Only I am Venerable

The Blood-Drinking Sword tore a massive gash across the gray-robed man’s throat. The strike nearly decapitated him, and he died on the spot.

The remaining gray-robed men roared in a frenzy. The one who had previously fought Qin Li and Shiyu outside was especially livid. ’This human is clearly much weaker than I am,’ he raged internally, ’yet in a mere instant, he killed one of our own and severely wounded another!’

Fueled by his anger, the gray-robed man’s full power erupted.

In that moment, no one paid any mind to the Energy Gate or when the woman might emerge.

As his opponents began to fight with desperate ferocity, Qin Li’s disadvantage became clear. His only saving grace was their limited understanding of Magic; otherwise, he would have had no choice but to flee.

The Only I am Venerable combat technique was exceptionally powerful, far more sophisticated than the crude strength and speed of the gray-robed men. Thus, despite being on the defensive, Qin Li showed no signs of collapsing.

Just then, the Energy Gate rippled. Shangguan Shiyu emerged, Blood Jade Sword in hand. She sensed the scene before she could even see it clearly, and without hesitation, she slashed at the gray-robed man whose hands Qin Li had severed.

The gray-robed man was clutching his severed hands, wailing as he tried to reattach them. He never imagined someone would suddenly appear above him, so his guard was completely down.

Even if he had been on guard, the severely injured man would have been no match for Shangguan Shiyu.

Shiyu’s sword struck true, and the immense energy of the blow obliterated him, leaving nothing but dust.

After dispatching the gray-robed man in a single strike, Shiyu’s beautiful face was a cold mask of fury. She immediately charged toward the men surrounding Qin Li.

With Shiyu’s reinforcement, the pressure on Qin Li lifted considerably. His Blood-Drinking Sword moved like a phantom, and combined with his unparalleled Light Body Technique, the gray-robed men couldn’t even touch the hem of his clothes. Meanwhile, Qin Li landed blow after blow.

The damage inflicted by a peak Celestial Venerable was devastating. Under the combined assault of Qin Li and Shiyu, the remaining gray-robed men quickly found themselves on the losing end.

The gray-robed man who had initiated the attack let out a roar of grief and fury, then turned and fled. The others followed suit, abandoning their fallen comrades and bolting toward the dense forest at the foot of the mountain.

Shiyu gave a sharp cry and started to give chase, but Qin Li called her back.

"Don’t pursue them!"

Shiyu turned back, her gaze filled with concern. "What’s wrong?" she asked.

Qin Li was breathing heavily. The fight had been short, but the toll it took was immense. ’If Shiyu hadn’t come, I’d have had to run for it by now. No matter how powerful the Only I am Venerable technique is, the difference in our realms is just too great. If those gray-robed men had been smart enough to drag this into a battle of attrition, I definitely would have lost.’

"I’m fine, just a little exhausted!"

As he spoke, Qin Li plopped down on a nearby bluestone. "Looks like taking over this Mysterious Land won’t be so easy," he said with a wry smile.

Shiyu walked over and sat down beside him. "You’re right," she sighed softly. "If all the Spirit Beasts here are as strong as those men, we really don’t stand a chance."

Shiyu’s brow furrowed in thought. "But how could so many powerful Spirit Beasts appear inside the Mysterious Land? Qin Li... doesn’t that seem a bit... illogical?"

Qin Li smiled. "It’s not that illogical. Maybe this Mysterious Land has some Heavenly and Earthly Treasures we don’t know about—things that grant incredible power when consumed. Besides, not all of these gray-robed men are Spirit Beasts. At least, the one I killed wasn’t! But the one you blasted to dust was definitely a Spirit Beast in its Transformation form. Damn, they were really strong. I was on the verge of running for it."

"Don’t swear!" Shangguan Shiyu shot him a playful glare.

Qin Li gazed into the distance. From the peak where they stood, all they could see in every direction were endless, rolling mountains, just like the world outside. He wondered where the gray-robed men had fled.

Qin Li guessed their dwelling couldn’t be far. Otherwise, how could the first man have summoned such powerful backup so quickly?

After resting for a while, Qin Li felt his strength return. He stood up and said, "Let’s go."

The two followed an overgrown trail down the mountain. Shiyu frowned at the path beneath their feet. "This feels like a road, but it seems to have been abandoned for many years. How strange." She crouched down, then exclaimed in surprise, "Qin Li, look!"

Qin Li had already noticed them as well. Hidden beneath the weeds were two ancient-looking cart ruts. So much time had passed that most of the tracks were faded and indistinct, with only a few well-preserved sections remaining clear.

Shiyu stood up, her face a mask of shock. "Does this mean," she said, looking at Qin Li, "that humans were the dominant ones here many years ago?"

Qin Li frowned as well. "The one I killed just now was a human," he said softly. "His power was somewhere between the Human Venerable and Earth Venerable realms. This place is bizarre. Humans almost never mix with Spirit Beasts. And yet, the one I killed was clearly a man, but his aura was no different from that of a wild animal."

"Judging by these ruts, this road has been abandoned for a very long time," Shiyu said softly, gazing down the desolate trail. "If we follow it, we might find some answers."

Desolate weeds flanked the path, and the trees on either side were so dense they blotted out the sun. It was hard to imagine that a place like this had once seen human carts and horses.

The two of them followed the abandoned road for over an hour. After rounding a mountain, the view suddenly opened up before them. A massive valley stretched out, more than six miles wide and stretching for hundreds of miles.

A river, dozens of yards wide, snaked through the middle of the valley, its flowing water a constant murmur. Large clusters of buildings stood on both banks. From a distance, the gray structures exuded an ancient, desolate air, yet they were so quiet they seemed utterly devoid of life.

They exchanged a glance, each seeing the astonishment in the other’s eyes. They quickened their pace, rapidly approaching the cluster of buildings.

As they drew closer, they saw that many of the buildings had fallen into disrepair. The courtyards and paths between the houses were choked with weeds taller than a person.

They did a quick sweep of the area but found no one. Then they chose what looked like a large, opulent courtyard and stepped inside.

The courtyard was just as overgrown. Birds chattered, taking flight as the pair entered, only to land again on the carved beams and painted rafters of the roof. They stared boldly at the two intruders, their chirps seeming to voice their surprise and curiosity.

"This place looks like it’s been abandoned for many, many years. It must have been a bustling little settlement," Shangguan Shiyu mused. She casually pushed open the door to what appeared to be the main hall, a place for receiving guests. Made of some unknown timber, the wooden door swung open silently, untouched by the decay of time.

Inside, the room was blanketed in a thick layer of dust, but the quality of the furnishings suggested its former owner must have held a high station.

They trod lightly, leaving a trail of footprints in the dust. Qin Li scanned the room’s contents, noticing a teapot and several cups on a table. The cups were nearly full of dust. He lifted the teapot’s lid. It was bone dry inside, but water stains were still visible on the inner walls. "It doesn’t look like there was any kind of struggle or destruction here," Qin Li said. "So what could have made everyone living here suddenly vanish?"

"Do you think the transformed Spirit Beasts we saw... conquered this place? And killed all the humans?" Shiyu asked, her brow deeply furrowed.

Qin Li shook his head. "We just searched the area, but we didn’t find a single bone..."

As he spoke, Qin Li walked over to a bookshelf placed against the wall and pulled out a book. It was a manuscript. He blew the dust from its cover and opened it to find pages filled with drawings of various plants, each with annotations.

It was a manuscript cataloging the various Heavenly and Earthly Treasures of this Mysterious Land, with over one hundred and eighty entries. When Qin Li flipped to the end, his brow furrowed. The last few plants depicted felt familiar, and he suddenly recalled seeing them recorded in the Ancient Pill Formula!

The annotations below were somewhat hastily written. Qin Li examined them closely and saw they described the properties of these Heavenly and Earthly Treasures. The descriptions were incomplete but seemed to be about thirty or forty percent accurate.

Finally, the notes mentioned that this was an astonishing discovery. If the full potential of this Spiritual Medicine could be unlocked, it would yield unimaginable benefits.

The last section of the book was filled with blank pages.

Qin Li thought of the powerful gray-robed men. ’Could it be,’ he wondered, ’that the people who lived here were attacked by Spirit Beasts because of these plants?’

It was a definite possibility. It was just like on Profound Island, which had forbidden zones where humans dared not tread. No matter how powerful one person was, their strength would seem insignificant in the face of thousands of ferocious Spirit Beasts.

"Qin Li, look! I found the owner’s diary!" Shangguan Shiyu exclaimed. "They sensed danger was near and were preparing to escape. It seems to be related to some kind of miraculous Spiritual Medicine!"

Qin Li moved to Shiyu’s side and read the diary entries over her shoulder. He felt his suspicions hardening into certainty. It was highly likely that the Heavenly and Earthly Treasures these people discovered had been the cause of their doom.