Chapter 497: Dark Clouds Gather

Su Che and Tian Yin stepped out of the secret chamber hand in hand. Heng Yi and the others waiting outside immediately gathered around them, clearly eager to speak—some expressing concern, others offering apologies, with most filled with worry and a desire to protect their master at all costs and break through the encirclement…
However, the current situation didn’t allow them to say much. Once Su Che stepped out, he would surely be noticed by those Great Perfection-stage powerhouses, who could arrive here in the blink of an eye.
With a thought, Su Che imprisoned the six Transcendence-stage cultivators in the Immortal Prison. No matter how things developed from now on, their cultivation levels would be of no use—they would only bring themselves death or even become a burden.
Thus, aside from Tian Yin, those still by Su Che’s side were Heng Yi, Lin Feng, Miao Li, the Barren God Rat, and, of course, Shadow, who was always by his side.
As expected, right after this action, dozens of figures appeared simultaneously from all directions, dozens of feet away. Su Che couldn’t even figure out how those Great Perfection-stage powerhouses had appeared so quickly. It certainly wasn’t the Immortal Realm’s instant teleportation technique, but their short-distance movement speed seemed almost as fast.
“Tian Yu!”
A few of the Great Perfection-stage powerhouses said in unison, “You’ve finally emerged from seclusion.”
Su Che smiled and replied calmly, “With so many people waiting for me, I can’t afford to delay any longer.”
As he spoke, Su Che glanced around at everyone, his gaze finally falling on Princess Xue Yu. It wasn’t because of her beauty, but rather because seeing her gave him an indescribable strange feeling—as if he had seen her somewhere before, yet he was certain it was the first time he had seen her face.
But with so many powerful enemies surrounding him, there was no time to investigate such matters. Those Great Perfection-stage powerhouses could attack him at any moment.
In his right hand, Su Che concealed the Witch God Token. Only in a desperate situation, when there were no other options left to save his life, would he have to submit to the Witch God. But he would never choose that path until the very last moment.
Su Che always had a feeling—perhaps even an obsession—that he could overcome this crisis without the Witch God’s help; he was sure of it!
But to be honest, even now, Su Che still had no idea how to resolve the situation of today.
“Tian Yu, you must know why we’ve been searching for you so hard…”

Li Jiu, who was directly opposite Su Che, spoke first: “At this moment, you’re beyond escape. There’s no chance left for luck. Therefore, I hope you’ll cooperate with us voluntarily and hand over that…”
Before he could say the words “black pagoda,” Su Che suddenly raised his right hand to interrupt him: “Who told you I have no choices left? See what’s in my hand?”
“The Witch God Token?”
Over sixty powerful beings at the Mahayana stage focused their gazes. Those three characters were clearly visible to the naked eye, and their spiritual senses could also see the Witch Clan totem on the back of the token.
“That’s right! It’s the Witch God Token!”
Su Che said in a cold tone, “At a critical moment, I only need to send a mental plea through the Witch God Token, and the Witch God will arrive here in an instant. In fact, I’d even dare to guess that the Witch God can use this token to observe everything happening here at any time. The Witch God has such power, doesn’t he?”
Upon hearing the name “Witch God,” the gathered beings at the Mahayana stage immediately froze, unconsciously feeling tense.
They knew Su Che wasn’t lying or trying to bluff. After all, he was the key figure who brought the Witch God back, so it made perfect sense for the Witch God to give him a Witch God Token.
As for how powerful the Witch God really was, and whether he could indeed observe everything through the token and arrive instantly as Su Che claimed… these beings didn’t question it at all.
It was well known that the Witch God was a peak-level powerhouse in the Immortal Realm. How could he not be able to do such things?
It would be strange if he couldn’t!
Even in the face of this Witch God Token, Li Jiu and the others didn’t dare say anything disrespectful, fearing they might incur the Witch God’s punishment.
No one would dare try such a thing, especially since the Heavenly Wall had just broken, and the Witch Clan had just begun to ravage the Spirit Realm. It was likely that the Witch God was still in the mortal world and hadn’t returned to the Immortal Realm…
“Tian Yu, asking the Witch God for help must come at a cost, right?”
Xueyu Fairy spoke softly. It seemed she had more courage and sharper insight than the others.
“That’s right!”
Su Che replied calmly, “The price I must pay is to become a true member of the Witch Clan. Though it’s not what I desire, it’s far better than dying at your hands!”
Hearing Su Che’s words, Xueyu Fairy and the others, who had initially been 30% convinced and 70% skeptical, now became 70% convinced.

Firstly, Su Che’s explanation made sense and fit well with the characteristics of the Witch Clan. Secondly, after all, they were also powerful beings at the Mahayana stage, with sharp eyes and rich experience; they could always sense and judge whether someone was telling the truth. At this moment, Su Che gave the impression of telling the truth! For a while, Li Jiu and the others remained silent, silently pondering ways to resolve the situation. Of course, the best approach would be to subdue Su Che instantly, preventing him from seeking help from the Witch God. However, this method carried significant risks, as Su Che could send a plea for help simply by transmitting a thought to the Witch God’s command. How fast could that be? It could be said that nothing in the world could surpass the speed of a person’s thought. In such a critical situation, falling into the hands of the Witch God would undoubtedly lead to an extremely tragic fate—his original spirit would be taken away to be used as material for a Witch Clan warrior to transform themselves, while he himself would be utterly destroyed, with no chance even to be reborn. With such concerns weighing on them, no one dared to act rashly. On the other side, Su Che was also aware that mere verbal threats would surely not resolve the current crisis. These Mahayana-stage beings had gone to great lengths to obtain the Immortal Prison Pagoda; how could they be scared off by a few words from him? Scaring them off was impossible; it could only serve as a temporary deterrent. The atmosphere grew slightly tense for a moment before Princess Xueyu softly asked, “Tian Yu, does that pagoda belong to you?” “No!” Su Che’s reply was firm and without hesitation. Princess Xueyu simply nodded slightly and smiled, “Thank you for your answer. I know now.” Su Che glanced at her indifferently, thinking, “Whatever you think, the answer I can give is definitely ‘no,’ ‘not here,’ or ‘I don’t know!’” Li Jiu and the others quickly sent messages to Princess Xueyu, urgently asking, “Is it with him?” “Yes!” Xueyu replied to everyone at once, “I’m certain the pagoda is with him, and it’s also the spatial artifact used to carry the countless beings of Qi Yuan Star.” “As expected!” The sixty-one Mahayana-stage strongmen were all pleased, as they had finally obtained a definite answer. They would never doubt Princess Xueyu’s judgment. “This woman is a bit strange!” Tian Yin sent a message to Su Che. “Yes.”

Su Che replied through telepathy, “I already had a strange feeling about her just now. I kept thinking I had seen her at some point before, but it’s possible she didn’t look like this back then.”
Tian Yin also knew this wasn’t the time to investigate further and could only gently warn, “She will surely be the most troublesome one. Be extremely careful.”
At that moment, the sixty-two cultivators at the Mahayana stage surrounding them communicated with each other and began discussing their plan. In just a short while, they decided on their approach.
Even though it might attract that terrifying Witch God, for the sake of that pagoda, they were willing to bear the consequences and take the risk.
Back then, more than a dozen cultivators on the verge of entering the immortal path had perished because of this. Such an outcome wasn’t enough to warn them, showing just how strong their desire to possess that pagoda was.
They wouldn’t cry even when facing death, nor would they turn back after hitting a wall!
The sixty-two Mahayana cultivators agreed among themselves: some would use illusions or soul-shaking techniques to confuse Tian Yu’s mind, preventing him from sending a rescue signal to the Witch God; others would employ binding techniques to hold him in place; still others would use teleportation to rush forward and snatch the Witch God’s command from his hands.
At the same time, many others would work together to create at least twenty different types of isolation barriers, hoping to trap Tian Yu’s rescue signals inside and prevent them from escaping…
In short, with the combined efforts of the sixty-two Mahayana cultivators, capturing Tian Yu alive in this situation could be done in a mere fraction of a second, with over 70% certainty that he wouldn’t have time to seek help.
A 70% chance was certainly worth taking!
Su Che faintly sensed their intention to act and couldn’t help but sigh, “Do I really have to be forced to compromise with the Witch God?”
Tian Yin tightly held his left hand. At this moment, there was indeed no better solution, so she could only sigh deeply for him—once these Mahayana cultivators started acting, everything would be irreversible. Su Che’s future would then be at the mercy of the Witch God’s plans.
No one could escape the Witch God’s schemes! At least, not those from the mortal world.
“Master, as long as we can preserve the Immortal Prison, even if you become part of the Witch Clan, your future will still be immeasurable.”

At this moment, even Lao He believed that Su Che had no other choice. He tried to persuade him, “With Immortal Prison around, one day you will be able to surpass that Bird Witch God and trample him under your feet. It’s definitely possible, master. As long as Immortal Prison is here, all setbacks are only temporary!”
“Enough!”
Su Che let out another long sigh. Things had come to this—what else could I do?
With really no solution left, I could only…
At this critical moment, suddenly…
The sky changed!
The sky suddenly darkened as if a gigantic black umbrella appeared above, instantly blocking out the sunlight. Within miles around, dark clouds covered the sky, blocking out the sun.
Moreover, these vast clouds were falling at an extremely terrifying speed, as if the heavens were collapsing and the end of the world had arrived.
“Has the Witch God arrived?”
Such a sudden change left everyone present too terrified to move, able only to stare blankly as the dark clouds rushed down from above.
If it truly was the Witch God arriving, whoever moved first would die first! Without a doubt!