Only I am Venerable

’But where did all the people from this large village go? Did they flee? If they fled, then how has this Mysterious Land remained undiscovered for so many years?’

’If they died, why isn’t there a single skeleton here? And it doesn’t look like anything was destroyed either.’

Just then, Qin Li’s expression changed. He sent a message to Shiyu: "Someone’s coming this way!" As he spoke, he reached out and pulled the door to the house shut.

The two of them had been very careful when entering the village, taking care not to trample the overgrown grass. However, if it was a Spirit Beast that was coming, it could still track them by scent.

Inside the house, however, Qin Li was confident he could use his Innate Purple Qi to conceal all traces of them.

This meant that if the newcomer was a Spirit Beast, it would only be able to track them to the entrance of this courtyard. Then... the trail would go completely cold.

Unless, of course, they could enter the house. But if that happened, Qin Li and Shangguan Shiyu would have the upper hand.

At the very least, landing a surprise attack would be a simple matter.

He figured the enemy wouldn’t be reckless enough to just charge into the house. If they were smart, they would flatten the building with a single strike, forcing Qin Li and Shangguan Shiyu out into the open.

However, seeing that these buildings had been uninhabited for decades, perhaps even a century, yet were still perfectly intact, suggested that these Spirit Beasts weren’t the type to engage in wanton destruction.

Qin Li’s Divine Sense spread out limitlessly, flowing like mercury across the ground. When he perceived the newcomers, he was startled. Among them was someone whose power seemed immense—so much so that they had nearly discovered him!

The other party seemed extremely sensitive to Divine Sense. Although they hadn’t felt anything specific as Qin Li’s sense swept past, they had still stopped, a pair of gloomy eyes scanning the village that had been deserted for so many years.

The people with him all stopped as well. A few of them had a complex look in their eyes as they gazed at the buildings, though it vanished in an instant.

Qin Li sent a message to Shiyu: "Be careful. There’s an incredibly powerful individual in this group! Sixteen people in total. If things go south, we’ll escape. Worst case... we find another Mysterious Land!"

’The Qin Family seems safe for now, but if an enemy deliberately led that group from the Land of the Far West to Profound Island, the Qin Family would be in grave danger.’

’Especially since Ma Wuchang and the others died at my hands. Even though they were just a few grunts from Lengqiu Palace, it’s highly likely that Lengqiu Palace is a Sect run by a Purple Eyes!’

’If they’ve come to the East this time and enter Profound Island, they could easily investigate the cause of Ma Wuchang’s death. If they can’t find me then, it’s not impossible they’d take their anger out on the Qin Family.’

Therefore, to avoid any complications from delay, Qin Li’s plan was to find a place to settle his family as quickly as possible. If this place was truly occupied by an overwhelmingly powerful Spirit Beast, he would flee without a moment’s hesitation.

Any other schemes would have to wait for another day. Right now, he simply didn’t have the time.

Time ticked by, second by second.

The person Qin Li had sensed outside was hideously ugly. One of his eyes was large, the other small. His sparse, yellow hair was braided into small pigtails that hung down the back of his head. His face was a crisscrossing mess of wrinkles, like a landscape of ravines. A terrifying sight even in broad daylight, at night he would be scarier than any ghost.

Despite his appearance, all the newcomers were gathered around this man, clearly following his lead.

There were sixteen people in the group. Four or five of them, while not what you’d call handsome, at least weren’t frightening to look at. And you could tell from their eyes that these four or five were most likely human.

The others were all a motley crew of ugliness—crooked mouths, slanted eyes, or just disproportionate features. They were as hideous as could be.

"Great Witch Master, why have we stopped?" a human-looking Martial Artist asked with a deferential expression.

SLAP!

A loud, crisp slap landed squarely on the human Martial Artist’s face. A short, ugly fellow, thin as a reed, bellowed, "Insolence! Is the Great Witch Master’s business something a lowly creature like you has the right to question?"

The creature was monstrously ugly, but he spoke the human tongue with perfect fluency.

A flash of resentment appeared deep in the beaten Martial Artist’s eyes, but he quickly lowered his head and said repeatedly, "I was wrong. This lowly one was wrong!"

"Hmph. Seeing this place reminds you of your past, doesn’t it?" the stick-thin ugly creature sneered. "Don’t bother reminiscing. The era of you hideous humans is completely over! This land belongs to the Divine Beasts!"

"Silence!"

A faint but dignified voice rang out, instantly shutting the ugly creature’s mouth.

After speaking, the monstrously ugly old man tilted his head and glanced at the man who had just been slapped, along with the few other normal-looking humans. A flicker of disgust crossed his eyes. "You, you... and you. The five of you, go. Search every single house for me!"

The normal-looking humans were furious but dared not show it. They obediently stepped forward and began to go from house to house, opening each door, searching carefully inside, then retreating to move on to the next. They didn’t dare be careless, because they knew the Great Witch Master’s power was terrifyingly immense. If they tried to deceive him, the consequence would be having their hearts and lungs ripped out and being eaten alive.

"What do we do?" Shangguan Shiyu looked at Qin Li, asking anxiously.

Searching like this, it would be all too easy for the enemy to find them. Besides, Qin Li had just shared his speculations with Shiyu.

Shiyu felt a great deal of sympathy for the people forced to conduct the search and didn’t want to harm them. She was especially furious when she heard the creature outside say "...you hideous humans."

’Since when do Spirit Beasts have the right to critique human appearances?’ What baffled Shiyu even more was that Spirit Beasts could shape their appearance to be more perfect during their Transformation. ’So why are these Spirit Beasts each uglier than the last?’

"Don’t be afraid. Worst case, we just run for it," Qin Li said with a grin. To be honest, he didn’t feel particularly nervous.

’That old guy—the so-called Great Witch Master—is hard to read and extremely sensitive to Divine Sense, but his power might not even be that much greater than Shiyu’s.’

’Even if he’s an expert at the Shattering the Core and Forming an Infant realm, so what? If we can’t beat him, can’t we still run?’

Moreover, Qin Li’s incredibly powerful Divine Sense had keenly detected a deep-seated yet intense hatred stirring in the hearts of the seemingly human Martial Artists sent by the Great Witch Master.

’In other words, these Martial Artists sent to search by the Great Witch Master are very likely the former inhabitants of this village!’

Just as he was thinking this, the door to their room creaked open. The person who entered clearly saw Qin Li and Shangguan Shiyu, yet made no reaction at all. He simply searched the room thoroughly, then turned and walked out.

He treated Qin Li and Shangguan Shiyu as if they were nothing but air!

After the man left, a dumbfounded Shangguan Shiyu sent a mental message to Qin Li, "You... how did you do that? Why couldn’t he see us? Heavens... have you already reached the Shattered Void realm? Did you just use spatial Magic?"

Qin Li reached out and affectionately tapped Shangguan Shiyu’s nose, sending back a doting, smiling message. "It’s not that miraculous. It wasn’t that he couldn’t see us—he just chose to ignore us!"

"Chose to ignore us? What do you mean?" Shangguan Shiyu was like a curious child now, her earlier nervousness completely forgotten in the moment.

"Before he came in, I sent him a message. I told him I was in this house and that he shouldn’t give anything away, but to find a chance to contact me later."

"That’s it?"

"Of course. What did you expect?"

Shangguan Shiyu’s delicate brows furrowed slightly. Her incredibly expressive eyes darted all over Qin Li. "No, that can’t be right. When you sent him a message, wouldn’t he have been startled to suddenly hear a stranger’s voice? Didn’t you say that old freak—oh, I mean, the Great Witch Master—is extremely sensitive? Wouldn’t he have sensed it?"

Qin Li smiled. "That comes down to experience. You saw him, didn’t you? The man who just came in, his cheek was swollen high. He’s the one who just got slapped, right?"

Shangguan Shiyu nodded, a flash of anger in her eyes. "Yes, he was the one who was hit. Those hideous creatures are truly despicable!"

"He was slapped so viciously, yet he showed no reaction and was even able to apologize immediately. What do you think that means?" Qin Li asked, smiling as he guided Shangguan Shiyu’s thoughts.

"It means... it means he’s either become numb to it all, or... he’s someone who has incredible self-restraint!" Shiyu’s dark eyebrows, shaped like distant mountains, twitched slightly as she had a realization. "I get it now! He’s a master of forbearance, with a resolute character. The type to remain calm no matter what happens?"

Qin Li nodded, giving Shangguan Shiyu an approving look, but inwardly he hesitated. ’Should I really get involved in this mess?’ Clearly, this place wasn’t devoid of humans; in fact, there were likely quite a few. For some unknown reason, a large number of powerful Spirit Beasts had appeared, defeated the humans, but instead of slaughtering them all as Spirit Beasts usually would, they had chosen to enslave them instead!

’My arrival with Shiyu has clearly given that man a pleasant surprise. After all, this is the first time in all these years they’ve seen a Martial Artist capable of evading the Great Witch Master’s Divine Sense!’

’In other words, the days of humanity’s enslavement might just change because of these two mysterious arrivals!’

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