Chapter 152: Brothers Working Together

Huhuuhu…
Pale golden flames surged out from the furnace over thirty feet tall, forming a thin stream of fire that was drawn into the bronze gourd.
During this process, Yu Qing silently appeared behind Su Che.
Lao He sensed that Yu Qing had used some extremely sophisticated invisibility spell; even his own detection abilities couldn’t detect his presence while he was hidden.
By the time Yu Qing reappeared, Su Che had naturally noticed his arrival, but he continued to collect the core fire from the furnace with a calm expression.
“Not bad magic artifact. Is it a spiritual treasure?” Yu Qing asked softly.
“Yes,” Su Che nodded. “A great deal of spiritual fire must be gathered for its power to be fully unleashed. At present, it can’t be used to fight enemies.”
Su Che had no intention of using this spiritual treasure secretly. Since it had offensive capabilities, it would eventually have to be revealed.
Moreover, since he was showing it in front of his senior brother Yu Qing, there was no need to worry.
Though it was wise to be cautious, Su Che knew that if Yu Qing would become greedy just because of a spiritual treasure, then he was underestimating him.
“A spiritual treasure that can be controlled at the Foundation Establishment stage is truly rare. You truly have great fortune,” Yu Qing nodded gently. “I know a place that has a high-grade spiritual fire. If you have time, you might want to go take a look.”
“Great!”
Su Che was delighted—this was exactly the kind of information he needed most.
Yu Qing had an ice spiritual root with mutated attributes, so various spiritual fires were useless to him.
There was no rush to discuss spiritual fires for now. Su Che had already collected all the core fire from the furnace, and he could now carry out the wealth-generating plan Yu Qing had suggested.
Then Yu Qing pointed upward and said quietly, “I’ve found that above is the warehouse of this mine. Thousands of pounds of Black Radiant Ink Crystals refined by the earth demons are all stored there.”
Su Che nodded. Lao He’s detection abilities also detected that a certain area above was covered by a formation, preventing spiritual perception. He had guessed earlier that it might be the mine’s warehouse.
It was just unclear how Yu Qing could be so sure that there were thousands of pounds of Black Radiant Ink Crystals stored there. After all, even Lao He, after interrogating several mine workers in the Immortal Prison, didn’t know exactly how much was stored in the warehouse.
“It seems Yu Qing’s detection abilities are quite remarkable,” Su Che thought to himself.

In the various markets of the cultivation world, the price of Black Shining Ink Crystals is about four hundred Ling Stones per jin. Thousands of jin amount to at least two million Ling Stones—a vast fortune, truly living up to the saying of “making a fortune out of nothing.” Thinking of this, Su Che was deeply moved. His senior brother Yu Qing was willing to involve him in such a good opportunity, allowing them to share such a huge sum of wealth.

Yu Qing seemed to sense Su Che’s thoughts and said softly, “Knowing I was in danger, you still took the risk to come and help. What are a few treasures compared to that? Younger brother Su, I believe you are qualified to join me, Yu Qing, and in the future, in this cultivation world, the two of us will surely achieve greatness. These ink crystals today are just the beginning.”

“Yes, senior brother,” Su Che nodded. “The same goes for the two spots for the true disciples of Tianxuan Sect in two years.”

“That’s right,” Yu Qing smiled silently.

After saying this, Yu Qing took out another Earth-Diving Pill and asked, “Do you still have any of these?”

“Yes,” Su Che also took out one.

“Follow me.”

Yu Qing swallowed the pill and immediately disappeared underground; Su Che followed closely behind.

Minerals are part of the earth, and the art of Earth-Diving also works in mineral veins, though it’s slightly slower than in ordinary soil layers. The two of them moved upward along the mineral veins for dozens of feet until they reached the rock wall outside the warehouse. With the help of Lao Hei’s detection ability, Su Che could see through the rock layers and noticed that six Yakshas were standing outside the warehouse gate, guarding the place.

The fact that these six Yakshas were still on duty despite the battle going on outside further proved the importance of this warehouse. It was unclear how Yu Qing managed to see through more than ten feet of thick rock, but he then sent a message asking, “How should we divide these six Yakshas?”

According to Yu Qing’s plan, he intended for himself to handle four of them while letting Su Che deal with the other two. But out of respect, he should still ask Su Che’s opinion first.

“Half each!” Su Che replied without hesitation.

“Good!”

Yu Qing smiled knowingly. From now on, the two brothers would have to reveal some of their secrets to each other.

“Go!”

In one swift move, Su Che and Yu Qing rushed out of the rock wall at the same time and charged at the Yaksha guards.

But mid-air, the two of them unexpectedly used similar techniques—both turned one figure into three, just like the clone technique seen only in the immortal realm.

Boom!

Su Che’s strategy of turning one into three involved releasing Lao Hei and Snake Woman. At the same time, the Supreme Jade Ring appeared in a flash, instantly trapping one of the Yakshas.
“Ha!”
Lao Hei and Su Che communicated mentally. Wielding his Witch Tribe battle axe, he rushed forward and swung at the trapped Yaksha.
Although the Asura Demon Body was powerful, it was still inanimate—lacking the ability to cast spells—so it could only rely on close combat. The Yaksha was caught off guard, trapped by the Supreme Jade Ring, and with the sudden appearance of the “Asura King,” its instinctive reactions left it frozen, unable to resist.
With one swift swing, Lao Hei split the Yaksha in two from head to tail.
At that moment, Su Che controlled four spirit swords simultaneously, launching fierce attacks on the other two Yakshas. He didn’t aim to kill them instantly but to hold them off so they couldn’t rescue their companion.
After Lao Hei finished killing one Yaksha, Su Che, with a thought, used the Supreme Jade Ring to trap the second Yaksha. Immediately, the four swords launched a barrage of attacks against it.
After the trials at the Eye of Wind and Thunder, Su Che’s mental realm had improved greatly. Where he could once control only three magical artifacts at once, he could now handle five with ease.
Ding ding dang…
The Yaksha trapped by the Jade Ring waved its steel fork frantically to block the attacks, but the restraining force of the Supreme Jade Ring slowed it down drastically. After resisting for just a dozen strikes, its reaction speed fell behind.
Chih, chih, chih!
One missed move meant defeat. A sword pierced its chest through an opening, causing its body to stiffen. Then, two more swords penetrated it completely.
Swish!
Being cautious, Su Che used his final sword to sever its head—this was the safest way to kill it!
Beside him, Lao Hei and Snake Woman jointly attacked another Yaksha, easily winning as well.
Just as Su Che retracted his swords, he saw Snake Woman use her tail to fling the Yaksha into a rock wall. Lao Hei then swung his axe, knocking it to the ground.
Done!
Looking over, Brother Yu Qing had also just ended his battle. Beside him stood a giant silver wolf, seemingly at the mid-stage of the Foundation Establishment phase. There was also a stiff-faced puppet holding two machetes, clearly possessing considerable combat strength.
Yu Qing glanced at Snake Woman and whispered, “Demons.”
He then looked at the Asura Demon Body and whispered again, “Puppets.”

Then, his gaze met Su Che’s, and after laughing three times, everything was understood without words.
Unexpectedly, the tactics used by the two of them were exactly the same—both relying on a demon and a puppet as helpers. But to be honest, Su Che’s two helpers, Asura and the Snake Woman, seemed even more powerful…
Furthermore, Su Che was certain that Senior Brother Yu Qing must possess a spatial magic artifact at least at the Lingbao level to provide a sufficiently comfortable living space for that silver wolf.
Since no beast bag could be seen on Senior Brother Yu Qing’s body, this proved that only a Lingbao-level artifact could be refined and hidden within the holder’s body.
With all six Yaksha guards dealt with, it was time to open the warehouse door.
Yu Qing said in a deep voice, “The entire warehouse is also a killing array, and the warehouse door is the entrance to that array…”
Su Che nodded silently, knowing that unless they found a way to break through this killing array, they would have to open the door the normal way.
“Do you understand array art?” Yu Qing asked, turning his head.
“No,” Su Che shook his head. “I haven’t had time to learn such things.”
There wasn’t even a decent array master in the Immortal Prison. This was because throughout the entire cultivation world, very few cultivators truly mastered the art of arrays.
“I don’t understand either,” Yu Qing said with a smirk.
“Then…”
Su Che used his spiritual sense to quickly scan the bodies of those six nearly naked Yakshas but found no key to the door. He said, “Then we’ll have to force our way in.”
“At first, I thought the same,” Yu Qing replied. “But since Tianyin from the Wuji Gate is here, the noise we make breaking through the array might alert her. So we must act quickly, break open the door, retrieve the Ink Crystal, and leave immediately.”
“Okay.”
Su Che nodded and prepared to act.
But at that moment, someone’s voice was heard: “There’s no need for all this trouble. I can open this door.”
The voice was gentle and melodious, making one feel as if bathed in spring breeze.
Yet Su Che shuddered violently, for that voice was clearly hers…
“Tianyin!” Su Che cried out, but quickly realized that such a title was inappropriate, so he added two words: “Ancestor.”
Yu Qing was also clearly shocked. His special detection ability spread out immediately, but he couldn’t locate Tianyin.
Su Che was the same way. Though he knew Tianyin was nearby, even Lao Hei’s detection ability couldn’t determine her exact location.

In the Immortal Prison, Lao He slapped his forehead in embarrassment and frustration, saying, “There are countless talented people in the cultivation world. It seems that my detection abilities aren’t omnipotent after all!”
Today, first he encountered Yu Qing’s invisibility technique, which prevented him from detecting anything, and just a short while later, Tian Yin appeared as well. These two consecutive blows were indeed quite devastating for Lao He.
At this moment, although Su Che was extremely shocked, he still managed to stay calm enough. He comforted himself by thinking, “Lao He, this is normal. As our strength grows, we encounter more and more powerful cultivators. There’s always someone better out there. In the cultivation world, who dares to claim to be invincible…”