Chapter 391: Capturing Tai Xu

Even in his capacity as Hao Yuan, one could not simply meet with the leader of Tai Xu without prior notification.
Su Che pretended to be Hao Yuan and asked to see Tai Xu on the grounds that he had suddenly achieved enlightenment, sensing the right moment to enter seclusion to cultivate his embryo, and wished to consult the master for guidance…
The Tai Yi Sect had lost its two great generals, Tai Hao and Tai Wu, leaving only Tai Xu and Tai Hua as its two embryo cultivators. If one of them died or reached the end of their lifespan and passed away, the sect would automatically be reduced to a larger faction.
Therefore, Tai Xu placed great importance on those at the late stage of the Golden Core cultivation who had the potential to become embryo cultivators, hoping they would quickly cultivate their embryos to strengthen the sect.
Fortunately, after making the request, Su Che waited just over an hour outside the master’s hall before being allowed to see him.
Inside the hall, Tai Xu appeared visibly tired, likely due to the numerous trivial tasks. Although embryo cultivators had mental strength far surpassing ordinary people, after losing two embryo cultivators, Tai Xu and Tai Hua had to take on all the responsibilities previously handled by Tai Hao and Tai Wu, doubling everyone’s workload.
Upon hearing Hao Yuan’s reason for seeking an audience, Tai Xu was delighted: “It seems Hao Yuan has overcome his inner obstacles and achieved higher spiritual insight, which will undoubtedly be beneficial for his embryo cultivation. If the Tai Yi Sect can gain another embryo cultivator, it would truly be a timely blessing.”
That’s why he agreed to meet Hao Yuan so quickly and planned to spare enough time to guide him, providing detailed instructions on everything related to embryo cultivation.
When Su Che entered the hall, he first greeted Tai Xu as a disciple. He then realized that the hall was filled with traps—not only to block external spiritual surveillance but also with various arrays and restrictions designed to counter enemies.
“It’ll be somewhat difficult to take down Tai Xu here,” Su Che thought to himself.
After all, Tai Xu was a seasoned late-stage embryo cultivator. Su Che’s skills in controlling souls and trapping demons would be useless against him. The only control technique that might work was blinding him, but even if he turned Tai Xu blind, it wouldn’t stop him from using the hall’s arrays and restrictions to fight back.
Defeating him wasn’t hard; the real challenge was to minimize noise and avoid alerting others.

“Haoyuan, you say you’ve suddenly had an epiphany. Then tell us, what kind of epiphany is it?” Taixu asked kindly.

“The disciple has suddenly come to see things clearly. If I can’t surpass that Tianyu in this life, I’ll eventually fall at his hands. It’s better to set aside all concerns and risk everything to find a new path.” The impostor Haoyuan spoke with determination. “I’ll enter seclusion. If I can’t cultivate my infant soul, I’ll just sit in meditation and pass away—any better than living in constant fear, tormented by inner demons.”

Taixu frowned slightly, unable to tell yet whether this was a heroic last stand or despair driving him to seek liberation. The two were similar but had vastly different meanings.

“Haoyuan, if it’s just for that Tianyu, I can reveal a little: he won’t live much longer. This major obstacle will soon be completely eliminated from the cultivation world of Qiyuan Star.” Taixu said in a firm voice, his gaze sharp.

“That’s ideal,” Su Che nodded but added, “But the disciple believes the greatest enemy isn’t Tianyu—it’s the demons within my own heart. I hope to challenge and overcome myself, rather than relying on others to rid me of my inner demons.”

“Oh?”

Taixu was momentarily stunned, then showed delight and praised, “Good! That’s exactly what should be done! It seems you’ve truly come to understand.”

Active and passive are entirely different concepts. It was certainly best that Haoyuan could actively challenge himself and face his inner demons head-on. Once he overcame this hurdle, he would be able to easily handle similar trials in the future.

Such a mindset was extremely rare and indeed conducive to cultivating his infant soul through seclusion.

Next, Taixu began to share his insights on cultivating the infant soul. Su Che was willing to listen attentively—for he was one of the most skilled cultivators in the realm, and listening to him teach was quite worthwhile.

The lecture lasted half an hour. Even Taixu himself became fully immersed in the act of passing on his knowledge.

At that moment, as he habitually picked up his teacup to drink, Su Che saw it as the perfect opportunity when his mind was at its most relaxed and unguarded.

Blindness!

By sacrificing 90% of his life force, he plunged Taixu into darkness.

The blindness technique was a suicidal attack that used one’s own life as a sacrifice, aiming to overwhelm the opponent beyond their normal level. With Su Che’s early-stage infant soul cultivation, he could likely blind someone at the early stage of the Divine Transformation phase. As for those above that stage, it was uncertain for now.

Clang!

Taixu’s entire body trembled as the teacup in his hand fell onto the table. Suddenly, he was plunged into utter darkness. His brain couldn’t process what was happening, nor could he imagine that Haoyuan had betrayed him. In that moment, all he felt was shock.

Swish!

At the same time, Su Che released all the Yuan Ying-stage servants from the Immortal Prison, leaving only Tai Wu behind. This was because, given that Tai Wu still possessed full consciousness, wisdom, and memories, forcing him to deal with his former senior, Taixu, would be too cruel. Besides, they didn’t need him anymore, so there was no need to cause him psychological distress.

Thirty-three Yuan Ying servants appeared simultaneously in the small inner hall. Eleven of them had full combat capabilities—souls transformed to retain their memories, just like Tai Wu and Yan Gu. The remaining twenty-two had been brain-dead possessed beings; the Nether Ghost Emperor had arranged for each of them to be reborn through a ghost servant, though most still couldn’t use their own divine spells. But at this moment, there was no need for them to use spells—just the simplest external release of energy, something any cultivator could do…

Huh!

The thirty-three Yuan Ying cultivators suddenly appeared, surrounding Taixu in three layers, and released their true vital energy to create an unprecedentedly powerful force that trapped him tightly inside. Already in darkness, Taixu was suddenly overwhelmed by an unimaginably strong restraining force that enveloped him completely. This force was so powerful it seemed beyond anything in the cultivation world, leaving him completely unable to resist.

“What’s going on? What’s this?” Taixu was terrified, momentarily thinking it must be a punishment from heaven for its immense power.

The thirty-three Yuan Ying cultivators worked together, their combined strength terrifying. Among them were two in the later stages of Yuan Ying—Yan Gu and someone who had been reborn. Despite centuries of experience, Taixu had never been besieged by more than thirty Yuan Ying cultivators before, so he had no experience dealing with such situations and mistook it for divine punishment.

But for Su Che, merely trapping Taixu wasn’t enough—he had to eliminate his resistance completely before capturing him and bringing him to the Immortal Prison.

“My Taiyi Sect acts in accordance with the laws of the Spirit Realm. Why does heaven treat me like this?”

Taixu suddenly roared, filled with intense resentment, and began to resist with all his might.

However, one’s strength is ultimately limited. Under the combined restraint of over thirty Yuan Ying cultivators, he could barely move an inch. The problem was that in this state, Su Che also couldn’t attack him, as his own meager attack power couldn’t penetrate the energy prison created by those cultivators together. “Let’s keep it at a stalemate for now; it’ll at least drain some of his vital energy.” Su Che mentally instructed all his Yuan Ying servants to adjust the intensity of their energy in an orderly manner, not using full force, so as to create a sense of looseness for Tai Xu, luring him into struggling desperately and exhausting his internal energy. Fortunately, this was the inner hall where the sect leader worked, not the main hall outside. Without Tai Xu’s summons, no one dared to disturb them, and the various traps and restrictions in the hall could completely block others’ spiritual detection. So, it was possible to stretch things out a bit longer. Inside the energy prison, Tai Xu struggled desperately, screaming wildly like a madman. The fear of being trapped in endless darkness and bound by some unknown force was not something anyone could handle calmly. Yet, as a highly skilled sect leader, he soon stopped his hysterical shouting, knowing full well that the inner hall’s defenses would prevent his cries from reaching outside. Thus, after fifteen minutes, Tai Xu’s blindness finally passed. But Su Che’s vitality had not yet recovered, so he didn’t dare use his blinding technique again. With both his vision and spiritual sense restored, Tai Xu finally saw that it wasn’t some divine power after all—it was a room full of Yuan Ying cultivators working together to suppress him. Among them, aside from Chen Xu from Lingyao Mountain, the other thirty-two Yuan Ying cultivators were all strangers, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. Tai Xu was certain that such people did not exist in the Qi Yuan Star’s cultivation world. “Yuan Ying cultivators from other star realms? Could it be…” Suddenly, Tai Xu realized something. He remembered that Tianxuan Sect had previously claimed that a newly joined Yuan Ying elder also came from another star realm. Moreover, Chen Xu’s disappearance from Lingyao Mountain was also related to that person… “Tian Yu!” Though unable to move, Tai Xu could still focus his gaze on Su Che and demanded sharply, “You’re not Haoyuan! You’re Tian Yu!” “You’re quite slow to figure it out, guessing only now?” Su Che said with a smile. “Long time no see, Sect Leader Tai Xu. You’ve aged quite a bit.” Tai Xu’s expression froze as he thought to himself: It’s all because of you!

Su Che gestured toward his thirty-some Yuan Ying slaves and said in a deep voice, “Those who know when to act wisely are truly heroes. Right now, over thirty Yuan Ying cultivators are joining forces to suppress you. Whether I kill you or not depends solely on my decision. But I still need to ask—does the Head of Tai Xu want to choose a path of life or death?”
Under these circumstances, capturing him alive was indeed difficult, but to kill him, it would only take the eleven normal Yuan Ying slaves like Yan Gu to unleash their ultimate attacks while suppressing him, surely reducing him to ashes.
The problem was that killing a late-stage Yuan Ying cultivator would inevitably cause quite a stir. For the greater good, Su Che still hoped he would give up resistance and surrender voluntarily.