Chapter 161: An Unsolvable Puzzle

Through the mental image transmitted by Lao Hei, Su Che saw…
Inside the Palace of the Ghost World, the Ghost Emperor sat atop a high platform, looking down upon six ghost soldiers below.
Swish!
The Ghost Emperor suddenly raised his hand and sent out four beams of golden light, freezing those four ghost soldiers in place, preventing them from moving.
These four ghost soldiers had committed unforgivable sins in their past lives. Normally, they should have endured various punishments in the Ghost World and then been reborn as beasts for hundreds of lifetimes before they could become human again.
However, the current Ghost World was merely an empty shell, lacking any facilities for punishment or reward, as well as the systems and functions related to reincarnation. So…
At the Ghost Emperor’s command, the other two ghost soldiers who deserved rewards were ordered to devour those four guilty ones.
Seeing this, Su Che thought to himself, “Ghost entities can indeed devour their kind to strengthen themselves, but such growth is subject to many restrictions. It’s not the case that unlimited devouring will lead to unlimited strength.”
As his thoughts flashed by, the mental image continued, showing the scenes of the ghost soldiers devouring each other.
Su Che quickly skipped over this part and moved on to the moment when the two ghost soldiers, after devouring their kind, saw their strength soar dramatically, turning them into two ghost guards!
“Huh?”
Su Che was greatly surprised. “Even if they’re just at the first level of Qi cultivation as ghost guards, such a rate of improvement is extremely abnormal.”
Lao Hei chuckled and said, “See? Master, I also think something’s off, but it seems like it might be a good thing.”
Su Che made an immediate decision. He thought, “Send all these souls into the Ghost World. I want to see what kind of surprises this Ghost Emperor can bring me.”
So, Lao Hei sent the more than 300 ordinary souls, over 300 ghost soldiers, and over 40 ghost guards imprisoned in the first level of the Immortal Prison into the Ghost World.
In fact, Lao Hei shared the same thoughts as Su Che. But such a drastic action required the master’s approval; he couldn’t act on his own.
With a rush, hundreds of souls of varying strengths poured into the Ghost World and were immediately summoned by the Ghost Emperor into the palace.
Although over 600 souls seemed many, they appeared extremely small within the vast palace.
The Ghost Emperor, seated atop the platform, immediately sent a mental request, “Master, how should I deal with them?”

This time, Su Che finally replied to him, “The previous method was quite good. Before various systems and facilities in the Ghost Realm are established, let those souls worthy of reward become stronger first.”
“As ordered!” The Ghost Emperor of the Netherworld respectfully accepted the command.
After that, Su Che and Lao He watched quietly as the Ghost Emperor swiftly dealt with those souls: those who had been kind in life stood on the left side of the hall, while those who had been evil stood on the right side.
It only took fifteen minutes for the judgment of over six hundred souls to be completed, showing that the Ghost Emperor of the Netherworld was extremely efficient.
In the hall, there were just over a hundred kind souls on the left side, with the remaining four hundred being evil souls.
Su Che understood that it wasn’t that most beings in the world were evil, but rather that the stronger their evil intentions, the greater the chance they had of turning into souls after death. Out of an instinctive fear of being judged in the netherworld, they tried to stay in the human world as long as possible, giving cultivators the opportunity to capture them.
Within the Ghost Realm, the Ghost Emperor of the Netherworld seemed to possess infinite power. With a wave of his hand, a burst of golden light controlled those four hundred evil ghosts.
What followed was a brutal scene of mutual consumption…
Half an hour later, those over a hundred souls, now greatly strengthened, turned into more than eighty ghost soldiers and over forty ghost guards.
Among them, more than a dozen ghost guards already possessed strength equivalent to that of humans at the highest stage of the Qi Cultivation realm. Perhaps, if this process of consumption continued, even powerful ghost generals could be created.
The strength of ghost generals was comparable to that of human cultivators in the Foundation Establishment stage. Imagine if one could control several ghost generals, along with a Asura Demon Body, a Snake Woman, and a Little Dragon—such a lineup would be invincible during the Foundation Establishment stage.
This approach wasn’t about following the path of “summoning spiritual pets”; rather, they served as one’s own guard team, capable of protecting their master in times of crisis.
Thinking of this, Su Che said to Lao He, “I see the difference between the Ghost Realm of the Netherworld and the cultivation world. Here, souls consume each other without needing time for digestion or growth—consumption happens instantly, and strength increases immediately.”
“Yes, master. I think the same,” Lao He said, equally excited.
In the cultivation world, a ghost guard at the later stage of Qi Cultivation, if it consumed a soul of equal strength, would need at least several months to digest it and even longer to grow. But in the Ghost Realm of the Netherworld, this slow cycle was completely omitted.

“Although it only saves time, it’s still a quite powerful tool. Time is the most precious thing, isn’t it?”
Su Che was extremely excited and had already made up his mind: “Lao Hei, after completing the Taiyi Gate’s sect exchange task, on the way back, we need to visit the Wan Gui Sect’s territory again and try to acquire as many spirits as possible.”
Lao Hei warned, “But be careful of that old witch, Ghost Princess. She’s definitely searching for you everywhere.”
“Hmm, that’s true,” Su Che nodded. “Although the Spirit Concealment Technique can alter one’s spiritual energy fluctuations, Ghost Princess already knows about this ability of mine. Maybe she still has a way to recognize me. The divine spells of the late Golden Core stage shouldn’t be underestimated.”
“I need to come up with a proper plan…”
…
When the agreed day arrived, Su Che met Tian Yin again. The two would travel together to Taiyi Gate.
Though it was called ‘traveling together,’ Su Che felt it was more like being ‘escorted.’ With her mysterious background and strength at the Golden Core stage, why would she need to travel with someone as insignificant as him?
The two slowly left the market. Su Che took out the jade dish and said apologetically, “Elder Tian Yin, my flying speed will surely slow you down.”
Tian Yin smiled gently. “I fly even slower than you because I plan to take my time to enjoy the scenery along the way and experience the local customs. There’s no need to rush.”
Su Che nodded lightly. In fact, he was just as curious and interested in the world as she was, being in his twenties mentally. It would indeed be great to take some time to explore around.
Just as he was about to ascend with his flying device, Su Che heard Tian Yin ask, “A few days ago, your spiritual root was of the three-element type, but now it’s turned into a dual-element earth spirit root. What kind of rare treasures have you consumed during this time?”
“The petals of the Black Realm Immortal Lotus,” Su Che replied calmly.
He had already thought of how to address this question, because not only would Tian Yin ask, but everyone who had seen him before would also ask, and he would have to give answers. For example, his master, Senior Yu Qing, and even the several supreme elders of his sect…
Moreover, he had to tell the truth when answering. Even if he didn’t, others could still guess the answer. In the cultivation world, there surely weren’t many extraordinary methods that could improve one’s spiritual root quality—perhaps only two or three.

The less one tells the truth, the more suspicion it arouses; it’s better to speak openly. Undoubtedly, this matter will cause some trouble, but one shouldn’t give up such a rare opportunity to improve one’s spiritual root quality just because of fear of trouble. Moreover, the earlier one improves their spiritual root quality, the better. Su Che had thought these things through very carefully. Hearing Su Che’s answer, Tian Yin was unusually stunned for a moment before asking after a brief pause, “The one in the Wind and Thunder Desolate Land?” “Does really many people know about this?” Su Che murmured softly, “How come just anyone knows there’s a Black Domain Immortal Lotus in the Wind and Thunder Desolate Land?” Tian Yin smiled and said, “It wasn’t a secret to begin with. Almost all the high-ranking figures from the major sects knew about it. It’s just that no one has been able to obtain it. I really didn’t expect it to end up in your hands. It seems I underestimated you…” Su Che chuckled and said frankly, “The whole lotus is with me. If Grandmaster Tian Yin wants it, I can sell it to you.” He said this on purpose to test her, to find out what she really intended. Besides, since his spiritual root quality had already improved, the Black Domain Immortal Lotus was now a valuable item, no longer priceless. If she could afford the price, why not sell it to her? Tian Yin shook her head, “This thing is useless to me, but it will cause you a huge problem.” “Yes, it’s like carrying a treasure that brings trouble. I’ve been worrying about this,” Su Che said with a frown. “Grandmaster, see, if I don’t admit I have the Immortal Lotus, others will have even more suspicions and might even try to use soul-searching techniques on me. If I admit it, even more people will try every means to get it from me…” “No matter how you think about it, this problem is hard to solve,” Su Che said helplessly. “Unless I’m willing to hide away for life and never see anyone again. Grandmaster, is there any good solution you can suggest?” “Yes!” Tian Yin replied without hesitation. “The solution is simple. If anyone asks you, just say I gave you a petal of the Immortal Lotus, and only one petal. Let those who want the lotus come to me instead.” Huh? Su Che was stunned. Her kindness to him was really excessive! Unreasonable! What was her motive?

Seeing Su Che’s surprised expression, Tian Yin smiled faintly and said softly, “But since I’ve done so much for you, you must also fulfill one of my requests.”
“What request? Please go ahead, Grandmaster,” Su Che replied readily, though he was secretly nervous, fearing she might ask about the Mi Xian Ling flag.
Could it be that she already knew the Mi Xian Ling flag was in his possession?