Chapter 69: The Art of Concealing Spirits

Suddenly, there were seven people in the Immortal Prison. Su Che naturally had to assign each of them a role and make specific arrangements.
First and foremost, Lao Hei had to conduct a thorough assessment of the prisoners, just like the intimidating tool used in the government offices—regardless of gender, everyone who entered had to endure this ordeal.
It wasn’t that Su Che and Lao Hei were psychologically twisted and enjoyed torturing others; rather, it was to make them clearly realize their situation. Once inside, they had to obey obediently. Anyone who dared cause trouble would face an even more severe punishment…
After Lao Hei’s interrogation, Su Che learned about each of the seven people’s strengths. Soon, he assigned tasks to all the prisoners in the Immortal Prison.
Han Youming and Lu Cheng’an were still in charge of taking care of the spirit herbs transplanted to the prison.
Luo Lianqiao would be responsible for alchemy, with a disciple from the Outer Sect of Tianxuan Sect assigned to assist him.
Han Zuo Jing, the man surnamed He, and two more disciples from the Outer Sect of Tianxuan Sect—four men in total—would be tasked with refining ores.
The female cultivator Ying Hong had a specialty: she was good at making spirit talismans. However, limited by her cultivation level, she could only create low-grade talismans of water, earth, and wood elements.
In any case, having a specialty meant they were talents and could play a certain role. So, Su Che assigned another female cultivator as her assistant. Once the materials were ready, they could start making talismans.
Alchemy, ore refining, and spirit talisman production not only required sufficient raw materials but also certain tools—such as alchemy furnaces, refining furnaces, and exotic true flames essential for alchemy and blacksmithing.
Su Che had to gradually acquire all these things. In the Yinwind Gorge, he cut down some wood, collected some stones, and secured enough drinking water—all of which were sent to the Immortal Prison.
There were already ten prisoners in the Immortal Prison, including two women. This meant they needed to build shelters and provide them with regular meals in fixed quantities… All these trivial matters required Su Che to handle personally.
Since it was a prison, it was necessary to provide the prisoners with basic living conditions. Fortunately, they were all cultivators with abilities far beyond ordinary people. With wood and stone, along with the assistance of various spells, they could quickly build decent shelters in the Immortal Prison.
In the Immortal Prison, Lao Hei gathered all the prisoners before them and shouted, “You already know this is a prison, and I, this demon king, am its warden! From today onward, you can call me Boss Hei Mo.”
“Boss Hei Mo!”

Apart from the female cultivator Yinghong, the other nine all bowed respectfully. Yinghong was a woman with a strong personality; even though she showed obedience to Lao Hei, she wouldn’t stoop to behave like a servant. Su Che had seen her protect her husband even in life-or-death moments, and he held her in high regard, so he interceded on her behalf, asking Lao Hei to treat her a bit more specially. As for the others, Su Che didn’t bother to care. Only then did Lao Hei continue shouting, “Although this is a prison, you still have the most basic rights to survive and some rights related to human dignity. Therefore, aside from me, no one here is allowed to bully others. You prisoners must respect and help one another…” At this point, Lao Hei smirked darkly, “If you have the guts, I even allow you to unite and stage a rebellion to challenge my authority. Of course, I’ll suppress you gently… Hmm! I really enjoy such games. I just wonder if you have similar interest?” The prisoners remained silent. Just by looking at the appearance of this ‘Boss Heimo,’ it was clear he was a complete monster, his mindset certainly different from that of humans, and his feelings couldn’t be measured by ordinary logic. Finally, Lao Hei said, “This prison is like a small world, a small society. You’re allowed to cultivate normally and interact normally. Couples or lovers can live together, but romantic relationships must be based on mutual consent. Forced or coerced relationships, as well as any kind of lewd behavior, are strictly forbidden. Do you understand?” “We understand, Boss Heimo!” The prisoners replied in unison. Only then did they realize this prison wasn’t as terrifying as they had thought. Life here was relatively free, though the prison’s area was relatively small—only about a hundred miles in radius, like a completely isolated small town. Even Yinghong’s expression improved significantly—she could live with her husband, which was good news. Secondly, it seemed this place was fairly reasonable. Even as prisoners, they still had certain rights and dignity… After settling the prisoners, Su Che decided to visit Wuhua Peak of Tianxuan Sect to buy all the necessary items before returning to the valley. Many things couldn’t be found in the supply town, such as the two kinds of spiritual herbs needed to make the Earth-Disappearing Pills, as well as higher-quality pill furnaces and refining furnaces, which were not available here.

It took a little over a day to return to the mountain gate, and he went to Wuhua Peak, spending over 500 spirit stones to buy all kinds of items. Most of the items weren’t expensive; only a third-grade pill furnace was worth over 100 spirit stones, making it the most costly item. Pill furnaces used for alchemy are extremely particular—generally, a first-grade pill requires a first-grade furnace, and a third-grade pill needs a third-grade furnace… neither too high nor too low. Since alchemists like Luo Lianqiao have limited skills, even if given a top-tier spirit treasure-level furnace, they would struggle to control it and could only follow a fixed pattern to ensure a stable success rate. Since the Earth-Diving Pill is a third-grade pill, a third-grade furnace is sufficient. As for the special true fire required for alchemy, since none of the prisoners in the Immortal Prison had enough cultivation to cast any kind of true fire spell, they had to spend spirit stones on true fire spirit talismans and some specially made combustibles to craft pills below the fifth grade. For now, these expenses were still manageable. After buying everything, Su Che rushed back to the Yinwind Gorge overnight. Other matters could wait; of course, the Earth-Diving Pill needed to be made as soon as possible. With such a life-saving ability, he would have more confidence in doing anything. In the Immortal Prison, ten prisoners each had their own tasks—some alchemized, some mined, some made talismans—all busy… Only the two gardeners in charge of the spirit herbs had a more relaxed workload, but their responsibilities were even greater than others’, as even a minor issue with a 500-year-old medium-grade spirit herb could result in a huge loss of thousands of spirit stones. During this time, Su Che wasn’t idle either. He changed out of his Tianxuan Sect disciple’s robes and underwent further disguise, appearing as a lone cultivator. He deliberately or inadvertently clashed with others in the gorge and then fought them using only his own strength. Victory or defeat didn’t matter; the goal was to gain more combat experience… Besides combat experience, luck could also bring other rewards. Once, as a lone cultivator, Su Che got into a confrontation with four outer disciples of the Tianxuan Sect. Fighting against odds, he sustained minor injuries and naturally chose to retreat. Yet, two of the four opponents persistently chased after him for over a hundred miles, determined to eliminate him completely.

This kind of situation is also relatively rare in the Valley of Bitter Winds. Generally, people come here either to hone their skills or to make money. Unless there is a life-or-death threat or some other special reason, they rarely engage in such a relentless struggle. Given this, Su Che stopped being polite with them and switched from the previous “sparring mode” to a capture mode. As soon as Lao He stepped in, he easily took care of the two guys. Two more prisoners were added to the Immortal Prison, and through interrogation, a rather special technique called “Spirit Concealment Art” was discovered. One of the outer sect disciples also came from a cultivation family and was quite skilled in disguise. Not only could he change his appearance and physique, but he could even alter the fluctuations of his own spiritual energy to a certain extent. For example, someone with the actual cultivation level of the third layer of Qi Cultivation could, by manipulating the fluctuations of his spiritual energy, make others think he was only at the second layer or even the first layer. By hiding his true cultivation level, he could deceive his opponents, causing them to underestimate him, then seize the opportunity to launch a surprise attack—what is commonly known as “pretending to be weak to catch the strong.” It is called “Spirit Concealment Art” because this secret technique has certain limitations: it can only conceal one’s own spiritual energy fluctuations and cannot create fake spiritual energy. In other words, someone at the third layer of Qi Cultivation can disguise themselves as being at the first layer, but they cannot pretend to be an expert at the fourth or fifth layer. Lao He learned this Spirit Concealment Art and, with the help of the unique effects of the Immortal Prison, upgraded and modified it. From then on, Su Che could not only disguise himself as a novice at the first layer of Qi Cultivation but even mimic the spiritual energy fluctuations of someone at the seventh layer. How was this done? The principle is simple: Lao He changed the method of concealing spiritual energy fluctuations to imitation. He could mimic the spiritual energy fluctuations of any prisoner in the Immortal Prison and disguise himself as having that person’s cultivation level. For example, if Luo Lianqiao had the cultivation level of the seventh layer, after some imitation, Su Che could adjust his own spiritual energy fluctuations to match hers, thereby deceiving others’ senses or investigations. Due to the characteristics of the Immortal Prison, such imitation could only be applied to prisoners inside; it was impossible to mimic the spiritual energy fluctuations of someone outside the prison. Moreover, it remains uncertain whether such imitation could deceive the discerning eyes of cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage or even the Golden Core stage.