Chapter 403: Capture Him Alive!

After hearing the Accountant of the Illusion Demon Sect’s explanation, Patriarch Lan Ling frowned and murmured, “Those youngsters in the Spirit Realm are truly acting recklessly…”
She paid no attention to the so-called special treasures mentioned by the Accountant. As a true immortal from the Immortal Realm, she only cared about high-grade immortal artifacts. What were these so-called treasures of the mortal world compared to that?
That’s why she thought those in the Spirit Realm were overreacting by making such a fuss over a mere magic artifact—acting wildly and exaggerating the situation.
Still, she understood that, in theory, it was indeed the seven major factions of the Chaos Camp who intended to attack Tian Yu. Moreover, the Accountant’s plan to report Tian Yu’s secrets to the Spirit Realm was clearly meant to destroy him utterly. If she were in Tian Yu’s shoes, she would also adopt a mindset of “if you won’t let me live, I won’t let you live either” and retaliate by attacking the Illusion Demon Sect.
“It can be said that you handled this matter poorly and too hastily, which put our sect in such danger,” Lan Ling transmitted to the Accountant.
“Yes, I am guilty,” the Accountant bowed and said. “I really didn’t expect Tian Yu to be so powerful, nor did I realize he had so many subordinates at the Nascent Soul stage. I thought he would only eliminate people like Tai Xu and Wan Gui. I never expected he would also have such sinister methods of enslaving others…”
Patriarch Lan Ling nodded slightly, refraining from further criticism. After all, she was the current leader of the sect. Though she was an elder, she still wanted to preserve some face for her.
Although it was true that Tian Yu had the upper hand in terms of logic, the Illusion Demon Sect was a demonic sect that often didn’t care about logic. Regardless of right or wrong, Patriarch Lan Ling couldn’t just stand by and watch Tian Yu lead his men to attack the Illusion Demon Sect.
“This Tian Yu must not be killed. To kill him, I would need to unleash power beyond the limits of the cultivation realm. I only have one, maybe two, chances to act.”
Patriarch Lan Ling thought to herself, “Even if I could kill him outright, the trace of my immortal soul in this avatar would be sent back to the Immortal Realm by the laws of the universe. If half of his subordinates still survive and don’t turn traitor, then today will be the day the Illusion Demon Sect perishes.”
“If he can’t be killed, then we must capture him alive!”

Having made up his mind, Grandmaster Lan Ling’s gaze fell back on Su Che, and he said in a deep voice, “The current sect leader just said that the messages regarding you haven’t been sent to the Spirit Realm yet. That means there’s still room for negotiation, right? Do you really want to destroy both our sects and perish together today?”
“How can there be negotiation?” Su Che shook his head and laughed. “What’s the difference between dying a few days earlier or later?”
In truth, Su Che certainly didn’t really intend to perish along with the Illusion Demon Sect. A mere small sect like that wasn’t worth sacrificing his life for.
The current situation was far from desperate, so there was no need to fight to the death.
Even if those in the Spirit Realm found out, since the Immortal Prison Pagoda, which they were desperate to obtain, was in his hands, he could simply flee to Witch Yellow Star and continue cultivating until he reached the supreme stage in the cultivation world—seemingly no problem at all.
As for whether the Witch Clan would learn of it and covet his Immortal Prison Pagoda, that was another matter.
At this moment, facing this unpredictable Grandmaster Lan Ling, Su Che didn’t retreat immediately for two reasons: first, he didn’t want to give up his advantages and bargaining chips easily; second, he wanted to clarify the fate of his friend Fei Yun.
After all, Fei Yun was his friend, and due to the emotional bond between them, she was deeply devoted to him. Though it wasn’t true love in the conventional sense, ignoring her life and safety would be utterly heartless.
“What about this?”
Grandmaster Lan Ling suggested, “Regarding your personal secrets, on behalf of the Illusion Demon Sect, I promise not to reveal them to the Spirit Realm. If you’re still uneasy, then leave quickly and go far away. In the vast starry sky, there are countless cultivation realms—where can’t you live? I guarantee those in the Spirit Realm won’t be able to find you. I’ve lived in the Spirit Realm for thousands of years and know their capabilities well—they’re not as terrifying as you think.”
Su Che was willing to believe her words. Indeed, in the vast universe, there was no place he couldn’t live. Not to mention those ordinary cultivators in the Spirit Realm—even the true immortals in the Immortal Realm might not be able to find him.
Su Che nodded and asked, “I’m willing to trust your promise, but I still want to know—is my friend Fei Yun alive or dead?”

“She’s still alive,” replied Master Lan Ling immediately. “Don’t worry. I’m only temporarily using her body. Once my fragment of immortal soul returns to the immortal realm, her body will belong to her again, and it will even bring her many benefits.”
“Benefits?”
Su Che sneered inwardly. “Even if she doesn’t die, she’ll be trapped in the Illusion Demon Sect like a puppet, waiting for you to descend to the mortal world again before becoming one of your avatars, right?”
Su Che knew very little about the Great Avatar Technique and could only make the most basic guesses.
“In that case…”
Su Che murmured, seemingly making a decision—whether to stay or leave. Suddenly…
Lan Ling attacked without warning!
Whoosh!
Her figure vanished abruptly from the entrance of the sect leader’s temple and reappeared several dozen feet behind Su Che. Her delicate hands reached out, and an invisible giant hand, carrying an extremely strange force, lunged at Su Che’s back of the neck.
One of the Three Thousand Great Paths: the Great Instant Transmission Technique!
Swish!
A golden palace appeared instantly above Su Che’s head, and a golden defensive barrier formed abruptly, blocking Lan Ling’s clawed attack.
Hum…
Although it blocked her invisible claw force, the massive barrier also glowed with golden light, shaking back and forth like a candle in the wind.
Her claw force didn’t seem particularly strong, but its nature was strange, with extreme penetration. Just this one strike posed a threat to the massive barrier equivalent to several late-stage Yuan Ying cultivators using mid-tier Dao instruments together.
Though it seemed unlikely, it managed to fend off her surprise attack.
Su Che was secretly shocked. “Her attack surely hasn’t exceeded the limits tolerable by the cultivation world. Its force is extremely strange—probably some kind of divine skill from the immortal realm. Even if it’s not one of the Three Thousand Great Paths, it’s still terrifying…”
Despite his shock, he didn’t pause. He immediately counterattacked.
A black figure appeared out of thin air, swinging a battle axe at Lan Ling.
The three-inch-tall black figure wielded a pocket-sized battle axe over an inch long. At first glance, it seemed comical. But just as it had moved ten feet forward, the black figure suddenly grew into a giant over ten feet tall, continuing to swing its axe in the same manner as before, aiming to strike Lan Ling on the head!
“What is this?”
Lan Ling was also startled. In that brief moment, she couldn’t identify what kind of creature this black giant was.
Whoosh!
She teleported a hundred feet away, easily dodging the axe strike. Faced with the unknown, Lan Ling wouldn’t recklessly engage in a head-on fight.

“You really still intend to attack me,” Su Che said coldly, as if he had expected it. At this moment, protected by the barrier of immense wealth, he was temporarily safe.

“That’s right. I can’t allow you, this scourge, to remain in this world and pose a threat that could destroy my Illusion Demon Sect,” Lan Ling admitted calmly. Though her gaze was fixed on Su Che’s face, her consciousness was carefully probing that black giant.

Lan Ling had previously seemed willing to negotiate, so why suddenly attack Su Che? The reason was that she had lived in the Spirit Realm for thousands of years, practicing until she reached the Mahayana stage and ascended to the Immortal Realm. She knew well the rules of that realm. She understood that even if those in the Spirit Realm managed to open a passage to the lower world, this legitimate passage could not be maintained for long—maximately a year before it would close automatically, forcing those messengers back to the Spirit Realm.

This meant that if Su Che survived and avoided detection, he could return to Qi Yuan Star and launch a devastating retaliation against the Illusion Demon Sect.

As for the trace of immortal soul residing in this avatar, it could not stay in the cultivation world for long either and would eventually have to return to the Immortal Realm. There’s no such thing as staying a thief forever without ever being guarded against thieves, so this threat posed by Su Che had to be eliminated.

If Su Che could be captured alive, it would not only save the Illusion Demon Sect from the impending destruction but also allow them to turn him into a puppet, indirectly controlling his dozens of Yuan Ying subordinates. In that case, the sect’s lowly position in the cultivation world of Qi Yuan Star would be unshakable, and they might even be able to unify the entire planet.

Moreover, Lan Ling grew jealous of Su Che’s method of enslaving these Yuan Ying cultivators. Perhaps she could use such a method in the Immortal Realm as well…

Thus, Lan Ling made up her mind: capture Su Che alive!

Even if Su Che couldn’t fathom Lan Ling’s intentions, the extremely cunning Old Demon Bai in the Immortal Prison could guess roughly what she was planning. Although Old Demon Bai wasn’t very powerful, as an almost immortal extraterrestrial demon god, his lifespan was countless times longer than Lan Ling’s.

Furthermore, extraterrestrial demons were naturally born with telepathic abilities, having been created from the inner demons of living beings, so their skill at reading others’ thoughts was extremely sharp. Earlier, Old Demon Bai had already warned Su Che to be careful of Lan Ling’s sudden attack.

Therefore, Su Che was prepared. With the immense wealth and Little Black ready to act, he was able to safely evade Lan Ling’s capture attempts using her “Great Instant Transmission” technique.

At this moment, Lan Ling was still carefully analyzing the energy within Xiao Hei’s body. Perhaps because she had achieved immortality too recently and lacked experience, she couldn’t, like Tian Yin and the Master of Jue Chen Valley, immediately associate it with the power of chaos. All she could do was remain vigilant—this energy was extremely advanced, giving off a primal, ancient, and eerily intimidating feeling.

“Senior Lan Ling wants to capture me alive?” Su Che asked in a low voice.

“That’s right,” Lan Ling replied slowly and solemnly. “Don’t be fooled by your large numbers. If I really intended to capture you, all these Yuan Ying guards of yours would mean nothing to me.”

Standing aside, the Master of the Illusion Demon Sect suddenly raised a token high and shouted, “Please, the Patriarch, use the True Soul Token of the Illusion Demon Sect!”

In her opinion, since the Patriarch was unarmed and seemingly lacked any magical artifacts, using one of the sect’s key artifacts would be more effective against Tian Yu.

“No need!”

Lan Ling smiled proudly. As a divine avatar, how could she resort to such a trivial mortal artifact?

To them, mortal artifacts were no different from a straw—holding them would only hinder the proper use of their divine powers.

Just as on Mu Lan Star, Jue Chen Valley possessed a top-grade artifact, yet its master also refused to use it…