Chapter 465: The Shadow Clan

The man in black flying from behind also saw Su Che and his “three companions.” As the distance shortened, he first confirmed that neither Su Che nor their shadows had any projections beneath them, so he regarded them as his own kind.
However, Heng Yi had a very clear shadow beneath his feet, which immediately alerted the man in black. He stopped when they were still dozens of feet away and then spoke rapidly at Su Che and his companions.
Language barrier?
Su Che couldn’t understand what he was saying, which was quite rare in the realm of cultivation.
Normally, in the vast universe, the languages of the immortal and mortal realms were mutually intelligible, both originating from the ancient immortal realm. Only on primitive planets with extremely scarce spiritual energy, where no cultivators would want to establish a cultivation civilization, would local creatures evolve independently, developing their own distinct primitive civilizations and resulting in chaotic, varied languages.
This strange planet they were on was clearly a cultivation planet, not one of those primitive, mundane civilizations. Moreover, the man in front of them had considerable cultivation strength yet spoke only a native language.
Though it wasn’t a major issue, it could cause Su Che some minor trouble.
“Heng Yi, can you understand him?” Su Che quickly asked via telepathy.
“I also can’t understand,” Heng Yi replied telepathically.
Seeing that Su Che and his companions didn’t respond for a while, the man in black let out a loud shout. His aura surged dramatically, clearly intending to attack.
“Attacking at the slightest disagreement—my guess was right. The people here are definitely very aggressive and unfriendly…”
Such thoughts flashed through Su Che’s mind. He planned to order Heng Yi to subdue the man and then capture him and throw him into the Immortal Prison. By capturing him alive and enslaving his soul, they could not only overcome the language barrier but also gain a basic understanding of this world.
But before Su Che and Heng Yi could act, the shadow beside them suddenly moved as if teleporting, appearing right behind the man in black. Without pause, it pounced and transformed into the man’s shadow, appearing at his feet.
“Uwaaah!”
The man in black saw a shadow appear at his feet. Like a frail woman suddenly confronted the most terrifying thing in the world, he was so frightened that his body went limp, collapsing like cooked noodles, then trembling violently…
“Is that it?”
Su Che and Heng Yi exchanged glances, stunned.

Although the man in black should only be at the Golden Core stage, he was like a child in front of Su Che and Heng Yi—easily dealt with and killed in an instant. Yet, Su Che and Heng Yi still found it hard to understand how a cultivator could be terrified by his own shadow to such an extent.

Despite their surprise, Su Che and Heng Yi stayed where they were, not bothering to interfere with the shadow, knowing that there must be a reason for its actions.

After just a few dozen breaths, the shadow separated from the man in black and floated back to Su Che’s side, hovering about a foot above the ground like a personal bodyguard.

Su Che didn’t ask anything, as he already had an idea. Even if he had, the shadow wouldn’t have answered—truthfully, it still didn’t possess the ability to communicate verbally.

Swish!

With a gesture of his hand, Su Che summoned the man in black, who was lying collapsed dozens of feet away, into the Immortal Prison. Without a word, he sent him to the fourth floor for soul transformation.

The man was still alive, but his vital energy was severely depleted, and his cultivation level had dropped by several stages. Initially, Su Che thought he was at the mid-Golden Core stage, but now it seemed he could barely reach the early Foundation stage.

“Undoubtedly, the vital energy he lost must have been taken by the shadow,” Su Che guessed. “It’s possible that cultivators on this planet are like powerful spirit pills in the eyes of this shadow…”

After Su Che reached the mid-Yuan Ying stage, the soul enslavement capabilities of the fourth floor of the Immortal Prison would also increase. Transforming such a person with a plummeted cultivation level would take just a few breaths.

Swish!

The man in black was sent back to the first floor of the Immortal Prison and collapsed in front of Lao Hei. He was still too weak to stand.

“Can you speak the common language of the cultivation world?” Lao Hei asked in a deep voice.

“Yes!”

The man in black immediately replied in the common language, “But in our Shadow Clan, we use our own language. We only use the common language in very special circumstances.”

“Then tell me more about the characteristics of your Shadow Clan—the more detailed, the better,” Lao Hei said, his tone not too strict. After all, this man had already been transformed into Su Che’s loyal servant and was no longer a prisoner, so there was no need to use interrogation methods.

“We of the Shadow Clan are also humans. Our primary cultivation technique is the Great Shadow Art from the Immortal Realm, said to be one of the Three Thousand Great Paths. According to our clan records, our ancestors were also true immortals from the Immortal Realm. For some reason, our progenitor was banished from the Immortal Realm to the mortal world and seems unable to return ever again. He then created this Shadow Star using his immense magical power, and it has been passed down for 1.6 million years.”

The man in black explained in detail, “My name is ‘Shadow Ten-Seven’. It wasn’t originally this name; I only gained the right to change my surname to ‘Shadow’ after reaching the Golden Core stage. On Shadow Star, there are 36,000 Golden Core cultivators, 5,700 Nascent Soul cultivators, 320 Spirit Transformation cultivators, and 46 Void Refinement cultivators.”

“Wait!”

Su Che and Old Black were both shocked. Old Black immediately exclaimed, “What did you say? How could there be Spirit Transformation and Void Refinement cultivators on Shadow Star? That’s complete nonsense!”

No matter how peculiar this planet might be, it still belongs to the cultivation realm and must obey the laws of heaven and earth. Any cultivator who reaches the Spirit Transformation stage must ascend to the Spirit Realm. How could there be so many cultivators at those stages remaining here?

It’s absolutely impossible!

“How dare I speak nonsense? Everything I’ve said is the truth,” Shadow Ten-Seven replied hastily. “Please, sir, don’t get angry. Allow me to explain slowly.”

“Speak!” Old Black ordered in a stern voice.

“Although I am just a minor figure at the Golden Core stage, I know that cultivation realms above the Spirit Transformation stage shouldn’t exist in the cultivation world. But Shadow Star is a special place, a hidden realm,” Shadow Ten-Seven explained. “1.6 million years ago, our progenitor, who created Shadow Star, was a true immortal. He knew how to deceive the laws of fate and how to break through the rules set by the immortals in the Immortal Realm. Our progenitor once said that the so-called laws of heaven and earth created by those immortals are just minor rules and principles, not the true way of heaven. It’s not difficult to break them.”

Hearing this, Su Che and Old Black both thought to themselves, “It’s obvious that our progenitor of the Shadow Clan wasn’t an insignificant figure in the Immortal Realm back then. He definitely wasn’t just a low-level immortal—only then could he speak in such a bold manner…”

Shadow Ten-Seven continued, “Our progenitor said that our Shadow Clan’s cultivation path is extremely unique, making us an anomaly among cultivators. If we ascend to the Spirit Realm at the Spirit Transformation stage, we won’t survive even a few days and will become prey for some powerful cultivators in the Spirit Realm. Therefore, we must reach the Tribulation Crossing stage so that we have enough strength to protect ourselves after ascending.”

“For this reason, even our powerful cultivators of the Shadow Clan, once they reach the Refining Void stage, must remain on Shadow Star and dare not ascend to the Spirit Realm. Moreover, to keep this secret, the Shadow Clan is extremely exclusive; they immediately capture or kill any outsiders who intrude, never allowing them to leave Shadow Star. That’s why, just now, when I noticed the attendant by my master having a projection, I immediately tried to attack him.”

Lao He then asked, “So, that layer of eggshell surrounding Shadow Star is the protective barrier set up by your ancestors to conceal its true nature, right?”

Ying Wanqi nodded. Of course he guessed that what Lao He meant by ‘eggshell’ was the eight-thousand-zhang-thick soil layer covered with countless silver-gray mushroom-like plants.

“Yes, my lord,” Ying Wanqi replied respectfully. “In the cultivation world, even the divine consciousness of a cultivator in the late Yuan Ying stage cannot penetrate an eight-thousand-zhang-thick soil layer. Generally, even if a Yuan Ying cultivator from another planet lands on top of this protective layer, their divine consciousness cannot detect Shadow Star hidden deep underground. They would simply think it’s an unusual desolate planet and leave after a short stay.”

Su Che and Lao He both agreed with this answer. “That’s right. If it weren’t for Heng Yi’s powerful divine consciousness in the mid-Refining Void stage, which covers tens of thousands of zhang, even if we happened to land on this planet, we would also conclude it’s just a desolate planet. Few people would take the time to randomly head to a desolate planet in the vast starry sky just to explore eight thousand zhang underground. Even if someone accidentally discovered Shadow Star hidden underground, they would likely be captured or killed by the cultivators at the Transcending Soul or Refining Void stage there.”

It could be said that it wasn’t very difficult for the Shadow Clan to keep their racial secrets.

After understanding these things, Lao He curiously asked again, “Is it because you practice the Great Shadow Art that you have no shadow?”

“My lord, it’s not that we have no shadow, but rather that we merge our shadow with our physical body. The shadow and soul become one; the shadow takes precedence, and the physical body becomes less important.”

Ying Wanqi explained in detail, “We focus on the path of shadows. The importance of a shadow is akin to the original spirit of other cultivators. As long as the shadow remains, the person does not die.”

Lao He seemed half-understanding and asked again, “You were severely injured just now, weren’t you?”

“Yes, my lord,” Ying Wanqi replied. “Just now, my shadow soul was consumed by some force. At present, only 30% of my original cultivation remains, and it will take at least several decades to recover.”
Hearing this, Su Che basically understood that this Shadow Star was the perfect hunting ground for his own shadow. Here, his shadow could feast freely, devouring the ‘Power of Shadow Souls’ that the countless members of the Shadow Clan had painstakingly cultivated, thereby enhancing its own strength.
“I just wonder what benefits this can bring me?”
Everyone has selfish desires, and Su Che naturally began to imagine what gains he could obtain on this Shadow Star…