Only I am Venerable

Chapter 277: Chapter 275: The Terrifying Golden Eagle

"You... who are you?" Elder Jin supported Elder Tie with one arm. His eyes were fixed on the white-haired old man walking slowly toward them. "You’re not from the Qin Family," he said in a chilling tone. "Why are you getting involved in this mess? This is a private grudge between the Thousand Kills Sect and the Qin Family!"

"I am Lin Yang," the white-haired old man said with a calm and composed expression. "I don’t care what private grudge you have with the Qin Family. I will not kill you, but you can forget about laying a single finger on anyone from the Qin family!"

The surrounding crowd couldn’t help but gasp when they heard this. Many stared at the white-haired old man in astonishment. It wasn’t because he said he would protect the Qin Family; it was common knowledge that the Qin Family was allied with the Lin Family and the Thousand Mechanism Sect, so it was normal for allies to help each other. What astonished them was the name the white-haired old man had just announced!

It was a name that had shaken Profound Island six hundred years ago!

Lin Yang. He was the Patriarch of the Lin Family—one of the Seven Great Powers of Profound Island—six hundred years ago. His mastery of the Lin Family’s Slaying Sword technique was sublime, and he had reached the Venerable Realm at the age of one hundred and thirty. He could be called a genius of his generation!

Almost all of the older generation on Profound Island had grown up hearing the legendary stories of Lin Yang’s exploits!

After entering the Venerable Realm, Lin Yang had dominated the Martial World of Profound Island for many more years before finally vanishing without a trace. Countless people had speculated that the man who had been a powerhouse for centuries had long since passed away from old age. No one had expected him to appear on Black Tortoise Peak today!

Elder Jin was from roughly the same era as Lin Yang, though the two had never crossed paths. Still, he had heard of the name. He pulled back Elder Tie, who still wanted to charge forward, and with a sallow face full of rage, said slowly, "Fine. Very good! What a show of force, Lin Yang. I’ll concede. I’d like to see what fate awaits your Lin Family for interfering in the grudges of others!"

"Say one more word, and I’ll kill you," Lin Yang said coolly, without even raising his eyelids.

Elder Jin gave a bitter laugh, picked up Elder Yu’s skeletal remains, and walked away without looking back. "You all think so highly of that Qin Li. I’m afraid it won’t be long before he falls, too!"

His words were venomous, striking the hearts of everyone from the Qin family like a heavy hammer. Qin Hanyue looked up at the cliff with a desolate expression, praying in her heart that nothing would happen to her son.

The members of the families and Sects below all had different thoughts. Some were worried for Qin Li, while others gloated over his misfortune. The happiest were probably the members of the Cui Family. Their faces were all filled with such joy that they looked ready to burst out laughing on the spot.

Shangguan Shiyu stood there silently, like a quietly blooming lotus flower. She was as pure as ice and jade, exuding an aura of tranquility that made it impossible for anyone to harbor even a single profane thought about this peerless beauty.

...

"Hey! I say, brother, can we sit down and talk about this? I didn’t steal your eggs, and I didn’t invade your territory, so why are you chasing me so relentlessly? There’s not even enough meat on my bones to get stuck in your teeth!"

Qin Li twisted and turned on the cliff face, dodging the massive Golden Eagle’s relentless attacks. He didn’t know what had happened to Elder Yu, though he knew the man had also been attacked. But right now, he had no time to worry about others; he could barely fend for himself.

The massive Golden Eagle seemed determined to wear Qin Li down. In a game of cat and mouse, Qin Li had already climbed to a height of twenty-seven or twenty-eight *li*, more than halfway up the cliff!

At such a high altitude, the flowing clouds and mist had thinned out. As a result, that captivating streak of purple on the horizon came into Qin Li’s view. At the same time, another shocking discovery nearly caused him to be hit by one of the Golden Eagle’s strikes!

A storm of shock raged in his heart!

This was why Qin Li had suddenly spoken to the Golden Eagle. However, the massive bird clearly had no interest in communicating with him. It was furious right now. A human who was obviously so weak had actually managed to withstand its attacks and hold on for so long. For a king of the skies like itself, this was an utter disgrace!

Therefore, even if only to preserve its dignity, it had to tear this damn human to shreds today!

All the Spirit Beasts on Black Tortoise Peak knew about the descent of the Golden Palace, which occurred once every seventy years. They all understood that it was a powerful existence showing compassion and care for humanity.

Therefore, they didn’t dare attack the humans on the Xuanwu Platform. However, any human who dared to leave the platform’s vicinity and step into their territory would incite a frenzied attack from all the Spirit Beasts on Black Tortoise Peak!

A fight to the death!

So, the moment it spotted Qin Li, the Golden Eagle had decided to attack this audacious human. It just hadn’t expected this human to be more difficult to deal with than any opponent it had ever faced in its life!

As a hegemon of the skies, the Golden Eagle had virtually no natural enemies! Its opponents were either more powerful beings it couldn’t defeat, or creatures it could kill with a single swipe of its claws. It had never encountered someone like Qin Li, who was as slippery as an eel.

What the Golden Eagle found most disgraceful was that its two subordinates had already completed their tasks, while it—their superior—had yet to kill this cunning human!

’How can I tolerate such a thing?’

BOOM!

Another wave of immense power shot out from the Golden Eagle’s enormous wings, blasting toward the cliff face where Qin Li clung.

Instantly, rock fragments flew everywhere. Boulders and pebbles alike turned into a sky-filling rain of stone, exploding outwards.

Qin Li retracted his Blood-Drinking Divine Sword. His hands drew a circle in the air—a Tai Chi move—gathering the boulders. Then, with a forceful push, he sent them hurtling toward the Golden Eagle.

The Golden Eagle let out an enraged cry and flapped its wings fiercely again. The stones were blasted back along their original path, but by now, Qin Li was already dozens of meters higher.

The rocks on this cliff, which had existed for who knows how many tens of thousands of years, had the worst luck. Large sections crumbled and fell. Qin Li continued to climb upward, simultaneously circulating his Innate Purple Qi Technique. In the sky, mesmerizing and incredibly brilliant strands of Innate Purple Qi condensed into threads and shot toward his body.

The vast, sea-like energy fluctuation startled the Golden Eagle, which had been about to attack again. It immediately halted its assault, its pair of golden eyes staring intently at Qin Li, who was now enveloped in Innate Purple Qi. An incredibly greedy light shone from its eyes!

As Spirit Beasts, they actually understood this kind of pure, natural energy far better than humans did!

This Golden Eagle usually absorbed Solar Power. Thus, it coveted the Innate Purple Qi Qin Li was absorbing, so much so that it wished it could devour this human on the spot!

From far below, two more cries echoed. They were from its two underlings—minions, you could call them. They were slightly weaker than the Golden Eagle and incredibly loyal, but the eagle also knew that if the day ever came when those two giant eagles surpassed it in strength, their relationship would be reversed!

That was why the Golden Eagle never dared to slack off in its cultivation. If it hadn’t encountered this human, it would have been perched at the very summit of Black Tortoise Peak right now, preparing to absorb the Solar Power contained within the sun’s brilliant rays.

It had originally intended to have its two subordinates flank the human and see where he could run. But upon seeing the purple qi emanating from Qin Li, the Golden Eagle instantly changed its mind. It let out a majestic cry toward the space below.

The two black giant eagles below flapped their wings and flew off in different directions.

Their boss had told them that there was nothing for them to do and they could leave.

The Golden Eagle gazed greedily at Qin Li, maintaining its balance in the sky. This was already an extremely high altitude, and powerful astral winds blew through the air from time to time, but they clearly had no effect on the Golden Eagle.

Qin Li also sensed that the Golden Eagle had stopped attacking and breathed a sigh of relief. His stamina had just been on the verge of depletion. Although he could absorb Spiritual Qi extremely quickly, it was far inferior to the pure Innate Purple Qi!

Moreover, the Innate Purple Qi at this altitude was so potent it made Qin Li’s very soul tremble. This was the purest Innate Purple Qi he had ever absorbed since he started cultivating the Innate Purple Qi Technique!

’I’m only halfway up the mountain, and the Innate Purple Qi is already this pure. If I could cultivate at the summit of Black Tortoise Peak every day, at what terrifying rate would my cultivation level rise?’

Qin Li’s heart surged with excitement. Furthermore, his gaze fell on something in the distance. The discovery he had just made left him feeling utterly dumbfounded. It was simply... too incredible!

The Innate Purple Qi frantically nourished Qin Li’s body. The terrifying Golden Eagle was still circling in the sky, its eyes fixed on him. But at this moment, Qin Li decided to go all out. He had no other choice but to keep climbing.

Because this damn Black Tortoise Cliff was nothing but a sheer, knife-cut rock face from bottom to top!

It was completely bare. He hadn’t encountered a single plant!

Seeing that Qin Li had started climbing again, the Golden Eagle became furious. It abandoned its previous long-range attacks and dove toward Qin Li like a bolt of lightning.

A sky-shaking pressure came with it. If not for Qin Li’s incredibly tough body and immense Spiritual Power, he would have been unable to resist the pressure alone.

But what had allowed Qin Li to evade the Golden Eagle for so long was his sublime Lightweight Skill!

Qin Li was using it to its absolute limit!

In the past, Qin Li had never imagined that the Lightweight Skill he brought with him from his previous life could be pushed to such repeated breakthroughs, reaching a level that was almost mystical!

Just like now. Qin Li’s body was pressed against the cliff, but he only occasionally used a hand or foot to touch an outcropping. Most of the time, he was ascending diagonally!

Even the most skilled gecko would blush with shame if it saw Qin Li... uh, if geckos could blush, that is.

Qin Li’s body zig-zagged continuously up the cliff. Gradually, the attacking Golden Eagle seemed to grow more and more agitated, and the frequency of its attacks increased, leaving Qin Li somewhat exhausted from fending them off.

At the same time, he sensed that another powerful aura seemed to have appeared!

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Phew, I’m already half-asleep. The exhaustion from traveling these past few days hasn’t completely faded yet. To make sure I can get up and churn out more Chapters for everyone tomorrow, I’m stopping at five Chapters today!

Tomorrow... I’ll continue tomorrow!

Even though I’m just paying back my Chapter debt, I’m still going to shamelessly ask for recommendation votes. Everyone has them, and it only takes a tap of your finger, so don’t be too lazy. Just think of it as encouraging the diligent Xiaodao!

As for monthly tickets... uh... it would be great if you have any... As you all know, I won’t refuse if you vote with them... (To be continued. If you want to know what happens next, please log in to www.qidian.com. More Chapters, support the author, and support legitimate reading!)