Chapter 50: Devouring the Fiendly Soul

In the Immortal Prison, Old Black’s sharp claws gently squeezed—the snap of the Soul-Trap Token echoed as a translucent shadow burst out, emitting a faint roar like that of a beast.
Such low-grade Soul-Trap Tokens were one-time-use items; once crushed to release the fiendly soul inside, they lost all utility. Old Black tossed the shattered jade token aside and roared at the soul, “Little cat, where do you think you can run?”
It was a tiger-shaped fiendly soul. The token indicated it was a mid-level first-class beast—the Black Striped Tiger. In life, it had possessed the strength equivalent to a human cultivator at the mid-stage Qi Cultivation level. Now, dead and reduced to a mere soul, it posed no threat to any cultivator.
Moreover, this was the Immortal Prison. Old Black didn’t even need to lift a hand. With a mere thought, he could use the mystical power of this layer to trap the soul in place.
Roar~~~
The Black Tiger soul showed its ferocious side, baring its fangs and claws, roaring and adopting various poses to intimidate Old Black. Unfortunately, in terms of appearance, Old Black was far more terrifying than it.
“Little cat, little cat, be good and obedient… As the saying goes, it’s only natural for mice to eat cats…” Old Black swayed his mouse tail as he slowly approached the Black Tiger soul, opened his mouth wide, and sucked—swoosh—drawing the soul into his mouth.
“Ah! What a delicious taste! The soul of a higher-tier being truly is incredibly tasty.”
At this moment, Old Black resembled a true demon. Calling him a genuine extraterrestrial demon would likely be agreed upon by everyone.
Such a scene flashed through Su Che’s mind: One day, Old Black would grow into an apocalyptic demon, standing atop mountains of corpses and seas of blood, his horns piercing the sky, and sucking in thousands of cultivators who screamed as they were devoured…
Old Black sensed this as well. He chuckled and said, “Master, rest assured. I’ll work hard to reach such a level soon. Your dreams are my goals; wherever you look, I’ll destroy their heavens and extinguish their lands!”
Su Che couldn’t help but roll his eyes, thinking, “I don’t have such extreme ambitions… So, is the soul you just devoured useful to you?”
“Useful? Extremely useful!” Old Black nodded repeatedly. “At last, I’ve found a way to enhance my soul power, allowing me to help master deal with stronger enemies.”

“Good, as long as it works!” Su Che was also pleased. The soul power mentioned by Lao He was the same as the Heavenly Demon Power used to ambush others. If devouring demon souls could strengthen his soul power, it meant that soon he would be able to launch surprise attacks by possessing others at critical moments, helping himself defeat opponents at the fourth or fifth level of Qi Cultivation, or even those with greater strength…

For now, Lao He’s presence was Su Che’s greatest reliance for overcoming opponents beyond his own level. However, this was Su Che’s ultimate trump card and could not be used lightly. Once used, he would have to silence all opponents and onlookers!

Lao He added, “Master, this method of improvement also has its limits. It takes some time to fully digest the recently devoured demon soul before one can devour another. Otherwise, I, Lao He, will suffer from the backlash of the demon soul and turn into a mentally deranged violent man—truly falling under demonic influence.”

“That’s normal,” Su Che nodded inwardly. “Any method of improving strength must proceed step by step. If one tries to rise rapidly against common sense, there will inevitably be extremely severe negative consequences. Lao He, we still have a long way to go. We must maintain a proper balance in everything we do and not be too hasty.”

Lao He obediently replied, “Yes, Master. I’ve remembered.”

After that, Su Che didn’t waste any time further. He went straight to the shop mentioned by Lei Xiao earlier and met the elder of the Lei family.

This man was Lei Xiao’s uncle, over forty years old, at the early stage of Foundation Building. Yet, he still held the status of an outer sect disciple. In terms of seniority within the sect, Su Che only needed to address him as senior brother.

This showed that becoming an inner sect disciple of Tianxuan Sect was far more difficult than imagined. Generally, one had to advance to the later stage of Qi Cultivation before the age of twenty, or successfully reach the Foundation Building stage before the age of thirty, to be eligible to apply for inner sect disciple status. Even after submitting the application, one had to pass a comprehensive evaluation by a Golden Core stage master, complete a specified assessment task, and meet certain requirements in terms of contribution to the sect…

In short, a super sect like Tianxuan Sect was full of talented people, with fierce competition. Every advancement in status or position was extremely difficult.

With the guidance of Lei Xiao’s uncle, Su Che successfully purchased three magical artifacts: the Five Elements Ring, the Immortal Binding Rope, and the Flaming Spear.

All three were mid-tier magical artifacts, as Su Che was only at the second level of Qi Cultivation and could only control mid-tier artifacts at most. Even if he possessed high-tier artifacts, attempting to use them casually would lead to an embarrassing situation of exhausting his vital energy.

However, these three magical artifacts are considered top-tier among mid-grade items, with excellent practicality and control, and they also suit Su Che’s spiritual root attributes well.
The “Five Elements Ring” is a defensive artifact. Its egg-sized ring can simultaneously embed spirit stones of five different elements. When faced with an enemy’s attack, it can activate the appropriate spirit stones based on the principles of the five elements, instantly creating a defensive shield with a dominant element. For example, if the enemy launches a water-based spell, the earth-based protection generated by the Five Elements Ring, leveraging the principle of “earth overcoming water,” will inherently be superior to shields of other elements.
The “Immortal Binding Rope” is a wood-elemental artifact that can entangle and seize the opponent’s weapons or directly bind them tightly. The paralysis-inducing toxin on the rope can completely disable the opponent’s mobility. In the spiritual herb garden, Su Che had once been captured by Linglong using this very rope…
Moreover, since Su Che has a wood-elemental spiritual root, he can wield wood-elemental artifacts more skillfully.
The “Flame Spear” is a pure offensive artifact. Its spearhead, over a foot long, emits intense flames when attacking, capable of melting steel and causing widespread damage through flame splashes. Since Su Che also has a fire-elemental spiritual root, such fire-elemental artifacts are an excellent choice as well.
These three artifacts cost Su Che over four hundred spirit stones, and he even got an 20% discount due to his acquaintance relationship. Later, at the same store, he purchased another dozen mid-grade spirit talismans and three high-grade spirit talismans, spending another three hundred-plus spirit stones.
As a result, Su Che had less than four hundred spirit stones left in his Qiankun Bag. As the saying goes, money flows like water—it comes fast and goes fast. Fortunately, he would receive two thousand spirit stones from Linglong in a few days. Hopefully, she would keep her word and not go back on it…
As for healing pills such as the Great Restoration Pill, Revitalization Pill, and Poison Removal Pill, they must also be prepared in sufficient quantities. However, since these pills require small amounts, spending just over a dozen spirit stones is enough.
After buying everything needed, Su Che bid farewell to the uncle from the Lei family and returned to Xuanji Peak together with Lei Xiao. Before parting, Su Che said, “This time, I will go to the Demon Sealing Realm with Senior Yu Qing for training. I should return within two months, so it won’t delay our agreed spiritual herb transaction.”

“On the condition that you can return alive,” Lei Xiao said jokingly, though his expression was serious. “The Sealed Demon Realm is extremely dangerous. Members of our Lei family are not allowed to enter there until they reach the later stages of Qi cultivation. Although Senior Brother Yu Qing is the top figure among our inner disciples at Xuanji Peak, I’m worried that if real danger arises, he’ll be too busy taking care of himself to ensure your safety. So, you must be extra careful.”
“Don’t worry,” Su Che said this time, patting him on the shoulder. “I’ll definitely return alive. Your Lei family, prepare eighty Earth Spirit Pills and wait to exchange them for my two Silver Beard Grasses.”
Lei Xiao was momentarily stunned and asked, “Weren’t we supposed to exchange one for thirty? Why have you raised the price?”
Su Che replied with a smile, “One of my Silver Beard Grasses is five hundred years old, and the other is at least eight hundred years old. Asking for twenty more Earth Spirit Pills isn’t too much, is it?”
“An eight hundred-year-old Silver Beard Grass?” Lei Xiao finally understood. After doing some quick calculations, he said honestly, “If it’s really eight hundred years old, asking for twenty more Earth Spirit Pills isn’t excessive at all. Even ten more would be fine.”
“Great!” Su Che winked at him. “Let’s secretly divide those extra ten between us, how about that?”
Lei Xiao’s eyes lit up as he nodded. “Deal! But when you see my third sister later, remember—under no circumstances mention this.”
“Don’t worry!” Su Che laughed heartily before turning to leave.
The reason Su Che decided to give Lei Xiao five Earth Spirit Pills on the spot was that he felt he had been troubling him over and over again and couldn’t keep having him work for nothing. Besides, having such a good friend wasn’t easy, so it had to be cherished.