Chapter 285: Robbery

A transaction of such a large amount of spiritual pills involved complicated procedures like counting and inspection, making it impossible to rush through things. Thus, Su Che waited for most of the day in Tianlong Waterfall Market before finally seeing the four members of the Black Fiend Gang emerge from Tiandan Pavilion.

These four had tasks to complete and did not stay in the market to wander around or handle personal matters. Instead, they immediately rode their flying devices and set off on their way back. The six people from Lingyao Mountain were still inside Tiandan Pavilion, and it was unclear when they would return to their sect. Su Che couldn’t worry about them for now and followed the four of the Black Fiend Gang out of the market.

After flying about three thousand li away from the market, Su Che took out the Star Emperor Compass and suddenly accelerated, overtaking them from afar. With his current mid-stage Golden Core cultivation, his flying speed was much faster than that of those at the peak of late-stage Golden Core, so overtaking someone like the Black Fiend Gang was a breeze for him.

After passing them, Su Che changed direction and flew toward them, deliberately slowing down significantly. As the distance between them narrowed, the four members of the Black Fiend Gang must have noticed Su Che approaching.

“Huh? I remember that on the way here, we passed this lone cultivator. Half a day has passed—how come he just arrived here now?”

The long-browed cultivator had an excellent memory and still remembered Su Che’s appearance. He whispered to his three companions, “It seems his flying artifact has changed as well.”

Earlier, when they overtook Su Che, he was using a low-grade precious flying sword, but now it had become the Star Emperor Compass.

“Could it be that during this half day, he acquired some really good flying artifact?” the Black Fiend Gang member guessed in a low voice.

Although they couldn’t identify the Star Emperor Compass as a top-grade spiritual treasure, they could intuitively tell it was an excellent flying artifact. High-grade flying artifacts were extremely rare, so all four of them suddenly felt a strong desire to possess it. Though they had important duties related to the pill transaction, stealing a lone cultivator’s artifact along the way wasn’t a big deal—it was just taking what was available.

“Stop him!”

With just a brief exchange of glances, the four made this decision.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…

As the two groups headed straight for each other, they closed the distance to just a few dozen zhang in the blink of an eye. Sensing their hostile intentions, Su Che immediately understood their plans and smiled to himself, “Rob each other? Great!”

So, Su Che pretended to try to avoid them, but they quickly blocked his path and surrounded him.

“Fellow cultivators, what’s the purpose of blocking my path?” Su Che asked with clasped hands.
“Your flying talisman looks quite familiar to us—it seems to be a treasure lost by our sect. That’s why we want to stop you and find out the truth,” said the long-bearded cultivator in a deep voice.
Up close, the four of them could tell that although Su Che’s compass talisman concealed its spiritual energy, it was clearly a top-tier artifact, likely an extremely precious spiritual treasure!
This made the four Black Fiend demons even more eager.
Su Che showed a panicked expression and hurriedly explained, “I just stole this talisman from someone else; it’s definitely not stolen from any sect.”
Robbery seems to be a more serious crime than theft, right? Old Black cackled in the Immortal Prison.
The four Black Fiend demons exchanged silent glances, each thinking, “This guy must not be very smart… like a simpleton.”
Due to Su Che’s superb skill at concealing his spiritual energy, his spiritual fluctuations gave the impression of being at the early stage of the Golden Core realm. Moreover, his spiritual energy was mixed and impure, showing clear signs of being a lone cultivator. The four Black Fiend demons really couldn’t tell he was a cunning trickster pretending to be weak.
“That’s right! This talisman belongs to one of our sect’s junior disciples. You stole it from him—what crime do you deserve?” the Black Fiend demon shouted angrily.
“But the person I robbed was a woman,” Su Che said, turning to look at them.
Uh…
The Black Fiend demon was momentarily speechless.
Old Black rolled around in laughter in the Immortal Prison, not forgetting to order all members of the Immortal Prison team to gather and be ready for battle at any moment.
“Stop wasting time on him,” the long-bearded cultivator said impatiently. If he stole it, there was no need to look for more excuses.
So, the four of them prepared to attack.
“Wait!”
Su Che shouted, causing the four of them to slow down slightly.
“Do you want this compass?” Su Che asked.
“That’s right,” the long-bearded cultivator nodded. “If you’re sensible enough to hand it over voluntarily, considering how hard you’ve practiced, we might spare your life.”
“A true man aspires to explore the world, but he must not forget the girls back home. When I return in glory…” Su Che suddenly started singing loudly.
The three long-bearded cultivators were astonished, thinking they had encountered a mentally ill man. With such intelligence, how could he have reached the Golden Core realm? And yet he was just a lone cultivator—was this an example of fools having good luck?
The Black Fiend demon frowned, feeling the lyrics seemed familiar…
“It’s him!” the Black Fiend demon realized suddenly.
Soul Capture!

A beam of blue light shot out from Su Che’s forehead, hitting the cultivator with the highest cultivation level—the long-browed one.
Swish!
With a sharp shake of his head, he sent another Soul-Grabbing Attack at the Black Fiend Old Ghost, who was about to shout.
“I’ve been tricked!”
The Red-Bearded Old Man and another mid-stage Golden Core cultivator realized this at the same time. But before they could react, Su Che summoned the Immortal Prison Team with a thought.
Huh…
Sixteen late-stage Golden Core Ghost Kings split into two teams, like two massive clouds of darkness, surrounding the Red-Bearded Old Man and the other man.
What could eight late-stage Golden Core Ghost Kings possibly do against one mid-stage Golden Core cultivator?
Boom!
Old Black, along with two Holy Demon Puppets controlled by a Ghost General, Snake Woman Ye Lan at the early stage of Golden Core, the Netherworld Ghost Emperor at mid-stage Golden Core, and the Little Dragon at mid-stage Golden Core, all attacked the Black Fiend Old Ghost, who was already confused due to the Soul-Grabbing Attack.
Su Che himself took on the long-browed cultivator with the highest cultivation level alone.
Now that he had reached mid-stage Golden Core, his Soul-Grabbing Power could disrupt his opponents’ minds for up to fifteen minutes. Against ordinary late-stage Golden Core cultivators, it took no more than a dozen breaths.
Unless the opponent possessed soul-stabilizing artifacts or was extremely skilled in refining their spiritual essence.
Coincidentally, this long-browed cultivator seemed to have an exceptionally refined spiritual essence. Su Che’s first Soul-Grabbing Attack only caused him brief confusion, and he regained clarity in the blink of an eye.
Unfortunately, Su Che’s Soul-Grabbing Power could be unleashed continuously. Swish! He delivered another attack just in time.
As soon as the long-browed cultivator regained some clarity, darkness enveloped him again…
Destruction!
A super-powerful Destruction Fist was thrown at close range.
Boom!
The long-browed cultivator was hit by the fist, and his bones shattered with a loud crackling sound, as if firecrackers had ignited all over his body.
Hiss…
Blood gushed from his seven orifices, like seven flying blood arrows.
Puff! The immense pressure inside his body forced his eyeballs to burst out of their sockets, flying far away like two bullets, leaving him blind.
Then, he collapsed, severely injured and on the verge of death.
Swish!
Su Che raised his hand and sent him into the Immortal Prison.
“On the day I return home in glory, I will surely celebrate with you in grand style, perform the marriage rites, and pay respects to my elders…”
Su Che continued singing, finishing the unfinished verse.
Excitement!
Relief!
Pride!
Unbounded ambition!
That was the emotion surging within Su Che at that moment.
Knocking out a late-stage Golden Core opponent with just one punch—this was Su Che’s true combat strength now.
Once, he had been chased by that Black Fiend Old Ghost for thousands of miles, in a desperate situation… In just three years, that man was no longer even worthy of being called an opponent.

He was already a minor figure in his own eyes.
Such a feeling truly deserved to be celebrated with a song!
At the early stage of the Golden Core phase, Su Che’s Destruction Fist could inflict considerable damage even on a highly advanced Golden Core cultivator like the Heavenly Object Venerable. Later, with the enhancement from the Bloodstained Fragment Demon God’s Bones, his vital energy increased several times, and so did the power of destruction.
Plus, after advancing to the middle stage of the Golden Core phase, his destructive power grew even more, making it no surprise for him to defeat a late-stage Golden Core cultivator with just one punch.
Su Che had anticipated this outcome, but experiencing such overwhelming power firsthand still filled him with excitement.
Nothing to fear below the Yuan Ying stage!
From today onward, I, Su Che, am also a strong warrior…
By the time Su Che finished singing and turned around, the Black Fiend Old Ghost and the other two had already been severely injured and knocked unconscious by the Immortal Prison Team, waiting for Su Che to deal with them.
Swish! Swish! Swish…
The three prisoners and all the team members were simultaneously taken into the Immortal Prison, leaving only Su Che in the sky.
“Great!”
Su Che switched his Star Emperor Compass for a precious flying sword and rushed back to Tianlong Waterfall Market at high speed.
If the six people from Spirit Medicine Mountain hadn’t left yet, capturing them would be no problem. The Immortal Prison Team was incredibly powerful—whether facing four or six opponents made little difference.
Unfortunately, after investigating the market, he found that the six from Spirit Medicine Mountain had been gone for half an hour.
The market was only ten thousand miles away from Spirit Medicine Mountain’s sect. For those Golden Core cultivators, it took just over an hour to return to their sect. Even if Su Che chased after them at top speed, the proximity to Spirit Medicine Mountain would make it difficult for him to act.
He couldn’t risk losing too much; he must not forget the main purpose of his journey—to deal with Lu Changqing.
Although Old Black really wanted that adorable spirit herb doll, he wouldn’t cause unnecessary trouble for his master. So, despite his disappointment, he remained silent.
Su Che, of course, understood his thoughts. He thought to himself, “First, deal with Lu Changqing. After completing the main task, if circumstances permit, I’ll find a way to help you get your daughter back. Is that okay?”
“Master, it’s not worth taking such a risk. It’s better to give up,” Old Black said in a low voice.
“Let’s see. Don’t make hasty decisions,” Su Che thought to himself with a smile.
After lurking outside the market for about twenty minutes, Su Che quietly captured a Spirit Medicine Mountain disciple at the Foundation Building stage. He then took on his appearance and used his own precious flying sword to head toward Spirit Medicine Mountain, which was ten thousand miles away.

Infiltrate Spirit Medicine Mountain! Next, Su Che will also experience what it’s like to be a ‘spy’…