Only I am Venerable

Chapter 279: Chapter 277: Golden Palace

A massive Golden Palace, a full thousand meters tall, its highest peak seeming to pierce the very heavens! At this moment, it stood silently atop Black Tortoise Peak!

"Go... Golden Palace!" Qin Li stared, dumbfounded, at the majestic, enormous palace before him. In that instant, his mind went blank, almost losing all capacity for thought.

The Golden Palace was a thousand meters high. Compared to it, Qin Li was like a tiny ant. The entire palace was built from enormous golden bricks, each one over ten meters long and more than three meters thick! Between the bricks, only a hairline crack was visible. It seemed impossible to slip even the thinnest of blades between them!

It was roughly 1,500 meters long, with carved beams and painted rafters. Though possessing a classical elegance, it was made entirely of gold. It was, through and through... a city of gold!

It sat there silently, atop the peak of Black Tortoise Peak. When the morning sun struck the Golden Palace, it cast a reflection so brilliant you couldn’t keep your eyes open!

Qin Li couldn’t resist using the Cloud Ladder Jump. His body rose gracefully, soaring over the towering palace before him. When he looked back, he couldn’t help but gasp again. The structure stretched on for several miles! Rooms of all sizes were arranged in an elegant, sprawling layout, interspersed with pavilions, terraces, artificial mountains, and waterside gazebos. Qin Li even saw water flowing in ponds, with various flowers and trees growing in perfect arrangements. With a single glance, he could tell that none of these plants were ordinary!

Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple—every color imaginable was present. No matter the species, each plant was like a jade carving, crystalline and lustrous, emanating a potent Spiritual Power.

The Spiritual Qi emanating from the flora enveloped the entire Golden Palace, constantly washing over Qin Li’s senses and leaving him utterly spellbound.

This was nothing short of a massive imperial palace!

What kind of person could afford to live in a palace made entirely of gold? The main hall in particular, was absolutely massive and radiated an overwhelming, domineering aura!

What Qin Li found most unbelievable was that the Golden Palace was clearly ancient, yet he couldn’t detect the slightest trace of age or wear. As for the profound sense of history and the weathering of ages one would expect, there was absolutely none!

It was as if... it had been built just yesterday!

Qin Li’s gaze fell upon the palace’s base, which stood over a hundred meters tall. His brow twitched. A golden foundation a mile wide, several miles long, and a hundred meters thick... it alone would be enough to exhaust the gold reserves of countless nations.

The windows of the Golden Palace were as transparent as gemstones, radiating a dazzling, mesmerizing array of colors under the sunlight.

"Holy hell!" After staring for a long while, Qin Li couldn’t help but curse aloud. ’Like gemstones, my ass! These are clearly enormous, polished crystals, set into golden window frames!’

’Wait a minute...’ Qin Li frowned. He suddenly realized something. ’The legends I’ve heard about the Golden Palace... they weren’t like this at all!’

’No one ever said the Golden Palace was like a massive imperial palace. In all the legends, it’s just this single, enormous main hall. There was never any mention of a giant courtyard behind it!’

Little did Qin Li know that the Golden Palace he was witnessing was in its state before its Array was activated. In all of history, of all who had come to Profound Island, he was the very first person to be fortunate enough to behold its true form!

What’s more, a sense of dread washed over Qin Li. The Golden Palace was deathly silent, without the slightest sign of life. ’So, how does it appear on the Xuanwu Platform once every seventy years? And how does it leave after each tournament for the Venerables?’

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Qin Li descended from the sky, landing several hundred meters from the Golden Palace, and called out cautiously.

Only silence answered. Qin Li shook his head and turned to look at the endless sea of clouds at his feet and the distant horizon. A sudden, profound sense of desolate loneliness washed over him.

’What kind of world is this?’ Qin Li shook his head with a self-deprecating smile, then turned back around. His expression firm with resolve, he began walking toward the Golden Palace.

’How can I enter a mountain of treasure and return empty-handed?’

But when he was still fifty meters away from the Golden Palace, Qin Li found he could not advance another inch!

A gentle, yet unbelievably tenacious, force stopped him. Even when Qin Li erupted with his full strength, he couldn’t advance even half a step!

Qin Li was horrified. ’What is going on? Don’t tell me the Golden Palace is protected by some kind of barrier?’

With this in mind, Qin Li suddenly retracted his power and probed the area with his Divine Sense instead. Like flowing quicksilver, his Divine Sense passed through the invisible barrier without any resistance. The moment it touched the long golden steps, however, it felt as if a colossal hammer had slammed down upon it. The resulting shockwave in his Sea of Consciousness made Qin Li feel as if he’d been struck by lightning. His face paled, and he stumbled back a dozen steps, staring in absolute horror at the silent Golden Palace.

’It’s unbelievably powerful!’ Based on Qin Li’s current strength, even an ordinary Venerable Realm Martial Artist wouldn’t necessarily possess a Divine Sense as strong as his, yet he couldn’t even get past the palace steps!

If he hadn’t reacted so quickly, he would have been severely injured from that one blow.

Qin Li rubbed his head, his face still pale. ’That was a vicious blow.’ He had never suffered such a severe mental attack. If he hadn’t just broken through to the Celestial Embracing Realm, his injuries would have been far more serious.

With a wry smile, Qin Li walked toward the side of the Golden Palace. It was enclosed by golden walls over fifty meters high, giving it a magnificent air. The walls themselves were carved with exquisite, intricate strokes, the meaning of which Qin Li could not decipher.

After several failed attempts to enter from the sides, Qin Li felt a pang of frustration. He flew into the air, wanting to see if he could enter the palace’s rear courtyard from above. According to legend, the Golden Palace was filled with all sorts of combat techniques, Elixirs, Pill Formulas, and weapons. Every seventy years, the lucky few who gained entry could choose any three.

Flying up from the side of the Golden Palace, Qin Li attempted to descend into the courtyard, only to run into the same problem. He tried everything he could think of; even his normally infallible Innate Purple Qi was unable to penetrate the barrier.

Even with his steady and resolute temperament, Qin Li’s patience began to fray. He drew the Blood-Drinking Divine Sword and blasted a vicious streak of purple Sword Qi at the barrier.

BANG!

A thunderous crack echoed as an immense force rebounded, blasting Qin Li high into the sky. He managed to evade quickly enough to avoid injury, but his heart was pounding relentlessly in his chest.

’This thing is just too powerful,’ he thought. ’If I had a place like this, why would I fear retaliation from the Cui Family? If they caused trouble, I’d just drive this Golden Palace right over them. Venerable or not, I’d crush them all!’

After indulging in the fantasy for a moment, Qin Li resignedly retreated to the main entrance of the Golden Palace. He frowned and began to ponder.

’It’s obvious now. The Golden Palace must be a massive Magical Treasure powered by a formidable Array!’ Even though it looked like a real building, in his heart, Qin Li was certain it was a Magical Treasure.

’What kind of building can move on its own? Even the great city Prince Wu built back then couldn’t do... huh?’ Qin Li’s eyes suddenly snapped open, shining with an incredulous light. He suddenly had the strangest feeling that the massive Qingshi City that Prince Wu had built was somehow very similar to this Golden Palace!

To test his theory, Qin Li activated his Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, Only I am Venerable technique. With the Blood-Drinking Divine Sword in hand, he once again walked toward the Golden Palace.

The closer he got to the barrier, the more nervous Qin Li became. He had tried everything else, but he hadn’t yet tried to use his Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, Only I am Venerable technique.

’If this doesn’t work, I’m giving up for good,’ he decided. ’I’ll just climb back down the cliff. My family is probably getting anxious by now.’

Three steps... two steps... one step!

Qin Li stepped into the Golden Palace’s barrier and... passed through without any resistance whatsoever!

He was through!

Success!

A tremendous wave of joy washed over Qin Li, yet amidst his excitement, he was baffled. ’What in the world is this technique I’m practicing? How can it get me through a barrier as powerful as the one around the Golden Palace?’

Despite his questions, he didn’t stop. He walked until he reached the bottom of the long flight of steps. After a moment’s hesitation, he finally lifted his foot and began the slow ascent.

He silently recited the mantra for his Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, Only I am Venerable technique as he climbed hundreds of golden steps. When he reached the massive golden doors—over fifty meters high and twenty meters wide—they... swung open without a sound!

Revealed before Qin Li was a... magnificent, resplendent, golden hall!

Qin Li strode inside, and the doors closed just as silently behind him. They were over a meter thick, yet made no sound. Once shut, not a single sliver of light penetrated the seam.

And yet, the hall was not dark. The massive, polished crystal windows let in an incredible amount of light. The ceiling was a full hundred meters high, making anyone walking inside feel utterly minuscule.

Walking on the golden floor felt completely surreal. The hall was over 1,500 meters wide, just as it had appeared from the outside, and over 500 meters deep. But the entire first floor was completely empty. There was nothing here at all.

About fifty meters to his left, a spiral staircase led up to the next floor.

’Does that mean everyone who found treasures did so on the second floor?’

Just as Qin Li was thinking this, countless golden partitions suddenly dropped from the ceiling at a blinding speed!

In a flash, the entire vast hall was partitioned into countless small rooms, transforming into a... maze!