Only I am Venerable

A furious beast’s roar shook the entire island. The group was instantly startled, and looks of horror spread across their faces. The second senior brother, dressed in a royal blue robe, hesitated. "That damned commoner... he couldn’t have deliberately lured us here, could he? This roar... why does it sound so much like... like an Ancient Strange Beast? Like a Hou?"

The expression on the face of the white-clothed woman, Han Mei, grew grim. "It does sound like a Hou," she said in a low voice. "How could a descendant of such an Ancient Strange Beast possibly be on an island in a place like this?"

The other disciples of the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace had clearly heard of this creature as well, for the color drained from their faces.

The young junior sister in the yellow skirt had eyes filled with fear. "First Senior Sister... maybe... maybe we should leave. This place is terrifying!"

"Yes, First Senior Sister! If that thing really is a descendant of a Hou, we’re no match for it at all!"

"I heard that when a Hou broke into our Moon Shaking Immortal Palace all those years ago, it took the Grand Master coming out of seclusion, along with more than a dozen Supreme Elders, to finally subdue it. They then forced it to guard our Sect gates for ten thousand years in exchange for its freedom. This thing’s roar... it sounds just like the Hou guarding our gates!"

The young man in the blue robe frowned slightly and spoke softly. "A Divine Beast like this is indeed an aquatic creature. But logically, it shouldn’t be in this part of the ocean at all. This sea is vast, but it can’t compare to the sea in the Land of the Far West. The Spiritual Qi, and everything else, is far inferior..."

Just then, the furious roar echoed once more, even louder than before. The disciples could clearly feel the ground trembling beneath their feet. Invisible but palpable ripples of power spread out from the island in all directions.

Hidden in the sea, Qin Li overheard their conversation. He could also sense that the monster on the island was terrifyingly powerful. He narrowed his eyes, letting the ocean currents carry him as he slowly drifted closer to the island.

Qin Li had no desire to get a closer look at such a terrifying monster. He just figured that if the White-clothed Demoness started a fight with it, he might find the opportunity he was looking for.

Sure enough, the white-clothed woman, Han Mei, gritted her teeth. Narrowing her eyes, she said, "We’ve come to a mountain of treasures. How can we return empty-handed? Here’s the plan: Second Junior Brother, you take the others and be ready to flee at a moment’s notice. I’ll go test that monster. If it truly is a Hou, our only option is to escape. Don’t worry about me; I have a Secret Skill for protection and won’t be in any real danger. We’ll just regroup at the place we agreed on earlier."

"First Senior Sister..."

"Enough. I’ve made my decision!" As the white-clothed woman spoke, she rose into the air like a graceful Fairy and shot toward the source of the roar.

ROAR!

The monster, as if sensing her approach, became enraged. It let out a tremendous roar, and then, from the center of the island, a colossal beast, a full twenty meters long, suddenly rose into view!

It had the form of a horse, its body covered in fine, silver scales. Its head resembled that of a Qilin, complete with a massive horn, giving it a ferocious and terrifying appearance. Even more frightening, its entire body was wreathed in blazing, crimson flames!

The moment it took to the sky and saw the white-clothed woman, it opened its maw without hesitation, spitting a thick, long torrent of fire before lunging viciously at her.

Han Mei, however, looked as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She called out from mid-air, her voice ringing clearly, "This isn’t a Hou! It’s a mongrel Spirit Beast with just a trace of Hou blood! Everyone, come! Let’s surround and kill it! If we take it down, this trip will be a great meritorious deed!"

The deaths of two junior brothers had done nothing to tarnish Han Mei’s image in the eyes of her peers. The reverence they held for her had not been built overnight, and it would not crumble so easily.

Besides, Han Mei’s power was so immense that others could only gaze up at her in awe.

Therefore, the moment Han Mei finished speaking, the others all flew into the air excitedly, charging toward the massive beast.

Before joining the fray, one of them turned to the girl in the yellow skirt. "Little Junior Sister, you don’t need to join the fight. While we attack this giant beast, go to the center of the island and see if you can find any Cold Jade Flowers. In fact... just harvest any Heavenly and Earthly Treasures you find and put them in your Storage Ring, alright?"

"I know! You all be careful!" The girl in the yellow skirt seemed much more enthusiastic about this task, having no interest in fighting. With that, she flew directly toward the center of the island.

BOOM!

A deafening explosion echoed through the sky. The massive beast’s enormous body was sent flying back several dozen meters by a single strike from the white-clothed woman. At this, everyone, including Han Mei herself, couldn’t help but cheer. Their First Senior Sister’s attack proved that this seemingly terrifying, fire-breathing beast could be defeated!

"Be careful, everyone! If we work together, we can kill this thing! Even if it only has a trace of Hou blood, its entire body is sure to be a treasure!" Han Mei shouted, her face flushed with excitement.

She was right. The Hou was an Ancient Divine Beast, so powerful that even cultivators at the Thunder Tribulation Realm wouldn’t dare to underestimate it. The Hou subdued by the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace had been suppressed only after more than a dozen Great Powers of the Thunder Tribulation Realm had exhausted all their efforts. Then both sides Agreed Upon a term of ten thousand years, after which the Hou would be allowed to leave on its own.

Otherwise, if the Hou had gone berserk and fought to the bitter end, those dozen incomparably powerful ancestors of the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace would have suffered grievous injuries, and some might have even perished.

In fact, more than nine thousand nine hundred years had passed since that event at the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace. It was said that in just a few more years, the Hou would regain its freedom and be allowed to leave the Sect, just as was agreed.

As for the supreme Great Powers who had suppressed the Hou, they had not been seen in the Sect in the nearly ten thousand years since. No one knew their whereabouts. Only the Palace Master of the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace knew if most of them were even still alive. Not even the Saintess, Han Mei, who was the certain successor to the position of Palace Master, was privy to these secrets.

Therefore, if they could successfully hunt a Spirit Beast possessing the bloodline of a Hou at a time like this, the news would likely shake the entire Moon Shaking Immortal Palace. Compared to such a feat, the deaths of two junior brothers were... truly insignificant.

Han Mei wasn’t the only one who understood this; everyone participating in the attack understood it as well.

If they succeeded, it would be a legendary deed, a story told for generations to come.

Putting aside the extreme rarity of Ancient Divine Beasts, their terrifying power alone was enough to deter countless cultivators who coveted them.

Thus, in the eyes of the members of truly great sects, a Spirit Beast possessing the bloodline of an Ancient Divine Beast was incomparably precious—its value was simply immeasurable.

"Kill!"

The eyes of the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace disciples turned red with greed. If they could successfully hunt this colossal Spirit Beast today, this single achievement would elevate their status within the Sect to a whole new level. All those disciples of other Elders who were always green with envy would have to shut their mouths and would never dare to look down on them again.

Hearing their discussion, the giant beast’s eyes also turned crimson with rage.

How could a creature with such terrifying power be a mindless brute? These people had first invaded its territory, then provoked it, then debated the purity of its bloodline, and now they wanted to kill it... How could it possibly endure such hatred?

It lunged left and right, attacking the group with frenzied desperation. It knew the white-clothed woman was their leader and the strongest among them. If it could just kill her, the rest would be no threat.

So, the beast focused its attacks on the white-clothed woman, almost completely ignoring the others. Its dismissive attitude infuriated Han Mei’s fellow disciples, and they began to unleash one astonishingly powerful technique after another, barraging the beast as if their energy cost nothing.

Gradually, the battle began to drift farther out over the surface of the sea.

This time, the girl in the yellow skirt didn’t feel her usual compassion. While she couldn’t bear to see the giant beast killed, she also understood that without luring it away, no one would be able to harvest the Cold Jade Flowers.

She flew through the air, skimming just above the treetops as she searched carefully. When she reached the spot where the beast had first appeared, the scene before her left her utterly stunned.

Before her was a vast, white sea of flowers!

Spanning a radius of a hundred meters, they were all... Cold Jade Flowers!

The stems resembled coral, the branches were as crystalline as jade, and the blossoms looked as if they had been exquisitely carved from pure white jade. They were breathtakingly beautiful. The air was filled with a fragrance so enchanting one couldn’t help but be captivated.

"Wow, they’re so beautiful! There are... so many Cold Jade Flowers here! We’ve hit the jackpot, we’ve hit the jackpot, we’ve hit the jackpot!" the girl in the yellow skirt exclaimed, her voice as clear and pleasant as a silver bell.

The girl in the yellow skirt cheered and ran up to a Cold Jade Flower. She crouched down gracefully, took a gentle sniff of the blossom with an intoxicated expression, and carefully took a delicate little shovel from her Storage Ring. She giggled. "From now on, you all belong to me!"

"Don’t move!" A cold, male voice suddenly rang out. It startled the girl so badly that she dropped her shovel and leaped back more than ten meters like a frightened rabbit. When she finally raised her head in terror, she saw him—the man her First Senior Sister had been desperately searching for these past few days was standing right in front of her.

"It’s you?" the girl in the yellow skirt said, her voice laced with fear.

"What? You know me?" Qin Li grinned, a cold smile spreading across his face. "Little girl, you can scram. These flowers are all mine now."