Chapter 381: A Mysterious Situation

Elder White Demon reminded Su Che that the true purpose of those possessed ones was likely the highest secret of Dustless Valley—they were after that forbidden valley.
Through his spiritual perception, Su Che had also calculated clearly: at present, 192 Yuan Ying cultivators were here. So where were the remaining over fifty?
Since most of the Yuan Ying cultivators had come here, why hadn’t the rest shown up?
Thinking of this, Su Che decided to warn Yuan Jing and the others, so he said, “Brother Yuan Jing, there is something extremely important that I must mention. Perhaps revealing this will bring me unforeseen troubles or even arouse more suspicions among you, but one should not fear shadows; what needs to be said must be said.”
Yuan Jing nodded and replied, “Fellow Xuan Yu, please speak. But rest assured, without the most direct and conclusive evidence, we won’t casually accuse any fellow cultivator of being possessed.”
“Good. I still trust Brother Yuan Jing’s integrity.”
Su Che didn’t even glance at the three from Dusty Abyss. He spoke loudly and directly, “Gachi and Lian Qiu did come to see me. Shortly after entering and sitting down, they mentioned a huge opportunity, trying to pull me into their group. And that opportunity referred to your sect’s highest secret—the forbidden valley.”
“Oh?” Yuan Jing and the other five Yuan Ying elders of Dustless Valley all changed expressions, instantly becoming tense.
Su Che continued, “I don’t understand why they chose me and insisted on pulling me in, but I refused right away. After Gachi and Lian Qiu failed to persuade me, they left. Not long after, the three from Dusty Abyss came to slander me. So I suspect that Gachi, Lian Qiu, and the ones from Dusty Abyss are all in cahoots—they are the ones with strange behavior and ulterior motives.”
At this point, Su Che paused briefly before adding, “I know these words may seem hard to believe and contain many inconsistencies. But since this has already happened, please, Brother Yuan Jing, stay vigilant and protect your sect’s secrets. Right now, there are still over fifty people missing. Could it be…”
Su Che didn’t go on further, stopping at that point. The others were all highly intelligent Yuan Ying elders; they would naturally think of what needed to be thought of.
After hearing Su Che’s words, including Yuan Jing, the five Yuan Ying elders of Dustless Valley all looked grave, determined not to neglect this matter. Such a situation demanded caution—better to assume it was true than to assume it wasn’t.

“Younger brother Yuanjing, stay here and continue handling this matter. The four of us will go to the forbidden area to investigate.” The Valley Master of Juechen first gave instructions to Yuanjing, then bowed to Su Che and said, “Anyway, we must thank Daoist Xuanyu for his kind reminder. I can sense that what happened tonight is quite mysterious and indeed abnormal. Daoist Xuanyu, rest assured—I’m not blind. I’m certain you’re not the possessed one as some people claim.” Su Che bowed in return and expressed his gratitude as well. The Valley Master of Juechen didn’t have time to say more. Apologizing to everyone, he rushed with the other three younger brothers toward the core forbidden area inside the mountain gate. If anything went wrong there, it would be an unforgivable crime against the sect, one for which even a hundred deaths wouldn’t suffice as atonement… Although Yuanjing was also anxious, he could only stay behind to maintain order. Yet in his heart, his opinion of Su Che had improved significantly. He realized that by revealing these things, Su Che must have brought himself quite a bit of trouble. A more self-interested person would surely choose to protect themselves and avoid trouble at all costs. Of course, Su Che knew best that he wasn’t that noble—he was just skilled enough to be bold and unafraid. At the same time, Su Che was carefully observing the expressions of the three from Chenyuan. Logically, after he exposed their plot, they should have reacted. But they just stood there with blank faces, showing no emotional fluctuations. “Master, they are puppets controlled by demonic worms and have lost the normal emotional responses humans have. Those facial expressions earlier were all pretenses,” reminded Old Demon Bai. “That’s true,” Su Che thought to himself, then asked Old Black, “Old Black, haven’t you figured it out yet?” After capturing Gachi and Lian Qiu, Old Black began studying those two demonic worms, hoping to understand the truth through their thoughts. But so far, he still believed that the two demonic worms in the Immortal Prison had no thoughts, no memories, and no souls. Their form was similar to that of Xiao Hei, with only the most basic instincts. “Master, these two worms have no thoughts at all. Mind-reading is useless,” Old Black said helplessly. “I think these demonic worms lack independent thought, and someone else is remotely controlling all of them. Once we capture them and bring them to the Immortal Prison, control over them will be completely severed. That person will no longer be able to sense their demonic worms, and similarly, we won’t be able to get any information either.”

“That’s right, exactly as you said,” agreed the old white demon with a nod.
“The one manipulating those demonic parasites must be the culprit behind the corruption crisis on Mu Lan Star,” Su Che thought to himself. “It seems this guy is no ordinary person; he could very well be the strongest opponent we’ll encounter in the cultivation world.”
“Yes,” the old black demon and the old white demon nodded in agreement.
Logically, the disaster on Mu Lan Star had nothing to do with Su Che, and there was no need for him to get involved and create a powerful opponent for himself. Yet Su Che believed that if one only bullies those weaker than oneself and flees at the first sign of someone stronger, lacking even the courage to face them head-on… such behavior would make him despise himself.
“Since we’ve run into them, let’s have a few exchanges with them,” Su Che decided.
Just as he was thinking this, a loud thundering sound came from afar. Clearly, something serious had happened in the forbidden valley. This confirmed that Su Che’s warnings were not exaggerated.
Yuan Jing’s expression changed drastically; his gaze turned cold as he stared at the three from Chen Yuan and demanded loudly, “Fellow Chen Yuan, could it be true, as Fellow Xuan Yu said, that you and your group disregard the greater good of the world and intend to undermine the foundation of our sect?”
Not only Yuan Jing but also other Yuan Ying ancestors with a strong sense of justice were outraged and began to condemn and question the three from Chen Yuan, demanding an explanation.
Faced with the corruption crisis that threatened the entire cultivation world, everyone should have united to work together. Yet here were some who had infiltrated to steal the highest secrets of Chen Yuan Valley, the very core of a sect—this was the most despicable act of taking advantage of others in trouble…
Under such collective anger, the three from Chen Yuan should have offered an explanation or tried to defend themselves. Unexpectedly, they just stood there dumbfounded, silent and motionless, with the same numb expressions as before.
What was going on?
Su Che suddenly realized—these three were in the same state as Gachi and Lian Qiu, who had become comatose. In other words, they were dead!
Su Che waved his hand, creating a pushing force. With three thuds, the three from Chen Yuan fell backward, silently.
Through his spiritual sense, Su Che immediately saw blood holes open beneath their feet. Clearly, those three demonic parasites had emerged from their feet, burrowed underground, and escaped using some kind of underground movement technique.
Whoa!

In the sky, dozens of Yuan Ying ancestors descended, each using their divine consciousness to probe the life conditions of the three from Chen Yuan. These elders had extraordinary vision; they could make judgments in just an instant.
“The original souls have vanished; only their bodies remain alive!”
A few of them exclaimed in unison.
Of course, everyone also noticed the blood holes beneath the feet of the three from Chen Yuan and immediately penetrated underground to search for suspicious traces.
Powerful divine consciousnesses covered the courtyard and penetrated hundreds of feet underground. If those three demon parasites were still there, they surely couldn’t escape such thorough searches by these Yuan Ying cultivators.
“It’s too late; they’ve already run away,” Su Che sighed softly.
“Xuan Yu, what exactly is going on?” Yuan Jing stepped forward anxiously and asked, “I know you still have some things unsaid. Xuan Yu, at such a critical moment, please tell us everything as it is. Jue Chen Valley, on behalf of all cultivators in the world, will be eternally grateful.”
“Yes, Xuan Yu, please enlighten us,” the others also pleaded.
None of those present were fools; they surely realized that they had fallen into a huge conspiracy, and the situation was even more terrifying than they had thought.
“Very well,” Su Che nodded. “There were some things I didn’t mention before because I lacked evidence, and the situation was too bizarre. Even if I had spoken, it would have been hard to convince anyone. Now that the facts are clear, I can tell you.”
Then, Su Che pointed at the blood holes beneath the feet of the three from Chen Yuan and said, “These three are the real possessed ones. But they’re not those low-level possessed ones outside who have lost all reason and only know how to kill and destroy. Their minds have been taken over by a kind of demon parasite, turning them into puppets of demons—almost like being controlled by extraterrestrial demons…”
Su Che selectively revealed what he knew, of course not disclosing that he knew these things because he had captured Gachi and Lian Qiu alive.
Finally, Su Che said, “As for how I discovered these things, I’m sorry I can’t reveal it, as it involves my personal secrets and is not appropriate to discuss.”
“It doesn’t matter!”
Yuan Jing was very understanding and nodded in reply, “Everyone has secrets; that’s normal. Besides, how you discovered it isn’t important. What matters is that Xuan Yu saw through their conspiracy, allowing us to stay alert in time. There are such advanced possessed ones lurking among us. If we’re not cautious, any of us could be killed.”
“Yes.”

The other Nascent Soul Ancestors nodded in agreement, but at the same time, they also began to be wary of one another, as it was hard to say whether someone who seemed closest to them might actually be a high-level possessed one. In the days to come, everyone would have to be on guard and watch out for each other.

Still, they all expressed their sincere and enthusiastic gratitude to Su Che together. This was not only because he had exposed the possessed ones’ scheme but also because they believed that at least one thing was certain: this Xuan Yu before them was definitely not a possessed one.

More importantly, it seemed he could restrain those possessed ones and see through their true nature, which meant that they could seek his help when facing the danger of being possessed.

Yet Su Che’s own doubts grew deeper: “What are those possessed ones up to? Why did they let me expose their scheme so easily?”
What exactly were they plotting?