Chapter 616: Undercurrents Stirring

After a joke, the two shifted straight to the main topic.
“I hope to become your partner and enter the Battlefield of Immortals and Demons together,” Ripple transmitted.
“Everyone thinks that,” Su Che replied calmly.
“I’m different from them!” Ripple’s tone carried a hint of confidence.
“Then tell me. I’m listening,” Su Che said, like an interviewer ready to patiently hear each person’s bid for partnership.
“They’re all unfortunate souls cast down to the mortal world for various reasons, but I’m not,” Ripple said softly, yet with a trace of pride.
“Oh?” Su Che raised his eyebrows slightly, showing curiosity.
“Over a million years ago, I found a way to secretly descend from the immortal realm, all to pursue the legend of the Battlefield of Immortals and Demons,” Ripple explained. “The purpose of founding Mingye wasn’t for profit, but to gather any information related to it. In fact, I’m probably the person in this world who knows the most about it.”
At this point, a faint smile appeared on her lips. “Don’t you think that alone qualifies me as your partner?”
“It seems so,” Su Che replied calmly. “But how can I know if what you say is true or not?”
“I can prove it to you now—what I know exceeds what they all know combined.”
Ripple spoke slowly, “Back then, several powerful figures in the immortal realm sealed off the Battlefield of Immortals and Demons but left an entrance in the mortal world. There must be a reason for that. Su Che, can you guess what their intention was?”
“I can’t,” Su Che replied without hesitation. “If you can tell me, I’ll consider you a true partner.”
“Very good.”
Ripple nodded in satisfaction, paused briefly, then said astonishingly, “Their intention was… to wait for you!”
“Wait for me?” Su Che was stunned.
“That’s right.”
Ripple smiled slightly and continued, “They’ve been waiting for someone like you—a person who can truly absorb and transform the primordial demonic energy without being corrupted. Such a person will be the nemesis of the entire Primordial Demon race and may help the immortal realm completely eliminate the ultimate threat of demonic invasion.”
“I think that person is you!”

Hearing her words, Su Che must have been deeply shaken, yet he remained calm on the surface and asked, “Why do you think I can absorb and transform primordial demonic energy? Look, the master of Juechen Valley over there can also absorb large amounts of demonic energy, right?”
“It’s different! You two are not the same!”
Lianyi said seriously, “Su Che, don’t insult my judgment and wisdom. I’ve paid an enormous price for this—far beyond what you can imagine. Without exaggeration, aside from those major figures in the Immortal Realm, I’m the one who knows the most about this.”
Su Che retorted, “But I don’t want to become the person you describe. I just want to live peacefully and avoid adding any more burdens or troubles to myself.”
Lianyi replied with a smile, “But the problem is, even if you don’t want trouble, it will find you anyway. That’s the will of fate—you can’t escape it.”
Su Che was speechless, understanding the meaning behind her words.
Indeed, things had come to this point, and there was really no way out. He was trapped and unable to back down.
What would happen if he told these people now that he wanted to give up and withdraw? Those old monsters would surely unite to suppress him completely, turning him into a puppet without autonomy, while still exploiting the opportunity he possessed. They certainly wouldn’t lack such tactics.
Many things happened one after another, linked together. Forced and driven, he had reached this point with no chance to resist.
Just like the rise of the Witch Clan—he didn’t intend to destroy the Spirit Realm, but if he didn’t, his fate would be certain death with no chance of burial.
To survive, he had to do certain things. Yes, this was fate!
“Alright, I count you in!”
Su Che kept his promise and said to Lianyi, “Someone as dedicated as you truly deserves to be my partner.”
“Thank you,” Lianyi replied with a gentle smile, a smile that truly reflected joy. After all that effort, she finally saw a glimmer of hope.
Su Che immediately sent a message to Young Master Yun Shan, saying firmly, “Brother Yun Shan, that female immortal Lianyi will become an essential member of our team.”
“Oh?” Young Master Yun Shan asked curiously, “What advantages does she have?”
“She’s different from you all,” Su Che said bluntly without hesitation. “For the Immortal-Demonic Battlefield, she’s made unimaginable efforts. In my eyes, she’s already the top partner.”

“Is that so?”
Young Master Yun Shan was surprised. Even though Su Che had spoken rather vaguely, with his wisdom, he could surely guess many things. After a quick thought, he replied, “Okay, such a person indeed should be included.”
In fact, Young Master Yun Shan had no particular relationship with those other old monsters; he cared only about matters, not individuals. If someone else was more suitable, he would without hesitation replace Black Crow or Old Ox.
With a clear mind, he understood that someone as dedicated and prepared as Ripple was the most suitable partner—her presence would bring immeasurable benefits to the entire team.
After that, others also sent messages to Su Che, but the so-called advantages they listed were not recognized by him. Of course, Su Che didn’t outright refuse either; he just responded vaguely to keep them calm and avoid making a hasty decision.
On the surface, all thirty-four people sat in meditation, quite quiet, but beneath it all, there was intense competition… At this stage, everyone was holding back, trying to seize opportunities through gentle means.
Yet human hearts are unpredictable. There would always be a few who, out of impatience or for other reasons, would act in strange and incomprehensible ways…
The silent struggle continued for over thirty days. One day, Su Che suddenly felt an inexplicable irritability. Perhaps “irritability” wasn’t the right word; “restlessness” either didn’t quite fit. It was a very strange and uncomfortable sensation.
It didn’t come from his body nor his mind—it was indescribable…
“Old Black, is there any special energy invading my body?”
Su Che asked inwardly. “I feel something’s off. It seems like I’ve been targeted by someone’s dark magic, though it hasn’t fully taken effect yet.”
“No!”
Old Black used his detection abilities to thoroughly scan Su Che’s body and found nothing abnormal.
“There must be a problem!”
Su Che was certain. As a cultivator in the Tribulation stage with a firm will and stable spirit, it was impossible for such strange physical and mental fluctuations to arise out of nowhere.
“Could it be that someone wants to frame you and use it to blackmail you?” Old Black, not being foolish, immediately guessed some possibilities.
“Possible.”

Su Che nodded in his heart: “These old monsters, though unfortunate to be stranded in the mortal world, are still true immortals who transcend the mundane. Their skills are thousands or even tens of thousands of times greater than those of the Mahayana-level powerhouses. Surely there’s someone who masters great arts like the ‘Great Curse Technique’.”

Su Che believed that at this very moment, he was being invisibly eroded by some curse force. Although no obvious symptoms had appeared yet, some destructive force was already lurking within his body. With the Immortal Prison around, he wasn’t too worried about this invasive destructive force. Yet, he couldn’t just passively suffer ambushes without any counteraction. Being beaten passively and enduring silently wasn’t Su Che’s style.

“Someone’s ambushing me?”

Su Che suddenly let out a furious roar, waking up all the thirty-some old monsters. “Who did this? If you’ve got the guts, step forward!”

“Young Tianyu, what kind of ambush have you fallen for?”

Lord Yun Shan and the others immediately grew anxious. They rushed to Su Che’s side and asked with concern, “What do you feel?”

“I’m restless and irritable, as if I’ve been cursed…”

Su Che briefly described his symptoms. He knew that Yun Shan and the others were true immortals with immense experience. Just by hearing his symptoms, they should be able to determine what kind of ambush he had suffered.

“That’s right!”

Lord Yun Shan swiftly opened his folding fan and nodded. “Young Tianyu is correct. Such feelings can’t appear out of nowhere. It’s almost certainly the Great Curse Technique.”

“The Great Curse Technique” was just a general term for such great arts. In reality, the art of curses was extremely complex, with tens of thousands of different curse effects depending on classification. At present, since Su Che hadn’t shown any clear symptoms, it was still impossible to determine exactly which kind of curse ambush he had suffered.

“Who the hell did this? Are you seeking death?”

Xue Sha, radiating murderous intent, suddenly stood up and scanned the crowd with an extremely cold gaze. At this stage, someone daring to ambush Su Che was absolutely intolerable for Yun Shan, Xue Sha, and the others. It was clearly an attempt to destroy everyone’s hopes. If anything happened to Su Che, the once-in-a-million-year opportunity to fight in the Immortal-Demon Battlefield would be completely ruined.

“Who the hell is this stupid person? Has their brain gone bad?”

Boom! A few more people stood up, shouting in anger.

Everyone knew that it wasn’t yet time for such a thing. How could anyone be so foolish as to attack Su Che now?

It should be said that such desperate, all-or-nothing retaliatory actions are only taken at the last moment when some people feel utterly hopeless and have completely lost all chances. Since the outcome is still uncertain and everyone still has a chance, no one should resort to such actions. “What are his intentions?” Among the thirty-four people present, it is estimated that thirty-three of them were thinking this very question.