Chapter 253: The Headmaster’s Hall

Su Che knew the Jin Dan early-stage cultivator who was with Cang Jiuzi as Yang Sen, who specialized in wood-related cultivation techniques. Cang Jiuzi, short in stature like a child, stared at Su Che coldly and asked, “It was you who opened the ruins of Tianya Hai Ge, right?” His tone was extremely unfriendly; he didn’t even bother using the title “fellow cultivator.”

Su Che replied calmly, “That’s correct. It was us who opened them. There’s no need for thanks.” His words were clearly a mockery, implying that Cang Jiuzi was ungrateful—after all, it was Su Che who had opened the ruins, giving them a chance to seek treasures, yet Cang Jiuzi acted as if Su Che owed him something. In unclaimed lands, anyone had the right to enter; as for who would get the treasures, that naturally depended on strength.

Cang Jiuzi snorted and tried to spread his consciousness to penetrate the hall, but it was blocked by a barrier. Su Che had been prepared—he had already set up such a barrier behind him to prevent them from seeing Shui Yue receive the sect’s inheritance inside.

“This must be the Headmaster’s Hall,” Cang Jiuzi said again. “You’re blocking the entrance and setting up barriers. Do you plan to keep all the treasures for yourself?”

“Exactly. I think it’s worth a try,” Su Che replied calmly. Of course, he welcomed Cang Jiuzi’s chatter to buy time.

Inside the hall, Shui Yue was carefully searching for the right way to receive the sect’s inheritance, which would surely take time. Su Che had to find a way to buy more time.

Cang Jiuzi could easily tell that Su Che, the Snake Woman, the Fire Crow, and the Ghost Emperor were all only at the Jin Dan early stage. He asked, “Do you really think the four of you can stop me?”

“We’ll have to find out,” Su Che replied coldly.

Feeling Su Che’s determination, Cang Jiuzi thought to himself, “Words of threat clearly won’t work on him. Should I attack now, or wait until I make them understand?” He quickly weighed the pros and cons in his mind before deciding…

Su Che had been closely observing Cang Jiuzi’s expressions. From his gaze alone, he guessed that Cang Jiuzi intended to attack. If that was the case, he would have to act first.

Su Che immediately sent a Soul Capturing technique he had prepared earlier—but not at Cang Jiuzi, but at Yang Sen, who was standing beside him. While the Soul Capturing technique might not be able to shake Cang Jiuzi, it should work perfectly against Yang Sen, who was only at the Jin Dan early stage.

Sure enough, although Yang Sen had already set up multiple layers of defense, he couldn’t block the blue light of the Soul Capturing technique. With a buzz, he lost consciousness.

Yang Sen was struck suddenly, and Cang Jiuzi beside him was also shocked abruptly. He instinctively wanted to step in to save him, but Su Che didn’t give him that chance.
Destruction!
A punch of utmost power, the Destruction Fist, was sent flying.
It was the first time Cang Jiuzi had faced the ancient destructive force of the Destruction Fist, which was completely different from any spells or powers he had encountered before.
“What kind of power is this…”
Alarmed, Cang Jiuzi hastily unleashed his earth-based power, “Mountain-Whirling Divine Force.” His small frame transformed into an image of a mighty giant, who also threw a punch that collided with the force of destruction.
Boom!
The intense shock force sent Su Che stumbling back a step, while Cang Jiuzi was thrown several dozen feet away. Though unharmed, he was no longer able to rescue Yang Sen in time.
The Nether Ghost Emperor could communicate mentally with Su Che. Seizing this opportunity, he conjured a giant palm from the dense ghostly energy and struck, sending Yang Sen’s treasure-grade magic shield flying aside.
The Fire Crow also reacted quickly. It had already received Su Che’s orders through mental communication. With a loud cry, it spat out scorching flames, which instantly reduced Yang Sen’s protective energy to nothing.
Without defense, Yang Sen, now confused, became an easy target. The Snake Woman thrust her treasure-grade Lingyun Cone, which instantly covered several dozen feet in distance…
Thud!
Brain matter splattered as the Lingyun Cone pierced through Yang Sen’s head, shattering it completely.
Even for a Golden Core cultivator, once the head is shattered, there is no hope of survival. However, their original spirit might still be able to separate from the remaining body, possibly allowing for reincarnation.
Su Che didn’t use his Soul-Seizing Power on Yang Sen’s original spirit because he didn’t want to give Cang Jiuzi any chance to recover.
Boom!
Another strike of destruction.
This time, Cang Jiuzi didn’t try to withstand it directly but fled at high speed to avoid it. He was deeply wary of the destructive power of the Destruction Fist and didn’t intend to risk trying such an unknown and terrifying force again.
Swish!
Taking advantage of this, Su Che used his energy-grasping technique to snatch Yang Sen’s body, mainly to obtain his Qiankun Bag and treasure-grade magic shield.
As for Yang Sen’s original spirit, it had long since disappeared. But it was certain that with such weak spiritual power, it couldn’t penetrate the barrier surrounding the secret realm.

Cang Jiuzi retreated twenty zhang away and hid inside a building across the way, thinking to himself, “This kid is extremely strange. It’s unlikely for me to defeat him alone. I’d better wait until Yan Ming and the others arrive before dealing with him… The message talisman was sent long ago. Judging by the time, they should be here by now.” With Cang Jiuzi hidden, Su Che couldn’t pursue him either. His task was simple: to guard the entrance to the main hall and prevent anyone from breaking in and causing trouble. After all, if Shui Yue couldn’t accept the inheritance of Tianya Hai Ge, all hopes would be dashed. Although Su Che didn’t know how many treasure hunters had entered the secret realm, he could guess there must be quite a few, otherwise they wouldn’t have enough strength to break through the barrier. Undoubtedly, guarding the entrance to the main hall was a huge challenge that required full effort… Yan Ming, Mu Yu, and the others received Cang Jiuzi’s message and were rushing toward the place. But because they weren’t familiar with the layout of the secret realm, they kept getting lost and taking unnecessary detours. However, three others ignored the message talisman and were busy breaking through the protective restrictions of Tianya Hai Ge’s treasure vault. Rong Fengzi, thanks to his unparalleled sense of smell, managed to locate the treasure vault. Accompanying him were two others: a mid-stage Golden Core demonic treasure hunter named Wu Ya, and another demon cultivator named Li Xue. The stone tablet inside the treasure vault posed no challenge to these experienced treasure hunters. In just a few breaths, Rong Fengzi pushed the tablet aside, revealing two stone slabs on the ground. Descending the stone stairs to the room at the bottom, these three eccentric demonic treasure hunters saw the two doors of the underground treasure vault. “The restrictions on the doors are still in place—it’s an unopened treasure vault! Hahaha…” Rong Fengzi laughed heartily, very satisfied with his good luck. “Boss Rong, do you know how to break the restrictions on the doors?” Wu Ya asked in a deep voice. “As long as it’s a restriction from the cultivation world, there’s nothing I can’t break!” Rong Fengzi said confidently, sniffing the air. “But after all, it’s a sophisticated restriction from seventy thousand years ago, quite different from today’s restrictions. It will take some time. You two, keep watch at the entrance to the stairs and prevent anyone from entering.” “No problem!” Wu Ya laughed. “Boss Rong, after opening the vault, 40% will go to you, and the remaining 60% will be split evenly between me and Li Xue. What do you think of this arrangement?” Li Xue, standing nearby, nodded in agreement. Rong Fengzi laughed. “It’s fine—quite reasonable!”

However, when he turned around to face the entrance of the treasure vault, a murderous intent flashed in his eyes as he thought, “Just because of you guys, you think you can share the treasures with me? Dream on!” That was why they ignored Cang Jiuzi’s message. With the treasure vault right in front of them, there was no time to worry about anything else! At this moment, hundreds of streaks of light had already reached the barrier surrounding Tianya Hai Ge on the sea surface. These people varied greatly in strength; the weakest was only at the mid-stage of the Foundation Establishment phase, all of them drawn here from thousands of miles away by the extraordinary phenomena that occurred when the ruins were opened. Among them were five Golden Core elders from the Hunyuan Sword Sect, with the strongest being a Sword Sect-level elder at the late stage of Golden Core. “The legends about Tianya Hai Ge are indeed true,” said this Sword Sect-level elder in a deep voice. “Feng Xiao, return to our sect immediately and report this to the sect leader. Send reinforcements quickly to encircle the entire Tianyuan Sea—no one must get away!” “Yes, Senior Qian Li!” The Golden Core elder with the alias “Feng Xiao” transformed into a sword of light and left right away. The place was only over ten thousand miles away from the Hunyuan Sword Sect, so by late that afternoon, a large force from the sect would arrive by spirit treasure-grade skyships to set up strict barriers. Hearing that the “Qian Li Sword Sect” of the Hunyuan Sword Sect had issued such orders, some timid solitary cultivators, without hesitation, turned and fled, as they had no interest in exploring the treasures anymore. It was still possible to escape now; once the Hunyuan Sword Sect’s army arrived, it would be impossible to flee. In the blink of an eye, hundreds of people were reduced to just dozens—this was the formidable deterrence of a super sect. The remaining dozens were at least at the late stage of Foundation Establishment, all bold enough to risk their lives for fortune. The four elders of the Hunyuan Sword Sect stood tall in the air, their presence as imposing as swords, practically ignoring the solitary cultivators around them; the Qian Li Sword Sect didn’t even bother to glance at them. At that moment, one of the mid-stage Golden Core elders asked with a bow, “Senior Qian Li, shall we enter now?” “Why not?” The Qian Li Sword Sect smiled faintly and snapped his fingers. Whoosh! A sword aura shot out, marking a faint golden dot on the barrier. The Qian Li Sword Sect had already tested that it would take too much strength for just one person to break through the barrier; they needed the combined effort of three younger disciples. “Hunyuan Sky Sword!” A shout echoed through the air. Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! The four elders transformed into four sword shadows and charged toward the dot on the barrier.

The sword comes first, with the person behind it; it seems that even if they crash into the barrier, they won’t retreat an inch.
The Hunyuan Sky Sword is invincible and unstoppable, always displaying such formidable momentum.
Bang!
A gap appeared in the barrier, which quickly closed again in the blink of an eye. But the four elders of the Hunyuan Sword Sect were already on the other side of the barrier.
Their figures remained as sharp as swords, none of them injured in the slightest.
The dozens of independent cultivators outside the barrier were filled with shock, having truly witnessed the immense strength of the supreme sect’s Golden Core elders.
However, after their shock, they gathered together, determined to work together to break through the barrier and enter the secret realm in search of their own opportunities…