"Calm down, he's long dead. There's no one left to take your anger out on."
Clearly, the inherited racial memories from her bloodline had sent the little Golden Crow into a blind, instinctual rage.
Su Min had fully anticipated this reaction. With a casual wave of her hand, she summoned one of the specific puppets from her ring.
Boom!
The next moment, the little Golden Crow exploded with fury, her human form shimmering with unstable heat. Because what appeared before her was a massive, meticulously crafted Golden Crow puppet, its metallic feathers gleaming dully under the sun.
Other puppets of mythical beasts might be insignificant to her, but Su Min had specifically brought out the Golden Crow and dragon puppets, knowing they would strike a nerve. The tomb contained plenty of such puppets, originally selected by the Medicine Buddha to help his inheritor refine various elemental laws.
As for the other divine beasts or fiendish creatures represented, they held no personal significance to Su Min, so she could use them for parts or practice without a second thought.
But the little Golden Crow was different. Seeing the grotesquely altered, lifeless replica of one of her own kind, she completely bristled, her small fists clenching. Had she been in her true form, she'd have undoubtedly transformed into an adorable, puffed up golden fluffball of pure outrage.
Of course, Su Min wisely refrained from commenting on that mental image, instead looking skyward with feigned nonchalance, whistling softly.
"What about that emperor's own lineage? His descendants? Where are they?"
Clearly ruffled, the little Golden Crow glared murderously at Su Min, as if she were personally responsible for the ancient emperor's crimes.
"Hmm..."
Su Min expressionlessly pointed a thumb at her own chest, freezing the little Golden Crow in stunned, bewildered silence.
"He played himself to death long ago, and his entire lineage died with him. I'm his only inheritor, and I only just acquired this tomb recently."
Without further explanation, Su Min summoned the massively shrunken tomb core before them. The sight of the intricate, self contained realm, now devoid of its original master, deflated the little Golden Crow like a punctured balloon. Only two words echoed in her mind: utterly ruthless.
This guy had turned his entire lineage and followers into puppets, not a single living soul remained. It left her with no outlet for her rage, no one to blame. He had truly walked his path so absolutely that he left no path for others.
"Forget it. There's no point raging against mindless puppets. Later, let me go in and vent my anger properly on them. Don't worry, I won't dismantle the place."
The little Golden Crow narrowed her eyes, her anger cooling into a grim practicality. A quick spiritual scan had revealed the tomb's secret, the endlessly regenerating spiritual energy of the puppets. They would make perfect, permanent training dummies for honing her skills.
Her explosive anger dissipated as quickly as it came. She understood now that any puppets physically removed from the tomb would instantly become worthless, their magic fading. Observing the Golden Crow corpse below, which had begun disintegrating into dust now that it was outside the tomb's preservation field, the little Golden Crow rubbed her temples in resignation. After being removed by Su Min, it had completely fallen apart, utterly valueless. Even if it had been valuable, she'd have reclaimed it for a proper cremation anyway.
With a wave of her hand, the earth's spiritual veins churned and opened up, and the dissolving corpse slowly sank into them, returning to the world's energy.
Then, sacred Golden Crow flames erupted from the earth's veins, purifying the spot where the remains had lain.
"I also have a dragon corpse to deliver to Ao Xue. As for the others, I can't be bothered. It's not like I know those other clans well anyway."
Su Min simply nodded, accepting the pragmatic resolution. Seeing the little Golden Crow still in low spirits, she didn't know how to comfort her, though she was secretly a little disappointed she couldn't see the famously ruffled bird form.
"Wait, dragons!!!"
Suddenly, the little Golden Crow paused, an odd, mischievous expression crossing her face before she flew over with a sudden grin, hugging Su Min's arm with a playful shake.
"Could you, maybe, let me be the one to return that dragon corpse to the mudskipper?"
Su Min instantly saw through the little bird's scheme. She wanted to personally deliver the news to Ao Xue, likely to provoke a reaction. But for the sake of convenience and avoiding further drama, she just tossed the preserved dragon corpse over.
"Don't get too cocky. If you get beaten black and blue by her again, I won't avenge you."
Su Min merely offered this standard warning about the little Golden Crow's apparent death wish. After all, she'd been beaten to a pulp by the dragon more than once, always retreating to lick her wounds in private. With her immense pride, she'd never ask Su Min for help after losing a fair, one on one fight.
"Phew..."
With these delicate matters settled, Su Min returned to the main sect hall. She summoned all the half step Dao Comprehension cultivators, including Xie Yingying and Elder Zhu, while Lin Yao observed quietly from the sidelines.
Divine Transformation cultivators who hadn't crossed the threshold of law comprehension entering would be suicidal, risking not just a beating but their actual lives. Though Su Min had her own schemes for the tomb, she'd never willingly endanger her disciple.
"This is the Puppet Ancient Emperor's legacy I obtained. It contains countless puppets ranging from early Dao Comprehension all the way up to Unity and even Mahayana stages. This training ground will be crucial for your advancement. It is a true Great Emperor's inheritance realm, finally filling our sect's last major gap."
"Hiss."
As Su Min spoke, the room filled with shocked, indrawn gasps. All true super sects and ancient clans possessed their own Great Emperor inheritance realms. Until now, the Immortal Sect hadn't. This meant that progressing beyond the early stages of Dao Comprehension had been nearly impossible for most, relying solely on personal talent and luck.
That Su Min and Xie Yingying had advanced so smoothly was due to their special circumstances and monstrous talents. Even Elder Zhu didn't know how many decades it would have taken him to reach mid Dao Comprehension without such aid.
But with this, their sect's last major deficiency was remedied. They now had a complete path for nurturing top tier experts.
"Listen carefully. First, never, under any circumstances, remove the puppets from inside the realm. They'll instantly decay into worthless dust. Second, only half step Dao Comprehension cultivators who've genuinely comprehended at least one law may enter. No exceptions, not even the strongest late Divine Transformation cultivators. Understood?!"
Here, Su Min specifically fixed her gaze on the eager Lin Yao, who immediately shrank back under the intensity. Clearly, Su Min was delivering a direct warning to her. Disobedience on this point was not an option.
"These puppets were modified from the corpses of beings who were at least at the Dao Comprehension stage when they died. Without the protection of your own laws, they're far too dangerous, and they often attack in coordinated groups. Some of the chambers even pushed me, your sect leader, to the brink. Proceed with extreme caution. The only silver lining is they are bound to their rooms and won't pursue you across the realm."
"Yes, Grand Elder!"
With that unified shout, Su Min placed the secret realm's access point in a secured area of the back mountains, notifying the resident divine and spirit beasts of its purpose and rules. The specific management and scheduling she left to Elder Zhu and Xie Yingying, as standard procedures already existed for such matters.
Su Min currently had no personal interest in entering the tomb for training. First, she'd just reached late Dao Comprehension and needed to gradually temper her vast spiritual energy rather than rush another advancement. Second, she had important artifacts to craft for her dear disciple. Though she was still unable to forge Heaven grade artifacts herself, creating Earth grade high tier ones was now effortless for her.
But crafting a full set of armor posed a particular headache. In her past life, privately hoarding military grade armor could be deemed rebellion, showing its immense combat value. This world was no different. If a regular offensive artifact cost 100 spirit stones, an equivalent defensive armor started at 10,000.
Naturally, the crafting process proved immensely difficult and resource intensive. Even for Su Min, it required nearly a month of focused work.
"I've prepared your new artifacts and equipment. You must exercise extreme caution in the ancient battlefield. Beware not just the corpses and native creatures, but also other people. But since you've traversed it once already, there's no need for me to repeat all the warnings."
Lin Yao sat perfectly straight in her chair, both hands resting formally on her knees, her back rigid. She dared not move a muscle. Su Min's presence used to bring her nothing but comfort, a warm, familiar, almost indulgent feeling. Once, they had even bathed together in a hot spring, Su Min laughing lightly as she poured scented oil over Lin Yao's shoulders, calling her a spoiled little fox. At the time, Lin Yao had been too stunned to speak, her cheeks burning with a confusing warmth. But she had basked in that closeness, treasured the memory, replayed it in her mind far too many times afterward.
Now, everything in the room felt different.
Su Min was still the same, smiling faintly, her eyes slightly narrowed in their usual lazy way, her hair tied up in the usual messy bun. But the air between them had changed, grown heavier.
Or perhaps it was the presence of the eyes behind her.
Half lidded and utterly unreadable, Xie Yingying stood silently at Su Min's side like a shadow made of solidified moonlight. Her presence filled the room without effort, weightless yet somehow suffocating. Lin Yao didn't need to turn around to feel it. That quiet, intense gaze pressed against her back like the cold edge of a blade. Not overtly threatening, not yet, but ever present, a constant reminder.
Seeing Lin Yao sitting so rigidly straight and feeling the weight of Xie Yingying's half lidded gaze behind her, Su Min could only scratch her head awkwardly, unsure how to break the tension.
"Yes, Master."
Lin Yao's voice was soft, clipped. She straightened her back even more, though her shoulders were already stiff as a board. She snuck a fleeting glance toward Xie Yingying, and immediately looked away, her heart pounding. She didn't dare speak freely anymore, not like she used to. Not when she felt as though any trace of their old closeness would be measured, catalogued, and silently judged.
"Oh," Su Min added quickly, trying to shift the mood, "while you're there, could you collect some Dao Comprehension stage corpses for me? Living ones would be far too dangerous for you, but dead ones should be manageable."
Lin Yao blinked, startled out of her nervous silence. "Master, are you planning to make more puppets?"
After releasing the secret realm to the sect, Su Min had also made the basic puppet compendium public, albeit a heavily censored version. The living puppet techniques were classified as forbidden arts, known only to Su Min and a single sealed jade slip.
Even without those forbidden methods, the remaining puppet craft astonished many of the disciples. It was a bit like modern silicone dolls, the puppets' realism was undeniable. But as an insider, Lin Yao knew the grim origins of those secret realm puppets.
Su Min gave her a lazy side eye. "Obviously. I need something specialized to absorb tribulation lightning. When I refined my first eighth grade pill, the heavenly tribulation nearly crisped me into a piece of charcoal."
Her expression turned flat, her lips drawn into a deadpan pout. The memory of that helpless, exhausted state clearly still stung her pride.
Su Min adopted a dead fish expression at the recollection. She refused to gather a crowd of experts for protection every time she refined high level pills. Though now she could handle that specific low grade eighth tier pill without such measures, the embarrassing memory still haunted her.
"Pfft, leave it to me then," Lin Yao said, a little more brightly, seizing the chance for a familiar, teasing tone. "I'll bring you back the most intact, best looking corpses I can find!"
Su Min rolled her eyes so hard it was a wonder they stayed in their sockets. "I'm making functional puppets, not decorative dolls."
"Well, your puppets do look suspiciously lifelike sometimes..."
"That's the entire point. Realistic texture and articulation are essential for complex movement and law channeling."
Lin Yao was smiling now, a genuine spark of their old, easy rhythm flickering back to life. It bubbled up before she could stop it, startled and unguarded. For a moment, the tension in her chest eased, and she felt like her old self again.
Su Min smiled back, but it was brief, tempered by the serious situation. "Then I can only wish you luck and caution."
With a flick of her fingers, she tossed Lin Yao a jade ring brimming with carefully selected items, artifacts, formation tools, qi anchors, all personally tailored to Lin Yao's strengths and the mission ahead. Her entire crafting plan's success now depended on the girl, as Su Min certainly couldn't procure Dao Comprehension corpses herself without causing a continent wide incident. As the girl caught it, Su Min's fingers hovered in the air for a beat too long, as if she were tempted to say more, to offer more reassurance.
But she didn't. The words wouldn't come.
Soon...
"Hmm, she's off."
Watching Lin Yao's vanishing light streak disappear into the horizon, Xie Yingying exhaled quietly. It wasn't a dramatic sigh, but it was unmistakably a sigh of relief.
This continent was still steeped in old, rigid customs. Masters were like second fathers, disciples were like dutiful children. Most cultivators bowed and scraped before their elders, their speech always formal, their respect always rigid and performative.
But Su Min?
Su Min didn't know how to play that part. She never had.
She never acted like a traditional, aloof master. Never pulled rank or demanded obeisance. Once someone got close to her, titles and hierarchy meant nothing. Whether they were a sect leader or a lowly servant, she treated them largely the same, with dry remarks, mild gestures, and a complete disregard for stuffy decorum.
To Xie Yingying, it was recklessly endearing, but also dangerous.
Especially when it came to that particular girl.
She hadn't said anything at first. Hadn't even fully admitted the feeling to herself. But the longer she watched Su Min interact with Lin Yao, the more a cold, coiling unease settled in her chest.
Too casual. Too unguarded. Too... familiar.
A disciple shouldn't be able to touch her Master that easily, to tackle her to the ground in a greeting. A disciple shouldn't look at her Master with that particular softness in her eyes, and more importantly, a Master shouldn't just let it slide, shouldn't encourage it with her own easy smiles.
It was absurd. It was improper.
If Su Min truly saw Lin Yao as nothing but a disciple, she should have drawn a clear line. Should have taught her distance and respect. Should have protected her from developing... inconvenient feelings. That was what Xie Yingying would've done, had it been her disciple.
And yet, Su Min just smiled and handed her pills, wrapped a casual arm around her shoulders after a successful training session, ruffled her hair like some carefree, doting parent. No. Not a parent. The energy was something else, something Xie Yingying couldn't quite name, and that was what made it so unbearable. Xie Yingying didn't understand what she was feeling, exactly. Not simple anger. And certainly not fear.
But there was something sharp and cold in her whenever Lin Yao was around. Something unpleasant and possessive that made her want to cut through every thread of easy connection Su Min might weave with others. She would never say it aloud. Would never accuse Su Min of anything. She didn't need to. She just needed to stay close, closer than anyone else, a silent, permanent fixture at her side.
"Matters settled. Don't disappoint me, dear disciple. Oh, while we're temporarily free from immediate crises, compile a list of the sect's most urgently needed herbs and pills. Those brats in the Alchemy Hall are still too weak, only reaching early sixth grade alchemy with abysmal success rates."
Su Min rolled her eyes. Actually, having several sixth grade alchemists was objectively impressive. They were rare even in other super sects, usually treasured like precious jewels. Only someone of Su Min's impossible standard would complain about it, a perspective that left others speechless.
A single sixth grade alchemist warranted warm, respectful receptions from Dao Comprehension experts. Even if those experts didn't need the pills personally, their younger disciples and factions certainly did.
"Count your blessings. You have four early sixth grade alchemists. Every other major sect envies that. As for specific pills, there are some accumulated demands. Here's the task list, help refine these when you have time."
"Hmm..."
Scanning the lengthy list handed to her, Su Min's lips twitched uncontrollably. Some of these requests dated back over a decade. Thankfully cultivators lived for centuries, otherwise it'd be like ordering a car in your youth and finally receiving it when your kids were old enough to throw punches, like some old Russian joke she vaguely remembered.
Of course, Su Min only sweated internally at the thought. She couldn't truly become the sect's dedicated pill refining machine. They'd just have to endure the wait. Her policy was simple, whenever she returned from a long seclusion, she would refine a large batch to clear the backlog anyway.
Those cultivators on the waiting list could only wait patiently and gratefully. They knew better than to rush an eighth grade alchemist.
Thus, every time Su Min returned from a trip, it sent the sect's logistics department scrambling to tally resources and update request lists, lest she vanish into seclusion again without notice.
"Seventy three sixth grade pills, twelve seventh grade pills, including eight Dao Comprehension Pills. That means eight potential Dao Comprehension candidates for the sect. Are the materials sufficient? I can't provide that many rare herbs myself."
Eighth grade pills mainly benefited Unity stage cultivators and were requests for the far future. For sixth grade and below, the sect's other alchemists could manage the daily needs. Thus Su Min only needed to handle the high end remainder, especially the critical Dao Comprehension Pills that could create new elders.
~
"Great Emperor legacies are truly extraordinary. Just in this first month, two half step Dao Comprehension disciples have emerged from the tomb, their combat experience skyrocketing, bringing them much closer to a true breakthrough. Even I'm getting intrigued. With you and the Little Golden Crow guarding the sect, I think I'll enter for some proper training myself."
Super sects surpassed ordinary ones precisely because of these emperor crafted training realms. They provided combat experience that was otherwise impossible to find, especially in this relatively peaceful age.
Most Dao Comprehension experts had extensive sect responsibilities and rarely engaged in true life and death battles. Very few matched Su Min and Tian Hao's ridiculously rich experiences. For the majority who progressed slowly through meditation alone, such realms were invaluable.
Previously, their sect's super status relied entirely on Su Min's overwhelming personal support and the little Golden Crow's assistance. But with this inheritance realm, even if they hypothetically separated from the divine beasts, their foundational gap with the other true super sects was rapidly closing.
"Go ahead. I have no plans to refine any eighth grade pills anyway. It is too disruptive. Just have the herb department deliver the materials for the task list to my chamber. I will handle them before I enter."
With a final nod, Su Min entered her private chamber with the large satchel of materials. Though the number of pills was numerous, for someone of her skill and speed, they would take merely a week of focused work, hardly a strenuous task before her well earned training session.
===
Yingying really try to establish her dominance over her 'territory', and yes... you really should be worried about her little disciple.
Lin Yao clearly smitten by her, they are affectionate, they even bathing together!!!!