Only I am Venerable

The island’s vegetation was incredibly dense. From high above, the entire, moderately-sized island looked as if it were covered by a rolling green blanket. It appeared remarkably lush and offered excellent concealment.

The stone cave was situated on a steep cliff face, which was overgrown with dense shrubbery. The thickets were so compact that not even a speck of the soil beneath could be seen.

Qin Li helped She She into the cave. It was only three or four meters deep and quite dry. Inside, there was a soft nest of hay. Judging by the signs, it appeared to be the den of a small animal.

’I can’t worry about that now. Besides, I won’t be here for long. If that animal dares to return, I won’t have to go out looking for food for the next few days.’

However, Qin Li knew the terrifyingly powerful woman was unlikely to give up and leave so easily. Therefore, they would have to be careful on this island while She She recovered from her injuries.

She She’s condition looked grim. The meridians in her body were in utter chaos, and she was just barely clinging to life. She was so weak now that even an Earth Level Martial Artist could have easily killed her.

"Master, am I... going to die?" She She felt Qin Li lay her down on the soft hay and forced her eyes open. The cave mouth was hidden by the shrubs, and with the sky outside still dark, the interior was pitch-black. For Qin Li and She She, however, this made little difference.

Seeing She She’s unprecedented weakness and helpless, pitiful state, Qin Li’s heart softened. "Don’t worry," he said gently. "You’re not going to die."

With that, Qin Li tore a leaf the size of a large fan from the Nine-Turned White Jade Lotus in his ring. He held it to the Snake Woman’s lips and said with a smile, "Eat this. It’s good for you."

In truth, Qin Li didn’t even need to say anything. While the leaf of the Nine-Turned White Jade Lotus didn’t radiate any overwhelming Spiritual Qi, She She, being a Spirit Beast, could instantly sense its vibrant life force. Her eyes brightened slightly as she opened her mouth and began to eat it in small bites. In the darkness, only the faint sound of her chewing could be heard.

As Qin Li watched She She eat the leaf of the Nine-Turned White Jade Lotus, his worries didn’t lessen in the slightest. He had no idea what kind of horrifying combat technique that Demoness cultivated.

He had sensed it earlier while infusing her with Innate Purple Qi. Her meridians weren’t in complete disarray, but many sections seemed to have been corroded. If those areas weren’t treated promptly, they would rot away, destroying her entire meridian system. She would lose not just her cultivation, but her life as well.

At this thought, Qin Li couldn’t help but curse that damned Demoness again. ’To cultivate such a terrifying and malicious combat technique... I’ve never even heard of anything like it!’

’Hm? Wait...’ A thought suddenly occurred to Qin Li. There were still many inherited memories from that Primordial Great Power that remained completely sealed away in his Sea of Consciousness, untouched. ’And I wonder if my Innate Purple Qi might help her injuries.’

Just then, he heard She She let out a soft gasp. Qin Li turned to see her face filled with horror and fear. He knew she now understood the gravity of her condition.

He sighed inwardly. Looking at the Snake Woman, he asked softly, "Can you repair the damage on your own?"

The Snake Woman’s eyes were vacant as she slowly shook her head. "No. I’ve tried. The faster I absorb Primordial Power, the more severe the damage becomes."

Qin Li said, "Don’t be afraid. Let’s try using my Innate Purple Qi."

The Snake Woman nodded gently. Even with a lifespan of over ten thousand years, she couldn’t remain stoic in the face of this. She wasn’t afraid to die, but death should come with dignity. She absolutely refused to let her meridians be corroded by such an injury, only to slowly waste away and perish.

Qin Li regulated his breathing for a moment before sitting behind She She and placing a hand on a major acupoint on her back. He began to transfer the small amount of Innate Purple Qi he had just recovered into her meridians.

To the immense relief of both Qin Li and She She, the infusion of Innate Purple Qi halted the spread of the corrosion in her festering meridians.

The rate of recovery was incredibly slow, but this was still a joyous surprise. It meant the Innate Purple Qi was effective against her injuries!

Qin Li hadn’t realized this before, but now he could finally rest easy. As long as the Innate Purple Qi could heal She She, he was willing to exhaust every last wisp of it.

More than four hours later, the last trace of Innate Purple Qi in Qin Li’s body was depleted. At that moment, a sliver of light from outside pierced through the dense shrubbery and into the cave.

Dawn had broken.

Qin Li sat inside the cave and began cultivating, circulating the Innate Purple Qi Technique. The Snake Woman’s meridians had already recovered by nearly half. Though she still didn’t dare absorb Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, her life was essentially out of danger.

「Three days later.」

The injuries to She She’s meridians were finally healed completely.

Each time, Qin Li would exhaust every last trace of his Innate Purple Qi, not stopping until his Purple Crystal Core turned a translucent white.

The cave’s original occupant never returned. Perhaps it had gone to hunt far away, or maybe it had been killed in a fight. In any case, it saved Qin Li some trouble.

The constant, excessive depletion of his Innate Purple Qi hadn’t harmed Qin Li at all. In fact, it gave him the faint feeling that his Innate Purple Qi was on the verge of a breakthrough.

This surprised Qin Li. ’I never expected the Innate Purple Qi could break through to an even higher level. If it does, what kind of benefits will I get?’

The first time his Innate Purple Qi broke through, his Pill Core had transformed into a Purple Crystal Core, causing his internal energy to surge. It had made him invincible among Martial Artists of the same level.

Even against an expert as terrifyingly powerful as the white-robed Han Mei—a Demoness at the Shattered Void realm—he had managed to hold on for an unbelievably long time before making his escape.

’Okay, so the escape was a bit of a mess.’ Even so, that Demoness, Han Mei, would have to admit that Qin Li was the strongest opponent she had ever encountered at his realm. After all, if she were only at the Venerable Realm, she would have been no match for him.

「On the fourth day.」

Just as She She was slowly absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to recover her strength, a vast Divine Sense suddenly descended, blanketing the area above them.

’She’s here!’

A thought flickered in Qin Li’s mind. He immediately released the small amount of Innate Purple Qi he had just absorbed, letting it fill the entire cave.

The Divine Sense was powerful and ice-cold. Clearly, in just three days, the woman had already made a full recovery.

This was not welcome news for Qin Li.

The Divine Sense in the sky swept back and forth across the island several times before finally disappearing.

Qin Li heaved a long sigh of relief, but he didn’t let his guard down. There was no telling when that woman might return. Their top priority was to recover their strength as quickly as possible.

Sure enough, that evening, the Divine Sense returned to sweep the island several more times. It was only thanks to Qin Li’s own incredibly powerful Divine Sense—which was even stronger than Han Mei’s—that they weren’t discovered. Otherwise, such a sudden probe might have exposed their location.

The fifth day, the sixth day... all the way until the ninth day!

The Divine Sense descended two or three times each day, and Qin Li and She She couldn’t help but marvel at their pursuer’s persistence. By now, both of them had almost fully recovered. They hadn’t left the cave once during that time.

Although the dense jungle provided cover, to a Martial Artist at the Shattered Void realm, it didn’t matter how many trees there were; they could see straight to the roots with a single glance.

The slightest unusual movement would be instantly detected.

High in the sky, the white-robed Han Mei wore an expression of frustration. She had already wasted too many days here. She had scoured every island within a several-hundred-li radius multiple times, yet she hadn’t found a single trace of the pair.

She had spotted a boat moored in a hidden cove on one of the islands. Initially, she thought it might be connected to them, but after observing it for several days, she realized it was just a fishing boat. Other than one person who was barely noteworthy, the rest were ordinary people.

The slightly stronger one, she judged, was likely just using the boat to search for medicinal herbs on the island, while the others spent their days fishing.

Thus, she didn’t even entertain the thought of going down to question them. They simply didn’t belong to the same world. A person as proud as her had no interest in speaking with mere commoners.

This caused Han Mei to miss her last chance to uncover any information about Qin Li. She hovered in mid-air, gazing down at the vast sea and the islands dotted across its surface, her heart filled with disappointment.

Her two junior brothers had been poisoned to death, and now not even their ashes remained. Pain and an immense sense of failure filled Han Mei’s heart.

In three days, she had to leave and hurry back to her sect. But she still hadn’t found all the Spirit Flowers she had come out to search for. She couldn’t afford any more delays.

Two of her junior brothers were dead. If she returned without having found all the Spirit Flowers, she would truly be too ashamed to face her sect.

As this thought crossed her mind, the white-robed woman let out a sharp, furious shriek in mid-air. Her figure then flashed, transforming into a white streak that vanished into the sky.

Qin Li and the Snake Woman exchanged a glance, both seeing the relief in the other’s eyes.

She She whispered, "Master, I owe you my life."

Qin Li smiled and shook his head. A cold glint flashed in his narrowed eyes as he said, "Let’s go. First to Leng Yao’s, and then... we’ll search for Spirit Flowers!"

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