Chapter 118: Mental Work

The next challenge Su Che faced was killing this snake woman with her peerless beauty. However, Lao He said she was extremely powerful, on par with Zhen Zhen from Tianwu Peak—equivalent to the late Foundation Establishment stage. Su Che was still only at the Qi Cultivation stage; how could he possibly defeat someone at such a high level? With such a huge disparity in strength, no strategy would work. What to do? Another seemingly unsolvable problem lay before him.

So, Su Che could only try to silently convey a message to her, saying, “Don’t speak. Listen to me first. Actually, I have no intention of killing you. Like you, I’m also forced into this.”

The snake woman’s expression changed slightly, her delicate brows furrowing slightly. Of course, she refused to believe Su Che’s words.

Su Che continued, “I’m just here to search for treasures. Like those human treasure hunters, I’m forced into this out of necessity and have entered the Witch Tribe’s sacred land. In other words, like you, I also long to leave here alive.”

“I don’t believe it!”

The snake woman immediately replied, also silently, indicating that though she didn’t believe it verbally, she was somewhat moved inwardly.

Su Che continued, “Next, I need you to muster the courage to challenge fate—or rather, risk your life. If you win, you’ll regain your freedom and leave the Witch Tribe’s sacred land alive.”

“How?” The snake woman smiled faintly, treating it as a joke.

“If you trust me, I’ll take you out as a member of the Witch Tribe,” Su Che said calmly. “I’m a witch, and in this sacred land, I have advantages that humans, demons, and spirits don’t. I have the ability and the chance, don’t I?”

The snake woman giggled, her clear laughter echoing like heavenly music. Yet she still communicated silently, saying, “I know you’re a witch, but why should I trust you? Why hand over my fate and life to you? Do you think I’m stupid? Your goal is probably to trick me into not resisting and then killing me.”

“That’s true. If it were me, I’d think the same,” Su Che said patiently. “So, what do you need me to do to prove that my intentions are the same as yours?”

“It’s simple!”

The snake woman smiled playfully. “First, trust me and hand over your life to me. That will prove your sincerity, and I’ll return the same trust to you.”

“That won’t do!” Su Che also smiled. “Our situations are different. You hate me, but I don’t hate you, right?”
The Snake Woman tilted her head and pondered for a while before saying, “No. I haven’t talked to anyone in over a thousand years. My mind isn’t as sharp anymore. I’m almost confused by you… Anyway, I just don’t trust you!”
Su Che had endless patience and was about to communicate with her slowly when he heard an alert from Lao He: “Master, those over thirty treasure-hunting disciples have come down together.”
The Snake Woman sensed something as well and immediately raised her head to look at the lake above.
“Damn it!”
She cursed softly, “It’s forcing me to kill again.”
“Go ahead. Don’t resist it,” Su Che said gently.
The Snake Woman lowered her head and stared deeply at Su Che…
Suddenly, her expression changed drastically. Her once extremely delicate face instantly turned into that of a ferocious monster. Though her upper body remained human, her face and body were covered with blue-green scales, and two long, sharp fangs protruded from her lips…
This appearance had nothing to do with “beauty” at all. The huge contrast between the two forms left Su Che utterly amazed.
“Yah!”
She let out a shrill scream, flew out through the window, her long body twisting as it quickly pierced through the energy barrier and entered the lake.
Once in the water, she became even faster, swimming like a dragon toward the treasure-hunters who were diving down…
“Sigh!”
Su Che couldn’t even explain the reason for his sigh.
But since she had left, only Su Che remained in the courtyard. Taking advantage of this opportunity, he decided to search every room to see if he could find anything else.
Su Che first chose the main building where the Snake Woman lived, guessing that if there were any treasures, she would surely keep them in her residence.
The first-floor hall was empty, with no furniture at all. Undoubtedly, over time, everything had disappeared.
The wooden stairs, however, were intact. Su Che thought that since the stairs were part of the entire mansion and thus part of the immortal abode, they could remain uncorrupted for millions of years.
The second floor was empty…
The third floor was also empty!
There was nothing in the entire building. Su Che was greatly disappointed and shook his head, thinking, “With such hard times, I really don’t know how she managed to get by. Over a thousand years…”
He hurriedly checked the other rooms, which were also empty, with nothing in them.

Finally, they found a warehouse-like room—some progress at last.
Why a warehouse? Because the room had only a door, no windows, and the door was tightly shut, impossible to push open no matter how hard they tried; even Lao Hei’s detection abilities couldn’t penetrate it. Su Che believed that only a warehouse would be designed so securely.
Boom…
Above, the battle in the lake grew more intense, yet it had no effect on this courtyard. An ancient immortal estate was not something mere Qi-cultivating cultivators could shake.
Su Che and Lao Hei couldn’t afford to watch the battle above; they focused all their efforts on breaking open the door before them…
But still, as the saying goes, an ancient immortal estate’s warehouse was not something a Qi-cultivating cultivator could crack!
After struggling for a long time, they found no way to deal with this seemingly ordinary wooden door. Su Che didn’t dare use too much force, fearing it might trigger a counterattack from the entire estate—someone as insignificant as him surely wouldn’t stand a chance.
After another while, Lao Hei reminded him, “Master, she’s back.”
“Mm.”
Su Che responded softly, continuing to study the door through the crack.
Even when the snake woman reverted to her stunning beauty, returned to the courtyard, and came to stand not far behind Su Che, he still kept his head turned away, studying the door.
The snake woman glanced at Su Che’s back, a murderous intent flashing in her eyes before quickly disappearing. It was unclear what she was thinking; she simply said softly, “I’ve lived here for over a thousand years and still haven’t been able to open this door.”
Su Che still didn’t turn around. He asked in a deep voice, “Did you kill them all?”
“No,” the snake woman replied indifferently. “There were too many. I couldn’t kill them all at once; more than half escaped.”
After struggling some more, Su Che finally gave up on the door for now. Letting out a sigh, he turned around and transmitted a message, “Alright, let’s continue discussing our matters.”
“What’s there to discuss?” the snake woman said with a mournful gaze. “It’s just resisting uselessly before eventually being killed by you.”
She said this because Su Che was enveloped in Black Stone Clear Flow, making it impossible for her to see his true cultivation level. She could only rely on habitual thinking to conclude that anyone of witch lineage could easily kill someone like her, even if he was just a young man of the witch race.
“Why be so pessimistic?” Su Che persuaded gently. “If I really wanted to kill you, I would have done it already. Why bother talking so much? Why won’t you listen to reason?”

“Who knows what your intentions are,” the serpent woman sneered. “Maybe you’re deliberately playing games, finding pleasure in teasing me.”
“Come on!” Su Che retorted. “When have you ever heard of a sorcerer having such leisure to play such boring psychological games with you?”
“Hmph, maybe you’re a pervert among the sorcerers.”
The serpent woman let out a snort, showing extreme stubbornness, and muttered under her breath, “clearly a sorcerer sorcerer, yet doesn’t like fighting, only likes to talk nonstop.”
Su Che helplessly rolled his eyes, thinking to himself: You’re the pervert. Being imprisoned alone for over a thousand years, it would be strange if you weren’t…
Of course, though he thought this, he couldn’t say it to provoke her. He had to patiently persuade her: “How could I have the mood to play games? That voice keeps urging me to kill you. I’ve been holding back, desperate inside—where would I find the time to play games with you?”
At the mention of ‘that voice,’ the serpent goddess froze, realizing that Su Che might truly not be teasing her. Over the years, she had suffered greatly because of ‘that voice’ and knew better than anyone how terrifying its coercion was…
“Do you really not want to kill me?” the serpent woman asked seriously.
“Of course not!” Su Che replied with equal seriousness. “If I were lying to you, may I never become a great sorcerer!”
Such a vow was extremely serious for a sorcerer. Sorcerers were warlike not because they were inherently mad, but because their desire for power was endless. Even an unremarkable male sorcerer would not easily make such a vow.
The serpent goddess hesitated, beginning to believe Su Che a little.
Seeing her show some interest, Su Che seized the opportunity: “If we switched places, I’d definitely be willing to take the risk. If I win, there would be endless freedom; even if I lose, it’s just a matter of dying earlier or later. If you don’t trust me, stay here—you’ll die at the hands of another sorcerer sooner or later.”
“Oh?” The serpent goddess became interested and pressed further, “Do you mean that even if I refuse your request, you won’t kill me?”
“Yes,” Su Che replied seriously. “Though I am a sorcerer, I grew up in a very warm family. I have my own principles—never killing an innocent being without cause.”
Though these words might have been a bit self-praising, Su Che believed he was a reasonable and principled person in this cruelly competitive world of cultivation.
“I…”

The Snake Woman was full of hesitation. No matter how nicely or reasonably Su Che spoke, she was unwilling to easily trust a stranger and hand over her life to him.
“Kill her, kill her, kill her, kill her, kill her, kill her…”
Suddenly, that mental disturbance invaded Su Che’s mind again. Clearly, that ‘thing’ was getting impatient. This time, the urging sounds were much more urgent, as if mental whips were driving Su Che forward.