Chapter 365: Come With Me

Su Che slowly entered the VIP hall. First, he glanced at Witch Meng Liu, then his gaze fell on Zhen Zhen.
The hall was dead silent. Since he didn’t speak, no one dared to take the lead in talking.
It had to be said that the name Tian Yu carried immense influence. Though everyone knew he wasn’t a man who killed indiscriminately, every rumor about him was astonishing and shocking. The people here were nowhere on his level.
“Meng Liu, Zhen Zhen, come with me,” Su Che said in a deep voice, ignoring the others completely.
Zhen Zhen stood up silently and slowly walked over to Su Che, with no one daring to stop her.
Meng Liu’s face turned pale. With a panicked look, she turned to Senior Sister Qian Yun, silently begging for her help. With only ninety years left to live, if she became a prisoner of Tian Xuan Sect, she wouldn’t even be able to enjoy those final happy moments. It would be better to die right away.
As Meng Liu’s senior sister and the leader of this group, Qian Yun, despite her fear, forced herself to stand up and bowed respectfully, saying, “Qian Yun from the Illusion Demon Sect, greeting Senior Tian Yu.”
In the world of cultivation, strength came first. Even though Qian Yun was dozens of times older than Su Che, she still had to address him as a senior.
The others also quickly stood up and bowed to Su Che in greeting.
Su Che nodded lightly and said to Qian Yun, “I’m taking Meng Liu with me. Do you plan to stop me?”
“I dare not.”
Qian Yun bowed again. “I understand that some of Meng Liu’s actions have offended your sect’s dignity. I just want to plead for her, asking Senior Tian Yu if there isn’t another way to resolve this. Perhaps we could offer appropriate compensation to your sect and to Zhen Zhen herself. I wonder if Senior Tian Yu would accept that?”
“No.”
Su Che’s tone was calm, yet unyielding. Just two words—no further explanation.
Qian Yun turned away and shook her head at Witch Meng Liu with a sad smile, meaning, “This is all I can do. I can’t risk my own life just to help you…”
“Senior Sister…”
Meng Liu’s face was grim, as if she were about to be taken to the execution ground. Every part of her body exuded despair and sorrow.
On the other side, Zhen Zhen stood beside Su Che, her emotions complex, but she still spoke softly, “Thank you, Grandmaster, for saving me.”
“Haven’t you had a chance to escape all these years?” Su Che asked casually.

“The disciple has been cursed with the Blood Soul Curse by Meng Liu; she can’t escape within a hundred miles. With just a thought, she can take my life,” Zhen Zhen replied in a low voice, filled with deep emotion. Ten years ago, I even pursued her, yet now I rely on her for salvation and must even call her my master…”

She felt no resentment, only a sense of detachment, as if in a dream. Ten years of endurance had made her much more mature and composed.

“The Blood Soul Curse?”

A faint smile appeared on Su Che’s lips as he waved at Meng Liu. “Come here and lift the curse from her.”

“Senior Tian Yu, lifting the Blood Soul Curse is extremely difficult; it’s not appropriate here,” Meng Liu replied timidly, like a lamb about to be slaughtered.

“Very well.”

Su Che nodded slightly and looked around at everyone. “You have two choices: either let Meng Liu and Zhen Zhen come with me, or all of you come with me. You have ten breaths to decide.”

Huh?

The dozen or so people from the Illusion Demon Sect and Tianxin Pavilion were shocked. Some immediately said to Meng Liu in panic, “Fellow Meng Liu, one must take responsibility. Don’t drag us into the trouble you’ve caused.”

“Yes, fellow Meng Liu, we are innocent and shouldn’t be dragged down with you.”

A few others stepped forward, clearly intending to use force: If you don’t come obediently, we’ll capture you together and hand you over to Tian Yu.

In such a situation of complete isolation, Meng Liu was heartbroken and utterly desperate, as if fallen to the bottom of an abyss. At this moment, despite her fragile state, she exuded a rarely seen, sickly beauty. It seemed that at this instant, her illusion magic naturally reached its highest potential, attaining a state of profound purity.

Unforced, natural, isolated by the cold wind—pitiable to behold…

“Very well.”

Meng Liu gave a sad smile, walked slowly, and lowered her gaze as she approached Su Che.

Su Che raised his hand, holding a delicate and tiny palace in his palm, allowing those present to witness this ultimate defensive treasure from the Qi Yuan Star’s cultivation world.

Whoosh!

Meng Liu and Zhen Zhen, unable to resist either physically or mentally, were immediately taken inside the palace by Su Che and confined in a secret room. Even within the palace’s space, they couldn’t wander freely.

Moreover, Su Che sent a thought to Meng Liu: “I never said I would execute you. Why be so pessimistic? Quickly lift the Blood Soul Curse from Zhen Zhen. Perhaps you’ll still be able to live for over three hundred more years.”

“Huh?”

Meng Liu was stunned on the spot. Though she didn’t fully understand Su Che’s words, she could sense that he didn’t really intend to kill her. Indeed, why kill her? For Su Che, locking her in the Immortal Prison, giving her a little life energy to heal her internal injuries, allowing her to live another three hundred years, and even contributing to the development of the Immortal Prison would be sufficient. A Golden Core cultivator could work quite efficiently.

“As for you all…” Su Che glanced at the dozen or so people in the VIP hall—his fate for them was about to be announced.

The members of the Illusion Demon Sect and the Heavenly Heart Pavilion held their breath, their eyes filled with pleading as they stared “affectionately” at Su Che.

“You may go on,” Su Che waved his hand and turned to leave.

Sigh…

The dozen people slumped down, all letting out a long sigh; a few timid ones even broke into cold sweats.

Life was wonderful, and everyone was living happily. Who would want to be taken away by that evil man?

For Su Che, both the Illusion Demon Sect and the Heavenly Heart Pavilion belonged to the Chaos Faction, and they were in a state of hostility. It wasn’t wrong to capture them. But after all, Su Che was somewhat merciful. Considering their position meant they couldn’t make their own decisions and they hadn’t directly offended him, he decided to spare them this time.

The ones who truly deserved to be captured were the decision-makers in the Chaos Faction—the high-ranking Yuan Ying cultivators.

After handling this minor matter, Su Che didn’t rush to leave the Qifeng Valley market. He wanted to give certain people enough time to create something significant.

Even if Su Che couldn’t predict how the Heavenly Heart Pavilion would react to his presence here, that cunning old strategist in the Immortal Prison could guess most of it.

Seeing Su Che still lingering in the market with no sign of leaving, some curious cultivators gathered in groups, discussing loudly:

“Why hasn’t Tian Yu left? Isn’t he afraid that the three great Yuan Ying cultivators from the Heavenly Heart Pavilion will arrive in time to block him here?”

“It’s not just those three. I think more Yuan Ying cultivators will gather. After all, Tian Yu poses too great a threat to the Chaos Faction—he must be eliminated as soon as possible!”

“He’s skilled and bold. Maybe he can even fight ten opponents without falling behind. Tian Xuan Tian Yu—the greatest genius in the cultivation world—shouldn’t be underestimated!”

“It’s hard to say. Though a tiger can’t withstand a pack of wolves, Tian Yu isn’t just an ordinary tiger.”

“That’s right. Since he has the courage to stay here, it shows he’s full of confidence and unafraid of being besieged by others.”
Many of their discussions weren’t transmitted secretly and didn’t need Lao He to relay them; Su Che could hear them through his own spiritual perception. Indeed, if they could think of such things, how could he not?
How many Yuan Ying cultivators would be able to arrive soon? Ten, or twenty?
Although Tianxin Pavilion only had three Yuan Ying cultivators, a super sect usually had around ten larger sects under it. In the cultivation world of Qiyuan Star, to be classified as a large sect, one must have a Yuan Ying patriarch at its head; otherwise, it would automatically be downgraded to a medium-sized sect.
So, Tianxin Pavilion would simply gather all its Yuan Ying cultivators, which would at least amount to ten. If the nearby Illusion Demon Sect could provide timely assistance, reaching fifteen wouldn’t be a problem.
Even if he had to face fifteen Yuan Ying cultivators alone, Su Che wasn’t nervous at all. As someone had said earlier, great skills bring great courage—he truly wasn’t afraid of them.
Su Che planned to engage them in a fierce battle, unleashing all his strengths to thoroughly assess his overall combat ability. Yet, even after dark, not a single Yuan Ying patriarch appeared.
Why?
Even if they were over three hundred thousand miles away at Taiyi Sect, it would only take a little over an hour to reach here. The cultivation world of Qiyuan Star wasn’t that vast—why hadn’t anyone arrived after such a long time?
Su Che wasn’t disappointed; instead, he realized there must be something suspicious going on.
Normally, given the rare opportunity to be alone in the territory of a chaotic faction, those Yuan Ying patriarchs would at least try their best, even if they felt the chances of killing him were slim.
Moreover, the immense wealth served as a strong temptation as a defensive asset. Eliminating him and seizing the wealth would achieve two goals at once.
“It seems those guys have other plans!” analyzed Old Demon Bai. “They must have found a better way to deal with you, master. We need to be extra cautious.”
“That’s right.”
Su Che nodded inwardly. “The known isn’t scary; the unknown dangers are.”
At that moment, Su Che was drinking tea in a teahouse in the market when he suddenly received a message spirit talisman sent secretly by a spy placed there by Tianxuan Sect.
Message one: The latest report from Tianxin Pavilion’s insiders—Yu Qing infiltrated the Dongming Sea and successfully escaped the pursuit of the two elders of Tianxin Pavilion.
Message two: The day before yesterday, Tian Yin from Wuji Sect successfully emerged from seclusion and advanced to the Yuan Ying stage.
“Tian Yin has emerged from seclusion.”

Su Che shook his head gently. “Calculating it, her seclusion only took one month and nine days—much faster than I expected. If not for Xiao Hei accidentally helping me transform my pill into an embryo two months ahead of schedule, I would have lost this bet to her. A reincarnation of an ancient great shaman is truly formidable.”
“Haha, no matter the reason,” Old Hei laughed. “Master, you won by nine days—winning is winning.”
“It was purely luck,” Su Che thought to himself.
“Luck often determines fate; with good luck, nothing can stop you!” Old Hei said seriously. “Master’s fortune is now tied to that of hundreds of thousands of people in Tianxuan Sect. The stronger Tianxuan Sect becomes, the more your fortune can rise. We must take this very seriously.”
“I understand, I understand…”
Su Che gazed out the window and murmured.