Su Min wasn't overly concerned about having several of her key abilities sealed. Because immediately after these three seals were activated, the giant, shimmering Buddha manifestation behind Liao Meng also became significantly more ethereal, its golden light dimming.
Anything related to special karma, especially enforcement and sealing of this magnitude, came with tremendous costs. Every time she might have tried to release her sealed powers, she would be forcibly ejected from that state by the karmic bindings. The price Liao Meng paid after activating his seals was equally enormous; at the very least, Su Min could sense that his control over his primary laws was now severely depleted, likely unusable for the remainder of the fight.
Moreover, these seals were only temporary. He didn't possess the ability or the lasting power to permanently seal her legendary physiques and inheritances. Once the battle concluded, she could find a safe place to meditate and systematically break through them.
But it was clear these abilities would be unusable during this fight. As compensation, however, her opponent's most potent laws should also be rendered unusable, draining his spiritual energy significantly.
After all, her inheritance came from the Four Symbols, existences that operated on an extraordinarily high level of cosmic principle. These karmic seals didn't just consider raw power but also the inherent hierarchy and nature of the strength being bound. In fact, it was quite impressive that he managed to seal them all simultaneously, a testament to his sacrifice.
But here lay a fundamental problem in his strategy, one Su Min analyzed with a logic that sometimes echoed the game-like systems of her past life: if we were to view this through game statistics...
Body Refining, Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment—each major breakthrough in these foundational stages came with massive, multiplicative stat increases.
However, the raw attribute improvements between the late stages of Divine Transformation and the early Dao Comprehension stage weren't as dramatically different in pure quantity. But this didn't mean the gap was small. According to the "game mechanics" she sometimes used to conceptualize, after obtaining laws, all attacks and defenses would receive law-based percentage enhancements that operated on a completely different layer beyond just skill power.
This was equivalent to opening an entirely new multiplier category. Of course, reality was far more complex and nuanced than any game. But the practical difference between a Dao Comprehension cultivator who couldn't use his laws and a peak Divine Transformation cultivator with a powerful physique wasn't as significant as one might assume.
Yet Liao Meng clearly had absolute confidence in his plan and his own remaining abilities. Seeing Su Min's assessing movements, his expression remained largely unchanged, a mask of serene determination.
To ensure absolute success, he had meticulously observed Su Min's most recent battles through his karmic visions. Though the cost was enormous, damaging the very foundations of Future Maitreya Mountain's spiritual legacy, even irreparably harming their collective faith barrier. Combining this with records of Su Min's public demonstrations during sect gatherings, he had summarized her known capabilities perfectly.
First, he had to admit Su Min was monstrously powerful for her stage, especially after reaching mid-stage Divine Transformation. She possessed combat strength sufficient to easily kill half-step Dao Comprehension experts. But her greatest advantages in such a fight were two-fold:
First was her Four Symbols inheritance, granting her immense versatility and raw power. Second was that bizarre fusion state of Yin and Yang, the latter being what he feared most, as he found himself utterly incapable of observing its specifics, even when staking the entirety of Future Maitreya Mountain's karmic fortune.
Thus, he absolutely had to seal those abilities, no matter the cost. Su Min could sense his law energy being completely drained after the act. But even so, he believed that without those two primary advantages, Su Min would be like a tiger with its fangs and claws pulled—still dangerous due to her size and strength, but far less of an immediate threat to him.
"It seems your cleverness may have backfired. I think I understand your abilities and your plan now," Su Min said coolly, her gaze sharp as she observed the monk before her.
They could observe her past combat capabilities, but only those she had actually used and revealed. Abilities she had never been forced to use in a life-or-death situation remained hidden from their prying visions.
Su Min habitually employed the straightforward power of the Four Symbols in battle simply because it was direct, brutal, and effective. Why chant lengthy, complicated incantations when a single, overwhelming sword strike infused with Vermilion Bird flame could achieve the same result more efficiently?
But let's not forget, she had also obtained the legendary Five Elements Emperor's inheritance. Her repertoire was vast and deeply rooted in fundamental cosmic principles. Though she seldom used these more esoteric techniques in favor of direct force, that didn't mean she couldn't, or that she hadn't mastered them.
To prepare for various potential conflicts and to deepen her own Dao, she had never ceased studying the profound Ancient Five Elements Scripture. Moreover, she also possessed the potent Great Sun Tathāgata Sutra, a Buddhist treasure in its own right.
At this moment, Su Min's eyes narrowed slightly in concentration before suddenly snapping open, her entire body radiating a brilliant, multi-hued light as spiritual energy of five colors swirled around her.
"Five Elements Creation — Wooden Buddha!!!"
BOOM!!!
As Su Min pressed her palms together in a gesture of creation, the very earth trembled and thunderous roars echoed across the sky. Even Xie Yingying and the ancient spirit elder, locked in their own heated battle of moonlight and decay, paused for a split second to glance at the distant battlefield where a colossal figure was rapidly emerging from the ground.
"The Great Sun Tathāgata!!? How can this be?"
Even the unflappable Liao Meng couldn't help but inhale sharply at the sight before him. It was a behemoth several hundred meters tall, a magnificent wooden Buddha statue, its details exquisitely carved, surpassing even the grandest temple statues in sheer splendor and divine presence.
Though constructed primarily from the vibrant, life-giving energy of the Eastern Azure Wood, the Buddha's interior core contained the balanced power of two other divine materials and additional elemental forces. Creating such a terrifyingly powerful construct required seamlessly combining the esoteric principles of the Great Sun Tathāgata Sutra with the foundational creation arts of the Ancient Five Elements Scripture, both pinnacles of cultivation techniques and mental methods.
Its manifested might rivaled any of the Four Symbols' sacred forms in raw destructive potential, though the spiritual energy expenditure was truly tremendous. After summoning this colossal wooden construct, Su Min's own aura noticeably weakened, a sheen of sweat appearing on her brow.
She had never used this technique in actual battle before precisely due to its massive cost, which now caught Liao Meng completely off guard. But she wasn't done yet.
"Thousand-Handed Tathāgata!!!"
Suddenly, countless gigantic wooden hands emerged from the Buddha's back like a peacock spreading its magnificent tail, filling the sky with limbs. This was partly inspired by iconic imagery from Su Min's past life, and now that she possessed the power to realize it, she couldn't resist indulging in a little theatrical flair.
"Liao Meng, today I'll fight you with one hand tied behind my back, as a gesture of respect."
As the stunned monk gaped at the peacock-like display, the sky itself seemed to darken as hundreds of massive fists came crashing down in a relentless barrage, particularly targeting the now-flickering Great Sun Tathāgata apparition behind him.
"This is what you call 'one hand tied'?!"
Liao Meng nearly cursed aloud at the blatant lie and the overwhelming assault but immediately raised his strongest defensive barriers. That apparition was his ultimate trump card, the core of his remaining power. Unlike Su Min, who possessed multiple heavenly treasures and divine materials, he had none to fuel his techniques. This apparition was crucial to his combat strength. If it were destroyed by Su Min's onslaught, it would take him considerable time and spiritual resources to reform it.
Golden light erupted from him in a domed shield, meeting the endless barrage of wooden fists head-on.
Then,
BOOM!!! BOOM!!! BOOM!!!
The first few punches, while powerful, couldn't penetrate his seasoned defenses, but hundreds followed in rapid, earth-shattering succession. His golden barrier, deprived of its karmic foundation, lasted less than a second before collapsing like shattered glass.
The remaining fists annihilated the Maitreya apparition in a burst of golden motes before relentlessly slamming into the ground, causing localized earthquakes and sending plumes of dust and snow skyward. The frozen tundra for a kilometer around shattered, revealing the dark, bare soil beneath.
Liao Meng dodged frantically, his form a blur. With the apparition gone, all attacks focused solely on him. Each of those massive strikes carried force enough to critically injure a peak Divine Transformation cultivator. While one or two were manageable with his robust body, being caught in a sustained volley would be catastrophic.
When the assault finally ceased, Liao Meng emerged pale-faced, his robes dusty and torn, surveying the kilometer-wide cratered field below. Had this occurred over a populated city, no one below the Divine Transformation stage would have survived.
"Cough!"
Blood sprayed from his mouth. Su Min's perception and control were so acute that despite the chaotic-seeming barrage, at least ten blows had landed with precise, focused force. His fortified Buddha-body was fractured completely, golden light leaking from the cracks.
What truly infuriated him was noticing that Su Min had indeed held back—one arm remained folded across the massive Buddha's chest, unused. And on that hand, the middle finger was extended in an internationally recognized gesture of disrespect. Although he didn't quite know its specific meaning, the intent was undoubtedly not a friendly one. As for this, it was just Su Min's own bit of petty, cathartic humor.
Soon, the massive wooden Buddha collapsed into a pile of shimmering splinters and fading spiritual light; even with the nearly endless regeneration of the Northern Water's Profound Origin's support, Su Min couldn't sustain such a colossal drain further.
But before Liao Meng could recover his breath or his bearings, another terrifying punch, this one clad in dark Black Tortoise armor and glowing with five-elemental energy, came flying toward his face.
THUD!!!
The blow sent visible shockwaves through the air as Su Min, now clad in her full armor, pressed her physical advantage. Having expended most of her spiritual energy to destroy that troublesome apparition, it was time to end this with close-quarters combat, her original specialty.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Amidst the howling snowstorm, violent collisions echoed continuously. Liao Meng's expression darkened into a grimace; that initial full-power strike from the Buddha had already injured him internally, and this relentless, close-range assault prevented any chance of recovery or casting a more complex technique.
Meanwhile, Su Min was casually popping pills like candy.
As a master alchemist and sect leader, she had ample reserves of high-grade sixth-grade elixirs for every situation. Swallowing a potent strength-boosting and energy-restoration pill, she hammered down with her massive sword in wild, powerful, but deceptively effective swings, using sheer force to overcome technique.
She had to capitalize on his injuries now, before he could tap into some hidden reserve or technique. Having killed Future Maitreya Mountain's head alchemist and with the sect now largely ostracized, he surely lacked the same quality of instantaneous restorative pills that she carried.
"Golden Cymbals Seal!!!"
In desperation, Liao Meng performed a complex hand seal, summoning two massive, disc-like golden cymbals that shot toward Su Min from either side, threatening to clamp her between them with immense force.
Su Min's heart raced; this move reminded her eerily of the story where Sun Wukong was entrapped by a similar treasure in Journey to the West.
The cymbals moved impossibly fast, closing in with a pressure that felt like the heavens themselves were descending to crush her. This was a genuine Heavenly-tier treasure; once caught, escape would be nearly impossible, and the interior would surely be lined with additional sealing arrays and dangers.
Not interested in experiencing them firsthand, Su Min took a deep breath as her spiritual perception shifted, touching upon the most profound law she had begun to grasp.
"Chrono-Lock. Time, stop."
Instantly, the world within a hundred-meter radius turned grayscale, sounds dampened, and snowflakes hung motionless in the air, as if reality itself had paused for a single, stolen moment.
"Ugh!"
Blood immediately trickled from Su Min's nose and the corner of her mouth; this was her current absolute limit. Years of absorbing that Mahayana-level soul energy had yielded this new, terrifying ability, paving her direct path to Dao Comprehension. She knew that upon reaching late-stage Divine Transformation, she would naturally obtain more complete time laws.
As she expected, her time-stop wasn't absolute against other law-wielders; they'd be severely slowed and disoriented but not completely frozen, and the range was still limited.
But it sufficed. Seeing Liao Meng's utterly stunned, horrified expression within the stopped time, his movements slowed to a crawl, Su Min didn't hesitate. She rushed forward, ignoring the screaming protest of her meridians, and delivered a final, crushing blow to his chest, where his spiritual core lay.
From his perspective, Su Min moved in a jarring, impossible fast-forward blur. Without his causality laws to anchor his perception, he couldn't react in time.
THUD!!!
Time snapped back to its normal flow with a palpable whoosh. The golden cymbals snapped shut on empty air with a deafening CLANG. Liao Meng rocketed backward like a shot from a cannon, cratering the already ravaged ground with a fifty-meter-deep impact.
"Cough... hack... Time laws? Impossible! No one, not even in the ancient texts, can comprehend such a heaven-defying law at your stage...!"
More blood spilled from his lips as his Buddha-body, already critically damaged, now teetered on the brink of complete dissolution, the golden light within him guttering like a dying candle. Among all his calculations and visions, he'd never, ever anticipated Su Min wielding the most legendary and forbidden of all laws—the power over time itself. It broke every rule he knew.