Chapter 109: Fragile Magic Weapons

The three of them weren’t reckless fools without any sense. They moved cautiously toward the mountain cliff, each summoning their defensive magic weapons so they could retreat in time if something went wrong.
When they got within a few dozen feet, the countless vines failed to attack, which made them secretly rejoice. They became even more convinced that if Su Che could enter, so could they—these vines must be some kind of plant that got close to humans…
The vine that first made contact with Su Che seemed to be the leader of all the vines, thicker and longer. It was the first to react, slowly moving toward the person on the far left.
Since its speed was slow and it showed no signs of attacking, that person hesitated for a moment before, just like Su Che, smiling andfriendlyly extending his right hand.
The vine leader wrapped around his arm and slowly moved toward his cheek…
The man mustered up courage, still smiling, thinking he would also receive the same treatment as Su Che—having the vine rub against his face a few times. But unexpectedly…
Whoosh!
The vine suddenly accelerated, piercing into his head through one of his eye sockets. He didn’t even have time to struggle or scream before dying. His defensive magic weapon never activated.
Zizzz…
The vine emitted a strange sound. It contracted and expanded like a tentacle-like straw, beginning to suck out brain matter and blood.
This sudden change terrified the other two, who quickly activated their protective magic weapons and sped away in an attempt to flee.
But they had come too close. Thousands of vines swarmed around them in an instant, wrapping them tightly.
With a few cracks, their two defensive magic weapons shattered—destroyed just from a single encounter with the vines.
Sssss…
The two men immediately started screaming as the vines wrapped around them suddenly sprouted numerous sharp thorns that pierced their flesh, drawing out bodily fluids like syringes.
Zizzz… In just a few breaths, the two living men turned into skin-and-bone skeletons.
“This is…”
The four onlookers, including Fei Yun and Zheng Rong, were utterly stunned. In fear, they retreated over ten feet and wondered why those vines hadn’t attacked Su Che.
Only Fei Yun seemed to understand a little: “I’ve heard for a long time that he’s a herbal doctor on Xuanji Peak, with a special ability to communicate closely with plants. It seems it’s true after all…”

Su Che, who had just entered the cave dwelling, naturally heard the screams coming from the outer gate. Through the mental images sent by Lao He, he also witnessed the tragic fate of those three people. Once again, he thought to himself, “I told you—following me will only lead to an even faster death.”

The cave was extremely spacious, with a height of over twenty feet, resembling the dwelling of a giant.

Some ancient texts described that in normal times, the ancient Witch Tribe members were tall, nearly ten feet in height, considered giants by ordinary people. But once they transformed, they would grow ten times, even a hundred or a thousand times larger—only then could they be called true giants.

Witch Tribe warriors could transform into giants a hundred feet tall, tribal leaders known as “Great Witches” could become giants a thousand feet tall, and the legendary “Ancestral Witches” could take on forms towering thousands of feet high. Just hearing about it seemed incredible.

Su Che took out a lighting crystal and gave it a quick glance. The cave, unoccupied for millions of years, was surprisingly clean, with little dust. This wasn’t surprising, as cultivators’ cave dwellings could be equipped with permanent dust-removal arrays to achieve such results.

The living habits of the ancient Witch Tribe remained somewhat primitive in certain aspects, so there were few furnishings inside. Aside from stone tables and beds, there were a few compartments carved into the stone walls, holding various items.

Seeing these items, Su Che grew excited inwardly, thinking, “These are them!”

Approaching one of the compartments, he spotted an item shaped like a furnace. He guessed it might be a high-quality alchemy furnace that could be taken to Immortal Prison for use by alchemists.

After thoroughly checking, Lao He confirmed there were no killing traps in the cave. Only then did Su Che carefully reach for the furnace, which was over a foot tall.

Unexpectedly, as soon as his fingers touched it, it shattered into a pile of powder!

“It’s broken!”

Su Che sighed in regret, becoming even more certain that this furnace must have been a high-grade magical artifact. However, due to the passage of time, it had completely deteriorated.

Magical artifacts below the level of spiritual treasures would gradually lose their spiritual energy over time if left unattended. Once their spiritual energy was gone, they would decay even faster than ordinary objects. Most primitive minerals could remain intact in the air for hundreds of millions of years, but magical artifacts couldn’t. Despite their ability to easily crush and cut various minerals at their peak, they…

Advanced magical artifacts above the Lingbao level often possess a spirit or develop consciousness, granting them the ability to “survive” on their own. They can absorb natural energy from the world, and without external destruction, it is said they can live as long as the universe itself.
“Let’s try the others…”
Su Che silently hoped his luck wouldn’t be too bad. If one of the other “decorative items” remained intact, it would likely be at least at the Lingbao level, which would be a huge gain.
With a crack, another axe-shaped decorative item shattered.
Su Che shook his head gently.
Another wheel-shaped item broke apart with a crack. And yet another…
Bang! Bang!
The last decorative item, though the ugliest in design, surprisingly remained unbroken!
Su Che was overjoyed; his heart even raced. He picked up the jar-like item—it was completely intact!
But its weight seemed odd…
“Master, stop looking. It’s just a jar, a very ordinary jar. Probably used for pickling vegetables. It’s definitely not a magical artifact,” Old Black reminded him, trying not to laugh inside the Immortal Prison.
“What? How is that possible?”
Su Che was shocked and unwilling to accept it. “How could an ordinary jar remain intact for millions of years?”
“Master, things created by the ancient Witch Tribe are usually quite durable. Besides, this is the Little Mi Immortal Realm, a sacred place for the Witch Tribe. Anything used by them is protected by the barrier’s power,” Old Black said, scratching his head. “That’s probably how it is. I’m just guessing.”
Just a jar?
Bang! Bang! Su Che knocked on it a few more times but finally confirmed it really wasn’t any treasure.
He put it back. Even if it wasn’t a treasure, he couldn’t destroy it carelessly, lest he incur the punishment of the sacred barrier. So, Su Che gently placed the jar back in its place.
“Getting nothing from such a cave?” Su Che shook his head in frustration. Was his luck really that bad…
“Not entirely,” Old Black reminded him. “Master, look at that pile of stone toys in the corner. It seems like some high-grade materials to me.”
Su Che hurried over and saw over a dozen crudely crafted items in a corner—chickens, deer, small balls… They indeed looked like children’s toys.
But upon closer inspection, the chickens were carved from deep-sea ink jade, the deer were made of crimson blood refined gold, and the metal balls were actually solid pieces of extreme steel…

“All of these are top-quality materials of great value; no wonder they can remain intact for millions of years,” Su Che guessed. “I suppose these materials originally belonged to some ancient cultivator. After the master of this cave killed him, since the Witch Tribe doesn’t use magic artifacts nor is good at crafting them, they simply turned them into toys for the children to play with…”

“Not bad. At least I’m not returning empty-handed.”

Su Che stored all these items in the Immortal Prison. Such precious ancient crafting materials were now rare in the cultivation world. Of course, he wasn’t willing to sell them for spirit stones; instead, he wanted to keep them for himself to use when he had enough strength to craft artifacts or exchange them with others for what he needed.

Meanwhile, the four people waiting outside the cave were plotting something.

Fei Yun was worried about Su Che, fearing he might be in danger inside. Suddenly, she heard someone sending her a message: “Fellow cultivator, the person who entered the cave earlier clearly possesses some special skill that allows him to coexist peacefully with the plants in the Little Mi Immortal Realm. As a result, he’ll take all the treasures for himself, and we won’t get anything.”

Hearing this, Fei Yun realized that the one sending her the message was a cultivator with eight-shaped eyebrows, not Zheng Rong from Tianxuan Sect. She did recognize Zheng Rong from Tianxuan Sect’s Tianwu Peak, but since her appearance had changed drastically, Zheng Rong couldn’t recognize her anymore.

Fei Yun sent a reply to the cultivator with eight-shaped eyebrows: “What do you want? Just say it directly.”

“My idea is that in a while, once he comes out, we’ll strike suddenly, team up to subdue him, and then find a way to control him so he can help us retrieve the treasures,” the cultivator replied. “Or maybe we can make him teach us that method of communicating with plants.”

“I don’t mind,” Fei Yun replied casually. “Have you asked the other two?”

“I’ve talked to them. They’ve both agreed to my plan. All that’s left is you, fellow cultivator,” the cultivator said, his eyes gleaming.

“Zheng Rong agreed too?” Fei Yun’s heart skipped a beat. She thought resentfully, “You can never truly know someone’s heart. Zheng Rong is considered a kind person at Tianwu Peak. I never expected him to disregard his brotherhood and join forces with others to harm Su Che.”

Though she thought this, she still sent a reply: “Okay, let’s work together then.”

“Great! You’re truly wise, fellow cultivator.”

The cultivator with eight-shaped eyebrows was overjoyed. With all four of them working together, four against one, they should be able to take down that guy without any trouble.

Since all four had agreed, there was no need to use telepathy anymore. He called out, “My fellow cultivators, let’s go a bit further away to discuss the details.”
“Okay.”
Fei Yun, Zheng Rong, and another burly young man nodded in agreement.