After hearing Su Min's words, Lin Yao wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. The sheer scale of Su Min's past struggles made her own troubles seem almost trivial by comparison.
She had thought she was unlucky, targeted for a talent she never asked for, but Su Min's misfortunes far surpassed hers, woven into a tapestry of betrayal, loss, and a long, hard road to power. Of course, there was one key difference. Back then, even in her darkest moments, Su Min had possessed the innate strength and will to eventually fight back.
Lin Yao, on the other hand, had Su Min's protection now, a shelter in the current storm. All in all, they were about even in their own ways, two people caught in circumstances beyond their control, and neither had room to mock the other.
Soon, however, Lin Yao quietly left, as she had received new orders from the alliance, pulling her back into the fold of her duties.
As for Su Min, her attention turned to a different, more peculiar project.
"Will this actually work? Can these Kirin eggs really hatch like this?" Chin in hand, Su Min stared thoughtfully at the large, humming incubator before her, a piece of technology that felt utterly out of place next to the mystical eggs within.
"The temperature settings for chicken, duck, and goose eggs should be about the same, right?" she mused aloud to the empty room. "If they're unfertilized... can I just make scrambled eggs out of them?" It was a ridiculous thought, and she knew it, but it amused her nonetheless.
Watching the incubator slowly rotate, the Kirin eggs inside each roughly the size of an ostrich egg and shimmering with faint, latent energy, Su Min couldn't help but let her imagination run wild. She knew it was probably useless, a shot in the dark, but that didn't stop her from messing around. After all, these eggs were brimming with potent vitality. Unless she outright smashed them to pieces, they would be fine.
Three weeks later...
Seeing no changes, not even a faint crack or a flicker of increased life force, Su Min sighed in frustration. She tapped the glass of the incubator with a faint sense of disappointment.
Deep down, she had expected this outcome, knowing divine beasts rarely followed mortal rules, but it was still hard to accept the failure of her little experiment. The two fluffy little chicks peeping in a nearby box, hatched from ordinary eggs as a control group, proved her incubation method was technically flawless for common fowl.
"Whatever, I give up," she conceded to the silent eggs. "I'll just hand them over to the little Golden Crow or that Ink Kirin later. Since it led me here, these eggs must at least be... fertilized. Or at least embryos should have formed by now." She grumbled internally, a little put out by the stubbornness of the divine. Storing the precious eggs away in her spatial treasure, she was done experimenting for now.
"Those guys should hurry up and make their move. Let me finish them off so I can go back in peace." Su Min sighed slightly. She wouldn't mind digging out the mastermind and wiping them out completely. A part of her almost hoped for it. If that Mahayana level Fallen being was forced to revive prematurely, their Dao injuries would surely worsen. Against such a weakened, desperate opponent, she might actually stand a real chance.
But just as Su Min was lost in thought, on the other side, in a deeply hidden chamber, her wish was being granted.
"Everything's ready. I refuse to believe the Mahayana cultivator left her with infinite protections, enough to endlessly resist our master's weapon." The voice was filled with a grim resolve.
Before the group of people stood an ancient sword, hovering unsupported in the air. It was wreathed in a bloody, malevolent aura and engraved with strange, twisting patterns that seemed to move in the dim light.
Had Su Min been there, she would have gasped in recognition; this was a genuine Heaven grade high tier treasure.
While Divine Transformation cultivators couldn't fully activate its world shaking power, if they sacrificed everything they had to unleash even a fraction of its might, it would be enough to injure even someone like her. A Heaven grade high tier treasure was not something to be taken lightly under any circumstances.
But compared to the two leaders, what stood beside them were three peculiar, coffin like canisters. Through the transparent glass, twisted and agonized human figures could be seen, their faces contorted in a silent scream. This was their solution. Even Su Min couldn't unleash the full power of a Heaven grade treasure without the proper methods. Otherwise, those two experts who had fought her for the inheritance back then wouldn't have died so easily.
So these people had no hope of releasing this weapon's true might either. But they had a special, brutal method. Heaven grade treasures had strict limitations; they required matching techniques or specific cultivation methods to wield properly.
Their solution was simple and cruel: use Nascent Soul cultivators as ammunition, loading their refined essence directly into the weapon like bullets into a gun.
This way, they could unleash the weapon's strongest attacks a few times, at a horrific cost. And since they were already exposed, stealth was no longer an option. These people knew they had to go all out against that woman. It was almost laughable, a single Golden Core cultivator had forced a group of Nascent Soul and Divine Transformation experts to such desperate extremes.
"We've confirmed her location. There's no need for secrecy anymore. That woman is too dangerous. To ensure success, all of us must act." At that moment, one of them spoke, his voice furious. The deaths of three Divine Transformation cultivators had been a devastating blow to their organization. Even in Su Min's Heavenly Continent, Divine Transformation cultivators were rare and powerful figures. Though they weren't as scarce as in the early days when the world was new, their numbers were still far from abundant.
With that, the man threw off his concealing black robe, revealing the stern, determined face of a middle aged man, Zhong Ming, one of the five elders of the Cultivator Alliance and a prominent member of the powerful Zhong Family.
"Are you really betting the entire Zhong Family on this? You know this will lead to our complete annihilation," another voice questioned, heavy with doubt.
"It doesn't matter," Zhong Ming replied, his eyes hard. "At worst, we'll cede another continent. Once our master awakens, he'll deal with the corrupted beasts himself." Zhong Ming's eyes gleamed with cold killing intent. Such a prodigy had to be eliminated. Anyone who could inherit a Mahayana cultivator's legacy had the potential to reach that legendary stage themselves. That would make them a terrifying, unstoppable enemy. No measure was too extreme; they had to strangle this threat in its cradle. Su Min had faced similar treatment before, but she had fought her way out through sheer force.
"Fine. Have you pinpointed her location?"
"Yes."
"Are you going in for a sneak attack first?"
"No." Zhong Ming's answer was immediate and firm. "We'll shatter her protective barrier directly, activate the Heaven grade treasure, and kill her in one overwhelming strike."
Hearing the elder's words, Zhong Ming's eyelids twitched imperceptibly. If she truly had Mahayana level protections, a simple sneak attack would be meaningless. He might even be instantly countered and killed. So instead, they would use a brute force assault to eliminate her decisively, leaving no room for error or counterattack.
"Move out."
The lead elder glanced at the sinister black canisters and shook his head slightly, a rare flicker of something like regret in his eyes. They had already sacrificed too much. Most of their Core Formation cultivators, aside from those with exceptional potential, were inside those containers, their lives and power soon to be consumed.
"Let's go!!!" With that order, the group charged forth, their auras flaring as they moved with deadly purpose.
Back at the alliance base, the mood was momentarily peaceful.
"Gotta admit, the food on this planet is pretty good." Su Min eyed the dishes before her with genuine interest. As a self proclaimed food lover, even though she had reached the Dao Comprehension stage and could survive without eating, she still indulged in the simple, earthly pleasure of food. She wasn't cultivating some emotionless, ascetic path. Desires could be managed, and harmless enjoyments were perfectly fine.
"Yeah, our base serves the best meals. Most civilians outside can't afford food like this." Lin Yao sighed, looking down at the braised meat on her plate. These dishes were made from mutated sea beasts. Though corrupted, they weren't completely inedible after careful processing, otherwise, Su Min's purification gourd wouldn't have been able to refine their corpses for materials.
As for ordinary people, their living standards had plummeted in these troubled times. It wasn't just because resources were prioritized for cultivators; the widespread ocean pollution had cut off too many traditional food sources and necessities.
"Ah, you have no idea what my life was like during the Qi Refining stage. It was truly a savage existence." Su Min waved it off casually. She had observed ordinary households in this world, and aside from the extremely poor, most lived better than what she had seen in her own early days. Back then, the Great Wei Dynasty was in utter chaos under the rule of a Demon Queen, with monsters and demons running rampant. Though Su Min wasn't some great saint, she still felt a pang of compassion for the common folk. She just hadn't had the power to change things on a large scale back then.
"What was your life like back then, Senior?" Lin Yao leaned forward, her curiosity open and eager. To her, Su Min was the very embodiment of mystique, peerless, composed, and untouchable. It was impossible to imagine her as anything but the aloof powerhouse she was now. What had she been like… before the legend?
Su Min blinked, as if pulling herself from a deep memory, then let out a soft sigh, almost inaudible over the mountain wind whistling past the base walls.
"…Has it already been a thousand years?" Her tone was light, almost teasing, but her gaze drifted toward the horizon, unfocused and distant. But her words made Lin Yao's lips twitch involuntarily.
"A thousand year old monster," Lin Yao thought to herself, though she didn't dare say it aloud. Her slightly odd expression might have given her away, but Su Min was too lost in reminiscence to notice.
"I was born into a noble clan," she began, her voice softer than usual. "We were wealthy. Respected. I had a mother who adored me, an elder brother who always shielded me. At that time, I thought my life was set, a path laid out before me." She paused. Her fingers idly brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, though the movement seemed more like a habit from a long gone life than a necessity now.
"Then… something went wrong. The emperor accused us of treason. I was barely past fourteen."
Lin Yao sat up straight, stunned by the abrupt turn.
"What?! He executed your whole clan? But why? Didn't you, didn't you wipe out his entire bloodline in revenge?" The words tumbled out before she could stop them.
Su Min gave a quiet, self deprecating laugh. "Not really. Technically, even that dog emperor didn't die by my hand." Her smile held no satisfaction, only a deep, tired irony.
Lin Yao's mind raced with scenes from countless movies and novels. Was this some intricate palace drama? Did Su Min become an empress or something in the end?
"It went something like this..." She leaned back slightly, her gaze fixed on something only she could see. "I was born in Yu City. My family… served the court. My father was a respected official. We weren't at the very top of the power structure, but we were close to the wrong people. When a certain prince's rebellion failed, anyone connected to his lineage paid the price. Us included." She said it all calmly, with the same detachment one might use to recount an old fable. But her eyes didn't quite match the tone.
"My family lasted mere weeks under the executioner's blade. The only reason I was spared was because of my father's final, desperate plea. But back then, that kind of 'mercy' was worse than a clean death."
Lin Yao's throat tightened. "…What do you mean?"
Su Min glanced at her, then looked away again. "A young noble girl, stripped of her clan's name and protection? That's not a survivor. That's a product. And the people who deal in such products knew exactly what to do with me." She didn't elaborate further, and Lin Yao didn't dare ask for details. But a cold chill ran down her spine nonetheless.
"I ended up in a brothel," Su Min continued, her voice barely a whisper. "Didn't stay long. I escaped before my worth could be… fully extracted. What I didn't know at the time was that the entire place was a front. Someone powerful was feeding on gifted young girls to restore her own cultivation. And I was on her list."
Lin Yao's eyes widened in horrified understanding. "So the emperor spared you because,?"
"Because I was useful," Su Min said with a faint, cold, and sharp smile. "And because someone whispered in his ear that letting me go would be dangerous. Better to capture me later, when I was broken and couldn't fight back."
"But you did." Lin Yao's voice was full of awe.
"Oh, I ran." Her smile deepened, touched by a grim amusement. "I drifted for years afterward, a ghost with a sword too dull for vengeance. No clan. No allies. Just the slow, burning coals of vengeance simmering beneath a surface of cowardice." A dry chuckle escaped her. "So I learned to disappear, to let the world forget me, until I was strong enough to make it remember."
Lin Yao swallowed hard, her food forgotten. Even now, with all her own training and tribulations, she couldn't picture surviving such a thing. Su Min had lost everything, her family, her status, her future, and yet somehow, she had clawed her way up from absolute nothing.
"What happened next?" she asked, her voice soft.
"They burned down an entire mountain range where I was hiding just to fish me out. I broke through a circle of hundreds of soldiers who were surrounding it. I rode straight into the fire, broke through the other side, and sprinted across a river wide enough to drown ten cities. It was either that… or die."
"You crossed a river on foot?" Lin Yao asked, incredulous.
"Spiritual energy. A fast horse. A lot of luck." She paused, letting the image sink in. Lin Yao could only stare at her in disbelief.
"After that, I settled in the south," Su Min went on. "Far from the court, beyond the empire's borders. Mountains, insects, bandits. The kind of place no one cared about, which made it perfect for me." She smiled at the memory, though it wasn't a particularly warm expression.
"The locals were simple. They didn't have much, but they knew how to survive. I set up a little system, healing in exchange for herbs and ores. No money, just barter. Word spread. They started calling me a divine healer."
Lin Yao frowned, trying to picture it. "You became a healer?"
"A healer, a refiner, an alchemist. Survival teaches you versatility." Su Min's smile was wry. "They started calling me something ridiculous, Divine Healer of the Martial World. I was barely past the Body Refining stage at the time." She spoke of it lightly, but her eyes lingered on the distance again, "Then I reached Qi Refining. Traveled for materials, needed five elemental treasures for my foundation. Got water from a fishing village after slaying a clam demon. Metal came from a desert monster, with some help from a wandering monk."
She said it all with a weary ease that made Lin Yao's heart ache. There was no boasting in her voice. No pride. Just the weight of memory.
"Eventually, I ended up near the borderlands. Some old allies of my family still lived there. We made a deal. I gave them pills, they gave me materials."
Lin Yao's brows furrowed in concern. "Wasn't that dangerous? If the empire was still hunting you?"
"They were. But fewer and fewer people remembered the details of the old case." She reached for the teapot beside her and poured herself a cup, the movement unhurried.
"There was a war. The tribe that started it had something I needed. In the end, I killed their leader and took the last two treasures. After that… seclusion. It took 20 years to form my Foundation. By the time I came back out, the man I'd originally dealt with was long dead. His son ruled in his place. The world had moved on. But I hadn't."
Lin Yao's chest ached faintly for the lonely figure Su Min described. "You were alone the whole time?"
"Mostly. I met people along the way. Helped where I could. Fought when I had to. Eventually, a secret realm appeared, and of course I wouldn't miss it. That's when I met someone important. She reminded me of the moon. Cold on the surface. Fragile in the dark. We fought a Corpse King together, a Golden Core stage monster. She ended up sealing herself again after that, and I went into seclusion again to break through."
Lin Yao had stopped trying to keep up with the surreal, epic string of events. She could only gape at the stories casually laid out before her, any one of which was enough to make a legend.
"And then?" she asked quietly, drawn into the tale.
"Well," Su Min's lips curled into a cold, final smile, "I had already broken into the Golden Core stage. The hunted had finally become the hunter. That same empire that put a bounty on my head for years? Burned to ash by the very rebellion they feared the most. The Demon Queen who sought to consume me? Crushed by her own arrogance when her spell backfired. And the emperor? Stabbed by his own concubines. Poetic, really. All those years running, and in the end, my enemies destroyed themselves."
Silence followed her words. Moonlight fell across the table between them like scattered frost. Su Min leaned back, her eyes distant but calm.
"It took fifty years," she said at last, "but I repaid every debt."
At first, Lin Yao was busy imagining the dramatic scenarios, but soon, she was simply stunned into a humbled silence. Compared to Su Min's journey, her own life seemed almost blissfully straightforward. At least her family was alive and well, unlike Su Min, who had been completely orphaned and cast adrift.
But Su Min, rarely so talkative, was now in a full storytelling mode. She realized many elders loved reminiscing, and though she wasn't old in spirit, she found a certain joy in it too, in sharing a part of her past.
Of course, she only shared what was appropriate. Things like her true immortality, her comprehension of the Heavenly Dao, and other profound secrets remained carefully unspoken.
Yet her words painted a completely different, vast world for Lin Yao, one of isolated realms and continents, each no smaller than their entire planet, filled with countless powerful experts and extraordinary physiques all competing for glory.
When Su Min mentioned the five supreme physiques, Lin Yao was utterly dumbfounded. Their world had no records of such things, and yet here Su Min was, casually mentioning she had encountered multiple holders, even all five types, except for the mutually exclusive Solar and Lunar Sovereign.
"Senior, how do I compare to you at my age?" Lin Yao couldn't help but ask, especially after hearing about the Golden Core Avenue and its countless geniuses. In this world, her Nine Nine Heavenly Tribulation was unprecedented, and her divine artifact gave her near invincibility at the Golden Core stage. But in that grand competition Su Min described, she would be among the top tier, but far from unrivaled.
"Probably similar in raw power at the same stage," Su Min assessed honestly. "When I was at early Golden Core, I had only unlocked the Blazing Sun Physique. I couldn't even tap into the true power of the Five Elements Holy Body yet. But if this is all you've got now, you're far behind where I was by the mid Golden Core stage." Su Min gave Lin Yao a once over. Her Blazing Sun Physique wasn't particularly strong initially, and even with the Nanming Lihuo, it was only decent. Lin Yao's base physique was better in some ways, and she had the potent Netherworld Ghost Flame.
The truth was, Su Min's early Golden Core self, before refining the Eastern Azure Wood, wasn't overwhelmingly powerful. But by mid Golden Core, after further consolidation and growth, Lin Yao in her current state wouldn't stand a chance.
"Huh?" Lin Yao blinked in disbelief, her confidence slightly stung.
"You'd probably rank in the top ten of the Golden Core Heavenly Leaderboard back home," Su Min elaborated. "Breaking into the top five would depend on luck and circumstance. The top four, especially, were no ordinary geniuses; they were monsters." Su Min grinned, then rubbed her temples as if recalling a headache. She had fought tooth and nail every step of the way. Aside from Xie Yingying going easy on her once, every major battle had been grueling. Facing so many fellow monsters was genuinely exhausting.
"I see..." Lin Yao sighed dejectedly. This was a real blow to her confidence, to be placed so definitively.
"Don't worry. With your current strength, you'd definitely make it into the top... Hm?" Su Min suddenly stopped mid sentence, her brow furrowing as she looked up sharply, her gaze piercing through the base walls towards a certain direction.
"Senior? What's wrong?" Seeing Su Min's abruptly serious expression, Lin Yao grew immediately uneasy, her own worries snapping back to the present.
"A Heaven grade high tier treasure. One late stage Divine Transformation, two mid stage Divine Transformation, and a bunch of Nascent Soul... ammunition. They're coming straight here. For your life." Su Min's voice was flat and certain.
"!!!"
Lin Yao's face paled instantly. This lineup was far beyond her ability to handle. And more importantly, Nascent Soul ammunition? What horrific plan were they enacting?
At that exact moment, the entire base's alarm systems blared to life, a deafening, urgent wail she had only heard once before. It was the highest level alert.
The last time this had happened was when they faced a Dao Comprehension stage impurity beast.
===
Su Min flashback story~