Chapter 468: Is It Really Him?

Dozens of Shadow Clan’s sacred envoys froze in place the moment they saw Su Che’s shadow, their eyes filled with shock.
Su Che thought they must recognize the shadow—or rather, they knew its origin…
“I wonder if they’ll launch a fierce attack or pay homage to the shadow. Lao Hei, which do you think is more likely?”
“I don’t know either, master. I have no idea at all,” Lao Hei replied with a grim face, shrugging his shoulders.
Su Che was extremely tense. While talking to Lao Hei, his three subordinates—Heng Yi, Lin Feng, and Miao Li—were also ready for battle in the Immortal Prison, ready to be summoned at any time to protect him.
A few moments later, the five Shadow Clan’s sacred envoys stepped forward and bowed together. One of them muttered something to the shadow.
Yet the shadow remained motionless, showing no reaction.
The envoy repeated his words, but the shadow still gave no response.
Then, the envoy turned his gaze to Su Che and spoke again. His words were slightly different from the previous attempts, but Su Che guessed the meaning was similar.
Su Che realized that his identity as an outsider could no longer be hidden. Even if he could learn the Shadow Clan’s language and disguise himself, it would still be full of flaws, and they would eventually uncover him.
The most critical issue was that he didn’t know any techniques or spells related to the “Way of Shadows.” Any attempt to test them would surely expose him.
In that case, it was better to be honest!
So, Su Che spoke in the common language of the cultivation world, saying, “I’m sorry. We come from another cultivation realm and don’t understand the Shadow Clan’s language.”
“Outsiders?”
A wave of uproar swept through the crowd. The Shadow Clan pilgrims, who had previously shown fear, now displayed clear hostility. They would never spare outsiders—this was a deeply ingrained racial instinct among them.
Whoosh!
As soon as hostility appeared, the shadow didn’t hesitate and vanished in an instant.
Thud, thud…
More than a dozen Shadow Clan pilgrims collapsed to the ground. Their spiritual energy was drained almost instantly, leaving them weak and helpless.
Facing this scene, not to mention what the other Shadow Clan members thought, even Su Che was secretly surprised: Could the shadow attack so many people at once? He had no idea how it did it—it seemed like some kind of infinite clone technique…

Committing murder in front of dozens of highly skilled Holy Envoys, Su Che and the pilgrims around him all thought that the Holy Envoys would surely become furious and intervene immediately. Yet, none of the Holy Envoys moved. Only the most powerful one, the Refining Void Holy Envoy, shouted at Su Che in the common language, “Please show mercy to your subordinates and avoid harming innocent civilians!”
“I don’t have control over it!”
Su Che spread his hands and shrugged, explaining, “To be honest, it doesn’t listen to me at all. It came to your Shadow Star on its own; I’m just an assistant.”
“Oh, I see…” The dozens of Shadow Clan Holy Envoys exchanged glances and nodded at each other, seemingly unfazed by Su Che’s explanation.
Su Che could only offer advice: “I think it’s best for you to temporarily keep these pilgrims at a distance to avoid more misunderstandings.”
“Yes.”
The Refining Void Holy Envoy nodded and immediately gave orders to the civilian pilgrims in the square. The Shadow Clan members were highly obedient. Upon hearing the orders of the Holy Envoys, the civilians left without hesitation, even carrying away those who had been attacked by shadows and were still lying on the ground injured.
Soon, only Su Che and the shadow remained in the area, along with the dozens of Holy Envoys on the platform across from them. Even the guards were stationed outside the square to prevent any unaware pilgrims from coming in and causing trouble.
As long as no one showed hostility toward him, the shadow remained motionless, like a stone statue.
Realizing it would be difficult to communicate with the shadow, the Refining Void Holy Envoy bowed to Su Che and said, “I am ‘Shadow Three Thousand,’ one of the vice leaders of the Holy Shadow Sect. I’ve been in charge of guarding the Holy Shadow Heavenly Palace for the past month… May I ask your name?”
“I’m Tian Yu,” Su Che replied with a bow.
“Tian Yu, fellow cultivator…” Knowing Su Che’s title, Shadow Three Thousand changed his address and spoke gently, “May I ask what kind of relationship you have with Lord Shadow God?”
Lord Shadow God?
Su Che could tell that “Lord Shadow God” must be Shadow Three Thousand’s respectful title for his own shadow.
After thinking for a moment, Su Che carefully explained, “It’s somewhat like a friendship. Lord Shadow God has temporarily borrowed my shadow.”

Ying Sanqian nodded gently, not surprised by this explanation—indeed, he had anticipated it. He bowed slightly and gestured invitingly, “Then please, Lord Shadow God and Daoist Tianyu, come inside and take a seat. If there’s anything to discuss, we can talk it over at our leisure.”
“That would be best,” Su Che replied calmly as he stepped forward.
With things having come to this point, they would have to face whatever situation arose head-on.
In one of the inner halls of the Holy Shadow Heavenly Palace, Su Che and Shadow were received with utmost respect. Even four exceptionally beautiful women from the Shadow Clan served them attentively, all of them at a high cultivation level in the later stages of the Yuan Ying phase.
At such a cultivation level, in the world of cultivation, one would typically hold a position as the head of a powerful sect or the chief elder. Yet on the Star of Alluring Shadows, they were used to serve guests—and four of them at that!
According to the traditions of the Shadow Clan, men must wear masks, preferably covering their eyes as well; women, however, were not subject to such strict rules. They could freely decide whether to wear masks and when to do so.
Nevertheless, no matter the style, all the women’s dresses had to be pure black—without exception.
Of course, their attentive service had no effect on Shadow. It neither ate nor drank, nor did it sit down. It stood motionless like a black statue, showing no emotional reaction whatsoever.
The sacred envoys of the Shadow Clan didn’t seem surprised by this either. It seemed they all understood that such behavior from Shadow was entirely normal and expected.
After the formalities of welcoming guests, the conversation turned to the main topic.
“Daoist Tianyu,” Shadow asked softly.
“Over ten years,” Su Che didn’t know what lie to fabricate, so he simply told the truth, “Actually, I’m not sure how Lord Shadow God found me. One day, I suddenly noticed something was extremely wrong with my shadow, and that’s when I became aware of its existence.”
“I see…”
Ying Sanqian pondered for a moment before asking again, “You came to the Star of Alluring Shadows entirely at Lord Shadow God’s request, right?”
“Yes,” Su Che nodded. “When passing by the Star of Alluring Shadows, it insisted on coming here. Before that, I had no idea there was even a Shadow Clan in the world of cultivation.”
At this point, Su Che asked in return, “Now, what I’m curious about is why you address it as Lord Shadow God.”

Ying Sanqian paused briefly, exchanging silent words with the other Holy Envoys at the Refinement Void stage, before explaining to Su Che, “Actually, at this point, we can’t be certain that it truly is Lord Shadow God… It’s based on the Shadow Clan’s ancestral records—that back then, Lord Shadow God, who was always by the Holy Ancestor’s side, appeared in this very form. It’s practically identical, exactly the same.”

Su Che’s shadow, though it appeared human at the moment, could be recognized by cultivators with sufficient cultivation as having no physical form, nor was it a spirit being like a ghost; its state of existence was extremely special, almost impossible to imitate or forge.

That was why, the moment the Shadow Clan’s Holy Envoys saw Su Che’s shadow, they were at least 70% certain it was Lord Shadow God, who had been by the Holy Ancestor’s side one million six hundred thousand years ago.

Ying Sanqian then asked, “Does Daoist Tianyu know anything about our clan’s ancestral history?”

“Only a general understanding,” Su Che replied with a slight nod.

“That’s sufficient,” Ying Sanqian continued. “Back then, after the Holy Ancestor passed away, Lord Shadow God disappeared without a trace, and his whereabouts have remained unknown ever since. Our descendants have all speculated that Lord Shadow God must have followed the Holy Ancestor, accompanying him on his rebirth and return to the immortal realm. But today…”

At this point, Ying Sanqian turned his gaze toward the shadow, filled with reverence and hope, yet also with doubt. “What we most want to know right now is whether you truly are Lord Shadow God.”

Unfortunately, the shadow remained unresponsive, completely ignoring his earnest gaze.

With no other choice, Ying Sanqian had to ask Su Che for help. “We would be grateful if Daoist Tianyu could inquire on our behalf. Regardless of the answer, the Shadow Clan will treat you both as honored guests and will never interfere with your freedom of action. Even if it isn’t Lord Shadow God, you two can leave Shadow Star whenever you wish. I believe Daoist Tianyu is destined to be connected to our Shadow Clan. Even if you leave Shadow Star, you won’t reveal our clan’s secrets to others, right?”

“That’s certain,” Su Che replied with a nod. “The Shadow Clan lives in seclusion here, avoiding conflict with the outside world. We’ve never invaded other star regions or the cultivation realms. I see no reason to do anything that would harm you.”

“Thank you, Daoist Tianyu, for your understanding,” Ying Sanqian said in return, his pleading gaze unchanged.

So, Su Che asked his shadow in a deep voice, “Are you really that Lord Shadow God from back then? Give them a straightforward answer.”

Though he asked it verbally, Su Che inwardly hoped that the Shadow would nod and say, “It’s me!”
If it truly was the Shadow God of old, everything would be much simpler. No one on the Star of Shadows would dare to harm him again, and everything that followed would go smoothly, as desired…
The Shadow didn’t completely ignore Su Che’s request and did respond.
It slowly turned its head. Though Su Che couldn’t feel its gaze, he was certain it was looking at him…
“Finally, it’s reacting…”
The hall was utterly silent, so quiet that a falling pin could be heard. The dozens of sacred envoys of the Shadow Clan were all tense, extremely anxious.
In fact, they were even more eager for the Shadow to nod and admit that it was indeed the Shadow God of old. For the return of the Shadow God held immense significance for the Shadow Clan—a significance that was simply indescribable…