"What's with that look of yours?" Xie Yingying asked, her voice a mix of exasperation and disbelief as she looked down at Su Min, who was sprawled on the floor like a dried-up old fish. "You actually tried refining an eighth-grade pill right here? It's a miracle the entire sect wasn't reduced to a pile of rubble."
She was utterly speechless. Could this woman at least try not to look so utterly defeated? She looked like a living meme. It wasn't even her who had to resist the lightning tribulation, so what was she doing lying there like all the life had been drained out of her?
"So this is an eighth-grade pill," Xie Yingying murmured, her attention quickly captured by the radiant, slowly spinning pill floating serenely within the cauldron. "It smells amazing."
She soon stopped paying attention to Su Min's meme-worthy pose and instead focused completely on the pill. It wasn't very large, but its medicinal fragrance was rich and intoxicating, filling the room with a soothing, potent aroma. Even more striking was the faint, shimmering outer layer that encased the pill, catching the light.
A Pill Robe, that unique and legendary characteristic of all eighth-grade pills and above. However, this particular pill was clearly the lowest tier of eighth-grade, as its robe was extremely thin and barely there.
"It smells incredible," Xie Yingying repeated, genuinely impressed. "What kind of pill is this?"
"If you want it, take it," Su Min grumbled from the floor, her expression not changing at all as she continued to lie there, recovering. "Just let me rest for a bit."
"But what kind of pill is it?" Xie Yingying pressed, needing to know what she'd be taking.
"It's eighth-grade, lower tier, and the lowest of the low at that," Su Min explained without opening her eyes. "It's a healing pill for the Unity stage. You've already reached the late Dao Comprehension stage, so you'll probably reach Unity before I do, you overachiever."
Eighth-grade pills above weren't strictly categorized into upper, middle, and lower tiers in the traditional sense. The main indicator was always the power and color of the lightning tribution they attracted. The one she had just refined had only summoned a single-colored lightning tribulation, the weakest possible, so calling it "eighth-grade lower tier" wasn't wrong. Besides, Su Min was just used to the simpler classification.
"You keep it," Xie Yingying said, shaking her head after a moment's consideration. She wasn't particularly concerned about having it for herself. Su Min had always been overwhelmingly generous with her when it came to pills, never hesitating to refine whatever she needed, so she knew she could get one later.
So, without another word, she carefully used her energy to scoop the pill from the cauldron and floated it back over to Su Min.
"Rest here if you want. I'm going back to consolidate my cultivation," Xie Yingying announced. With that, she transformed into a streak of icy light and vanished from the room. She had just broken through to the late Dao Comprehension stage and really did need time to stabilize her foundation.
Currently, the only other Dao Comprehension-stage expert overseeing the sect was Elder Zhu, who had finally managed to break through after receiving one of Su Min's Dao Comprehension Pills.
However, the lightning tribulation from an eighth-grade pill was far too dangerous for an ordinary early Dao Comprehension-stage cultivator to handle safely, so Su Min had no real choice but to ask Xie Yingying to deal with it. The other, more powerful Dao Comprehension-stage experts were simply too far away to help in time.
"Ugh… Refining pills is going to be a massive headache from now on," Su Min groaned to the empty room. "I really shouldn't attempt another eighth-grade pill until I reach the late Dao Comprehension stage myself."
It took Su Min a long, long time before she finally managed to sit up, her body feeling heavy and uncooperative. Before leaving, Xie Yingying had put out strict orders that no one was to disturb her.
Now, she had mostly recovered. As long as the damage wasn't something profound like a law-based wound, her natural recovery speed was incredibly, almost unnaturally fast.
"Done," she sighed, pushing herself fully upright. "That was quite the spectacle. The entire city must've noticed. There's no way this news stays hidden for long."
Sighing again, she got up from the ground and stored the precious, robe-clad pill safely in her spatial ring. Then, she turned her gaze toward the distant city sprawling beyond the sect's mountains.
The Immortal Sect was situated atop a range of towering, cloud-piercing mountains, home to the best spiritual vein on the entire Eastern Mulberry Continent. Since everyone here was a cultivator, scaling these so-called "lofty peaks" was no more difficult than climbing a two- or three-story building in the modern world.
From her high vantage point, she could see that the massive lightning clouds had nearly enveloped the entire city below. By now, someone clever must have realized what had happened.
The massive city below was home to countless cultivators from other sects, as well as temporary branch offices and listening posts. Of course, these branches had even less autonomy than modern embassies; they were more like corporate outposts, so there was no real fear of them causing any major disruptions on their own.
Still, the news was bound to spread like wildfire. Not that Su Min particularly cared anymore. She was already a highly conspicuous figure; a little more attention wouldn't make much difference in the grand scheme of things.
Her true core secret was her inexplicable immortality. Everything else was secondary and didn't need to be hidden so fiercely. After all, she was long past the stage of pretending to be pig to eat tiger. If she kept up that act now, people would just think she was an idiot.
Of course, no one would ever say that to her face. Instead, they'd just play along, which would only make her look even more like a clown. So, Su Min rarely bothered to hide her abilities anymore.
As expected, the news spread like wildfire.
Within a single day, it had reached every major super sect. After all, most ordinary people had no direct use for such a high-grade pill. But for the leadership of the other major sects, only three words echoed in their minds, drowning out all other thoughts: Unity Pill.
At present, there were only two known Unity-stage cultivators in the world, Yao Xian'er and that mysterious little monk. However, there were quite a few powerful figures who had already reached the late Dao Comprehension stage.
A single Unity Pill was an absolutely irresistible temptation for these individuals, and many began scheming and plotting how they might obtain one. However, a follow-up announcement from the Immortal Gate quickly cooled their fervor. The message was simple and brutally blunt:
"Only just stepped into the eighth-grade threshold. Currently unable to refine a Unity Pill."
That single sentence was enough to extinguish the burning ambitions of many.
The late-stage Dao Comprehension cultivators, who had been buzzing with excitement, were forced to calm down and be patient. After all, refining a Unity Pill was no easy feat; it was the pinnacle of the alchemy art.
Meanwhile…
After issuing the announcement, Su Min sat cross-legged in her room, her soul force rapidly recovering with the steady passage of time. The Northern Water's Profound Origin provided some assistance, but not as much as it used to; her needs had simply outgrown it.
In normal battles, it was rare for someone to completely exhaust their soul force like this.
"Eighth-grade realm," she muttered to herself. "But for now, I can only refine the two most basic pills. Still, that's enough for the time being. I'll worry about the Unity Pill once I actually reach the late Dao Comprehension stage."
Muttering to herself, Su Min slowly stood up. The backlash from refining that eighth-grade pill had been severe; it had taken her over a full month to fully recover.
Though her spiritual power had grown slightly from the ordeal, the memory of that terrifying lightning tribulation still sent a shiver down her spine. Refining high-level pills had effectively become as dangerous as undergoing a tribulation itself.
"I should consult the Medicine King's Cauldron," she decided. "Maybe it knows of some special method to avoid or resist the heavenly tribulation. Relying on Xie Yingying to stand guard every single time I refine a pill is just too troublesome."
This time, her own lack of experience had nearly gotten her killed. She couldn't help but feel a lingering fear. Fortunately, she had chosen to refine the pill within the sect instead of venturing outside somewhere remote.
Now, she needed to find a permanent solution. While she wouldn't be as reckless next time, what about the future? This problem wouldn't just go away.
She would likely face this exact problem for a long time to come. With that grim thought in mind, Su Min summoned the Medicine King's Cauldron from within her body.
As a tool spirit, it spent most of its time dormant. This was the key difference between tool spirits and humans; they possessed far longer lifespans and could avoid aging by simply sleeping for centuries. Unless Su Min actively awakened it, it paid no attention to the outside world.
Of course, as its master, Su Min wouldn't disturb it unnecessarily. But this was necessary.
Soon…
"You've already reached the eighth-grade in pill refining?" the cauldron's spirit voice echoed in her mind, filled with palpable astonishment. "Your progress has far surpassed even the Medicine Buddha's. As I recall, he spent a thousand years at the Dao Comprehension stage before finally refining his first eighth-grade pill in the late stage, attracting a heavenly tribulation."
The Medicine King's Cauldron was visibly astonished.
It had known that Su Min's progress was extraordinary. When it first met her, it had been stunned by her raw talent. But even then, it hadn't anticipated this level of advancement.
Su Min hadn't even been at the Dao Comprehension stage for very long, yet her cultivation was steadily rising, and her alchemy skills were improving at an equally frightening pace.
As for dealing with the pill tribulation…
"It's troublesome, but not that troublesome," the cauldron stated.
"Oh?" Su Min prompted, hope sparking.
"I've heard of a special type of ancient immortal puppet, one that feeds on lightning. If the materials used in its creation are of high enough quality, it can even rival a Unity-stage cultivator in raw power. However, a puppet is still just a puppet. It cannot wield the power of laws, so actually killing a true Unity-stage expert is impossible. That said, delaying one for a while shouldn't be an issue."
"What about against a Mahayana-stage tribulation?" Su Min asked, thinking far ahead.
"No. Even if you used the corpse of an emperor to refine one, it wouldn't work. Besides, ninth-grade pills must undergo the baptism of lightning personally by the alchemist, otherwise, they'll be flawed and imperfect."
"I see…"
Su Min narrowed her eyes, thinking deeply. She had seen puppets refined from cultivators' bodies before.
The Blood Puppet Sect's final trump card had been their ancestor's corpse. Unfortunately, the puppet had degraded over time, losing most of its energy and power. Its strength had been at the Dao Comprehension stage, but without the power of laws. Otherwise, the little Golden Crow would have needed to use an emperor's artifact to suppress it.
Su Min possessed the Blood Puppet Sect's complete inheritance, after all, they were one of only two sects she had utterly annihilated, roots and all.
But she was certain that a flesh-and-blood puppet wouldn't withstand the heavenly tribulation. In fact, it would likely be weak to it, the lightning purifying the unclean flesh, making it completely useless for her purposes.
Of course, Su Min could refine puppets herself. Imitation wasn't difficult. The reason she hadn't was simple: it wasn't worth the effort.
Puppets refined using the Blood Puppet Sect's methods were underwhelming in terms of combat power and had severe limitations. For example, refining a Divine Transformation-stage puppet would only yield one with the combat strength of an early Divine Transformation cultivator, and even then, it would be incapable of actually killing a Divine Transformation-stage opponent, only stalling them.
For someone like Su Min, who frequently fought above her level, and against anything but ordinary opponents, such puppets were as fragile as paper. Utterly meaningless.
"Do you have a refining method for this lightning-eating puppet?" Su Min asked.
"No," the cauldron replied simply.
"…"
Su Min blinked, then scowled. Then why bring it up at all?
"I don't have it, but I know where to find it," the cauldron continued. "The Medicine Buddha once discovered it, but he was a man of compassion and left it where it was, deeming it too dangerous for the world. If you want it, you can retrieve it yourself."
Su Min might have been half a Buddhist cultivator, but she wasn't a monk. She hadn't taken any vows, so she felt no moral conflict about acquiring such things for her own use.
"Where is it?" she asked without hesitation.
As expected, Su Min had no reservations. She would never slaughter innocents to refine something, but using the corpses of defeated enemies? That was fair game in her book.
She had her principles, but she was no saint.
"It's located within an emperor's tomb. I can guide you there, but it's extremely dangerous. Whether you go or not is up to you."
"An emperor's tomb?"
Su Min's brow furrowed deeply. That was not a safe place. Even the tomb of a Mahayana-stage cultivator would be perilous enough, let alone an emperor's. It would be a miracle if she survived the experience.
"Which emperor's?" she asked, needing to know.
"The Puppet Ancient Emperor."
"…"
The moment she heard the name, Su Min instinctively shrank back. She knew exactly who that was, because this world was, at its core, a game she had once see.
Though the real world was infinitely larger than the game's scope, most things that existed in the game existed here as well. Conversely, things absent in the game were likely absent here too.
And since it was a game, many elements had been simplified. Adding something like a complex puppet system would require an entirely new combat system and balance adjustments, which the developers hadn't done.
So, while some bosses or enemies in the game had been puppets, players themselves couldn't use them. But this was reality. There were countless methods to refine puppets here.
As for the Puppet Ancient Emperor? His name was legendary.
In the game, his tomb had been one of the largest maps, arguably the most important grinding zone before the final act. It was also extremely dangerous, known for wiping out unprepared parties.
As the name suggested, the emperor had specialized in puppetry. And the most terrifying part? Though he was long dead, the puppets he had created were legion, and they still guarded his tomb.
Moreover, he was nothing like the half-baked Blood Puppet Sect.
First, his puppets weren't flesh-based, so they didn't degrade over time.
Second, his tomb was meticulously designed to preserve the puppets' vitality, minimizing erosion from the passage of time.
Finally, and most impressively, the man had been an absolute madman.
He had turned himself into a puppet.
Though his consciousness had long since dissipated, his puppet body remained. In other words, his tomb still housed an Emperor Puppet.
That thing was far beyond Su Min's current ability to handle. Even Jiang Xi at her peak would have struggled against it, and even then, only barely.
"If I remember correctly, he was called 'The Artist', a lunatic obsessed with eternity," Su Min recalled aloud, remembering the game's description. The character had clearly been inspired by a certain puppeteer from Naruto, but that didn't make his tomb any less deadly.
As an emperor, he had had countless followers. And this madman had turned all of them into puppets, believing their flesh was weak, but that puppets could transcend.
After their consciousnesses faded, their powerful bodies remained, forever guarding his tomb.
Among them, the most infamous were the Four Heavenly Kings of Puppets, four terrifying Mahayana-stage puppets.
The only silver lining was that the puppets were confined to the tomb's interior. If they left, the natural laws of heaven and earth would quickly erode them without the tomb's preservation fields.
After all, the emperor's era was ancient. Combined with the ravages of the ongoing Age of Decline, the passage of time had been merciless to all things.
"It seems you're familiar with him," the Medicine Cauldron noted, seeing Su Min's reaction.
"What stage was the Medicine Buddha at when he entered?" Su Min asked.
"Mahayana," the cauldron replied.
"And what stage am I now?" Su Min asked, pointing out the obvious problem.
"Dao Comprehension," the cauldron conceded.
"Then what's the point?! That's like saying nothing at all!!!" Su Min exclaimed, frustrated.
"I know the disparity is great," the cauldron said calmly. "But I possess the Medicine Buddha's complete legacy. And when he entered, he encountered the Emperor Puppet, which still retained a fragile fragment of the Puppet Ancient Emperor's soul."
"Huh?" Su Min was taken aback. That was new information.
The Puppet Emperor's goal in transforming himself and his followers had been simple: to break through the limits of lifespan and achieve eternity. In the end, he had succeeded, but only partially.
He had lived an extraordinarily long time, especially thanks to his puppet body and specially built tomb, which allowed him to cling to existence for one hundred thousand years.
But in the end, his consciousness had still faded into oblivion, as all things must.
Even worse, due to his self-modification and entombment, he had spent eighty thousand of those years completely sealed away, meaning he had only enjoyed ten thousand years of true freedom. A terrible trade-off.
Unsurprisingly, no one had followed in his footsteps after that. Compared to that half-life of imprisonment, a natural death was preferable.
"When the Medicine Buddha entered the tomb, he encountered the emperor's lingering consciousness. With the emperor's consent, and out of compassion, he performed a grand ritual to release the trapped soul, granting it eternal peace. In return, he received the Puppet Ancient Emperor's complete legacy. However, he left it all within the tomb, sealing it away. Moreover, the Puppet Ancient Emperor had only ever transformed willing subjects. The Medicine Buddha feared later generations might not be so ethical, so he added additional seals. The key to entering now lies with me."
"…"
Su Min was stunned. This completely recontextualized the game's lore.
In the game, unlocking this area had required an incredibly convoluted process to break through multiple layers of seals, something impossible without at least Unity-stage strength.
Turns out, this was the reason. The Medicine Buddha had locked it down.
"Wouldn't it be too dangerous for me to go in now?" Su Min asked. Having the key was one thing, but that didn't guarantee safety. Entering didn't mean she would necessarily obtain what she sought without dying in the process.
"Not too dangerous," the cauldron assured her. "The Medicine Buddha used his power to seal away the four Mahayana-stage puppets, the Heavenly Kings. As long as you don't actively provoke them, they won't activate. As for the many Unity-stage puppets, they're confined to specific areas and have set patrol routes. Given your current abilities and your talent for escape, getting away if things go wrong shouldn't be an issue. They're powerful, but mindless, after all."
"Is that so…" Su Min murmured, still hesitant and uncertain.
"Wait, wouldn't me going in there violate the Medicine Buddha's intentions?" she asked, needing to be sure of the morality. She did respect the old monk.
"Power itself is neither good nor evil; it depends entirely on how it's used," the cauldron intoned wisely. "The Medicine Buddha knew that most people were foolish and greedy, which is why he took such drastic measures to prevent abuse. Otherwise, with his strength, he could have simply destroyed the entire tomb. He saw your potential is unparalleled, and you walk your own unique path. He believed you would never lose yourself to the dark allure of puppetry."
"Hmm…" Su Min closed her eyes, considering the words.
Indeed, upon hearing all this, she felt no burning greed, only a practical desire to treat the tomb as a dangerous training ground and a source for a specific tool. The power of the puppets themselves held little inherent appeal to her.
What she didn't know was that the Medicine King's Cauldron had already noticed something deeply unusual about her. Her absurdly long, seemingly endless lifespan had piqued its curiosity more than anything else. After all, the Puppet Ancient Emperor's entire, tragic pursuit had been for immortality.
The cauldron didn't know exactly how long Su Min could live, but the sheer amount of lifespan she had nonchalantly burned in its presence already surpassed that of most emperors. Someone like her would never be tempted by the hollow, half-life of puppetry.
As for how it had figured it out?
It might be a tool spirit, but it wasn't stupid. When they had first met, it hadn't known any better, which was why Su Min had been able to fool it with the Treasure Gourd's claimed abilities.
But after all this time together, it had slowly realized the truth: The Treasure Gourd had never had that function at all.
The real reason Su Min could withstand its time-accelerated refinement chamber was simple and staggering: her lifespan was just that long. Burning a few centuries was literally nothing to her.
"Then I'll go," Su Min said, opening her eyes with newfound determination.
Of course, Su Min was completely unaware of these private thoughts, and even if she had known, she wouldn't have cared much. Once a tool spirit acknowledged a master, it would never betray them unless the master sought to destroy it.
Besides, her secret would come out eventually anyway. It had to.
Only the legendary immortals were said to possess eternal life. As for those who were truly deathless? That remained unknown.
But as long as she continued moving forward, the truth would inevitably come to light. Even that terrifying existence downstream in the river of time seemed to know something, hence its desperation to kill her. That alone proved that her future abilities would one day be revealed to the world.
"Very well. I will guide you there," the cauldron said. "An emperor's tomb holds countless treasures and secrets. Though your current strength limits what you can safely obtain, advancing your own power further inside shouldn't be difficult. However, this expedition will take a long time; you must prepare accordingly."
"Can I bring help? Yingying, for instance?" Su Min asked, thinking of her powerful, possessive wife.
"No," the cauldron stated firmly. "The Medicine Buddha specifically designed the entry seals as a training ground for his true successor. Only you can enter. Even if you tried storing others in a spatial artifact, the tomb's restrictions would detect and instantly eject them."
"Fine," Su Min said with a resigned shrug. "I'll make the necessary preparations then. This trip won't be short, I can feel it. It might even take a century or two."
Once she decided on something, she acted decisively. But before leaving for an emperor's tomb, there were still plenty of mundane matters to settle within the sect.
===
Talking about Su Min's physique. In early chpater tell that player didn't have specific spiritual roots, as they able to master anything. It also telling us about "Player Body" as well and its chatacters.
Now that I calm down, I notice a few things about this.
1) What is her true spiritual roots? Is it trully "Void" or "Five-mixed-low grade" just like what she admit to her disciple?
2) Her "Player physique" also should same "attribute" with her spiritual roots, both of the clearly have "chaos" element. The hint feels so glaring right now. I was just too focused by "Taiyang Qi" and cast aside the "chaos" thing. Especially with Xie Yingying Taiyin's, it make me thingking about Taiyang more than "chaos"