The spatial fluctuations coming from the hidden mansion were unlike anything anyone had ever seen. Greed flared in every pair of eyes present. To them, this was a golden opportunity to break through to the Golden Core stage, and the cultivator inside? Just kill them.
Yet, they didn't know. They couldn't know.
They were poking the tail of a sleeping dragon.
Then a voice came.
"All of you—kneel!!!"
It wasn't loud or shrill, only cold.
Utterly frigid.
Like divine judgment given form.
A moment later, the entire sky ignited with invisible pressure. The clouds split apart in a blaze of crimson qi. Screams echoed as cultivators crashed to the ground, their knees buckling beneath the overwhelming weight.
"Golden Core?!"
"Impossible! Even Golden Core experts shouldn't have this level of power!"
The imperial envoys were especially shocked. Their own Golden Core ancestor's aura had never come close to this.
This wasn't merely the pressure of a Golden Core cultivator.
It was rage.
It was fury made tangible.
It was a celestial mountain crushing mortal ants.
From above, a figure descended, wrapped in crimson light. Her robes snapped like war banners, her eyes blazing with killing intent. Su Min hovered in the air, her expression cold as frost. Yet beneath that fury was a faint trace of fear. Her gaze swept across the trembling crowd.
"You dared," she said softly, her voice low and dangerous.
There was no roar, no scream, only quiet words soaked in death.
"Senior, surely someone of your stature wouldn't stoop to competing with juniors for such minor opportunities?" The Earth Demon Old Ghost gritted his teeth. He was one step away from Golden Core and desperate enough to challenge even a being like her.
"Scram."
Su Min didn't even bother to humor him. Even if he somehow reached Golden Core, killing him would still be effortless.
A flash of red and a thunderous boom followed. His body smashed into a cliff like a discarded rag doll, blood staining the rocks. He would live, but barely. Any more words, and even that mercy would vanish.
The sky seemed to darken around Su Min.
Nanming Lihuo cloaked her form, her foundations flawless. She had walked the Heavenly Path Foundation Establishment and endured the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation. An ordinary Golden Core cultivator couldn't suppress a crowd with mere presence, but she wasn't ordinary. Here, she was the heavens themselves.
And yet, her voice softened as she turned away from the stunned onlookers.
"Xie Yingying," she said quietly, facing the crystalline palace. "Aren't you coming out? Or do you need me to carry you again?"
Her qi swept out like a gentle breeze, tearing apart the final layer of concealment with a flick of her sleeve.
The illusion collapsed.
From within the shrinking mansion emerged a woman in flowing black robes, her hair streaming like a river of moonlight. Her cultivation hovered just below the Golden Core realm, and with her unique physique, a breakthrough was only a matter of time. When her eyes met Su Min's, the guarded chill melted into something warm and quiet.
Su Min's gaze locked onto her—alive, unharmed, right there—and something in her chest tightened.
Xie Yingying's voice was softer than she remembered, laced with something unfamiliar: warmth. Relief.
"Su Min…"
Her next words drifted like a sigh, threaded with admiration and pride.
"Su Min, you've done well these centuries. Not only reaching Golden Core, but your vitality remains untouched."
She stepped forward, eyes glimmering. "That aura… you passed the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation, didn't you?"
Su Min's lips curved. "Would you have expected anything less?"
Xie Yingying exhaled, almost laughing. "No. I suppose not."
For a moment, silence stretched between them. Three centuries condensed into a single glance. Then Su Min spoke again, quieter now, the bravado fading into something raw.
"I told you I'd come."
Not I told you I would, not You should have waited, just I told you I'd come. Simple, heavy, a vow kept.
Xie Yingying's breath hitched. The teasing lilt she'd mustered earlier faltered, replaced by something quieter, more vulnerable. "You did," she murmured. "Even if you took your time."
Su Min descended the last of the distance between them. The cultivators groveling in the dirt might as well have been ghosts for all the attention she paid them now.
"Late or not," she said, her voice low, "I'm here."
And because she couldn't help it, because three centuries of battles and waiting had carved the words into her bones, she added, "Did you doubt me?"
Xie Yingying's smile was small and private. "Never."
A hushed ripple spread through the onlookers. The name alone struck like thunder—Su Min. The Earth Demon Old Ghost's resentful glare dissolved into wide-eyed terror and groveling awe. None of them had ever seen her in person, though her statues stood across the realm like divine relics. Her name, however, was carved into legend.
The first Golden Core cultivator born of Wei Wu State. The slayer of the infamous Demon Queen. The Danxian whose pills had become priceless treasures the moment she vanished from the world.
And now—she had withstood the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation?
Even their imperial ancestor would be reduced to ash before such a force. The final strike of a Nine-Nine Tribulation rivaled the full power of a peak Golden Core cultivator. Some said it even brushed the threshold of Nascent Soul.
"Danxian! My grandfather served under you—Cao Yuanmu! In the name of the Yong royal family, I invite you to the palace as our honored guest!"
A fawning imperial envoy scrambled forward the moment Su Min lifted her pressure.
Su Min shook her head. She owed the Yong family nothing. She had already secured their rule and left them decades of pills. Their first Golden Core ancestor had emerged a century later, relying on her leftover resources to ascend before his life ran out.
"I've long withdrawn from worldly affairs. With a Golden Core guarding you, you'll be fine. Let's go."
With that, she carry Xie Yingying onto her flying sword and vanished in a streak of light.
"Farewell, Danxian!"
No one dared to stop them. Even the Earth Demon Old Ghost kowtowed respectfully.
—
"You're ready for the Golden Core Avenue. Do you have a safe place to rest? I've got some items I can't bring inside, so they'll need guarding."
Xie Yingying studied Su Min carefully. If the Su Min of centuries past had made her wary, the one standing before her now stirred something far deeper. There was admiration in her eyes, and a touch of something she couldn't name. The gap between Foundation Establishment and Golden Core was immense, especially for someone who had survived the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation.
There was no denying it—Su Min had already crossed the threshold to enter the Golden Core Avenue. Heavenly Foundation Establishment was the base requirement, the Six-Nine Tribulation the gateway. But Su Min had walked through fire and come out tempered by the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation itself.
"I've got a place," Su Min said. "How long can you last?"
"Three months, if I don't fight," Xie Yingying answered.
A pause lingered between them, heavy with thoughts unspoken.
"That's more than enough. Come to my sect first," Su Min said, her tone softening. "Also, since you carry the Heavenly Yin Sect's legacy, why not join mine?"
"Huh?"
Xie Yingying blinked, caught off guard. Of all the things she expected Su Min to say, this was not on the list. She'd known Su Min had likely established a sect of her own—someone like her wouldn't settle quietly—but in this backwater? And to invite her in, just like that…?
Then they reached the world's edge, where Su Min summoned her spatial shuttle. When the sky split and the edges of the world faded behind them, Xie Yingying's breath caught. She hadn't even known this part of the continent existed, let alone been traversable.
But nothing prepared her for what came next.
And then, she saw it.
A colossal golden tree rose from the center of a hidden continent, glowing with divine brilliance. Its roots seemed to stretch into the soul of the land itself.
"How's that for a foundation?" Su Min said with a smile, her voice light, but her eyes flickering with something more vulnerable—hope. "Better than the Mingling Province, no?"
Xie Yingying stared, momentarily speechless.
"This place… this aura… even the divine Fusang Tree?"
Su Min grinned as Xie Yingying stared, dumbfounded.
She craved Xie Yingying's legacy—not just her body (wait, no, definitely just the legacy… probably). Her own collection of inheritances was clever but patchwork. In contrast, Xie Yingying's was a complete system—refined, elegant, and rooted in one of the most ancient sects in the realm.
She wanted it. She needed it. But the real question was—would she say yes?
"This place…" Xie Yingying finally murmured, eyes wide as she took in the divine Fusang Tree.
Xie Yingying's heart stirred. Her mission was to preserve her sect's legacy, not rebuild it from scratch—a task too time-consuming for most. Her original plan had been to merge with an existing sect after exiting the Golden Core Avenue.
But this offer… This place…
And the way Su Min had looked at her—half-serious, half-teasing, but with that earnest glint in her eyes…
It was tempting.
Very tempting.
The Fusang Tree alone hinted at profound ties to the Golden Crow lineage. A heritage worthy of any legacy.
"My sect's still young," Su Min said, her voice low, inviting. "But it has potential. And… I think you'd fit here."
Silence fell between them, but it wasn't awkward. It was heavy—with thought, with decision, with something neither dared name just yet.
Xie Yingying's lips curved faintly. "You're dangerous."
Su Min's grin widened, a glint of mischief in her eyes. "To enemies, sure."
But the way she looked at her said more. "Not to you. Never to you."
"Help me obtain the Lunar Sovereign Ancient Scripture," Xie Yingying said softly. "It's crucial to me. My sect's elders spent their lifetimes finding it."
"Deal. But I've a condition too." With a fluid motion, she rolled up her sleeve, revealing a shimmering dragon-shaped mark etched into her shoulder.
"The Azure Dragon Emissary?" Xie Yingying's eyes widened. "But you already bear the Vermilion Bird's legacy. How can you hold the Azure Dragon's as well? Wait—never mind. I'm technically homeless anyway, and I'll need a base for the century inside the Golden Core Avenue."
She studied Su Min carefully, suspicion mingling with reluctant trust. Secrets were the currency of cultivators, after all. And this place—the sanctuary Su Min offered—was far too valuable to turn down.
"Lunar Sovereign Physique?"
The new voice came from the Peacock King, who was watching Xie Yingying closely.
"Problem?"
Su Min raised an eyebrow.
"No, but stay away from the Fusang Tree. The young mistress is still dormant, and your energies will provoke her."
"Understood."
Xie Yingying nodded. She wasn't foolish enough to antagonize a divine wonder.
"We'll enter seclusion one last time," Su Min said. "Gather every medicinal ingredient. I'll refine breakthrough pills before we step into the Golden Core Avenue. We might not emerge until it ends."
Inside, the heavenly suppression would ease, allowing them to reach Golden Core perfection.
Leaving early would trigger Heavenly Decay—something Su Min could withstand, but Xie Yingying could not. Once the Avenue closed, a new great era would begin, ancient powers would awaken, and barriers would fall.
Chaos would return.
With the Peacock King dismissed, Xie Yingying sighed.
"You've got more secrets than I thought. That was a Golden Crow retainer, wasn't it? To think a vanished race like theirs would reawaken here…"
"This shuttle was the Demon Queen's treasure. She hibernated here for this very land—pity it all fell into my lap."
Su Min's half-truth covered her tracks—the Demon Queen's map scroll (enough proof) was still in her possession.
Soon, they landed in the sect's back mountains.
"Prepare for your tribulation. I'll refine pills and leave my legacy behind. With the Peacock King and Azure Dragon King guarding this place, your belongings will be safe."
Time was short. Su Min's own tribulation had nearly exceeded her limit, and she wouldn't risk letting Xie Yingying face the same fate.
"I'll find an isolated island for my tribulation. I won't endanger the mainland."
After tribulation, heavenly rewards would bring new divine abilities, but those required precise conditions to absorb. Su Min's heavenly thunder, for example, had been forged through ten years of relentless bombardment.
With that, they parted ways—Su Min to her alchemy chamber, Xie Yingying to her lone island.
Back in her forge, Su Min sorted through mountains of ingredients, including several Golden Core beast cores that the Azure Dragon King had likely hunted from the surrounding seas. She stored them away for later use.
Her focus now was on crafting universal breakthrough pills—potent, stable, and free of side effects. The island's resources were vast, and even with the spirit beasts' help, they had barely scratched its surface.
===
Finally she get a homeless Yingying. Don't worry her full body & legacy will be yours only.
"(not only her body—wait, no, just the legacy)" The author also write something like this in the original novel. I just rewording it..