Chapter 719: An Extremely Strange Premonition

“There’s more!”
Yuanyuan continued, “Putting aside the dangers of the Heavenly Will Divine Furnace itself, that area is located in the private territory of one of the Immortal Lords, the ‘Holy Mother of Tianluo’. Without her permission, no one can approach it. Even if other Immortal Lords want to use the Heavenly Will Divine Furnace to transform something into a natural divine artifact, they must first get her approval…”
Zhuo Feng interjected, “The Heavenly Will Divine Furnace exists at a level so far beyond our reach that this method is useless to us anyway. That’s why I think it’s better not to mention it.”
Su Che didn’t argue and simply nodded, “At least we now know about this method. Even if it’s currently unattainable, it can’t hurt to hear about it.”
Still, Su Che kept the idea of the ‘Heavenly Will Divine Furnace’ in mind. Many seemingly impossible things might not be hopeless once tried. He just didn’t want to express these thoughts and cause Uncle Zhuo Feng unnecessary worry.
Meanwhile, Su Che thought to Lao He, “Can you have the Immortal Prison Pagoda confirm whether this Kunpeng egg can be considered a natural divine artifact to meet the conditions for unlocking the seventh layer of the Immortal Prison?”
“Sure,”
Lao He replied. Using the special method available to the spirit of the artifact, he communicated directly with the Immortal Prison Pagoda. After just a dozen breaths, he replied, “I’m sorry, master. The Immortal Prison Pagoda is also worried. If we force it to meet the first condition, it might affect the functionality of the seventh layer. It’s better to transform it into a true natural divine artifact.”
“Understood,”
Su Che knew that such matters couldn’t be forced or makeshift. If it reduced the effectiveness of the seventh layer, it would be too costly.
“Heavenly Will Divine Furnace!”
Su Che murmured to himself, “As long as there’s a direction to strive for, a way will always be found…”
So, Lao He temporarily placed the Kunpeng egg in a safe area of the Immortal Prison world, ensuring it didn’t come into contact with any living beings.
Su Che felt no sympathy for this egg in a state of apparent death. Reviving such an ancient, demon-level beast might require hundreds of millions of lives to provide enough life energy for it. Could Su Che do such a thing? Absolutely not!

In the first half of his life, his relatives, family, and all his happiness were destroyed by an irresistible catastrophe that ordinary people could not withstand. This was precisely what Su Che hated the most. Even if he couldn’t transform this bird egg into a natural divine artifact, he would still destroy it completely within the Immortal Prison, never giving it a chance to continue devouring lives. The matter of the Kunpeng giant egg had to be put on hold for now. However, through this incident, Black Widow “Yuanyuan”’s evaluation of Su Che rose even further: He possessed such an extraordinary item as a Kunpeng egg, which was already astonishing in itself, yet he had no intention of hatching it and instead chose to transform it into a natural dead object… It could only be said that extraordinary people do extraordinary things and cannot be measured by ordinary logic. Half a month passed afterward. Through the soul connection function, Su Che confirmed that the Wanxiang Refining Sect, located trillions of miles away, had signed a temporary purchase agreement with Yan Qiu: 8,000 top-quality immortal artifacts per year. Su Che believed it was a temporary agreement mainly because this was their first cooperation, and the initial agreement had to be cautious. Only if the cooperation went well would there be a chance to renew it and adjust the terms. Moreover, there must be other hidden motives behind this, most likely the result of Zong Yi’s behind-the-scenes manipulation. “Zong Yi’s ultimate goal is to gradually gain my trust, lure me out of Haoyuan Tian Shi, and trap me.” Su Che naturally saw through this, and his corresponding strategy was simply four words: Play along! Sure enough, three days later, Yan Qiu returned with four companions, including that old scoundrel Zong Yi. They claimed it was because they were worried about the strength of their sect’s disciples and needed a Golden Immortal elder to escort the payment. It made sense—this time, the Wanxiang Refining Sect would come to collect 2,000 artifacts, requiring a payment of 2.8 million immortal crystals. With such a large sum, if news leaked, there was indeed a risk of robbery en route. Having a Golden Immortal elder escort the payment wasn’t an overreaction. “I have to say, this old scoundrel is quite bold. After committing the crime, he still dares to return to the scene unashamedly. Isn’t he afraid of being recognized by that Monkey with Great Luo Golden Immortal cultivation?” With such thoughts in mind, Su Che still greeted Zong Yi and the others warmly at the store. After they sat down, Su Che politely said, “Senior, thank you for your trouble. I’m truly sorry. Normally, it should be us who go to your sect to deliver the goods!” “It’s fine!”

Zong Yi still wore his kind expression, waving his hand with a smile. “Since it’s a sincere partnership, there’s no need to worry about such trivial matters. It’s only half an hour’s journey—nothing significant.”

Half an hour’s journey referred only to the flying speed of a Golden Immortal. In reality, the Wanxiang Refinement Sect was nearly trillions of miles away from Haoyuan Tian Market.

Su Che exchanged a few polite words with him before saying, “With your kindness toward my shop, I really don’t know how to thank you. What do you think…”

Zong Yi smiled gently and replied, “Since you call me an elder, there’s no need for such formalities… However, as an elder of a refinement sect, I’m extremely interested in the immortal artifacts and magical treasures provided by Shopkeeper Tianxuan. If I could have the fortune to meet the ones who crafted them and discuss refinement techniques together, it would be immensely beneficial for me.”

Such a request was reasonable and far from excessive. But Zong Yi had calculated that Su Che was out here to gain experience and would never introduce his family elders to him. If even such a small request couldn’t be fulfilled, Su Che would surely feel some guilt.

Zong Yi simply hoped that Su Che would feel remorseful and owe him a favor. Then, things would be much easier from there.

Sure enough, Su Che explained with apology, saying he couldn’t do certain things due to his elders’ orders, and apologized repeatedly…

“It’s alright, it’s alright. I was just mentioning it casually. Shopkeeper Tianxuan needn’t worry…”

Zong Yi generously comforted Su Che in return, appearing to be a kind and benevolent elder at all times.

Facing him now, Su Che thought to himself: If not for already knowing his true nature, one could never imagine that this man was actually a Golden Immortal bandit who had ravaged countless continents for years.

Afterward, the two parties successfully completed their first supply transaction, with all payments settled. Zong Yi led four sect disciples, carrying two thousand top-quality immortal artifacts, and left without making any further requests that could trouble Su Che.

Su Che and Zhuo Feng stood outside the shop, watching the five of them disappear down the street. Then, Yuan Yuan’s voice transmitted to them in secret, “That old fellow is extremely patient. By the time he makes his next request, it will surely be a compelling reason you can’t refuse.”

“Yes,” Su Che replied telepathically. “I’ve always said he won’t give up. He’s also someone with great tenacity who never gives up easily.”

“Just like you, right?”

With a smile at the corners of her eyes, Yuanyuan whispered to Su Che, hiding it from Zhuo Feng, “Regarding the Heavenly Will Divine Furnace, will you give up?” Without giving Su Che a chance to argue, she turned and left.
“That woman really understands you!” Lao He said in a strange tone.
…
Two months passed in a flash. It was time for the Tianxuan Treasure Shop to deliver goods in their second transaction with the Wanxiang Weapon Refining Sect.
Three celestial slave servants surely couldn’t handle this task—2,000 top-quality immortal weapons, worth nearly three million immortal crystals, could easily result in losing both the goods and their lives.
It would be best if Uncle Zhuo Feng made the trip. Fortunately, the distance wasn’t far. With his Golden Immortal cultivation level, it would take him just a few hours to go and return, including settling the payment.
This transaction went quite smoothly, without any complications.
Clearly, that old bastard Zong Yi was still trying to gain Su Che’s trust. After all, he didn’t have to pay out of his own pocket…
Eight thousand top-quality immortal weapons per year had to be purchased in four installments mainly because the total cost of over ten million immortal crystals would be too much for a sect of Wanxiang Weapon Refining Sect’s scale to bear all at once.
They couldn’t tighten their belts so much that they couldn’t breathe just to buy magical weapons.
Paying around three million immortal crystals each time was still manageable.
For the third transaction, it was Zong Yi who brought the payment in person. This time, he seemed to have some free time and sat down to have a “familiar conversation” with Su Che for over half an hour without showing any signs of leaving.
The old bastard was quite talkative. Although Su Che knew he had ulterior motives, he had to admit that this old fox was extremely skilled at reading people’s minds and had a profound mastery of language arts. One would unknowingly get caught up in some story he told.
If used as an agent to seduce important members of other sects into defection, he would be a terrifying figure.
Though Zong Yi was scheming against Su Che, Su Che also planned to use tactics to get rid of this scourge as soon as possible. Now, facing each other up close, both were feigning friendship. But strangely, as time passed, Su Che increasingly sensed a growing sense of danger emanating from Zong Yi. It seemed that at any moment, the old bastard might suddenly attack him and kill him in one strike…
“How is this possible?”
On the surface, Su Che remained cheerful, but inside, he was filled with confusion: Even if Zong Yi had gone mad, he couldn’t openly attack him under such circumstances.

He had to know that Uncle Zhuo Feng had always been by his side. There was also an old monkey who was a Great Luo Golden Immortal hidden in the Tian Shi market—give him a hundred times the courage, and he wouldn’t dare do such a thing. Besides, after all, he was only in the later stage of the Golden Immortal realm; how could he emit such a strong sense of danger? Back then, even in the battlefield between immortals and demons, on the territory of the Origin Demons, facing two Golden-Winged Demon Kings, a few Silver-Winged demons, and a large group of Copper-Winged demons up close, he hadn’t felt such a severe sense of crisis. “Who exactly is he? Why is this happening?” With such questions in mind, Su Che didn’t breathe easy until he sent Zong Yi out of the store. Yet, an indescribable sense of unease still lingered in his heart. “This feeling is very wrong. It seems something will happen soon!” Su Che wouldn’t take any chances and immediately took out the communication talisman given to him by the old monkey… At the same time, Zong Yi, along with two of his trusted disciples, had flown tens of millions of miles away from the Haoyuan Tian Shi market. As they flew at high speed, suddenly, he also frowned, becoming alert. Disaster struck from above! Less than a hundred feet above them, a sky-covering black hand appeared out of thin air and, with lightning-fast speed, reached down in a swift grab. Zong Yi and his disciples—one in the later stage of the Golden Immortal realm, one in the later stage of the Mysterious Immortal realm, and one in the middle stage of the Mysterious Immortal realm—these three true immortals were completely defenseless. As the sky-covering black hand disappeared, they vanished without a trace…