Chapter 286: Infiltrating Lingyao Mountain

Lingyao Mountain, the foremost alchemy sect in the cultivation world, consists of 108 towering mountains, each thousands of feet high, surrounding its sacred grounds. These mountains form a massive spirit-concentrating array that draws endless spiritual energy to support the millions of acres of spiritual herb gardens in the central area.

The sect of Lingyao Mountain has a heritage spanning over 30,000 years. It is said that countless rare spiritual herbs, some thousands of years old, exist within the gardens—precious treasures passed down by the ancestors. While enjoying these riches, the current disciples must also do much to leave even more wealth for future generations, ensuring that Lingyao Mountain remains prosperous and ever-lasting.

The names of the 108 mountains are derived from the 36 Heavenly Stars and the 72 Earthly Fiends. Su Che, who is playing the role of a disciple in the foundation-building stage, belongs to the “Earthly Right Star” among the 72 Earthly Fiends, also known as “Earthly Right Mountain.”

The main target of this mission, Lu Changqing, is the master of “Tianying Mountain,” one of the 36 Heavenly Stars. He is at the late Golden Core stage, a rank-12 alchemist, and the third-most important elder in the sect’s alchemy hall. He holds a high position and great power, comparable to the elders of the Ten Major Peaks of Tianxuan Sect.

Just imagine how difficult it is to infiltrate Tianxuan Sect’s headquarters and assassinate one of its peak elders—thus, the difficulty of assassinating Lu Changqing is equally immense. Such a task would even be beyond the capabilities of Master Mu Ye of Tianxuan Sect. However, relying on his spirit-concealing technique, Su Che has a chance of success.

Of course, Su Che is aware that this mission poses an extremely difficult challenge. Yet, to unlock the third layer of the Immortal Prison, he dares to take the risk. Every step must be handled with extreme care, so he does not rush but stays in the wilderness for two days, giving Lao He ample time to thoroughly interrogate that “Luo Lian” and gather complete information about him.

Luo Lian is Su Che’s current identity and title—a disciple in the foundation-building stage of “Earthly Right Mountain,” a rank-6 alchemist. Though this is merely a temporary identity, it must still be handled with caution to avoid any mistakes.

With thorough preparations, Su Che enters the mountain gates openly and returns to his own cultivation cave on Earthly Right Mountain.

“The first step is simple: using Luo Lian’s identity, find a plausible excuse to go to Tianying Mountain, seize the opportunity to capture one of its true disciples, and only after changing identities can he get in touch with Lu Changqing.”

Su Che thought to Old Black, “We’re in the sacred grounds of a super sect; we can’t just arrest people recklessly without concern. If multiple people go missing, it might alert the four Yuan Ying ancestors of Lingyao Mountain. That’s why I initially set the limit at no more than five people disappearing, including Lu Qingshan.”
“Yes, master,” Old Black nodded. “Especially that old fellow Chen Xu, who has seen you twice already. If we happen to run into him, no matter how skilled your disguise art is, it won’t be safe.”
“That’s right.”
Su Che agreed in his mind. None of the Yuan Ying ancestors could be underestimated. Since Chen Xu had seen him, it was uncertain whether his spirit-concealing skills could be detected. Thus, Chen Xu was the biggest risk factor in this operation.
“The rules of Lingyao Mountain are extremely strict. Disciples are not allowed to wander around without proper reason,” Old Black added. “To go to Tianying Mountain, we indeed need a reasonable excuse.”
“We don’t need to worry about it. Let the real Luo Lian figure something out,” Su Che replied.
Old Black then summoned Luo Lian and repeated the same question to him.
Luo Lian, in his thirties, was thin-built with regular features. After staying in the Immortal Prison for two days, he had already been thoroughly subdued by Old Black. After pondering for a while, he carefully replied, “There is one method that would be most suitable…”
Half an hour later, Su Che stepped out of his cave and went to the internal affairs hall of Dizheng Mountain, where he found an internal affairs officer named Yu Zheng, who was at the later stage of the Foundation Establishment phase.
“Senior Brother Yu Zheng,” Su Che greeted first.
According to Luo Lian, he had a good personal relationship with Yu Zheng, so there was no need for excessive formality when meeting.
“Junior Brother Luo Lian, you’re back so soon?” Yu Zheng, who was handling official matters at his desk, looked up and smiled. “It seems this trip went extremely smoothly, right?”
Luo Lian had gone to Tianlong Waterfall Market to sell some pills he had prepared personally. The transaction had indeed been very smooth, which was why he left the market two days early and ended up falling into Su Che’s trap.
So, one’s luck is truly unpredictable. One moment you might be complacent about your good fortune, and the next, things could change…
Since Lingyao Mountain and Tianxuan Sect were in complete opposition, Su Che felt no hesitation about capturing anyone from Lingyao Mountain.
Since they were enemy forces, there was no need to care about their character—anyone could be captured! This was just like in the war relations between secular countries: on the battlefield, there are no good or bad people, only allies and enemies.

Su Che sat down and chatted casually with Yu Zheng for a while before getting to the point. He said in a low voice, “Senior brother, I want to visit Tianying Mountain. Please arrange a task for me to borrow some spiritual herbs.”
It was normal for the various mountains to borrow spiritual herbs from each other to complement their shortages. Similar things often happened among the spiritual herb gardens on the ten main peaks of Tianxuan Sect.
“Tianying Mountain?” Yu Zheng asked curiously, “Why go there?”
“A few days ago, I happened to meet Sister Liu Yan from Tianying Mountain. I was instantly captivated by her beauty and quietly fell in love with her,” Su Che sighed deeply. “Once trapped in this love affair, one must resolve it—either by becoming her partner or enduring the bitter consequences that follow…”
“Liu Yan?”
Yu Zheng thought for a moment, but since there were so many disciples in the sect, it was impossible to know them all, so he was completely unfamiliar with this name. Still, he said to Su Che with a smile, “Being trapped in such a situation is actually a good thing. No matter what the outcome, if you overcome it, you’ll surely gain something. In that case, congratulations are in order.”
His words carried a playful tone but also some truth.
Being trapped, facing the trial, overcoming it, resolving it… For cultivators, all kinds of hardships were not terrifying. As long as they could gain some insight afterward, it was a reason to celebrate.
Su Che shook his head and sighed again, seemingly unable to express everything in words.
“Alright, let me take a look for you.”
Yu Zheng took out a thick booklet containing thousands of internal tasks for the sect. All major sects had a system of contribution points, and Lingyao Mountain was no exception.
“There aren’t many tasks related to Tianying Mountain—just over a dozen. Choose one yourself,” Yu Zheng said, flipping to the pages labeled “Tianying Catalog” and pushing the booklet toward Su Che.
Su Che randomly picked a task titled “Borrow Sleepless Grass” and said, “This one will do.”
“Good.”
Yu Zheng took out a token from the Internal Affairs Hall of Dizheng Mountain and wrote a loan note on the spot… All the necessary procedures were completed, and he handed them to Su Che.
Su Che nodded and said, “Thank you, senior brother. I’ll repay you another day.”
“Such a trivial matter—no need for thanks,” Yu Zheng waved his hand and laughed. “Go resolve your love affair. It wouldn’t be bad to have a beloved partner.”
Su Che gave a sad smile and left.
“Liu Yan” did exist—she was indeed an inner disciple of Tianying Mountain with a pretty face. But Luo Lian didn’t have a secret crush on her; they had only interacted a few times.
What love affair? It was just an excuse!

When the topic of love tribulations came up, Lao He became interested. On the way to Tianying Mountain, Su Che asked, “Master, when will you encounter a love tribulation?”
Lao He dared to ask this because he knew Su Che’s state of mind best. Nearly seven years had passed since that great disaster. Time was the best remedy—Su Che’s grief and sorrow over his deceased wife had turned into deep longing buried deep in his heart. It was time to start another romantic relationship.
Seven years—enough. He couldn’t stay single forever. With so many beauty-like goddesses in the cultivation world, and as the greatest genius in it, Su Che could have as many as he wanted with just a shout…
At that moment, Su Che replied in a low voice, “It’s been seven years since my wife passed. It’s only natural to seek a partner. But I still feel guilty for getting close to other women before avenging my kin. That’s why I haven’t considered it.”
“What if instead of a human, it’s a demon?” Lao He acted like the ugliest and most ferocious matchmaker in the world, laughing mischievously. “Night Blue, the snake woman, would be great. She’s an ancient exotic with unparalleled beauty. I’ve never seen anyone prettier than her. Besides, she’s one of us, so there’s no need to worry about secrets of the Immortal Prison leaking, right?”
“Night Blue?” Su Che was amused by his words and shook his head silently.
“Actually,” Lao He said mysteriously, “I think Night Blue is interested in you too. Every time your name comes up, she either becomes unusually agitated or her face turns red. I’m sure if you take the initiative, you’ll succeed—there’s no chance of rejection. Don’t worry.”
“Enough of this. Right now, I only think about how to kill Lu Changqing.”
As Tianying Mountain grew closer, Su Che stopped joking and his expression turned cold. “Kill him, and I’ll be able to open the third level of the Immortal Prison…”
Tianying Mountain was located in the inner ring area near the mountain gate, and its scale was much larger than that of Dizheng Mountain.
Since the Spirit Medicine Mountain belonged to a highly specialized alchemy sect, reckless criminals often tried to infiltrate it to steal precious elixirs. Therefore, each peak had extremely strict and unique protective measures.
This meant that if Su Che had Dizheng Mountain’s identity jade token, he couldn’t enter Tianying Mountain’s protective barrier. But the internal affairs hall token he carried now allowed him to enter all 108 peaks.
As he approached the protective barrier, the faint light from the token illuminated the barrier, allowing Su Che to enter legally and properly.

According to the rules, Su Che should go to the Internal Affairs Hall on Tianying Mountain to borrow the Sleepless Grass and not wander around randomly. Of course, Su Che couldn’t abide by this rule; instead, he climbed straight up the mountain path to the residence area of the inner disciples, looking for an opportunity to capture a second target.
The original plan was to capture one inner disciple first, then one direct disciple; if he still couldn’t get in touch with Lu Changqing, then capture a Golden Core elder…
In total, that would be no more than five people, exactly as Su Che had planned earlier!