"Who are they?"
Hearing Su Min's words, Xie Yingying was startled. She hadn't detected anything outside at all, her spiritual sense finding only the endless, howling blizzard. Though she wasn't afraid of a direct confrontation, being ambushed would still be troublesome, especially since their opponents were both at the Dao Comprehension stage, and their peak strength in life had clearly been far beyond that, meaning their combat experience and techniques would be profound.
However, the mention of one particular individual's strange aura surprised her slightly.
Fallen ones were no good, that was certain; she'd been hunted across thousands of miles by them, a harrowing experience. If not for her own clever methods and resilience, she would have been in real trouble back then. And that was when she'd only been at the Nascent Soul stage.
But now they dared to come again, to her very doorstep? Then she'd settle both old and new grudges at once. During the Golden Core Avenue, she'd generally followed Su Min's lead and hadn't actively offended anyone, so she'd never truly lost her temper in a major way.
Did they really think she had no temper? In that instant, the temperature within the tomb plummeted violently. Ice crystals formed in the blink of an eye on the glacial pillars, and the very air seemed to freeze solid, as if the area had suddenly been plunged into an extreme frozen realm.
Even an ordinary early Divine Transformation cultivator standing here would find their spiritual power sluggish and their body shuddering uncontrollably.
Of course, Su Min was no ordinary Divine Transformation cultivator. With her special, robust physique protecting her, she completely ignored the bone-piercing cold, standing firm as if it were a gentle breeze.
"Those damned bald donkeys."
But the next moment, Su Min's low, furious voice rang out, laced with a venom she rarely showed. Among those lying in wait outside, one was unmistakably a monk radiating a distinct, golden Buddhist light, clearly the true, hidden strongest expert of Future Maitreya Mountain.
Given her close ties with Great Thunder Temple, she naturally knew all about Future Maitreya Mountain's hidden cards and secrets.
Liao Jie had been the strongest they could openly deploy at the Land and Water Assembly, but behind him was an even more terrifying senior brother, a figure spoken of only in whispers. However, due to being deeply entangled in karma, he normally remained sealed within their sect's special treasure, cut off from the world. For him to emerge now, he must have paid a horrific, irrevocable price.
This incomplete Dao Comprehension expert even bore fragmented Dao wounds on his soul, visible to her enhanced perception. Clearly, they still intended to kill her, no matter the cost. In truth, if they'd done nothing and stayed hidden, Su Min might have nearly forgotten about dealing with them, focused on her own path.
But now they dared to jump out and cause trouble again? Then she wouldn't hold back when the time came. Patience had its limits.
Even clay figures had a temper, and this was already the third time. The Land and Water Assembly, the Weak Water Secret Realm, and now hunting her here at the Lunar Tomb.
Did they really think she was some meek, forgiving bodhisattva? Before Xie Yingying could fully unleash her chilling cold aura, an even more terrifying, crimson wave of killing intent erupted from Su Min's body. The violent, palpable shockwave of pure malice even momentarily suppressed Xie Yingying, who was at the Dao Comprehension stage.
The latter turned her head to look at Su Min in disbelief; this sheer, concentrated murderous aura made her own heart tremble with a primal fear.
This was the special killing intent Su Min had unconsciously refined after obtaining the White Tiger's legacy of slaughter. If not for the even more profound and appealing call of the Time Law, Su Min might have wholeheartedly walked the brutal Path of Slaughter. Against future enemies, especially those who relied on fate and karma, this direct, annihilating intent would be the most effective method.
"After we go out, you handle the fallen one. As for that bald donkey... it's time to settle our accounts once and for all."
Su Min was slightly surprised by the intensity of her own killing intent but quickly regained her composure. This was the true aura of righteous slaughter, not achieved through mindless massacre, but tempered and honed through successive life-and-death battles against strong opponents, a kind of focused, purposeful killing intent.
Only after successively killing those three half-step Dao Comprehension fallen ones had she truly awakened this latent power within the White Tiger's inheritance.
"Alright. But how on earth did those monks offend you so deeply?"
Xie Yingying nodded, accepting the assignment, but couldn't help asking curiously. When she'd left for her own trials, Su Min had still been attending the Land and Water Assembly, so she didn't know the full story of what had transpired there.
She remembered Su Min possessed the Great Sun Tathāgata Sutra and had some connection with Great Thunder Temple, so what was going on with this deadly feud?
"That lineage seems to have foreseen something about me in their visions and became determined to kill me. This is already the third time they've tried. Once I reach the Dao Comprehension stage, I'll personally destroy their mountain gate."
Su Min was somewhat baffled herself. What kind of strange, apocalyptic prophecy had they seen to harbor such relentless killing intent toward her? From their very first meeting, they'd marked her for death.
It wasn't that she had no theories—her unique physique, her connection to the White Tiger, her defiance of conventional fate—but she simply didn't know the specifics of their vision.
"Those monks from Future Maitreya have always been shady and manipulative. Staying far away from them is wise."
Xie Yingying shook her head, a hint of disdain in her voice. Having lived since that ancient era, she understood those scheming existences better than most.
"I've been trying to keep my distance all along."
Su Min rolled her eyes in exasperation. After that Land and Water Assembly concluded, she'd had barely any interaction with them. Though Great Thunder Temple still commissioned pill refining from her occasionally, that was purely business, otherwise, she had little to do with the Buddhist sects.
As for Future Maitreya Mountain, it was pure, unprovoked calamity. She'd truly never offended them initially, yet they'd given her no chance at reconciliation or even a proper explanation.
But since things had come to this, she needed to seriously consider how to annihilate them completely in the future, to cut this weed at the root.
"Then let's act now. No point waiting."
Though still unclear about the details, given their relentless, unexplained hostility, Xie Yingying couldn't be bothered to dwell on the reasons anymore. With a slight, graceful wave of her hand, a shimmering, silvery portal materialized in the air before them, its surface rippling like quicksilver.
"With Senior Jiang gone, I now hold the highest authority over this tomb's formations. Let's move."
Seeing the stable portal, the two women exchanged a glance and stepped through side by side, their figures vanishing from the silent, icy hall.
Meanwhile, outside in the relentless blizzard, two figures stood as still as statues, their auras completely suppressed. To avoid detection by anyone inside, they'd used secret techniques to completely conceal their spiritual signatures, merging with the chaotic energy of the storm. If not for Su Min's soul having recently undergone a massive transformation and enhancement, she wouldn't have noticed them at all.
Both were clearly ambush experts, having chosen the perfect moment and location. There was no room for mockery here regarding their methods.
But the next instant, before they could even react, two terrifying auras—one scorching like the sun and one freezing like the abyss—shot down from the sky above the tomb entrance, ruthlessly striking their positions.
"!!!"
Caught completely off guard by the sudden, pinpoint attacks, the two experts were visibly startled, their concealment breaking.
Boom!
A massive explosion of conflicting energies instantly engulfed that part of the snowy plains, the fiery and icy forces clashing violently and forcing their bodies to become fully visible. Four terrifying, Dao Comprehension-level auras swept across the barren land, causing the few hardy spiritual creatures living nearby to instinctively flee in terror.
In the current environment of the world, where Ascension-stage experts were unseen legends, Dao Comprehension stage represented the active pinnacle. Even other equally powerful beings usually avoided direct conflict with such experts unless necessary.
"Discovered? How?"
Facing the black-clad woman who had materialized before him, the ancient soul elder's expression darkened considerably. He'd never imagined that someone inside could penetrate both the tomb's isolation and the natural spiritual interference of the blizzard to detect their perfect concealment.
In truth, it was because they'd gotten too close, wanting to strike the moment the two women emerged. If they'd stayed farther away, Su Min and Xie Yingying could have simply fled in another direction upon emerging, avoiding the fight entirely.
"You're truly like lingering ghosts, never giving up. I'd nearly forgotten about you lot."
Expressionlessly staring at the monk, Su Min sensed that familiar, nauseating aura, the unique flavor of Future Maitreya Mountain's secret techniques. And this one was far stronger and more profound than Liao Jie had been.
Back when she'd only been at the Nascent Soul stage, she'd stood no chance against Liao Jie who was at half-step Dao Comprehension. Without the unexpected intervention of the dragon princess, her chances of obtaining the Northern Water's Profound Origin would have been minuscule.
But overall, she hadn't suffered substantial losses in that encounter, so over time, absorbed in her own rapid progress, she'd almost forgotten about them. Now that they'd jumped out again, she'd settle both old and new grudges at once.
"Amitabha. Benefactor, this old monk wished for no enmity with you. But on the path to the future we strive for, you are an inevitable, looming obstacle that must be removed."
"Hmph, the future you strive for. How arrogant."
Su Min scoffed, her voice dripping with disdain. After comprehending the first threads of the Time Law, she knew the future was never fixed, always a river of shifting possibilities. Attempting to meddle with the past, to enforce one specific timeline, also incurred severe restrictions and karmic punishments from the Heavenly Dao.
Currently, she could barely glimpse the surface of the vast river of time, let alone dare to alter past events. The arrogance of these monks, thinking they could dictate fate, was staggering.
Seeing no point in further debate—arguing scriptures and fate with fanatical monks was utterly pointless—Su Min's posture shifted, her energy coalescing as she prepared to act. She'd heard that the Land and Water Assembly had continued for a full year after she left, devolving into pure verbal combat, with nonstop philosophical and doctrinal debates lasting an entire year.
Hearing about it later from the Great Thunder Temple monks had made Su Min's scalp tingle. Those monks were truly argumentative by nature. It was far better to just fight them.
"Benefactor, since matters stand thus, please disappear quietly. The future we have seen must come to pass."
Liao Meng spoke with a calm that seemed almost detached, seeing no reason to hold back now that she'd struck first. Pressing his palms together in a Buddhist salute, a colossal, shimmering Buddha manifestation materialized in the air behind him.
This golden Buddha, however, lacked the solemn, majestic bearing of a Tathagata. Instead, it appeared enormously fat, its huge belly bulging, giving it a somewhat simple and honest, almost jovial appearance.
"Future Buddha... Maitreya."
Su Min's mind registered the image, but in the next instant, her Black Tortoise armor materialized around her with a thought, followed by a massive, dark tortoise shell shield forming in her hand.
Clang!!!
An ear-piercing, metallic sound reverberated through the skies as an invisible force, guided by karma, struck Su Min's shield. The impact was tremendous, sending her flying back several dozen meters through the air, her boots skidding across the snow.
"That Buddha image doesn't attack directly; it manipulates the karmic threads between us. It contains immense karmic power. You've comprehended the Karmic Law? That's one of the most dangerous and insidious laws."
The moment the Buddha appeared, Su Min had felt herself being spiritually locked on, as if an inevitable result was being ordained by unseen forces. There was only one method she knew of that could achieve this effect so directly:
The power of karma, a law both rare and formidable. In some ways, it was even more perilous than the Time Law. Su Min could wield a sliver of time power only because of her infinite lifespan acting as a buffer against the backlash.
But this monk's actions came at a great cost to himself; those who played with karma, who tried to sever or enforce it, inevitably accumulated heavy karmic burdens, debts that would eventually come due.
"Amitabha..."
With Liao Meng's soft sigh, strands of golden light suddenly shimmered into existence around Su Min, weaving into a net. A peculiar, binding law directly took hold of her spiritual core, making her expression shift dramatically.
"Buddha's Seal. A karmic binding."
Almost instantly, a massive, complex Buddhist sigil, glowing with golden light, seemed to bypass Su Min's physical and spiritual defenses entirely and struck directly at her soul, branding her forehead. Her expression darkened further.
"A high-level sealing art, similar in principle to my own Yin-Yang Seal but operating through karma."
She inwardly noted how troublesome this karmic seal was. And its purpose was immediately clear: to simultaneously seal her three holy forms—the Vermilion Bird, Azure Dragon, and Black Tortoise—preventing her from unleashing their terrifying combined power.
"You used your foresight to spy on my techniques and capabilities again. How was the cost this time? Not light, I imagine."
Su Min remained outwardly calm, knowing this level of precise sealing came at a great price. She remembered back when the Blood Puppet Sect had found her, they'd employed a wandering cultivator known as the Divine Calculator, also a half-step Dao Comprehension expert.
Like the man before her, he'd mastered a sliver of the Karmic Law. Back then, he'd only dared glance at her general location from afar before immediately withdrawing, utterly unwilling to even investigate her sect's background strength for fear of the karmic backlash.
To directly spy on someone with a destiny as heavy and unique as hers through karma would incur even greater costs.
"..."
As expected, Liao Meng remained silent at her words, his eyes downcast, implicitly confirming them. The price was indeed no joke; he'd nearly fallen from the Dao Comprehension stage entirely, only barely stabilizing his current early-stage cultivation by transferring some of the cost onto two junior disciples, who had perished instantly.
Someone like Su Min, a nexus of change, inevitably carried great, swirling karma. Each glimpse into her fate demanded a heavy toll. To clearly see her strongest methods and how to counter them, he'd sacrificed those two Divine Transformation cultivators, using their lives and futures as a karmic buffer.
His current attack, this precise seal, aimed to directly neutralize her most powerful techniques from the outset.
After all, Su Min was only at Divine Transformation mid-stage; an almost insurmountable gap in raw power separated them. At this stage, where raw cultivation was unequal, it often came down to the strength of one's hidden cards and unique abilities. He'd spent years researching and preparing for this, figuring out how to immediately seal Su Min's key abilities from the very first move. And that wasn't all. He'd even detected and sealed a peculiar, nascent aura within her, the budding fusion of Yin and Yang.
Of course, though Su Min spoke lightly, inwardly she wasn't pleased. Her three holy forms were now unusable, and even the circulation of the Taiyang Qi within her was disrupted, preventing her from entering that special, enhanced state.
Undoubtedly, this old monk had gone all out, expending immense resources to deal with her. The cost was simply too great for one person to bear; Future Maitreya Mountain as a whole had paid the price, sacrificing its future for this one chance.
But did he truly think sealing these things would leave her powerless?
Glancing sideways, she saw Xie Yingying was already fully engaged in battle with the fallen elder. Though the raging blizzard obscured the visual details, she could clearly sense the violent, clashing energy fluctuations—ice against decay, moonlight against shadow.
Escaping this battlefield would be difficult now; she'd need to wait until that fight concluded or create a decisive opening herself.
Indeed, that ancient soul elder had clearly underestimated the might of a complete Lunar Sovereign Physique at the Dao Comprehension stage. Relying on his mature law mastery and vast combat experience, he could barely resist and parry, but as time passed, the scales would tip increasingly in Xie Yingying's favor as her understanding and control of the newly awakened Lunar Law grew more refined and instinctual.
Unlike Su Min, Xie Yingying's cultivation had undergone a major, qualitative leap, so her control wasn't yet perfectly polished. Yet even so, she was steadily overwhelming the old man, her silver moonlight pressing down his murky, death-tinged energy.
Strangely, the monk Liao Meng showed no interest in aiding his ally or targeting Xie Yingying; his full, unwavering attention remained locked on Su Min. This single-minded focus only deepened her curiosity. So, before launching her own counterattack, she asked the question burning in her mind:
"What exactly did you see in your vision that makes me such a unique threat? And if we're talking about potential threats to your sect or your 'desired future,' shouldn't Yao Xian'er, a peak Mahayana expert, rank far above me? Yet you don't target her with this kind of relentless, costly fervor. Why me? What is it specifically about me that you fear so much?"