Chapter 283: Before Setting Off

Elder Qingxuan first briefly explained some basic knowledge related to the Dao, then said, “Of course, the Lightning Descending technique that Tianyu currently possesses is merely a rudimentary form of the Great Lightning Art. It can only summon ordinary celestial lightning—and only the Heavenly Fire Lightning that matches his own attributes. As his cultivation improves and his understanding of the Dao deepens, one day he will surely be able to master the true Great Lightning Art.”

He then turned to Su Che and said, “Tianyu, you haven’t yet mastered this divine ability thoroughly. As a result, the first target when the celestial lightning strikes is you yourself. During battles, your grabbing and throwing movements give your opponent time to dodge in advance. You should try to focus your will on your opponent, so that the summoned celestial lightning can strike directly at the designated location.”

After all, Su Che was already at the middle stage of the Golden Core cultivation. With such guidance from Master Qingxuan, he immediately understood and nodded, saying, “Yes, Master Qingxuan. I get it.”

“Then continue!” Zi Xiao flew dozens of feet away and waved at Su Che, “Use me as a target to summon celestial lightning. It will help increase my lightning reserves.”

Zi Xiao specialized in lightning techniques. The Heavenly Fire Lightning not only couldn’t harm him but also replenished his energy, making it a win-win situation.

Boom!

The celestial lightning struck. This time, it indeed didn’t target Su Che but landed about ten feet in front of Zi Xiao.

In his initial attempts, Su Che was still somewhat unskilled in controlling his will. It required refinement, just like archery, to improve accuracy.

Boom! Boom! Boom…

After more than a dozen strikes, he was able to hit Zi Xiao accurately. Those Heavenly Fire Lightning bolts were easily absorbed by Zi Xiao, transformed into lightning energy, and later released as even more powerful Zi Xiao Divine Lightning.

As Su Che became more proficient in controlling his will, Zi Xiao began moving rapidly—essentially practicing on a moving target…

Boom! Boom! Boom…

Outside the main hall, the sound of celestial lightning roared. The other Yuan Ying ancestors had already entered the hall to continue discussing various legends related to the arts of the Dao. They were all convinced that Su Che must be the reincarnation of an immortal; otherwise, it would be impossible for him to master arts unique to the immortal realm with just a mortal body…

There was no other reasonable explanation.

“It is said that Tianyin of the Wuji Sect is also the reincarnation of some important figure in the Spirit Realm,” said the sect leader with a smile. “But our Tianyu is truly the reincarnation of an immortal—a great blessing for our sect.”

Elder Muye nodded and said, “I’ve even thought that Tianyu’s past life might have been one of our sect’s ancestors who achieved immortality, who, for some reason, reincarnated to cultivate again and returned to our sect this time, thus making so many contributions to our sect over and over.”
“That’s a bold idea,” said Elder Qingxuan with a smile. “But I won’t refute you, because I hope it’s true too.”
The other elders chuckled, all in high spirits. This was because every step of Tianyu’s growth brought endless surprises to everyone.
Thunder rumbled outside for over an hour before Su Che and Zixiao finally entered the main hall.
“Have you mastered it?” Xuanzhong asked concerningly.
“More or less,” Su Che replied. “I stopped mainly because I’m mentally exhausted.”
Using supernatural powers surely takes a toll. Although the Xumi Divine Seal stored a great deal of mental energy, ensuring no shortage, more than an hour of continuous strain had left Su Che’s head throbbing, and the load on his upper dantian had reached its limit.
“Then take a rest,” Xuanzhong said, his face gentle like that of a kind father, pointing to a cushion nearby.
“Okay, Master,” Su Che sat cross-legged beneath him.
“When do you plan to set off?” Xuanzhong asked again, referring to the mission to assassinate Lu Changqing on Lingyao Mountain.
“At the latest, the day after tomorrow,” Su Che replied. “I’ll need to disguise myself when going out, so it’s best to say I’m still in seclusion within the sect.”
So far, aside from the few elders, only Shuiyue knew about his successful advancement to the middle stage of the Golden Dan realm. Su Che wanted to use continued seclusion as an excuse to hide his true whereabouts.
“Who else knows you’ve left seclusion?” Elder Muye asked immediately.
“Shuiyue,” Su Che replied in a low voice.
The other elders knew this person, “Shuiyue,” naturally from their previous experience of exploring the ruins of Tianya Hai Ge together with Su Che.
Elder Muye nodded slightly, already understanding. Although the incident at Tianya Hai Ge proved to some extent that Shuiyue was unlikely to be an informant planted by another sect, Muye still wouldn’t take chances. Having been involved in intelligence work for hundreds of years, he had encountered all sorts of seemingly impossible situations, and his suspicious nature was deeply ingrained and unchangeable.
In Muye’s eyes, within the sect, everyone except these Yuan Ying elders present could potentially be an informant for another faction.

Of course, an Yuan Ying Patriarch would not be suspected of such things. After all, if any Yuan Ying Patriarch wanted to kill Su Che, Su Che would have died hundreds of times by now.

Over the next two days, Su Che continued to use Zi Xiao as a target, mastering the “Great Thunderfall Technique” to a high degree of proficiency. As long as his spiritual awareness covered the area, he could accurately strike Zi Xiao, which moved at high speed.

After advancing to the middle stage of the Golden Dan realm, the range of Su Che’s spiritual awareness expanded from over 200 zhang to 400 zhang. With the doubling effect of the Star Emperor Compass, his coverage reached 800 zhang. This meant that with the Great Thunderfall Technique, he could attack his opponent from a distance of four to five li in advance. Even cultivators at the late stage of the Golden Dan realm did not have such a long range for their spells or powers.

Undoubtedly, this was a significant advantage that should be made full use of. While others could not reach Su Che, he could attack them with the Nine Heavens Thunderfall. As long as he maintained enough distance, even the strongest enemies would be exhausted by the heavenly fire and thunder.

In addition to the Great Thunderfall Technique, the power of the other four abilities also increased accordingly after his advancement. In short, Su Che was full of confidence for this outing. As long as he didn’t encounter Yuan Ying Patriarchs from other sects, no one below the Yuan Ying realm could scare him.

On Xuan Yu Peak, a brand-new cave dwelling had already been prepared. Su Che declared to everyone that he would continue his seclusion to advance further toward the middle stage of the Golden Dan realm, expecting to emerge after at least two months.

Before leaving the mountain, he must use all his disguise skills to completely change his appearance and spiritual energy fluctuations. Su Che called Shui Yue over and said seriously, “Sister disciple, I’m going out for a while. Besides you and a few other patriarchs, everyone else will be told that I’m still in seclusion…”

No further instructions were needed. The extremely intelligent Shui Yue naturally understood the implications and nodded, saying, “Thank you, senior brother, for trusting me so much. During your absence, I will guard the peak and fulfill my duty as your protector for you who is still in seclusion.”

“Then thank you, sister disciple,” Su Che replied with a smile.

As for Su Che personally, he had no doubts about Shui Yue at all. If she were an informant planted by another sect, the treasures of Tian Ya Hai Ge would never have fallen into his hands.

“Be careful, senior brother. Go and return soon,” Shui Yue said softly, a special glint in her eyes, seemingly out of reluctance…

It was only because of the veil covering her face that he couldn’t see more of her expressions.

“Don’t worry.”

Su Che disguised himself as a disciple at the Foundation Establishment stage and slowly flew away from Xuan Yu Peak.

But just after flying for a dozen miles, he was stopped by a female disciple coming head-on. Su Che recognized her; however, she did not recognize Su Che. It was Ning Lu from Xuan Yuan Peak. “Younger brother, please wait a moment,” Ning Lu said, floating in the air about ten zhang away. “Greetings, senior sister,” Su Che replied. At this moment, his identity was that of a servant disciple from Xuan Yu Peak. This fake identity, arranged by Master Mu Ye, had already been recorded as if it belonged to a real person. Ning Lu glanced at the name on the jade plaque around Su Che’s waist and asked through telepathy, “Younger brother You Long must be a servant disciple from Xuan Yu Peak, right?” “Yes,” Su Che nodded. “What do you want to ask?” “Is Senior Brother Tian Yu still in seclusion?” Ning Lu asked. “Yes,” Su Che replied. “I heard it might take another two months before he emerges.” “So long?” Ning Lu murmured, clearly disappointed. She thanked Su Che and then left. “Did she come looking for me for some reason?” Su Che wondered. During the Hundred Battles Arena competition, Su Che had fought against Ning Lu once. Back then, she had made two requests: to buy vines and to become his partner. Su Che thought the request about buying vines was genuine, while the idea of becoming partners was just a joke. Later, since he had become the one who received the primary true teachings, she surely wouldn’t really come to trouble him. But why did she come to Xuan Yu Peak today to inquire about him? The few words exchanged between Su Che and Ning Lu were clearly visible in the Grand Hall of the Sect Leader, as the several elders used the water mirror function of the mountain protection array to observe everything. Elder Mu Ye immediately decided to conduct a thorough investigation of Ning Lu. Through the water mirror, the elders watched as Su Che flew out of the Tian Xuan Mountain Range. Xuan Zhong, worried, asked in a deep voice, “Brothers, do we really not need to follow behind and protect him secretly?” “No need,” the Sect Leader shook his head. “Our disguise skills are far not as advanced as his ability to change his appearance. If we hadn’t known about his disguise in advance, we wouldn’t have recognized him as Tian Yu. On the contrary, if we followed secretly, our own shortcomings might expose Tian Yu’s whereabouts, which would be counterproductive.” Xuan Zhong slowly nodded, accepting his senior’s advice.

Although the disguise skills of those ancient ancestors were also highly sophisticated, they still had flaws to some extent, which could be detected by the Yuan Ying ancestors of sects like Tai Yi Men. In that case, their flaws would become Su Che’s flaws as well, turning into extremely obvious landmarks that would guide the enemy to trace back to Su Che.
“I’m also very worried…”
Elder Qing Xuan sighed deeply. “But excessive protection can also become a hindrance, inadvertently cutting off some opportunities that should have belonged to him. He must walk his own path.”