339: Chapter 339 An Encounter with the Dragon Lord of the Netherworld

Su Changge stood where he was, remaining motionless.

It wasn't that he didn't want to move—it was that he didn't dare to.

Ten zhang in front of him, the Dark Dragon-man was shrouded in churning nether mist, and the chains on his curved dragon horns emitted a faint, metallic clinking.

Undergoing Tribulation Middle Stage.

Nether Prison Dragon Lord Mo Yuan.

The one most skilled in soul attacks within the Four Directions Dragon Court.

Countless thoughts flashed through Su Changge's mind in an instant.

[Is he here on patrol? Or is he here to set up the outer boundary Restriction?]

[Regardless of the reason—he has discovered me.]

[There are three choices before me now: One, run. Two, fight. Three, pretend.]

[Run? Me, at the Qi Refining First Layer, running from someone in the Undergoing Tribulation Middle Stage? The speed difference is like a snail versus a high-speed train. He could end me with a single thought.]

[Fight? Fight my ass. My entire combat power is just a bunch of zero-damage special effects. Even if I used all my active skills once, at most I'd give him a startle, and then he'd swat me into a meat patty with one claw.]

[That only leaves the third option.]

[Pretend.]

Su Changge gave himself a death order in his mind.

[Su Changge, this is the most critical performance of your life.]

[Act well, and you live. Mess up, and you die.]

[There is no third possibility.]

He took a deep breath—suppressing the movement so well that it was so subtle no one but himself could notice it.

Then, he slightly lifted his chin.

He gazed straight ahead.

He didn't look directly at Mo Yuan, but rather past the top of Mo Yuan's head, looking at the distant night sky.

It was a posture that suggested the opponent wasn't even worth a direct glance.

Mo Yuan stood ten zhang away, his hollow white eye sockets facing Su Changge's direction.

He had no eyes.

He relied on Soul Sense.

In his perception, the white-clothed man before him—

Had nothing.

No spiritual energy fluctuations.

No mana aura.

No traces of any cultivation.

Like a stone.

Like the air.

Like—nothingness.

Mo Yuan's first reaction was: This is a Mortal.

But that reaction lasted less than a second before he dismissed it himself.

How could a Mortal appear alone at the foot of Divine Flame Mountain in the middle of the night?

How could a Mortal pass through the fire spirit sensing Restriction laid by the Blazing Flame Dragon Emperor without triggering an alarm?

How could a Mortal, when facing a Dragon-blood Evil Cultivator of the Undergoing Tribulation Middle Stage, stand there motionless without even their breathing becoming erratic?

Not a Mortal.

That meant—his cultivation was so high that even Soul Sense could not detect it.

Mo Yuan's heart sank abruptly.

He increased the output of his Soul Sense.

Dark gray Soul Power surged from his dragon horns, turning into an invisible wave that rushed toward Su Changge.

A basic application of the Prison Dragon Soul-Locking Art—Soul Sense Probing.

He had used this move countless times in the Chixiao Dao Domain and had never failed. Cultivators in the Soul Transformation Stage, Body Integration Stage, and even the Early Stage of Undergoing Tribulation could not escape his Soul Sense scan.

The wave of Soul Power surged toward Su Changge.

The moment it touched Su Changge's body—

It disappeared.

It wasn't bounced off.

It wasn't blocked.

It simply—vanished.

Like a drop of water falling into a bottomless abyss.

No echo, no feedback, nothing at all.

Mo Yuan's body jolted violently.

Immediately after—a sharp, stinging pain radiated from the depths of his Divine Soul.

"Hiss—"

Mo Yuan let out a low hiss.

Soul Power backlash.

When Soul Sense probing encounters an existence far beyond its own level, not only is it unable to obtain any information, but it also suffers a natural backlash from the opponent's aura. This isn't a deliberate attack from the opponent, but a natural barrier between two different levels.

It's like a Mortal trying to stare directly at the sun—it's not that the sun wants to hurt him, but that his eyes cannot withstand that level of brightness.

Mo Yuan's Divine Soul trembled for an instant.

Although it quickly regained its calm, that stinging sensation remained deep in his consciousness, lingering.

[Myriad Laws Immunity (Pseudo)]—passive effect, faithfully executing.

Su Changge stood there, having made no movement the entire time.

He didn't even know that Mo Yuan had just probed him with Soul Sense.

He only knew that the eyeless black dragon-man in front of him, after staring at him for several seconds, suddenly took a step back.

Took a step back.

An evil Cultivator of the Undergoing Tribulation Middle Stage had taken a step back when facing a "stranger."

Su Changge keenly captured this detail.

[He retreated?]

[Is he afraid of me?]

[No—he must have probed my cultivation, found he couldn't detect it, and was spooked by the feedback from Immunity to Ten Thousand Laws.]

[The System's passive effects are actually reliable at critical moments.]

Su Changge's heart eased slightly. But only slightly.

Because—

Not being able to probe cultivation didn't mean the opponent wouldn't attack.

If Mo Yuan felt threatened and launched a direct attack...

Special effects couldn't block a real attack.

Su Changge calculated rapidly in his mind.

[His current psychological state should be—vigilance, confusion, and wariness.]

[I need to heighten his sense of wariness. Make him feel that the cost of attacking is too high and not worth it.]

[How do I heighten it?]

[Simple—make him think I knew he was here all along, and that I came here intentionally.]

Su Changge made a decision.

He slowly turned around to face Mo Yuan.

And then—he glanced at him.

Just one glance.

That glance held no killing intent, no Spiritual Pressure, not even any emotion.

But it was that single glance that caused the chains on Mo Yuan's dragon horns to tremble violently.

Because the way Su Changge looked at him wasn't the alertness of "having discovered an enemy," but the indifference of "confirming someone expected."

It was as if—Su Changge had known he was here for a long time.

It was as if—Su Changge had come here specifically to "see him."

This realization sent a chill down Mo Yuan's spine.

[Does he know our plan?]

[Does he know the Four Directions Dragon Court's arrangements?]

[Is he here to—inspect?]

Mo Yuan's mind reached a judgment in an incredibly short time.

The cultivation of the white-clothed man before him was so profound that his Soul Sense was completely unable to detect it, and his spiritual energy fluctuations were zero—this meant the opponent was at least at the Mahayana Stage or above, perhaps even...

A legendary existence.

Mo Yuan didn't want to gamble.

His nether mist churned violently, and then—

His entire being retreated.

Silently, like a mass of black mist merging into the night.

A few seconds later, there was nothing left in that spot.

Even the traces of the nether mist had dissipated.

Su Changge stood where he was, looking in the direction Mo Yuan had disappeared.

His face wore an "as expected" expression.

But in his heart—

[He's gone? He really left???]

[Oh my god! Did I just almost die?!]

[An evil Cultivator of the Undergoing Tribulation Middle Stage was standing face-to-face with me just ten zhang away! Ten zhang! He could have touched me just by reaching out!]

[If he had swiped at me with one claw, there wouldn't even be crumbs left of me!]

Su Changge's legs began to go weak.

He used every ounce of his strength just to keep himself from collapsing onto the ground.

Deep breath.

Another deep breath.

Su Changge waited for a full twenty breaths, confirming that Mo Yuan had completely left, before he dared to move.

At his fastest speed—which, for someone at the Qi Refining First Layer, was about the same as a normal person's jog—he rushed toward the Traveling Palace.

Along the way, his mind never stopped racing.

[Mo Yuan will definitely tell the other three dragon-men about tonight.]

[How will he describe me? "A white-clothed man with unfathomable cultivation appeared at the southern foothills and likely already knows our plan"?]

[If he says that—the Four Directions Dragon Court might have two reactions.]

[First, act ahead of schedule. Striking first while they think I haven't had time to notify anyone else.]

[Second, change the plan. Give up on detonating the Earth Vein and find another way.]

[Regardless of which one it is—the situation is moving in an even more complex direction.]

Su Changge cursed himself a hundred times in his heart.

[Why did I come out to scout? What was I doing playing scout at the Qi Refining First Layer?]

[Now look what's happened. Not only was I discovered by an evil Cultivator, but I might have also alerted the enemy.]

[Wait—it's not entirely a bad thing.]

Su Changge's pace slowed down.

He thought of a possibility.

[Mo Yuan couldn't probe my cultivation and was scared off by the feedback from Immunity to Ten Thousand Laws. In his eyes, I am a terrifying, unfathomable existence.]

[This means—the Four Directions Dragon Court needs to add "dealing with me" as a variable in their plan.]

[A variable they completely cannot see through.]

[The presence of a variable will make them more cautious in their planning. Caution means hesitation, and hesitation means flaws.]

[And where there are flaws—Ye Qingyao and Zhao Tian will have an opportunity.]

Su Changge's heartbeat gradually returned to normal.

He looked up and saw the silver light of the Traveling Palace's Spiritual Formation in the distance.

Almost there.

He straightened his robes, put on that calm and indifferent expression once more, and stepped into the range of the Traveling Palace's Spiritual Formation.

Just as he entered the door—

"Revered Master?"