As Su Min plunged into the Weak Water, the sea beasts followed closely behind. The pills she had offered were far too few. Only a handful of them had the qualifications to trade with her. In the ocean, pills were even rarer than on land.
Inside the Weak Water, Su Min's brows furrowed deeply.
"This water has a strong corrosive effect. I cannot rely on spiritual energy to protect myself. If not for the Eastern Azure Wood, my physical body would not be able to withstand it."
The Weak Water Secret Realm was similar to other secret realms she had entered. The moment she stepped in, she was scattered to a random location. Now, she was completely alone, surrounded by no other beasts. But the flowing water around her was extremely dangerous. If not for the Eastern Azure Wood slowly absorbing the moisture, even her Nascent Soul level physique might not have held up.
"The bloodline legacies here are useless to me. Fighting the sea beasts over them is not worth it. Aside from gathering herbs along the way, my main goal is to find the Black Tortoise's legacy and the Northern Water's Profound Origin."
With this thought, she took out the Black Tortoise Token and poured her spiritual energy into it.
"No response? That is strange. Did I misremember, or has something changed?"
Su Min frowned. The Black Tortoise's secret realm should have been here. She had even sensed it at the entrance. But now, inside, there was no trace of it.
The Four Symbols, though resembling beasts, were not ordinary beastic or divine beasts. Their legacies could not be inherited by beasts, so Su Min's competition here was minimal. That was why she had come alone, without any helpers. But now, things were not going as smoothly as she had hoped.
"Maybe it is a matter of timing. The Weak Water Secret Realm opens for decades. It is a crucial inheritance site for sea beasts, much like the Golden Core Avenue. I will gather information and materials first, then search for the rest."
After some thought, she fastened the token to her waist. Now that she was inside the Weak Water, the token had stabilized. It was no longer at risk of suddenly disappearing. That, at least, was good news. Since that was the case, she might as well cast a wide net and search slowly.
Meanwhile, deep in the ocean, an unremarkable figure was rapidly approaching. A small black snake, no longer than an arm, slithered silently through the pitch black depths. Its presence was completely concealed. Even if it were right in front of you, you would not notice it. Its speed, however, was terrifyingly fast. In the blink of an eye, it had traversed tens of thousands of meters, arriving at the outskirts of the Weak Water Mansion.
Then, its lifeless eyes flickered with greed and intelligence. This was an ancient being, one that had transcended the Divine Transformation stage long before the world's spiritual energy had declined. But that was not necessarily a good thing. Enlightenment stage existences were too vast. No sealing crystal could contain them.
To survive, it had resorted to a brutal method. It had severed its foundation. It had cut its roots, its bloodline, forcibly reducing itself to the Divine Transformation stage. And to prevent further deterioration, it had sealed itself in the abyss.
Now, decades after the world's revival, it had finally sensed the rich spiritual energy and the lifting of the world's suppression. Naturally, it had broken free at once. But the price of its imperfect self severing was steep. If it could not recover quickly, it might fall to the Nascent Soul stage, or worse.
Fortunately, its luck was not bad. A secret realm had opened just as it awoke. Every beast here was a delicious feast for it, so it had acted immediately. With a flick of its body, it darted into the darkness, vanishing without a trace.
One week later, inside the Weak Water, Su Min landed in a somewhat disheveled state, then activated her Water Avoiding Barrier. A small, dry area formed around her, allowing her to finally catch her breath.
"Little Gourd, you have evolved again. Do not say I mistreated you."
She patted the Treasure Gourd at her waist. Earlier, she had clashed with a late stage Nascent Soul beast over a rare herb. After a fierce battle, she had slain it outright. In a normal environment, she could have fought effortlessly. But here, in the Weak Water, the sea beasts could manipulate the surrounding currents to their advantage. Though Su Min was not afraid, she had still been thoroughly exhausted.
Now, after devouring three Nascent Soul beast corpses, her gourd had upgraded once more. The Demon Slaying Thunder it could unleash was now powerful enough to injure Divine Transformation experts. This gave her some means of self defense against such foes. In this harsh environment, unless she obtained the Northern Water's Profound Origin, fighting water adapted sea beasts would be too disadvantageous.
"No leads at all. Hmm?"
Just as she was lamenting, her body suddenly shuddered. Her eyes flashed red, and in the next instant, she dashed away at full speed. At the same time, a thin black shadow pierced through the spot where her barrier had been.
Su Min's heart skipped a beat. If not for her keen alchemist's senses, she might have been impaled. No ordinary Divine Transformation beast could have pulled off such an attack. So without hesitation, she fled without looking back. If she did not know what it was, distance was the best option. Thunder crackled around her as she shot forward.
"A human? How is she so agile in the Weak Water?"
The black snake was slightly surprised. It had been inside the secret realm for a week, having devoured over a dozen Golden Core beasts. Just now, while passing by, it had spotted this resting human. It had been cautious, only targeting Golden Core beasts to avoid detection. But a human was a different story. In this environment, humans were severely weakened, and this one looked tender and delicious. But who would have thought she would react so quickly?
This piqued its interest. Compared to beasts, it craved human essence more. It was simply superior in quality. And though their contact had been brief, it had sensed something off about Su Min. So it gave chase, transforming into a black streak of light.
"What the hell is that thing? A Divine Transformation snake beast? But..."
Su Min's body trembled again. Because she had sensed something unusual from it, a peculiar sense of incompleteness. In that instant, she realized what she was facing.
"Dammit, it is a Fallen One. It is too early to encounter them. Even if it has not fully recovered, it is at least at the peak of Divine Transformation, stronger than most at that level. There is no way I can fight it now."
Cursing inwardly, she sped up even more. Faint trails of lightning marked her path through the Weak Water. Though a confrontation with the Fallen was inevitable, it could not be now. She needed to obtain the Northern Water's Profound Origin and reach Divine Transformation first.
"If I cannot outrun it, I will lure it elsewhere. I remember there are a few Divine Transformation beasts here. These things instinctively repel others. If I can drive it away, even better."
With this plan in mind, Su Min was not fleeing blindly. The three clan leaders were gathered at an ancient ruin. She had avoided it earlier to prevent conflict. But now, with the snake closing in, she had no choice. So she dashed straight for the ruins.
The area was a graveyard of bones, a battlefield where countless powerful beasts had fallen. Over time, it had become a legacy site for bloodline inheritance. Of course, those blood essences were only useful as materials to Su Min, so she had steered clear earlier. Except for that dim witted giant crab, none of the beasts had bothered her. But now, things were different. The moment she approached, three Divine Transformation auras locked onto her.
"Human, this is not your place!"
Two of them were the same beasts she had traded with earlier. Under normal circumstances, Su Min would have avoided them. But today, she charged straight in.
The three beasts were stunned, but before they could react, their expressions darkened. Because they sensed that presence. A monstrous being, clearly a beast, yet instinctively repulsive to them.
"Who are you? Leave at once!"
While they had only been wary of Su Min, their disgust for this thing was visceral.
"Hand over that human, and I will leave."
The black snake's voice was calm. At this level, beings did not act on whim. Even if these three loathed it, they would not attack outright. Besides, it did not dare fight three Divine Transformation beasts at once.
"You, huh?"
But the next moment, all four beasts paused. Because Su Min's aura had vanished.
"She is a high rank alchemist. Her soul power surpasses ours."
After a long silence, the tortoise beast explained. As long as Su Min did not touch the legacies, it preferred not to antagonize her. That single pill had been invaluable, and if she could refine more, her worth was immeasurable. This secret realm might open once every few millennia, but pills were far more accessible. And most importantly, they could not refine them themselves.
"You!"
The black snake seethed with rage. It was clear these three had no intention of opposing Su Min, and it had not known she was a high rank alchemist. But this realization only deepened its killing intent. Alchemists were not to be offended, but if offended, they must be killed. Even beasts understood this principle. With a final glare, it turned and left.
Elsewhere, hidden beneath a pile of bones, Su Min let out a quiet sigh of relief. Thankfully, she had reacted quickly enough. With the three clan leaders here, that thing would not dare attack recklessly. But the root problem remained. She still had to deal with it eventually.
"Huh?"
Just as she was thinking, the token at her waist trembled.
"What?"
She stared at it in surprise. Over the past week, she had searched most of the Weak Water Secret Realm. The three major sea beast clans had taken over the area, so she had avoided it. But who would have thought the key would be here?
Only now did she notice the enormous tortoise shell above her, and the Black Tortoise Token resonating with it.
"No wonder I could not find it no matter how hard I searched. It was here all along."
But her expression quickly turned solemn again. Because in the next moment, the giant shell seemed to come alive. A flood of information poured into her mind, forcing her to clutch her head in pain.
"This shell contains a drop of the Black Tortoise's bloodline legacy?!"
Su Min was stunned. Fortunately, the commotion was small. None of the other beasts noticed. This allowed her to calmly absorb the information. Clearly, this was directly related to the Northern Water's Profound Origin. She could not afford to mess this up.
Meanwhile, on the ocean's surface, a brilliant Buddhist light suddenly illuminated the waves. Liao Jie and several others emerged, their expressions cold as they gazed into the abyss below.
"It took us so long to pinpoint this location. If she is here for the Weak Water, she must be after the Northern Water's Profound Origin. This time, let us see how she escapes!"
Clutching three Black Tortoise Tokens in his hand, Liao Jie's face twisted with killing intent. The tokens were not unique, but they were elusive. Most people would be lucky to find one. But for those skilled in divination, obtaining three was not impossible, for a price. With these, they could directly locate the Northern Water's Profound Origin. All that remained was to wait for Su Min to walk into their trap.