Chapter 654: The Door of Opportunity

Passing through the teleportation portal, Su Che arrived in a vast circular hall.
The hall was empty, but five portals could be seen on the walls, which also resembled teleportation gates, unknown as to where they led.
Above each portal was inscribed a single character: Dao, Fa, Qi, Dan, Zhen.
“Dao, Fa, Qi, Dan, Zhen?”
Su Che guessed, “Could these be five treasure vaults, each storing various treasures?”
“It seems that way on the surface, but it’s surely not that simple,” Lao He muttered.
Swish swish swish…
Lianyi and the others appeared one after another behind Su Che through teleportation. After observing their surroundings, they each began to form their own hypotheses.
Before they could discuss it among themselves, Lin Jiu, Guang Qi, and You Lin appeared behind them as well.
“Dao, Fa, Qi, Dan, Zhen—five portals!”
Lin Jiu looked around and nodded with a smile, “Very good, very good!”
His smile vanished abruptly, and his cold gaze turned to Su Che as he said in a stern voice, “Before this, Tian Yu, shouldn’t we settle things between us?”
“So eager?” Su Che replied calmly.
“It’s time,” Lin Jiu said with a dark smile.
“Lin Jiu, if you want to lay a hand on Tian Yu, you first have to pass through us!”
Lianyi stepped forward and immediately stood in front of Su Che; Yun Shan, Xue Sha, Hei Ya, and Lao Niu also lined up to protect Su Che behind them. Only Meng Luo remained motionless, still standing beside Su Che.
Lianyi and the others knew that although Su Che possessed incredible magical abilities in many aspects, his cultivation level was far from matching that of a Xuanxian. It was even possible that a single killing move from Lin Jiu could easily take Tian Yu’s life.
Though they were merely Xianxians, if they worked together, they might just be able to hold their own against either Lin Jiu or Guang Qi for a while. Still, the inevitable outcome would be being gradually eliminated by a Xuanxian like Lin Jiu…
If Lin Jiu and Guang Qi attacked together, then they could only rely on the mysterious Meng Luo to create a miracle.
Of course, the stance of You Lin and the other two was also crucial. If they sided with Lin Jiu and Guang Qi against them, the situation would be hopeless.
“Tian Yu, I’m sorry. I can’t help you; I can only stay out of it,” You Lin said through telepathy, her eyes filled with regret.
Su Che smiled at her and nodded, showing both understanding and silent gratitude.

So, Youlin led her two deputies, and the three of them silently descended to a distance away, standing close to the hall’s walls, making it clear their stance was complete neutrality—neither side would they aid.
“Not bad.”
Lianyi felt slightly relieved and thought to herself, “If Su Che truly faced death, Meng Luo surely wouldn’t stand by idly. Meng Luo’s true cultivation level must be at least Xuanxian…”
In the face of Lianyi and the others’ obstruction, Guangqi remained calm as ever, while Lin Jiu smiled and said, “Can you really stop us from doing what we want?”
“More talk is pointless. Go ahead and try!” Xue Sha replied coldly.
Xue Sha, who pursued the path of slaughter, feared no form of battle. Moreover, he already knew that their fates were tied to Su Che’s; only by relying on Su Che could they hope to gain some opportunity. Otherwise, relying on Lin Jiu and Guangqi meant not only losing any chance but also risking their lives.
What was there to fear when fighting to protect one’s own life and interests?
Guangqi said in a low voice, “Our target is Tianyu. We don’t necessarily have to kill you to capture him.”
With two Xuanxians joining forces in a surprise attack, it was indeed possible to break through Lianyi and the others’ resistance in an instant and capture Su Che alive.
But Su Che replied calmly, “Perhaps you can capture me, but definitely not alive.”
He would rather die than be captured alive!
Lin Jiu and Guangqi’s expressions froze—this was exactly what they feared the most. If it weren’t for this concern, they would have already taken action long ago, without all this nonsense.
“Tianyu, as the defending general just said, you came too early. Your cultivation is too low; you can’t protect this opportunity. Instead, you’ll lose your life.”
Guangqi’s tone changed, becoming gentle. “Actually, there’s no enmity between us. We don’t necessarily have to kill you. As long as you’re willing to give up this opportunity voluntarily, Lin Jiu and I can guarantee that you won’t suffer any harm…”
Before he could finish, Su Che shook his head and said, “All this talk is useless. I don’t trust you, nor do I trust Lin Jiu. Unless you two can seal your cultivation, you won’t earn my trust.”
“Seal our cultivation?”
Lin Jiu laughed wildly. “Tianyu, to dream so foolishly—has your mind gone?”
“Same to you,” Su Che replied with sarcasm. “To expect me to give up my own opportunity voluntarily—your minds seem to have been kicked by someone.”
“Seeking death!”

Lin Jiu seemed furious. With a swift motion of his wrist, his most powerful slashing technique was unleashed instantly.
Whoosh!
A crescent-shaped spatial blade several zhang wide rushed toward Su Che. With his mastery of that slashing technique, no matter what Su Che did, he would surely be unable to defend against it. However, there was still Ripple standing in front of Su Che.
Ripple let out a sharp cry, ready to unleash her long-prepared defensive technique—only to see…
With a whoosh, the spatial blade unleashed by Lin Jiu suddenly disappeared mid-flight, as if it had pierced through space and vanished into another dimension.
Who did this?
Everyone, including Lin Jiu and Ripple, was stunned, as it was impossible to tell who had taken away that spatial blade.
Su Che turned to look at Meng Luo beside him, but the latter simply shook his head slightly: “It wasn’t me.”
Fortunately, the answer came right away.
“Fighting with force is not allowed within the Heavenly Array!”
The deep voice of the Array Spirit, the “Golden Armored Warrior,” rang out: “What you should do now is each choose a sect to enter and seek your own opportunities.”
No fighting allowed?
For Su Che, this was undoubtedly excellent news.
But upon further thought, it wasn’t really surprising. The purpose of the Heavenly Array to Seal Demons was to uphold justice—it should represent righteousness. The demons in cultivators’ hearts were also demons, and they should be suppressed or stopped here.
Lin Jiu and Guang Qi both looked displeased but dared not defy the orders of the Array Guardian. They could only bow in the air and say, “As ordered!”
“You two youngsters really think you can seize someone else’s opportunities or fate just by relying on brute force?”
The Array Guardian declared loudly, “If that were the case, the Ten Immortal Lords would have killed everyone long ago. Wouldn’t all the opportunities and fates in the world belong to them then?”
“We are foolish. Please forgive us, Array Guardian.”
Lin Jiu and Guang Qi didn’t dare argue, though they harbored much dissatisfaction. Cultivators constantly compete with others—without striving or seizing, how could they gain anything?
“All living beings carry morality in their hearts but demons within them,”
the Array Guardian continued, “This is normal. I won’t blame you. But since you’ve been fortunate enough to enter the Heavenly Array to Seal Demons, I hope you’ll cherish this opportunity and try your best to eradicate the demonic thoughts in your hearts. Leave them here in the array, and I’ll help seal them permanently. Even if you gain nothing else, this is still a rare opportunity… I hope you’ll behave properly.”
“Thank you, Array Guardian!”

This time, not only Lin Jiu and Guang Qi but also Su Che and the others bowed in gratitude. However, it was hard to say whether a few of them were truly sincere. After waiting for a while with no further sound from the Heavenly General in charge, Su Che and the others finally stood up, looking at each other, realizing that they could no longer continue the battle. For Su Che and the others, this was of course the best outcome. But looking at Lin Jiu and the other two, their expressions had returned to normal, showing no sign of disappointment or frustration. Could it be that what these two had done was all part of a test? The group calmed themselves down and glanced at the five portals on the walls of the hall… According to the Heavenly General, they had to choose one of these portals to enter and hope to find their own opportunity. Excluding Su Che, Lin Jiu, and Guang Qi, whose mental states were more complex, people like Lian Yi and You Lin were secretly excited, as their chance seemed right before them—just by choosing the right portal. Lian Yi and the others didn’t have such great ambitions; they didn’t want to monopolize everything, only to get their own share, which would be enough. “Dao, Fa, Qi, Dan, Zhen… Which one should I choose?” At this moment, that was what everyone was thinking, including Su Che. “Dao?” Su Che thought to himself, “My Dao is already very clear. The purpose of the Immortal Prison is my Dao. The Immortal Prison is my foundation; I don’t need to seek other Daos.” “Fa?” “Even the highest-level divine spells among the Three Thousand Daos won’t be a problem for me once I go to the Immortal Realm. With the skill extraction function of the five levels of the Immortal Prison, one day I will be able to achieve my wish of mastering all Three Thousand Daos.” “Zhen?” “I’ve never been interested in formations. Besides, if I want to master the art of formations in the future, I can still extract the formation skills of prisoners.” “So, I can choose between Qi and Dan.” It didn’t take long for Su Che to make up his mind: Dan! He chose the “Dan Gate” to enter. Yet even after choosing the Dan portal, Su Che didn’t think his opportunity lay within it. His intuition told him that his chance couldn’t be that simple… “Yes, master. My thoughts are similar to yours.”

Lao He agreed, “This choice is merely a way for people like Lian Yi and You Lin to gain opportunities. Your opportunities will surely far exceed theirs; it won’t be that simple. So I think choosing any sect will be the same for you.”
“Good!”
Su Che nodded in his heart: “If that’s the case, then the Alchemy Sect!”