Only I am Venerable

Qin Li shook his head with a wry smile. Shiyu’s train of thought was lightning-fast, practically a form of Instant Teleportation. She would often come out with a sudden remark that left him speechless.

"I’m serious," Shiyu said softly, her gaze fixed on Qin Li. "I understand your feelings for me. As a woman, I naturally don’t want to share a man with someone else. But Leng Yao has been with you for so many years, through thick and thin. She’s followed you without any regrets or complaints, all while enduring the invisible pressure from me. It hasn’t been easy for her. Look at how much her strength has improved—it’s at the level of a supreme genius. Yet, her innate aptitude isn’t that of a supreme genius, which just shows that she works many times harder than any of us can see. For a woman like her, husband, can you really bear to watch her youth slip away, only for her beauty to fade and leave her all alone in the end?"

"I..." Qin Li looked at Shiyu, a sense of guilt welling up inside him. The two of them rarely discussed such things, always deliberately avoiding the topic. Even having lived two lives, Qin Li still wasn’t quite sure how to handle this kind of relationship.

Now that Shiyu had brought it up so seriously, Qin Li was touched, but he didn’t know whether it was better to agree or refuse. Agreeing might hurt Shiyu’s feelings. But if he didn’t agree, just as Shiyu had said, could he really bear to watch Leng Yao’s youth pass her by, her beauty fading with time?

"Alright, husband. You’re a great, upstanding hero; don’t trouble yourself with these matters of the heart!" Shiyu teased Qin Li with a smile. She then lowered her eyelids, her long, thick lashes fluttering as she said softly, "You don’t know this, but Shiyu has been waiting for this day for a long, long time. And Leng Yao... she has too!"

The news that Qin Li was getting married spread through the Qin Family like wildfire, startling everyone. Young Master Li was getting married! This was a monumental event.

Those who were still in closed-door cultivation quickly came out.

Qin Hanyue and Qin Wenxuan, in particular, were grinning from ear to ear. When Qin Hanyue heard from Shiyu that she wanted to marry Qin Li alongside Leng Yao, she was not only surprised but also couldn’t help but admire Shiyu’s magnanimity. Qin Wenxuan also expressed his admiration in private, only to get an earful from Qin Hanyue for it, but that’s a private matter.

Originally, according to the wishes of several of the old ancestors, the wedding was to be a grand affair. All of Qin Li’s friends from Profound Island were to be invited.

That included Shiyu’s grandfather, Shangguan Tie, from Yellow Sand City, as well as Hu and the others.

However, Qin Li, Shiyu, and the others vetoed this idea. The Qin Family’s current location was like a paradise isolated from the rest of the world, completely cut off.

Once its specific location was known to outsiders, any talk of keeping it a secret would be meaningless. As for Yellow Sand City, there was already an indelible rift between old Mr. Shangguan Tie and Qin Li and Shiyu because of the Shangguan Family’s affairs. Even if that weren’t the case, they couldn’t risk drawing attention to that area.

There were surely many people keeping an eye on the Shangguan Family and Hu. It would be all too easy for their location to be leaked through them.

Although Qinling Mountain felt this was somewhat unfair to Qin Li, he understood that Qin Li was speaking the truth, so he didn’t insist. But even a purely internal Qin Family celebration would be lively enough.

「One month later.」 On an auspicious day, at an auspicious time, the sound of firecrackers echoed through the skies above Qin Family Castle. The entire Qin Family was abuzz with excitement.

Shiyu’s mother, Lin Yunlan, along with Qin Hanyue and Qin Wenxuan, happily accepted the ceremonial bows from the three newlyweds. It was worth noting that Lin Yunlan had adopted Leng Yao as her goddaughter, so Leng Yao was no longer without parents.

At the wedding, both Leng Yao and Shiyu had tears in their eyes. A wish they had held for years was finally fulfilled this day. Leng Yao, in particular, was still in a daze even as she was escorted to the bridal chamber.

Happiness had come so suddenly that she even wondered if she was dreaming. For the past year, she had spent most of her time in closed-door cultivation.

With guidance from many and the aid of various Elixirs, Leng Yao had impressively advanced from the Human Venerable realm to the Earth Venerable realm!

This speed of improvement was, just as Shiyu had said, truly at the level of a supreme genius!

But Leng Yao still wasn’t satisfied. If not for the wedding, she would have continued her closed-door cultivation until she caught up to Shiyu and the others.

A long-held dream was finally realized. That night, Qin Li went from a boy to a man, while Shiyu and Leng Yao went from young maidens to young wives... The silent testament of crimson blossoms bore witness to the feelings between the three.

In the end, Qin Li was shooed back to Shiyu’s room by Leng Yao. Leng Yao didn’t want to give Shiyu the impression that she was competing for favor. Although the two had long since agreed that they were both Qin Li’s wives, with no distinction between senior or junior, in her heart, Leng Yao still put Shiyu first.

A smart woman always knows how to handle such things.

Feeling a little guilty, Qin Li placed a light kiss on Leng Yao’s forehead, tucked her in, and then slipped into Shiyu’s room. Needless to say, the two once again shared a night of passion.

The next morning, Shiyu woke up early. She watched the sleeping Qin Li with an infatuated gaze, thinking: ’From now on, we’ll never be apart. I’m finally his wife!’

A smile appeared on Qin Li’s lips. He placed a hand on Shiyu’s delicate, smooth waist, letting it slowly slide downwards. Shiyu’s body trembled slightly. She caught his mischievous hand and chided playfully, "Time to get up and cultivate! You’re so naughty this early in the morning!"

Qin Li pulled Shiyu into his arms, his eyes still closed, and murmured, "From this day on, the king forgoes his morning court!"

"Oh, you!"

Shiyu rolled her eyes at Qin Li and slipped out of his embrace. Unconcerned by her state of undress, she slowly put on her clothes and said softly, "I still have to serve tea to my mother-in-law!"

「More than ten days later.」 Leng Yao once again threw herself into cultivation and Alchemy. Not wanting to be surpassed by Leng Yao, Shiyu also began to cultivate diligently.

After a long period of quiet, Qin Li felt a craving for action. He decided to go check on things in Yellow Sand City. And so, he left the Mysterious Land alone, using his Lightweight Skill to fly toward the Cyan Dragon Kingdom.

...

A lot can happen in a year. First, the new city in Yellow Sand City was finally completed, and the New City Lord, Hu, became the wealthiest person in it.

Hu’s relationship with Qin Li also became known to many. Strangely, however, no one came looking for trouble with Hu anymore. The news about Qin Li possessing the Ancient Map also gradually faded as he had been gone for a long time.

The Ancient Divine Temple had now become a place of pilgrimage for the entire continent!

The royal family of the Cyan Dragon Kingdom had even dispatched a special army to station around the Ancient Divine Temple and maintain order.

However, the main gate of the Divine Temple had never been opened by anyone, much to the disappointment of the many who wanted to see what was inside.

But this didn’t affect the Divine Temple’s status in the eyes of the world. The mysterious and powerful energy it emanated, in particular, allowed many Martial Artists who were stuck at a bottleneck to gain new insights and inspiration.

As a result, more and more Martial Artists of all levels came here to cultivate.

Of course, there were those who tried to force their way into the Divine Temple, but not a single one of them met a good end. All of them died, without exception.

To this day, although the outside world was turbulent and rumors about the Ancient Map were rampant, the Divine Temple still stood there proudly—a silent, colossal pillar holding up the sky, radiating a grand and desolate aura that spanned millennia.

Meanwhile, after leaving Profound Island with her fellow sect members, Han Mei, the Saintess of the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace, didn’t return to Yellow Sand City. Instead, she used a Sect Secret Skill to perform a Void Crossing back to her sect in the Land of the Far West!

These major sects and ancient families in the Land of the Far West almost all possessed their own Secret Skills. These skills were similar to how a Shattered Void realm Martial Artist could rely on Space Laws to tear open space and perform a Void Crossing.

It sounded simple, but there weren’t many Shattered Void realm Martial Artists who could actually perform a Void Crossing! It required an extremely profound mastery of Space Laws. For example, the powerful Space Element Great Mages of the Primordial Era could even achieve targeted Instant Teleportation!

That was countless times more powerful than Void Crossing!

But these sects had their own methods. By relying on Spirit Stones and certain Arrays passed down from the Primordial Era, they could achieve Void Crossing as long as they had the coordinates!

It’s just that the Martial Artists from the Mysterious Lands of the East had no contact with such things before, so they naturally couldn’t understand. The tale of a Supreme Martial Artist from Profound Island spending many years traveling to the West on foot, eventually reaching Tongtian City, was seen as an act dumber than dumb in the eyes of the people from the Land of the Far West.

This was also why people from the Land of the Far West arrived immediately after the Ancient Divine Temple appeared.

After Han Mei returned to her sect, she handed over the map. She had rendered a great service on this trip! Many of the super-powerful and famous experts in the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace, who were very knowledgeable about the Primordial Era, authenticated the map. Of course, they could only judge its authenticity based on its material and contents, relying on their experience. After all, the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace did not possess any such Ancient Maps.

Han Mei’s master, the Sect Leader Venerable of the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace, Mingyue Ascendant, was a beautiful middle-aged woman who looked to be only in her forties. Her strength was unfathomable, having already reached the Transformation Realm!

Mingyue Ascendant was a very reasonable person. In the several hundred years since she took over as Sect Leader, she had managed the sect’s affairs in perfect order. Many of the retired former Sect Leaders who were in closed-door cultivation, as well as the numerous Supreme Elders, Elders, and legendary figures within the sect, were all very satisfied with this Sect Leader.

If Mingyue Ascendant had one flaw, it was that she was fiercely protective of her own.

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Author’s Note: Whoops, I actually fell asleep while writing. By the time I woke up, it was already this late! Begging for recommendation votes!!!! (To be continued. For more Chapters and to support the author and the official publication, please visit www.qidian.com!)