Chapter 97: A Bad Premonition

Next, Su Che and Lei Xiao finalized the terms for this transaction of spiritual herbs. Since he was now an inner disciple with significantly improved strength and status, Su Che’s courage also grew greatly. For this transaction, he brought out seven medium-grade spiritual herbs that were five hundred years old. Two of these were traded normally with the Lei family, yielding sixty Earth Spirit Pills; the other five were entrusted to Lei Xiao to sell on behalf of his uncle at Wuhua Peak, with the goal of exchanging them all for Earth Spirit Pills within ten days.

After finishing the business talks, amidst Lei Xiao’s exaggerated farewell, Su Che jumped out through the window of his floating pavilion and plummeted down the sheer cliff. In mid-air, he took out the Red Flame Dharma Wheel and rode it to his next destination—the other towering peak inside the mountain gate, Xianyuan Peak.

A year ago, Su Che had visited Xianyuan Peak with Yu Qing, where he obtained the status of an outer disciple of Xuanji Peak. Now that he too had become an inner disciple, he had the same authority to recommend others to join Xuanji Peak.

Originally, there were four self-cultivating disciples who rented a small courtyard together in Xuanji City: Su Che, Jiang Chen, Wang Zhenshu, and Hutou. There was no need to elaborate on Jiang Chen’s fate. With Su Che’s help, Wang Zhenshu and Hutou successfully advanced to the first level of Qi Cultivation, passed the entrance exam, and joined Tianxuan Sect as official disciples. Later, Su Che kept in touch with Wang Zhenshu and Hutou and learned that they had remained at Xianyuan Peak waiting for divine fortune. It was unknown whether they had succeeded by now. If not, Su Che was determined to help them again. By joining one of the ten main peaks, their future path in cultivation would be smoother.

Upon landing at the edge of Xianyuan Peak’s summit, Su Che headed toward the square of the Xuanji Xianyuan Hall. As he got closer, the thousands of outer disciples waiting in the square saw this inner disciple brother. Even though many of them were much older than Su Che, both in terms of strength and status, they still had to address him as brother.

In an instant, the square fell silent. The disciples who had been whispering to each other stopped talking, knowing full well that when an inner disciple brother came to Xianyuan Peak, it was almost always for one purpose: to select one or two outer disciples he deemed suitable to serve as attendants on one of the ten main peaks and do his work…

Thus, the thousands of disciples present sat upright, showing their best side, hoping to be chosen by this inner disciple brother.

Everyone was sitting cross-legged on the ground when suddenly one person stood up, ran toward Su Che, and shouted, “Senior Su, Senior Su! It’s Wang Zhenshu!”
A few people nearby who knew Wang Zhenshu immediately thought, “Ah? Wang Zhenshu recognizes this inner sect senior? He’s really lucky now.”
Even those who weren’t familiar with Wang Zhenshu realized that without a doubt, he had finally obtained his share of divine fortune…
“Zhenshu,” Su Che greeted him with a smile and asked, “I’m here to pick you up. Where’s Hutou?”
Wang Zhenshu replied hurriedly, “Two months ago, Hutou was taken away by another inner sect senior from Mysterious Secrets Peak.”
Su Che nodded inwardly, thinking, “Hutou’s simplicity and honesty are truly endearing.”
“Senior, you’ve already become an inner sect disciple? So quickly?” Wang Zhenshu was extremely excited, his voice trembling noticeably. No matter how shocked he was, he understood one thing: the more outstanding Su Che was, the brighter his own future would be…
Whether in the realm of cultivation or the secular world, it was a great fortune for a person to find a solid supporter.
Su Che nodded and turned his gaze toward the Mysterious Secrets Divine Fortune Hall. “Let’s go in.”
“Okay, okay!” Wang Zhenshu nodded vigorously.
Thus, under the gazes of thousands filled with envy and jealousy, Wang Zhenshu followed Su Che into the Mysterious Secrets Divine Fortune Hall. Soon after, he came out again, now wearing a ‘Mysterious Secrets Jade Token’ around his waist.
Perhaps it would be many years before Wang Zhenshu could truly understand the significance of the divine fortune he had received that day.
After leaving Divine Fortune Peak, Su Che flew on his magical vessel, taking Wang Zhenshu to Mysterious Secrets Peak. There, he personally went to see the senior outer sect disciple, ‘Chang Tong’, to register Wang Zhenshu and gave him the cultivation cave he had once lived in.
This was because Su Che, now an inner sect disciple, could no longer reside in the outer sect area.
In just one year, Chang Tong, who was at the early stage of the Foundation Establishment phase, had to address Su Che as senior. There was no other choice—no matter how high an outer sect disciple’s cultivation reached, as long as it wasn’t at the Golden Core stage, their status was still lower than that of inner sect disciples.
Chang Tong must have been extremely surprised by Su Che’s rapid progress, but given his position, he couldn’t inquire further.
Su Che, without any arrogance, as usual gave Chang Tong ten spirit stones and asked him to take good care of Wang Zhenshu. Chang Tong, unable to refuse, could only promise on his honor.

Until he sent the dazed Wang Zhenshu, who was in a dreamlike state, to the cultivation cave where he once lived, Su Che had fulfilled his promise to his friend that day.
In the Immortal Prison, Lao He expressed sincere admiration: “Master, you truly are someone who values old friendships.”
“Those who have helped me or treated me sincerely—no matter how small the kindness—must be remembered,” Su Che said with a faint smile. “When I have enough strength, even such small acts of kindness might be able to bring them great help.”
“Yes, Master,” Lao He replied solemnly. “So, you only need to retain the good side within you. As for me, Lao He, I will also remember those who have persecuted you, troubled you, or looked down on you. Once I get the chance to trap them in the Immortal Prison, humph, I’ll go all out, using every means at my disposal…”
Amidst Lao He’s boasts, Su Che, with a smile on his face, rushed off to another mountain, Wuhua Peak, thousands of miles away.
Upon arriving at Wuhua Peak, Su Che changed his appearance and, under a false identity, sold in large quantities the low-grade spiritual herbs and minerals produced in the Yinfeng Gorge. Although the price per unit was low, the large quantity still attracted some attention. So, Su Che didn’t mind the trouble and kept changing his appearance. Over two days, he managed to sell sixty thousand spirit stones in total.
He didn’t keep those sixty thousand spirit stones. Instead, he spent another whole day changing his appearance and buying high-grade pills of grade five or above everywhere on Wuhua Peak. As long as they were spiritual pills that aided in cultivation, he could buy them. After all, with Lao He’s life force to counteract any potential risks from the pills, there was no need to worry even if he took them randomly.
After all, Wuhua Peak was an internal trading market of the Tianxuan Sect. No one dared to rob others inside the mountain. Relatively speaking, as long as Su Che’s actions didn’t reveal his true identity and he was covered by the concealment magic, there was no need to worry about safety.
Ten days later, Su Che met Lei Xiao again and obtained two hundred and six Earth Spirit Pills from him. Adhering to the principle of sharing profits as good brothers, Su Che only took two hundred whole pills and gave the remaining six to Lei Xiao.
Lei Xiao happily took the pills and added, “By the way, yesterday, Zhen Lan from Tianwu Peak came looking for you. Since she couldn’t find you, she came to me and kept asking where you were. I just replied that I didn’t know, that I hadn’t seen you in a long time… Honestly, that woman is really annoying. No wonder Senior Yu Qing doesn’t like her.”
Hm?

Su Che was puzzled. “Weren’t the issues with Zhen Zhen resolved already? Could it be that Zhen Lan is the one who refuses to give up?” He asked Lei Xiao, “Did Zhen Lan say why she’s looking for me?”
“She didn’t,” Lei Xiao shook his head. “Before leaving, she only said she would go find Senior Brother Yu Qing to inquire about your whereabouts.”
Hearing this, Su Che immediately felt a badpremonition…
Normally, a strong-willed woman like Zhen Zhen, having sworn not to bother him anymore, must have countless ways to calm her sister down and prevent Zhen Lan from pestering him repeatedly.
Moreover, if anyone from Tianwu Peak were to come looking for him, it should be Fei Yun. After all, eager to relieve the special effects of the ‘Emotional Threads,’ she would likely come to him and Senior Brother Yu Qing to perform the ritual and remove them as soon as possible.
But now, it was Zhen Lan who came to inquire about his whereabouts, which meant it was very likely…
“Yes, master,” Lao He reached the same conclusion. “That Zhen Zhen might be unlucky and facing bad fortune. Who knows what misfortune she’s encountered that’s kept her from returning to Tianwu Peak. Zhen Lan is here to demand you be handed over!”
“If that’s the case, it’s troublesome!”
Su Che continued analyzing. “It’s only been a dozen days or so. For cultivators, being away for a short time isn’t a big deal. I guess it’s just Zhen Lan who’s anxious; the Tianwu Patriarch probably hasn’t been alerted yet.”
“Probably,” Lao He wasn’t sure about that.
Su Che’s mind raced as he quickly weighed the pros and cons. In the end, he bid a hasty farewell to Lei Xiao. He didn’t even dare go to Senior Brother Yu Qing to find out what was going on. Instead, he used the Spirit Concealment technique to transform into a third-level Qi Cultivation outer disciple and quickly left the mountain, heading straight for the Yinwind Gorge hundreds of miles away.
Of course, he wasn’t fleeing from crime but had other plans in mind.