Chapter 162: On Fengling Lake

Su Che was secretly nervous. He had thought Tianyin would make some demands that would worry him the most, but to his surprise, it was merely…

“I’ll walk slowly along the way. You shouldn’t rush me. Also, just call me Senior Sister—change back to the normal title once we reach Taiyi Gate.”

That was all Tianyin’s requests.

Su Che agreed without hesitation, though it was somewhat unexpected.

From that day on, the two traveled during the day. Their flying speed wasn’t fast, so when they encountered distinctive towns, they would dress as ordinary people and spend a day there, staying in inns at night.

Tianyin showed the typical traits of a woman in her twenties—full of interest in all beautiful things. Even the less tasty local snacks would be tried one by one.

Without her having to explain, Su Che could guess that this talented girl had been pampered by Wuji Gate since she was young. Apart from practicing cultivation and reading books, she had never experienced ordinary life. In fact, the simple life of ordinary people was also a form of mental training for her.

Not only her, but for any cultivator, it was an essential part of life experience.

Especially for those sects that placed great emphasis on spiritual cultivation, at a certain point, they would assign similar tasks to their disciples who had grown up in the sect—sending them to travel the world or live in seclusion in a town for a while.

During the nights spent lodging, Su Che used all his time for cultivation. His method remained unchanged: combining medicinal pills with two types of magical energy. However, it was clear that after acquiring a dualattribute earth spirit root, his cultivation speed had increased significantly again.

To explain this in the simplest terms, the original three-type spirit roots could be seen as three people. Among them, only the “fire person” was actually cultivating, while the “earth person” and “wood person” just ate and caused trouble in various ways, inevitably slowing down the fire person’s progress.

Now, with a dual spirit root, it was as if one troublemaker had been removed, so the cultivation speed naturally accelerated greatly. One day, when there were no troublemakers left, it would become the best possible— a celestial spirit root.

Therefore, finding other ways to further improve his spirit root quality and eventually achieve a celestial spirit root became another life goal Su Che set for himself.

On this day, in Fengnan City, Su Che and Tian Yin rented a painted boat and drifted slowly across Fengling Lake. Inside the boat were several musicians and two singing girls; the sound of the zither echoed, and the melodies were gentle…

It was Su Che’s idea to rent a painted boat to enjoy this leisurely moment. After all, aside from four years as a patrol officer and four years of rigorous cultivation, he had never experienced the pleasures that a young master should have.

Inside the boat, Su Che and Tian Yin sipped tea and played chess, occasionally exchanging a few words. After days of getting alongfriendlyly, their conversations had become quite casual.

Yet Su Che had never asked questions like, “Why did you choose to travel the world with me?” Because it wasn’t yet time to lift the veil behind this pretense.

“Senior sister, I’d like to ask you for a highly advanced disguise technique that can deceive the discerning eyes of someone at the late Golden Core stage…” Su Che picked up a chess piece and spoke in a low voice.

“There indeed is such a technique, but if someone remembers the pattern of your spiritual energy fluctuations, no matter how much you change your appearance, it will be useless,” Tian Yin replied softly.

“I do have a few small props that can slightly alter my spiritual energy fluctuations. All that’s missing is a truly advanced disguise technique,” Su Che replied.

Tian Yin nodded gently, recalling the “demonic pearl” he had taken out from his bosom the first time they met. Back then, the spiritual energy fluctuations he created to mimic those of a demon were almost indistinguishable from the real thing.

A few days earlier, Su Che had already told Tian Yin about how You Lan Gui Ji from the Wan Gui Sect had forced him into something. There was no need to hide anything now, so he said outright, “You Lan Gui Ji will surely search for me everywhere. Coincidentally, for some reason, I also need to go to the Wan Gui Sect’s territory. Therefore, a highly advanced disguise technique is extremely important to me. Please teach me something, senior sister.”

Since Su Che always felt that one day Tian Yin would become his mortal enemy, he saw asking her for such a favor as merely taking advantage of his enemy in advance, and he felt completely at ease about it.

Tian Yin, as usual, remained good-tempered and easy to deal with. Without hesitation, she took out a blank jade slip and used her mental power to engrave a disguise technique onto it.

After handing the jade slip to Su Che, she softly complained, “You really have thick skin. Every time you open your mouth, it’s either to ask for advice or to ask for something…”

“Opportunities like this are rare.”

Su Che grinned and said, “A kind-hearted master like Tianyin is unique in the cultivation world. For me, this is a rare blessing that must be cherished.”
Tianyin gave him a faint glance and said, “I hope your words match your actions, not just sweet talk… But it doesn’t matter. I’m keeping track of everything. One day…”
Su Che pretended to be deeply focused on the jade slip, acting as if he hadn’t heard her. As always, some things weren’t ready to be revealed yet.
It was better to stay in ignorance. Su Che was happy to continue pretending until the day he reached the Golden Core stage—perhaps then he would have the right to look her in the eye on equal terms…
“Amazing!”
Before long, Su Che exclaimed in admiration, “I never thought there could be such a wonderful disguise technique in the world. Thank you, senior sister! You’re truly generous!”
Snap!
Tianyin was too lazy to look at him. She placed a chess piece down and scolded softly, “You lost again. Can’t you concentrate when playing chess?”
Su Che put away the jade slip and said seriously, “To be honest, in the first few games, it was only because you’re my senior sister Tianyin… I didn’t want to beat you. If I really focused, you wouldn’t win a single game!”
Tianyin snorted, clearly unconvinced.
“How about we bet three games? The first to win two wins. The loser must fulfill one request from the winner,” Su Che said, his eyes gleaming.
“Fine, let’s bet. Start!” Tianyin was very confident in her chess skills.
The game resumed. Su Che was focused, moving his pieces swiftly—seemingly truly serious this time.
At first, Tianyin was dismissive, but soon she showed unmistakable surprise: This guy’s chess skills were truly extraordinary!
The first game ended quickly, and Tianyin indeed lost.
“Second game!”
Su Che looked serious. With a wave of his hand, he started the game anew.
“I was fooled! In the previous games, he pretended so well that I was completely deceived,” Tianyin thought to herself. “I really didn’t expect my chess skills to be inferior to his…”
Unbeknownst to her, Su Che hadn’t been pretending in those earlier games—he had truly been at that level, which allowed him to deceive Tianyin’s sharp intuition.
Now, it wasn’t Su Che playing against Tianyin, but a prisoner in the Immortal Prison known as the ‘Chess Prodigy’.
Everyone has weaknesses as well as strengths. The prisoners in the Immortal Prison might not have high cultivation levels, but each had their own special skills.

For example, the prisoner currently playing chess with Tianyin is that short-built cultivator at the Su family’s manor who surrendered without a fight. Playing chess is his greatest hobby in life.
While Su Che was playing chess with Tianyin, in the Immortal Prison, Lao He was also playing chess with the short cultivator. However, every move Lao He made was in accordance with Tianyin’s moves.
Wind, thunder, lightning, fire—moves swift as lightning! Before long, he didn’t just win two out of three games; he won all three. Su Che smiled triumphantly and said, “It seems my senior sister has underestimated me once again.”
Tianyin nodded silently, still stunned from her loss. After a while, she sighed and said, “Then state your demands.”
“I haven’t thought of any demands for now. We can discuss it later.”
Su Che’s tone seemed playful, but in reality, it was also a way to reserve a chance for himself—perhaps it would play a crucial role in the future.
Tianyin glared at him, clearly seeing through his attempt to act cunningly. She opened her red lips, ready to rebuke him, but suddenly her expression changed…
Su Che also noticed something and quickly turned his head toward the lake shore in the distance.
“I wondered who it was—turns out it’s Tianyin from the Wuji Sect.”
A soft, charming voice came from afar, “I thought so too. My eyelids kept twitching early in the morning—turns out I ran into an old friend by the Fengling Lake.”
Tianyin transmitted a message to Su Che: “It’s Mengliu, the Witch of the Illusion Magic Sect, at the mid-stage Golden Core cultivation level. She’s not alone. If things get physical, be careful and watch out.”
“Understood,” Su Che nodded slightly.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Three figures appeared in an instant, descending from the sky and landing on the deck at the front of the pleasure boat.
Clang! The musicians and singers inside the boat were stunned by this scene of “fairies descending from heaven,” dropping their instruments to the ground…
Tianyin softly recited a few syllables, and the musicians and singers collapsed, falling into a deep sleep. Only in this way could they save their lives.
Women from the Illusion Magic Sect were always sexy and enchanting, and these three were no exception—especially the leader, the Witch of Mengliu, who was a truly breathtaking beauty.
The other two were her disciples, both at the late-stage Foundation Establishment level.
As the saying goes, those who come bring trouble. If a fight broke out, on the surface, Su Che and Tianyin would definitely be at a disadvantage.
“Hey, Tianyin, did I come at an awkward time, interrupting your sweet rendezvous?”

Mengliu the Witch sized up Su Che from head to toe, nodded, and said, “Tianyin has good taste. Though this young man’s cultivation level isn’t high, he has a strong build and abundant vital energy. Oh, he’s even a virgin! It seems Tianyin still hasn’t gotten him yet…”
This woman truly lived up to her reputation as a witch—she started with lewd remarks, immediately labeling him as having an affair, leaving Tianyin unable to respond.
Once such things were brought up, no explanation would help; it would only make things worse.