Chapter 287: Tianying Danfang

In the Immortal Prison, Lao He guided Su Che using a route map. He had already identified several suitable targets for capture in advance; knocking on any of their cave dwellings would allow him to act against them.
Of course, all this information came from Tianxuan Sect’s secret faction. However, aside from Master Mu Ye, those in the secret faction knew nothing about Su Che’s intentions or whereabouts.
Upon arriving at Lingyao Mountain, Su Che did not attempt to contact Tianxuan Sect’s insiders there, as it was uncertain whether they had turned traitor or might betray him instead.
Soon, before reaching a certain cave dwelling, Su Che saw that there was no sign indicating seclusion on the door, so he knocked gently.
A few moments later, the heavy stone door opened silently. A young man asked in confusion, “Senior Brother Luo Lian, why have you come here?”
The character Su Che was playing, Luo Lian, possessed the cultivation level of mid-stage Foundation Establishment and ranked among the top disciples of the inner sect, so he was quite well-known. Thus, this junior disciple, Lang Li, who was in the early stage of Foundation Establishment, must surely recognize Luo Lian.
However, since Luo Lian was a disciple of Dizheng Mountain, he had no right to enter the inner sect’s residential area in Tianying Mountain, not even for internal tasks. That’s why Lang Li found it very strange.
“Junior Brother Lang Li, I have some personal matters to discuss with you,” Su Che said with a smile. “Simply put, I want to leverage one of your skills to collaborate on a big business.”
“Oh?”
Hearing about a big business, Lang Li instinctively became interested. He stepped aside and nodded, “Senior Brother Luo Lian, come in.”
“Good,” Su Che replied with a smile.
They entered the cave dwelling, and the door closed.
Fifteen minutes later, the stone door opened again. Lang Li stepped out, while Luo Lian vanished without a trace.
Taking down someone in the early stage of Foundation Establishment was far too easy. Su Che, now in the guise of Lang Li, planned to head to the residential area of the direct disciples and gradually infiltrate higher levels, narrowing the distance between himself and Lu Changqing…
But things wouldn’t always go smoothly. As soon as Su Che started walking up the mountain path, he saw a streak of light flying from outside the mountain. It entered the barrier unimpeded and headed straight toward him.
It was an elder from Tianying Mountain, at the mid-stage Golden Core cultivation level, middle-aged in appearance, with sharp eyes and a cold expression.
Lao He immediately transmitted his image into the Immortal Prison for Lang Li to identify.
Whoosh!
The man landed in midair, just three zhang away from Su Che.
“Disciple Lang Li, salutes Uncle Han Ying,” Su Che said promptly, having received information from Lao He, and went forward to greet him.

Although the other party was only at the mid-stage Golden Core stage, Su Che was fully capable of capturing him quickly. However, this was outdoors, where the various surveillance arrays of Lingyao Mountain could easily capture footage of the battle. For example, Tianxuan Sect’s mountain protection array allowed the sect’s elders to monitor whatever happened anywhere within the mountain at any time. Therefore, capturing someone had to be done indoors. Han Ying stared at Su Che and said in a low voice, “We happen to need someone to watch the furnace. Come with me.” “Yes, uncle,” Su Che replied with a bow. In the Immortal Prison, Lao He was interrogating the real Lang Li and learned that Elder Han Ying had some bad habits—he liked to grab people at will to help watch the alchemy furnace when refining pills, and he was extremely stingy, never giving his disciples any rewards afterward, simply using them for free. Clearly, he was about to start refining pills again and happened to encounter Su Che on the mountain path, so he just grabbed him as a laborer. With such a request, Su Che surely wouldn’t refuse—it was prey that came to him willingly. Once inside the alchemy room, he could easily take him down there, and by using his status as a Golden Core elder, he could also get close to Lu Changqing, the lord of Tianying Mountain. But Lao He sighed, “It’s a pity this guy is only a ninth-grade alchemist. Just one more rank and he’d be considered a master alchemist.” What Lao He meant was that if this person were a master alchemist, obtaining his soul to unlock the third layer of the Immortal Prison would be possible as well. But Su Che didn’t think so. Since he had promised Linglong’s father, the Elder of the Medicine Garden, that Lu Changqing would die within three years, he had to keep his word. Even if he obtained the soul of another master alchemist before then, Lu Changqing’s life would still be taken this time! Han Ying took Su Che to the alchemy room on the mountain top and asked the executive elder for a ninth-grade furnace room, which contained a ninth-grade precious alchemy furnace. However, the spiritual fire needed for alchemy had to be provided by oneself. The interior of the ninth-grade furnace room was extremely luxurious, complete with facilities such as a bedroom, living room, kitchen, and bathroom, in addition to the alchemy room itself. After all, it was normal for refining a ninth-grade spiritual pill to take a month, and the alchemist had to live and eat inside the furnace room without being able to leave. Su Che couldn’t accompany him in refining pills. He originally planned to take care of him as soon as they entered the furnace room, but unexpectedly, Han Ying stood at the door without entering, only saying coldly, “You go in and wait first.” Su Che was slightly stunned and asked softly, “Uncle, aren’t you planning to start refining pills today?” “Is it your place to question my arrangements?” Han Ying’s gaze turned cold, and his attitude was extremely rude.

Su Che cursed loudly in his heart along with Lao Hei, but on the surface, he could only shut his mouth and enter the furnace room. After all, there were many people coming in and out of the alchemy hall, and they couldn’t attack him in the corridor.

Bang!

The door closed, and Han Ying disappeared without a trace.

“Just wait!” Su Che had no lack of patience. He took out a cushion, sat cross-legged on the ground, and calmly watched as Lao Hei interrogated Lang Li, who had just been captured, in the Immortal Prison.

It took a little over an hour to extract all the information about Han Ying from Lang Li’s mind. After that, Lang Li was no longer useful for further interrogation.

After waiting so long, Han Ying still hadn’t appeared. Worried that Su Che might become frustrated, Lao Hei suggested, “Master, the Black Fiend has been captured for two days yet we still haven’t dealt with him. Should we…?”

Lao Hei’s intention was clear—he wanted to amuse the master by punishing his old enemy.

These past two days had been spent preparing for the infiltration of the Spirit Herb Mountain. Additionally, since the Black Fiend had been injured and unconscious when captured, he had been given a few days to recover so that he would have enough strength to undergo Lao Hei’s meticulous treatment.

Su Che nodded inwardly, and then Lao Hei summoned the Black Fiend before him.

The Black Fiend had taken the healing pills, but his cultivation was sealed, leaving him as an ordinary person with extremely strong physical abilities.

“Who are you…?”

It was the first time he had seen Lao Hei, who was as fierce and mighty as a demon king. Despite having the cultivation level and experience of the mid-stage Golden Dan stage, he still couldn’t help but feel terrified.

“You old scoundrel! How dare you include the character ‘black’ in your name?”

Lao Hei’s voice was like thunder. His name was Hei Mo, and he considered the name “Black Fiend” to be an insult to him.

“What do you mean by this?” asked the Black Fiend.

Although he didn’t know where he was, he understood that he was now a prisoner and likely trapped in some kind of magical space carried by his captor. A true hero wouldn’t suffer at the hands of others, so in front of these demon guards, he could only endure temporarily and look for a chance to escape.

“Old scoundrel, do you know who has captured you?” Lao Hei demanded loudly.

“If my guess is right, it should be Tian Yu, the top direct disciple of the Tianxuan Sect.”

The Black Fiend already knew that the young man he had pursued for thousands of miles back in the Jinghun Ridge market had grown into a peerless genius in the cultivation world. Two days ago, through Su Che’s folk song from his hometown, he had guessed Su Che’s true identity.

“That’s what they call eye for an eye!” Lao He continued to shout. “Back then, you harbored murderous intent toward my master, chasing him for thousands of miles, nearly driving us to the brink of despair… Did you ever think about how things would turn out today, given your arrogance back then?”
The Black Fiend Ghost smiled indifferently, offering no response. It seemed he indeed had some backbone.
However, through telepathy, Lao He had already read the reply rising in his mind: “The name Tian Yu is growing louder by the day. I did indeed expect that one day I would suffer his revenge…”
Outside the Immortal Prison, Su Che watched everything silently as an outsider, his heart remaining extremely calm.
The grudges of the past had vanished the moment he was captured and thrown into the Immortal Prison.
As the prison warden, Lao He couldn’t stand the Black Fiend Ghost’s stubbornness at this moment.
Swish!
A gust of energy was sent his way, hitting the Black Fiend Ghost right in the chest.
The Black Fiend Ghost let out a muffled groan. Though he didn’t scream, his expression changed drastically. A hundredfold amplified pain must have been unbearable.
Though his body hurt, what troubled him even more was the shock in his heart: “How can a mere gust of energy cause such pain? Could it be that this magical space here has its own rules, capable of amplifying a person’s sense of pain… Could this be a Dao artifact?”
A Dao artifact, also known as a Dao instrument. After all, the Black Fiend Ghost had extensive experience and could deduce many things from small details.
“A Dao artifact?”
Lao He sneered inwardly. “How could the Immortal Prison Pagoda be as simple as a Dao artifact!”
Through Lao He, Su Che could also sense the Black Fiend Ghost’s thoughts. He then said to Lao He, “Ask him some substantive questions.”
Lao He naturally understood Su Che’s intention and immediately asked, “You scoundrel! The massacre in the Jinghun Ridge market was the first step in chaos in the cultivation world. You were the one who carried out that massacre. Do you know what purpose those people from the Spirit Realm had in creating such chaos in the cultivation world of Qiyuan Star?”
The Black Fiend Ghost remained silent. But as Lao He continued to ask questions, related thoughts naturally arose in his mind: “It seems it was to find some treasure… Only the primordial ancestors of various sects know the specifics…”
“To find a treasure?”
Both Su Che and Lao He were shocked. It was almost certain that the ultimate goal of those people from the Spirit Realm was to find the Immortal Prison Pagoda!
“As expected…” Su Che frowned deeply, his heart heavy.

All the previous speculations were, after all, just that—speculations. Today, a definite answer was obtained, and only then did a heavy sense of crisis and urgency truly fall upon Su Che’s shoulders.
“Perhaps, in the near future, my opponents will be those super-strong beings from the Spirit Realm…”
Just as these worries arose, the door to the furnace room swung open, and Elder Han Ying of Tianying Mountain finally appeared. But the problem was that he wasn’t alone—there was also a stunningly beautiful female cultivator by his side.
Earlier, through questioning Lang Li, Su Che had already learned that this woman’s Dao name was “Ming Lian” and that she was also a Golden Core elder of Tianying Mountain, with a close relationship with Han Ying—seemingly in a semi-public romantic partnership.
With one more person added, the situation became much more complicated, especially since it was a woman.