Chapter 449: There’s Still Time Ahead

Three powerful cultivators at the Lingxu stage vanished mysteriously, with no trace of them left. Such an unbelievable event shocked not only the eleven other Lingxu cultivators outside the barrier but also those superpowers at the Guojie and Mahayana stages who were observing the scene through the Tian Tian Jing—they were all utterly confused and astonished.
“Where did he take those three?”
“How could a young cultivator at the Yuan Ying stage make three Lingxu cultivators disappear without a trace?”
“Yes, it’s utterly incomprehensible. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it…”
A few Guojie-stage Heavenly Kings murmured among themselves.
“I feel…”
A Mahayana-stage superpower said in a gloomy voice, “Those three must have fallen into some invisible spatial artifact, which is why they disappeared so suddenly. It’s clearly a trap set by that kid in advance.”
“That’s right, I think so too,” another Mahayana-stage powerhouse replied after some thought. “A spatial artifact that can completely hide and deceive the senses of Lingxu cultivators hardly exists in the mortal world. Could it be…?”
At these words, everyone was shocked. Some even blurted out, “That pagoda!”
“Very likely!”
Several Mahayana-stage powerhouses nodded in agreement.
“Who is this person?”
Someone immediately turned to Heavenly King Lin to ask about Su Che’s identity.
“He should be…” Heavenly King Lin replied, recalling the mental image of Su Che he had seen through his son Lin Feng. “Tian Yu, the current leader of Tianxuan Sect. He achieved the Ningyin stage before the age of thirty and has been quite prominent in recent years. He has always been a key figure I’ve been monitoring. But I haven’t heard before that he possesses such an invisible spatial artifact…”
Since Heavenly King Lin had his own secrets, he didn’t dare reveal too much about Su Che and could only give a vague answer.
“To achieve the Ningyin stage before thirty is quite rare even in the Spirit Realm…” The Mahayana-stage powerhouses nodded. “It’s good to keep an eye on him.”
“Are you sure you’ve never heard before that he has such a spatial artifact?” Another Mahayana-stage powerhouse asked in a low voice, his gaze filled with doubt.
Clearly, the Mahayana-stage superpowers weren’t easy to deceive.
“I truly don’t know!”

Lord Lintian hurriedly bowed and replied, “If I had known this person possessed the strange ability to ambush and attack cultivators at the Refining Void stage, how could I have allowed my son to go to the lower realms? As a result, my youngest and most beloved son, Linfeng, is still missing—his fate unknown.”
“Hmm…”
The Great Vehicle-stage powerhouse nodded slowly. Using the life and death of his own son as a cover was, to be fair, quite convincing.
However, everyone knew the truth behind the scenes. No matter how much they tried to conceal it, it couldn’t erase the doubts in others’ minds. Out of courtesy and lack of solid evidence, they chose not to expose it.
The group gathered together and quickly discussed the name “Tianyu.” They decided first to send messages to the eleven Refining Void-stage subordinates on Qiyuan Star, determined to keep Tianyu there at all costs and prevent him from escaping. Second, they would immediately send people to take complete control of the weak sect in the Spirit Realm, Tianxuan Sect—after all, if Tianyu ascended to the Spirit Realm, he might very well return to Tianxuan Sect…
At the same time, on Qiyuan Star…
Su Che used clever tactics to lure three Refining Void cultivators into a trap, leading them into the Immortal Realm. As for capturing them, he didn’t need to exert any effort himself—the diligent guardian would surely weaken their combat strength. All he had to do was wait for the right moment to enter the Immortal Realm and retrieve them.
Of course, Su Che had already been to the Immortal Realm once before and had repeatedly instructed the guardian: Capture them alive—under no circumstances kill them…
Now, Su Che and Yu Qing were inside the defensive barrier of the Mountain Protection Formation, facing off against the eleven Refining Void cultivators outside. Neither side took any action for the time being.
“Not satisfied yet?” Yu Qing suddenly transmitted his voice. “We’ve already captured three. It’s time to stop.”
“Okay!” This time, Su Che agreed readily and replied immediately, “Tianyin and I will leave now. But you stay here…”
“Don’t worry about me,” Yu Qing said. “I’ve already said they can’t find me. If I want to leave Qiyuan Star, I can do so at any time.”
“Alright.”
Su Che nodded without hesitation and waved at the eleven Refining Void cultivators outside the barrier. “I’m going to eat. You guys continue. Be careful and don’t overexert yourselves. We have plenty of time ahead.”

The people outside were furious, but Yu Qing merely smiled faintly. Yet Su Che’s shadow trembled violently, as if someone were covering their mouth and struggling hard not to laugh, to the point of whole-body shaking. Unfortunately, as the shadow trembled, Su Che had already turned and walked away. His movements, on the uneven ground, created irregular patterns that completely masked the trembling. Still, no one noticed anything unusual about Su Che’s shadow. Su Che left so casually, claiming he was going to eat! As soon as he disappeared from sight, the bearded cultivator’s expression changed slightly, and he immediately took out a metal sphere and placed it between his eyebrows. It was a special artifact that allowed constant communication with the spiritual realm. At that moment, he received orders from those powerful cultivators at the Mahayana stage: at all costs, they must prevent that Tian Yu from escaping Qiyuan Star. “Hurry!” The bearded man immediately shouted to the others, “Spread out and surround the entire Tianxuan Sect. We must not let that person escape. His name is Tian Yu, and he is the current leader of Tianxuan Sect. The masters just sent a message—capture him at any price!” “Yes!” The ten other Lingxu cultivators immediately dispersed, each taking charge of a section, while continuing to attack the protective barrier in hopes of depleting Tianxuan Sect’s spirit stones and rendering their defensive array ineffective. But by the time they took their positions, Su Che and Tian Yin were already in their designated spots inside the sect’s main hall. The interstellar portal was right before them. “It’s really time to say goodbye to Qiyuan Star…” Through a large window, Su Che gazed at the outside world and murmured, “I wonder when I’ll be able to return.” “You definitely need to come back again,” Tian Yin said softly. “But there’s probably nothing left on this planet that could make you stay, right?” Su Che shook his head with a smile, but inwardly sighed, “How could there be nothing? There’s still so much…” At that moment, all that flashed in his mind were the ordinary life scenes from his true hometown, Caishi Town… Had the souls of his loved ones survived that great catastrophe? If they had, they should have reincarnated by now, right? Buzz… The portal activated, and a young man and woman walked into it hand in hand. Boom… At that moment, the eleven Lingxu-level cultivators were still relentlessly attacking the protective barrier.

Half an hour later, Yu Qing arrived alone in the main hall of the sect leader. With a casual wave of his hand, he completely destroyed the portal, reducing it to a pile of debris. In this way, no one would know which part of the vast starry expanse Su Che had gone to, not even Yu Qing himself. They had never discussed what would happen in the future, as each had their own path to follow and didn’t necessarily have to cross paths. Yet both could foresee that, someday—perhaps not soon or not here—Tian Yu and Yu Qing would meet again. …

Billions of miles away, in the star region belonging to Wu Huang’s planet, Su Che and Tian Yin were transported to that desolate world, and they sealed the portal here inside the Immortal Prison. This was the safest method—sealing the portal in the Immortal Prison meant it would vanish completely, preventing anyone from finding them through the portals on either side. “Free at last!” Su Che gazed at the endless starry sky and sighed deeply. “At least for the next few decades, we don’t have to worry about anything.” He thought Tian Yin would agree, but saw her hesitating, as if there was something she found difficult to say. “What’s wrong? Did I say something wrong?” Su Che asked immediately. “It’s nothing…” Tian Yin clearly hesitated, but eventually said, “You’d better be prepared. You might not get those few decades to prepare.” “Hm?” Su Che frowned slightly but quickly returned to his usual expression. Instead of pressing further, he said generously, “If you’re facing any difficulties, don’t say anything. After all, I’ve always been very careful.” The more generous Su Che was, the more Tian Yin felt she owed him an explanation. She gritted her teeth and confessed, “It’s just a guess; I’m not entirely sure… I think the idea of ‘the Witch God returning after a hundred years’ is just a rumor. It doesn’t really mean he needs a hundred years to return to the cultivation world…” “Oh?” Su Che’s expression tightened as he asked urgently, “Are you saying the Witch God could return to the cultivation world at any time?” “Not at any time, but I think it will happen sooner than expected,” Tian Yin said softly. “From what I know about the Witch God, the so-called hundred-year period is just a ruse he used to deceive the immortals in the Immortal Realm and those powerful witches within his own tribe who might threaten his position. Perhaps it will only take fifty years, or even thirty or forty years, for him to get ready and return to the cultivation world, appearing before you.”

“Appearing before me?” Su Che pondered. “He just needs the Mi Xian Realm and the Mi Xian Order Flag, right? Those two sacred artifacts of the Witch Clan have both been given to him. So, what use am I to him?”
“I don’t know.”
Tian Yin shook her head gently. “No one can fathom the thoughts of the Witch God, but I already know quite well your personality…”
“What are you worried about?” Su Che asked softly.
“I’m worried that, given your personality, it’s unlikely you’ll truly be willing to obey him,” Tian Ying said seriously. “I’m worried that conflicts will arise between you.”
Su Che nodded silently, sighing to himself, “Yes, that’s also what I’m worried about…”