Chapter 561: The Deal Is Done

Within the next ten-odd days, three more groups came to Tianbao Pavilion in Jiayu City, attempting to snatch the Witch God Token from Su Che’s hands. All of them suffered heavy losses and returned in defeat.
Those who came later, once they arrived in Jiayu City, would hear about the glorious feats of the peerless tyrant Tian Yu in every corner. Too afraid to come and verify for themselves, they could only turn back immediately, thus managing to save their lives.
What always saddened Su Che was that although he could easily kill a cultivator in the late Lingxu stage, capturing them alive was extremely difficult.
Because once the Power of Destruction was unleashed, it meant instant death without mercy. As it was the fundamental force of annihilation, there was no room for leniency. The Purple Crystal Blade’s power was the same—although Su Che still didn’t know exactly what kind of energy resided within the purple crystal blade or its grade, he was certain it was also a form of pure killing power with no regard for mercy.
If he neither used the Power of Destruction nor the Purple Crystal Blade, relying on other methods to defeat those powerful cultivators was highly unrealistic, and they would easily escape. Once those guys took to the sky, their flying speed was beyond Su Che’s reach.
Thus, killing them was easy, but capturing them alive was extremely difficult. This made Su Che deeply miss the Mi Xian Realm he once possessed. It was thanks to that realm that he had been able to recruit subordinates like Heng Yi, who were in the Lingxu stage, even during his Yuan Ying stage…
Strangely enough, no top-tier Mahayana cultivators came to trouble Su Che during this time. Could it be that these Mahayana cultivators had their own ways to protect themselves and disdained taking the Witch God Token from him?
Su Che thought: It seems that the only Mahayana cultivators who know I possess the Immortal Prison Pagoda are the three—Xue Yu and the others—who escaped from the Swallowing Heaven Realm. The other Mahayana cultivators in the Spirit Realm aren’t very interested in me.
That’s good news!
Su Che was well aware of his own limitations. Even though his strength had greatly increased, he didn’t want to face being chased and surrounded by groups of Mahayana cultivators. He really didn’t want to go through that situation again.
With five days left before the one-month deadline set with Lord Wu Yin, that afternoon, Lord Wu Yin came to Jiayu City once more and appeared before Su Che.
“Master Tian Yu is invincible. We’ve heard about what happened some time ago. Due to our limited abilities, we truly can’t offer any help to Master Tian Yu in this matter. Please forgive us!”

Today, Wu Yin saw Su Che again. His expression and gaze now held not only reverence but also obvious admiration, and his tone and attitude were even more humble, as if he were speaking to a rare powerful being at the Mahayana stage. What impressed Wu Yin the most was that this Tian Yu, who was much younger than him, was already a powerful cultivator at the mid-stage of Lianxu, and moreover, he had managed to single-handedly defeat several Tribulation Heavenly Lords—something utterly unheard of and unprecedented in the spiritual realm. Such achievements were truly admirable.

Su Che waved his hand at him with a smile and said, “Tianbao Pavilion is a merchant guild. We do business by opening our doors and fostering harmony for prosperity. Fighting and killing have nothing to do with you. I have already appreciated Wu Yin’s sincerity.”

“Thank you, Master Tian Yu!”

Wu Yin bowed deeply. At this moment, he realized that many of the rumors he had heard in the past were clearly untrue. This Master Tian Yu seemed quite amiable and reasonable; there was not the slightest trace of a ruthless tyrant about him. Nevertheless, given Su Che’s remarkable achievements lately, Wu Yin had already listed him as one of those whom he must never offend. As the owner of Tianbao Pavilion said, such a person should be kept as an ally at all costs, never made an enemy…

After some small talk, it was time to get to the point. Wu Yin showed a sheepish expression and said, “Master Tian Yu, I’m truly sorry. Despite Tianbao Pavilion’s efforts and every possible attempt, we still haven’t found a ready-made Grafting Divine Stone to this day. We’ve only uncovered some information related to it…”

Su Che’s expression remained calm. Though slightly disappointed, he understood that the Grafting Divine Stone was after all an artifact from the Immortal Realm, rare in the mortal world, and requiring great luck to obtain easily. It was just a transaction after all. The people of Tianbao Pavilion were not his subordinates, so he had neither the right nor the reason to blame them.

So, Su Che nodded gently and said, “It’s still a small gain to have uncovered some information. But I wonder if this information is reliable?”

“Reliable!” Wu Yin nodded firmly. “I wouldn’t dare tell Master Tian Yu anything unreliable. We’ve verified this through various channels and confirmed that the Grafting Divine Stone is still in someone’s possession and hasn’t been used yet. However, it will likely be difficult for Master Tian Yu to obtain it.”

“It’s difficult, but I’m not afraid,” Su Che nodded slowly. “As long as the information is reliable and targeted, it’s far better than searching aimlessly through the vast starry sky. I’ll remember Tianbao Pavilion’s kindness. If you have any requests, you can speak up directly, Lord Wu Yin.”
“Thank you, Master Tianyu.”
Seeing Su Che so willing to listen, Lord Wu Yin showed delight. His so-called request was simply that his grandfather, Lord Wu You Tianjun, be protected by Su Che so that his vital spirit wouldn’t be seized by the Witch Clan.
Su Che could sense his filial piety as well, which was why he treated him so kindly.
However, before making his request, Lord Wu Yin first took out a delicate and elegant robe with an air of majesty from his storage ring. He placed it solemnly on the jade table and introduced it in a deep voice, “This Haoyang Tianji Battle Robe is a family heirloom of ours, a top-tier Dao artifact. Please accept it from me, Master Tianyu, along with that Silver Veil statue, as compensation for Tianbao Pavilion’s failure to fulfill its duties.”
Among artifacts of the same rank, robes and pill furnaces were the most valuable—this was basic knowledge in the cultivation world, as crafting these two types of artifacts was the most difficult, requiring the most stringent materials.
In fact, the value of a top-tier Dao artifact robe could rival that of a supreme Dao artifact, making it a highly significant gift even in the resource-rich Spirit Realm.
Yet Su Che waved his hand…
“No need!”
Su Che said with a smile, “With the Silver Veil statue and accurate information about the Grafted Divine Stone, I’ve already gained a lot from my visit to Tianbao Pavilion. I don’t need any further compensation from you.”
In the Immortal Prison, Lao He had already guessed that his master would say this, as he knew Su Che’s character too well. “If you show me respect, I’ll return it tenfold”—that was Su Che’s way of dealing with others.
Moreover, upon hearing that the battle robe was their family heirloom, Su Che felt even more reluctant to take it, as it would be like exploiting someone’s kindness. After all, Lord Wu You Tianjun didn’t expect to gain much from him; he merely hoped to survive this great calamity.
“This is my grandfather’s way of expressing his gratitude. Please, Master Tianyu, definitely accept it!”
Lord Wu Yin pleaded earnestly, pushing the battle robe closer toward Su Che.

Su Che was too lazy to argue back and simply nodded, saying, “I can ensure the safety of Lord Wu You. During the time when the Witch Tribe invades the Spirit Realm, he can temporarily reside within the space of a top-tier Dao artifact. As long as I remain alive, Lord Wu You’s safety need not be a concern.”
The “space of a Dao artifact” Su Che mentioned here was not the Immortal Prison World, but rather the space of top-tier Dao artifacts belonging to people like Heng Yi.
It was quite common for the internal space of such a top-tier Dao artifact to cover tens of thousands of square miles, more than enough for Lord Wu You to live in.
Su Che considered himself a principled person. Since it had been agreed that this was a fair deal, he could not use any pretext to seize Lord Wu You and bring him to the Immortal Prison. He despised such dishonest and despicable actions.
One might resort to any means against enemies, but in normal interactions, one must uphold principles and honesty.
It wasn’t that Su Che wanted to present himself as someone noble—after all, the key was to have a clear conscience and live without guilt.
Hearing Su Che’s promise, Lord Wu Yin was overjoyed and nodded gratefully, saying, “Thank you for your generous assistance, Master Tian Yu. I will convey this good news to my grandfather as soon as possible… I also hope that after obtaining the Grafting Divine Stone, you will visit Tianbao Pavilion again. I believe I will be able to see my grandfather then.”
Su Che agreed without hesitation, knowing full well that Lord Wu You had taken the risk of coming to Tianbao Pavilion on Guanghao Star to wait for him. Moreover, they had chosen this time after he obtained the Grafting Divine Stone for good reason.
Firstly, obtaining that Grafting Divine Stone would surely be difficult. If he could succeed in getting it, it would prove his abilities once again, which was why Lord Wu You was willing to entrust his life and fortune to him.
Secondly, Lord Wu You must also be worried that if he failed to obtain the stone, even if nothing bad happened to him, Su Che might still blame him. Therefore, it was better to wait until there was a definite outcome regarding the stone before meeting again…
At the same time, Su Che also admired Lord Wu You greatly—for daring to entrust his life and fortune to a stranger like him. Such a decision required extraordinary courage, vision, and wisdom.
With the deal settled, Su Che stood up to take his leave. He didn’t even glance at the “Haoyang Tianji Battle Robe” again. No matter how much Lord Wu Yin insisted, Su Che refused to accept it.

It wasn’t that Su Che had too many treasures and dismissed this top-grade Dao artifact; rather, it was due to the principle that one should not accept rewards without making efforts. Su Che believed that the Silver Powder Statue given by Lord Wu You and the information about the Grafted Divine Stone, considered as a form of protection fee, were already sufficient.
Sufficient is enough; we don’t want any more!
Of course, when bidding farewell to Lord Wu Yin, Su Che also had an additional jade slip in his hands. This jade slip contained extremely detailed information about the Grafted Divine Stone, clearly indicating that a great deal of effort had gone into it.
“Once I get the Grafted Divine Stone, I’ll be able to access the fifth layer of the Immortal Prison, which is crucial for me…”
As he left Guanghao Star, Su Che’s heart was filled with anticipation.