Only I am Venerable

So, after carefully hiding the map, Dragon Seal quietly had his wife take their eldest son to a relative’s house to stay for a while. Only then did he go alone to an inn where a group from the Land of the Far West was stationed.

And the group Dragon Seal sought out were none other than the people from the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace!

The Saintess of the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace, Han Mei, who had a feud with Qin Li, was right there among them!

Besides Han Mei, there were also several Elders and deacons from the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace. This group was extremely powerful; among all the forces from the Land of the Far West in Yellow Sand City, they could be considered the strongest!

This was because the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace was itself a major sect in the Land of the Far West. It was predominantly female and had marriage alliances with many of the great clans and major sects of the region, creating a tangled web of relationships. Furthermore, most of the sect’s disciples were naturally gifted. Supplemented by various Spiritual Medicines and practicing the best Cultivation and Combat Skills in the world, their strength was generally formidable.

Normally, the news that Dragon Seal had a Treasure Map and wanted to sell it to the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace should have been kept highly confidential. Anyone privy to such information would never leak it.

However, the world is never short of observant people. Dragon Seal, a local rich man from Yellow Sand City, suddenly appeared at the inn where the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace was staying. When he left, he was even personally escorted out by one of the sect’s high-ranking deacons.

This scene, witnessed by an observant individual, immediately sparked a great deal of speculation. While they couldn’t immediately conclude that Dragon Seal possessed the Ancient Map, they were certain he had related information—of that there was no doubt!

Otherwise, given the proud nature of the women from the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace, why would they possibly send a deacon to see him off?

So, it just goes to show that nothing escapes a watchful eye. A seemingly insignificant action by the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace had allowed someone to sense that something was afoot.

And the sect that noticed this was also from the Land of the Far West, but in terms of strength, they were far inferior to the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace!

They didn’t even dare to abduct Dragon Seal and force the information about the Treasure Map out of him, because if the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace found out, their entire sect could be annihilated!

And the person from this Small Sect who discovered the matter had a little bit of... history with the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace. It wasn’t a major feud, but years ago, this man had taken a fancy to a female disciple from the palace and wanted to propose marriage. Not only was he rejected, but he was also ridiculed by many of her peers. They said he was a toad lusting after a swan’s flesh!

This grudge wasn’t exactly deep, but it wasn’t shallow either. After all, it was a matter of a man’s dignity.

Thus, the very next day, a rumor began to circulate in Yellow Sand City: the wealthy magnate Dragon Seal knew the whereabouts of the Ancient Map and was going to sell this information to the experts from the Land of the Far West staying at the Ying Bafang Inn!

Instantly, all of Yellow Sand City was in an uproar!

One must understand, this was the first time in the six-plus months since the Divine Temple’s appearance that any concrete news about the Treasure Map had emerged. Previous rumors, such as the one about Qin Li of Profound Island having a map, had garnered attention, but many still dismissed them as baseless. This new rumor, however, sounded incredibly detailed and plausible. Moreover, many locals in Yellow Sand City actually knew Dragon Seal, who was a somewhat famous figure in the city.

Qin Li and Shangguan Shiyu only learned of this from Hu. Although Hu and this Dragon Seal weren’t close, they were nodding acquaintances. So, after hearing about the matter, Hu didn’t go to Qin Li right away. Instead, he went straight to Dragon Seal to verify the story himself.

Facing the most powerful man in Yellow Sand City, Dragon Seal wasn’t particularly afraid. Although his own strength was average, his worldly experience was vast. He may have been bullied and oppressed within his sect, but in the Mortal Realm, he feared nothing—especially now that he had the guarantee of the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace. Whoever dared to move against him, the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace would kill!

At the same time, Dragon Seal had also received a large quantity of Elixirs, Cultivation Techniques, combat skills, and treasures from the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace. Moreover, the sect had promised Dragon Seal that if he sold them the map, they would consider accepting him as an Outer Disciple! They would teach him a profound Cultivation Technique and enable him to break through to the Venerable Realm within a dozen years or so!

Furthermore, until Dragon Seal broke through to the Venerable Realm, the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace would even dispatch someone to be stationed here year-round, essentially providing him with a powerful bodyguard!

Dragon Seal had never dreamed of such terms and agreed on the spot. But unexpectedly, before the two parties could complete the transaction, the news had been leaked.

However, when facing Hu, Dragon Seal naturally denied everything, claiming it was all baseless. If he really had a Treasure Map, why would he possibly take it out instead of saving it for his descendants?

Although Hu didn’t get any useful information from Dragon Seal, that didn’t stop him from noticing something was amiss. In Dragon Seal’s home, Hu saw a strange woman, as Cold as Frost and completely silent. Although she didn’t exude any powerful aura, Hu’s years of adventuring experience allowed him to instinctively sense a dangerous presence from her.

After Hu had quietly left, Shangguan Shiyu asked softly, "My dear, the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace... is that the place where Bu and the others went?"

Qin Li nodded and said with a smile, "I heard that sect’s Saintess, Han Mei, has shown up again. That woman hates me to the bone, but with my current appearance, there’s no way she could ever guess it’s me, let alone recognize me."

Shangguan Shiyu covered her mouth and giggled. "You seem to attract the attention of girls wherever you go!"

Qin Li broke out in a sweat. ’What does that have to do with anything?’ he thought. ’She hates me, alright?’

After teasing Qin Li, Shiyu asked, "So what should we do? I hear the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace sent quite a few people this time. Just dealing with the Saintess, Han Mei, is difficult enough. With so many of them, trying to gain an advantage will be next to impossible. And now that Dragon Seal is under their protection, targeting him will be even harder."

Shiyu continued, adding in a quiet voice, "Besides, from what Hu said, that Dragon Seal isn’t some terribly wicked person. We can’t just forcefully snatch it from his hands."

Qin Li sighed softly. "You’re right. As much as we’re trying to be ’bad guys,’ we still have our principles and a bottom line. I wouldn’t do something like that either. However... that map... we have to get it, no matter what! In any case, just watch. Now that this news is out, it won’t be so easy for the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace to get their hands on that Ancient Map!"

Meanwhile, in her room at the inn, the Saintess of the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace, Han Mei, was throwing a furious tantrum.

Han Mei hadn’t been punished for the last incident, not even with a verbal reprimand. Everyone knew she was the favored daughter of heaven in the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace, the hope for its future. Moreover, the Saintess’s position was second only to the Sect Leader, ranking even higher than the Elders.

Who would be foolish enough to go against someone with such a promising future?

But behind her back, people were definitely still talking. After all, her team had suffered several losses, failed to obtain the Spirit Flower, and failed to capture the descendant with the bloodline of a Hou. The entire team had returned to the sect in disgrace, having suffered a silent defeat.

Although no one ever mentioned it to her face, those who disliked her mocked her in private. They said that Han Mei, venting her personal anger, had implicated the deceased, only to end up empty-handed and made a fool of by her enemy.

Though no one dared to say these things to her face, how could Han Mei not sense the strange atmosphere? The pressure on her instantly mounted. Naturally, her hatred for Qin Li grew even more intense.

When the Divine Temple appeared this time, she had once again volunteered to come to the East. Her goal was to see if she could run into that despicable man who had made her the laughingstock of the entire sect. Then, she would cripple him without fail, drag him back to the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace, and make him the most lowly of servants!

Of course, she hadn’t encountered that man. In truth, Han Mei knew that finding him again would be like searching for a needle in the Great Sea. However, obtaining the Ancient Map would be a tremendous boon to her reputation within the sect. Not only would it make all her past failures vanish into thin air, but it would also elevate her prestige in the sect to a whole new level!

As a sect from the Land of the Far West, their understanding of the Divine Temple was clearly far greater than that of these Martial Artists from the East. She knew the importance of the Divine Temple very well, and she knew even better what a complete Ancient Map signified!

She had been on the verge of obtaining the Ancient Map, yet in the process, something had gone wrong... again! Some damn person had spread the news, and in the last three days, seven or eight different groups had already come to visit or "congratulate" them. Their purpose, of course, was to try and pry some information out of them.

Naturally, they wouldn’t admit to any of it. Yes, the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace was a major sect in the Land of the Far West, but the problem was, it wasn’t the *only* major sect there!

Once something like this became public knowledge, it would be impossible for their sect to monopolize the enormous benefits involved.

Han Mei looked at the others in the room and said coldly, "This matter must be investigated until the truth comes to light. Find out who leaked such crucial information! If I find out who it was, I will show no mercy!"

The only ones who knew about this were the five Moon Shaking Immortal Palace Elders and three high-ranking deacons in the room. Although their status was slightly lower than Han Mei’s, most of them were over five hundred years old, and their strength... was not the least bit inferior to hers!

Therefore, in response to Han Mei’s rude and unforgiving words, the expressions on the faces of the eight people in the room couldn’t help but change.

One of them, a woman in a dark red dress who looked to be in her thirties with the appearance of a young madam, spoke in a soft, delicate voice, "Saintess, what do you mean by that? Surely... you don’t suspect that one of us deliberately leaked this information?"

After the young madam-like woman finished speaking, indignant expressions appeared on the faces of the other seven.

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