Chapter 169: Gathering in the Golden Hall

Speaking of cultivation, Su Che said to Fei Yun, “Half a year ago, you had already reached the peak of the Qi Cultivation stage. With your innate talent, your chances of succeeding in the Foundation Establishment stage should be quite high.” As he spoke, he took out two small porcelain bottles and handed them to her. “This is one Foundation Establishment pill and three Great Completion pills. Choose a time to enter seclusion based on your situation; it doesn’t matter if the shop is closed for a few months.”
“Okay,” Fei Yun replied softly after taking the pills.
Later, Su Che left her some low-grade cultivation materials worth over a hundred thousand spirit stones, enough for her to sell within a year. Fei Yun also took out four spirit stone bags, each containing ten thousand spirit stones—this was the total amount she had earned in half a year. Su Che put away the spirit stones and said before leaving, “If you need spirit stones, use them freely. I still have enough for now.”
Fei Yun responded and watched as his figure disappeared into the distance.
“In just a blink, he has reached the middle stage of Foundation Establishment. I must work hard too; I can’t fall too far behind him… If all else fails, I’ll have no choice but…” Her small hands clenched tightly as she silently made a decision.
After returning to his sect, Su Che calmed himself down and decided to seize the opportunity to train harder, aiming to advance to the later stage of Foundation Establishment within half a year. However, just half a month later, while cultivating in his cave, he suddenly noticed a dazzling white light emanating from the Mysterious Jade Token around his waist…
“A call to gather disciples!”
Although it was the first time he had encountered such a situation, Su Che knew it must be something extremely special, as only then would his master send such an urgent summons—and not just for him alone.
When Su Che emerged from his cave and walked along the mountain path, he saw that there were indeed more than just him there—at least twenty people, including Senior Brother Yu Qing. Yu Qing slowed down and waited for Su Che to catch up before asking, “Don’t you know what’s happening either?”
“No,” Su Che shook his head. He had already confirmed that the twenty-plus people on the path were all inner sect disciples in the Foundation Establishment stage, all under forty years old. Among them, he and Yu Qing were the youngest with the highest cultivation levels; the rest had only just reached the Foundation Establishment stage not long ago.
“Have so many inner sect disciples on Mysterious Peak successfully reached the Foundation Establishment stage in recent months?” Su Che asked curiously through telepathy.
“Half a year ago, to avoid the disaster in the Little Mi Immortal Realm, they all deliberately suppressed their cultivation levels.”

Yu Qing smiled silently and transmitted a message to explain, “Having avoided the calamity of the Immortal Disaster, that pent-up momentum built up over several years naturally erupted fully now.”
“I see,” Su Che also smiled inwardly.
More than twenty people entered the Mysterious Golden Hall together, only to find that the ten true disciples had already arrived.
The ten true disciples of Mysterious Peak consisted of six men and four women. The top-ranked senior brother, ‘Duan Tianya’, though only in his fifties in terms of bone age, already possessed the cultivation level of the early Golden Core stage. It was said he had the potential to become the next Mysterious Peak Sage.
The twenty or so inner disciples entered the hall behind the true disciples, each choosing a spot to kneel down and wait quietly for their master’s arrival.
The appearance of Su Che and Yu Qing immediately caused a stir among the ten true disciples.
They were very familiar with Yu Qing; in fact, they had all grown up together on Mysterious Peak. They already knew that Yu Qing had an Ice Attribute exotic spiritual root, exceptional talent, and high comprehension, and that he would eventually become a true disciple.
They just didn’t expect him to advance to the middle stage of Foundation Establishment so quickly…
What really surprised them was the utterly unfamiliar face of Su Che.
An inner disciple with a Earth Spiritual Root, who seemed to be under nineteen in bone age, already at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment. How could those true disciples with a Heavenly Spiritual Root, still in their thirties in bone age and also at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, handle this?
Especially that seventh-ranked disciple, ‘Song Tao’, who still remembered Su Che’s appearance. At this moment, he was utterly shaken, constantly thinking to himself, “I must be mistaken. It definitely isn’t that boy from back then…”
Half a year ago, Song Tao had encountered Su Che on the mountain path and arrogantly ordered him to deliver a message to Mysterious Peak, promising him twenty spirit stones as a reward upon his return…
At that time, Su Che was still in the Qi Cultivation stage.
Today, Song Tao was still at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.
At this moment, Yu Qing smiled inwardly and transmitted a message, “Junior brother Su, it’s your fault for being unkind—scaring all the senior brothers and sisters.”
“There’s no way to be kind in such situations,” Su Che replied via message.
At that moment, the senior brother of Mysterious Peak, ‘Duan Tianya’, turned around and asked loudly, “Yu Qing, what’s the name of this junior brother beside you?”
“Su Che. He joined the sect four years ago as an outer disciple at the first level of Qi Cultivation,” Yu Qing replied gently.
“I greet you, senior brother,” Su Che said in greeting.
“Only at the first level of Qi Cultivation four years ago?” Everyone in the hall changed their expressions.

Without a doubt, with such a genius arriving at Mysterious Secrets Peak, it wouldn’t take long before everyone’s ranking dropped by one place.
Yu Qing, fearing they might not be aware of Su Che’s remarkable achievements, continued, “Junior Brother Su is low-key by nature, which is why few people knew about him over these four years. In fact, when the Little Mi Immortal Realm opened half a year ago, not only did Junior Brother Su return unharmed, but he also accomplished great feats and was jointly honored by the Supreme Patriarch and the four Supreme Elders.”
“Ah…”
The crowd was instantly in uproar.
To be able to emerge alive from the Little Mi Immortal Realm and even find treasures—what incredible luck!
Half a year ago, to protect Su Che, the Supreme Patriarch and the others did not publicize his deeds within the sect, and the matter of the Ancient Town Mountain Talisman was kept as top-secret. Thus, only a few like Yu Qing knew about Su Che’s achievements.
Today, Yu Qing believed that Su Che, now at the mid-stage of the Foundation Building phase and possessing some self-protection ability, with his master’s support behind him, was ready to make his mark.
Su Che himself didn’t mind what Yu Qing did. After all, with the competition for the position of true disciple approaching, it would be impossible to remain low-key anymore.
To compete for the true disciple spot, one had to do everything possible to showcase one’s strengths and characteristics—when it was time to be prominent, one must be!
At this moment, the seventh-ranked “Song Tao” finally understood: “Half a year ago, he was indeed at the peak of the Qi Cultivation stage. That day when I encountered him on the mountain path, I was inexplicably punished by my master afterward… Only now do I realize why!”
“I see!” The eldest brother, Duan Tianya, nodded at Su Che and said, “Junior Brother Su is a naturally gifted talent with great fortune. I look forward to seeing your further growth.”
“Thank you, eldest brother,” Su Che replied.
Duan Tianya turned around and sat back down, a smile on his face, though a glint of sharpness flashed in his eyes.
A true competitor had appeared!
After a short while, Venerable Mysterious Secrets appeared silently before everyone.
“We greet our master,” the disciples bowed in respect.
“I’ve called you here today because something significant has happened in the cultivation world,” Venerable Mysterious Secrets said in a deep voice, hands behind his back. “Half a year ago, the Ten Thousand Ghost Sect allied with the Blood God Sect to launch a war against the Taiyi Sect.”
This news shocked the disciples secretly, but they dared not make a sound.

“The origin of this matter dates back to a cultivation market in a remote area within the Wan Gui Sect.” Venerable Xuan Ji slowly turned and cast a faint glance at Su Che. “That market was named Jing Hun Ling. A few months ago, an unknown force slaughtered hundreds of cultivators there, leaving not a single survivor.”
“After that, another month passed, and the same thing happened at a market within the Blood God Sect…”
Venerable Xuan Ji continued, “After thorough investigations by the Wan Gui Sect and the Blood God Sect, the culprits were ultimately pointed at two Yuan Ying ancestors from the Tai Yi Sect. They claimed that these two Yuan Ying ancestors were the masterminds behind these massacres.”
“Undoubtedly, this is a highly conspiratorial affair. It seems that some people are deliberately provoking conflicts to trigger a major war among the three major sects, possibly even causing chaos throughout the entire cultivation world.”
“The logic is obvious to everyone, yet there is a hidden hand constantly intensifying the tensions. During this time, massacres have occurred one after another, leaving the three major sects overwhelmed.”
“To this day, over thirty Golden Dan elders from the three major sects are missing, and one Yuan Ying ancestor each from the Wan Gui Sect and the Blood God Sect has perished…”
“Ah!”
The disciples listening quietly exclaimed in unison—Yuan Ying ancestors, who were supposed to be so powerful, had actually died! How was that possible?
Su Che was equally shocked.
As the only survivor of the Jing Hun Ling massacre, Su Che could be certain that the Black Fiend and the Red-Bearded Old Man were only at the Golden Dan level. No matter how many more enemies they had, they could never match a Yuan Ying ancestor.
This situation was far more serious than he had imagined!
Venerable Xuan Ji continued, “Although we know this is unusual and involves a huge conspiracy, the Wan Gui Sect and the Blood God Sect have each lost a Yuan Ying ancestor—a devastating loss that makes it impossible for them to sit idly by.”
“Moreover, countless people can prove that the murderers are those two Yuan Ying ancestors from the Tai Yi Sect. The Tai Yi Sect, however, has no reasonable explanation and can only seek help from various sects in the immortal path…”
Next, Venerable Xuan Ji explained in detail the severity of this conflict, speaking for half an hour.
In summary, the root of the problem indeed lay with the Tai Yi Sect. With only four Yuan Ying ancestors, and two of them committing such insane acts, even the most powerful forces in the demonic path would have to admit they were far inferior.

Anyone with a bit of sense could see that there must be a conspiracy at play, one that was likely to plunge the entire cultivation world into chaos. Thus, the allied sects of the Immortal Path made a unified decision to fully support the Taiyi Sect, aiming to intimidate the two major demonic sects and prevent them from starting a war rashly. On the other hand, the Ten Thousand Ghosts Sect and the Blood God Cult were also glad to see the nine major sects of the Immortal Path come to their aid; this gave them an excuse to delay the war, allowed them to explain the situation to their own numerous disciples, and preserved their face. After all, everyone knew that once a war broke out, it would mean falling for a trap and fulfilling the plans of those with ulterior motives.