Chapter 222: Protecting the Treasure

After hearing Su Che’s words, the four lords of the Cave Heaven realms exchanged glances and began discussing among themselves once again…
Su Che remained calm, waiting for them to make a decision.
The nearly thousand independent cultivators below all hoped for chaos, wishing they would fight so that perhaps great fortune might fall to them.
The over a hundred disciples of Tianxuan Sect gazed silently at this senior master brother, many filled with admiration and respect.
Just a few days after the Battle Arena competition, this senior brother had discovered another ancient treasure. Now, facing four Golden Core realm cultivators alone, he was calm and fearless, even showing pity for them.
This was truly…
“You actually made it through the Battle Arena?”
The veiled woman, Shuiyue, sent a message filled with obvious surprise.
Su Che nodded lightly, feeling that this woman must have some connection to Tianxuan Sect, seemingly very well-informed about its affairs.
“What level of cultivation do you actually possess?” Shuiyue asked curiously.
“I can handle one or two at the early Golden Core stage.”
Su Che replied vaguely before adding, “I think one of them will back out. One less is one less to deal with.”
Shuiyue nodded silently, filled with curiosity about this “Tianyu Senior Brother” of Tianxuan Sect. She thought to herself, “I need to find out more about her after this…”
After a while, the four lords of the Cave Heaven realms finally reacted.
“I’m withdrawing!”
The only female, from Yaoling Cave Heaven, ignored the objections of the other three and flew away in an instant. She didn’t want to end up in a desperate situation of fleeing everywhere due to offending Tianxuan Sect.
Yunya and Cuilingzi looked displeased, but the bearded Cangqiu was determined to obtain that Three-Legged Furnace at all costs.
“One less is better—no need to share it!”
Cangqiu sent a message, “Whether he’s a true senior disciple or not, I’m sure he’s not at the Golden Core stage. We just want the treasure; we won’t hurt anyone. We don’t want to create too deep a feud.”
Yunya and Cuilingzi nodded silently. This was a rare opportunity, and they didn’t want to give up such an ancient treasure easily.
Su Che nodded inwardly: “With one less, there’s less pressure. I guess they’ll have Cuilingzi, who’s at the early Golden Core stage, hold off Shuiyue, while the two at the middle Golden Core stage come to seize the treasure.”
Whether speaking or thinking, Su Che never stopped using the Bronze Treasure Gourd to suppress that Three-Legged Furnace.

After all this time, still unable to subdue that pill furnace truly filled Su Che with both joy and anxiety. He was joyful because the Bronze Treasure Gourd was an elite spiritual treasure; the fact that suppressing the pill furnace required such effort indicated it might be a mid-tier or even high-tier spiritual treasure. The more this was the case, the more anxious he became, as soon two cultivators at the mid-stage Golden Dan level would come to seize this treasure. Though they were independent cultivators, they couldn’t be underestimated. If they managed to take the pill furnace, the loss would be enormous. Among spiritual treasures, pill furnaces were far more valuable than others, as their use extended beyond just refining pills to also crafting weapons. Many special types of spiritual treasures required high-grade pill furnaces to be created. Consequently, pill furnaces became the most difficult to craft among all spiritual treasures, as no other treasures could assist in their creation. It should be noted that even Tianxuan Sect’s Tianlu Peak only had a pill furnace of low-tier spiritual treasure quality. If the pill furnace before him was indeed a high-tier spiritual treasure, it would be no problem to exchange it for three or five other spiritual treasures of the same grade. After all, a high-tier spiritual treasure-level pill furnace was of immense significance to a super sect like Tianxuan Sect. With it, countless advanced spiritual treasures and pills could be crafted, thereby producing many outstanding disciples… If such a treasure were taken from him, he would regret it bitterly. Moreover, this opportunity was left to him by Grandmaster Guangwu—how could he face him again with his head held high if he lost the treasure? “This pill furnace must not be lost! I’ll fight to the death to protect it!” Su Che resolved firmly in his heart. As expected, among the three opponents, Cui Lingzi, who was at the early-stage Golden Dan level, flew out to meet Shui Yue. The two cast spells immediately and engaged in battle. However, it was obvious that neither was giving their full effort—they wouldn’t risk their lives just to fulfill their own tasks or promises. Speed was key! Before those two mid-stage Golden Dan cultivators could strike first, Su Che sent a Soul Seizing attack, targeting the bearded Cang Qiu. He had long seen that this man was the most greedy—the main culprit! Yet, Cang Qiu was also at the mid-stage Golden Dan level. Although his overall combat strength wasn’t as high as that of Tianxuan Sect’s direct disciples, the power of the soul had nothing to do with combat strength. The power of a mid-stage Golden Dan soul was already far stronger than that of an early-stage Golden Dan soul.

Unless it’s a sudden ambush, it’s hard to shake the primal spirit at the mid-stage Golden Core level. Now that it’s a direct confrontation, and since they were already on guard against this blue light, the effect of its soul-capturing power was minimized. Although Cangqiu couldn’t avoid the blue light, he only felt dizzy and didn’t lose consciousness completely. “Roar!” Cangqiu let out a beast-like roar, quickly regaining his clarity. His eyes widened like copper bells, and with another roar, a thick, yellow-brown energy column formed and rushed toward Su Che. This energy column was over ten feet wide and was one of his earth-based divine arts, capable of creating a tunnel through an iron mountain—extremely powerful. Cultivators at the Golden Core stage must possess divine arts; there’s no exception. Generally, they grasp their first divine art when reaching the Golden Core stage, and if they fail to do so, they won’t be able to achieve it—the two go hand in hand. Upon advancing to mid-stage Golden Core, they automatically grasp their second divine art; again, failure to do so means they won’t succeed in advancing. Both Cangqiu and Yunya were at mid-stage Golden Core, meaning they both possessed two divine arts, possibly even more. At this moment, the energy column art Cangqiu unleashed wasn’t aimed at Su Che but at that three-legged pill furnace. Clearly, he wanted to shatter the furnace so that Yunya could chase after it and seize it. “Don’t even think about it!” Su Che held the bronze treasure gourd in his left hand and threw a punch with his right, his Destruction Power colliding head-on with the energy column. Boom! The energy column dissipated into mist, turning half of the sky yellowish-brown, as if a sandstorm had suddenly arisen. “Indeed powerful!” Su Che’s Destruction Punch shocked Cangqiu and Yunya greatly—shattering someone’s divine art with just one punch was terrifyingly powerful. “Look at his expression!” Yunya, being more observant, immediately noticed something unusual about Su Che’s face. That punch had cost Su Che one-third of his vital energy, leaving his face instantly pale and bloodless. “It seems this punch art consumes a great deal of energy; he won’t be able to use it many times,” Yunya said through telepathy, with hidden delight. “Exactly,” Cangqiu nodded firmly and replied telepathically, “Then let’s drain all the energy from his body—thus, he’ll defeat himself without attacking.” With that, he let out another fierce roar and unleashed that same energy column art once more. “I’ll add more pressure to him.” Yunya also focused his gaze, waved his hand, and conjured a tall tree in front of him. However, this tree appeared withered and decayed—its bark was mottled and peeling, its branches limp, and its yellowish leaves falling endlessly.

On every fallen leaf lay a face filled with sorrow—some groaning in pain, some sighing deeply, some weeping bitterly… Just such a tree instantly created an atmosphere of boundless desolation and grief. This atmosphere possessed a strange and unpredictable power of influence; in an instant, the snake woman guarding the furnace and the little dragon were deeply shaken. The snake woman immediately began to sob softly, recalling how she had been imprisoned in the Little Mi Immortal Realm for a thousand years, enduring endless loneliness, and how her race had been hunted by other creatures, whose skins were stripped, bones broken, and blood drained—what a miserable fate for the beauty-snakes… The little dragon also let out mournful cries, reflecting on its own orphaned life, having only its mother’s skeleton as company since birth… Su Che’s mind also flashed with the faces of all his relatives who died in the Great Heaven Collapse, but it was only for a moment. Such mental illusions no longer had any effect on him. With the Immortal Prison Pagoda guarding his mind, he was unafraid of such tactics. “I hate these wood-type divine powers the most—break them!” Su Che roared, pouring his vital energy into the sound to cast the ‘Heavenly Dragon Demon-Slaying Chant’ sonic spell. Whoosh! A wave of sound rushed forth, instantly waking the snake woman and the little dragon, and shattering the sorrowful fallen leaves flying around. The Heavenly Dragon Demon-Slaying Chant was a basic spell of the Tianxuan Sect, known by almost every disciple. It was essentially a skill-based spell, but it was highly effective in expelling evil spirits and breaking various mental illusions. The greater one’s cultivation level, the more powerful the sound emitted. Although the sorrowful atmosphere was temporarily dispelled, Cangqiu unleashed another column of energy toward them. With no other choice, Su Che had to use the Destruction Fist to shatter it again, consuming another third of his vital energy. No other measures could counter such divine attacks; his self-destructing treasures were sealed inside the bronze treasure gourd and could not be used temporarily; even the combined efforts of the ten ghost servants would not be very effective. After this attack, Su Che’s face turned ashen and ghastly. “Haha!” Cangqiu and Yunya were overjoyed. If they could drain all his energy, leaving him unable to continue, their plan to take the treasures without harming him would be easier to achieve. Prison the demon! With no other option, Su Che had to use the Prison Seal on Cangqiu. Taking advantage of this gap, he quickly swallowed a high-grade blood-restoring pill. “He can’t take medicine!”

Yun Ya was about to stop Su Che from swallowing the pill when he saw a large character for “prison” appear above Cang Qiu’s head—exactly the same as the one that had trapped the Three-Legged Pill Furnace. Inside this prison-like realm, Cang Qiu struggled desperately. Although his vital energy and Golden Pill cultivation were restricted, he was still at the mid-stage of Golden Pill cultivation, so it wouldn’t take long to trap him. Moreover, his accomplice Yun Ya was right by his side, ready to help.