Only I am Venerable

"You animal! You lunatic! You’re nothing but a useless piece of trash! A good-for-nothing who couldn’t even protect his own woman! Hahaha, and you still dream of taking my handmaiden away? I’d sooner kill her than let her go with you! You want to kill me? Come on! Come and kill me!"

Lou Chengfang suddenly roared, his Purple Eyes filled with a deranged light as he laughed maniacally.

An expression of immense pain crossed Cao Hong’s face.

SLAP!

He finally lost control and smashed a fist into Lou Chengfang’s face, which immediately began to swell.

"Yes, just like that! Hit me harder! Have you not eaten today? You worthless trash!"

Lou Chengfang slurred, spitting out a mouthful of blood and broken teeth. He then grinned, his mouth a bloody mess. "You want to know how that woman you loved so dearly died all those years ago? Hahaha, you idiot! You preserved her virginity, and in the end... in the end, she was taken by dozens of servants from Lengqiu Palace, one after another..."

CRUNCH!

A huge rock smashed viciously into Lou Chengfang’s mouth, cutting off the rest of his words.

Tears of blood streamed from Cao Hong’s eyes. "That’ll shut you up!" he snarled. He moved the large rock aside, ignoring Lou Chengfang’s ruined face, drew a short blade, and furiously worked it around inside the man’s mouth, mangling his tongue to a pulp.

The pain caused Lou Chengfang to pass out. Cao Hong, roaring like a wounded beast, screamed, "Keep talking! Why don’t you say something now!"

...

Qin Li and Cao Hong’s actions had stirred up a hornet’s nest, throwing the entire Lengqiu Palace into chaos.

Countless people were alerted, all rushing toward Lou Chengfang’s mountain peak.

Meanwhile, Qin Li seized the opportunity to quietly infiltrate the main peak of Lengqiu Palace.

The main peak was steep and perilous, dotted with numerous buildings half-hidden within a grove of sky-blotting Ancient Trees. Qin Li moved like a ghost, completely avoiding the hidden sentries on the peak as he surveyed the structures.

Most Sects had a place specifically for storing Combat Techniques, Cultivation Techniques, and various records. With the Ancient Divine Temple having now appeared, if the eighth map truly was in the hands of Lengqiu Palace, they would certainly be guarding it with extreme care. ’It’s unlikely to be in the library,’ he thought, ’but I might find some clues about the Ancient Map there.’

At the very least, he couldn’t afford to alert the enemy before finding the whereabouts of the eighth map. Besides, Qin Li didn’t believe he was the strongest person in Lengqiu Palace. A Sect with the Purple Eyes bloodline and a legacy from Ancient Times would be unbelievable if it didn’t have at least a few major figures at the Thunder Tribulation Realm overseeing it.

Furthermore, if he faced more than five Martial Artists at the Pill Nascent Soul Transformation Realm, Qin Li was certain he wouldn’t be their match. Therefore, he had to use cunning, not brute force, in Lengqiu Palace.

Qin Li arrived before a small building halfway up the mountain and stopped. Concealed within the trees, he noticed that the defenses here were much stronger than elsewhere. The guards didn’t speak to one another, and every face was grim and serious.

’Could this be the place?’ Qin Li wondered. He carefully hid himself in a tree and began to patiently observe the situation.

After a while, someone approached. One of the Lengqiu Palace disciples guarding the entrance stepped forward to block the person’s path, stating flatly, "Your orders!"

The newcomer replied respectfully, "Reporting to you, Senior. I’ve come on the Palace Master’s verbal orders to inform the Guardians. There was a disturbance on Huiming Peak just now. It’s feared an enemy with ulterior motives has infiltrated our ranks. The Palace Master orders all Guardians to heighten their alert and give the enemy no opportunities."

The Lengqiu Palace disciple nodded slightly and said coolly, "I understand. You may leave quickly."

"As you command!" The messenger from Lengqiu Palace bowed respectfully to the guard, then turned and departed swiftly.

After the disciple left, the few Lengqiu Palace disciples visibly standing guard at the building’s entrance walked over to each other. One of them, a dark-skinned man who looked to be in his forties, frowned and said, "For hundreds of years, it’s always Huiming Peak where intruders show up, time and time again. If I remember correctly, the last time was over a decade ago. How did Lou Chengfang even become a High Level deacon? Why do people always cause trouble at his peak?"

"Years ago, someone took a liking to his handmaiden. In the end, she was violated and then murdered by a group of Lou Chengfang’s subordinates. The man who fancied her has come back for revenge time and again, but he was always discovered by the Holy Dog," another Lengqiu Palace disciple said with a sneer. "Lou Chengfang is a narrow-minded man with no principles. He really doesn’t deserve to be a High Level deacon. If it weren’t for his strength... Hmph."

"Forget it. It has nothing to do with us. We just need to guard this place properly!"

Qin Li overheard their conversation but gleaned no valuable clues. However, he did understand one thing: this place was extraordinary.

The Primordial Power fluctuations from each of the visible disciples were already quite strong, and the fluctuations from those hidden in the shadows were even more intense.

Based on what the messenger had said, he could deduce that this small building wasn’t for living in, but for storing something important!

𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Even if the Ancient Map wasn’t here, this was by no means an ordinary place.

’How can I lure all these people away?’ Qin Li mused. Suddenly, his gaze fell upon another building about a hundred meters away, also located halfway up the mountain.

That building was much larger than this one, with intricately carved beams and painted rafters, exuding an air of ancient simplicity. Its scale was immense. The construction material wasn’t much different from the building here; it was also made of wood.

Qin Li focused a sliver of his Spiritual Power, infused it with the Fire Attribute elements from the air, and with a slight exertion of force, sent it shooting like a sharp arrow toward the building’s wooden eaves.

This was no ordinary fire arrow. With his Spiritual Power bordering on a solidified state, this sliver of energy infused with the Fire Element could burn even stone to ash, let alone a wooden building. Instantly, a WHOOSH was heard as flames erupted from the eaves. They spread rapidly, and the pure Fire Attribute elements quickly set the entire structure ablaze, sending thick plumes of smoke billowing into the sky.

The Guardian Disciples over here cried out in alarm, "The Library Building is on fire!"

"What’s going on? How could it suddenly catch fire like that?" another person asked, staring in astonishment.

Many people near the Library Building were instantly alerted. A large number of disciples began to gather there to extinguish the blaze, but this fire had been ignited by the purest of Fire Elements. How could it be so easily put out?

The massive fire soon ignited the surrounding buildings. Throngs of Lengqiu Palace disciples shouted as they rushed over with water to fight the flames.

The fire grew larger and larger. To the frustration of the Lengqiu Palace disciples, the wind started to pick up!

The main peak of Lengqiu Palace was at a high altitude, so wind was a common occurrence that no one usually paid any mind. But for the wind to rise now was like adding fuel to the fire. The flames madly devoured the large cluster of buildings and began to spread this way through the dense Forest of Ancient Trees.

"Dammit!" a Lengqiu Palace disciple not far from Qin Li cursed angrily. He quickly rushed over, attempting to clear a firebreak.

The hidden sentries posted nearby all emerged from their posts to help clear a firebreak more than ten meters wide between the small building and the encroaching flames.

Four Lengqiu Palace disciples remained at the entrance of the small building. They were unmoved by the chaos, and though their eyes watched the fire, their bodies didn’t budge as they held their ground.

Qin Li felt even more certain that the small building held a great secret. A wicked smile touched his lips as he shot another sliver of Spiritual Power toward it.

WHOOSH!

Flames shot up directly from the building. This time, the four impassive guards panicked. The scene before them was beyond their comprehension. They could rack their brains and still not figure out what was happening. How could a fire just start out of thin air?

They hastily ordered people to bring water to put out the fire.

Now, the main peak of Lengqiu Palace was in an uproar as well, with large numbers of disciples rushing in this direction.

The few Guardians of the small building were thrown into a panic. They had no choice but to open the door, go inside, and jointly blast away the burning section of the building. As a result, the entire structure began to sway, on the verge of collapse.

And Qin Li, seizing this opportunity, dashed into the small building.

In the chaos, no one noticed that an extra person was now inside.

After entering the building and concealing himself, Qin Li heard a disciple say, "Get out, quick! The building’s about to collapse!"

"What about the Earth Palace?" another disciple asked anxiously.

"Seal the entrance to the Earth Palace!" someone said in a deep voice.

"Right!" The other few headed deeper into the building.

Qin Li followed behind, watching as they reached the back of the building and pulled a lever for the heavy gate. A massive black stone gate began to descend slowly, sealing off a tunnel entrance.

Without a second thought, Qin Li shot into the tunnel at his fastest speed. Just as he got inside, the heavy black stone gate slammed down with a BOOM, sealing him off from the outside world.

To Qin Li’s surprise, the moment the gate fell, he could no longer hear any of the disciples’ conversations outside. He couldn’t even penetrate it with the Divine Sense of his Innate Purple Qi!

Of course, Qin Li had no idea that his actions had truly stirred a hornet’s nest. Nearly every disciple on the main peak of Lengqiu Palace had been mobilized. The small building, after the massive stone gate fell, was utterly destroyed and collapsed.

Then, a furious roar like muffled thunder echoed across the entire main peak of Lengqiu Palace.

"Which rat dares to cause trouble in my Lengqiu Palace? Show yourself!" The instant the words were spoken, an icy, murderous Spiritual Power spread out like flowing mercury, blanketing the entire mountain peak.