Chapter 158: The Woman Who Cannot Be Seen Through

Whoosh…

The mountain-like ruins of the pharmacy appeared out of thin air as Elder Jin Ming, a Golden Core cultivator, used his powerful magic to move them to an open space nearby, as if effortlessly picking up a troublesome brick and tossing it aside.

The Great Seizing Art! This was one of the powers at a Golden Core cultivator’s disposal—allowing them not only to lift objects weighing millions of pounds but also to capture enemies from hundreds of feet away, leaving them with no escape.

Seeing this, Su Che secretly rejoiced, “If that damned Black Fiend had known this art back then, how could I have escaped his grasp?”

Elder Jin Ming moved all the ruins away, leaving the ground spotless with not a trace of dust, revealing the underground entrance to the alchemy secret chamber.

To be fair, neither Su Che nor the people from the pharmacy could go down. Instead, Elder Jin Ming selected two law enforcement disciples who knew alchemy to descend and collect evidence.

In less than fifteen minutes, the two disciples came out with grim expressions and reported the results of their search using telepathy.

Elder Jin Ming was furious and immediately declared loudly, “Arrest all the employees of Linghu Pharmacy! This matter must be thoroughly investigated!”

Dozens of law enforcement disciples gathered around immediately and swiftly subdued the employees, who stood frozen in shock, unable to resist. Only the most powerful deputy manager remained, to be dealt with by Elder Jin Ming.

“What’s going on?” the deputy manager asked, his face filled with shock and confusion. “Elder Jin Ming, why is this happening? Why are you arresting us? Why…?”

With a snap of his hand, Elder Jin Ming sent out an invisible force that sealed off all his meridians, trapping his vital energy and even depriving him of the ability to speak.

“You don’t need to speak now. When the time comes, you’ll speak whether you want to or not,” Elder Jin Ming snapped angrily, clearly seething with rage.

He truly hadn’t expected such heartless actions to exist in the market he was in charge of. Now that it had been exposed in public, it was like a slap in his face…

“What’s going on?”

“What’s down there that has made Elder Jin Ming so angry?”

Onlookers discussed among themselves, filled with curiosity about the secrets hidden in the alchemy secret chamber.

Although Su Che didn’t go down, he had already imagined those scenes. In the Immortal Prison, Old Hei interrogated Shopkeeper Chao and learned that he not only liked to use living people to make medicine but also enjoyed playing a game of human puzzle, piecing together different parts of various people without letting them die…
As for why Shopkeeper Chao framed Su Che, it was quite simple—nothing to do with the Black Realm Immortal Lotus. He simply valued Su Che’s extremely strong physical condition, seeing him as an excellent specimen.
That old man, whose natural life was coming to an end, no longer cared about money or treasures. He just wanted to satisfy his extremely perverse hobbies before dying.
Such a twisted person couldn’t be understood with ordinary logic, and it was precisely for this reason that Su Che fell for his trap without any defenses.
As for the second shopkeeper, he really knew nothing about these matters, only slightly aware that his master was skilled in poisons…
With Shopkeeper Chao’s evil deeds exposed but him still at large, could Su Che prove his innocence?
Of course, it wasn’t that simple. A Golden Core cultivator like Elder Jin Ming wasn’t someone easy to deceive.
Next, Su Che was taken to Elder Jin Ming’s residence, the Law Enforcement Hall in Xinghuang Mountain Market.
Inside the hall, Elder Jin Ming didn’t even let Su Che sit down before asking directly, “When the pharmacy collapsed, I sensed the presence of demons and earth demons. Shouldn’t you explain what’s going on?”
Su Che had been prepared for this question and immediately replied, “It was one of my spiritual beasts and a demonic puppet.”
“Oh? You’re quite capable.”
Elder Jin Ming gave him a cold glance and said indifferently, “Then summon them and let me see.”
Of course, Su Che didn’t want to reveal his secrets in front of him. Once he started, Elder Jin Ming’s curiosity would only grow stronger, and who knew—he might even turn on him…
But refusal also required skill. Su Che had no choice but to bring up a powerful figure as a shield, saying to Jin Ming, “My spiritual beast and puppet have already been verified by Grandmaster Tianyin—there are no issues at all. Please rest assured, Elder Jin Ming.”
“Grandmaster Tianyin?”
Elder Jin Ming’s expression changed, and he asked, “When did you meet Grandmaster Tianyin?”
“Ten days ago, in the Underground Demon Realm,” Su Che replied calmly. “Grandmaster Tianyin also gave me a very generous reward.”

The reward Su Che mentioned referred to more than two thousand jin of black glow ink crystals. That day, Tian Yin opened the warehouse doors without charging a single penny; in a way, it could barely be considered a “reward.”
Jin Ming fell into deep thought, unable to figure out what kind of relationship existed between this disciple of Tian Xuan Zong and his aunt Tian Yin. After a while, he said, “Well then, I’ll send a message to Aunt Tian Yin to ask. If it’s true, I’ll let you leave; if it’s false, you’ll surely be punished!”
“Okay,” Su Che nodded calmly, though inwardly he sighed, “I originally thought I could stay away from Tian Yin, but now it seems I’ll have to deal with her again…”
Whoosh!
A message jade talisman was sent through the air—a high-grade communication token sent by a Golden Core cultivator, said to be capable of reaching distances of ten thousand miles. Since the place was only three thousand miles away from Wu Ji Gate, a reply from Tian Yin should arrive soon.
“Sit down and wait,” Jin Ming said casually with a wave of his hand.
Thus, Su Che sat silently in his chair, appearing calm on the surface but inwardly pondering strategies: What if this happened… how should he handle it? What if that happened… how could he resolve it?
He imagined various possibilities, but never expected that just half an hour later, Tian Yin’s graceful figure would appear before him.
“It’s just a message, yet she comes in person. Does she really value herself that much?”
The more this happened, the more worried Su Che became. Being valued by this woman was surely no good sign.
“Aunt?”
Jin Ming was also astonished. Before Tian Yin entered the hall, he hurriedly went up to her and bowed as a disciple, respectfully asking, “Aunt, I’m sorry to trouble you by having you come here in person…” What Jin Ming meant was that a simple message would have been enough to clarify things.
As he spoke, Jin Ming was also secretly nervous and somewhat regretful, thinking, “If I had known Aunt Tian Yin valued Su Che so much, I really shouldn’t have made things difficult for him.”
Within Wu Ji Gate, Tian Yin held an extremely lofty status. Although she had a gentle temperament and was kind to others, even the sect leader treated her with utmost courtesy and respect. Elders like Jin Ming, at the Golden Core level, had to be even more respectful in her presence.
“It’s fine. It’s not a hassle to come here.”
Tian Yin’s voice was as warm as spring breeze and as sweet as clear spring water, as if she were a merciful and kind fairy descended to the mortal world.

After entering, Tianyin looked at Su Che and smiled, saying, “Why have you come here again? And you even disguised yourself. Why such secrecy? How did Elder Jin Ming catch you?”
Hearing this, Su Che felt his face burn. Indeed, he had been “caught” again.
Before Su Che could respond, Jin Ming already stepped forward with a smile to explain for him, “No, no, Uncle, you’re overreacting. Su Che hasn’t done anything wrong. On the contrary, he helped me identify a great evil person lurking in the market.”
“That’s good.” Tianyin nodded slightly and then asked Su Che, “You didn’t come here just to sell Ink Crystals, did you?”
Su Che nodded. “Besides Ink Crystals, I also want to buy a Demon General-level Outer World Demon to use its soul to craft a magical artifact. Unfortunately, after waiting in the market for so many days, I still haven’t managed to get one.”
In front of Tianyin, Su Che definitely didn’t dare to lie. At the very least, he had to keep nine parts true and one part false, making sure not to reveal any crucial information.
“That’s not difficult.”
Tianyin turned to Jin Ming and said, “Jin Ming, could you please return to our sect and fetch such a demon for me? Bring it over as soon as possible, will you?”
“Sure, sure!”
Jin Ming agreed eagerly, “Uncle, you’re too kind. It’s what a disciple should do. It’s not at all a trouble.”
With that, he bowed and left in a hurry.
Su Che was lost in thought. He really hadn’t expected that Elder Jin Ming, who had seemed so powerful just moments ago, was now acting as a messenger, even for his own sake…
“It’s indeed not easy to buy high-grade Outer World Demons in the market,” Tianyin said slowly as she sat down. “Demons like these are only useful within the sect as a means to temper disciples; otherwise, they have no other purpose.”
Su Che bowed and said, “Thank you, Ancestor Tianyin, for your help. Otherwise, I might not have been able to get one even after staying in the market for so long.”
Tianyin nodded slightly, accepting Su Che’s gratitude, but then asked, “I guess you wouldn’t dare to sell all the Black Shining Ink Crystals you have, right?”
“Yes,” Su Che admitted. “To avoid unnecessary trouble, I only sold three hundred jin.”
“Give me the rest,” Tianyin said with a smile, extending her small hand. “I’ll take them to the Merchant Alliance and exchange them all for Spirit Stones.”
“Hm?”
Su Che was slightly stunned. Of course, he knew that given her status, she couldn’t possibly covet his property. But what worried him was that she was being so kind to him.
The better she treated him, the more it indicated there was something wrong!

But in action, Su Che still took out all the ink crystals—just over two thousand jin, though it was only a tiny pile.
Swish!
Tian Yin casually put them into her storage ring and said softly, “Wait here; I’ll be back in a moment.”
After she left, Su Che thought worriedly, “Lao Hei, she takes such good care of me just to come all this way for a message. Now she’s giving me the Heavenly Demon and helping me sell the ink crystals… Do you think she might have learned about the Mi Xian Ling flag?”
“I don’t know. This woman is impossible to read or predict,” Lao Hei replied. “But everything has a reason; she must have some ulterior motive for doing this.”