Gulp...
The two remaining Divine Transformation cultivators stared, their throats tight with dread. The woman before them was now unmistakable. The black, intricate armor that seemed to drink the light, the hair as white as the snow plains, the flames dancing in her eyes—it was a visage burned into the memory of every major sect leader. They finally understood why the Frostveil Pavilion had handed over the Netherfrost Soul Crystal so easily. The conditions she could offer were so lavish that no sect, no matter how established, could refuse. Had they known it was her, they wouldn't have dared this ambush even with three hundred times their current courage.
Even if they somehow managed to overpower her, they could never truly keep her here. The most likely outcome would be her escaping, and that would create a grudge they could never repay. With just one word from her, countless powerful cultivators would line up to destroy their sect, offering their heads as a trophy to win her favor.
After the initial, paralyzing shock, their expressions twisted into something vicious. Since things had escalated this far, there was only one path left: they had to make sure Su Min never left this place. Almost instantly, the three exchanged a single, desperate glance. Even the man who had already lost an arm to Su Min gritted his teeth, a fiery crimson aura erupting around him as he began burning his essence blood.
"Triple Unity! Heaven-grade artifact—Xiumu Totem!!!"
As their voices fell in unison, a massive, gnarled totem materialized in the sky, its shadow falling over Su Min like a shroud. The very air shimmered, and the snowy plains beneath their feet vanished, replaced in an instant by a lush, sickeningly vibrant forest. But this was no place of life; it exuded an aura of deep decay and absolute death. The moment it formed, Su Min felt her spiritual energy begin to drain away at an alarming rate.
"This is our Xiumu Sect's ultimate trump card!" the Xiumu Elder snarled, his face a mask of malice as he gazed at the withered, grasping trees. "A high-grade Heaven-level artifact that requires three Divine Transformation cultivators to activate! The environment you're trapped in is a Forest of Death! No matter how strong you are, you will perish here!!!"
This was their sect's final, desperate resort. Legend said this decayed wood was discovered by a founding elder on an ancient battlefield—a single piece of wood that had refused to rot despite centuries steeped in death. The elder who brought it back was corrupted by its energy and died within a century. Over thousands of years, their sect had slowly refined it, pouring their resources into forging this single, terrifying Heaven-grade artifact.
Within this domain, unless one cultivated their unique Xiumu Divine Art, any other cultivator would have their spiritual energy rapidly siphoned away. Under such conditions, they had been confident they could wear down and kill even many early Dao Comprehension experts. Now that there was no turning back, Su Min had to die here.
"Disgusting aura of decay," Su Min commented coldly, her nose wrinkling. The feeling was profoundly repulsive, like wading through a sewer of spiritual filth. But these fools clearly didn't understand the true nature of the Five Elements Holy Body, especially after she had fully unlocked the Wood attribute. She possessed an innate, powerful resistance to all Wood-based attacks. This resistance covered everything, including special status effects like this spiritual drain. If this were a game, a debuff would be hovering over her head: "Spirit Drain—Effect Weakened by 90%." But of course, they couldn't see it.
In short, while the environment was unpleasant and did affect her, it wasn't nearly as severe as they believed. Combined with the ultra-high recovery rate provided by the Northern Water's Profound Origin, this domain was little more than a nauseating inconvenience.
"Fools who don't know their limits! Activate the Heaven's Decay Killing Formation!" the Elder roared.
In an instant, the three moved to surround her, their energies intertwining to form a complex, triple-layered pattern in the air. This was their sect's second trump card—a formation designed to work in deadly synergy with their artifact. With these two methods combined, they were certain even early-stage Dao Comprehension experts would meet their end.
But for Su Min? It was almost laughable.
Clang!
A sharp, metallic crash tore through the unnatural forest. Su Min had already shot toward the one-armed mid-stage Divine Transformation cultivator, her massive sword coming down in a devastating arc. The next moment, a piercing shriek erupted from the man's hastily erected protective barrier. The entire massive formation trembled violently under the impact, its light flickering, clearly unable to withstand many more hits.
"Sharp senses. You chose brute force over spells," the Xiumu Elder said, his expression grim but unchanged. The killing formation wasn't fully active yet, forcing them to rely on personal barriers. But he knew those barriers wouldn't last long against her raw power.
That wasn't the main issue, however. The true danger of this place was the terrifying drain on spiritual energy and the corrosive death aura that would invade the body if one cast spells. Su Min, with her alchemist's hyper-sensitive perception, had noticed it immediately and opted for the most efficient solution: close-quarters combat.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A series of deafening impacts followed, each one shaking the forest domain. Then—
Crack!
A sound like shattering crystal echoed, and the one-armed man was launched backward like a cannonball, crashing into the decayed earth. The light in his eyes went out; his soul was shattered, his life force extinguished in an instant. Su Min knew to always focus on the weakest link first.
But at that moment, two terrifying auras surged toward her from both sides.
"Xiumu Palm!!!"
Twin palms, glowing with a sickly green energy, shot toward her, aiming to crush her between them. A violent shockwave erupted from the point of impact. An ordinary early-stage Divine Transformation cultivator would have been pulverized. But Su Min stood firm, her feet barely shifting, relying on her monstrous physique and the latent power of the Black Tortoise Armor to weather the blow.
"!!!"
Horror dawned on their faces as they realized a critical flaw. Their attacks had barely affected her. Their techniques were designed to work in tandem, especially within this domain, to inject threads of deathly energy into their target's meridians. But the result was terrifying. The decay energy was almost entirely blocked at Su Min's skin. The minuscule traces that did seep in were quickly surrounded and expelled by a vibrant, life-giving energy.
At that moment, the Xiumu Elder suddenly understood. His eyes widened in despair.
"Eastern Azure Wood?! A heavenly treasure brimming with vitality—the absolute counter to our decay energy!!!"
"Congratulations, you figured it out," Su Min said, a cold smirk playing on her lips. "Any other Divine Transformation cultivator, even many early-stage Dao Comprehension experts, would be doomed here. But too bad for you—gimmicks are just gimmicks. Once countered, they're useless."
It was just like the old Demon Queen she had slain. Once their signature trick was neutralized, they were practically handing her the victory. These two weren't as helpless, but their greatest trump card had been rendered useless. It was simply their spectacularly bad luck to run into Su Min, who possessed not one, but two heavenly treasures that perfectly countered their entire arsenal.
So, in the next moment—
Su Min struck. She moved like lightning, grabbing their outstretched wrists and crushing the bones to powder with sheer, overwhelming force. The two men reacted with the speed of desperation, severing their own arms at the elbow to escape her grasp. With their souls intact, such physical injuries could be regenerated in moments.
But their confidence was shattered. Their sure-kill trap had not only failed, it had backfired catastrophically. If Su Min could withstand their combined Xiumu Palm and completely ignore the follow-up corrosion, then this entire artifact domain was practically a fancy light show against her.
Sure enough, a crimson light blazed across the fake sky. A giant, shrieking bird of pure flame swooped down upon them.
Boom!!!
An explosion of fire engulfed the section of the forest. The remaining mid-stage Divine Transformation cultivator was thrown from the conflagration, his body trailing thick black smoke. The Xiumu Elder, caught in the periphery of the blast, was sent spinning away, his robes scorched, his body severely wounded.
Fire countered Wood. With the elemental disadvantage and a direct hit from a technique powered by her supreme flames, there was no way they could withstand it. The elder was only still standing because Su Min had focused most of the blast's fury on the other man.
But before he could even steady himself, Su Min was already in front of him.
"If you kill me, countless lives will be lost because of you!" the elder gasped, blood bubbling at his lips. "Will you abandon the common people to their fate—urk—"
A brutal, precise strike pierced through his chest, catapulting him backward. His sentence ended in a wet gurgle.
"Trying to morally kidnap me? Go to hell!" Su Min's voice was laced with icy contempt. "Did you care about the 'common people' when you tried to rob and murder me?!"
In the next moment, the dazed elder felt his remaining good leg seized in an iron grip. Then, his face was slammed into the hard, decayed earth.
Bang! Bang! BANG!
A series of violent, rhythmic impacts followed as Su Min used his own body to pound a crater into the ground. Under normal circumstances, she might have been more clinical. But when someone tried to kill her and then had the audacity to pull the moral righteousness card upon losing? She despised such hypocrites with every fiber of her being. So, she struck with extra, visceral fury.
The earth shook violently with each impact, the tremors traveling through the ground for miles, reaching even the distant Ice Peak City.
"Elder, should we send someone to investigate?" the auction master asked Yue Ningzi nervously, feeling the faint but distinct vibrations.
"No need," Yue Ningzi replied, not even looking up from his meditation. "The Xiumu Sect's three aren't earth or strength cultivators. Tremors like that must be her doing. If she's this enraged, it's best we don't interfere."
"Understood."
The Frostveil Pavilion's headquarters quickly settled back into silence. The distance was vast, and only top-tier cultivators could sense the specific energy fluctuations. Those at Golden Core or below wouldn't notice a thing. Yue Ningzi had no intention of meddling. From what he knew, Su Min was usually composed and let bygones be bygones. For her to be this furious meant someone had truly crossed a line. Facing an enraged top-tier alchemist? He'd rather stay far, far away. Though he was intensely curious about what they could have possibly done to provoke her so.
Soon, on the snowy field, the twisted forest illusion flickered and died, the Xiumu Totem falling inert to the ground. Su Min finally stopped.
Before her was a massive fissure—dozens of meters deep and hundreds of meters long. The Xiumu Elder's body was gone, utterly annihilated, his soul obliterated. She had made sure of it. She loathed people like him the most. Now, with the hypocrite silenced forever, she felt much better.
"Done. This must be their sect's Heaven-grade artifact," she mused, picking up the now-dormant totem. "Even if I don't know how to activate it properly, since it's ownerless, I'll gladly take it."
Surveying the wreckage, she lightly waved her hand, summoning a controlled flame that reduced the three corpses to fine, indistinguishable ash—leaving no evidence behind. The Heaven-grade artifact was now hers. While Heaven-grade artifacts were just one step below the legendary Emperor-grade, the gap was a chasm. Emperor-grade artifacts possessed their own sentience and will, much like the Golden Core Avenue, and couldn't be seized by force. But Heaven-grade artifacts were lifeless tools. Once the owner died, they belonged to the victor. Su Min had no qualms about claiming her spoils of war.
"Mission accomplished. No one else is chasing me. Time to head deeper into the snowy field and find a place to cultivate." She tucked the totem away. "If I can reach mid-stage Divine Transformation, I'll have a much better chance against those things."
With that thought, she turned and left. This was just a minor, irritating episode. Her principle was simple: if you don't provoke me, I won't provoke you. But if you come for her life, don't blame her for retaliating without mercy. Of course, if she couldn't win, she'd flee and return for payback once she was stronger. Her figure soon vanished into the swirling snow mist of the Tianhan Snow Field.
Three days later, Yue Ningzi stood at the edge of the battlefield.
"Tsk tsk, the battle was this intense? And no bodies… Looks like all three of them died." He clicked his tongue as he surveyed the torn-up landscape and the massive fissure. Had Su Min asked, he would've gladly helped her eliminate the three. That would've earned him a valuable favor from a future—and likely—7th-grade alchemist, a worthwhile investment. But since she hadn't, he didn't dare interfere uninvited and risk offending her. At least now, it was clear she had emerged without issue, which relieved him—especially since she'd promised him a Dao Comprehension Pill.
"In that case, let's clean up for her. She clearly doesn't want this known. Might as well finish the job." He turned to the auction master. "Take some people and erase all traces of spiritual energy and battle thoroughly. Make it look like nothing ever happened here."
"Yes, Elder," the auction master sighed, but obeyed without question. Fortunately, the task wasn't difficult with their resources, and it was soon done, the last signs of the confrontation wiped from the land.