Chapter 75: Battle Beneath the Ground

Ding, ding, ding, ding…
Daoist Zhengjun used his sword-swinging skills to continuously attack Su Che’s spirit talisman defense shield. His attacks were frequent, but they failed to make any impact, as top-grade spirit talismans equaled the defensive power of cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage. Su Che, being only at the seventh level of Qi Cultivation, would need considerable effort to break through this shield.
However, Zhengjun believed that Su Che was merely an outer disciple at the third level of Qi Cultivation. No matter how wealthy he was, he couldn’t carry many top-grade spirit talismans. Moreover, since Su Che didn’t know how to fly, he had nowhere to escape in the open wilderness. Even with just one or two defensive talismans, he could only barely hold on.
At that moment, Su Che was protected by his spirit talismans, so he was temporarily safe. Yet inwardly, he discussed with Lao He, “Last time, I was able to defeat Luo Lianqiao, who was at the seventh level of Qi Cultivation, because we were in the Sealed Demon Realm, where I could command numerous external demons against him. This time, the situation is very different… I think there’s no need to waste attack talismans in retaliation.”
“Yes,” agreed Lao He. “The terrain here is open. Even if we use top-grade attack talismans, he’ll be able to dodge them. There’s no point in counterattacking. Only by diving underground can we find a chance to ambush him.”
Su Che still had over twenty Earth-Diving Pills, so he was confident and unafraid. Watching calmly as Daoist Zhengjun attacked his spirit talisman shield, he said indifferently, “Senior Zhengjun, you mentioned earlier that you’re very interested in my ability to cultivate healing herbs. If that’s all you want, we can sit down and discuss it slowly. Is it really necessary to go to such extremes?”
Daoist Zhengjun knew Su Che was trying to trick him and snorted, “You brat, don’t get too confident. Just a few more blows, and I’ll shatter your turtle shell and sever your limbs. By then, we can sit down and discuss things at ease.”
Ding, ding, ding…
His sword skills were indeed impressive. With several consecutive attacks, the earth-based shield protecting Su Che grew dimmer and was on the verge of collapsing.
“Enough. Since we can’t reach an agreement, let’s part ways.” Su Che shook his head and took a Earth-Diving Pill.
And so, right under Zhengjun’s eyes, Su Che slowly disappeared into the ground.
“Earth-Diving Pill!”
Zhengjun was stunned. This kid was really resourceful—besides top-grade spirit talismans, he also had Earth-Diving Pills.
As a disciple of Tianxuan Sect, he naturally knew that the effect of an Earth-Diving Pill could last for fifteen minutes. With fifteen minutes to hide, who knew where this kid could run off to?

Could it be that he got away so easily? Had he wasted over a month waiting in vain in that supply town?
No!
That’s absolutely not possible!
“Damn you, brat! You’ve wasted my only Earth-Diving Pill.” Master Zhengjun gritted his teeth as he took out a small porcelain bottle, extracted another Earth-Diving Pill, and swallowed it in one gulp, cursing inwardly, “How infuriating! It took me so much effort to get one from our clan elders—meant for use in critical moments—to be wasted on you, you little scoundrel…”
With these thoughts in mind, he didn’t delay in diving underground and followed Su Che’s Earth-Diving movements.
Lao He immediately warned, “Master, that guy also has an Earth-Diving Pill! He’s diving underground to chase after us.”
“Although Earth-Diving Pills are scarce, they’re not rare. As an inner disciple, he can always find a way to get one or two.” Su Che kept moving underground, thinking, “But I doubt he has many. Hmph, it’s just a matter of endurance. How could I fear him?”
“Of course,” Lao He sneered. “I saw him looking extremely painful as he took out the pill. Maybe he only has one.”
Deep underground, Su Che and Zhengjun moved back and forth at nearly the same speed. It was almost impossible for Zhengjun to catch up to Su Che.
This was because both of them had swallowed Earth-Diving Pills and relied on sensing the earth’s vibrations to use Earth-Diving techniques—nothing to do with their strength. Thus, their speeds were exactly the same.
Consequently, as temporary Sons of the Earth, they could sense each other, making it difficult for Su Che to shake off Zhengjun’s pursuit.
Moving back and forth endlessly…
Zhengjun didn’t expect to catch up with Su Che; he just hoped not to lose his trail. He thought Su Che, like him, could only use one Earth-Diving Pill.
After fifteen minutes of chasing, at the critical moment, Zhengjun sensed that Su Che wasn’t rising to the surface but diving deeper into the earth.
“Haha, you brat! The pill’s effect is fading. Trying to hide deeper?” Zhengjun grinned viciously. “Even so, you can’t escape my grasp.”
In terms of timing, Zhengjun had taken the Earth-Diving Pill later than Su Che, so Su Che’s pill’s effect had already worn off, while Zhengjun still had a short two breaths left.

In just these two breaths, Zheng Jun had already caught up. Drawing his magic sword, he attacked Su Che’s hiding place based on intuition.
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss…
Intense sword energy pierced through the soil, covering an area of over ten zhang. Zheng Jun believed Su Che must be within this range, and his attacks would surely force him to emerge.
Being underground, with no vision and no sense of the earth’s vibrations, Zheng Jun could only act by feel, like a blind man. Unbeknownst to him, Su Che had already taken the second Earth-Disguise Pill and hidden far away.
Lao Hei’s detection ability could see through about fifty zhang of soil, about twenty zhang of rock, and about five zhang of ordinary metal… At this moment, the area was mostly soft soil, allowing him to observe every move of Master Zheng Jun from thirty zhang away with clarity.
This meant Zheng Jun was blind, while Su Che was sharp-sighted!
With his Earth-Displacement technique, Su Che moved freely underground like a fish in water, finding it far easier to act than Zheng Jun did.
This was the perfect moment to counterattack!
Whoosh~~~
Su Che cast the most basic earth-based spell, “Turn Soil into Stone.” Although his internal energy was of fire nature, he still possessed an earth spirit root. Moreover, since this low-level spell had no restrictions, it turned the soft soil within several zhang into hard rock.
But one attempt wasn’t enough. Su Che moved swiftly, casting “Turn Soil into Stone” over a dozen times around Zheng Jun, creating more than a dozen large rocks that gradually surrounded him.
“Turn Soil into Stone” had no offensive power; it was merely a supplementary spell used by cultivators to build houses or reinforce caves. Now that Su Che was at the fourth level of Qi Cultivation, he could cast such a low-level spell silently and instantly. Thus, Zheng Jun, in the center, remained unaware, continuing to shoot sword energy everywhere in an attempt to force the imagined Su Che out of the ground.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh…
Using his Earth-Displacement technique, Su Che moved rapidly underground, continuously casting “Turn Soil into Stone.” The soft soil turned into hard rock, slowly pressing in on Zheng Jun.
One was clear-sighted, the other blind—both pressing against the “other” side.
Soon, Zheng Jun noticed something was wrong. He felt increasing pressure from the surrounding soil, making it harder and harder for him to move…
“Something’s off. I should go up first.”

Zheng Jun wasn’t a fool either. He acted quickly, changing the direction of his sword energy and blasting it upward in an attempt to dig a passage back to the surface. Yet, after rising less than ten feet, he realized that the soft soil had vanished, replaced by hard rock layers.

Normally, even hard rock layers wouldn’t pose much of a challenge to a cultivator in the later stages of Qi training—some effort would still suffice to dig a passage. But Zheng Jun was certain that he had arrived in this area using the Earth Movement technique, and he had clearly sensed that the surroundings were made of soft soil. Where could rock layers come from?

“It must be that kid’s doing—some trick of turning soil into stone. But why would he do that? What advantage does it give him to block my path with rocks?”

Various guesses crossed Zheng Jun’s mind, but he didn’t want to struggle blindly underground. It was better to go back to the surface and wait for an opportunity. He couldn’t believe that kid would never come up and risk suffocating him alive underground…

Hiss! Hiss! Hiss…

Determined, Zheng Jun began to forcefully cut through the rock layers above him. Unbeknownst to him, Su Che was still lurking nearby, continuously using the spell to turn soil into stone, gradually shrinking Zheng Jun’s space to move in.

Su Che still retained his Earth Movement ability, so whether it was soil or rock, it posed no obstacle to him. But for Zheng Jun, it was completely different.

“Ah, I’ve fallen for it!”

With a cry from Zheng Jun, all the soil within a thirty-foot radius was turned into hard rock by Su Che. Even the loose debris that Zheng Jun had cut free with his sword was solidified into large rocks by Su Che.

That wasn’t all. Su Che moved around Zheng Jun, constantly casting the spell, making the rocks around him increasingly hard and solid.

In this way, a skilled cultivator in the later stages of Qi training like Zheng Jun was defeated by the most basic auxiliary spell—“turn soil into stone.” He was trapped like an insect in amber, sealed tightly inside thick rocks. Even though he could still emit his true energy to shatter the rocks near him, it was no use against Su Che’s relentless use of the spell.

The rocks surrounding him grew harder and harder…

Eventually, when his body and limbs were completely sealed by rock, leaving him unable to move at all, Su Che, like a leisurely swimming fish, floated over to his back and slowly reached out to press on the back of his head.

“Kid, what do you want to do? Do you dare…” Zheng Jun could still use spiritual energy to convey his voice, attempting to threaten Su Che with words.
“You’re tired. Go take a rest.”
Su Che also used spiritual energy to speak, his tone gentle, but he propelled spiritual energy from his palm, delivering a powerful impact straight to Zheng Jun’s back of the head, causing him to faint instantly.