.

This incident originally had nothing to do with them, but even Qin Li couldn’t fault Shangguan Shiyu for her impulse to right a perceived wrong. Besides, he himself had already decided to barge into this land ruled by Spirit Beasts. He wanted to see for himself just what these ugly, violent creatures were that they dared to treat humans as slaves.

Moreover, the Great Witch Master’s angry outburst before he left had also caught Qin Li’s attention. He had mentioned taking Be back to drink Divine Water and eat Divine Grass... ’Could these two items be the very things recorded in the diary we just read?’

"What do we do now? Should we follow them?" Shangguan Shiyu asked softly.

Qin Li nodded. His original plan had been to let one of the humans contact them. After all, to know one’s enemy and know oneself is to be invincible. As it stood, he knew almost nothing about the Great Witch Master and his group of transformed Spirit Beasts, other than the fact they were powerful and savage.

It would be far better if a human could sneak over and explain the Great Witch Master’s situation in detail. But it was now clear the humans were being watched far too closely by the Spirit Beasts. Getting out would be next to impossible, and trying would likely mean throwing their life away for nothing. ’In that case,’ Qin Li thought, ’we might as well just follow the Spirit Beasts and investigate ourselves!’

The Spirit Beasts might have keen noses, but Qin Li had his miraculous Innate Purple Qi! He had already left a wisp of his Divine Sense on one of the Spirit Beasts and one of the humans. As long as they didn’t get too far away, he would always be able to track them.

「Night fell. The sky became a canopy of twinkling stars.」

Qin Li and Shangguan Shiyu ascended a towering mountain peak, following the traces of his Divine Sense all the way. Standing on the summit and looking down, they both couldn’t help but gasp.

Below them lay a basin. It wasn’t enormous, but it wasn’t small either, spanning a radius of more than thirty li.

And on all sides, it was surrounded by mountains as tall as the one they stood upon! There wasn’t a single way out!

In other words, whether Spirit Beast or human, anyone who wanted to reach this place had to scale a massive mountain, no matter which direction they came from.

For a Spirit Beast, this was nothing. But for a human, even a Martial Artist at the Venerable Realm would grow weary climbing such a mountain!

Not every environment was suitable for flight!

An expert of the Venerable Realm could indeed use a burst of Primordial Power to soar hundreds or even a thousand meters into the sky in an open area. It wasn’t difficult, but they couldn’t sustain it for long.

Even a Martial Artist who had surpassed the Venerable Realm to reach the level of Shattered Void couldn’t fly at high altitudes for long. The complex weather conditions up there would drain a Martial Artist’s stamina at a terrifying rate.

Low-altitude flight, skimming along the undulating treetops of the great mountain, was certainly possible. But over time, it would also result in an enormous expenditure of energy!

No one could guarantee that an enemy wouldn’t suddenly appear on the path ahead. If your stamina was too depleted, you could be defeated even by an opponent you would normally overpower.

The moment Qin Li and Shangguan Shiyu saw the terrain, they understood why the humans had failed. This place was practically impossible to assault.

After all, not every human Martial Artist could be like Qin Li, capable of cultivating a miraculous technique to conceal their aura and possessing combat skills powerful enough to challenge those of a higher realm. Nor could they all be like Shangguan Shiyu, born with an Innate Spirit Body. Her cultivation speed was unparalleled, and her reserves of Primordial Power far surpassed others at the same level.

Most people were just normal Martial Artists. Even a cultivation genius would, at best, reach the Venerable level within a century. Martial Artists from a place like the Land of the Far West were fundamentally different from those of the Mysterious Eastern Land.

The descendants of the great figures from the Primordial Era possessed miraculous bloodlines, countless Spirit Pill recipes, and a wide array of cultivation and combat techniques. Their foundations were on a completely different level.

Of course, what shocked Qin Li and Shiyu the most was that while they were positioned on the eastern side of the basin, on the western side stood a massive castle!

The castle was a good three to four hundred meters tall!

The castle complex stretched for more than ten li, a grand and magnificent structure. Even at night, Qin Li and Shiyu could tell that the castle was very new—it looked to be less than ten years old!

Even though they were a full six or seven thousand meters vertically above the basin floor, the castle complex still delivered a powerful visual impact.

It was breathtaking!

’Could those castles have been built by the Spirit Beasts?’ Obviously not. As Qin Li looked at the camp of several hundred humans over there, a sliver of realization dawned on him.

At the same time, a chill ran down his spine. ’If what I’m thinking is true, then these Spirit Beasts... are truly terrifying!’

Directly in front of the castle complex, near what appeared to be the center of the basin, the area was brilliantly lit. Using their enhanced vision, the pair could see numerous wooden stakes driven into the ground. The four surviving human Martial Artists who had accompanied the Great Witch Master in the search for Qin Li and Shangguan Shiyu earlier that day were now tied to those stakes.

A large crowd had gathered around the stakes, with the humans and Spirit Beasts forming two distinct groups. Qin Li did a quick count and realized that the humans far outnumbered the Spirit Beasts.

There were fewer than thirty Spirit Beasts!

Of course, these thirty or so were all powerful, transformed Spirit Beasts. The other, Low Level transformed Spirit Beasts were standing guard in the surrounding area, likely unqualified to enter the central gathering. Around Qin Li and Shangguan Shiyu, there were also a dozen Spirit Beasts of considerable strength who were highly sensitive to their environment, yet none had discovered the two Godslayers hidden right beside them.

In the human camp, there were over three hundred people—men and women, young and old. With their high cultivation realms, Qin Li and Shangguan Shiyu could clearly see the expressions on their faces.

Most of their faces were numb, their expressions impassive, as if the ones tied to the stakes were not their kin, not their own kind. Yet, from them, Qin Li could still sense a deep-seated sorrow and anger... as well as fear.

Indeed, few people could face death with true composure.

"It looks like they’re going to make an example of those humans," Qin Li said softly, his brow furrowed. "But that beast, Be, was severely injured today. Could he have recovered this quickly?"

As if to confirm Qin Li’s suspicion, the scrawny, withered, and monstrously ugly Be swaggered out of a room, flanked by several guards who attended to him with great care.

The eyes of both Qin Li and Shangguan Shiyu widened in shock. In just a few short hours, Be, who had been on the verge of death from his grievous injuries, had miraculously healed! He even looked energetic and full of life. How could he possibly be someone who was half-dead just a while ago?

They exchanged a look, both coming to the same realization: this Mysterious Land must contain something truly miraculous!

On second thought, it was understandable. Back in the distant Primordial Era, before the Mysterious Land even existed, the Celestial Essence Continent was vast. It was only natural for it to contain some magical places.

When the Mysterious Land formed, it just so happened to encompass these areas, which in turn became the source of its miraculous nature.

In fact, even in the Mortal Realm, there were many places humans could not easily tread. Those places were also incredibly mysterious, and some were even terrifying!

A look of excitement and interest appeared in both of their eyes. Originally, Qin Li had only wanted to find a secluded Mysterious Land where his enemies could not find him.

He never expected to stumble upon a place like this!

’This Mysterious Land... I must have it!’ Qin Li thought.

Just then, the Great Witch Master approached from another direction, surrounded by a throng of Spirit Beasts. His appearance immediately triggered a wave of cheers, and everyone in the human camp dropped to their knees to welcome his arrival.

Qin Li counted again. The number of Spirit Beasts in the basin had now reached seventy or eighty! Every single one of them exuded a powerful aura. Rushing down there now would be no different from suicide.

’Therefore, I must find a way to not only save all these people but also deal a heavy blow to the Great Witch Master!’