Chapter 444: Discovered!

In the blink of an eye, four months had passed. With the concerted efforts of all cultivators on Qi Yuan Star, most living beings had already migrated to the Immortal Prison. There was still over a month left before the safety deadline, during which time they could transfer as many plants and minerals as possible from Qi Yuan Star to the Immortal Prison.

The so-called “safety deadline” referred to the six months mentioned by Lin Feng, enough time to keep his father, Lord Lin Tian, under control without arousing his suspicions, thus avoiding the need to worry about the Spirit Realm opening a passage to the lower world. That meant there were less than two months left.

Su Che didn’t intend to rush things. It would be best to leave Qi Yuan Star about half a month before the six-month period ended.

At present, the Immortal Prison was incredibly bustling. Ten million cultivators who entered early were helping hundreds of billions of beings settle in their new home, with everyone busy to the point of having hardly any time to rest.

Especially Lin Feng, who was at the Lingxu stage, could fully unleash his true strength within the Immortal Prison’s space without worrying about being punished by the laws of heaven and earth. Here, as long as Su Che and Lao Hei didn’t punish him, no other force could interfere.

Of course, the busiest person was probably Lao Hei. As the ruler of the first layer of the Immortal Prison, Lao Hei could monitor every inch of land and every corner within a million miles at all times. This meant countless matters required his attention…

The Immortal Prison was thriving, with a complete new world being rapidly established. Meanwhile, the original Qi Yuan Star was in ruins, desolate and silent everywhere.

One day, Su Che and Tian Yin were strolling slowly across this devastated land.

For Su Che, there was always a dilemma regarding Tian Yin: Should she be brought into the Immortal Prison world? Could she be?

If Tian Yin saw the Immortal Prison world, how could he explain it to her? And how could he trust her again after that?

After all, Tian Yin favored the Witch Clan. If, for the sake of her clan, she revealed the secret of possessing such a divine weapon to the Witch God, it could prove fatal for him.

Su Che had no doubts about her integrity, but precisely because she was so honest and selfless, such people often resorted to sacrificing those close to them for a greater good.

Moreover, how close they really were remained unknown…

For this very reason, the entire Wuji Gate had moved into the Immortal Prison, while Tianyin remained outside, staying by Su Che’s side.
“I can’t enter my own magic treasure space, so I hope you can stay with me outside.”
This was the only reason Su Che could express.
Fortunately, Tianyin was truly extremely generous and tolerant; she showed no confusion or speculation, simply agreeing silently without ever asking something like, “Let me go into your space for a look before I come back.”
It was obvious she had guessed that Su Che had his own difficulties in this matter, and he still harbored suspicion toward the Witch Clan.
Tianyin saw many things clearly, but she simply didn’t want to speak about them.
“It’s almost time…”
Su Che gazed into the distance and said in a deep voice, “On Qiyuan Star, there are still over twenty million cultivators digging for various plants and minerals. In fact, we can leave at any time.”
Tianyin nodded silently.
Su Che smiled again and said, “Do you think this planet of our homeland was ruined by my hands?”
“The possibility you were worried about earlier is indeed very likely to happen,” Tianyin replied softly. “When the Witch God returns, Qiyuan Star might indeed be completely destroyed. Unless the Witch God is willing to exert effort to protect it.”
“The Witch God?”
Su Che smiled faintly. Though he said nothing, he thought to himself, “Relying on the Witch God to protect the other beings on Qiyuan Star seems rather unrealistic.”
Tianyin guessed Su Che’s thoughts and smiled slightly, essentially agreeing with his judgment.
The Witch Clan was fierce and aggressive, valuing strength above all, and they would never show sympathy for the weak. It was almost impossible to expect them to show compassion—such was their racial nature.
……
Meanwhile, in the Spirit Realm…
A peak expert at the Mahayana stage secretly visited Lord Lintian’s residence to inquire about matters related to Qiyuan Star.
“Reporting to Senior ‘Lijiu,’ ever since this humble one descended to the mortal world, Lin Feng sends me messages every ten days. As of now, everything on Qiyuan Star is normal. The seven major factions of the chaotic camp have accelerated their efforts. It is estimated that in less than ten years, they will surely cause complete chaos, meeting the requirements to open a passage to the mortal world…”
Although Lord Lintian was a powerful being in the later stages of the Tribulation phase, he still had to be respectful and cautious in front of a peak expert at the Mahayana stage.

Yet what he said at this moment was clearly a lie, for the truth in his heart was that his son Linfeng had long since left Qiyuan Star and gone into the vast cosmos, striving with all his might to capture that Tianyu… But he dared not reveal these facts to “Lijiu” and could only lie like this. Lijiu, who had reached the Mahayana stage, appeared no different from an ordinary middle-aged man, dressed merely in a simple robe. Those unaware of his true nature would never guess that he was a supreme warrior at the pinnacle of mortal power. “I hope this matter can be resolved within thirty years,” Lijiu said in a deep voice. “At most, I can stay in the Spirit Realm for another thirty years.” Lijiu belonged to the older generation of those at the Mahayana stage. Over a decade ago, during the epic battle over that pagoda, he was one of those at that level. That battle nearly cost him his life, and thinking back now still filled him with fear. As early as five years ago, Lijiu could have ascended to the Immortal Realm, but for the sake of that pagoda, he suppressed his cultivation, concealed the truth, and tried to delay his ascension as much as possible. However, he couldn’t delay it indefinitely—within at most another thirty years, the force of ascension would become irresistible, forcing him to be transported to the Immortal Realm. Thus, regarding the treasure-hunting plan for Qiyuan Star, “Lijiu” was the driving force behind it, coming to Lord Lintian’s residence almost every six months to press for progress. Lord Lintian knew that just hearing his explanation wouldn’t satisfy Lijiu; generally, Lijiu would need to observe the changes on Qiyuan Star with his own eyes through the “Heaven-Seeing Mirror” before being satisfied. Sure enough, Lijiu soon said, “Come, take me to the Heaven-Seeing Mirror. I want to see the current situation of Qiyuan Star.” “Certainly, Senior Lijiu,” Lord Lintian replied immediately, standing up and bowing. Such conversations had occurred more than twenty times in the past decade… In a secret chamber of Lord Lintian’s residence stood a silver mirror two zhang tall—this was the “Heaven-Seeing Mirror” used by the Spirit Realm to observe the Cultivation Realm. Almost every Lord Lintian’s residence in a star domain had such a mirror. The Heaven-Seeing Mirror could not only observe the Cultivation Realm corresponding to a certain space but also monitor the conditions of various planets within a Lord’s territory. It could be said that every Lord spent a great deal of time in front of this mirror, overseeing their own resource planets. Lord Lintian chanted a series of hand seals and skillfully activated the Heaven-Seeing Mirror. In just a few breaths, the deep blue planet Qiyuan Star appeared in the mirror.

As the image in the mirror drew closer, Li Jiu and Lord Lin Tian could see a family weaving straw mats in their yard, even an ant climbing onto the mats was clearly visible… Lord Lin Tian controlled the Sky-Seeing Mirror, continuously changing the images so that Li Jiu could observe the changes in the various sects of the Qi Yuan Star’s cultivation world. First were the factions of chaos: the Tai Yi Gate, the Ten Thousand Ghosts Sect, the Illusion Demon Cult… followed by the dozen or so super sects that adhered to tradition… Suddenly, Li Jiu, who had been calm until then, showed a slight change in expression, his brows furrowing slightly. He raised his hand and said, “Slow down!” Lord Lin Tian immediately slowed down the speed of image changes. Li Jiu observed carefully for a while, his expression growing increasingly grim. Finally, with a sharp slap, he sent a powerful gust of energy onto the ground and shouted, “It’s fake! All of this is fake!” “Huh?” Lord Lin Tian, already feeling uneasy, was stunned and asked cautiously, “Senior Li Jiu, what is fake?” Li Jiu turned his gaze, his dark eyes fixed intently on Lord Lin Tian, and asked in a low voice, “Lin Dongshan, this illusion array on Qi Yuan Star must have been created by your precious son, right? Was it your instruction?” “An illusion array? What illusion array?” Lord Lin Tian looked astonished and hurriedly said, “Senior Li Jiu, please don’t get angry. Let me first figure out what’s going on so I can make a judgment!” “Hmph…” Li Jiu sneered twice, closely watching Lord Lin Tian’s facial expressions. After a long while, seeing no flaws, he said harshly, “Through the Sky-Seeing Mirror, though I can’t see the real situation on Qi Yuan Star, I can tell that the entire planet is covered by a large illusion array. All the images I’m seeing now are fake!” “This…” Lord Lin Tian was stunned. “Senior Li Jiu, how is that possible? An illusion array capable of covering an entire cultivation planet is extremely advanced. Even I don’t have the ability to create one, let alone those lower-level cultivators in the cultivation world!” “Regardless of whether they can do it or not, this is the fact right before our eyes!” Li Jiu pointed angrily at the Sky-Seeing Mirror and declared loudly, “This illusion array is extremely sophisticated, but the problem lies with the person who set it up—his cultivation level is too low, which is why I could spot some flaws. Fortunately, I, Li Jiu, specialize in array art and have devoted my entire life to it. Otherwise, I might have been deceived by it.”

Lord Lintian was also a shrewd and calculating man. At this moment, his brows were deeply furrowed. After pondering for a short while, his expression changed drastically. “So, my son Linfeng must have encountered some misfortune. Those messages sent to me recently must all be false?”
Li Jiu let out a groan, his expression slightly relaxing. Judging by his insight, Lord Lintian’s reactions didn’t seem fake—he too seemed to be kept in the dark.
“Actually, this might not be such a bad thing after all…”
Both of these old men, being foxes who had lived for thousands of years, calmed down slightly and, with a quick thought, realized…
“Someone has set up a massive array in the lower world capable of concealing the secrets of the heavens. This is definitely beyond the capabilities of the cultivation world. Just this alone is the best reason to open a passage to the lower world!”
At this moment, Li Jiu was filled with mixed emotions. He immediately said to Lord Lintian, “Follow me to the Judgment Temple and submit an application to open the passage to the lower world right away!”
Even though Lord Lintian still had some selfish motives and concerns, he didn’t dare show the slightest hesitation. He followed Li Jiu and set off immediately…