Chapter 302: Chapter 300: The Mysterious 4 Venerables
Cui Buping had been in closed-door cultivation for many years, reaching the peak of the Human Venerable realm. Yet at this moment, his face was a mask of caution, as if he were deeply wary of the four old men beside him.
"Four Venerables, what do you think of this place? Is it to your satisfaction?" Cui Buping whispered to one of them—a skinny, tall old man who looked like a beanpole.
"Hmph." The skinny, tall old man grunted in reply. The sound seemed to come from his nostrils, carrying a natural, unaffected arrogance.
An excited flush appeared on Cui Buping’s face. He raised his voice slightly, and it echoed through the vast, empty underground city.
"Wonderful! Great Venerable, if you like it, I will give this place to you as a future base of operations for your expansion here!"
The skinny, tall old man nodded slightly, his eyes as still as an ancient well. Despite receiving such a valuable gift, he showed no hint of excitement, as if the other man had just done something utterly insignificant.
He turned his head, glancing at the grimy old beggar and his unnaturally positioned left arm. "Third Brother," he said flatly, "tell me the details of your injury. And... the Golden Palace has actually appeared on Profound Island. You can tell me about that too. Cui Buping, why is it that when I came here a century ago, you never once mentioned the Golden Palace? Do you have any idea how much importance Lengqiu Palace places on it?"
Cui Buping stood frozen for a long moment before replying, "This... Your subordinate was truly unaware of the Golden Palace’s importance to the Venerables’ Sect. This was my failure..."
"Enough. I can’t blame you for it." The skinny, tall old man waved his hand dismissively and sighed softly. Then he smiled at the other two old men. "To think, this Profound Island really does hide some great secrets!"
Seeing that the skinny, tall old man didn’t intend to blame him, Cui Buping wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and finally breathed a sigh of relief. ’At this point, I can’t afford to have any other ideas. Cooperating with Lengqiu Palace has allowed the Cui Family’s hidden strength to forcefully surpass the other six super-factions. That’s something I wouldn’t have even dared to dream of before!’
The old beggar curled his lip and cursed, "Damn it, that little bastard is slippery as an eel. I fell for his dirty trick. I should have killed him the moment he started stalling for time! I never expected such a powerful Martial Artist to show up. Her strength is definitely not below mine!"
As he spoke, the old beggar suddenly looked at a refined-looking old man beside him and cackled strangely. "Fourth Brother, that woman is still a virgin, and she’s incredibly beautiful! With strength on par with mine, she’s definitely a top-quality Tripod Furnace, perfect for Absorption!"
Upon hearing this, the refined old man’s eyes lit up. "Really?" he asked.
The old beggar snorted. "When have I ever lied?"
"Excellent. That woman is mine!" The refined old man’s expression revealed a hint of excitement. ’A virgin at the peak of the Celestial Venerable realm is truly hard to find. Back at our Sect, I can’t do this sort of thing openly. I never thought I’d reap such a reward just by coming to Profound Island with Eldest Brother this time!’
The skinny, tall old man showed no displeasure. He simply said flatly, "Is that boy, Qin Li, really so remarkable? However, our grand plan absolutely cannot be ruined by anyone! Therefore, that boy must die. Although Third Brother failed to kill him this time, he at least managed to probe his depths..."
As he spoke, the skinny, tall old man glanced at the bitter-faced old man who had remained silent. "Second Brother, I’ll have to trouble you to make a trip. Kill that boy. Oh, and didn’t Fourth Brother want that woman? The two of you can go together to ensure nothing goes wrong. I’ll say it again: our grand plan cannot afford any mistakes! Also, where do you all think the Golden Palace could be hidden?"
Cui Buping finally got a chance to speak. Although the four Venerables didn’t seem to mind speaking in front of him, he understood that if he dared to leak even half a sentence of what they said, it would surely lead to his own death.
"Four Venerables, regarding the location of the Golden Palace, I believe I have a couple of things to say."
"Oh? Speak!" The skinny, tall old man’s eyes locked onto Cui Buping as he said with utmost seriousness, "If you can find the Golden Palace, the merit will be no less than finding that complete Ancient Map! I can even recommend you to the Sect to become an Outer Sect Steward. At that point, your status will be equal to ours! If our great undertaking succeeds, the Cui Family’s destiny will be completely transformed!"
Cui Buping’s face flushed with excitement. "I understand, I understand!" he said repeatedly. "I will be sure to tell you everything I know!"
"Mm, go on." The skinny, tall old man seemed extremely interested in the Golden Palace.
Over a hundred years ago, they had discovered Profound Island by chance. After entering, they sought out the Cui Family, one of the strongest factions on Profound Island at the time. They went directly to the Cui Family Master and, just by revealing a fraction of their power, completely intimidated Cui Buping, who was then at the peak of the Celestial Embracing Realm. Even the Cui Family’s Supreme Elder, an old ancestor with the strength of the Celestial Shattering Realm who had rushed over upon hearing the news, was suppressed by the skinny, tall old man’s aura. Though the ancestor could have resisted, he was clearly no match for him.
Not to mention, the skinny, tall old man had been accompanied by the old beggar and the unfathomable Second Elder. Furthermore, from their words, Cui Buping and the Supreme Elder deduced that these men were not even core figures in their mysterious Sect. This shocked them to the core, and they immediately decided to cooperate.
And as expected, the Cui Family’s strength had grown with incredible speed over the past century. They had even nurtured a peerless genius like Cui Leng. Unfortunately, he had been eliminated by Qin Li... This was a bone-deep, unforgettable hatred!
Cui Buping said respectfully, "The Golden Palace has appeared on Profound Island since the Ancient Era. Few people knew of it at first. Some families experienced explosive growth over a few short decades or a century simply because they profited from it. After word got out, people figured out its pattern. The Golden Palace appears once every seventy years, and each time it selects ten Martial Artists under one hundred years old. Anyone who has not reached the Shattered Void realm can participate. Those Martial Artists receive treasures from the Golden Palace and are protected by it for ten years. Once, someone tried to steal the treasures brought out of the Golden Palace by a winner of the Venerable Tournament, and as a result..."
"That’s not right!" The old beggar frowned and suddenly interrupted Cui Buping. "According to you, anyone who attacks a winner of the Venerable Tournament will be attacked in turn and the winner will be teleported to a safe place?"
Cui Buping nodded. "That’s correct. I’m afraid there isn’t a single person on all of Profound Island who doesn’t know about this..."
The old beggar waved his hand, interrupting Cui Buping again. He frowned and muttered, "But that’s not right. I blasted that kid and seriously injured him, but I don’t recall being attacked at all."
"Alright, Third Brother, let Patriarch Cui speak first," the skinny, tall old man said flatly.
Cui Buping showed no displeasure. ’For him to deign to interrupt me is to show me respect! Can just anyone strike up a conversation with a Venerable? The other six super-factions on Profound Island could never dream that the Cui Family would have such an opportunity. I believe it won’t be long before there’s only one super-faction left on Profound Island!’
’And that is... the Cui Family!’
"Four Venerables, based on the speculation and judgment of countless generations since ancient times, the Golden Palace is very likely hidden atop the cloud-piercing summit of Black Tortoise Peak!" Cui Buping said with great confidence. "That Black Tortoise Peak reaches into the high heavens. For millennia, innumerable Martial Artists have attempted to climb to its summit to see the world beyond the sky, but not one has succeeded. Legend has it that Black Tortoise Peak is home to countless Venerable-level Spirit Beasts. Most people can’t even make it halfway before being overwhelmed by their attacks. Therefore, almost everyone believes that the Golden Palace is at the top of Black Tortoise Peak!"
The skinny, tall old man listened, then shook his head in disappointment. "Back when we discovered Profound Island, we flew in from beyond the sky and saw that great mountain. It’s true, the mountain is swarming with Spirit Beasts, and there are many powerful beings among them. But there was no Golden Palace like you described..."
"Ah..."
Cui Buping clearly hadn’t expected this outcome. ’So I’ve been talking nonsense this whole time. It turns out they already reached the summit of Black Tortoise Peak over a hundred years ago.’
The skinny, tall old man wasn’t too disappointed, however. He said flatly to the other three, "For now, don’t report this matter to the Sect. If word gets out, the Sect will definitely send others here, and they’ll snatch the credit from us. Anyway, the Golden Palace appears once every seventy years. We can just wait another seventy years! Sigh, this time we heard about the Venerable Tournament, but we never imagined it was connected to the Golden Palace. Otherwise, we would have definitely gone inside to investigate!"
His voice was filled with regret.
The old beggar scratched his head. "The Golden Palace... I thought it was just a legend. That thing back then, it really..."
"Third Brother! Shut up!" The skinny, tall old man’s gaze turned sharp as he abruptly cut the old beggar off.
The old beggar, knowing he had misspoken, lowered his head and fell silent.
"Enough. No one is to mention the Golden Palace again!" The skinny, tall old man looked at the others with a warning expression before continuing, "Right now, we need to speed things up. Many back in the Sect are dissatisfied with our slow progress. We must move faster! For now, let’s start by wiping out the other six super-factions on Profound Island! Cui Buping, have the Cui Family deploy its elites. We will destroy them one by one! Second Brother, Fourth Brother, you go destroy the Qin Family. Third Brother can recuperate for now. I will lead the men to destroy the Thousand Mechanism Sect first!"
"Great Venerable, are you planning to attack the Thousand Mechanism Sect during the Young Sect Leader’s wedding? In your subordinate’s opinion, it might be better to delay the attack on the Qin Family. Qin Li is extremely close with Shen Le and will definitely attend his wedding..."
’The Thousand Mechanism Sect has a deep foundation as well,’ Cui Buping thought. ’There’s no guarantee they don’t have a living ancestor at the Shattered Void level. The Great Venerable is immensely powerful, but underestimating an enemy rarely ends well.’
’Besides, I don’t want my family to be used as cannon fodder by these four mysterious Venerables. It would be a disaster if the Cui Family ended up ruined along with the other six factions.’
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