Chapter 272: Infiltrating Enemies

There were thirty-six separate arenas, each with an elder at the Golden Core stage serving as referee, ready to end the match at critical moments to minimize casualties.
In the internal competitions, even the strongest participants were only at the Mid Foundation stage. Thus, the Golden Core referees had the capability to prevent tragedies from occurring in a timely manner.
This reflected the benevolence of the Immortal Path sects. It was said that most Demon Path sects, even in their own disciple competitions, were extremely cruel, disregarding life and death.
Of course, a harsh competitive environment could also foster stronger combat abilities. The Demon Path valued strength above all, while the Immortal Path prioritized cultivation levels—there was no simple answer to which was right or wrong.
By the seventh day of the competition, twenty-five arenas had already determined their winners, and the winners of the remaining eleven arenas would be announced that day.
After a night’s rest, the top ten competitors would compete in the central arena the next day.
Yet at noon that day, a wailing sound of horns echoed within the Tianxuan Sect’s gates. Due to the great distance and the noisy atmosphere in the arenas, only those at the Golden Core stage could faintly hear such an alarm.
Woo… woo… woo…
Su Che’s physical condition, having been strengthened several times, gave him hearing far superior to that of ordinary Golden Core cultivators, so he heard it very clearly.
“An enemy attack alarm?”
Su Che turned sharply toward the sect leader: “Elder Sect Master, how could there be an enemy attack alarm?”
“It’s not surprising,” the sect leader replied calmly. “We expected this.”
The four Supreme Elders also remained composed, slowly standing up and using secret communication to gather some Golden Core elders into four teams, who then rushed off in four different directions.
As a result, two-thirds of the Golden Core elders in the stands disappeared—those from the Battle Hall and the Secret Hall left without exception.
Although the sect leader remained in the stands, such a commotion would surely shock all the disciples in the arenas. Only those deeply focused on their matches paid attention to what was happening in the stands.
The competitions in the eleven arenas continued.
“Tianyu, all major sects of both the Immortal and Demon Paths will try to plant spies in other sects for surveillance. Within our Tianxuan Sect, there must be spies from sects like Taiyi Gate, Wan Gui Sect, and Lingyao Mountain,” the sect leader transmitted through secret communication. “Even the most friendly Hunyuan Sword Sect would do the same. Of course, we also plant insiders in other sects. Everyone does this.”
Su Che nodded gently, listening attentively.

“So, the fact that Xuanji and Qiuyue entered seclusion to cultivate their Yuan Ying at the same time is by no means a secret,” continued the Supreme Patriarch. “If they succeed in cultivating their Yuan Ying, Tianxuan Sect will have seven Yuan Ying ancestors. Moreover, there’s you, whose future is boundless!”
“This will be an unacceptable situation for some sects, especially since the cultivation world is in chaos right now, leaving them even less restraint in their actions.”
“Before the internal sect competition, we already anticipated that someone might take this opportunity to infiltrate our sect and try to disrupt Xuanji and Qiuyue’s cultivation process… If possible, they might even kidnap you or assassinate you right within the sect.”
At this point, the Supreme Patriarch’s expression grew solemn. “Before great prosperity comes, there must be great calamity. Tianyu, it’s all just beginning—you need to be fully prepared mentally.”
“I understand, Master.”
Su Che nodded slowly. He had already thought that experts from other sects might infiltrate the sect and scheme against him, so he had always been cautious and never relaxed.
Woo woo woo…
The alarm horns grew louder. Even many disciples at the Foundation stage could hear them clearly. They looked around in surprise, unable to figure out what was happening.
“Supreme Patriarch, could there be any danger at the place where Master and the others are in seclusion?” Su Che asked worriedly.
“The real place of seclusion was arranged by me personally. Only I know its location within the sect,” said the Supreme Patriarch with a smile. “The place you know about is also fake. The safety of those cultivating their Yuan Ying is the responsibility of the sect’s leader—this has always been our rule.”
I see! Su Che finally felt relieved.
The safety of those in seclusion to cultivate their Yuan Ying was the responsibility of the Supreme Patriarch, and even the four Supreme Elders did not know their location. For outsiders trying to find such a hidden place among the countless mountains of the Tianxuan Mountain Range was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
That’s why a sect can endure for tens of thousands of years—there’s always a reason. The various rules within the sect have been meticulously crafted; almost everything that could be considered has been taken into account by generations of outstanding individuals.
At this moment, Su Che even thought that since their sect possessed two Dao artifacts, the place where Master and the others were in seclusion might very well be inside one of those artifacts—would that not be the safest option?
With this thought, Su Che instinctively glanced at the various accessories on the Supreme Patriarch’s body, thinking, “Could that Dao artifact be on the Patriarch’s person?”

Noticing Su Che’s gaze, the Supreme Patriarch smiled faintly and even nodded slightly, clearly signaling to Su Che: You’re right!
Su Che had already been chosen as the next Supreme Patriarch, so many secrets could now be revealed to him.
“That’s great!” Su Che was completely relieved.
He had long heard that the internal space of a Dao artifact could span thousands of miles, akin to a medium-sized country in the mortal world; it would surely be sufficient to accommodate two people in seclusion cultivating their embryos.
“One can also infer others’ abilities through oneself.” At such a moment, the Supreme Patriarch didn’t forget to teach his successor carefully: “Tian Yu, never underestimate the profound heritage of any super sect, especially the more than 20,000-year-old tradition of the Taiyi Sect. Don’t become complacent or arrogant just because you and Zi Xiao stole a little spiritual liquid from them.”
“Yes, disciple has remembered,” Su Che replied, feeling ashamed. He thought to himself that the Supreme Patriarch really knew everything…
On the Competition Peak, the events continued as usual. Although the alarm horns could still be heard in the surroundings, seeing the Supreme Patriarch and the Senior Master still present and chatting casually, the disciples also calmed down and continued to watch the exciting matches on the arena.
An hour passed, yet the four Supreme Elders still hadn’t returned with their troops. Su Che guessed, “The Tianxuan Mountain Range is protected by a mountain defense array. The invading enemies can’t be in large numbers; it must be a small group that managed to obtain some of our disciples’ identity jade cards to sneak into the mountain… The fact that they haven’t been captured or driven away after so much time shows that the invaders are highly skilled, likely at the Yuan Ying cultivation level…”
Thinking of this, Su Che sent a message asking, “Elder Patriarch, could the invaders kill innocents and cause destruction everywhere?”
“Probably not.”
The Supreme Patriarch shook his head and replied, “Even in times of chaos, people still maintain a bottom line. If they kill one of our sect members today, we can also infiltrate their sect tomorrow and kill ten of theirs in retaliation. This back-and-forth will go on endlessly, and no one can endure it.”
Then his tone changed: “However, if they can’t find the seclusion site of Xuanji and the others, they might come to the Competition Peak. Under the pretext of sect exchanges and mutual learning, they could openly challenge our senior members, perhaps aiming to create chaos and take advantage of the situation to attack you… In any case, they won’t come empty-handed; all kinds of possibilities exist.”

Hearing this explanation, Su Che silently thought, “If it’s a joint effort by factions like Taiyi Gate, Wan Gui Sect, Lingyao Mountain, and Blood God Sect—where they can easily gather a dozen or so Yuan Ying ancestors—then in such a situation, I can only hide inside the master’s personal Dao artifact…”

The cultivation world had entered an era of chaos; there was no safe place left in the world. Even hiding within one’s own sect could no longer guarantee safety. Thus, Su Che couldn’t help but think of the Wind and Thunder Desolate Land in the Wasteland God Valley and the Mi Xian Realm—compared to other places, these two human-offlimits zones had become the best shelters.

Su Che thought this not out of disappointment toward Tianxuan Sect, but because he had anticipated that once the cultivation world became chaotic, powerful beings from higher realms might descend. If they targeted him, it could drag down Tianxuan Sect as well…

“Now that I bear the title of the greatest genius in the cultivation world, it’s easy for others to notice me. I must plan ahead and not rely on luck.”

The more Su Che thought, the more potential crises he envisioned. In the Immortal Prison, Lao He comforted him, “Master, I think you’re being overly cautious—almost worrying unnecessarily. There’s no need to scare yourself like this.”

“The more you think now, the fewer surprises there will be in the future,” Su Che thought with a smile. “I just have this personality; I do have a tendency toward self-imposition, and it’s hard to change.”

As he was thinking, he saw streaks of purple lightning flashing in the distant sky outside the Competition Peak—clearly the Purple Sky Divine Thunder of Master Purple Sky at work.

“Have they already started attacking?”

As soon as this thought crossed his mind, a loud rumbling sound followed.

Whoa!

On the Competition Peak, the hundreds of thousands of disciples who had been cheering suddenly fell silent. Even the competing pairs on the arena paused and turned to look in that direction.

Rumbling…

Frequent flashes of lightning appeared. At first, it was possible to tell the lightning came first and the thunder followed. But as the Purple Sky Divine Thunder got closer, it became hard to distinguish between light and sound.

“Purple Sky, no need to stop them. Let them come.”

The supreme master’s deep voice wasn’t loud, yet it could drown out the thunder and reach Purple Sky, who was miles away.

Swish! Swish! Swish…

Soon, dozens of figures flew toward them. Aside from Purple Sky, most were Golden Core elders from their sect. There were also two figures in black robes—clearly two Yuan Ying ancestors from the Wan Gui Sect.

Su Che had sharp eyes and had already seen that one of them was indeed the ‘Extreme Horror Old Ghost’, while the other must be the ‘Dark Evil Old Demon’ of the Ten Thousand Ghost Sect.
“Extreme Horror, how many of you have come?” asked the Supreme Patriarch, standing up.
“Definitely over ten.”
Still hundreds of feet away, the Extreme Horror Old Ghost sneered, “With such a small number, how would we dare come to your place as guests? Tianxuan Sect is truly remarkable—your fortune is at its peak!”