Chapter 221: The Lord of the Cave Heaven

After all, this was also a wilderness. The disciples of Tianxuan Sect who had gone out for training were not very strong. Among the over hundred of them, there were only two inner sect disciples at the early Foundation Establishment stage.

Su Che didn’t expect them to be of much help. It was sufficient as long as they could prove his identity.

You see, those three Golden Core cultivators were among the so-called lords of the Thirty-Six Cave Heavens—well-known with their own mountains and temples. If they wanted to continue living within Tianxuan Sect’s territory, they surely wouldn’t dare openly offend it.

Unless they were willing to give up their respective Cave Heavens and seek new places to settle down.

This tactic proved effective. Most of the eager lower-level cultivators scattered quickly, putting away all the magical treasures in their hands as a sign of withdrawing from the competition.

The few Foundation Establishment cultivators flying in the sky also bowed and descended.

A hundred feet above, there were still a dozen or so Foundation Establishment cultivators and three Golden Core cultivators.

Su Che glanced around at everyone and said loudly, “As Water Moon Daoist just said, when a treasure appears, everyone has the right to compete for it. I’m not someone who ignores reason. It’s not that any treasure found within my sect must belong to Tianxuan Sect. But since I discovered this treasure first and already have it under control, anyone who tries to take it will be regarded as an enemy!”

“Today’s grudges will be settled someday!”

His last words, laced with true energy, sounded like thunder.

These threatening words scared away another group of people. Only seven figures remained in the sky. Even one of the Golden Core cultivators bowed and said, “I apologize,” before flying away and giving up the competition.

Su Che completely ignored the remaining five Foundation Establishment cultivators. The only ones who could still pose a threat were the bearded man and the middle-aged beautiful woman—those two Golden Core cultivators.

“With Water Moon Cave Heaven holding off one of them, the other one shouldn’t be a problem…”

Su Che sighed slightly in relief, only to notice two more streaks of light approaching in the distance.

They were moving extremely fast, seemingly also at the Golden Core stage.

The bearded man and the middle-aged woman both looked pleased. Undoubtedly, the newcomers must be their friends—probably the other two Golden Core cultivators.

Sure enough, the veiled woman, Water Moon, transmitted a message:

“The bearded man’s name is Cangqiu. He’s at the middle stage of Golden Core and specializes in earth-based cultivation techniques.”

“The middle-aged woman’s name is Yaoling. She’s at the early stage of Golden Core and specializes in water-based cultivation techniques.”

“The two who just arrived are Yunya, in the middle stage of the Golden Core realm, specializing in the Wood element; and Cuilingzi, in the early stage of the Golden Core realm, specializing in the Fire element.”
“Our five caves are all no more than three thousand li away from Jinwu Mountain. My cave is the closest, while Yunya’s and Cuilingzi’s are a bit further away…”
After hearing her explanation, Su Che nodded and silently calculated: “There are two in the middle stage of the Golden Core realm and two in the early stage. Although they are independent cultivators and relatively weaker, the situation remains quite tricky before I subdue that three-legged pill furnace.”
While they hadn’t fully fallen out yet, Su Che swallowed a seventh-grade spiritual pill and hurriedly tried harder to subdue the pill furnace…
Swish! Swish!
Yunya and Cuilingzi flew closer and asked the bearded man, Cangqiu, “What happened?”
Cangqiu transmitted his message silently, recounting the emergence of the treasure…
Yunya used his spiritual sense to carefully assess the grade of the three-legged pill furnace but found nothing. He then transmitted a message to the other three, “The legends of Jinwu Mountain span countless years. If that pill furnace can transform into a golden bird, it might very well be an ancient mystical treasure… What are your plans?”
Cangqiu replied without hesitation, “I also think it’s an ancient mystical treasure, possibly even a spiritual treasure. As long as we can obtain it, even if it means offending the Tianxuan Sect and having to give up our existing caves and blessed lands, it’s still worth it.”
Yaoling transmitted her message, “I’m worried. That man is the senior brother among the many disciples of the Tianxuan Sect, so his cultivation level must be extremely high. Can the rest of us compete with him? What if other experts from the Tianxuan Sect arrive here during this time? We’ll end up losing everything.”
“Can’t the four of us even defeat him?” Cangqiu became determined, his eyes gleaming with fury. “Even if it’s just me, I’ll still fight!”
“It’s a pity that Shuiyue has sided with him—that’s also a significant obstacle,” Cuilingzi said, his tone tinged with regret. He had always held a favorable opinion of that Shuiyue Cave.
“You go and distract her while the three of us work together to seize the pill furnace,” Cangqiu said, his tone growing urgent.
“There’s only one treasure, but we’re four. How should we divide it?” Yunya asked again.
“It’s simple,” Cangqiu replied. “If it’s a spiritual treasure, we’ll hold an open auction and exchange it for four top-grade treasures, or even better items, to be shared equally among the four of us!”
One top-grade treasure each?

The other three were thrilled. As independent cultivators, having even a lower-grade precious artifact was already quite good. If it were an elite-grade precious artifact and could be refined into a life-saving magic weapon, that would be truly…
Done!
From the looks in their eyes, Su Che had already guessed that they were ready to go all out and risk everything!
“Too bad. The Bronze Treasure Gourd needs to suppress the pill furnace; otherwise, just the golden sunfire it emits would be enough to keep them at bay. Even worse, the dozens of self-destructing magic weapons are also trapped inside the gourd—those can’t be used now either…”
Su Che’s mind raced as he quickly thought of a countermeasure.
Meanwhile, in the Water Moon Cave, someone murmured, “The situation isn’t good. Isn’t 100,000 spirit stones a bit too little?”
Su Che was both amused and exasperated. Her tone sounded extremely similar to that of the money-obsessed woman, Ning Lu.
“200,000 spirit stones is fine too,” Su Che replied. “Once the treasures are in my hands, no one can take them away.”
Implied meaning: Even if you switch sides to help them seize the pill furnace, I’m not afraid!
“Then it’s 200,000.”
Beneath her veil, Water Moon seemed to be smiling faintly.
On the other side, the four from Cangqiu slowly approached, coming to a distance of fifty zhang—close enough for their spells to exert maximum effect.
Before taking action, Yun Ya spoke up again, trying to persuade them, “Esteemed fellow cultivator, the situation is unfavorable for you. I hope you’ll show wisdom and give up that pill furnace to ensure your own safety. If it’s not necessary, we also don’t want to become enemies of your sect.”
“Nonsense!”
Su Che laughed heartily. “If I retreat without fighting in the Tianxuan realm, how can I face my sect again?”
Then he shouted, “Tianxuan disciples, form the Du Tian Fu Mo Formation!”
“Yes!”
The disciples of the Tianxuan Sect responded in unison, quickly forming a Du Tian Fu Mo Formation capable of holding back a hundred people.
Strictly speaking, this was a formation, not a true magic array. With the combined strength of a hundred people, it could resist the attacks of Golden Core cultivators in a short time.
By ordering them to form the formation, Su Che wasn’t expecting it to protect them from a Golden Core cultivator from a cave sect. It was merely to guard against those independent cultivators, who were always eager for adventure, from taking advantage of the chaos and causing harm to the Tianxuan Sect disciples.
Now that he was the senior brother of all the disciples, he had to consider more factors in his actions.
Su Che then sent a secret message to the two inner sect disciples at the Foundation Establishment stage, instructing them to lead the group and hold the formation firmly, without letting any situation on their side disrupt their formation.

After settling everything, Su Che turned his head sharply, his gaze toward Cangqiu and the others fierce and cold as blades: “I am the top direct disciple of Tianxuan Sect. All direct disciples must address me as ‘Elder Senior Brother.’ Have you truly weighed the gains and losses of today’s actions?”
“What?”
The four of Cangqiu were shocked and incredulous. “Since when has Tianxuan Sect had such an Elder Senior Brother? Don’t try to deceive us.”
Before Su Che could respond, the over a hundred disciples of Tianxuan Sect shouted in unison, “Top direct disciple, Elder Senior Brother Tianyu!”
The collective shout echoed through the sky, each disciple’s voice amplified by their spiritual energy, sounding like thunder.
Even some lower-ranked cultivators nearby trembled in fear.
This was the difference between sect disciples and independent cultivators—on one side was a united force, while on the other, a scattered crowd with diverse motives and intentions.
“This is troublesome!”
The four of Cangqiu exchanged glances, realizing now that this matter was far from as simple as they had thought.
Even if they combined their efforts to seize the pill furnace, if they accidentally injured this top direct disciple of Tianxuan Sect, it would be equivalent to committing a grave mistake.
After all, the five Yuan Ying-level elders of Tianxuan Sect were incredibly powerful. If they injured their top disciple, even if those who caused it fled to the ends of the earth, the elders would still find ways to bring them back.
Was the cultivation world that vast?
In the eyes of Yuan Ying-level cultivators, it wasn’t that big at all!
Even if the four of them killed all the over a hundred disciples of Tianxuan Sect and the nearly a thousand independent cultivators present, it would be useless. Those Yuan Ying elders would still trace clues and suspect the cave lord nearby…
By then, with just a bounty issued, would these people still have a future?
Su Che spoke calmly, “I’m telling you this not to intimidate you with my status. There’s no hatred between us; it’s merely the competition for treasures that has led to hostility.”
“Considering that it’s not easy for you independent cultivators to achieve the Golden Pill realm, I think it’s only right to inform you of the consequences, so you won’t regret it later.”
“I’ll give you some more time to think it through. If you want to fight, I’ll fight alongside you. But once a decision is made, there’s no turning back—no one should regret it or blame fate for being unfair. Because I’ve already warned you all you need to know.”

Su Che’s words were mostly sincere; he truly felt sympathy for the hardships faced by those who practiced cultivation independently. Therefore, explaining the stakes of this matter was fair to them. Another purpose was to buy time—the longer they hesitated, the more advantageous it would be for them. Perhaps, by the time they took action, the pill furnace would already have been subdued. At that point, they could either attack or defend, and the situation would be completely different.