Chapter 617: Suspicion

Who exactly framed Su Che?
Undoubtedly, this person would never step forward to admit it. The elders themselves lacked mutual understanding and didn’t know which one was skilled in the Great Curse Art. Identifying this person would surely be quite difficult.

The Master of the Dust-Free Valley slowly said, “The key now is to quickly determine what type of curse Tianyu has suffered, so that we can find the right remedy to eliminate the threat. This way, we can avoid being caught off guard when the curse fully erupts and making it impossible to rescue him.”

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in silence in agreement. Yet, for the time being, no one volunteered to help Su Che remove the curse.

This was because only someone who truly understood the Great Curse Art—someone even proficient in it—could remove such a curse.

The problem arose here: if someone was proficient in this art, they were also suspected of framing Su Che. They might not be able to explain themselves clearly and could end up facing criticism from everyone, even being jointly attacked.

Everyone naturally preferred fewer competitors. Any excuse could be used by others to unite against someone and kick them out. That would be extremely unfair.

Seeing no one respond, the Master of the Dust-Free Valley said with a smile, “If Tianyu trusts me, I can help you check it out. I do have some understanding of the Great Curse Art. Back in the Immortal Realm, I had a friend who was highly skilled in it, and we often exchanged knowledge…”

The Master dared to speak so openly because he had already made it clear that he would give up this opportunity in the Immortal-Demon Battlefield and had no competition with anyone present. Logically, his chances of framing Su Che were the lowest.

But whatever the reason, Su Che wouldn’t trust someone who had once betrayed him. Could he really let such a person treat him?

So, Su Che shook his head and said, “No need. A mere curse isn’t a threat to me. I’m just reminding everyone that among us, there’s someone with ulterior motives—possibly an enemy of all of us. We should all be careful…”

“And also, I want to warn this person not to try such tricks on me again. If they do it once more, I’ll take action that’s completely unexpected! If you’re curious, you can try again.”

With that, Su Che sat back down, closed his eyes, and showed no further reaction.

Everyone was speechless. They gained a deeper understanding of Su Che’s personality: clearly, he was a man who dealt with matters in a very tough manner; calling him half-mad wasn’t an exaggeration. If one didn’t have complete confidence, it was best not to provoke or test him…

Su Che sat cross-legged and carefully examined his own condition, becoming even more certain that he must have suffered some kind of curse-based attack. However, with the Immortal Prison protecting him, he was confident and didn’t worry too much.

Lao He asked curiously, “Master, what exactly is the ‘move that will surprise him’ you mentioned? Why? I really don’t know what you’re thinking.”

“That’s exactly right—don’t know.”

Su Che replied indifferently, “I actually don’t have any specific plan in mind. I just said it to scare them. Whether they believe it or not, it will still have some effect.”

“Uh…”

Lao He was stunned for a moment, scratching his head and saying, “I almost fell for it.”

Su Che and Lao He shared a mental connection, allowing Lao He to sense most of Su Che’s thoughts, unless Su Che deliberately kept certain personal secrets hidden from him.

But such secrets hardly existed—Su Che had nothing to hide from Lao He. That’s why Lao He had been puzzled earlier: What clever plan could the master have that even he needed to keep secret temporarily?

To his surprise, it was just a sentence meant to scare people!

“Actually, it might really work…”

After some thought, Lao He understood that what seemed like a bluff could actually have a significant impact.

After all, no one dared to underestimate what this special person, Su Che, said these days. Especially the one who was plotting in secret— hearing these words, out of guilt, would surely have many thoughts. If his identity were exposed due to a second attempt, the consequences would be severe.

Being attacked by over thirty immortals wasn’t something to take lightly.

“But who is this guy? What’s his goal?”

Lao He rubbed his forehead in the Immortal Prison, pondering. He wouldn’t relax at all in the face of any enemy threatening Su Che…

At this moment, Su Che didn’t have time to ponder this. He had to focus entirely on dealing with the curse threat lurking within his body. Though protected by the Immortal Prison, he still couldn’t be careless. Such a hidden danger needed to be removed as soon as possible.

“The Great Curse Art is truly powerful!”

In just fifteen minutes, Su Che had already experienced the terrifying power of the Great Curse Art. At this stage, it was still in its latent phase of causing damage, yet it already made it difficult for him to concentrate, preventing him from even entering the most basic state of mental clarity. A mild sense of irritation and confusion filled his mind—not severe enough to be debilitating, but sufficient to disrupt his focus. “If I can’t remove it in time, what will happen to me once it fully erupts?” Generally, curse arts don’t kill people immediately but instead cause mental chaos, dizziness, blindness, mobility issues, hallucinations, or addiction to alcohol and pleasure… In short, they impose various adverse conditions on the victim, leaving little to no capacity for normal thinking or self-control. Trapped in such a passive situation, one could only wait to be ravaged by the enemy, with no chance to resist. “The Great Curse Art is a truly useful and powerful technique. If I get the chance, I must learn it!” At that moment, Su Che even wished he could capture such a person and send them to the fifth layer of the Immortal Prison to extract their skill… Lao He was also anxious in the Immortal Prison, unable to help Su Che at this stage. The feedback received from the Immortal Prison Pagoda was that it was unclear how to remove the curse before it fully erupted. “If we have to wait until it fully breaks out before trying to remove it, and it happens during a critical battle between the master and the opponent, I wonder if we’ll have time enough!” Lao He felt worried but didn’t dare express it, fearing it might worsen Su Che’s anxiety. Just then, Su Che suddenly received a message from Lianyi: “Su Che, if I told you that I understand the Great Curse Art, would you suspect that I’m the one who’s plotting against you?” “Yes!” Su Che replied without hesitation. “In my mind, everyone is suspicious, including you.” “But I really do understand it,” Lianyi said with a bitter smile. “That’s exactly why I know how powerful the Great Curse Art is. I’m worried you won’t be able to overcome it, so I risk being misunderstood by telling you the truth—just to help you. I still hope you’ll find the Immortal Demon Battlefield and achieve my life goals. I really don’t want anything to happen to you…” “Thank you for your kindness,” Su Che replied calmly. “I don’t trust anyone, so I won’t accept help from anyone.”

The so-called help might actually be a deeper form of harm. Su Che still had some intelligence left. As the creator god of the Immortal Prison, his mental capacity was likely even greater than that of most true immortals in the immortal realm—far beyond the wisdom of ordinary people. Regarding the curse he had suffered, Su Che had already considered a very profound possibility and identified two most suspicious individuals in his mind. One of them was Ripple, who was currently talking to him. The other was the master of the Absolute Dust Valley, who had long declared his withdrawal from the competition! These two might share one thing in common: extreme ambition! Perhaps their true goal wasn’t those immortal artifacts in the battlefield between immortals and demons, but rather a way to absorb and transform primordial demonic energy. Once they mastered this method and got rid of him, they could transform into the nemesis of the primordial demonic race—the savior that those powerful figures in the immortal realm had been waiting for. In short, what they wanted to take wasn’t his life, but his future, his fate, his life’s mission. They wanted to take his place and inherit all of it from him! So, first they framed him with a great curse spell, then, under the guise of concern, they pretended to treat him as a patient with their medical skills—all in order to take the opportunity to uncover the secrets hidden within him! Of course, all of this was just Su Che’s suspicion, just speculation—not necessarily true. But who could guarantee that such a possibility didn’t exist? “That guy, Absolute Dust, can control primordial magic and, to some extent, assimilate primordial demonic energy. Over the years, the amount of primordial demonic energy he’s absorbed is no less than mine. Listing him as the top suspect who could replace me isn’t wrong, right?” “Who knows? Maybe Absolute Dust and Ripple have known each other for a long time, or even might be a close male-female partnership. Together, they’re trying every trick in the book to get close to me, scheme against me, and take everything they want from me… Old Black, what do you think? Is such a possibility exist?” “Yes!” Old Black replied immediately. “Hearing you say that, I think it’s absolutely possible!” Then he poured on flattery: “My master is truly wise beyond measure, so insightful that he can think of such things. I, Old Black, am utterly impressed and completely convinced…” “Enough, stop flattering me.”

Su Che thought to himself in a low voice, “I actually hope I’m wrong, that my predictions are off—just my wild fantasies. Otherwise, those two will surely be the second and third extremely troublesome Xue Yu, and they’ll really drive one crazy!”
That wretched woman Xue Yu from the Mahayana stage had just ascended to the immortal realm not long ago. If two even more troublesome male and female immortals appeared right after her, Su Che didn’t know how much headache he would suffer.
I hope I’m wrong!