Chapter 724: A Debt of Gratitude

The atmosphere was extremely tense; it seemed the two Immortal Emperors might fight at any moment.
Su Che certainly didn’t want them to actually fight. As the saying goes, a fire at the city gates affects even the fish in the pond. If things escalated out of control, it was uncertain who would win, but he himself would surely suffer greatly.
It had taken him great effort and thought to get this shop running, and now that it was showing signs of improvement, how could he allow it to fail?
At that moment, Zhuo Feng silently sent a message to Su Che, reminding him, “Zong Yi mentioned earlier that due to personal reasons, he can’t stay here for long. If he can’t find you, he’ll come back in a few days…”
Su Che immediately understood what Uncle Zhuo Feng meant. He then bowed to Zong Yi and Feng Lin, saying, “Elder Immortal Emperors, I have something to say.”
Zong Yi and Feng Lin turned simultaneously, their imposing gazes falling on Su Che.
Though they had already reined in their confrontational attitudes in that brief moment, the lingering pressure was still enough to nearly knock Su Che off his feet. Fortunately, the old monkey was quick-witted—he twisted his wrist, using a gentle force to support Su Che and help him stay steady.
Su Che said to Zong Yi, “Elder, could you give me about a year? I’ll try to find all the items left behind by your son and deliver them to you. How about that?”
“A year?”
Zong Yi pondered for a moment before agreeing quite readily, even extending the time significantly. “There’s no need to be so urgent—give me ten years. If you can help me find those items, I’ll also grant you one reasonable request, or do something to assist you within my power.”
Oh?
Su Che’s spirits lifted immediately. Indeed, there was something that required the help of an Immortal Emperor.
He nodded and replied, “Elder, rest assured. I’ll do my best!”
Zong Yi then turned to Immortal Emperor Feng Lin and said, “I agreed to him so readily out of respect for Feng Lin. Now that I’ve made concessions, shouldn’t you do the same?”
“Sure.”
The mighty Immortal Emperor Feng Lin wasn’t someone who cared too much about petty matters. She nodded and said, “What I can do is ensure this man stays in Haoyuan Tian Shi for the next ten years.”

Zong Yi laughed heartily. “Good, good. I accept this gesture of goodwill. Thank you for your sincerity, fellow cultivator. But keeping an eye on this little guy isn’t that easy. Unless you have enough time and patience to watch over him personally.”

“Is that so?”

Emperor Feng Lin glanced at Su Che, also feeling a bit curious.

Su Che knew exactly what Zong Yi meant—he was referring to his ability to hide in the Immortal-Demon Battlefield. But this was only temporary. One could hide for a while, but not forever. He couldn’t stay hidden in that battlefield forever and never return to the Immortal Realm.

As long as he returned to the Immortal Realm, those emperor-level figures would find him. Presumably, that was why Zong Yi wasn’t worried he would escape.

Even though he understood these factors, Su Che still took the initiative to speak up. “Please rest assured, both emperors. This shop is extremely important to me. Not to mention ten or twenty years, I won’t leave Haoyuan Tian Shi for thousands of years.”

Only then did Zong Yi nod gently before turning to Feng Lin and saying, “I’m sorry for the intrusion. Please forgive me, fellow cultivator.”

As fellow emperor-level cultivators, they had to at least show each other some respect.

“It’s fine. I hope your wish will be fulfilled when we meet again,” Emperor Feng Lin replied politely.

“That depends on him.”

Zong Yi gave Su Che one last glance, said goodbye, and vanished from everyone’s sight.

After he left, Emperor Feng Lin said to Su Che, “It seems you’re quite good at causing trouble.”

“Indeed.”

Su Che shook his head helplessly. “There are always some troubles that find their way to me. Fortunately, I’ve always managed to turn misfortunes into good fortune.”

Emperor Feng Lin smiled faintly and added, “Since Zong Yi has already expressed his stance, I should do the same… Let’s say this: if you can help my sister fulfill her long-cherished wish, I’ll also do my part to assist you within my capabilities.”

“Thank you for your kindness, Emperor. I’m overjoyed and certainly won’t refuse.”

Su Che first thanked her with a pleased expression, then changed his tone. “However, I must say that regarding Grandma Gu’s matter, when I accepted the transfer contract for this shop, I already decided I would do my utmost to help her achieve her wish. No other conditions are needed.”

“Hmm.” Feng Lin nodded. “The fact that you have such a heart shows your character isn’t bad at all…”

At that point, she suddenly asked, “Your Dao name is ‘Tian Yu’, right?”

“Is that so?”

Su Che responded, but inwardly he was worried: Had she heard of my fame? Did she already know about my affairs in the mortal world?
Unbeknownst to him, Feng Lin only found the name somewhat familiar but couldn’t recall where she had heard it, which puzzled her.
Of the faint confusion shown by Emperor Feng Lin, only one person understood what was going on—that was Yuan Yuan, who had long realized certain things.
However, Yuan Yuan had no intention of revealing her own guesses about the “Great Erasure Art” to the Emperor, as she had her own personal motives in this matter.
In fact, she even prayed in her heart that Emperor Feng Lin wouldn’t take the name “Tian Yu” too seriously and wouldn’t send anyone to investigate its origin or meaning.
After all, with the Emperor’s wisdom, if he took it seriously, he would surely be able to guess that the Five Immortal Lords, representing the will of heaven, might have combined forces to use the Great Erasure Art.
If she could figure it out, the Emperor could even more!
It was a valuable asset—she needed to invest early. Yuan Yuan didn’t want too many people to see Su Che’s investment value; the fewer competitors, the greater the rewards she could reap in the future.
As she was pondering this, she received a message from Emperor Feng Lin asking, “What’s your opinion on the name Tian Yu?”
Yuan Yuan’s heart skipped a beat, but she forced herself to come up with a pre-prepared excuse to divert attention: “Your Majesty, I have already investigated. In the history of the Immortal Realm, there was once an Emperor with the same name, also called Tian Yu. But over 20 billion years ago, he was severely punished by Immortal Yu Huang for his disrespectful words and has long since perished.”
“Oh? There’s such a thing?” Feng Lin asked curiously.
Although she was an Emperor, she had lived for less than a billion years. In the vast history of the Immortal Realm spanning trillions of years, it was impossible for her to know everything.
“Yes.”
Yuan Yuan continued, “This story is recorded in Chapter 7 of Article 5 in Volume 9 of the ‘Yu Huang Annals’.”
“Not bad,” Emperor Feng Lin said, quite satisfied. “You’re quite thorough in your work. Your name is Mo Yun, right?”
She governed over a thousand realms, with countless subordinates. Emperor Feng Lin didn’t even recognize her as the head of this branch—only because he had just received her message did he remember her name, Mo Yun.
“That’s correct, Your Majesty.”
Yuan Yuan pretended to be flattered and quickly replied. After all, being supervised by the Emperor’s official, Shao Zhong, was a great honor.

But these days, Yuanyuan has long shifted her focus and direction in planning her future, almost betting everything on a guy named “Tianyu”. So even if she were to receive the belated recognition from Emperor Fenglin, it would mean nothing to her. The conversation between Fenglin and Yuanyuan took place through telepathy, unknown to others, including Su Che and the Old Monkey. Incidentally, though both the Old Monkey and Yuanyuan were subordinates of Emperor Fenglin, they belonged to completely different systems—the Old Monkey was a direct subordinate under a contract, while Yuanyuan was a freelance worker. That’s why when Yuanyuan applied as a disguise to get close to Su Che, the Old Monkey revealed her identity mercilessly. The Old Monkey’s duty was to secretly protect Su Che; anyone suspected of posing a threat to him became his target. Having said everything that needed to be said, Emperor Fenglin left gracefully, taking the Old Monkey with him, clearly to give him some private instructions. Still shaken, Su Che returned to his residence and had a brief talk with Uncle Zhuo Feng. Finally, he stood up, bowed respectfully to Uncle Zhuo, and expressed his sincere gratitude. Uncle Zhuo had truly saved his life! It wasn’t that Su Che was overreacting—it was that he now understood all the underlying circumstances and the complex relationships involved. Only then did Su Che realize that his strong sense of crisis toward Zong Yi wasn’t because the later Zong Yi possessed the power of an emperor, but because of his terrifying ways of handling things. He preferred to use violence; his initial intention when approaching Su Che was almost certainly to capture him and search his soul directly. In that case, not only would the matters on the Immortal Demon Battlefield be at risk, but even the secrets of the Immortal Prison couldn’t be kept. For Su Che, this was the most terrifying disaster of all. It could even be seen as a warning signal sent by the Immortal Prison Pagoda to Su Che, not just due to his own intuition. So, how was this disaster averted? It could be said that what truly made a difference were Uncle Zhuo Feng’s words, indifferent to life and death, which influenced Zong Yi to some extent or perhaps even affected him slightly. That’s why Zong Yi showed enough patience to sit down and have an equal conversation with Su Che. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable. Such a life-saving act surely deserved a sincere bow and gratitude.

Uncle Zhuo Feng wasn’t sure just how serious this matter was to Su Che; he simply thought the boy was being too serious, even a bit too formal. A few words—what’s the big deal? I’m willing to give up my worthless life right here without feeling any regret…