Chapter 88: Planting Threads of Affection

Early the next morning, Su Che disguised himself and left Tianxuan Sect, heading for Dongping County, over three thousand li away. At first, he pretended to be at the third level of Qi Cultivation. Only after traveling five hundred li away from the Tianxuan Mountains did he revert to the spiritual energy fluctuations of the seventh level, riding a top-grade magic sword as he flew through the blue sky.

Yes, once one reaches the later stages of Qi Cultivation, they can fly using magical instruments. He had practiced the basic flying techniques for two hours the previous afternoon on Xuanji Peak and could now fly steadily.

Today, with the vast sky at his disposal, Su Che reveled in the thrill of flying at high speed. Compared to running on land with his own legs, this was truly the ultimate difference between heaven and earth! He could cover eight hundred li in an hour. If he didn’t mind the strain on his vital energy, he could reach Dongping County before dark.

Too absorbed in enjoying the pleasure of flying, Su Che had no idea that at that very moment, two striking figures had left Tianxuan Sect’s main gate. Zhen Zhen rode a spiritual magic sword, with a beautiful woman beside her.

The woman was also an inner disciple of Tiangwufeng, at the seventh level of Qi Cultivation like Su Che. Half a year ago, she had followed Zhen Lan to Jingji Peak to watch Su Che’s fight against Song Pàngzi. Even now, she could still vaguely recall Su Che’s appearance. But today, his place in her heart had completely changed…

As soon as they left Tianxuan Sect’s protective formation, Zhen Zhen asked, “Fei Yun, which way did he go?”

“East,” replied the woman named Fei Yun, pointing east. Yet she cautiously added, “Senior sister, what do you plan to do to him once we catch up?”

“What’s the matter? Can’t bear it? Afraid I’ll kill him?” Zhen Zhen laughed. “Fei Yun, your feelings for him now are fake—only those ‘threads of affection’ are at work. Once I remove them, you’ll despise him utterly.”

“I know, I know, but I still can’t control it…” Fei Yun sighed softly. “Senior sister, falling in love with someone is really hard.”

“That’s why I’ll never fall in love with a man in this life,” Zhen Zhen said with a smile against the wind, her expression full of pride and aloofness—proof that she despised more than just men.

The spiritual magic sword Zhen Zhen rode was of top quality, and combined with her mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, her flying speed was terrifying. She cut through the sky like lightning, far faster than Su Che. With the right direction, they would soon catch up to him.

Sure enough, after less than half an hour of pursuit, a small black dot appeared on the distant horizon. Zhen Zhen asked in a low voice, “Is it him?”
Fei Yun hesitated for a moment, struggling to control her overwhelming pain, before nodding and answering, “Yes.”
“You little brat, I’ve caught you!” A faint smile appeared on Zhen Zhen’s lips. With a surge of her spiritual energy, she pursued even faster.
Ahead, Su Che was practicing several difficult aerial maneuvers when he suddenly heard Lao He shouting loudly from the Immortal Prison, “Oh no, master, hurry and dive underground! That wretched woman is chasing after us!”
Su Che’s heart skipped a beat. Without even bothering to look back, he followed Lao He’s advice and dived headfirst toward the ground at suicidal speed.
Thwack!
He stuffed the Underground Escape Pill into his mouth, the impact making his lips hurt. Behind him, Zhen Zhen’s flying speed was terrifying—carrying two people on her flying sword, she moved like lightning falling from the heavens, reaching an almost touchable distance in an instant…
Swish!
Zhen Zhen flicked her hand and threw a jade ring—the very magic artifact that had swiftly trapped Zhen Lan during the competition on the Peak of Competition.
Back then, even Zhen Lan, who was at the peak of the Qi Cultivation realm, had been instantly restrained by that jade ring. Let alone Su Che, who was only at the seventh level of Qi Cultivation.
Su Che continued to dive, desperately shouting in his mind, “Underground Escape Pill, please work quickly!”
He was about to crash into the ground…
Boom! Boom…
Just as the earth’s pulses, like those of a loved one, appeared, Su Che plunged back into his mother’s warm embrace, just as a peregrine falcon dives into water.
The white jade ring wrapped around the remaining shadow of Su Che on the ground and zipped back into Zhen Zhen’s hands.
It was just a fraction of a second short—he managed to dodge it!
“Underground Escape Pill!”
Zhen Zhen gritted her teeth in anger, wondering how the little brat could have detected her so quickly without even turning around or possessing divine perception.
Behind her, the beautiful woman Fei Yun let out a sigh of relief, unable to suppress the thought in her heart: “Great, great, he managed to dodge it…”
She knew it was wrong to think this way, but a thread of affection had long been tied to that man, making it impossible for her to control her concern for him. It was a contradictory and agonizing feeling—over time, it might even lead to personality splitting…
At this moment, Fei Yun’s heart was in complete chaos!

To her surprise, Zhen Zhen didn’t care at all about her feelings. She turned and said, “Fei Yun, even if he uses the Earthescape technique to escape thousands of miles away, he still can’t escape the detection of the ‘Emotion Silk’. Tell me quickly…” At this point, Zhen Zhen noticed Fei Yun’s painful expression, so she softened her tone and gently persuaded her, “Fei Yun, you must be strong. Remember, your feelings for him are fake—they don’t exist at all. It’s all to help me catch him… You were the one who came up with this method, weren’t you?”
“Yes, yes.”
Fei Yun nodded vigorously, tears streaming down her face. “Senior sister, now I understand what it means to trap oneself. I really regret it so much.”
Zhen Zhen had only heard of the effectiveness of the ‘Emotion Silk’ and had never experienced it herself, so she couldn’t understand Fei Yun’s feelings. At that moment, she even laughed in frustration. “You silly girl, it’s too late to regret now. If you don’t catch him, you’ll never be able to get that thread of emotion back.”
Wiping away her tears, Fei Yun pointed in a direction with deep distress, “He… he went that way…”
Seeing Fei Yun’s state, Zhen Zhen became alert. “I never thought that Fei Yun, who used to look down on men just like me, would end up like this. I definitely wouldn’t dare touch something like the ‘Emotion Silk’…”
Keep chasing!
As a legitimate disciple, Zhen Lan didn’t find it difficult to obtain a few Earthescape pills. Her Qiankun Bag indeed contained Earthescape pills for emergency use. But since she had Fei Yun’s detection of the emotion thread, there was no need to dig underground to chase after him. By following slowly, he would eventually run out of pills and return to the surface.
However, more than an hour passed, and the brat still hadn’t emerged from the ground…
“How many Earthescape pills does he have?” Zhen Zhen couldn’t help but wonder aloud. “Fei Yun, are you sure your detection isn’t wrong? Could he be suffocating underground?”
“No, he’s definitely not dead.” Fei Yun shook her head firmly, tears still visible on her face. “If he were dead, I would feel even more heartbroken.”
Underground, Su Che had already used eleven Earthescape pills. But Lao He was certain that Zhen Zhen and another woman were flying in the sky, following him. It seemed they knew his whereabouts very well.
“I still have over a hundred Earthescape pills, which should be enough for a whole day. But when will this situation end?”
Su Che complained inwardly, asking Lao He again and again, “Lao He, haven’t you found anything suspicious yet?”

At such a moment, even a fool like Su Che could guess that Zhen Zhen must have planted some kind of device in him. After all, during the time he had been hiding underground, he had changed all his clothes several times yet still couldn’t escape their tracking. Undoubtedly, the problem must lie within his own body…
“Master, I’ve checked thoroughly countless times—there’s really nothing suspicious about you at all,” said Lao Hei in the Immortal Prison, sitting on the ground with his thick black legs spread out, scratching his head helplessly. “I’m at a loss; I still can’t figure out what’s going on.”
“That’s troublesome.”
Su Che lamented, “No matter how many Earth-Diving Pills I have, they will eventually run out. If I return to the surface, her jade ring magic weapon will trap me instantly.”
Lao Hei agreed, “Mm, that jade ring is quite powerful—probably a top-tier spiritual artifact.”
“Never mind. I’ll just deal with things as they come,” Su Che resolved fiercely. “I’d rather grow roots underground than fall into that wretched woman’s hands!”
Keep using Earth-Diving!
Thirty zhang deep underground—endless Earth-Diving…