"All of you, leave this place immediately. Or face the consequences."
Expressionless, Su Min issued her command. Her voice was flat, devoid of any emotion, yet it carried an undeniable weight. Though she was injured, dealing with a bunch of trash who were not even at the Divine Transformation stage was still an easy task for someone of her caliber.
"Understood."
No one dared to argue with the woman who had just single handedly saved them from the crystalline horde. They turned and fled without a moment of hesitation, their figures scattering like startled birds.
In their minds, the hierarchy of power was brutally simple.
Su Min > Crystalline Creatures > Themselves
Since Su Min had already saved so many of them, the smartest move was to obey and run. Fighting such a monster? Not a single one of them had a death wish. Survival was the only priority.
"Good. Now, time for the first harvest."
With that, Su Min descended towards the ravaged battlefield and began collecting the massive, inert forms of the stone spirits, storing them away into her Heaven and Earth Qiankun Gourd.
"Twelve Dao Comprehension stage stone spirits in total. That should be enough for your evolution."
She smirked slightly as she felt the little gourd tremble excitedly against her hip. After devouring so much spiritual material over the years, it was finally time for an upgrade. The valuable crystals on the creatures' backs were also carefully stripped and stored away. Then, she soared back high into the sky, her gaze sweeping over the land.
"This thing is way too big. My ring cannot hold it."
She frowned down at the endless mountain range below. The entire formation was packed with Five Elements Crystals, a treasure trove she fully intended to take for herself. But her storage ring, loyal and spacious as it had been for years, simply was not up to the task. Its spatial limits had been reached.
Taking a deep breath, she hovered midair, centering herself. Thanks to the regenerative properties of the Northern Water's Profound Origin, her condition had improved significantly since the fight, though a deep fatigue remained.
"This should be enough."
She raised a single hand, palm facing the sky. A colossal, shimmering palm of pure spiritual energy materialized high above, its shadow falling over the entire mountain range. Then, it began its descent. The earth trembled violently beneath it, the ground cracking and groaning as if the apocalypse had arrived.
Before anyone below could fully process what was happening…
CRACK!!!
Under the horrified gazes of countless onlookers, the entire Five Elements Mountain Range was plucked from the ground, roots and all. A massive landmass now blotted out the sky, stretching endlessly across the horizon, a floating island of unimaginable weight.
Mortals in distant cities dropped to their knees in prayer, believing the gods were enacting their judgment. Cultivators, meanwhile, shrank back like frightened quails, terrified that the woman holding the mountain might casually swat them out of existence with a flick of her wrist.
For the first time, the people of this land understood what it truly meant to fear the heavens, to be utterly insignificant before such power. But while chaos and awe reigned below, Su Min's face was flushed red with strain, veins bulging on her forehead and neck.
"Damn it… I might have overestimated myself. Flying back with this thing will take years. What was I thinking?"
Grumbling under her breath, she trudged forward through the air, carrying the colossal mountain on her back. Leaving it here was not an option. The moment she was gone, hordes of scavengers would swarm the place, and she would be pestered to death by greedy fools trying to claim a piece of her prize.
"Screw it. Time to call for backup."
With a sigh, she summoned a single, luminous golden dragon scale from her storage ring.
Almost instantly…
ROAR!!!
A deafening, majestic bellow echoed across the sea far below as a magnificent five clawed golden dragon burst through the clouds into the sky. It twisted in the air, transforming in a flash of golden light into a humanoid figure clad in resplendent golden armor.
The newcomer, Ao Xue, blinked in confusion at the sight before her. Su Min was straining under a floating mountain.
"What kind of performance art is this?"
Su Min had planned to call for reinforcements if things went south during the fight, especially since Ao Xue was a genuine Unity stage powerhouse. Her raw strength was unparalleled.
"Help me move this mountain back."
"One seventh grade high tier pill."
"Deal."
Without a moment of hesitation, Su Min agreed. Ao Xue gave a curt nod and flew behind her, placing her own hands against the mountain's base and taking over the immense burden. Though Su Min's combat prowess was monstrous, she was still only at the Dao Comprehension stage. In some physical aspects, like raw mountain lifting strength, she simply could not compare to a true Unity expert.
With Ao Xue's assistance, the mountain suddenly shot forward, soaring through the sky at a breakneck speed that made the wind scream past them. Soon, the familiar coastline of the Eastern Mulberry Continent appeared on the horizon.
But then, Ao Xue stopped abruptly, her face hardening.
"What is wrong?"
"That damn bird got her claws on the corpse of one of my ancestors. She extorted me for it, and now I refuse to see her."
Su Min winced in understanding.
Right. After she had reluctantly handed over the ancient dragon corpse to the little Golden Crow, the bird had promptly used it to mess with Ao Xue, likely taunting her with it. No wonder the dragoness wanted nothing to do with the Golden Crow's territory.
Without another word, Ao Xue unceremoniously dumped the mountain back into Su Min's hands and vanished in a flash of golden light, clearly in no hurry to collect her payment. The grudge took precedence.
"Dragons are such drama queens."
Shaking her head in exasperation, Su Min carefully adjusted her grip and gently lowered the massive mountain into the ocean near the coast. If she was not careful, the displacement could trigger catastrophic tsunamis. Thankfully, her earlier spiritual sense warning to the coastal settlements had prevented widespread panic. Spectators watched from a safe distance in awe, but no one dared approach. As the mountain settled into the depths with a low, earth shifting rumble, Su Min prepared for her next step, refining the entire range of Five Elements Crystals.
Only by absorbing their concentrated elemental energy could she lay the final foundation for advancing to the Unity stage. Combined with the power of a Unity Pill, she would officially step into the realm of the world's true powerhouses, the last major step before the legendary Mahayana realm.
Once her Five Elements Holy Body reached true perfection, she would be ready to challenge the Skeletal Emperor himself. After all, even a fallen emperor would not return at full strength. If she struck first, she could eliminate him before he regained his peak.
With that grim resolve in mind, Su Min left a few final instructions via spiritual sense with her disciples before diving into the abyss. It was time to seclude herself and devour the mountain's energy.
Meanwhile, in the Shadows…
"The Third Seat is dead?"
"Not just him. The Sixth and Eighth Seats vanished earlier, and the Seventh was killed by the Great Desolate Holy Body."
Whispers filled the darkness as the remaining members of the Black Seal exchanged grim looks. The absence of their top three elites sent chills down their spines. The organization was being systematically crippled.
The Third Seat had shared the same supreme physique as the world's strongest alchemist, the Five Elements Holy Body. Though he lacked the wood attribute necessary for high level alchemy, his pure combat prowess was undeniable, refined over millennia.
Yet he had been slain.
"The killer was that alchemist, Su Min. Another Five Elements Holy Body wielder. And according to our latest intelligence, she is only one step away from achieving perfection."
"We must stop her from achieving completion. If she succeeds, even I may not be able to oppose her."
A calm, chillingly authoritative voice cut through the anxious murmurs.
Everyone in the shadowy hall stiffened and bowed deeply towards the source of the voice. The speaker was the Skeletal Emperor himself, the Black Seal's founder and strongest member, a fallen emperor who had once stood at the pinnacle of the world.
"Before his death, the Third Seat transmitted a final message. That woman possesses four of the divine treasures. The Nanming Lihuo, the Northern Water's Profound Origin, the Eastern Azure Wood, and the Western Metal's Sharp Gold. The only thing missing is the Central Wutu Divine Earth, the sacred treasure of the Kirin race."
The group nodded grimly. This was not exactly secret intelligence. Su Min had never made much effort to hide her pursuits, and the unique auras of such treasures were not something she could fully conceal anyway.
"To achieve perfection, she will need the Kirin's treasure. And unfortunately for her, but fortunately for us, the Kirin are currently under the protection of the Immortal Gate."
This was inevitable. While Su Min had been away, the other divine beasts under her care had been causing minor chaos. But with so many powerful young creatures gathered there, most major powers had not paid much attention, writing it off as typical divine beast behavior.
Now, however, the Black Seal had taken sharp notice.
"A bunch of juvenile Kirin. If not for the Immortal Gate's protection, they would have been devoured long ago. Every other divine beast has made waves, yet the Kirin remain silent. Something must have happened to their race. They were likely dragged out of their ancestral realm."
"That woman has so many Kirin under her care, yet her Holy Body remains incomplete. There is only one explanation…"
The Skeletal Emperor paused dramatically, letting the terrifying tension build in the dark chamber.
"The Kirin race is in crisis. Their ancestral land was likely breached. Since she is sheltering them, her goal is obvious. She seeks the Central Wutu Divine Earth. We must strike before she finds and refines it."
A heavy silence fell over the group.
The implication was clear and horrifying. If Su Min's Holy Body reached perfection, they would all die. Every last one of them.
Even the Skeletal Emperor himself would not be safe.
The Five Elements Holy Body was formidable on its own, but Su Min's proven track record was even more terrifying. Killing a veteran Unity stage expert and then hauling an entire mountain range across the sky…
No one dared to imagine what she would become at full power.
As for reconciliation? The thought never even crossed their minds. Fallen cultivators and orthodox practitioners like Su Min could never coexist. It was a fundamental war of ideologies.
"When the time comes, I will lead a full scale assault myself. Until then, everyone must swear a blood oath of secrecy and prepare. Our master from beyond has also ordered us to find the Child of Chaos and eliminate them before they mature."
"Yes!"
"But first, we need someone to keep watch. Alert us the moment she leaves seclusion."
"Huh?"
The hall erupted into nervous murmurs.
No one wanted the job. It was a death sentence.
Being a lookout for Su Min was suicidal.
As the world's top alchemist, her spiritual sense was beyond monstrous, honed to a razor's edge. Anyone sent to spy on her retreat would be discovered instantly.
The Skeletal Emperor knew this too.
"Send a few Golden Core disciples to infiltrate the Eastern Mulberry Continent. No direct action. Just monitor the general movements and energy fluctuations from a vast distance."
Golden Core cultivators were weak enough to avoid drawing her direct suspicion, their spiritual presence like pebbles on a beach, but still strong enough to blend in and gather basic information.
The Eastern Mulberry Continent was one of the most powerful and populated regions, where Nascent Soul experts were common and Golden Core Formation cultivators were a dime a dozen.
As long as they stayed far outside the sect's perimeter and did nothing provocative, there would be no issues.
"Very well."
The group sighed in collective relief. This was a plan they could work with.
They all had underlings, disposable lackeys like the late Kuang Batian, who had served the Third Seat.
Rounding up a few loyal Golden Core pawns was easy. These puppets' lives and souls were in their masters' hands, ensuring absolute loyalty. Soon, seven or eight Golden Core Formation cultivators, carefully chosen for their unobtrusive natures, infiltrated the region through various mundane means, arriving on trade ships and blending in with migrant cultivators.
Not a single soul noticed their entry, not even the immensely powerful Su Min.
She was too deep in seclusion within the ocean depths, wholly focused on refining the mountain of crystals. The outer layers of the Five Elements Mountain had already crumbled away under her devouring energy, revealing the pure, glowing core of Five Elements Crystals.
Su Min sat cross legged atop it, a calm island in a storm of swirling elemental energy, absorbing the vast power.
Advancing from the Dao Comprehension to the Unity stage required an enormous amount of resources, a veritable ocean of spiritual energy. This was especially true for her unique Five Elements Holy Body, which needed to replenish and balance all five of its elemental essences simultaneously.
These specific crystals, formed from the Third Seat's self severing and his own Five Elements energy, were perfect for the task.
"Pity. I am not Yuan Wangtian. I cannot absorb all of this. Most of it will go to waste."
She murmured to herself, a slight frown on her face as she felt the immense, yet finite, energy contained within the mountain. She would take what she needed for her breakthrough, but the rest, the vast majority of the crystalline mass, would inevitably dissipate back into the world, its structure broken and its energy spent. It was a necessary loss for her gain.