Chapter 217: A Serious Situation

On the day after receiving the mission to gather the spiritual flames, Su Che disguised himself as a cultivator in the middle stage of Foundation Establishment and left the Tianxuan Sect’s gates.
“All the sources of spiritual flames provided by the sect elders are within Tianxuan Sect’s territory. Relatively speaking, the danger is low. However, collecting all five types of spiritual flames within a month is still quite urgent.”
Su Che had already reviewed the information in the jade slip and planned a route before setting out.
Lao He said, “According to the requirements of the Fire God Technique, only three high-grade spiritual flames are needed to attempt forming a core. But the higher the grade of the spiritual flames and the greater their quantity, the higher the success rate of forming a core.”
“Yes,” Su Che nodded inwardly. “If everything goes smoothly, I might as well collect that spiritual flame that Senior Yu Qing mentioned earlier too…”
Mentioning Yu Qing, Lao He smiled and said, “Yu Qing once said he wouldn’t give you a chance to become his senior. But during his absence, you’ve already become the top senior disciple of Tianxuan Sect. I wonder how he’ll feel when he returns and finds out about this?”
“He also has his own opportunities…”
Su Che mused, “I always have the feeling that when Senior Yu Qing returns, he’ll likely shock everyone as well. He has just as many secrets as I do.”
“Yes, I’ve always thought that the power hidden within him must be either a very powerful Dao artifact or…”
At this point, Lao He seemed to realize something and said, “These days, there’s a rumor within Tianxuan Sect saying that you are the reincarnation of some ancient great figure. But we know best that your achievements stem from the Immortal Prison… Yet this rumor reminds me that perhaps Yu Qing is the real reincarnation.”
Su Che nodded silently. “I also think his Great Collapse Divine Fist can only be mastered without a teacher by awakening memories from his past life.”
As he conversed with Lao He in his mind, Su Che flew straight in the southeast direction, intending to stop by his hometown of Yan’an Country along the way. Ever since entering the cultivation world, he hadn’t returned to that land of his birth.
His hometown, Caishi Town, was a remote town in Yan’an Country. The great catastrophe five years ago not only took away all of Su Che’s relatives but also destroyed most of Yan’an Country, affecting an area of over six thousand li in radius.
Yan’an Country was more than ten thousand li away from Tianxuan Sect, but Su Che reached it in just over three hours of flight.
From high above, seeing the vast expanse of gray-black scorched land in the distance, a wave of pain struck him once again.

That damned catastrophe took everything from him in an instant…
Su Che flew straight into the depths of Yan’an Country, where all he saw was endless scorched land.
It was exactly as he remembered—no mountains, no rivers, the entire land had sunk hundreds of feet deep, like a gigantic crater…
“Over six thousand miles in radius, completely destroyed. Even countless mountains and rivers turned to ashes. This definitely isn’t the work of the cultivation world’s forces…”
Times had changed. Su Che now had enough knowledge of cultivation to understand that such a terrifying catastrophe could never be created by the forces of the cultivation world.
Even if hundreds of Yuan Ying ancestors worked together in perfect coordination, launching the strongest attacks at the land, it would still be impossible to destroy an area of six thousand miles in one strike, let alone do so so completely.
Undoubtedly, the perpetrators of this disaster must be some powerful beings from the higher realms!
“The Spirit Realm? Or even the Immortal Realm…”
Su Che knew that this catastrophe might be related to the origin of the Immortal Prison Pagoda. That’s why he had never asked the elders in his sect about it. Even if he wanted to uncover the secrets behind this catastrophe, he had to act cautiously in secret, ensuring no one knew he was a survivor of the disaster…
Swish!
After landing on the ground, Su Che picked up a handful of black soil and speculated, “It’s certain that this catastrophe wasn’t caused by the cultivation world’s forces. Therefore, it can be inferred that it was the result of a great battle in the higher realms, which broke through the spatial barrier and affected the lower cultivation world…”
“That means the Immortal Prison Pagoda very likely originated from the higher realms. One could even assume that the great battle back then was triggered by some powerful figures fighting over the Immortal Prison Pagoda…”
At this thought, Su Che’s heart trembled as he suddenly realized a very serious issue.
“Lao He, do you think the current chaos in the cultivation world might also be related to the Immortal Prison Pagoda?”
Connecting various clues and making bold inferences was a professional skill essential for a detective. Having visited the disaster site in person once again today, Su Che concluded that sects like Taiyi Gate, Wan Gui Sect, and Blood God Sect had received orders from some powerful figures in the Spirit Realm to stir up chaos in the cultivation world. Such a massive conspiracy couldn’t have been carried out hastily; it likely began years earlier as part of long-term planning.
Chronologically, it also matched well with the catastrophe in Yan’an Country.

So, for these two seemingly different things, there’s now a clue that can connect them. Hearing Su Che’s reasoning, Lao He also became nervous immediately and asked, “Master, do you mean that the chaos in the cultivation world is ultimately aimed at finding the location of the Immortal Prison Pagoda?” “It’s possible.” Su Che continued to speculate with a serious expression, “Assume that someone is indeed looking for the Immortal Prison Pagoda. Then, what role could this chaos in the cultivation world play?” Su Che couldn’t figure this out for now, perhaps because of his limited knowledge and experience—he still didn’t understand what advantages falling into chaos in the cultivation world might bring to certain people in the Spirit World… One person’s plan may be short-sighted, but two can come up with a better one. Lao He, however, had an idea and guessed, “Master, could it be that some people in the Spirit World want to find the Immortal Prison Pagoda, but due to certain rules between the heavens and earth, they can’t enter the cultivation world. So, they order the major sects in the lower world to create chaos in the cultivation world, creating a situation that satisfies certain rules, so they can send people down?” “Exactly!” Su Che slapped his forehead and suddenly understood, “When things below go chaotic and out of control, those above have a reason to send people down to stabilize the situation… Lao He, you’re right—this is likely the reason!” Buzz… Suddenly, the Immortal Prison Pagoda in his mind began spinning rapidly, as if trying to convey something… As the spirit vessel of the Immortal Prison, Lao He immediately realized something and shouted, “That’s right, Master! The Immortal Prison truly comes from the higher realms and isn’t a product of this cultivation world.” “What else?” Su Che asked urgently. “Nothing else,” Lao He said helplessly, spreading his hands. “It only conveyed this little piece of information to me.” Su Che frowned, thinking, “Lao He, after all, you’re the spirit vessel of the Immortal Prison. Can’t you communicate properly with it? At the very least, figure out its origin.” “I’m communicating with it all the time, but it ignores me,” Lao He said helplessly. “I think the original spirit vessel of the Immortal Prison has long been destroyed. It only has a few remaining instinctive thoughts. It must be that we’ve triggered certain conditions, which stimulate it to react instinctively.”

Lao He gave an example: “It’s like humans, though they have thoughts, are not truly aware of their own potential and ultimate mysteries. The path of cultivation is about continuously stimulating potential and uncovering one’s own mysteries. One day, when all potential is unleashed and all mysteries are revealed, one will reach the pinnacle of power and become the strongest being in the world.”
“As the spirit of a vessel, I am the ideology of the Immortal Prison, and the Immortal Prison Pagoda is my body. I too need to grow step by step and uncover my own mysteries.”
“I understand.”
Su Che nodded, the black soil in his hands scattering in the wind…
“The situation is severe; we must hurry to improve our strength. No one can take the Immortal Prison from me!”
Half an hour later, following a map from Yan Anguo, Su Che roughly located the site of the former ‘Stone Quarry Town’.
Over an area of six thousand li, there were no mountains, no rivers, no geographical features—just a barren wasteland where it was impossible to pinpoint the exact location.
Standing there, Su Che remained silent for a long, long time. Perhaps the black soil beneath his feet contained the ashes of his loved ones. Or maybe nothing remained at all…
An entire night passed, and by dawn, Su Che still hadn’t emerged from the memories of those twenty years. Gazing at the ground beneath him, his eyes were filled with confusion…
Until a streak of light in the sky awakened Su Che, prompting him to soar high and continue his journey.
That streak of light was just a passing disciple of the Tianxuan Sect. Yan Anguo was also one of the vassal states of the Tianxuan Sect, so it was normal to encounter its disciples in this area.
Within the Tianxuan Sect’s territory lay an active volcano that constantly spewed geothermal fire, known as the ‘Golden Crow Mountain’.
Legend has it that countless years ago, a divine bird, the Three-Legged Golden Crow, crashed here, triggering the geothermal fire and forming the volcano.
Su Che already knew this legend was almost true—inside the volcano indeed existed a high-grade spiritual fire called the ‘Golden Crow Heavenly Fire’. It was this fire that caused the geothermal fire to persist continuously.
Grandmaster Guangwu specialized in fire-based cultivation techniques. Years ago, he had practiced here for a while, utilizing the power of the Heavenly Fire. After achieving success, Grandmaster Guangwu did not keep the seeds of the Heavenly Fire for himself, so that later generations of the sect could also benefit from them. Now, it happened to be convenient for him as well.

If everything remained unchanged, this source of spiritual fire should be the easiest to obtain. Very few people knew of the existence of the Golden Crow Heavenly Fire here. That’s why Su Che designated it as the first stop for their mission. However, things in the world often take an unexpected turn. Only upon arriving on site did Su Che see that hundreds of cultivators had gathered at the foot of the volcano, creating a bustling scene. Most of these cultivators were independent practitioners, with only a dozen or so outer disciples of the Tianxuan Sect in sight. Su Che mixed in among them and randomly chose a middle-aged man, asking, “Excuse me, fellow cultivator. What’s going on here? Why have everyone gathered?”