"Master, won't you stay and rest a few more days?" King U'er asked. His voice was full of genuine reluctance as he watched Su Min pull the dark, sand-proof hood of her cloak over her head once more.
To his eyes, Su Min didn't seem very old, perhaps barely twenty. The king had even privately hoped to let his son, the brave young prince, spend more time in her company. He had imagined the possibility of the young man winning the heart of such a powerful and skilled cultivator. It would have been a wonderful boon for the kingdom's future.
Unfortunately, Su Min gave him no opportunity at all. As soon as the grand celebration banquet ended, she had packed up her few belongings and prepared to leave. She did, however, help herself to a generous stash of the kingdom's sweetest melons and dried fruits from the royal kitchens before departing, the weight of the bags a minor burden on her shoulder.
Seeing that her intention to leave was firm and unshakeable, King U'er could only sigh and give up. He led his ministers and a crowd of grateful citizens to the city gates to see her off. They had even formally announced plans to build a temple in her honor right there in the oasis. After all, Su Min had saved them all. Without her, every one of them might have eventually perished under the monster's bladed arms.
Naturally, all the citizens, from the wealthiest merchant to the poorest laborer, were deeply and sincerely grateful to Su Min. She didn't object to their decision to build a shrine. The incense offerings from sincere worship could genuinely aid her cultivation of the Great Sun Tathāgata Sutra. As for the old cultivator's saying that such faith could be "toxic" or binding, she didn't take it seriously, as she was confident in her own methods.
As for Hui Ming, the monk and national preceptor, he had no objections. After all, Su Min was now considered his fellow disciple in the Buddhist path. He understood what their master's long-term goals here were. More importantly, the specific techniques he himself cultivated didn't rely on incense offerings for power. Since there's no conflict of interest, he simply let it be, seeing it as a natural development.
"Until we meet again."
With those simple words of farewell, Su Min's figure turned and then vanished into the rolling, golden sands. Her speed was so great that she seemed to dissolve into the heat haze, leaving the desert people staring after her in stunned awe.
"So fast…" someone in the crowd muttered, echoing the thought on everyone's mind.
Just like that, the crowd slowly dispersed and returned to their daily lives. Meanwhile, Monk Hui Ming remained in his quiet quarters, diligently recovering from the internal shocks of the explosion. Though he was a Qi Refining cultivator, he had only just healed from severe, life-threatening injuries before being thrust into another intense battle, which was immediately followed by Su Min's cataclysmic blast. Even cultivators needed proper, uninterrupted rest, or hidden spiritual ailments could take root deep within their meridians. Such flaws, seemingly minor now, could prove fatal decades later when attempting to break through to a higher realm.
One Month Later
Huff…
"Finally out." Su Min spat a mouthful of sand from her lips, her voice raspy and dry. "So that's the true power of a desert sandstorm? I couldn't tell east from west. Where the hell am I now?"
A thoroughly disheveled and dust-caked Su Min stumbled out from the edge of the vast dunes. She practically crawled the last few meters to solid ground. Her luck had been terrible. During her return journey east, she had been caught in a truly massive, sky-darkening sandstorm that lasted for days. Though her specially treated robes had protected her from the worst of the scouring winds, all landmarks had vanished. Navigation by sun or stars became impossible. She had wandered blindly, having no idea where she had ended up, but at least she had escaped the desert's grasp. Her detailed map had long been tossed into her storage ring, as it was utterly useless under such conditions.
"It would have been a cosmic joke if I had died trapped in a desert," she grumbled, brushing thick layers of sand from her robes. "Good thing I'm always stocked on supplies."
She knew that a Golden Core cultivator could simply fly above such a storm, ignoring natural disasters altogether. But for those at the Qi Refining or even Foundation Establishment stage, a sandstorm of that magnitude remained a legitimate, deadly threat. Fortunately, her ring held enough food and clean water to wait out even weeks of raging winds.
"A city up ahead," she noted, squinting at the distant walls. The gray stone rose like a jagged tooth against the horizon. "I will head in and check things out. Maybe I can contact the local Fuding Merchant Guild branch and see if they have gathered any new intelligence for me. Let's see, this should be… Yongzhou City—?"
She froze mid-sentence. Emblazoned in large, unmistakable characters on a plaque above the city gates were two words:
永州
Yongzhou.
"So I have stumbled right into the heart of Prince Yong's stronghold," she murmured, a wry smile touching her lips. "I might as well take a look since I'm here."
After only a short pause, Su Min strode forward toward the gate without hesitation. Yongzhou City stood at the Great Wei Dynasty's crucial northwestern border, serving as a military and economic bulwark against the desert and steppe tribes. The Yong royal lineage had ruled this region for over a century, their roots deeply entrenched in every aspect of life here. That's the precise reason why, after the last Prince Yong's rebellion was crushed, the imperial family in the capital hadn't dared to exterminate the bloodline completely. Instead, a distant and previously obscure cousin was installed as the new prince, because the local people and armies would accept no other ruler.
Since she was already here, she saw no reason to avoid the city. In fact, the intelligence network in Prince Yong's base of power would likely be far superior to others. More importantly, she still lacked several key, rare ingredients for her Foundation Establishment Pill. While the Five Elements innate treasures were essential for the Heavenly Path method, the pill itself was indispensable for the breakthrough. A perfect Foundation Establishment Pill could shave decades off one's cultivation time, and that's no exaggeration.
A Qi Refining cultivator's lifespan was typically around 150 years. Reaching Foundation Establishment extended it to about 200, while Golden Core experts could live up to 500. Losing decades of cultivation time was no small matter, even for a long-lived Golden Core cultivator.
As for Su Min, her own lifespan wasn't a pressing problem thanks to her talent, but there's no point in delaying her progress. That demon queen in the capital wouldn't leave her alone forever. Reaching the Golden Core stage sooner meant having the power to end the threat sooner. Then, perhaps, her deepest karmic ties and grudges in this world could finally be severed, leaving her truly free.
Fuding Merchant Guild, Yongzhou Branch
"Get your manager. Now."
Su Min didn't bother with pleasantries. She flung her golden token directly into the hands of the gate guard, her tone leaving no room for delay. Officially, on all public ledgers, the Fuding Merchant Guild was Prince Fu's enterprise, a loyal business that presented treasures to the emperor regularly. Even knowing its true backer was Prince Yong, Su Min had no initial intention of meeting the man directly.
In truth, she would've preferred never to cross paths with him at all. She had nothing she particularly wanted to say to him. The so-called "throne of heaven" and its accompanying political games held zero appeal for her. Becoming an empress or a power behind the throne? Not a chance. In this world, what she truly sought was a different kind of power: the power of freedom, complete and unrestrained.
Yet, it's clear some encounters were simply unavoidable.
"Miss Su, our master has learned of your arrival and requests your presence."
While she was sipping a cup of surprisingly premium tea and reviewing the intelligence reports the branch manager had provided, Su Min sensed someone approach silently. The man who appeared in the doorway seemed ordinary at a glance, yet he radiated a formidable, tightly controlled physical energy. He was already at the late stage of Body Refining, just a single, well-timed step away from entering the Qi Refining stage.
Such natural talent was highly valued by every major faction, even the imperial court. After all, creating those Qi Refining demonic warriors required physically strong Body Refining candidates first. A shrewd ruler like Prince Yong would hardly waste promising talent like this young man on mere guard duty.
"Prince Yong, huh?" Su Min set her teacup down with a soft click. "Fine. I had a feeling I couldn't avoid this forever. Lead the way, kid."
"Yes, right this way," the young man said, showing no offense at her casual, slightly dismissive tone. He merely bowed slightly and guided her respectfully out of the reception room and into the compound's deeper, more private areas. Inside an inconspicuous, windowless side room filled with storage crates, he pressed a hidden mechanism, and a section of the wall slid open to reveal a downward-sloping passageway.
"You dug a secret tunnel? Is all this secrecy really necessary?" Su Min couldn't help but scoff lightly as they began their descent into the cool, damp earth.
"Caution preserves longevity," the young man replied smoothly, his voice echoing slightly in the stone corridor. "These are troubled times, and eyes are everywhere."