Chapter 111: Statues and Boxes

Just as Su Che had imprisoned Fei Yun and Zheng Rong in the Immortal Prison, sixteen pursuers appeared in the jungle.
“Weren’t there three of them? Why is only one left?” someone asked in a low voice.
The monk with the eight-character eyebrows glared fiercely at Su Che and guessed, “The other two might have entered that stone forest. But since this guy leads them, the treasures are likely with him.”
“That’s great!” The others relaxed and formed a semi-circular formation to encircle Su Che.
Yet Su Che turned his back on them, looking carefree as if giving advice. Pointing at the stone forest ahead, he said to those behind him, “I think there are both risks and rewards in that stone forest. I plan to go in and explore. If you all share this intention, let’s go together.”
With that, he dashed into the stone forest in a flash, disappearing in an instant.
“He’s gone in too!”
The pursuers stopped in their tracks but lacked Su Che’s boldness. That stone forest made of totemic pillars was clearly unusual—how could they risk it so easily?
Still, some thought that if that guy dared to enter, they certainly could too. Entering the Little Mi Immortal Realm wasn’t something cautious people could survive…
Someone asked, “What, shall we continue chasing?”
Immediately, a bold one replied, “Of course! With him leading the way, what’s there to fear?”
“Right. If anyone dies, it’ll be him first. We can just collect his body.”
“Hurry up and enter! If we hesitate any longer, he’ll get away.”
“I’ll go in first. Those who lack the courage can wait outside!”
Swish swish swish—three figures rushed in first. The few behind hesitated briefly but mustered courage and followed in, seven more entering. Five people remained, along with the monk with the eight-character eyebrows, who stopped completely, unwilling to take the risk.
Especially the monk, whose mind was filled with terrifying images of killing vines sucking out brains. He sneered inwardly, “Where he dares to go, you might not be able to.”
So, he sat cross-legged and began regulating his vital energy. After all, since descending the celestial ladder, he had been following Su Che closely. While the others had managed to restore some of their vital energy at the mountain top, he had faced the embarrassment of running out of energy—how could he dare to enter the stone forest?
After swallowing a pill, his vital energy began to flow again, and his mind stabilized. But just after a dozen breaths, something unexpected happened!
Whoosh!
Swish, swish, swish…

Suddenly, over a dozen emerald-green vines shot out from the ground, soaring into the sky. In the blink of an eye, they wrapped around the unprepared monk with the eight-shaped eyebrows. These vines were identical to those deadly vines outside the mountain cave—even spiritual swords couldn’t cause them any harm; instead, they could instantly crush defensive artifacts at the lower-grade spiritual weapon level. “My life is over!” cried the monk with the eight-shaped eyebrows, thinking he had been punished by some mysterious force for staying in one place for too long. Whoosh! The unstoppable force of the vines pulled him underground, leaving only a deep hole. The other five people waiting there were so frightened that they fled at top speed. They shared the same belief as the monk—that they had been punished for staying in one place too long. Unbeknownst to them, the monk with the eight-shaped eyebrows had already entered another realm. Bang! In the Immortal Prison, the monk, tied tightly by the vines, was thrown hard to the ground and then stepped on the head by Lao Hei. “I really hate bastards like you who harm others without benefiting themselves,” Lao Hei sneered as he began to torment him… What was going on? How had the monk with the eight-shaped eyebrows ended up in the Immortal Prison at Su Che’s hands? Back at the mountain cave, Su Che had obtained some top-tier materials for refining. Just as he was about to leave, he had a sudden idea—to try transplanting a few of these vines to the Immortal Prison. These vines were extremely powerful and could pose a serious threat even to cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage. Each one was equivalent to a ‘Binding Immortals Rope’ at the upper-grade spiritual weapon level. So, Su Che tried to communicate with them using Black Stone Clear Flow, sending his thoughts to convey this intention. It was merely a trial—he didn’t expect them to understand his thoughts nor hold much hope. Yet, suddenly, over a dozen vines wrapped around him on their own, and their roots emerged from the soil automatically. Undoubtedly, they had a strong attachment and trust in Black Stone Clear Flow, immediately agreeing to Su Che’s request. Overjoyed, Su Che brought the vines into the Immortal Prison, planning to plant them beside the giant black rocks. Unexpectedly, upon sensing the presence of the giant black rocks, the vines seemed frightened, crawling cautiously along the ground for over ten zhang before daring to take root and settle down.

Once inside the Immortal Prison, they became creatures of that prison. As its rulers, Su Che and Lao He could hear the thoughts of all beings, even the most ordinary and humble ones like a blade of grass. Thus, they learned that these vines, upon seeing the black stone, regarded it as their deity. Though overjoyed, they remained extremely humble, not daring to get too close to the stone and keeping a sufficient distance to avoid desecrating its divine power. They also learned that these vines had extremely tenacious vitality; their roots could survive months away from soil, allowing them to be used at any time to combat enemies within the Immortal Prison. Earlier, Su Che pretended to enter the stone forest but actually swallowed a Hidden Earth Pill immediately, sneaking up on the monk with the eight-character eyebrows, releasing vines to drag him underground alive and capturing him for the Immortal Prison… In fact, taking the Hidden Earth Pill carried great risk. According to past experiences, using this technique was far more dangerous than flying spells, and it might even make him appear as a cultivator in the Xiao Mi Immortal Realm, as it was a skill reserved for Golden Core cultivators. So, when taking the pill, Su Che covered his entire body with Black Stone Clear Flow, betting that since the black stone was a treasure of the Witch Clan, its energy would be recognized by the Witch Clan’s sacred land, preventing him from being treated as a cultivator. Sure enough, his gamble paid off again! This made Su Che even more confident. Perhaps due to Black Stone Clear Flow, the Xiao Mi Immortal Realm, as a sacred land of the Witch Clan, treated him like one of their own. As long as he didn’t go too far, he shouldn’t face punishment from the realm’s protective forces. Of course, this was just a guess; the actual outcome would need to be verified step by step. There were risks involved, which was why Su Che still hadn’t dared to reveal the Mi Immortal Flag, fearing it might trigger unpredictable changes. He could only proceed cautiously, never showing the flag until a critical moment arrived… At that moment, while beating the monk with the eight-character eyebrows, Lao He asked, “Master, this guy is already captured. What about the others?” “This time, the main goal is treasure hunting. Avoid fighting unless necessary,” Su Che replied. “Of course, if someone insists on causing trouble, our Immortal Prison never lacks space and will surely give them a place.” “Exactly,” Lao He chuckled and asked again, “What about the stone forest? Should we really explore it?”

“Go and take a look. As I just said, there are risks as well as rewards. There must be some secrets hidden in this stone forest.”
So, while the power of the Earth-Diving Pill still lasted, Su Che dived back into the stone forest and followed the ten people who had chased in, letting them clear the way for him. Thus, the roles of hunter and prey completely reversed.
In the stone forest, thick totemic stone pillars were scattered unevenly. From the perspective of cultivators, it was impossible to discern any pattern in them. After all, the culture of the ancient Witch Tribe was fundamentally different from that of humans, and having disappeared millions of years ago, it could no longer be studied.
Su Che followed slowly behind. He didn’t need to use his eyes; relying on Lao Hei’s detection abilities, he could clearly observe the movements of those people dozens of feet ahead.
The ten people explored carefully forward, bypassing the stone pillars while maintaining a steady distance from each other.
They had thought this stone forest should be full of dangers, but after walking for over a quarter of an hour without encountering any threats, they soon reached the central area of the forest.
The central area turned out to be a spacious, flat expanse, about thirty feet square. At the very center stood a statue over three feet tall of a woman kneeling on the ground with her eyes closed, praying to the heavens.
There was nothing particularly unusual about this statue—it still retained the crude style of the Witch Tribe, with rather rough carvings of the facial features. However, the offerings placed in front of the statue caught everyone’s attention.
On the altar right in front of the statue lay a box and six plates. The plates were empty, likely containing food offerings that had long rotted away. But the box in the middle was closed—perhaps it held some treasure inside.
Or maybe the deep green box itself was a kind of treasure.
The ten treasure hunters gathered together, all staring at the box with eager eyes, having forgotten about searching for Su Che. Yet they weren’t foolish enough to rush forward recklessly toward the statue.
“What should we do? Who dares to go and take a look?” someone asked in a low voice.
The others remained silent; no one would foolishly volunteer to be the first.
Assuming there was no danger in approaching the statue and that the box indeed contained a treasure, the first person to take it would surely become a target for the others to attack, and the outcome was obvious.
The ten of them looked at each other; none wanted to be the first to take the risk, so the situation temporarily stalled.

At this moment, Su Che was hiding behind a stone pillar, witnessing all these scenes through Lao Hei’s relay.
“There’s no need to rush,” Su Che said to himself. “It’s only the first day; we need to stay in the Xiao Mi Immortal Land for a month. There’s plenty of time.”
The more such moments arose, the more important it was to control one’s greed and impatience, striving to be the last one to act.