Only I am Venerable

One of them, an old man of indeterminate age, actually had a pair of enormous wings growing from his back! The feathers on the wings were as black as ink, each one like iron, their sharp tips glinting with a biting chill!

With a sudden flap of his wings, he flew toward the main peak of Lengqiu Palace. His eyes held no trace of concealment; they were the purest shade of purple!

This was a Purple-eyed Emperor!

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

A top-tier existence, an absolute authority! Possessing the purest Purple-eyed bloodline, there were likely few old-timers like him in the entire Celestial Essence Continent!

In an instant, countless renowned figures of the Purple-eyed Race and dignitaries from Lengqiu Palace rushed toward the main peak, every one of their faces etched with horror.

For countless years, Lengqiu Palace had remained dormant, but the legend had always persisted!

A legend about a Purple-eyed King!

This was a prophecy left behind by the ancestors of the Purple-eyed Race: When the Divine Temple appears, conflict will rise again, and a King shall descend!

The Ancient Divine Temple had already emerged for some time, but the prophecy passed down by the Purple-eyed Ancestors had shown no signs of coming to pass. This led many, including a number of influential figures within the Purple-eyed Race, to doubt its accuracy.

But the events unfolding today on the main peak of Lengqiu Palace went beyond anyone’s expectations, shaking countless influential figures of the Purple-eyed Race to their core.

These purest-blooded members of the Purple-eyed Race could ignore almost anything else. As long as no one was trying to annihilate Lengqiu Palace, as long as the heavens weren’t falling, they would not react.

But now that the ancestors’ prophecy was being fulfilled, they could no longer sit still!

When it happened, He Wuya, the Palace Master of Lengqiu Palace, and Venerable Kuang Lei were sitting together drinking tea. The moment the tremor hit, both shot out at top speed, only to see a column of incomparably pure purple qi soaring into the nine heavens!

In that instant, all of Lengqiu Palace was thrown into a tumult, as if it had been brought to a boil!

The two exchanged a glance, and each saw disbelief in the other’s eyes, as well as... unwillingness!

That’s right, unwillingness!

Over a hundred thousand years, oceans could turn into fields. Many things had long since changed. The Purple-eyed Race had, in fact, already integrated into the Celestial Essence Continent. Now, the only ones who still maintained the purest bloodline were the old ancestors who had survived from that bygone era.

He Wuya had never liked the ancestors’ prophecy. He believed it was a good thing for the Purple-eyed Race to maintain its current state; they didn’t need a new king.

Especially with Lengqiu Palace already being the greatest power of the Purple-eyed Race, the appearance of a new king meant that the Palace Master, who held the most authority, would now have someone above him!

And they knew nothing about this person’s character, temperament, or even who they were! Heaven only knew if the Purple-eyed Race would be ruined in their hands.

Just then, five winged Purple-eyed Emperor Ancestors descended like five streaks of light, landing before He Wuya and Venerable Kuang Lei.

He Wuya and Venerable Kuang Lei were startled for a moment, then hastily bowed to the five.

"Greetings to the five Ancestors!" the two said respectfully.

Venerable Kuang Lei glanced at the five Ancestors and secretly sized them up, comparing their strength to his own. A trace of disdain arose in his heart. ’These five Ancestors all survived the final days of the war in the Primordial Era. To this day, their power is merely at the Thunder Tribulation Peak. I’m far, far younger than them, yet I’ve also reached the Thunder Tribulation Realm! In a few more millennia, I might even surpass them and become a supreme expert at the Earth Immortal Realm! As for the five Ancestors... they only reached this stage through the slow accumulation of time. One day, I too will become a supreme Ancestor of the Purple-eyed Race!’

The five elders, their pupils glowing with pure purple light, nodded in unison. The one of indeterminate age looked at He Wuya and said in a deep voice, "Palace Master, has the ancestors’ prophecy come true? Has a King descended?"

The Purple-eyed Ancestor’s words immediately sparked dissatisfaction in He Wuya’s heart. ’You old fossils, are you really that eager for a King to descend? Don’t you understand what the birth of a new King means for Lengqiu Palace? Or are you dissatisfied with me, the Palace Master, and want to replace me?’

Though displeased, He Wuya showed no trace of it on his face. He smiled and said, "Ancestors, it has been many years since I’ve last seen you. It seems your strength has improved once more. There was indeed a strange phenomenon here just now, but I don’t think it was necessarily the birth of a King. I’m afraid there’s something you Ancestors may not know..."

Before He Wuya could finish, he was interrupted by another Purple-eyed Emperor Ancestor. This one, a gaunt old man with a face like a weathered landscape, spoke directly, "Palace Master, do you take us for decrepit old fools? We’re not senile yet! That purple light clearly erupted from the Earth Palace and shot into the sky. Someone must have entered the Earth Palace and sat upon the throne! The ancestors’ prophecy states that no matter who sits upon that throne, they are the new King of the Purple-eyed Race! They will lead our race to true glory!"

"That’s right. The ancestors’ prophecy has never been wrong. He Wuya, as the seventh Palace Master of Lengqiu Palace, have you forgotten the oath you took when you assumed your position?" another elder asked slowly. He appeared to be only in his fifties, with a dignified expression, and his purple eyes were locked on He Wuya’s.

This elder was no simple figure. He had once been the third Palace Master of Lengqiu Palace! He was also an ancestor who had lived from the Primordial Era to this day! Among the five Purple-eyed Emperors, he was the only one who had truly controlled Lengqiu Palace, the greatest power of the Purple-eyed Race!

Therefore, while He Wuya could feign ignorance in response to the others, he dared not be dismissive when faced with the questioning of this third-generation Palace Master.

He Wuya gave a dry laugh and said, "Why must you get so upset, esteemed Ancestors? I haven’t finished speaking. I am not someone who fails to see the bigger picture. If a new King has appeared for the Purple-eyed Race, I too would applaud with joy! It’s just that something happened today that I wish to report to you..."

He Wuya then recounted the events at Huiming Peak, as well as the recent fires at the Guardian Tower and the Library Pavilion above the Earth Palace, to the five Purple-eyed Ancestors.

It was the third-generation Palace Master who spoke again after listening. He frowned and said softly, "What does this have to do with the appearance of a new King for the Purple-eyed Race? Let alone such a trivial matter, even if the new King had once killed our people, we must still abide by the rules left by our ancestors and acknowledge him as King!"

At this point, Venerable Kuang Lei interjected calmly from the side, "Esteemed Ancestors, why don’t we simply enter the Earth Palace and see for ourselves who this new King is?"

He Wuya shot Venerable Kuang Lei a grateful look and agreed, "That’s right, let’s just go down and see!"

The five Purple-eyed Ancestors exchanged glances and nodded in unison. They, too, wanted to see just what kind of person the new King of the Purple-eyed Race was.

...

The moment Qin Li sat on the throne, he felt an incomparably vast power surge madly into his body. He had just thought to resist this power of unknown origin when he discovered to his horror that he couldn’t move at all!

He could only let the turbulent, tide-like power rush wildly through the meridians of his body, converging in his Dantian!

Atop the throne, Innate Purple Qi shot toward the heavens, completely enveloping Qin Li’s body and the throne itself!

Qin Li was startled for only a moment. He soon realized that this power was different from the sinister, cold energy in the Earth Palace’s passages that gave off a sense of evil.

The power pouring into his body was incredibly pure! It was just like the Innate Purple Qi he had once absorbed on Black Tortoise Peak on Profound Island—the purest energy between heaven and earth!

Qin Li was utterly astonished. Even now, he had no idea what was going on.

It was impossible for him to believe he was one of the Purple-eyed Race. Not only had he transmigrated from Earth as a true descendant of Yanhuang...

...but the parents of this body were also native inhabitants of the Celestial Essence Continent. There was no way they could have had even a shred of Purple-eyed bloodline!

’Could it be that the Innate Purple Qi Technique I cultivate has some connection to this Purple-eyed Race? But... but the Innate Purple Qi Technique was clearly something the old Taoist himself...’

As Qin Li thought of this, a realization suddenly struck him. He remembered that when the old Taoist had given him the Innate Purple Qi Technique, he had said that it was a Heart Method he had created by improving upon something passed down from the ancients, taking its essence and discarding the dregs.

’So, strictly speaking, you couldn’t say the Innate Purple Qi Technique was created by the old Taoist!’

’But when did a race like the Purple-eyed ever appear on Earth? I’ve never even heard of them in any myths or legends.’

Regardless of what Qin Li thought, the incomparably pure Innate Purple Qi from the throne continued to pour ceaselessly into his Dantian. To his pleasant surprise, this powerful, unrivaled force didn’t cause him to feel like he was about to break through; instead, it was being completely absorbed!

If breaking through from the Pill Nascent Soul Transformation to the Thunder Tribulation Realm required quality, then what Qin Li was obtaining now was quantity!

A massive amount of energy surged into Qin Li’s body, and the Innate Purple Qi Technique began to operate automatically, compressing all of this power... and compressing it again.

Meanwhile, his Pill Nascent Soul in his Dantian was like a bottomless pit, madly absorbing the compressed Innate Purple Qi energy. Other than its color deepening, there seemed to be no other change!

Finally, after an unknown amount of time, the column of purple qi that had shot up from the main peak of Lengqiu Palace vanished, and the energy flowing from the throne into Qin Li’s body also ceased.

Qin Li slowly opened his eyes. A flash of brilliant, dazzling purple light shone from within them!