Chapter 469: The Patriarch of Holy Shadows

The shadow faced Su Che and slowly nodded…
“Yes!”
“It truly is the Lord of Shadows!”
“It really is the Lord of Shadows!”
Dozens of sacred envoys of the Shadow Clan inside the hall cheered in unison. Those who were closer even hugged each other in excitement, showing just how thrilled and eager they were…
Su Che also nodded with a smile, but this time it was a fake one.
For Su Che had realized something: his shadow was not the original Lord of Shadows. At this moment, it had lied, deceiving these people of the Shadow Clan.
It was not the Lord of Shadows!
But it knew how to lie, which meant it possessed sufficient wisdom. It also understood that by pretending to be the Lord of Shadows, it could act freely on Phantom Star.
“It’s not him!”
Perhaps because it was still his own shadow, there was a certain degree of mental connection. Even without explicit indication from the shadow, Su Che could clearly conclude that it had lied.
No reason or evidence was needed—just his intuition was enough.
“Great! Great! Great!”
Ying Sanqian stood up, stepped forward, bowed deeply to Su Che, and said earnestly, “Fellow Tianyu, I am extremely grateful that you brought the Lord of Shadows back to Phantom Star. Thank you so much.”
“No need for such formalities,” Su Che replied modestly. “I simply followed its own instincts. I didn’t have any specific plan beforehand.”
After that, Ying Sanqian loudly instructed the others, “Hurry! Send a message to the Patriarch right away, asking him to return to the Holy Shadow Palace at once… Also, inform all the sacred envoys—tell them to put aside everything they’re doing and return immediately! We’ll hold a grand celebration to welcome the return of the Lord of Shadows…”
The others immediately obeyed and got to work.
Su Che really didn’t understand what the return of the Lord of Shadows meant to the Shadow Clan. Likely, only the high-ranking members of the Holy Shadow Sect could truly comprehend it.
However, this wasn’t important to Su Che. What mattered was how to use the identity of the “Lord of Shadows” to manipulate the situation and obtain what his shadow needed.
From this moment on, the entire Holy Shadow Palace became utterly bustling. Based on what Ying Sanqian had said, the celebration to welcome the deity would certainly not be rushed. At least three days of preparation would be needed to show the Shadow Clan’s deep respect and joy at the return of the Lord of Shadows…

Waiting for three days wasn’t much of a problem. Su Che politely declined their more generous hospitality, making it clear that he and Shadow preferred solitude. Thus, they were taken to a quiet courtyard within the inner palace of Tian Gong, where they patiently waited for further developments.

Everyone in the Holy Shadow Palace was busy, except for Su Che and Shadow, who stayed in a rather luxurious and comfortable room. One sat in silence, meditating, while the other stood motionless.

Su Che didn’t ask Shadow any more questions, knowing full well that even if he did, it wouldn’t give clear answers—asking would be pointless. So, he decided to follow its instincts and see what would happen step by step; his own unnecessary worries and plans were purely wasted effort.

Lao He agreed with Su Che’s mindset: “Yes, master. This Shadow is like a fool—completely unable to cooperate with you. Any plan we make will be useless.”

Su Che stared at Shadow, which stood by the wall like a black statue, for a while before suddenly smiling and saying to it, “Since arriving on Mirage Star, why has your mischievous and playful attitude disappeared? Could it be that you’re also feeling nervous?”

He thought Shadow wouldn’t respond to such a teasing question. To his surprise, it nodded, admitting that Su Che was right—it was indeed nervous.

“What in this world could make you nervous?”

Su Che became even more curious, but after that, Shadow remained motionless, showing no further reaction.

“Communicating with this guy is really exhausting,” Su Che and Lao He both exhaled in agreement almost at the same time.

About half an hour later, a magnetic and pleasant male voice suddenly came from the courtyard: “Ying Chengzong, the current leader of the Holy Shadow Sect, requests an audience with Lord Shadow God.”

“The current leader of the Holy Shadow Sect?”

Su Che had expected to meet the most important person on Mirage Star—it was inevitable. So, he replied on Shadow’s behalf, “Please come in.”

The door opened, and a shadowy figure slowly stepped in. The man was of medium build, dressed entirely in black, with not a hint of skin exposed. From the outside, it was impossible to tell any difference between him and ordinary members of the Shadow Clan. Yet, his cultivation level of late-stage Refining Void Mastery exerted a strong sense of pressure and discomfort on Su Che.

Although Su Che knew that the Holy Shadow Sect’s leader was deliberately suppressing his powerful aura, such a feeling still couldn’t be completely eliminated.

After entering, the Holy Shadow Sect Leader did not immediately bow but stared at Shadow for a long time, clearly trying to verify the authenticity of this “Lord Shadow God.” Given the seriousness of the matter, it would be impossible for anyone to make a hasty judgment. Even Su Che, facing the scrutiny of a powerful cultivator in the late stage of the Refining Void realm, felt extremely nervous, yet Shadow remained standing there, motionless and unresponsive, completely ignoring the Holy Shadow Sect Leader, the most important figure on Shadow Star. After nearly several dozen breaths, the Holy Shadow Sect Leader finally knelt on the ground and bowed respectfully, saying, “Shadow Chengzong, a descendant of the Shadow Clan, pays his respects to Lord Shadow God.” Although it was a formal bow, Su Che could guess that this did not mean the Holy Shadow Sect Leader fully recognized Shadow as the “Lord Shadow God.” Rather, he was adopting a cautious attitude—preferring to believe it existed rather than deny it—since he did not dare to express doubt without sufficient evidence. After all, if the Lord Shadow God had truly returned, even as the current sect leader, any act of disrespect would still result in punishment; in fact, few people on Shadow Star would dare to speak up for him or plead on his behalf. Moreover, the Lord Shadow God was the personal attendant of the Sacred Ancestor, also from the Immortal Realm, having lived for at least hundreds of millions of years. With his unpredictable divine powers, destroying a cultivator in the late stage of the Refining Void realm would be effortless. To be honest, the Holy Shadow Sect Leader did not have the courage to be disrespectful to him. At this moment, with Shadow Chengzong kneeling on the ground and receiving no response from the “Lord Shadow God” after a long time, he dared not get up casually and could only remain in that bowed position. “Holy Shadow Sect Leader, please rise,” Su Che said gently. “Lord Shadow God will not show any reaction to anyone. All I know is that he will only take action if someone shows clear hostility toward him.” “Thank you, Daoist Tianyu,” Shadow Chengzong said before standing up. After hearing Su Che’s explanation, Shadow Chengzong’s doubts about Shadow diminished significantly, as the Lord Shadow God described in the clan records indeed had such characteristics—like a thoughtless combat puppet, concerned only with fighting and punishing, with nothing else affecting him. Next, Su Che invited the Holy Shadow Sect Leader to sit at the table. Without going through the formalities of serving tea or drinks, he directly asked through telepathy, “I would like to ask the Holy Shadow Sect Leader, do you think it is truly Lord Shadow God?” The Holy Shadow Sect Leader was momentarily stunned before asking in return, “What does Daoist Tianyu mean by this?”

“Nothing much,” Su Che waved his hand, his expression and tone utterly natural. “I’m just curious. If he really is the Shadow God, wouldn’t he be an immortal from the immortal realm who has lived for hundreds of millions of years? It truly astonishes me.”
The Patriarch of the Holy Shadow Sect replied slowly, “So, Daoist Tianyu is unaware of the origins of the Shadow God, is that right?”
“Yes.”
Su Che nodded and said, “Before coming to Shadow Star, I had no idea about the existence of the Shadow Clan, let alone that there was a powerful elder at the Late Void Refinement stage like the Patriarch of the Holy Shadow Sect in the cultivation world.”
The Patriarch of the Holy Shadow Sect, whose features were hidden behind a black mask, seemed to smile as he replied telepathically, “Anyway, since Daoist Tianyu helped the Shadow God return to Shadow Star, he is a great benefactor to billions of our people. After the celebration to welcome the god, if Daoist Tianyu has any personal needs, he may speak freely to me. Everyone in the Holy Shadow Sect will do their utmost to fulfill his requests.”
“Good, good,” Su Che nodded repeatedly, unable to hide his joy. Of course, it was just an act.
For a Yuan Ying cultivator to receive such a promise from a cultivator at the late stage of Void Refinement in person, it would be strange if he didn’t show some surprise.
In the Immortal Prison, Lao He didn’t dare disturb Su Che at such a critical moment, but he thought to himself, “This Patriarch of the Holy Shadow Sect is extremely cunning and powerful—a truly terrifying figure. If he discovers that his master’s shadow isn’t that of the Shadow God, he will surely bring immeasurable trouble to his master.”
At that moment, Su Che shared the same thoughts as Lao He: This person from the Shadow Inheritance Sect not only possessed a terrifying cultivation level at the late stage of Void Refinement but also, as the leader of a sect, controlled the lives and fates of billions of Shadow Path cultivators on Shadow Star. Such a person could not be underestimated; one must be highly vigilant against him. If one made a mistake and revealed any flaw, there was a high chance of dying at his hands, with little chance of escaping…
On Shadow Star, could the person who made the shadows feel tense be him?
After that, the two chatted casually for a while longer, after which the Patriarch of the Holy Shadow Sect took his leave. Before going, he would surely pay his respects to the shadow with a grand bow.
On the surface, Su Che remained calm, but inwardly, he wished he would leave soon, as being around such a person up close brought immense pressure, especially with the situation between them still unclear.

The next three days were quite peaceful; no one came to disturb Su Che and Shadow. It was likely that the Holy Shadow Sect Leader had instructed others that the Shadow God preferred solitude and disliked being disturbed. Three days later, a grand celebration to welcome the god was held, and Su Che and Shadow were invited into the Holy Ancestor’s Temple to receive worship from thousands of members of the Shadow Clan. It was also the first time Su Che saw the statue of the Holy Ancestor who created the Shadow Clan and the Star of Illusions. Yet, the moment Su Che first saw the statue of the Holy Ancestor, he was completely stunned! Not only stunned, but one could even say he was utterly dumbfounded…