Chapter 492: Before Seclusion

For his seclusion, Su Che chose Chi Lian Palace, a demonic sect on Forge Star—a one of the supreme demonic sects, infamous for its evil reputation. For Su Che, such a crucial period of cultivation to reach the Huashen stage required a location far from remote and secluded places; instead, it should be within the headquarters of a supreme sect, embodying the principle of “the great hermit lives in the marketplace.” Moreover, the protective formation of a supreme sect could serve as an extremely effective defense at critical moments. Thus, Su Che sneaked into Chi Lian Palace, captured its current master, and subjected him to soul enslavement, turning him into his loyal subordinate for now.

The master of Chi Lian Palace was only at the mid-Yuan Ying stage. Capturing such a person was a trivial task for Su Che’s current overall strength—something he could accomplish effortlessly in no time. However, Su Che had no other ulterior motives regarding Chi Lian Palace; he merely intended to use it temporarily before leaving quietly after his seclusion ended. Even though it was a deeply evil demonic sect, it was not the right place for him to act as a champion of justice and punish or sanction evil at the moment…

The exact location for his seclusion was the master’s inner hall, which had the most stringent defenses in Chi Lian Palace. Those responsible for protecting Su Che included Heng Yi, Lin Feng, and Miao Li, three of the Three Refining Empties, along with six Huashen-stage cultivators from the Immortal Prison, and even Huang Shen Shu, who was in the late Huashen stage. Of course, the entire power of Chi Lian Palace also played a role.

Inside a secret chamber within the master’s inner hall, Su Che gathered with Heng Yi and the others to discuss various matters necessary for advancing to the Huashen stage. Aside from Su Che, everyone present was experienced in cultivation and had their own insights and knowledge regarding reaching this stage. Su Che listened humbly, paying close attention to every detail, determined not to miss anything. There was only one chance, so he had to be extremely cautious.

This discussion lasted five days and five nights. Su Che benefited greatly from it. Afterward, he needed time to calm down and adjust his state—another three days passed… One day, feeling completely focused and in top form, Su Che decided to begin his seclusion that very day!

The door to the secret chamber closed silently. Heng Yi and the others took their positions throughout the master’s inner hall, shouldering the vital responsibility of protection. Among them, Heng Yi, the most reliable, would stay with the master of Chi Lian Palace in the main hall, constantly monitoring the protective formation and keeping a close eye on everyone entering and leaving the palace.

Speaking of which, Su Che had an inexhaustible supply of spirit stones, allowing the Red Refining Palace to fully activate its protective formation until the day he successfully emerged from seclusion. On the surface, this approach seemed safer.
In reality, however, it had a drawback: if the palace’s protective formation remained fully activated for a long time, it would surely draw intense attention and vigilance from all sects on Forging Star, essentially inviting trouble without any need, and might even lead to unforeseen complications.
……
On a cultivation planet trillions of light-years away from Forging Star, Li Jiu, Princess Xueyu, and four other Great Vehicle-stage powerhouses sat atop a high mountain, discussing their next move.
Meanwhile, cultivators at the Tribulation Stage and Void Refining Stage, such as Lord Lintian, were stored in Li Jiu’s magic artifact space, as their lower cultivation levels would slow down the progress of the five Great Vehicle-stage warriors.
At that moment, the five of them remained silent, patiently waiting for a result.
What kind of result?
Princess Xueyu held an extremely precise compass, concentrating intently on calculations. During this time, the other four could not disturb her; at most, they could communicate quietly among themselves using telepathy.
Tap tap tap…
Click click click…
The compass in Princess Xueyu’s hand emitted strange noises from time to time, with faint thunderous sounds lingering around it…
It was obvious that the compass was nothing ordinary, and she herself was extremely extraordinary, which earned her the unanimous respect of Li Jiu and the others.
Although Princess Xueyu was indifferent by nature and never saw herself as a leader, once she spoke, whatever her opinion, Li Jiu and the others would take it very seriously and almost always accept it humbly.
“The Barrier-Piercing Celestial Compass tells me…”
Finally, Princess Xueyu completed her calculations and slowly raised her head to speak softly to Li Jiu and the others, “The person we’re looking for must still be in the cultivation realm, and their location is not far from us—no more than trillions of light-years away.”
“Great!”
The four of them were overjoyed. A search range of trillions of light-years was still manageable for Great Vehicle-stage powerhouses.
Swish!
Li Jiu took out a star chart, instantly activating a three-dimensional star map. With a series of taps, he sent out hundreds of subtle energy beams, targeting hundreds of planets on the map, causing them to glow simultaneously.
“Within a range of trillions of light-years, there are 136 cultivation planets, along with countless desolate planets…”

Li Jiu said slowly, “I suggest we divide into five groups. Using these 136 cultivation planets as a framework, we’ll divide them into five regions, with each group leading its own search. Moreover, the five of us should swear a blood oath of the mind—should any group discover Tian Yu, they must not act on their own. Instead, they must immediately send a mental message to the other four groups, who will then gather together to capture Tian Yu!”
The blood oath of the mind sworn among Great Perfection cultivators is not only a binding oath but also establishes an extremely subtle mental connection. As long as they remain in the mortal world and have not ascended to the immortal realm, their mental communication can bypass spatial distances, maintaining the simplest and most basic form of mental connection.
This kind of mental communication certainly cannot be as clear as face-to-face talk, but for people like them, even the slightest sensation is sufficient.
Furthermore, a journey of ten trillion li takes only about half a day for those at the Great Perfection stage.
For example, if the group led by Li Jiu discovers Tian Yu’s trail, they must promptly send a mental message to the other four groups. The other four groups will take at most a dozen hours to arrive at the location.
Those at the Great Perfection stage who are about to ascend to the immortal realm can be called “half-immortals.” The methods they employ have transcended the mortal realm, making them truly unpredictable.
Li Jiu’s proposal was accepted by his four companions. The five Great Perfection cultivators swore the blood oath of the mind together. After that, each led around a hundred subordinates at the Tribulation Stage or Void Refinement Stage, dividing into five groups of equal strength to conduct a thorough search across the ten trillion li of star space.
Meanwhile, several other teams from the Spirit Realm, using their extraordinary methods beyond the mortal world, also arrived in this region one after another.
Like Li Jiu’s team, they could not determine Su Che’s exact location and could only estimate a general area before beginning an extremely meticulous search.
In such a situation, what determined the outcome was not only strength, patience, and strategy but also, more importantly, who had better luck in finding Su Che first.
Often, “luck” was the decisive factor!
…
Forge Gold Planet, Red Refinement Palace.
After closing the door to the secret chamber, Su Che took out a cushion and sat in seiza position—it was time to truly begin striving for the Deification Stage.

“The so-called Transformation to the Divine realm involves integrating all invisible elements one possesses—life imprints, soul imprints, thoughts, seeds of divine powers, and more—into the primordial spirit, thereby initially stepping into a transcendent state where the ordinary is transformed into the divine. It can also be described as a process of turning the mundane into the miraculous.”

Su Che repeated in his mind countless times, “Reaching the Transformation to the Divine realm means initially breaking free from the mortal state. As long as the primordial spirit endures and the self does not perish, this is the critically important second step on the path of cultivation!”

The first step is Foundation Building, which signifies officially embarking on the path of cultivation and laying its groundwork; the second step is Transformation to the Divine, which means transcending the mortal body. Even if the body dies, as long as the primordial spirit remains intact, one can recreate a physical body or be reborn through another body.

Of course, this does not mean that reaching the Transformation to the Divine realm guarantees immortality. There is still a lifespan limit for this stage; generally, three thousand years is considered the normal standard.

If one fails to advance to the Calamity Crossing stage before reaching three thousand years of age, their natural lifespan will be exhausted, and they will be reborn in the cycle of reincarnation.

Of course, those with special methods to extend their life are another matter.

“Master, with the Immortal Prison guarding your soul, your success rate is already much higher than others. Moreover, the strength of your primordial spirit, enhanced by the power of the Shadow Soul, has reached the early stage of Transformation to the Divine…”

Lao He assessed very seriously, “I believe your success rate can be at least 80%.”

“Yes.”

Su Che nodded in his mind. “The remaining 20% can be attributed to luck… My luck has always been fairly good. That’s why I’m highly confident about this period of seclusion and have few worries or concerns.”

It was this confidence that made Su Che choose to enter seclusion to advance. Otherwise, no one would recklessly gamble with their life.

With everything prepared, Su Che slowly closed his eyes, about to enter a state of complete focus.

The so-called state of focus requires those just starting cultivation to calm their minds and eliminate distractions. But for those at the Yuan Ying cultivation level, meditating and entering a trance is as natural as drinking water or eating. In fact, with a mere thought, they can enter this state.

Yet at this moment, for some unknown reason, a scene suddenly flashed in Su Che’s mind without any prior indication: Qi Yuan Star being struck by a spatial storm and gradually turning into nothingness, as if reliving the scene, vividly presented before his eyes.

“How is this possible?”

“Is this a mental demon?”

Su Che quickly opened his eyes, his brows immediately furrowing.