Chapter 185: Soul Capture! Demon Prison!

Coming out of the Merchant Alliance, Su Che’s first thought was to leave Aurora Island immediately, only to realize it might already be too late.
It wasn’t because the massive army of Taiyi Gate had arrived, but because another group had blocked off the sky above the city.
About twenty cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage hovered at a lower altitude, while higher up, two cultivators at the Early Golden Core stage were confronting an elder at the Mid Golden Core stage from afar.
Based on his prior knowledge of Aurora Island, Su Che guessed that the elder at the Mid Golden Core stage must be the leader of the Freelance Cultivators Alliance, ‘True Man Huaguang’. The other two at the Early Golden Core stage were surely the other two leaders.
At that moment, one of the Early Golden Core stage leaders shouted loudly, “No one is allowed to leave Haishi! Those who leave without permission will be killed!”
Upon hearing this, the thousands of freelance cultivators in the city, who had been clamoring to leave, were stunned. The Freelance Cultivators Alliance had always been their backbone and strong support. How could the second leader, ‘Wuli’, speak such heartless words today…
“Wuli, have you gone mad?”
True Man Huaguang, holding a bright golden horn, asked in extreme shock, “Taiyi Gate is so aggressive—why not let everyone leave?”
The second leader, Wuli, replied loudly, “Taiyi Gate isn’t aggressive; they’re here to recruit us! Our path as freelance cultivators is extremely difficult. Being able to join a powerful sect like Taiyi Gate is a tremendous fortune!”
“Taiyi Gate wants to recruit us?”
True Man Huaguang was stunned.
The thousands of freelance cultivators in the city, after being shocked, showed various reactions—some were overjoyed, some were at a loss, some were deep in thought, and some looked gloomy…
Some astute cultivators thought to themselves, “Joining a powerful sect like Taiyi Gate is certainly good, but this is too sudden—it doesn’t make sense…”
True Man Huaguang felt the same way. Beyond his surprise, he couldn’t see the hidden motives behind this. His intuition told him it might not be a blessing but rather a disaster!
At that moment, the third leader, ‘Wanhai’, shouted to the thousands of cultivators below, “I repeat—this is a fortune for us all. Stay where you are, don’t panic, and under no circumstances leave Aurora Island.”
True Man Huaguang had figured out some things. His expression darkened as he asked, “Wuli, Wanhai—have you two already made contact with Taiyi Gate’s people?”
“That’s right!”

Wuli nodded and said, “I settled this matter with an elder from the Taiyi Gate a few days ago. It’s just that because of your stubborn nature, I had to act first and report later.”
“Nonsense!” Hua Guang Zhenren rebuked sternly, “How can such an important matter be handled so carelessly…”
Su Che stood in the city below, having no mood to listen to their endless arguments. The Taiyi Gate’s army could arrive at any moment, and if he didn’t leave now, he would surely become a prisoner.
The city above was blocked off—there was no way up through the sky, so they would have to go underground!
Su Che immediately swallowed a Earth-Diving Pill. After a brief wait, he was puzzled—the pill should have dissolved instantly, allowing him to sense the earth’s pulses right away, but after this short time, he felt nothing…
What was going on? Had the pill failed?
Snap!
He took another Earth-Diving Pill but still got no reaction.
“The pills are fine. It must be…” Su Che guessed, “Perhaps this Aurora Island isn’t connected to the earth but floats on the sea surface, unable to connect with the earth’s energy, hence unable to sense its pulses.”
A huge island the size of a provincial capital was floating on the sea? If an ordinary person heard such a claim, they would surely find it unbelievable. But as a cultivator, Su Che saw nothing unacceptable about it.
What was so strange about floating on the sea? The Wuji Gate’s Wuji Heavenly Palace was even larger than this island and had been suspended in the sky for tens of thousands of years…
Now, even the underground path was blocked. Su Che grew anxious but quickly came up with an idea. He immediately sent a message to Hua Guang Zhenren above, “Great Alliance Leader, from what I understand, the Taiyi Gate is fighting other sects and recruiting stray cultivators just to use them as cannon fodder. You must not fall for it!”
Hua Guang Zhenren, having reached the mid-stage of the Golden Pill cultivation, immediately determined Su Che’s location and saw the young man dozens of feet below. He replied via message, “What’s your name, young friend? And how do you know these things?”
“I fled from the Taiyi Gate three days ago…” Su Che cut to the point, “Great Alliance Leader, there’s no time to talk further. For the fate of thousands of stray cultivators, you must make an immediate decision—leave or stay?”
“We must leave!”
He thought Hua Guang Zhenren would hesitate for a while, but to his surprise, he replied instantly.

After all, Master Huaguang was nearly 400 years old and had endured countless hardships in his life. As a cultivator with rather ordinary innate talents who managed to achieve the Golden Core realm through his own efforts, he must be a man of great wisdom. Moreover, he had founded the Aurora Island Cultivators’ Alliance, keeping the Arctic Sea region stable for decades—certainly not someone indecisive. With Su Che’s brief reminder, he instantly understood many things. It was beyond doubt that the Taiyi Sect had ulterior motives, so what was there to hesitate about? “The elder is truly wise!” Su Che was delighted and immediately sent a message: “I can use a technique to help you control those two alliance leaders for a short moment. How to use that moment depends on your tactics.” Under the current circumstances, to withdraw, they first had to deal with Wu Li and Wan Hai, those Golden Core cultivators. The situation was urgent, and Master Huaguang, unable to doubt Su Che’s abilities, chose to trust him and replied, “A moment will be sufficient for me.” While communicating with Su Che through telepathy, Master Huaguang appeared completely silent on the surface, as if weighing something. Wu Li and Wan Hai hoped he would continue to hesitate, the longer the better, so that by the time the Taiyi Sect’s army arrived, it wouldn’t matter anymore. Thus, they didn’t urge him at all. Suddenly, Su Che acted like an emotionally unstable cultivator, flying into the air and shouting, “Great! Great! I can finally join the Taiyi Sect! Great Alliance Leader, don’t hesitate any longer! This is an incredible opportunity, a gift from heaven!” The sudden appearance of such a person seemed highly abrupt, but Wu Li and the others thought it was perfect to use his sincere words to persuade the Great Alliance Leader—perhaps it would be more effective than them talking a hundred times… “Great Alliance Leader, my dream since childhood has been to join a supreme sect like the Taiyi Sect. Now, I can finally make it happen!” Su Che shouted as he flew upward, unimpeded by Wu Li and the others. “You…” The Great Alliance Leader’s expression changed slightly, while Wu Li and Wan Hai were secretly pleased. From their decades of understanding of the Great Alliance Leader, they sensed that he was beginning to waver. Sure enough, they heard the Great Alliance Leader ask in a deep voice, “Wu Li, has the Taiyi Sect promised what status I would receive if I agree to join?” Wu Li smiled and hurriedly replied, “With your cultivation level and experience, a position as a core elder is definitely…” Before he could finish, Su Che, who had flown up nearby, suddenly attacked…

A flash of blue light!
A soul-seizing strike, delivered without any restraint.
Buzz…
Wuli, who was speaking, was caught off guard as his spiritual essence trembled and his mind became chaotic.
Prison magic!
Whoosh!
A large character for “prison” appeared above Wan Hai, who was also unprepared; Wan Hai felt his body tighten instantly, his vital energy stagnated, and the golden pill in his dantian stopped rotating abruptly.
“Attack!”
Su Che roared.
Hua Guang Zhenren reacted swiftly, waving his hands at the same time, emitting pale green beams that struck Wuli and Wan Hai in the face.
“Ahh!”
Wuli and Wan Hai let out shrill screams simultaneously, clutching their heads as they fell to the ground with loud thuds, raising clouds of dust.
Lao He’s detection ability immediately determined that they weren’t dead—just unconscious—and their eyes had turned a deathly gray, likely meaning their vision was also destroyed.
Su Che believed that at that moment, as a mid-stage Golden Pill cultivator, Hua Guang Zhenren definitely had the power to kill them both, but perhaps out of old feelings, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
The thousands of independent cultivators in Haishi were utterly shocked, never expecting the Grand Alliance Leader to suddenly attack the other two alliance leaders.
What on earth was going on?
“Everyone, listen to me!”
Hua Guang Zhenren shouted at the stunned cultivators below, “From what I can tell, Taiyi Gate has taken us in only to use us as cannon fodder to attack other sects. Polar Light Island represents years of my hard work, but today, I can only flee thousands of miles away to avoid disaster…”
Whoosh!
Before he could finish speaking, Su Che had already transformed into a streak of light, breaking through the barrier in the sky, leaving behind only a cry: “If we don’t leave now, we’ll just stay and die!”
Whoosh!
At least half of the people in Haishi were intelligent enough to fly away using their magical devices, eager to escape this troubled place.
Among them was a graceful figure—Hua Ye, the third manager of the Merchant Alliance.
Hua Ye had long trusted Su Che, and now she had no doubts about the Grand Alliance Leader’s judgment. Her Qiankun Bag contained not only all her wealth but also four top-quality spiritual artifacts given to her by Su Che.
In times of crisis, everyone flees for themselves—she even took without hesitation the three spiritual artifacts that should have been given to others. At such a moment, who cared about keeping business promises!

There were still over two thousand people in the sea city, still dwelling in the beautiful illusions of being disciples of the Taiyi Gate. Their thoughts were: “The Taiyi Gate is a renowned and great sect of the immortal path; how could they harm us mere minor cultivators? Those who managed to escape are all a bunch of fools!”
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh…
Above Aurora Island, countless streaks of light formed a giant fireworks display, bursting out in all directions.
Su Che was undoubtedly the one who flew the farthest. Looking back, he immediately noticed another dense cluster of light streaks on the distant horizon.
The massive army of Taiyi Gate cultivators had finally arrived!
“Phew, I was so close to not making it.”
Su Che was secretly relieved. He quickly took out a high-grade Aurora Talisman, activated it, and slapped it onto his body.
Ten times the speed surged instantly, and Su Che transformed into a pale green streak of light, cutting through the sky as he flew toward the vast, endless ocean.