Chapter 183: The Prison Character Wood Talisman

The monk with the hooked nose took out an object that was dark and dirty, resembling a wooden badge with some indistinct carvings on it, along with a large character for “prison.”
Why did Su Che’s heart tremble upon seeing this wooden badge?
It was because the design of this talisman was extremely similar to the one he had obtained in the Xiaomi Immortal Realm—the Ancient Town Mountain Talisman. The only difference was that one had the character for “suppress,” while the other had the character for “prison.”
Both were unremarkable, with blurred carvings and faint inscriptions…
At that moment, one of the monks said with a smile, “Ying Lian, I’ve seen many of these things you’ve brought out.”
Oh?
Hearing this, not only was the monk with the hooked nose surprised, but Su Che was also greatly astonished. “He’s seen many of these ancient treasures? Since when have such treasures become so worthless that they’re everywhere?”
The man just laughed and said, “In the mortal world, certain jailers wear such badges around their waists.”
“Hahaha…”
The others laughed together, finding it amusing that Ying Lian had treated an utterly ordinary item as a precious treasure.
“Nonsense!”
The monk with the hooked nose slammed the talisman onto the ground, drew a flying sword, and swung at it fiercely.
Bang!
The flying sword bounced high, but the talisman remained intact.
“Look closely!” the monk shouted. “Can my flying sword break a common jailer’s badge?”
“Huh?”
Everyone’s expression changed as they realized they had misjudged it. Ying Lian’s flying sword was clearly a mid-grade spiritual weapon, yet such a powerful strike hadn’t damaged the talisman at all—it must be a true treasure.
“It’s not only unbreakable by slashing; I’ve tried countless other methods too,” the monk continued. “All five elements spells can’t harm it in the slightest—it’s definitely a treasure!”
Seeing this, Su Che understood that if he didn’t say something soon, trouble might arise. He spoke in a calm voice, “Fellow cultivators, this wooden badge is indeed a treasure.”
Everyone turned to look at Su Che, and the monk with the hooked nose was overjoyed. He quickly asked, “Fellow cultivator, do you recognize this treasure?”
“I have seen it before!” Su Che nodded calmly. “To be precise, it’s not a magical treasure but an extremely rare top-tier material called ‘Dead Sea Extreme Wood.’ It’s said to be used for crafting wood-based magical weapons.”

“Dead Sea Extreme Wood? Top-grade material for crafting precious artifacts?”
Everyone inwardly marveled—such an unremarkable piece of wood turned out to be top-grade material for making precious artifacts.
“That’s right!” The monk with the hooked nose nodded happily. “This wooden plaque was obtained in the deep sea. It may not be from the Dead Sea, but it’s very similar.”
Su Che deliberately fabricated this story to gain trust. After all, no one would believe that a wooden plaque unbreakable even by a spiritual weapon flying sword was completely useless. Only by giving it a somewhat reasonable name could it seem credible.
“May I ask, fellow cultivator…” The monk with the hooked nose asked humbly, “What’s the value of such a large piece of Dead Sea Extreme Wood?”
“It’s hard to say.”
Su Che rubbed his chin and shook his head. “I guess it’s more expensive than a top-grade spiritual weapon…”
The monk with the hooked nose was overjoyed. “So, are you interested in it?”
“I can’t craft precious artifacts anyway—what use would it be to me?” Su Che deliberately shook his head, playing the game of feigning reluctance.
The monk, eager to get the Silver Moon Dharma Wheel, hurriedly persuaded him, “Of course. We can’t even craft spiritual weapons, let alone precious artifacts. But since this item is so valuable, more expensive than a top-grade spiritual weapon, how about I sacrifice a bit and exchange it for one of your spiritual artifacts?”
“Which one?” Su Che asked deliberately.
“The Silver Moon Dharma Wheel,” the monk with the hooked nose replied, pointing at the spiritual weapons beside Su Che.
“I could make a profit of a thousand or two thousand spirit stones…” Su Che muttered softly. “It’s just a bit troublesome.”
Though his voice was low, the monk with the hooked nose heard it clearly and quickly seized the opportunity. “Exactly! Since it can earn an extra thousand or two thousand spirit stones, it’s definitely a very good deal. What do you think?”
For the monk with the hooked nose, although he already knew it was top-grade material, selling it would require dealing with at least a Golden Core cultivator. If he encountered an unprincipled Golden Core expert who killed him casually, it would be a great injustice. It was better to exchange it directly for a top-grade spiritual weapon now, which was the most appropriate choice.
“Alright then.” After a brief hesitation, Su Che suppressed his excitement and nodded reluctantly in agreement.
“Great, great!”
The monk with the hooked nose stepped forward, handed the wooden plaque to Su Che, and took the spiritual weapon in return. His uncontrollable joy showed that he was extremely satisfied.

Others also congratulated him, generally saying that Master Ying Lian had searched for many years in the Aurora Island Bazaar and finally obtained a top-grade spiritual artifact, fulfilling his wish…
When Su Che took the wooden talisman in his hands, he was instinctively certain he hadn’t mistaken it—it was extremely similar to that ancient Guzhen Mountain talisman.
There were very few people in the cultivation world who could recognize such an ancient treasure.
Back then, even Lao He had cried out in guilt, saying, “My eyes are blind!” So it wasn’t surprising that cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage couldn’t see its value.
To describe Su Che’s gain today in common terms, it was “finding a bargain”—a real bargain.
With great excitement, Su Che put the wooden talisman into his Qiankun Bag. Then, with a thought, he returned to the Immortal Prison.
It was time to continue with the next transaction…
But as soon as the wooden talisman was sent into the Immortal Prison, an extra message appeared in Lao He’s mind, which quickly warned, “Master, the Immortal Prison Pagoda has just sent me a message saying this wooden talisman matches the attributes of the first layer of the Immortal Prison. It asks if you want to fuse it.”
“Attributes match? Should I fuse it?”
Su Che was already extremely excited, and now his heart was filled with even greater turmoil.
Last time, by fusing it with the Illusory Mirror and the Netherworld Ghost Realm, he had gained a soul-capturing ability that greatly enhanced his powers. These past few days, he had relied entirely on this ability to defeat his enemies.
Today, another ancient wooden talisman matched the attributes of the first layer of the Immortal Prison—what kind of ability or benefit might it bring?
Fuse it! Of course, he should fuse it—there was no doubt about that! But…
“But not yet,” Su Che replied in his mind. “Lao He, can we delay it for a while?”
“No problem,” Lao He chuckled. “We can even delay it until a hundred years later.”
A hundred years later? That was really stretching it…
Su Che didn’t bother arguing with him and tried to stay calm, continuing to participate in these cultivators’ underground transactions.
Next, the other cultivators also took out their collections, but nothing else could arouse Su Che’s interest.
However, to prevent everyone from focusing too much on that ancient wooden talisman, Su Che deliberately used a top-grade spiritual treasure to trade with another cultivator, obtaining a bunch of miscellaneous items in return.
This transaction was clearly a loss for him, but Su Che didn’t care. Only he knew whether it was a gain or a loss.

This underground transaction lasted for over two hours before coming to an end. After saying goodbye to everyone politely, Su Che and Hua Ye returned to the VIP lounge in the front yard of the shop. With such great gains today, to thank Hua Ye for her kind help, Su Che took out a medium-grade spiritual artifact in the form of a hairpin and presented it to her. “Thank you for your assistance; it was because of you that I was able to obtain those Aurora Talismans. As a token of my gratitude, please accept this.” After all, Hua Ye was a merchant. Faced with such a generous gift, she thanked him earnestly, readily accepted it, and even offered to help him obtain more Aurora Talismans if he needed them. “That’s wonderful. Then I’ll leave it to you,” Su Che said, of course not refusing. Hua Ye smiled and transmitted a message, “But still, after today’s transaction, you’ve shown off your wealth, so you should be more careful.” “Thank you for the reminder,” Su Che replied with a proud smile. “In a few days, an elder from my family who is in the later stages of the Golden Core phase will come here to pick me up. How could I worry about such petty scoundrels?” Su Che said this deliberately to intimidate Hua Ye, preventing her from harboring any ulterior motives or attracting another Golden Core cultivator from the Freelance Cultivators Alliance. However, with several Aurora Talismans already in his possession, Su Che was confident and no longer feared those at the Golden Core stage. “An elder in the later stages of the Golden Core phase?” Hua Ye was shocked, but then thought that since this person was young yet extremely wealthy and experienced, his background must be extraordinary. Given that he himself was already at the later stages of the Foundation Establishment phase, it was quite possible he had such an elder. Unbeknownst to her, the elder Su Che referred to was his master, Venerable Xuanji. However, he was far away in the Tianxuan Mountain Range, tens of thousands of miles away, and certainly couldn’t come here to pick Su Che up… Thus, Hua Ye’s smile and tone became even more gentle. “Your family background is truly extraordinary; it’s truly enviable… Well, as long as you stay in the Sea Market these next few days and don’t leave the island rashly, I can guarantee that no one will dare to offend the guests of the Freelance Cultivators Alliance here.” “Then thank you very much,” Su Che said sincerely. “If Hua Ye can help me obtain a few top-tier Aurora Talismans, I’m willing to reward her with a high-grade spiritual artifact.” “A high-grade spiritual artifact?” Hua Ye’s expression clearly showed great interest. Although she was the third manager of the Freelance Cultivators Alliance, she, who was only in the early stages of Foundation Establishment, had never owned a high-grade spiritual artifact before.

Still the same old saying: life as a freelance cultivator isn’t easy…