"The gap between stages at the Divine Transformation level is immense," Su Min mused, flexing her hand and feeling the new power coursing through her. "Under normal circumstances, a mid-stage Divine Transformation cultivator would be enough to make an early-stage one despair." She was slightly surprised by the sheer magnitude of the change. Clearly, the leap in power was greater than she had imagined, a fact she had somewhat forgotten after constantly battling foes far beyond her own level.
But this fundamental change didn't occupy her thoughts for long. A more pressing matter pushed to the forefront of her mind—the Dao Comprehension stage.
To reach Dao Comprehension, one had to comprehend their own unique Law. The strength of this law directly determined one's future combat power, but achieving it was far from simple. In the game, there were specific, if grindy, ways to obtain it, primarily revolving around time. To walk the Path of Slaughter, for instance, one had to engage in endless battles, which was the route of the White Tiger's legacy. But merely qualifying for a path didn't mean she wanted it. There was only one Law she truly sought—Time.
The Law of Time was the most formidable and mysterious law in the game's lore. Under normal circumstances, obtaining it was nearly impossible because to wear the crown, one had to bear its weight. To comprehend it, a cultivator had to endure its rapid, unrelenting passage. In other words, one needed an infinite lifespan—and had to be at the Divine Transformation stage, as the Heavenly Dao suppressed the formation of true Laws beyond this level.
But that was only the first hurdle. The second was the sheer, soul-crushing time investment. One had to sit in meditation, enduring the passage of millennia within their own perception. In the game, this led to a common "failure mode"—the world would be consumed by the Fallen Ones before the player could ever succeed. The only way to obtain it reliably was through cheats or exploits.
But reality had no console commands.
Yet, Su Min had one unique tool left—the Medicine King's Cauldron.
Now that she had reached mid-stage Divine Transformation, she could sense the emptiness where a Law should be. She knew she had to start preparing. Once she reached the Divine Transformation peak, she could extend her perception into the Half-Step Dao Comprehension stage. At that level, one could only sense the Dao, not truly wield its power. The Dao Comprehension Pill worked on a similar principle—it brought one closer to the Dao Law, unlike the earlier breakthrough pills.
"I still have time. Medicine King's Cauldron, come forth!"
With a thought, the ancient cauldron materialized before her, its surface etched with patterns that seemed to shift and flow. The cauldron could only be used to nurture herbs, not for direct cultivation via time acceleration. Its unique properties caused the mind and body to desynchronize in a way that was dangerous for living beings. But for Su Min, with her specific, immortal physique, this flaw was the perfect opportunity. Experiencing the rapid flow of time within it was the only way to perfectly comprehend her chosen Law.
~
"What are you planning?" The cauldron's voice was calm as it hovered before her. It had been thriving inside her dantian—an Innate Spiritual Treasure needed specific conditions to evolve, and none had been as favorable as Su Min's body. With two other treasures already integrated, it was only waiting for the third—the Central Wutu Divine Earth—to ascend further.
"I need your help," Su Min stated, her tone leaving no room for argument. The cauldron had enjoyed enough benefits; now it was time to contribute. While she had harvested many herbs from it, that didn't count. Its purpose was to nurture life; her harvesting actually accelerated the ecological cycle within its space.
"What do you want?" The cauldron was genuinely puzzled. As a treasure focused on nurturing, it had no combat power. The only reason it had trapped that Divine Transformation cultivator before was due to the Alchemist's constructed secret realm, where it held absolute authority. Out here in the real world, it was useless for fighting. Su Min would have to physically capture and throw enemies inside, which was utterly impractical.
"I need you to help me comprehend the Law of Time."
"!!!"
The cauldron trembled so violently it nearly fell from the air. If it had a human form, its eyes would be bulging in shock. To it, this was suicide. How much lifespan did she think she had to burn? Even the legendary Alchemist Emperor it once served wouldn't have dared attempt this!
But Su Min wasn't waiting for permission. "My physique is special—don't worry about that. Just maximize the time flow once I enter. I need to experience the passage of time, truly feel it."
There was no clever shortcut to the Law of Time—only enduring its rapid flow and hoping to comprehend it before aging to dust. Not even Yao Xian'er could have achieved this. In theory, she might have had one chance to comprehend a second Dao Law, but Su Min didn't know the details.
"Are you sure?" the cauldron asked, its voice laced with unease.
"Yes."
"Fine." Seeing the unwavering determination in her eyes, the cauldron didn't argue further. It glowed, and an entrance swirled open on its side. Su Min had lived for centuries; she wasn't reckless. Though the cauldron didn't understand her plan, her track record spoke for itself.
In a flash, Su Min entered.
With her immortal body and the cauldron's assistance, she had no reason to choose any other, slower method. Moreover, the Divine Transformation stage was a watershed moment—only beyond it could the true power of her immortality and her Heavenly Dao Insight fully manifest. That power was the ability to comprehend unique and supreme Daos. After all, once one truly entered the Dao Comprehension stage, the Dao Law became the most critical component of combat strength. Creatures like the Three-Legged Golden Crow and Five-Clawed Divine Dragon were born with complete Dao Laws inherited in their bloodlines—an advantage humans couldn't match. But their laws were fixed. None of them could ever reach the heights of the Law of Time.
~
"Begin." Su Min took a deep breath of the cauldron's strangely sterile air and closed her eyes. "To witness the Dao through time, one must walk its path."
Inside the cauldron, time accelerated to its maximum. Though it couldn't match the raw energy of a full secret realm, the surroundings still transformed at a visible, dizzying pace. Flowers sprouted from the soil, bloomed into vibrant color, and withered to dust in the space of a single heartbeat. Life and death cycled in moments.
Su Min sat cross-legged at the center of it all, her senses stretched wide, taking in every fleeting detail.
Her Heavenly Dao Insight now displayed its most terrifying effect. Amidst the chaotic, rapid flow of time, she faintly grasped something—a force that surged forward like lightning, yet flickered in and out of existence, elusive and profound.
~
While Su Min immersed herself in the river of time, unrest brewed elsewhere. Before the entrance of an ancient, ice-encased tomb, three withered figures sat in silence, their robes dusted with snow.
"It's been decades since the Lunar Princess entered. She hasn't emerged—could she have already reached the Dao Comprehension stage?" one rasped.
"All because you failed to kill her cleanly last time, letting her escape inside!" another accused, his voice a dry rattle.
"Relax," the third, and seemingly eldest, croaked. "Even if she reaches Dao Comprehension, it changes nothing. Over these decades, I've laid hundreds of lethal formations around this place. She'll die the moment she steps out!"
"Don't underestimate her. She's closely tied to that woman. Anyone who can defeat a Spirit Dao Body must be handled with extreme care."
"You might not know this," the first one added, "but without a guide in these snow plains, even a Mahayana expert would get lost. She has no way to call for help."
"I want her Lunar Sovereign Blood," the second one hissed.
"Her Lunar Sovereign Bones are mine," the third claimed.
"Then I'll take her flesh. Consuming her will restore the three of us to our peak—Dao Comprehension perfection. Then we can lure out that woman and kill her together. But we must stay far from the Eastern Mulberry Continent."
"That Golden Crow is too dangerous. The three of us would struggle against her unless we reach the Unity stage."
"Obviously. Hmm—?" Suddenly, all three froze, their heads snapping toward the tomb's entrance.
A wisp of black, malevolent mist seeped from between the sealed stone doors.
~
Inside the cauldron realm, Su Min's eyes snapped open.
A sharp, urgent pulse vibrated against her finger. She looked down. The jade token Yao Xian'er had given her was glowing with a fierce, warning light, its radiance cutting through the misty, time-accelerated air.
"The Evil Soul... it's stirring?" Her pupils narrowed to pinpricks.
Outside, the world might have remained silent. But that glow was proof enough—something had shifted within the tomb. The balance was changing.
"My comprehension is progressing well," she assessed quickly. "I've half-stepped into the Law of Time. But fully grasping it will take much longer." The realization of the cost was staggering. "This attempt must have burned the equivalent of at least two thousand years of lifespan—and that's with my Heavenly Dao Insight aiding me. Without it, even this half-step would have taken tens of thousands of years."
Despite the cost, she was exhilarated by her progress. Now, she could even lightly wield a sliver of the Law's power. Other Half-Step Dao Comprehension experts rarely used their incomplete Laws in battle—they were too weak, too nascent to be of much use. But the Law of Time was different. It stood above almost all other laws. Most cultivators chose simple Laws aligned with their innate attributes because comprehending any Dao Law at the Divine Transformation stage was brutally difficult. Every Half-Step Dao Comprehension expert Su Min had encountered followed this pattern. Their Daos lacked active abilities, merely providing passive amplification to their techniques. But Time was different. It wasn't a simple attribute; it couldn't just enhance a fireball or a sword technique. Instead, it belonged to the rarest category of conceptual laws, standing at the pinnacle of all Daos. Time and Space—the two supreme laws. Unfortunately, Su Min had no leads on Space. So Time was her only choice.
"First, those three old monsters." Her voice was low. Calm. But a thin, invisible layer of frost seemed to glaze over her killing intent. "Since they want to ambush Yingying, then let them bear the consequences."
Her eyes glinted with cold light as she gripped the glowing token. The Evil Soul inside the tomb was only showing the first signs of awakening; it would take years to fully emerge. For most cultivators, that was a mere blink of an eye. But to Su Min, it was a critical window. One she didn't intend to waste.
Exiting her seclusion within the cauldron, she shot through the snow plains like a phantom comet. In her other hand, the last drop of Lunar Sovereign Blood Essence hovered. She wouldn't use it for herself—with three divine treasures already integrated into her body, its benefits were limited. But it could serve as a perfect beacon.
Yao Xian'er's token was for direct teleportation into the tomb—usable from anywhere, but not as a guide. The Evil Soul was no ordinary foe. It contained the concentrated hatred of a peak Mahayana expert. Even a Unity-stage cultivator would die facing it head-on, let alone someone still at the Divine Transformation stage like her. Thus, Su Min couldn't afford any variables. Not now. Not with Xie Yingying inside that tomb.
In her current state, dealing with three Half-Step Dao Comprehension experts wasn't an issue. Even if they somehow restored their peak Dao Comprehension strength, it wouldn't matter. Their self-severed paths were fundamentally flawed. Even at their best, their Dao Laws would remain crippled and weak. How to repair them? Su Min didn't know or care. But from her game knowledge, most Fallen Ones chose a simple, brutal method—devouring. They consumed lives to overwrite their original Laws with a crude Law of Bloody Slaughter. They were the enemies of all living beings.
Now, despite being only at the Divine Transformation stage, Su Min traversed the treacherous snow plains in an instant. Soon, she arrived at her destination—a vast, desolate basin where a majestic, yet sinister, palace of ice and ancient stone stood half-buried.
And there, shrouded in the blizzard, three shadowy figures lurked.
Even with her senses suppressed by the storm, their stench of decay was unmistakable.
===
For more information about the Tao (道, Dào), why I sometimes translate it as "Path" or "Law," and more, you can visit my Xianxia Handbook. I wrote a chapter titled Tao (道, Dào) there that helps explain the concept more clearly.