Chapter 557: The Competition for the Witch God’s Order (Part 1)

After waiting in Jiayu City for over a week, Su Che and Tianyin had spent the past few days in the tranquil courtyard provided by Tianbao Pavilion, sipping tea and playing chess, too lazy to go outside. This was because Su Che had already explored Jiayu City thoroughly. He had bought almost everything he needed, spending countless spirit stones in the process. As a result, the entire market knew that a generous guest was staying at Tianbao Pavilion, seemingly with an endless supply of spirit stones to spend.

The supplies he purchased were naturally sent to Immortal Prison, where they were distributed among the various sects there to enhance their overall strength. Now, the cultivation sects in Immortal Prison had completely overcome the difficulties of scarce resources and limited spirit stones they faced during the Qi Yuan Star era. Anything they wanted, as long as they had good character and were worthy of cultivation, could be obtained without worry. In fact, the cultivation environment in Immortal Prison was even better than the average level in the Spirit Realm. It was estimated that in a few hundred years, as a new generation of cultivators emerged, a large number of those at the Golden Core and Nascent Soul stages would appear like mushrooms after rain. By then, the scene of Golden Core cultivators everywhere and Nascent Soul cultivators as common as dogs would also unfold in Immortal Prison…

Why did Su Che invest so much wealth and resources to cultivate the cultivators in Immortal Prison? It was because he had such an idea: The ruler of the Netherworld on the second layer of Immortal Prison, the Netherworld Emperor, could temporarily draw the power of countless souls in the netherworld during battles, concentrating it within himself, thereby increasing his combat strength by hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of times…

So, was it possible that if he could set up the sixth layer of Immortal Prison in the same way, allowing him to temporarily draw the power of all living beings in Immortal Prison during battles, he could also see his combat strength surge by hundreds or thousands of times? Even if it wasn’t a thousand times, just a hundred times would already be incredibly impressive. If this could truly be achieved, his current mid-stage Refining Void strength could increase by a hundred times. Combined with the Power of Destruction and the Purple Crystal Saber, it would make it possible to easily defeat cultivators at the Great Vehicle stage—this wasn’t just fantasy!

Even if the sixth layer couldn’t achieve this function, perhaps the seventh layer in the future could? In any case, Su Che felt that the higher the overall strength of the countless living beings in Immortal Prison, the greater benefits it would bring to him. Even if the specific benefits weren’t evident now, one day he would surely reap tremendous advantages from it.

It was with such a desire that Su Che spared no effort to benefit the entire Immortal Prison world, providing them with the best cultivation environment and conditions…
That morning, the anticipated trouble indeed arose.
Su Che, who was already at the mid-stage of the Refining Void realm, had a consciousness range of nearly 100,000 zhang, or about 600 li, allowing him to monitor the entire Jiayu City effortlessly.
After a thousand years of development through the Time Wheel, Lao He had also absorbed endless wishes from beings in the Immortal Prison world, and his strength had long reached the Refining Void realm. Although his detection range was slightly shorter than Su Che’s, his penetration ability far surpassed that of ordinary cultivators’ consciousnesses.
Tian Yin, also at the Refining Void realm, possessed a normal consciousness along with a detection ability similar to sound waves. In open terrains, her detection range could even exceed 1,000 li.
At that moment, Su Che, Lao He, and Tian Yin almost simultaneously sensed that, hundreds of li away, more than a dozen streaks of light were flying toward Jiayu City at extraordinary speeds.
“They’re here!”
Su Che and Tian Yin exchanged a silent glance; both could guess that those looking for trouble had finally arrived.
“No matter where we go, trouble follows—this seems to be our fate!”
Su Che picked up his teacup and took a sip, shaking his head with a helpless smile.
Tian Yin said with a laugh, “Do you think staying safely at home will bring good fortune and endless wealth? That’s what truly defines a person of great luck?”
“Luck is elusive—unseen and unfathomable…”
Su Che shook his head lightly and waved his hand to store the delicate tea set on the table inside the Immortal Prison, preventing it from being damaged in the upcoming battle. Though not the best, it had been by his side and Tian Yin’s for the longest time.
By the time this was done, those streaks of light had already entered Jiayu City and landed on the square outside Tianbao Pavilion.
Before long, Tianbao, the shopkeeper, came reporting with a slightly panicked expression, “Master Tian Yu, some people have come to visit, insisting on seeing you. There are sixteen of them, and a few of them seem to be powerful Tribulation Heavenly Kings. Should we find an excuse to turn them away?”
“Can we really turn them away?”
Su Che chuckled. He already knew the answer and said calmly, “Let them come in.”

Seeing Su Che and the other person so calm and composed, Shopkeeper Tian Bao felt slightly relieved, but still tentatively suggested, “These people must be after the Witch God Order. They’re numerous and powerful. If Master Tian Yu doesn’t want to deal with them, he can use our store’s secret teleportation array to go directly to another planet…”
“There’s no need for that!”
Su Che waved his hand indifferently. “Just a few at the Tribulation stage—why should I avoid them?”
“I see…” Shopkeeper Tian Bao hesitated for a moment. Not daring to go against Su Che’s wishes, he could only nod and say, “Very well. I’ll invite them in then.”
At that moment, Su Che thought to himself: These people are really bold. To get the Witch God Order, they dare to come in groups, not fearing that they might happen to encounter Witch Tribe warriors who would wipe them out all at once.
Similarly, the dozen or so powerful cultivators outside could also clearly sense through their divine senses that Tian Yu neither found reasons to decline the meeting nor fled in panic. They all marveled: The rumors were true. This Tian Yu truly fears nothing, truly audacious!
Among these sixteen people, six were Tribulation Heavenly Kings, and the other ten were at the later stages of the Refining Void realm. They thought that Su Che, who was only at the middle stage of Refining Void, and Tian Yin, who was at the early stage, should be panicked and nervous upon learning of their arrival.
To their surprise, the two of them remained so calm and composed, seemingly relying on some hidden strength and showing no fear.
So, the group also became quietly alert: “This Tian Yu has a notorious reputation—never underestimate him!”
A few breaths later, these uninvited guests were brought into the courtyard where Su Che was. All sixteen of them stood, while Su Che and the other person stayed seated, as if they were elders receiving lower-status juniors, with no need to stand up to greet them.
“This is utterly rude and arrogant…”
Among the sixteen powerful cultivators, several immediately grew dissatisfied, even letting out disapproving snorts, their faces full of displeasure.
But Su Che and the other person completely ignored their displeased expressions, not even giving them a glance. Su Che thought: Since those rumors portray me as an apocalyptic demon, I might as well play the role of a domineering fool.
Sometimes, playing the role of an arrogant fool can be quite satisfying!

At this moment, in a rather ordinary inn within Jiayu City, there were two powerful beings in the Mahayana stage disguised as Yuan Ying cultivators. Through their formidable spiritual senses, they were also observing the scene unfolding with Su Che.
The man sighed telepathically, “Only a dozen or so people have come—this definitely won’t work. I never expected that after just ten years apart, Tian Yu has already reached the mid-stage of Lianxu. Judging from his overall strength, even if he’s only one stage above me at the Guojie stage, he’s far from being a match!”
“Ten years of cultivation to reach mid-stage Lianxu…” the woman replied telepathically, “This shows that Tian Yu must have received a large amount of time rewards from that mysterious old man’s Time Wheel. It would take at least a thousand years to reach such a level. It seems that mysterious old man truly favors one of the ancient demon gods. Perhaps those three survival games were merely tests or trials for Tian Yu.”
“Yes!”
The man sighed deeply, “The trial arranged for him has cost dozens of Mahayana cultivators their lives. In the end, only the three of us remain. This is truly…” He couldn’t continue, only shaking his head and sighing again.
The woman didn’t respond either; she simply kept monitoring Su Che’s situation through her spiritual sense. They were only a few thousand zhang apart, and once they found a suitable opportunity, they could instantly fly over to launch a surprise attack…
Inside the courtyard, a slightly plump Guojie Tianjun with a prosperous appearance smiled and asked, “Esteemed fellow cultivator, you must be the famous Tian Yu, the sect leader?”
“I wouldn’t dare claim such fame,” Su Che replied calmly with a smirk. “It’s more accurate to say I have a notorious reputation.”
The plump Tianjun was about to respond when, unexpectedly, a Guojie Tianjun with a gloomy expression and a horse-like face beside him snapped coldly, “Tian Yu, it seems you do have some self-awareness. That’s right—it was you, the mastermind, who caused the Witch God to return, bringing great disaster to the Spirit Realm. My fellow cultivators are among the victims. You must pay for this!”
The plump Tianjun quickly pulled at his sleeve and whispered urgently, “Fellow cultivator Luo Qi, calm down for now. We can discuss anything slowly.”
“Hmph!” The long-faced Tianjun named Luo Qi let out a cold snort, still glaring fiercely at Su Che. “One with a pale face, one with a red face?”

Su Che immediately saw through their tactics and laughed, “Why go to such lengths? It’s just to get the Witch God Token from me so as to save your lives. Well, not only to save lives, but it can also bring immeasurable benefits, right?”
Although there is only one Witch God Token, it can save many lives. For example, if a Heavenly Monarch who has passed a tribulation possesses the Witch God Token, they can bring a large group of peers into their magical space for protection. Moreover, they can use the token to establish a superior leadership position or gain significant benefits from other Heavenly Monarchs.
If you want my protection with the Witch God Token in my hands, you must pay a protection fee—it’s only natural and reasonable…
That’s why crises often hide great opportunities; it depends on whether you can recognize them and seize these precious chances. At this stage, the Witch God Token in Su Che’s hands is seen by some as a tremendous opportunity to change fate.