Chapter 562: The Middle Tang Dynasty

The Middle Tang Dynasty is the destination Su Che is heading to.
At first hearing the name “Middle Tang Dynasty,” it might seem like a country in the secular world, but that’s not the case. It is a renowned hegemon in the spiritual realm, as well as a massive force governed by a single family.
It is said that the founder of the Middle Tang Dynasty was once the heir to the throne of a secular country. In his youth, he had the fortune to embark on the path of immortality, eventually reaching the Mahayana stage and even ascending to the immortal realm. The path he chose was that of an emperor, and this tradition has been passed down ever since.
This enormous family manages to produce a peak-level Mahayana expert almost every few thousand years. As a result, the Middle Tang Dynasty has a history of nearly a million years in the spiritual realm, remaining prosperous throughout.
However, no matter how glorious the legacy of a human family may be, it cannot compare to that of the Witch Clan, which has existed since the dawn of time. Now, with the Witch Clan’s army invading the spiritual realm, every dynasty and hegemony is forced to flee in panic and hide everywhere.
If nothing goes wrong, the current Middle Tang Dynasty likely only has those at the Divine Transformation stage left to defend it, while the family elders at higher stages have long since disappeared without a trace.
Tianbao Pavilion learned that over a decade ago, the crown prince of the Middle Tang Dynasty, “Hengyuan,” acquired a Grafted Divine Stone. It is said that he bought it not for any specific purpose but out of rivalry with his rival at a high-end trade fair, spending a fortune to acquire it. To this day, it has been preserved as a personal collection, likely untouched.
Crown Prince Hengyuan was only at the later stage of Divine Transformation. As the successor two generations after the founder of the Middle Tang Dynasty, and with all the family elders hiding during this critical period, he hastily ascended to the throne, taking over this vast imperial empire.
The star system under the rule of the Middle Tang Dynasty contains nearly ten thousand resource planets. At its peak, there were six beings at the Mahayana stage and over seventy Heavenly Lords who had transcended calamities gathered together. Most importantly, they all shared the surname “Heng” and were part of the same family, with the same bloodline flowing through them.
The Middle Tang Dynasty is not too far from Guanghao Star, but traveling there by flight would take at least two months. Fortunately, a trading star like Guanghao Star surely has large teleportation arrays, allowing one to travel by paying just a few high-quality spirit stones.

Su Che and Tian Yin used the teleportation array to arrive directly on a planet under the rule of the Middle Tang Dynasty. They needed to use the teleportation array again to reach the dynasty’s capital, “Middle Tang Star.”
“The Heng family controls nearly ten thousand resource planets; they have plenty of money—at least more than I do.”
Before heading to Middle Tang Star, Su Che said to Tian Yin, “It’s almost impossible to buy the Grafting Divine Stone from the current emperor, Heng Yuan, unless I’m willing to exchange it for the Witch God Token.”
“Yes,” Tian Yin nodded. “If we hide our true identities and pretend to be ordinary people, we won’t even be able to meet Heng Yuan in person. It’s like how in secular countries, it’s nearly impossible for a commoner to see the emperor. But if we meet him under the name Tian Yu, Heng Yuan will surely try to obtain the Witch God Token from us—there’s no doubt about that.”
During this time of chaos, if the Middle Tang Dynasty could get hold of the Witch God Token, it could not only safeguard its family’s safety and interests but also, if used wisely, rapidly boost its overall strength, potentially making it the most powerful force in the Spirit Realm.
With such great benefits, Heng Yuan surely wouldn’t overlook them. If Su Che offered it willingly, how could he pass up such a golden opportunity?
Su Che and Tian Yin had already realized that obtaining the Grafting Divine Stone through normal means was highly unlikely. Stealing or seizing it seemed the most promising option.
But if they resorted to theft, wouldn’t they become thieves themselves? It wouldn’t fit the identity of a master of the Immortal Prison, nor would it align with Su Che’s pursuit of his own path. Therefore, this matter needed careful planning to find a reasonable solution.
As if understanding Su Che’s thoughts, Tian Yin suggested, “It would be best to find out what other needs or troubles Heng Yuan has, so we can obtain the divine stone through fair trade.”
Su Che nodded. “That’s what I was thinking too.”
The two used the teleportation array once more to arrive directly at Middle Tang Star, located billions of miles away.
A dynasty created by cultivators was certainly different from secular countries. On Middle Tang Star, there was merely an imperial palace covering thousands of square miles. The magnificent buildings there needed no further description. Most importantly, the Middle Tang Palace was the most spiritually rich cultivation site on the entire planet.

High in the sky, Su Che used his divine vision skills to clearly see the dense spiritual energy permeating the palace. This energy was constantly undergoing subtle changes. What should have been formless and colorless now appeared as streams of pale purple mixed with golden light, drifting down like mist to supply the core members of the Heng family within the palace for cultivation and absorption.

“The way of an emperor!” Su Che thought to himself. “Could these streams of energy be considered as already formed emperorly energy?”

Based on some information provided by Tianbao Pavilion, Su Che already knew that the entire Zhongtang Star could be regarded as an infinitely expanded imperial capital. The royal family occupied the most vital dragon vein areas, and the ministers were all advanced cultivators. Their residences resembled giant cities, surrounding the palace and spread across the entire imperial capital star.

As cultivators, the ministers didn’t need to attend court daily; they only had to come to the palace once a week. If they needed time for seclusion to advance in cultivation, they could reasonably ask for leave. After succeeding in advancing, the Heng dynasty would also award extremely generous rewards… The various rules and regulations, when examined closely, were quite interesting.

Although they knew that all cultivators above the Lianxu stage in the Zhongtang Dynasty had been hidden, Su Che and Tianyin still didn’t dare underestimate this super dynasty with a history of millions of years. No one could guarantee whether there weren’t one or two Great Vehicle stage powerhouses hidden within the palace.

Sometimes, the most dangerous places are also the safest. It’s possible that the strongest people in the Zhongtang Dynasty were hiding in the magical space of some Golden Core stage palace maids.

Since they still didn’t have an appropriate identity to enter the palace, Su Che, Tianyin, and Heng Yi disguised themselves as cultivators at the Yuan Ying stage. After some cosmetic changes, they first went to the Left Prime Minister’s residence, hoping to take their chances and find an opportunity.

The so-called Left Prime Minister’s residence wasn’t just a single household but a giant city, with at least five hundred thousand commoners living there generation after generation. All their work was to provide various services for the Left Prime Minister’s residence.

After all, as a cultivator, if one craved glory, wealth, and all kinds of pleasures, they could indeed obtain whatever they wanted from ordinary people, enjoying a life a hundred or even a thousand times more comfortable than those of ordinary emperors in the secular world.

Above the massive city gates were four large characters in gilded script reading “Chancellor’s Residence,” and it wasn’t named after a “city.” The extremely grand and even exquisitely crafted city walls served only as decoration; it was impossible for any army to attack the Chancellor’s Residence. Moreover, such walls couldn’t stop the immortals who flew around freely.
“The Middle Tang Dynasty truly has plenty of wealth!”
Even Su Che, who was wealthy himself, couldn’t help but express such admiration.
In the World of Immortal Prison, the high-end tea sets used by various sects to entertain guests were carved from Purple Glow Jade. A single set was worth thousands of gold coins—where “thousands of gold coins” referred not to ordinary gold but to spirit stones.
Yet the massive city walls before him were entirely built from huge blocks of Purple Glow Jade, whose total amount was impossible to estimate. Su Che figured that if all of it were carved into tea sets, it would be no problem to distribute one set to each of the hundreds of billions of beings in the World of Immortal Prison.
Purple Glow Jade had many benefits, such as strengthening the body and improving vision and mental clarity. Using it to make tea sets and drinking it regularly was undoubtedly beneficial for ordinary people’s health. Immortals also liked to drink the fragrant tea brewed from these tea sets before cultivating, as it helped them concentrate and sense their spiritual energy…
“Living in a city built with Purple Glow Jade, its inhabitants must surely be strong and free from diseases—what a blessing,” Su Che said with a smile.
This was not even the imperial palace, just the Chancellor’s Residence. This showed just how wealthy and affluent the Middle Tang Dynasty was, with nearly ten thousand resource stars at its disposal. Trying to buy anything from them was almost a joke.
Su Che had only plundered a dozen or so resource stars inhabited by the Witch Clan. Compared to the Middle Tang Dynasty, it was like the difference between a hair and a thigh.
“The Lin family is so rich that losing a Grafted Divine Stone means nothing to them—just like an ordinary family losing a brick,” Lao He muttered in the World of Immortal Prison. “Master, why not just steal the Grafted Divine Stone? There’s no need to follow any principles with them.”
Su Che smiled silently without responding.
Though there was the principle of “never commit evil just because it seems minor,” Su Che wasn’t a pedantic person. The matter of the Grafted Divine Stone could be handled flexibly. But whether by stealing or buying, he needed to thoroughly investigate the situation of the Middle Tang Palace first. He couldn’t become arrogant and make the mistake of underestimating his opponents just because he had killed a few beings in the Tribulation Stage.
Take your time. No one is forcing me to complete the task within a few days—why rush?

After entering the Left Prime Minister’s residence, Su Che and his two companions first found an inn with a pleasant environment to stay in. They spent some money to obtain three “tooth cards,” which gave them a legitimate identity in the Middle Tang Dynasty; otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to stay there for long.

The Left Prime Minister’s residence was divided into two areas: the outer part and the inner part. The outer part could be entered and exited freely, resembling an ordinary city. However, the Prime Minister’s inner residence, located at the center of the “return (hui) is translated as “return” or “reversion”. In the context of the city’s shape, it is translated as “return-shaped” or “hoe-shaped”.”-shaped city, was truly the private estate of the Left Prime Minister. Those who entered it without permission would face severe consequences.

Just like in Jiyu City on Guanghao Star, the outer part was filled with people at the Golden Core stage, and those at the Yuan Ying stage were everywhere. Su Che and his companions, disguised as beings at the Yuan Ying stage, weren’t very noticeable.

Yet, unexpectedly, even though they were so inconspicuous, less than fifteen minutes after strolling in the streets, they were noticed by someone.

“Hey! You, come here!”

A voice as clear as a silver bell reached Su Che’s ears through a rather unusual method of communication.