The Hanyun Province bordered the Tianhan Snow Plains, yet it belonged to a different climatic system, which spared it from the plains' lethal cold and spiritual disasters.
Even so, temperatures here rarely rose above freezing. It was a marked improvement over the Snow Plains' perpetual deep freeze, where -10°C was considered a mild day.
"Hah..."
Exhaling a plume of visible breath that crystallized in the air, Su Min studied the city before her with detached interest.
The harsh environment had kept populations sparse even after the worlds merged. In fact, many residents had migrated away. Yet, paradoxically, this exodus had drawn sects to establish outposts here. Extreme cold bred unique resources spiritual veins and environments perfect for ice-aligned cultivators.
Take this city, Icepeak City: Foundation Establishment cultivators were as common as dirt, and even Qi Refiners walked its streets casually.
Of course, this was Hanyun's only proper city. Beyond its walls lay scattered villages tiny settlements of a few dozen people each, clinging to survival in the vast white.
This arrangement meant a half-step Dao Comprehension expert from the local Frostveil Pavilion guarded the region. With settlements so small and distant, Fallen Ones found no incentive to hunt here, making the province relatively peaceful.
"This is Frostveil Pavilion's territory," Su Min noted, hovering above the snowy ridgelines, clouds drifting past her robes like strands of silk.
"Should I announce myself?" she mused aloud. "Unnecessary. I already pummeled their ancestor during the conference. No need to stir the pot twice."
A faint glint flickered in her eyes before she made her decision. With a focused breath, she suppressed her cultivation aura, compressing it from early Divine Transformation all the way down to the peak of the Golden Core stage, just below the threshold of Nascent Soul. It was enough to remain significant and command respect, but not so high as to be threatening.
Then came the second layer of disguise.
She carefully masked the fiery signature of her Nanming Lihuo, allowing the cool, aqueous mist of the Northern Water's Profound Origin to emanate from her instead. To any observer, she now appeared as a loose water-aligned cultivator seeking breakthroughs in the harsh environment.
Finally, she affixed a simple disguise artifact to her wrist. In an instant, her features shifted, becoming subtle and forgettable. Only her bond-beast, the little Golden Crow, would recognize her now. That was enough.
Her fingers brushed against the unlit jade slip tucked in her sleeve Yao Xian'er's talisman, attuned to activate only if Xie Yingying's life were in genuine danger.
It was still dormant.
"Good," Su Min murmured to the frozen air. "That means she is safe. For now."
A peak Mahayana cultivator's tomb would be inaccessible even to peak Unity Stage experts the gap between those realms was a chasm. Not even the Golden Crow or Dragon Princess could defeat an early Mahayana cultivator while at the Unity Stage.
After organizing her thoughts, Su Min concluded that haste was unnecessary. True inheritances took time. Her priority now was intelligence gathering.
"Peak Golden Core is the perfect cover."
Descending from the sky in a controlled flash of light, Su Min's robes shifted to a practical light blue. At the Golden Core stage, the city's cold was negligible though entering the Snow Plains at this level would rightly raise eyebrows.
But with her current disguise, even late-stage Dao Comprehension experts would struggle to see through her unless they specialized in soul perception.
"First step: information."
Clapping her hands softly, Su Min landed gracefully at the city gates. The entire Icepeak City was shielded by powerful defensive arrays even she could not enter undetected without force. A formal entry it was.
Soon...
"Ten low-grade spirit stones for entry. Non-negotiable."
The two gate guards, Foundation Establishment cultivators bundled in thick furs, tensed slightly at Su Min's arrival. Their heavy winter gear contrasted sharply with her light, elegant attire, instantly marking her as a high-level expert to whom the cold was nothing.
"Keep the change."
Tossing the stones carelessly into the collection bowl, Su Min strode past them into the ice-clad city without a backward glance.
"It resembles the northeastern cities from my old home, but far colder," she observed silently. "Minus twenty or thirty Celsius uninhabitable for true mortals."
Her observation trailed off as the cityscape registered fully. It looked like a scene from a fantasy video game, populated by characters wearing what should have been freezing-weather-inappropriate outfits.
She was no exception. While not in swimwear, her own ensemble would have killed an ordinary human within minutes.
But for Golden Core cultivators? The city's cold was negligible. Venturing into the Snow Plains beyond, however, remained perilous even at this level.
"Hmm?"
As Su Min debated finding a temporary lodging, a prominent notice board caught her eye:
[GRAND AUCTION - GOLDEN CORE MINIMUM ENTRY]
Treasures from the Depths of the Tianhan Snow Plains - Items of value even to Divine Transformation experts!
"Something even Divine Transformation cultivators want?" A faint, curious smirk played on her lips.
Normally, she could have simply raided any auction house effortlessly a peak sixth-tier alchemist's wealth beggared imagination. But this time was different. Revealing a sixth-tier pill would instantly blow her cover.
"What could interest Divine Transformation experts? Maybe something useful for me..."
After brief consideration, Su Min decided to investigate. If the prize was truly worthy, exposing herself might be a calculated risk worth taking.
Advancing from early Divine Transformation was notoriously difficult. Xie Yingying might well emerge from her seclusion at the Dao Comprehension Stage such was the privilege of a Yin-Yang Physique, their paths often preordained. Her own Five Elements Holy Body offered no such smooth shortcuts.
"Decision made. I will attend. But first, I need to refine some convincingly 'inferior' pills."
The thought amused her as she rented a basic cultivation chamber. The city, built atop a massive spiritual vein, used its extreme environment to create unique cultivation conditions though it was less ideal for the delicate art of alchemy.
But that only troubled lesser alchemists. Su Min's real dilemma was her own perfectionism even her fourth-tier Golden Core pills were flawless masterpieces, instantly recognizable to a discerning eye. Now she needed to deliberately produce shoddy work.
"Me, making subpar pills," she chuckled to herself. "At least it is under a disguise."
Setting up a basic isolation array nothing fancy, just functional she summoned her cauldron.
"Begin. Third-tier low-grade should suffice for a peak Golden Core wanderer."
The furnace flared to life under her expert control, its heat perfectly contained.
One day later...
"Even limiting myself, the quality is still suspiciously decent," she mused, inspecting the results. "I blame my lack of experience in intentionally making garbage."
The pills were comparable to her earliest, rougher works. She nodded in satisfaction. They were passable.
"Three Metal Spirit Pills, plus two Golden Core breakthrough aids. Pricey but plausible for someone at my 'level'. Time to visit the auction house."
Most transactions at her real tier involved barter or high-tier spirit stones, leaving her temporarily cash-strapped in the local currency. But that was easily remedied.
Soon, she stood before the auction house manager.
"Tsk, these are critical-grade breakthrough pills. Very valuable. Are you an alchemist, miss?" the manager asked, his eyes keen.
Sssss...
A wisp of black-tinged water vapor, cold and sharp, curled from Su Min's palm in response. It was a deliberate, subtle display of her 'water' attribute.
"Desperation stockpiles," she said flatly. "Useless now to a loose cultivator like myself."
"I see." The manager eyed her water-aligned energy but asked no further questions. Peak Golden Core experts often had reputations, and this unfamiliar face likely belonged to a lone wolf. To most, Golden Core represented the pinnacle of attainable power. The manager knew better than to press.
"Here is your private booth token. The auction begins in three days. We have made significant harvests from the Snow Plains this season some herbs may even aid your Nascent Soul breakthrough."
"My thanks." She paused, as if a thought had just occurred to her. "Though I have heard rumors of... trouble there recently."
"Pests," the manager waved a dismissive hand. "But the Snow Plains' blizzards shred spiritual sense even Foundation Establishment cultivators get minced within minutes. Hardly worth worrying over. Besides, they are all clustered deep inland now."
"Deep inland?" Su Min's interest sharpened. This was her true objective intel on the Fallen Ones' movements.
"Where even our sect elders dare not tread," the manager confirmed, lowering his voice slightly. "Legend says two supreme experts clashed there pre-Integration. One ascended, one fell. Decades ago, the fallen one's tomb manifested rumored to contain drops of their essence blood. That is what those scavengers are after. Avoid the area, and you are safe."
Essence blood from a Mahayana expert… Su Min did not need to be told how astronomically valuable that was. But she also understood the terrible price such things often demanded.
"The tomb is sealed?" she asked, keeping her tone casually curious.
"Unique restrictions," the man confirmed with a nod. "Only one person has managed to get inside. The rest are just waiting outside like vultures, hoping to ambush them once they emerge with the prize."
Su Min's eyes narrowed imperceptibly.
"Only one."
She did not need to ask who it was.
A quiet sense of relief passed through her like a wind through pine needles quiet, invisible, but undeniably real. Yao Xian'er had mentioned the tomb's dual nature: one benevolent, one wicked. If the evil aspect was still sealed, then Xie Yingying was facing only the inner trial of the benevolent will. No eruption. No dark emergence.
That meant she was still within the trial's bounds still in control.
Which meant Su Min could afford to wait, to plan, to gather her strength properly.
"About that tomb" she began, feigning impulsive greed.
"Miss," the manager interjected, his expression turning stern. "Though your cultivation surpasses this old man's, I advise against foolishness. That place spells death even for Nascent Soul experts. Our own ancestor will not approach it."
"Understood," Su Min said, offering a polite, disarming smile. "I have no death wish. Thank you for the information."
With that, she took her leave, her mind already racing, plotting her next move in the silent, frozen game that lay ahead.