Chapter 406: Moths Flying into the Fire

Su Che condensed his vast energy barrier to a range of ten feet, allowing him to be easily held in Xiao Hei’s arms, which were over ten feet tall. This tactic proved highly effective—those colorated centipede-like entities that refined energy indeed dared not approach. No matter how Lan Ling tried to drive them, they refused to get close to Xiao Hei.
“What exactly is that thing? Why does my energy instinctively fear it?”
To this point, Lan Ling had yet to realize that the energy within Xiao Hei was the supreme Chaos Power. As a result, in addition to being fascinated by Su Che’s ability to enslave others, she also developed a desire to possess this black giant summon.
Lan Ling had an intuition that if she could master these two skills of Su Che’s, she could stand out even in the Immortal Realm and become a dominant force in no time.
At this moment, her greed surged, and she unconsciously ignored the survival of the Illusion Demon Sect. How could a sect in the cultivation world compare to her own ambitions in the Immortal Realm?
“I must get Tian Yu! It doesn’t matter if I can’t capture him alive—after killing him, I can take his soul to the Immortal Realm and still uncover all his secrets.”
Lan Ling resolved firmly to risk the Illusion Demon Sect just to uncover all of Su Che’s secrets.
It was only then that she truly unleashed her murderous intent. Moreover, due to the Soul-Burning Technique she had used earlier, more than half of her Immortal Soul had been consumed. If she didn’t act quickly, she might not be able to kill Su Che.
“Since this energy refinement space is ineffective against you, Tian Yu, you have no choice but to die!”
With Lan Ling’s shrill cry, the energy refinement space that trapped Su Che suddenly dissipated. But Su Che didn’t feel any relief, because Lan Ling’s aura surged violently, filled with an immense and terrifying power surrounding her…
A power that brought despair!
At this moment, Su Che felt like an unarmed ordinary person who had never cultivated, facing a tsunami wave hundreds of feet high rushing toward him. No matter how hard he struggled or resisted, all that remained in his heart was despair and fear, with no way to survive.
“She really intends to use her ultimate move!”
In the Immortal Prison, Lao Hei and White Old Demon were horrified. Faced with such an unstoppable force, what else could their master do but accept death on the spot?
“Is this the power that transcends the cultivation world’s limits? It’s truly overwhelming!”
Su Che seemed frozen in place, still in Xiao Hei’s arms.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to move—it was that he simply couldn’t. He couldn’t dodge or escape…

Lan Ling had not yet struck, yet merely with her growing aura, she was able to trap herself and Xiao Hei in place. An unshakable invisible force field surrounded her body, preventing her from moving even a finger.

All the previous speculations had been nothing but guesses. Only now, facing such an invincible opponent, did Su Che truly understand what utter despair meant, what it meant to be forced to close one’s eyes and wait for death.

No strategy, no plan could work! With just one strike, the opponent could reduce him, along with his wealth and Xiao Hei, to dust—no second strike needed.

In the face of absolute power, all struggle was futile; all plans were nothing but jokes…

It was only at this moment that Su Che truly realized his mistake—committing the fatal error of underestimating his opponent.

The Cult Leader of the Illusion Demon Sect had warned him repeatedly not to choose a suicidal path of mutual destruction, but he had thought she was powerless and was just trying to bluff.

“A mere Illusion Demon Sect, with only four Yuan Ying-level cultivators—how dare they challenge me, who have over forty Yuan Ying subordinates?” That was Su Che’s thinking and judgment at the time; he truly didn’t take the Cult Leader’s warnings seriously.

At first, the Cult Leader had underestimated Su Che, leading to the sect’s peril of destruction; later, it was Su Che who underestimated the sect, resulting in his current death sentence.

“If I die here now, no one will blame but myself,” Su Che sighed inwardly.

“No, master, we were all wrong,” Old Hei cried sadly. “None of the decisions were made by you alone. Tai Xu, Wan Gui, White Old Demon, and I, Old Hei—none of us expected the Illusion Demon Sect to hide such an old witch.”

“It’s useless to talk about this now. Mistake is mistake. My arrogant thoughts will eventually cost me dearly. Even without Lan Ling today, I would have died at the hands of the Spirit Realm envoy.”

Su Che finally understood just how huge the gap was between him and those powerful cultivators. His previous thoughts were utterly ridiculous.

Hundreds of miles away, Tai Xu and the other forty-plus Yuan Ying-level servants who were still attacking the Cult Leader’s sacred temple’s defense barrier suddenly stopped and looked in Su Che’s direction.

“What kind of power is this? So powerful! Could it be that she truly doesn’t care about the fate of the Illusion Demon Sect and intends to kill our master?”

Tai Xu, Wan Gui, Yan Gu, and the others could not see Su Che and Lan Ling, but they could clearly sense an overwhelming force that should not exist in the realm of cultivation permeating the world around them. Even those hundreds of miles away felt their breathing become difficult and their energy disrupted…

“Tian Yu, your life is coming to an end now…”

Lan Ling’s aura had reached its peak as she spoke in a low voice, “But since you’ve forced me to this point, you can be proud of yourself. I hope the gains you bring me next can make up for the costs I’ve incurred.”

“You won’t gain anything from me.”

Su Che smiled bitterly. “Go ahead then. Stop talking nonsense. It’s not a bad outcome for the Illusion Demon Sect to become my sacrifice.”

“I no longer care about the Illusion Demon Sect. What matters now is you.”

Lan Ling slowly raised her right hand, gathering a terrifying strike that no one in the realm of cultivation could withstand in her palm, ready to be unleashed…

Vroom…

Su Che activated his strongest defensive barriers, using all his defensive artifacts. He was ready to use his teleportation skill at any moment, holding the mid-tier Dao weapon, Tai Yi You Long Sword, in his hand, while Xiao He also raised his battle axe, ready to strike…

Even knowing he was outmatched, Su Che wouldn’t just close his eyes and die. He would use his strongest offensive and defensive techniques to fight back, determined to shake the flames even if it meant flying headfirst into them.

“Come on!”

Su Che roared and launched a suicidal attack first.

Whoosh!

The Tai Yi You Long Sword transformed into a silver dragon over ten zhang long, charging at Lan Ling.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Instantly, over a hundred Destruction Fists were unleashed, continuing without pause.

At the same time, Su Che divided his attention, sending Xiao He toward Lan Ling while raising his massive battle axe high.

“Xiao He, go all out!”

There seemed to be only one chance to attack. Su Che wished he could unleash all the chaotic energy within him through that single axe strike. It didn’t matter how large a gap it could break through.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

First, the silver dragon struck in front of Lan Ling. Despite being just a few zhang away, it was blocked by an invisible force and couldn’t even touch her body.

Then, over a hundred Destruction Fists exploded in succession, but even at that distance, their power faded completely, failing to stir even a single hair at Lan Ling’s temples.

Pfft!

Xiao Hei rushed forward and swung an axe, its power far exceeding Su Che’s various attacks. The blade struck a point just ten feet away from Lan Ling, seemingly getting stuck in an impenetrably tough crack and remaining motionless. Completely ineffective! All of his strongest attacks proved useless, failing even to touch a corner of her clothing. Next, he would surely have to endure her devastating strike. Huh? Su Che, who had prepared himself for a heroic death, suddenly felt puzzled and unconsciously frowned. “Weren’t you going to kill me? Why haven’t you attacked yet? What are you standing there doing?” He saw Lan Ling still in the fighting stance with her right hand raised in front of her chest, but her gaze wasn’t on Su Che’s face. After his previous attacks, Su Che had changed position, yet Lan Ling’s gaze hadn’t followed—he seemed to be frozen in place. “What’s going on?” Without time to think further, Su Che seized this rare chance to escape, turned around, and flew toward the Patriarch’s Holy Temple where Tai Xu and the others were. Though he didn’t know the reason, it was clear that something was wrong with Lan Ling—perhaps related to the Soul-Burning Art she had used earlier… Whoosh whoosh whoosh… Su Che used all his strength to control the Star Emperor Compass and flew at top speed, quickly reaching Tai Xu and the others. Fortunately, Lan Ling hadn’t pursued him. “Master?” Seeing Su Che return safely, Tai Xu and the others were overjoyed. They had thought their master was doomed, and all they could do was destroy the Illusion Demon Sect completely, leaving no survivors, as revenge for their master. Yet here he was, back unharmed… “Go!” Without pause or explanation, Su Che gave a thought, and in an instant, he sent over forty of his subordinates into the Immortal Prison, leaving only Tai Xu, the strongest among them, to operate the Star Emperor Compass and fly at high speed. That Lan Ling clearly no longer cared about the fate of the Illusion Demon Sect—her threats had failed completely. Staying here meant certain death; they had to flee quickly! Whoosh whoosh whoosh… As fast as lightning, Tai Xu, with his late-stage Yuan Ying cultivation, controlled the compass at incredible speed. Moreover, no one else inside the Illusion Demon Sect’s mountain gate dared to stop them now. But just as they were about to leave the range of the protective mountain formation, whoosh! A figure appeared before them. Great Instant Transmission! Lan Ling! No matter how fast one flew, mortal flight techniques paled in comparison to the divine arts of the immortal realm. After flying hundreds of miles with great effort, she could catch up in just one instant transmission.

To survive, Su Che was preparing to release all his Yuan Ying subordinates. Even if he lost them, as long as they could hold off enemies for him a while, he could run as far as possible.
Unexpectedly, Lan Ling’s call stunned Su Che instantly.
“Su Che!”
She wasn’t calling Tian Yu—she was calling Su Che!
That extremely familiar expression and tone…