Chapter 382: Unexpected Turn of Events

The numerous Yuan Ying cultivators present were about to gather together to ask Su Che how to identify those possessed individuals lurking around them, when a communication talisman flew through the air and landed in Yuan Jing’s hands.

Yuan Jing glanced at it quickly and his expression changed drastically. He immediately shouted at everyone, “Fellow cultivators, there are numerous possessed ones—over forty of them—invading our sect’s core forbidden area. Our master and the other three are too few to handle the situation. They sent this message asking us for help.”

“Alright, we’ll do our best.”

“We will surely lend our full support.”

“Please lead the way, Brother Yuan Jing.”

The Yuan Ying cultivators responded in unison, expressing their willingness to assist. They had gathered here precisely to deal with the crisis of demonic corruption, and anything related to it was a matter concerning the entire cultivation world—everyone had a responsibility to give their all.

With a rush, nearly two hundred Yuan Ying cultivators followed Yuan Jing toward the core forbidden area of Juechen Valley.

The distance was only a few hundred miles, and in the blink of an eye, they arrived. There, over forty figures hovered in midair, frantically attacking a semicircular, multicolored barrier.

The barrier was semi-transparent, allowing a faint view of a small valley enclosed within it. However, the interior of the valley was unclear, and even the spiritual senses of cultivators could not penetrate it.

Inside the barrier, the four leaders of Juechen Valley also hovered in midair, seated in meditation positions, each taking on a role to maintain the defensive barrier with all their might. If this barrier were broken, Juechen Valley’s greatest secret would be exposed to all eyes. Not only would the secret be lost, but the valley might also suffer destruction or plunder at the hands of those possessed individuals…

Seeing the precarious state of the barrier, Yuan Jing shouted urgently, “We’re in the majority. We can take on one of them with four or five of us. Please, fellow cultivators, choose your targets.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he charged forward, unafraid despite facing over forty advanced possessed Yuan Ying cultivators. His determination was enough to prove that even without the support of his peers, he would still bravely step forward alone.

The other Yuan Ying cultivators, with their extensive combat experience, didn’t need any discussion or commands. They scattered instantly, forming groups of four or five, each selecting a possessed individual and surrounding them before launching a fierce attack without hesitation.

Su Che was among them. Along with three unfamiliar Yuan Ying cultivators, they surrounded a middle-aged possessed individual. In a flash, they sent a soul-trapping technique at him first.

That possessed one was only at the early stage of the Yuan Ying realm, so his soul-seizing power would surely immobilize him for a moment. Taking advantage of this moment, the other three in the Yuan Ying realm simultaneously unleashed their offensive powers.
Boom! Boom! Boom…
The possessed one’s defensive talismans were sent flying first, followed by his protective aura, which was then shattered. The final strike hit his chest, blowing half of his body to pieces. Even if he survived, he would be largely unable to fight anymore.
“Fellow Xuan Yu, what excellent tactics and powers!”
A temporary comrade with long black beard gave Su Che a thumbs up.
It was thanks to Su Che’s soul-seizing power that the other three could easily deal with this possessed one, making them the first group to end the battle.
Su Che smiled and nodded, silently accepting the praise.
Of course, he remained cautious—just because this person was his temporary comrade and seemed friendly didn’t mean he wasn’t also a possessed one. It was hard to tell who was human and who was possessed.
At that moment, the severely injured possessed one fell from the sky, but no one went to finish him off. Everyone knew that killing him would be useless, as the demonic influence couldn’t be eliminated; it was better to capture him alive.
With so many people present, Su Che didn’t want to drag him into the Immortal Prison. He decided to let others handle capturing the possessed one.
The battle was always four against one, or even five against one. No matter how strong the possessed ones were, they couldn’t win against such a numerical advantage.
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish…
If they couldn’t fight, they would flee. Those possessed ones didn’t linger in battle either. Once at a disadvantage, they broke through the encirclement and scattered.
Since they were all at the Yuan Ying realm, if they really wanted to escape, they had a good chance of succeeding even under the attack of four or five opponents of the same level. Unless everyone had powers as extraordinary as Su Che’s, they wouldn’t be able to keep them all.
The battle ended quickly. Only five possessed ones were severely injured and lost the ability to resist or escape, while the rest vanished into the night sky, out of sight.
“Everyone, be careful! Don’t let them self-destruct their Yuan Ying! We should first…” Someone shouted in caution to warn the others.
Before he could finish speaking…
Boom!
A terrifying explosion occurred as all five severely injured possessed ones self-destructed at once.
A powerful shockwave swept through, and even though Su Che was hundreds of feet in the air, he was still flung around by the immense force, rising to tens of thousands of feet high. If he hadn’t been prepared, he might have even been blown out of the atmosphere and into space…

What kind of power would it have if an early-stage Yuan Ying self-destructed? I estimate it would be roughly equivalent to the combined attack of ten early-stage Yuan Ying cultivators, and that too as a full-strength strike without any restraint. Fortunately, the force of such an explosion is too dispersed; unless one is too close, it’s difficult to harm other Yuan Ying cultivators. When Su Che landed and looked at the site of the explosion, it was nothing short of an apocalyptic scene. Within a vast area, the ground had been stripped away by more than ten zhang thick; all the original flowers, plants, trees, and buildings were gone—everything was destroyed. This scene reminded Su Che of the great disaster in his hometown of Cai Shi Town. However, the scope of this disaster wasn’t just tens of thousands of zhang but an incredibly terrifying area of tens of thousands of miles… Looking at the multicolored barrier covering the mysterious valley, it had completely shattered under the massive impact, exposing the interior completely. Immediately, streams of divine consciousness spread inward. Even if these Yuan Ying cultivators weren’t enemies of Jue Chen Valley, they would still be curious to find out what treasures lay hidden in that valley. Disappointingly, no treasures were seen; only a cave entrance on a mountain wall could be seen, but that entrance was also covered by a barrier of divine consciousness, keeping its secrets hidden. As everyone secretly felt disappointed, they also silently marveled, “Jue Chen Valley’s secrets have not leaked even a hint for tens of thousands of years. Their confidentiality measures must be extremely thorough—how could they be exposed so easily?” Whoosh… After a dozen breaths, the multicolored barrier reappeared, completely isolating everyone’s divine consciousness. The master of Jue Chen Valley and the others must have sensed the probing attempts by the over a hundred fellow cultivators just now. But curiosity is human, and the desire for the Yuan Ying realm from those at the Hua Shen stage is beyond description—so such actions are understandable. “Thank you all for your generous assistance…” The master of Jue Chen Valley spoke out loudly, expressing his gratitude, and all the Yuan Ying cultivators replied politely in unison. Finally, the master declared, “With so many things happening tonight, we must hold a formal meeting tomorrow morning. Let’s set it for the si hour in the council hall of my sect to discuss our next steps.” Everyone agreed and dispersed. Of course, this night would be sleepless; if anything strange happened again, they would all need to mobilize immediately to respond. Su Che also turned to leave but was called back by the master of Jue Chen Valley. “Fellow Daoist Xuan Yu, please stay.” The master spoke through telepathy.

Su Che slowly turned around and also transmitted a message, asking, “Valley Master, is there something?”
“As for those advanced possessed beings you mentioned, it will surely be the top topic of discussion at tomorrow’s gathering,” replied Valley of Absolute Purity. “I hope to have a private talk with you before then, to avoid any unexpected developments at tomorrow’s meeting.”
Su Che didn’t need to think much to guess that he intended to find out in advance why Su Che could detect those advanced possessed beings and how he managed to reveal the methods to share with everyone…
Although Su Che didn’t have any concrete good methods of his own, having a private conversation wasn’t a bad idea, so he readily agreed.
Thus, Su Che was taken to an underground secret chamber, not far from the core forbidden valley. To show his openness, the Valley Master of Valley of Absolute Purity also came alone; none of the other Nascent Soul elders were present.
The chamber was located dozens of feet underground, with minimal defensive measures—only a barrier to block divine senses and sounds. It was clean and tidy, with only furniture like tables and chairs, no extra decorations.
The two sat down, and the Valley Master didn’t waste time, saying directly, “Fellow Xuan Yu, you must have guessed that I’ve summoned you here to ask how you discovered those advanced possessed beings and if there’s any way to identify them.”
“To be honest, discovering them was just a coincidence,” Su Che said. He couldn’t reveal the secrets of the Immortal Prison, so he had to tell as much truth as possible. “If it weren’t for them showing intent to attack me, it would be hard to tell any difference between them and ordinary people.”
The Valley Master nodded slightly and asked, “So, Gachi and Lian Qiu have already been dealt with by you, right?”
“More or less,” Su Che replied. At this point, he saw no need to hide it anymore. “I captured them alive using a special method and prevented them from killing themselves. That’s when I discovered there was a kind of demonic worm living in their minds, resembling red leeches…”
Su Che then described in detail various characteristics of the advanced possessed beings.
It wasn’t until Su Che finished speaking that the Valley Master nodded with a smile, “In that case, I’m relieved.”
Relieved?
Su Che was momentarily stunned, not understanding the meaning behind his words.
Without needing to guess, the Valley Master gave the answer himself, saying with a smile, “That means you don’t know much about us, do you?”
Us?

Su Che suddenly woke up, realizing clearly that the person before him—the most powerful and exalted master of the Cultivation Realm on Mu Lan Star—was also a severe demon possessed. It was even possible that he was the culprit behind this plague of demonization, the main offender. Just as he had thought earlier, it was really hard to tell who was human and who was a demon…