Only I am Venerable

Chapter 489: The Emperor’s Assault

Cao Hong’s gaze was utterly serene. The hand gripping his short blade did not tremble in the slightest as he continued to thrust it toward Tianya’s Dantian without a shred of hesitation.

A faint smile even touched the corners of his mouth. In that instant, an image suddenly surfaced in Cao Hong’s mind: the innocent, smiling face of his beloved woman, who had passed away many years ago. Her faintly purple pupils were so captivating, so beautiful!

’Death isn’t as terrifying as I always imagined!’

Time seemed to freeze. Tianya’s savage expression, Cao Hong’s slight smile—both were locked in place in that single moment!

TING... CRACK!

An extremely sharp, piercing sound rang out abruptly. The dagger in Tianya’s hand, a weapon that could be considered a treasure blade, had actually... snapped!

The savage smile froze on Tianya’s rouged face, his eyes filled with disbelief. His dagger could slice through iron as if it were mud!

’Even if Cao Hong was wearing a Heart-Protecting Mirror, there’s no way it could have blocked my strike!’

In the next instant, Tianya felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his Dantian. He looked down in disbelief, only to see Cao Hong’s short blade viciously embedded in his abdomen, plunged directly into his Pill Core, which had long since undergone the Nascent Soul Transformation.

For a fleeting moment, a trace of incredulous surprise also appeared in Cao Hong’s eyes, a look that Tianya did not miss.

Tianya’s sharp, androgynous voice immediately shrieked, "You... you cheated! You broke your word!" As he spoke, a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. He could no longer summon even a shred of strength, his body held up only by a final, unwilling flicker of conviction.

"Broke our word? Who was the one who used the power of the Pill Nascent Soul Transformation first?"

Qin Li’s voice rang out, cool and detached. He looked at Tianya with a hint of disdain. "Originally, I thought you were a real man, someone who wouldn’t take unfair advantage of others. I never imagined you were just another treacherous cheat. Did you think no one would notice you using just a tiny bit of your Pill Nascent Soul Transformation’s power? Did you think you were being especially clever?"

Qin Li’s words were steeped in sarcasm, but Tianya seemed completely oblivious. His eyes were fixed on Qin Li, ignoring the blood trickling from his mouth and the searing pain in his abdomen. "You... you just said... you originally thought I was a real man? Really...?"

Qin Li nodded, his tone flat. "The Cultivation Technique you practice made you this way, but as long as you have the heart of a true man, you will always be a real man. Unfortunately, from the moment you used the power of your Pill Nascent Soul Transformation, you became nothing but a despicable villain. There’s nothing inherently wrong with being a villain, but your misfortune was running into someone stronger than you."

"Yes, I am a man! I am a real man! I cheated, and I deserve to die! I... am... a... man!" Tianya repeated, his face contorted into a nearly crazed expression.

Cao Hong now understood what had happened. He had originally been conflicted about Qin Li helping him at the last moment, as he hadn’t wanted to win in such a manner.

But he hadn’t expected his opponent to be the first to cheat. And so, a surge of potent energy traveled down Cao Hong’s arm and into his short blade, instantly shattering Tianya’s Dantian.

"Go in peace. I will give you a proper burial," Cao Hong said softly.

But a smile of release, one of genuine happiness, hung on Tianya’s lips.

Qin Li sighed softly and turned his back. Cao Hong dug a large pit, buried Tianya’s body, and then walked silently to Qin Li’s side. "Young Master, thank you. You’ve saved my life yet again."

"What saved you was your own heart. If he hadn’t cheated, I would have watched you both perish together. Cao Hong, do you blame me?" Qin Li said coolly.

"I don’t, of course I don’t! To be honest, Young Master, a moment ago I did resent you for interfering. What I, Cao Hong, want is a fair fight! This was not an occasion for trickery! If he hadn’t cheated but I had, then I believe my cultivation would never have seen any significant improvement again! Because my heart would have been dominated by another power!"

Qin Li was somewhat surprised that Cao Hong could say such a thing. He turned, patted Cao Hong’s shoulder, and said with a smile, "You are a true man."

Cao Hong grinned in a silent laugh. He glanced at the nearby grave of fresh earth and sighed. "He should have been, too."

"Let’s go," Qin Li said, heading in the direction of Tongtian City. "I’m preparing to return to the East. Are you coming with me?"

"Of course. I am your servant, Young Master, so naturally, I will follow you," Cao Hong said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You can’t just leave me behind again..."

Such incidents happened often in Tongtian City, and few people would pay them any mind. No one would ever imagine that in this desolate patch of land, thirty li south of Tongtian City, lay the buried body of the third-ranked expert on the assassin’s list... Tianya!

Qin Li and Cao Hong did not return to the small courtyard. It was highly likely that the place was already being watched. If Tianya could find it, then others certainly could as well.

Right now, Qin Li only wanted to go back and see Shiyu and the others. As for the bald youth and his group, Qin Li couldn’t care less. He had already sworn to annihilate the Hai Family. Once the Hai Family was destroyed, where could scum like the bald youth possibly run? ’Letting him live as a stray dog might be a crueler fate than death,’ he thought.

The two of them checked into an inn, planning to leave Tongtian City first thing in the morning.

In the middle of the night, Qin Li suddenly awoke with a start. His Divine Sense had not detected anything unusual, yet he had a distinct feeling that someone was watching him.

Qin Li’s heart skipped a beat. The unique nature of his Innate Purple Qi made it difficult for even a Thunder Tribulation Realm powerhouse to approach him undetected. ’Could it be,’ he wondered, ’that there are still people at the Earth Immortal Realm in this world?’

If he felt he could still handle a Thunder Tribulation Realm powerhouse, when faced with a legendary top-tier expert like an Earth Immortal, Qin Li had absolutely no confidence at all!

Qin Li began to backtrack in his mind. He had been extremely careful on his entire journey since leaving the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace. It was unlikely anyone had followed him. ’So how did this person find me?’

Qin Li wanted to dismiss the feeling as his imagination, but he was also very aware of his Innate Purple Qi’s properties. If there were no danger, he absolutely would not have woken up!

In the next room, Cao Hong was still asleep. Though Cao Hong himself was highly alert, his cultivation realm was far below Qin Li’s. If even Qin Li could only barely sense something was amiss, there was no way Cao Hong could have detected anything.

Qin Li slowly sat up and adjusted his mental state until it was empty and serene. In this state of utter tranquility, he slowly released his Divine Sense, letting it spread out in all directions—smooth and swift, like mercury flowing across the ground.

One li... ten li... fifteen li... twenty li!

He was nearing the absolute limit of his current abilities!

Within a twenty-li radius, with just a single thought, everything would appear in Qin Li’s mind.

And yet, within that twenty-li range, he found nothing!

Qin Li was astonished. ’Could the other party’s Divine Thought be even stronger than mine?’ He wasn’t exactly sure how powerful the Divine Thought of a Thunder Tribulation Realm Martial Artist was, but no matter how he thought about it, it shouldn’t be stronger than his own, right?

Just as Qin Li was feeling bewildered, a shadow suddenly shot into the range of his Divine Sense at an unbelievable speed!

The image of the shadow instantly appeared in his mind. It was a person... with wings sprouting from their back!

The Purple-eyed Emperor!

In that same instant, Qin Li realized he had fallen into a trap!

The enemy’s goal was to find him! They must have known his Divine Sense was powerful, so they projected their killing intent from a great distance. This way, Qin Li would certainly feel it but would be unable to pinpoint their location.

And to investigate this killing intent, Qin Li would inevitably use his Divine Sense to search. If the opponent were weaker than Qin Li, they wouldn’t be able to sense his Divine Sense. But this enemy, the Purple-eyed Emperor, was an existence far more powerful than him!

Naturally, they would sense Qin Li’s Divine Sense immediately and use it to track him down!

The moment Qin Li understood all this, he severed his extended Divine Sense. However, it was already too late. He knew the enemy had, at the very least, confirmed that he was in Tongtian City.

For a Thunder Tribulation Realm powerhouse, searching for a single person within a city was not a difficult task.

With this in mind, Qin Li immediately stood up, opened his door, and knocked on Cao Hong’s. The moment Qin Li had risen, Cao Hong had already woken up, as Qin Li had not intentionally suppressed his movements.

So, when Qin Li knocked, Cao Hong instantly opened his door and asked softly, "Young Master, what’s wrong?"

"We’re leaving Tongtian City immediately!" Qin Li said only this before turning to leave.

Cao Hong understood that a crisis must be upon them, so he followed behind Qin Li without the slightest hesitation.

For a powerhouse, a distance of twenty li was practically nothing. Especially when the opponent had a pair of wings! And those wings were not just for show.

Therefore, even before Qin Li and Cao Hong could get out of Tongtian City, he could already sense that the enemy was less than ten li away!

This couldn’t go on. If he truly had to face a Thunder Tribulation Realm powerhouse, Qin Li had very little confidence that he could escape unscathed, especially since there was likely more than one enemy!

Thus, Qin Li didn’t even entertain the thought of trying to fight the Thunder Tribulation Powerhouse. Once he was engaged, it would likely become an unwinnable situation!

Qin Li took out a Top-Grade Spirit Stone, and an incredibly powerful aura suddenly erupted from his body. Like a tidal wave, this aura surged out in successive waves toward every corner of Tongtian City!

Forget the truly powerful experts; even Martial Artists at the Celestial Shattering Realm were jolted awake by this sudden surge of energy.

In that instant, countless lights flickered on across the entirety of Tongtian City!