Three days later, Su Min stepped into the auction house right on time. With no immediate crisis pressing down on her, there was only one priority left: getting stronger.
The memory of facing that horde of Fallen Ones was a cold weight in her gut. The sheer pressure of it, the near-impossibility of exterminating them all… it was a problem that wouldn't be solved by brute force. Not yet.
She was walking the Path of Slaughter, after all. Its essence was a blade meant for oppressors, not a trigger for mindless killing. A single death wouldn't power her up. With the Tiger Spirit already sleeping inside her, she could patiently absorb the White Tiger's inheritance. After that, she would go to claim the Western Metallic Gold. It was the final piece, the Earth Qilin's hidden treasure, that promised a brutal fight. The Black Qilin, ruler of its clan, was a power on par with the Divine Dragon and the Golden Crow. Their divine artifact, the Central Earth, wasn't their core treasure, but it was still enough to be the foundation of an entire race. She could only hope the situation wouldn't turn ugly. If it did, she might have to pay a steep price to enlist the Dragon Princess's help. With two divine beast clans applying pressure, the Golden Crow might listen. But the Dragon Princess never came cheap.
"Miss, this is our sect's premium tea, brewed from a special unfrozen spring in the Tianhan Snow Plains." An attendant offered her a steaming cup.
Su Min stared at the liquid. "Uh..." Based on the knowledge from her old life, "hot springs" like that were usually heated by underground magma, which meant the water would be full of sulfides. It was practically toxic. Her current body could handle it without a problem, but the idea still turned her stomach.
"You may leave." She waved the attendant away and set the cup aside, untouched. Since other cultivators wouldn't die from drinking it, she didn't stop them. But she wouldn't be having any.
"Then again," she thought, "trying to apply real-world science here is a fool's game. Who knows if absolute zero even exists in this world?" She shook her head. "Best not to overthink physics in a cultivation world."
She refocused just as the auction began. A drumroll echoed through the hall as a Nascent Soul elder rose to the stage and bowed. "This old man, Han Hongzi, will preside. Since we're all cultivators, let's skip the formalities. Our first item: the Metal Spirit Pill." He gestured to a jade dish. "Its effects need no introduction. Everyone here represents a sect. Moreover, this pill is of superior quality. Observe."
He stepped aside, allowing countless spiritual senses from the private booths to sweep over the pill.
Su Min allowed herself a small, internal smile. She had deliberately crafted this one as an "inferior" product, but its quality was still exceptional. It was the absolute limit of what a normal fourth-tier alchemist could achieve. With the Great Integration, such alchemists weren't as vanishingly rare, so no one questioned its origin.
"One hundred high-grade spirit stones!" a voice called out immediately.
In the current era, Golden Core cultivators were the mainstream, but countless Foundation Establishment experts were just one pill away from a breakthrough. The Metal Spirit Pill increased the chance of surviving the tribulation by thirty percent. Nowadays, any stable Foundation Establishment cultivator could safely pass the Three-Nine Heavenly Tribulation with one of these. Its value was astronomical.
Every major sect, including her own Immortal Gate, had thousands of Foundation Establishment disciples clamoring for them. Even for them, obtaining one came at a great cost. The Immortal Gate's entire stockpile was just over a hundred, and that was only because they had their own in-house alchemists. These pills were pure hard currency. No one ever had enough.
"One hundred fifty!"
"Prices are higher than during the Golden Core Avenue era," Su Min mused silently. An ordinary Golden Core cultivator might only have a dozen high-grade stones. This opening bid was more than some of them were worth.
She was pleased, though a little surprised they were auctioning the pills first as a batch. She could sense at least two or three Divine Transformation experts lurking in the private booths. They were probably here for something specific.
"Two hundred!"
The bidding escalated fast, which was standard for these pills. Su Min's internal smirk widened; she still had two Divine Transformation Pills in her storage ring. Their appearance would drive the crowd mad. Those were the real keys, and fewer than five people on the continent could refine them.
"Three hundred!" a heavyweight bid cut through the noise, silencing the room.
In a private booth, several figures exchanged satisfied glances. Su Min's sharp senses caught their whispered conversation. "That was the Skysea Spirit Pool faction. Their patriarch needs the Ice Spirit Divine Marrow to comprehend his Dao. He's stuck at late Divine Transformation."
"Good. Let them spend big now. It'll reduce the competition for us later. Our patriarch is already waiting outside the city. We will obtain that item at any cost." A flicker of cold killing intent passed between them. Their determination was absolute.
"Interesting," Su Min whispered to herself. The price was steep, but it fit the current environment. She settled back to watch the show.
The auction rolled on. Various treasures took the stage, but none came close to the frenzy her pills had caused. Breakthrough pills were like strategic reserves; they were almost never seen in a public auction.
"How boring. Just trash," she muttered, her interest waning. The items weren't bad—they were perfectly suited for Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators—but they meant nothing to someone at her level.
She was just starting to yawn when the auctioneer neared the end of his list.
Then—
"Our penultimate item: a pill obtained at great cost from the world's premier alchemist, Grandmaster Su Min. The Divine Transformation Pill!"
A collective gasp sucked the air from the hall. Even the hidden Divine Transformation experts exchanged bewildered glances. Auctioning such a thing was unheard of. A single Divine Transformation cultivator could uphold an entire major sect. Many only had one in residence. Xie Yingying's old sect, for example, hadn't had the resources to support more than one; she was the only one who survived to the present. A pill like this should be locked in the deepest vault, under the heaviest guard.
Why was it here?
"Huh?" Su Min blinked in genuine confusion. After the Sect Tournament, Han Shuangzi had visited her with lavish gifts, begging for a Divine Transformation Pill. With time to spare, she had refined one for him—charging the full, exorbitant price, of course. But she never expected to see it here. Even her own Immortal Gate only stored two in its treasury. The rest she carried herself. Seeing it now was almost comical.
"The Divine Transformation Pill's function needs no explanation," the auctioneer continued, his voice calm but firm. "But don't even think about seizing it. Our patriarch personally oversees this event. His capabilities... well, you understand."
His words settled over the crowd like a frost, silencing any greedy thoughts. Everyone understood. Except Su Min. The Frostveil Pavilion's strongest was Han Shuangzi. While his cultivation might lag slightly behind the very top tiers, his methods were cunning enough to thwart even a half-step Dao Comprehension expert.
"We require assistance with an extremely dangerous task," the auctioneer explained. "As you know, Grandmaster Su's services don't come cheap. Our sect paid a heavy price."
"Indeed, indeed..." murmurs of agreement rippled through the crowd.
"Was I that expensive?" Su Min counted the cost silently in her head. "Well... yes, I suppose I was." With no competitors, her clients had no choice but to pay her price.
"This..." The hall buzzed with a fresh wave of speculation.
"A sixth-tier Divine Transformation Pill! Just seeing it makes my life worthwhile!" a Golden Core cultivator breathed.
"If only I could obtain it..." another whispered dreamily.
"Obtain it?" his friend hissed back. "The moment it touched your hand, you'd lose your head. Look at those private booths. Even the Nascent Soul experts are salivating."
Upstairs, they were indeed nearly drooling. That pill was their key to everything. Breaths grew ragged. Only the sudden, heavy pressure of a powerful spiritual sense prevented a stampede. Even the most disciplined cultivators strained against a temptation this profound.
"Amusing," Su Min observed, her posture lazy. The pill itself meant nothing to her. She was just enjoying the spectacle.
In the private booths, the actual Divine Transformation experts were conferring in low voices. "Offering a pill like this means the task is exceedingly perilous. It likely requires the strength of a late Divine Transformation expert, at the very minimum..."
The pill held no direct value for them, but it was invaluable for their sects. Obtaining it might require one of their own late-stage experts to risk his life. The cost was exorbitant. It was a paradox: you needed the power to get the pill, but you needed the pill to get the power. And with fewer than ten of these pills likely existing on the entire continent, the scarcity alone dictated the price. Even with the Medicine King Cauldron, Su Min couldn't produce more than three at a time.
Everyone was carefully weighing the risks. The Frostveil Pavilion's strength was undeniable. If even they needed outside help, the mission had to be a death trap.
"What exactly is required?" A voice, thick with authority, cut through the murmurs. A late Divine Transformation expert stepped forward, his cultivation level undisguised.
"Our sect discovered a secret realm deep in the Snow Plains," the auctioneer revealed. "It has nothing to do with the Fallen Ones. Activating it requires three late Divine Transformation experts. We are one short. Succeed, and this pill is yours."
A sharp intake of breath swept the room. Three. Three late Divine Transformation experts signaled a level of peril that made hearts go cold. The Frostveil Pavilion had exactly three who qualified, yet they were keeping one in reserve. They were afraid of being wiped out. Whatever was hidden in that realm had to be extraordinary.
"Then this old man shall volunteer." To everyone's surprise, the late Divine Transformation expert accepted immediately.