Chapter 528: Struggle for Survival (Part 1)

Su Che believed that this Ji Mu Ancestor’s invisibility technique was quite sophisticated, second only to the ultimate invisibility spell. Most ordinary invisibility methods only worked under normal conditions; once combat intensified, any such technique would be broken.
However, Ji Mu Ancestor’s invisibility could be maintained indefinitely. Although a faint transparent silhouette could be seen, it was merely due to the protective energy field he generated.
“He wasn’t even using any defensive artifacts, yet he managed to withstand the combined attacks of two exotic beasts and four Yuan Ying subordinates. Truly worthy of being a Great Perfection-stage powerhouse.”
Su Che knew well that if it were him, dealing with just those two beasts would already be extremely difficult.
“Tian Yu, don’t think just because you have helpers that I don’t!”
After saying this, Ji Mu Ancestor retreated at high speed. The two exotic beasts and four Yuan Ying subordinates tried to chase after him, but were blocked by six suddenly appearing figures.
All of them were also at the Yuan Ying stage and wielded top-tier Dao artifacts. Clearly, these six people were summoned by Ji Mu Ancestor from his personal magic artifact space.
Although Su Che frowned slightly, he found it nothing strange. His Immortal Prison World could accommodate a large number of beings, and so could these supreme Dao artifacts in the hands of Great Perfection-stage powerhouses.
These people from the Spirit Realm, in order to escape the calamity brought by the Witch Clan, would surely bring along their immediate families or numerous subordinates from their territories into their magic artifact spaces. Anyone would do the same.
After all, a Tribulation-stage Heavenly Monarch could control countless beings across over a hundred planets. It was impossible to estimate how many people these Great Perfection-stage powerhouses had at their disposal.
Moreover, cultivators in the Spirit Realm didn’t start out with strength above the Transcendence stage—they also progressed step by step from the Qi Cultivation stage and Foundation Establishment stage. Thus, it was entirely normal for Ji Mu Ancestor to be able to summon multiple Yuan Ying-stage cultivators to assist him.
Su Che even guessed that Ji Mu Ancestor could summon far more people than his own Yuan Ying subordinates.
Fortunately, the width of the passage was extremely limited, unable to accommodate many people fighting side by side. A dozen people already filled the horizontal space, making it pointless to rely on sheer numbers.
Ji Mu Ancestor summoned six subordinates to fight, while he retreated to the back, dissolving his protective energy field and entering a state of complete invisibility. Su Che on the other side could no longer see him.

Inside the passage, Su Che’s own divine sense was ineffective, and Old Black’s detection abilities were also useless. Relying solely on the Art of the Divine Eye, it was impossible to see through the opponent’s invisibility, putting them at a somewhat passive disadvantage.
“Master, if that old fellow sneaks in and delivers a fierce strike, sending you flying into the air, that would be terrible…”
Old Black suggested, “How about we send out more Yuan Ying slaves? Have them activate protective barriers everywhere to completely block off the entire passage, so that old fellow can’t find any gap to slip through.”
“It’s a crude method, but it might still be useful.”
Su Che nodded in agreement and adopted Old Black’s suggestion. He summoned six more Yuan Ying slaves, ordering them to activate top-tier Dao instrument defensive barriers. Six layers of barriers were set up in succession, completely sealing off the passage.
The defensive barriers of top-tier Dao instruments could change size at will—becoming as small as sand grains when tiny or as tall as ten thousand feet when enlarged—making them perfect for blocking paths.
Moreover, Su Che had already tested that all magic spells related to hiding underground or passing through walls inside the passage were ineffective, just like divine senses, as they were all blocked by some force.
Additionally, Su Che believed that Patriarch Ji Mu wouldn’t dare to damage the walls or structure of the passage, as that would mean destroying the internal structure of this peculiar space, likely resulting in punishment from the mysterious old man.
In other words, if Patriarch Ji Mu wanted to sneak in secretly, he would have to break through each of the six defensive barriers created by Su Che’s Yuan Ying slaves one by one. Of course, he might also possess other extraordinary abilities…
In this way, Su Che left his rear guarded by a total of ten Yuan Ying slaves and those two exotic beasts, while he went to the end of the passage to watch the intense battle between the two giants in the hall.
Boom! Boom! Boom…
The clash of swords and axes sounded like thunder in his ears with each impact, shaking Su Che’s heart. However, what relieved him slightly was that the internal structure of the entire hall was extremely sturdy and hadn’t been damaged in the slightest by their fight. Moreover, the small altar where the Survival Order was placed seemed to have some kind of protective barrier—each time it was shaken, a semicircular light shield would faintly appear.
So far, the Survival Order remained intact.
The two giants, each ten feet tall, fought head-on without any tricks, relying solely on brute force. It was a battle of strength and speed, with no need for fancy moves.

Su Che noticed that, after countless clashes between blades, the amethyst long sword in the purple giant’s hand showed no signs of damage at all—not a single notch on its edge. “It can even withstand head-on attacks from the war axe forged by the Witch God without falling behind in strength. This sword is truly extraordinary!” As Su Che marveled inwardly, he also felt a bit puzzled, as the amethyst long sword didn’t seem like a magical weapon used by cultivators but rather a special kind of weapon. “Could it be a weapon similar to the Witch Tribe’s war axes? Or even, coincidentally, crafted by some great figure from the Witch Tribe?” Various guesses arose in Su Che’s mind. The duel between the two giants was evenly matched; it seemed unlikely that a winner would emerge in the near future. But Su Che thought this situation was unfavorable for Xiao Hei, because every time Xiao Hei swung his war axe, it consumed a considerable amount of Chaos Energy, while his opponent had the advantage of being at home—perhaps possessing an endless supply of that purple energy flow. Whoosh! Just then, Xiao Hei launched a powerful slashing strike, once again displaying an unstoppable force. The purple giant seemed to realize the severity of this attack and instinctively stepped back several times to avoid it. Yet what happened next surprised Su Che greatly. Taking advantage of the purple giant’s retreat, Xiao Hei suddenly changed the trajectory of his war axe and swung it straight at the altar at the center of the hall. During the fight, Xiao Hei was already not far from the altar, and with his arm span of several zhang and his war axe’s length of ten zhang, he could reach the altar even without moving. “Xiao Hei is doing this…” Su Che was overjoyed, guessing that Xiao Hei could sense his own desperate desire for the Survival Order. Fortunately, it wasn’t time to devour food, so his instinctive hunger was under control. But regardless, the fact that Xiao Hei could act like this without his control meant his intelligence had evolved. “Is it because of the purple energy flow he absorbed just now? But how could evolution occur so quickly?” Su Che had doubts, but now wasn’t the time to investigate, because… Boom! The double-edged war axe struck the altar, but only the protective energy shield surrounding it—still more than five feet away from the actual altar.

The altar remained intact, but the entire hall was shaking violently, as if the earth itself were trembling and on the verge of collapsing.
Boom…
The intense shaking made even Su Che, who was standing in the corridor, sway. He thought to himself, “Just cutting the altar caused such a huge vibration. Could it be that altar is the core of this entire space?”