Chapter 108: The Witch Tribe’s Cave

The journey up the celestial ladder continued. As they moved forward, piercing screams—the main theme of this place—could be heard from time to time at both ends. Even though everyone was at the highest level of Qi cultivation and well-prepared before coming here, some still couldn’t hold on. Their vital energy ran out, their magical artifacts lost their glow, and they were corroded by the intense black rain until they became a pitiful sight before falling into the abyss.

Su Che remained calm and composed, while also quietly keeping an eye on Fei Yun not far behind. After all, given her false “infatuation” for him, he couldn’t just stand by if she were in danger. Fortunately, Fei Yun was in relatively good condition, holding a black lotus magical artifact and handling the situation fairly well along the way. Not only her, but also the ten treasure-hunting disciples of the Illusion Demon Sect seemed to have their own methods to deal with this highly corrosive black rain, likely owing to some advantage in their cultivation techniques or magical artifacts compared to those from other sects.

Finally, the group made it through the thick mist above the bottomless abyss along the celestial ladder. Suddenly, the view cleared—they not only emerged from the range of the black rain but also heard muffled cheers coming from ahead. Everyone saw that the end of the ladder led to the summit of a high mountain, covered with trees and grass, lush and green. On the surface, it looked no different from ordinary mountains in the world, undoubtedly bringing an indescribable sense of comfort to those who had just escaped danger.

The group landed on the mountain top and sat in meditation to rest. Although they couldn’t stay in one place for long, they still had to hurry to replenish their depleted vital energy. At a glance, Su Che counted that out of the original over four hundred people on the ladder, less than three hundred remained. Just this one stage had cost them more than a third of their numbers… And they still had to stay in the Little Mi Immortal Realm for another month—just thinking about it made his scalp tingle.

At this point, Su Che didn’t want to mix with the others anymore, as they were of little help and would show hysterical, vicious faces toward him in times of crisis—something clearly demonstrated by what had happened on the ladder earlier. So, he quietly sent a message to Fei Yun saying, “Take care,” then, before the disciples of the Tianxuan Sect could react, he dashed off toward the foot of the mountain.

“Ah, Junior Brother Su…” A voice called out behind him, but Su Che didn’t turn around and vanished into the dense bushes in an instant.

The one who called out was the disciple of Tianxuan Sect who had decided to follow Su Che and was on that floating giant hand. His name was Zheng Rong. His bone age was already 34, and his aptitude was considered above average, yet he didn’t even make it onto the inner sect disciples’ ranking list.

Now, those inner sect disciples who ranked in the top ten on the ranking list, such as Yu Qing and Hua Lu, had long since begun cultivating at the Foundation Establishment stage to escape the disasters in the Xiaomi Immortal Realm. Zheng Rong, too, had accidentally reached the peak of the Qi Cultivation stage half a year ago due to a stroke of luck. Under the manipulation of some powerful figure, he accidentally “violated” the sect rules, which forced him into the Xiaomi Immortal Realm under the pretense of atoning for his offenses.

A stroke of luck that ultimately led to disaster. It’s easy to imagine how unwilling he was. He wanted to survive—he had to survive—because he had utilized less than one-tenth of the great opportunity he had gained half a year ago. His future should have been bright…

Today, since he had chosen Su Che as his savior, Zheng Rong was also unwilling to let him slip away. Ignoring the fact that his vital energy hadn’t fully recovered, he chased after Su Che in the direction he had left.

Swish swish swish—several more figures followed behind Zheng Rong. For various reasons, they all regarded Su Che, the brave one who took action first, as their guide.

Among them was a striking figure—Fei Yun, whose appearance had changed drastically.

Compared to the others, Fei Yun’s thoughts were completely different. At that moment, she thought, “My future is ruined; I no longer have any hope. Since I can still meet him here, I’ll do everything I can to help him escape the Xiaomi Immortal Realm… Even though he doesn’t seem to need my help.”

In her eyes, aside from herself, those who were following Su Che were all malicious.

The other disciples of the Illusion Demon Sect didn’t stop Fei Yun from leaving on her own. Everyone in the Xiaomi Immortal Realm was in the same life-threatening situation. Those who weren’t willing to work together were a liability in the group. If they wanted to leave, let them.

“Master, someone is following us,” Lao He noticed Zheng Rong and the others behind them.

“It doesn’t matter. I’ve said before—following me will only lead to an earlier death,” Su Che said with a cold smirk.

“But Fei Yun is here too,” Lao He muttered softly. “That girl is quite persistent.”

Su Che frowned slightly, thought for a moment, then sighed inwardly. “Let her follow. If things get too bad, I’ll save her life.”

Lao He chuckled. Of course he understood—what the master meant by “saving her life” was to capture Fei Yun and throw her into the Immortal Prison. Although she might never be able to escape, it was still better than dying in the Little Mi Immortal Realm.
Based on the experiences passed down by those who came before, Su Che knew that such a large mountain must have some caves—habitation sites of the ancient Witch Clan millions of years ago. Inside those caves, there were likely to be some spoils of war, treasures taken from the deceased cultivators.
Since the ancient Witch Clan lacked true souls, the more advanced the magical artifacts, the less they could use them. Many witches kept the relics of cultivators as decorations in their homes. What Su Che was looking for now were these very “decorations.”
Su Che moved at a steady pace, giving Lao He enough time to carefully search for any hidden caves in the area.
Suddenly…
“Master, be careful on the right!” Lao He shouted as a warning.
Swish!
A emerald-green vine shot out from the bushes below, coiling toward Su Che’s right leg.
Though the vine didn’t look impressive, only as thick as a wrist, Su Che wouldn’t take anything in the Little Mi Immortal Realm lightly. With a swift leap, he dodged the vine’s grasp and rushed in the direction it came from.
Unusual things always grew in unusual places. The ancient Witch Clan liked to plant strange plants outside their caves. Perhaps this vine was one of them.
Upon landing, Su Che drew out his spiritual sword and slashed at it.
Thwack!
The sword hit the vine but bounced back high, almost slipping out of Su Che’s control. Looking at the vine, the spot where it was struck left only a faint white mark, which quickly returned to its original state.
“If it wraps around me, I’m dead!” Su Che remained vigilant, yet he continued to charge boldly toward the mountain wall dozens of feet ahead, covered in thick vines.
Sensing something approaching, the vines writhed as if snakes were emerging from their holes. Instantly, countless tiny heads rose, wagging and shaking to welcome Su Che.
Most people would be terrified and flee at such a sight, but Su Che simply slowed down and kept moving toward the mountain wall.
This wasn’t suicide—it was a test.

Just now, while fighting against the black rain on the ladder, Su Che tried to use the Black Stone Clear Flow to touch those black raindrops and discovered that as long as his fingers contained the Black Stone Clear Flow, even upon touching the black rain, his skin wouldn’t be corroded. Later, he boldly caught a few drops of black rain; they were like ordinary rainwater, staying obediently in the palm of his hand, very docile. He had long guessed that there was a very close connection between the black boulders and the golden flag, so it must also be related to the ancient Witch Clan, and today this was further confirmed. Thus, at this moment, Su Che’s entire body was filled with the energy of the Black Stone Clear Flow. In this state, those vines might actually be cheerfully welcoming him rather than “welcoming him to die.” The vine that had attacked Su Che earlier now also calmed down, coiling itself about ten feet away, its tip raised high, like a sentient snake-like beast gently nodding at Su Che… “I was right,” Su Che thought to himself. “They are showing me goodwill.” He raised his right hand, wanting to make direct contact with the vine, but at this critical moment, a friendly warning came from someone not far behind: “Junior Brother Su, don’t touch it!” Zheng Rong and the others had finally caught up. Zheng Rong’s warning was indeed out of kindness; in his view, everything that could move in the Little Mi Immortal Realm was untouchable. Unfortunately, it was already too late—Su Che’s right hand had already grasped the vine. Whoosh! The vine wrapped around him, climbing up his wrist and all the way to his shoulder… “It’s over!” Zheng Rong sighed inwardly. Fei Yun’s face turned pale instantly; she was extremely anxious but dared not shout… Yet what happened next surprised them greatly. The tip of the vine gently rubbed against Su Che’s cheek several times, like a snake-like spirit beast pleasing its master. Su Che sent messages to both Fei Yun and Zheng Rong at the same time: “If you trust me, stay where you are and don’t follow anymore.” With that, Su Che headed toward the mountain wall covered in vines. Since Lao He had already seen through it, the dense vines resembled curtains, covering a large opening—square in shape with neat edges, clearly man-made. It was almost certainly a cave dwelling of the ancient Witch Clan, and Su Che was determined to go in and take a look.

With a rustling sound, Su Che disappeared from the sight of those behind him as he made his way through the dense vines.
“It’s actually a cave!”
Apart from Fei Yun and Zheng Rong, the other explorers who had followed immediately grew envious.
Everyone knew that finding a cave meant there might be ancient treasures hidden within; possessing such treasures would multiply their chances of survival by countless times!
The lucky ones who had managed to escape from the Little Immortal Realm before were those who had good fortune and obtained ancient treasures early on, allowing them to save their lives…
How could these explorers allow Su Che to keep all the treasures for himself? They believed that since he could enter the cave, they could do the same—the vines probably weren’t harmful.
So, three of them mustered up the courage to approach.
Two other cautious and smart individuals, seeing that Fei Yun and Zheng Rong had stopped moving, decided to wait and see first. If those three could enter the cave unharmed, it would be no rush for them to follow in and seize the treasures.