Chapter 332: Two Dao Instruments

There is no air in the starry sky, making it difficult for sound to travel. Communication requires the use of telepathic techniques. The ability to send messages from thousands of feet away clearly indicates a cultivator at the Yuan Ying stage.

Su Che and Tian Yin were not surprised to encounter a Yuan Ying cultivator, as traveling through the starry sky indeed demands sufficient cultivation level and courage. Generally, only those at the Yuan Ying stage dare to roam the vast cosmos.

The silver-white sailless ship before them was clearly a spiritual treasure-class flying artifact. Powered by a Yuan Ying cultivator, it would surely be much faster than Su Che and Tian Yin’s means of transportation.

But what could they do even if they encountered a Yuan Ying cultivator?

Two years ago, when Su Che was still at the mid-Jin Dan stage and the giant fortune had not yet found its master, he and Tian Yin had worked together to defeat seven Yuan Ying elders, including the leader of Tai Xu. Even facing Yuan Ying cultivators from other planets, they felt no fear.

Thus, when the other party spoke in an unpolite tone, Su Che’s reply was even more rude.

However, since Su Che lacked the ability to use telepathy over such a large distance in the near-vacuum of space, he used fire spells to create several orange-red characters above his head: “What’s it to you?”

“Hahaha…” A burst of wild laughter came.

The other party had initially been unsure about Su Che and Tian Yin’s true cultivation levels. Now, seeing that they didn’t even possess sufficient telepathic power, it became clear they were merely at the late and mid-Jin Dan stages as they appeared.

“Two younglings at the Jin Dan stage dare to fly into the vast star sea? How utterly ignorant!”

A deep voice spoke again, this time with even more dominance and ferocity. “Encountering seniors at the Yuan Ying stage, yet you dare to speak such arrogantly as ‘What’s it to you?’ It seems you don’t even know how to write the word ‘death,’ right?”

Su Che immediately created a large character for “death” to show that he did know how to write it!

The other party was speechless, likely furious. The silver ship slowly approached, coming to within a few hundred feet. A cabin door opened, and two Yuan Ying cultivators, along with dozens of Jin Dan cultivators, quickly spread out in all directions, surrounding Su Che and Tian Yin.

“One is at the mid-Yuan Ying stage, and the other at the early Yuan Ying stage,” Su Che said to Tian Yin. “Does my sister’s bell work well in the starry sky too?”

Tian Yin nodded gently and reminded him, “That’s the power of a divine ability, not real sound.”

In the starry sky, normal sound cannot travel. Concerned that Tian Yin’s bell, if it were a sound-based attack, would be severely limited, Su Che was relieved upon hearing her explanation.

At that moment, one of the two Yuan Ying cultivators on the other side, a burly man at the middle stage of Yuan Ying, spoke again with his rough and fierce voice, shouting, “You two youngsters, will you surrender peacefully, or will we have to go through the trouble of capturing you? Let me tell you, the treatment will be vastly different in either case!”
Su Che wasn’t in a hurry to fight them and asked, “As a senior at the Yuan Ying stage, why are you capturing us for no reason? We are just passersby with no grudges against you.”
At this distance of several hundred zhang, Su Che’s telepathic ability allowed him to communicate clearly with them.
“This star domain has been sealed off. You two are suspicious, so we must thoroughly question your identities and origins,” the burly man replied loudly. “If your identities are clear, we’ll let you go.”
Su Che sneered inwardly. Once captured by them, he would be like fish on a chopping board. Who would believe he could regain his freedom?
Su Che asked again, “May I ask, senior, why was this star domain sealed off?”
“You young ones keep asking random questions—truly extremely suspicious!” The burly man’s expression darkened as he shouted at his subordinates, “Seize those two immediately!”
Whoosh!
Over sixty Golden Dan cultivators, each riding their flying magic weapons, surrounded Su Che and the other at the center.
Bang!
Tian Yin flipped her wrist, and a bronze bell appeared.
Although sound couldn’t travel in space, everyone clearly heard the deep and resonant ringing of the bell. As Tian Yin had said, it was a divine power, not real sound.
Two years ago, it was this bell’s divine power that had prevented the three top leaders at the later stage of Yuan Ying, including Tai Xu, from advancing an inch. Now, used against these Golden Dan cultivators, the outcome was only one…
Whoosh!
Dozens of them collapsed, losing consciousness and floating like corpses in space.
This alone rendered over thirty Golden Dan cultivators completely combatless. This was only because Tian Yin was merciful and unwilling to kill, knowing Su Che wanted to capture them alive. Otherwise, she could have simply taken their lives.
“What? A top-grade Dao weapon!”
Hundreds of zhang away, the two Yuan Ying cultivators widened their eyes in disbelief.
To see a top-grade Dao weapon in the hands of a woman at the middle stage of Golden Dan was truly unbelievable, even in this vast starry expanse.
No matter how many cultivation realms existed in this boundless starry sky, the rules remained the same: the highest cultivation level was the later stage of Yuan Ying, and the strongest magic weapons were top-grade Dao weapons.

Once one reaches the Divine Transformation stage in their cultivation, they must ascend to the Spirit Realm; even if an envoy from the Spirit Realm comes to the Cultivation World to fulfill their duties, they cannot stay for long.

The most powerful magical artifacts that a high-level Yuan Ying cultivator can control are top-tier Dao instruments. Even if given an ultimate-grade Dao instrument, only 30-40% of its power can be utilized, which is not much different from 100% of the power of a top-tier Dao instrument. Thus, top-tier Dao instruments are considered the strongest magical artifacts in the Cultivation World, enough to drive any Yuan Ying cultivator in any star domain crazy.

Bang!

Before those two Yuan Ying cultivators could recover from their shock, the heavenly sound rang the bronze bell again. In a flash, the more than thirty Golden Core cultivators who couldn’t escape also collapsed on the spot, unconscious in the starry sky.

Seize!

Su Che sat cross-legged on the compass, silently activating his plundering ability. The flying magical artifacts floating around, temporarily out of their owners’ control, gathered like birds flocking to a phoenix.

Seize, seize, seize…

Collect, collect, collect…

With a wave of his hand, Su Che effortlessly acquired over sixty flying magical artifacts.

“What kind of ability is this? It’s definitely not an ordinary qi-based capture technique…”

The two Yuan Ying cultivators’ already wide eyes nearly popped out as they realized they had encountered two formidable opponents. No wonder they dared to venture into the vast starry sky with just a Golden Core cultivation level— they weren’t ignorant of their limitations; rather, their skills gave them the courage!

“You two, will you surrender peacefully, or shall we have to capture you?” Su Che asked in a retaliatory tone. “Let me tell you, the treatment will be very different!”

Tian Yin smiled faintly, thinking he still had a somewhat childish temperament.

Of course, Su Che was also aware that although Tian Yin’s attacks were strong, they still couldn’t cause direct harm to Yuan Ying cultivators. With Tian Yin’s help, their combined strength was only enough for self-protection, far from being invincible.

His earlier words were merely rhetorical tactics. If those two really decided to leave, there was no way to stop them.

The two Yuan Ying cultivators’ gazes once again focused on the small bronze bell in Tian Yin’s hand, their greedy expressions completely unhidden.

Clearly, those two blows hadn’t subdued them at all; their desire to steal treasures had only grown stronger.

“A single top-tier Dao instrument already makes you so greedy?” Su Che continued to mock. “Then what would you look like if you saw two?”

As they spoke, a tiny, exquisite golden palace appeared above their heads. The powerful defensive barrier immediately enveloped the two of them along with the Star Emperor Compass. Su Che’s move wasn’t to show off that he also possessed a top-grade Dao artifact; rather, he knew the other two were about to attack. Faced with the combined assault of two Yuan Ying cultivators, it would be suicide not to summon such a powerful barrier.

“Another top-grade Dao artifact?”
The shock on the faces of those two Yuan Ying cultivators was beyond description. Yet at the same time, their greed diminished slightly, replaced by greater caution and suspicion.
No Yuan Ying cultivator was foolish enough not to realize that these two young people, possessing both offensive and defensive top-grade Dao artifacts, must have extremely extraordinary backgrounds. At the very least, none of the nearly a hundred major sects or families in the three major cultivation realms in this region could afford to treat two Golden Dan-stage cultivators with such generosity.
Imagine if there existed a sect on some cultivation planet in the vast starry sky, with immense strength, capable of giving each of its two younger cultivators a top-grade Dao artifact as a reward—how many such artifacts could this sect have? What consequences might arise from provoking such a powerful force?
Anyone with even a little sense would consider these things…

“Senior Yan Gu, what should we do?” asked the thinner cultivator with a long beard, communicating mentally. He was at the early stage of Yuan Ying cultivation.
“What do you mean, what to do?” Yan Gu, a burly man with fierce eyes, replied mentally, “Two top-grade Dao artifacts are right in front of us. How can we afford to miss them? No matter which faction they belong to, our backing is stronger than anyone else’s!”
The bearded cultivator glanced naturally upward at the stars, signaling the “upper realms,” then nodded and said, “Alright. But if we manage to get those two artifacts, which one do you want?”
“My personality suits the offensive one better,” Yan Gu laughed. “Younger brother Yan Lin is more calm, so the defensive artifact is clearly more suitable for you.”
“That’s great,” replied Yan Lin, the bearded cultivator, with a smile.
While the two of them were communicating, Su Che and Tian Yin were also discussing silently.
Su Che said, “There must be a serious problem on Wu Huang Star. These cultivators are tasked with sealing off the entire star region—their purpose is undoubtedly to prevent anyone from approaching Wu Huang Star.”

Tianyin nodded slightly in agreement and replied, “I’m thinking that perhaps it was the Heavenly Tremor that caused the Spirit Realm and the Immortal Realm to become wary of the Witch Clan, prompting them to use some force to take action against the Witch Clan’s settlements in the Cultivation Realm in advance.”
“The Heavenly Tremor signifies a warning from heaven…” Su Che’s heart sank as he asked, “Could it be that heaven does not show mercy toward the Witch Clan either, viewing their rise as an act against heaven’s will?”
“Yes,” Tianyin sighed softly. “The decline of the Witch Clan is ordained by the laws of heaven, what we commonly call fate. To rise again would be to act against heaven’s will.”
“Act against heaven’s will?”
Out of habit, Su Che still looked up at the endless starry sky and sighed deeply, “Heaven has been quite generous to me. Why would I go against His will?”