The aura of destruction spread out as the staff appeared, a palpable wave of energy that made the very void shudder.
Behind Yuan Wangtian, four clusters of energy materialized, something very peculiar. They shimmered with the colors of the elements, but their forms were unstable, flickering. They resembled heavenly treasures but lacked their profound spiritual essence, their light harsh and artificial.
"Counterfeits?"
At this moment, Su Min recalled the old monster's words from earlier. Was this what he meant by "counterfeits"? These were pale imitations, forged through some unnatural means.
"Hahaha, you finally realize! I do not have your kind of fortune, so I had to rely on these gifts from my master. Because of these so-called counterfeits, I could not even obtain the Ancient Five Elements Scripture!"
As he spoke, his face twisted with palpable hatred, a deep seated resentment for the path forced upon him. But his hands never stopped moving, weaving complex seals in the air.
"Five Elements Rotation, Great Annihilation!!!"
In an instant, the entire region darkened, as if a shroud had been thrown over the stars. The four counterfeit attributes began fusing under his control, swirling into a vortex of chaotic, gray black energy. The sight stunned even Su Min. It should not have been possible.
"As expected of a former Mahayana cultivator. Even without unlocking the corresponding elemental physiques, he can still unleash their power through sheer experience. But counterfeits are still counterfeits. Four Symbols Annihilation!"
In the next moment, four divine manifestations appeared behind Su Min. The Azure Dragon, the Vermilion Bird, the White Tiger, and the Black Tortoise materialized in a blaze of glorious light. They circled around her, their sacred radiance illuminating the darkened sky, a stark contrast to the chaotic energy before her.
At her current level, summoning these sacred beasts individually no longer held much significance. But as one of her trump cards, their combined might was undeniable. Then, the five sacred manifestations rapidly shrank, condensing into a single, brilliant point of light in Su Min's palm in the blink of an eye.
"Five Elements Annihilation!!!!"
Two beams of light, one a chaotic gray black and the other a concentrated, pure white, clashed in the center of the sky. Their brilliance was blinding, illuminating the heavens and casting stark shadows on the world below. The cultivators on the ground watched in terror, their faces pale.
"Is this the true power of Grandmaster Su? This is… terrifying."
"How laughable we were before."
Li Liu and Tian Mengchan, both covered in blood and their robes torn, stared dumbfounded at the sky. They had finally fought their way out of the Five Elements Mountain, though at a heavy cost, having sacrificed several treasured artifacts and sustained serious injuries.
Yet before they could even rejoice at their narrow survival, they had sensed the catastrophic anomaly in the world's energy. Despite being at the Divine Transformation stage, they nearly collapsed from the sheer pressure. Because what was happening was simply too horrifying. The energy of the entire world was in upheaval, as if the heavens themselves were about to be overturned, the fabric of reality straining.
Then, the two colossal energies in the sky collided.
For a brief, terrifying moment, billions of people across the continent, cultivators and mortals alike, felt their senses stripped away. Sight, sound, touch, everything vanished. It was as if existence itself had ceased. Some even felt as if they had ascended to a false paradise, a state devoid of all pain, joy, sorrow, or happiness, a nothingness that was somehow peaceful.
Meanwhile, in the sky, the two energies devoured each other, locked in a deadly, silent struggle. Both Su Min and Yuan Wangtian watched nervously, their fates hanging in the balance.
Yuan Wangtian had unleashed the signature ability of a perfected Five Elements Holy Body, Four Symbols Annihilation, something clearly recorded in the ancient scripture left by the Five Elements Emperor. But Su Min's attack was no less formidable, harnessing the mutual reinforcement and suppression of the Four Sacred Beasts.
However, Yuan Wangtian's technique was incomplete, built on a foundation of fakes, while Su Min's lacked one crucial element, the central balance of the true five. And most importantly, Yuan Wangtian was still a Unity cultivator. Thus, the gray black energy began slowly, inexorably, overwhelming Su Min's radiant light. A trickle of blood seeped from the corner of her lips. The gap between Dao Comprehension and Unity was simply too vast. Even for Su Min, this battle was pushing her limits.
"I cannot wait any longer. If this continues, I will be severely injured, maybe even lose the chance to seize the Five Elements Crystal. This must be his ultimate trump card. In that case…"
Her eyes narrowed with determination as an ancient, unassuming bell materialized in her hand. It was simple and bronze, devoid of any obvious splendor.
"Die, die, die! This girl is truly monstrous. If I were not a former Mahayana cultivator, an ordinary early stage Unity cultivator might have actually lost to her."
Yuan Wangtian's face twisted with manic glee. A genius, a heaven defying prodigy blessed with unparalleled fortune, was about to be erased by his hands. The thought was intoxicating.
Though they shared the same physique, her luck filled him with unbearable envy. Such opportunities, ones he could never even dream of, had to be destroyed. He could not allow her to exist.
Boom!!!
He poured his spiritual energy recklessly into the attack, determined to crush Su Min completely. The thought of her flesh and blood being obliterated by his counterfeit elements filled him with a sadistic satisfaction.
But then…
Dang!!!
A deep, resonant bell tolled across the battlefield, a sound that seemed to originate from beyond time itself. The very note froze him in place, his manic energy stuttering.
"Golden Crow Ancient Bell?"
Yuan Wangtian recalled Su Min's connection to the Golden Crow Clan. Though Kuang Batian's intel had been patchy, he knew of her backing from this supreme divine beast lineage, and their imperial artifact.
"An imperial artifact is impressive, but you are still too weak. Besides, divine beast imperial artifacts can only unleash their full power in the hands of their kind. Even with their bloodline, you cannot… Huh?!"
Before his smug expression could settle, it twisted into shock. Because the space around him was distorting, not with heat, but with a strange, temporal wobble. The Golden Crow Ancient Bell was flame aligned, but this was clearly not its doing.
"She has a second imperial artifact?! But how? Unless… No, that madman turned himself into a puppet. There is no way his artifact could be wielded by a mere inheritor!"
Yuan Wangtian's mind reeled, trying to piece together the impossible.
But his confusion did not last long. Because he realized something horrifying. Everything around him had frozen. His consciousness remained, his thoughts raced, but his body, his attacks, all were immobilized, trapped in a single moment.
Even the colliding energies in front of him had neutralized each other, frozen in a silent tableau of destruction.
"Time Law? Impossible! I have enough law energy here to counteract a mere Dao Comprehension cultivator's… Wait… Future Maitreya Bell?!!"
His pupils shrank to pinpricks as a distant, fearful memory surfaced.
Back when he was just a lowly Foundation Establishment cultivator, he had encountered a shadow in the ruins, an existence that did not belong to this world, as if it had descended from beyond the stars.
That was his master.
Only later did he learn that this being had far surpassed his comprehension, a true immortal from a higher realm.
From him, Yuan Wangtian had received the five counterfeit treasures. Though they could not unlock the full potential of his Five Elements Holy Body, they allowed him to glimpse its true mysteries, paving his path to Mahayana.
He had even avoided the Emperor Seizing War back then, knowing his incomplete physique could not compete at that level.
So he had chosen self severing, sealing himself away in slumber. But even such a supreme existence had feared something, something from the past. Without an anchor, his master could not fully descend through the river of time. The only reason they could communicate at all was because a certain emperor had foolishly gazed into the temporal currents.
And the sole purpose of his master's intervention was to prevent the rise of a terrifying being, one who could command Chaos and Time. Yuan Wangtian did not understand what "Chaos" meant, but right now, the woman before him truly resembled a sovereign of time.
Boom!!!
The next instant, his chest exploded violently.
Su Min had closed the distance in frozen time, her fist smashing into him with unstoppable force. The Future Maitreya Bell, the imperial artifact of the Sinful Buddha, amplified her control over time. With its aid, she had bypassed the energy clash entirely and struck directly at Yuan Wangtian's core.
Under normal circumstances, this would have been impossible. But with the bell's power, she had done it.
Boom!!!
The explosions continued as the frozen energy, now without a guide, destabilized and erupted harmlessly around them. But Su Min, ever the pragmatist, did not spare a glance at the chaotic lightshow. Her chest heaved violently, her armor and the bell in her hand dissipating from sheer exhaustion. Even her modest chest rose and fell rapidly from the immense exertion.
"The drain is insane."
Ignoring the now neutralized energy behind her, she popped a pill into her mouth without even looking at it.
[Spirit Restoration Pill (Seventh Grade Low Tier)]
Activating an imperial artifact and forcing her way through that explosion had taken a massive toll, draining her spiritual sea to its dregs. Without the bell's support, she could never have frozen such a colossal energy clash.
"I have to finish him."
As the pill took effect, a warm current spread through her meridians and her spiritual energy began recovering rapidly. The Black Tortoise armor flickered and then reformed around her, and she shot forward like a streak of black and green light.
Yuan Wangtian, already suffering from severe backlash and the inherent frailty of his body, had no chance to react before Su Min was upon him again.
Her fist, now reinforced with fresh power, slammed into his chest with bone shattering force.
Thud!
Blood sprayed from his mouth as he was sent flying backward like a discarded ragdoll. Su Min gave him no respite, accelerating instantly to deliver another blow, and then another.
"Ora ora ora ora!!!"
With a series of fierce, short cries, she pummeled him relentlessly, her fists a blur of motion. She drove him downward like a meteor, each impact sounding like a thunderclap. To the onlookers below, it seemed as if a vengeful star had descended from the heavens, trailing blood and fire.
Under normal circumstances, they might have prayed or marveled at such a sight. But after today's events, they were numb, their capacity for wonder exhausted. A mere meteor was nothing noteworthy anymore.
"Shatter!!!"
With one final, thunderous punch, Yuan Wangtian's body could take no more. It exploded into a fine, crimson dust. After enduring thousands of blows, not even his smallest remains were left.
"Huff… huff… huff…"
Su Min exhaled heavily, her breath coming in ragged gasps as she watched the dissipating remnants. The third seat of the Black Seal was dead. By her own internal reckoning, she had now entered the late game stage.
"My fists are wrecked. Even with his weak physique, a Unity cultivator's defenses are no joke."
She examined her mangled hands, the skin split and bruised, every bone inside shattered from the sheer, repeated force of her assault. But as long as her soul remained intact, such injuries would heal within minutes, the advantage of her profound vitality.
"I wonder how many cultivators are left in the Five Elements Mountain. Time to collect my spoils. If someone steals them, I will cry myself to sleep."
With a wry, tired chuckle, she turned and flew toward the mountain. She had conserved that last bit of energy precisely for this moment, to ensure she could claim her hard won rewards.
The Five Elements Mountain was undoubtedly a bloody battlefield now. Yuan Wangtian, fearing the crystal might be stolen, must have unleashed all the stone spirits and crystalline creatures to slaughter everyone inside before his fight.
As for hiding his cultivation? The moment he decided to fight Su Min seriously, all pretense was meaningless.
"Tsk tsk, what a mess."
When she arrived, the sight gave her pause.
The entire mountain range was filled with screams and the sounds of combat. Over a hundred Divine Transformation stage crystalline creatures, several Dao Comprehension level stone spirits, and countless Nascent Soul and Core Formation monsters were rampaging unchecked through the valleys and peaks.
"I will have to clear them out, or I will not be able to loot the mountain properly."
Muttering to herself, she raised both hands, ignoring the throbbing pain in her fists.
"Ten Thousand Blades of Life!!!"
Countless multicolored swords materialized in the air around her, each one formed from pure, sharpened spiritual energy. Then, like a divine rain of arrows, they descended with pinpoint accuracy, seeking out and annihilating every crystalline and stone creature above the Nascent Soul stage. The creatures shattered into glittering dust, their rampage ending in an instant.
The surviving cultivators, battered and few, could only watch in awe and relief as Su Min hovered above the ravaged mountain, ignoring all the restrictions that had once bound them.
Had she not intervened at that moment, none of them would have survived the next hour.
===
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