Whoosh…
The sound of swirling water filled the quiet chamber as the final stream of energy settled. The Spring Source Water in Su Min's hands solidified into a shimmering, condensed droplet. With a single, decisive gulp, she swallowed it. A cool sensation spread through her core as the fifth and final element seamlessly fused with the others inside her body.
"Hmm, refreshing."
Though its potency was a pale shadow compared to a true Heaven and Earth Divine Artifact, it was more than enough for her current needs. The raw power of the Five Elements Ancient Scripture was undeniable. Once fully activated, it could shake the very foundations of the world. There was no reason for her not to use it. Even divided, the five parts of the scripture could each stand as a top tier cultivation manual for anyone else.
"Speaking of which, there is also the Great Sun Tathāgata Sutra," she reminded herself. "Now that I have reached the Nascent Soul stage, I can continue cultivating it. Plus, I have accumulated centuries worth of faith energy right here. Let us see how far it can take me."
Hundreds of years of accumulated faith was no small amount. Now was the perfect time to put it to use. This particular technique had stagnated for too long, to the point it had become nearly useless in her later battles simply because its power was too overwhelming to control properly.
As Su Min began circulating the sutra, a faint, pure golden glow emanated from her skin. Her consciousness sank inward once more, but this time, she found something new waiting in her sea of consciousness. It was a small, intricately detailed golden pagoda.
[Eight Treasures Exquisite Pagoda: Capable of suppressing and absorbing all things.]
"Hmm…"
Staring at this new ability, Su Min fell into deep thought. "Isn't this the same thing as the Pagoda Bearing Heavenly King Li Jing's treasure?" But that one was called the Exquisite Golden Pagoda, so it was not exactly the same.
"I actually manifested this pagoda? A bit unexpected, but it will be plenty useful."
With a slight raise of her hand, a miniature version of the golden pagoda materialized in her palm, spinning slowly. If she remembered correctly, in Journey to the West, it was not Taiyi Zhenren who revived Nezha, but the Tathagata Buddha. After his resurrection, Nezha sought vengeance against his father, Li Jing, leading to a confrontation before the Buddha.
The Tathagata's solution was simple and brutal. He gifted Li Jing the Exquisite Golden Pagoda, forcing Nezha to regard the Buddha as his father and the pagoda as his father's literal presence. Later, when Sun Wukong sought Li Jing's help to deal with the Golden Nosed White Mouse Spirit, the incident led to a few comedic misunderstandings.
"This must be the prototype of the legendary Exquisite Golden Pagoda," she mused. "The Tathagata probably used the Eight Treasures Exquisite Pagoda as a foundation to forge the one he gave to Heavenly King Li."
Examining the small pagoda, she could not help recalling the novel. The imagery was too vivid, and the connection came almost naturally.
Still, this Buddhist pagoda was quite powerful. Though its effects differed from Li Jing's, its utility was undeniable. It could absorb enemy attacks, though it did have an upper limit. But that limit was so high that even Su Min would have to exert tremendous effort to break through it. For now, it was more than sufficient.
"Hmm, another half year in seclusion."
With that thought, she stood up and stretched. This retreat had not lasted too long, but when she stepped out of the chamber, she felt profoundly refreshed. Her Nascent Soul foundation was now fully stabilized, not just in raw cultivation, but also in her mastery of these new techniques.
And yet, the Blood Puppet Sect still had not made a move. Since they were not coming to her, she could keep preparing. She was not in a hurry. The longer this dragged on, the stronger she would become.
"I wonder how Yingying is doing. She must be in deep seclusion at the core of the Xuantian Mansion." That place was completely sealed off; no one below the Nascent Soul stage could even enter. Muttering to herself, Su Min decided not to disturb her. She had sent a message after her own breakthrough, but the lack of reply confirmed Xie Yingying was in deep meditation.
"The Azure Dragon King has also emerged from seclusion. His long slumber allowed him to successfully reach the early Nascent Soul stage."
With that in mind, Su Min flew off towards the coast. The Azure Dragon King and the Peacock King were both ancient divine beasts. Their cultivation relied primarily on their bloodline power, allowing them to progress unimpeded until they hit their innate limits. Now that they were no longer needed to constantly guard the Little Golden Crow, who was perfectly safe undergoing her inheritance, the Azure Dragon King had returned to his underwater dragon palace to cultivate.
Finding him was not difficult.
"Have you found any places where the Weak Water is gathering?" Su Min asked, getting straight to the point as she faced the now youthful looking Azure Dragon King. When dealing with ancient divine beasts, pleasantries were unnecessary. They only found them annoying.
"I have only detected a few scattered streams of Weak Water," he rumbled. "It will likely be a long time before they fully manifest into a river. But you hold the Black Tortoise Token. You should sense it when the time is right."
Su Min frowned slightly at his words. The Weak Water was a special, corrosive type of spiritual water, usually scattered in hidden pockets throughout the ocean. Accidentally crossing paths with it was dangerous even for Golden Core cultivators. Under unique celestial conditions, however, the scattered Weak Water would converge into a single, flowing river, opening the path to the Black Tortoise's inheritance. But no one knew what would happen then, so Su Min needed to keep a close eye on its movements.
"I see. Thank you, Azure Dragon King."
Still, traversing the Weak Water was perilous. Even in the game's memories, it was one of the most dangerous challenges. Though Nascent Soul cultivators were powerful, Su Min's current early stage strength was not enough to guarantee safety. She would need at least late stage Nascent Soul, if not Divine Transformation, before attempting it. The gap between early, middle, and late Nascent Soul was enormous.
"I will keep monitoring it."
Nodding, Su Min did not linger. The deep sea environment was uncomfortable for her. As a human, the immense pressure and alien darkness at such depths felt oppressive.
With that, she vanished in a flash of light.
"Time to return to the sect." Her gaze sharpened as she looked towards the sect's core. "Hmm? Is that… the Golden Crow Statue? Did the Little Golden Crow place this here while I was breaking through?"
Her eyes landed on a new, hundred meter tall statue that now dominated the central square. It depicted a towering Fusang Ancient Tree, and perched on its highest branch was a meticulously carved three legged Golden Crow. Su Min knew exactly what this was. She had seen similar structures in the Golden Core Avenue.
Many divine and spiritual beasts left behind their inheritances in such statues, with the rewards depending on the participant's luck and affinity. The Little Golden Crow's statue contained not just its own inheritance, but also those of the Azure Dragon, the Peacock, and all the other spiritual beasts of the land, compiled into one central repository.
For Su Min, it was not particularly useful, but for the sect's disciples, it was an invaluable treasure trove.
"This is good. Unfortunately, it is not very helpful for me." The inheritances of two of the Four Symbols were already enough for her path. Any more would risk overloading her capacity and interfering with future, more critical inheritances. "Besides, their power is not on the same level. Acquiring them would be pointless."
With that thought, she did not linger. In a flicker of movement, she appeared directly in the sect's main hall, startling the elders who were busy at work. They immediately set aside their scrolls and tasks, bowing deeply in unison.
"Over a decade has passed since the worlds merged," Su Min began, her voice cutting through the formalities. "What is the situation with the four neighboring provinces, Wei Wu, Yao Xin, Huo Luo, and Mo Yun? Have they clashed with us?"
Her gaze swept across the room, sharp and direct. In the game's second main storyline, a Fallen One would descend upon these lands. If not handled swiftly, it could trigger a regional catastrophe. A game over was the last thing Su Min wanted. If necessary, she might have to unite the four provinces under her banner to ensure stability.
"Grand Elder Su, the Sect Master is currently organizing the new scripture repository," one of the elders answered cautiously. "Once he emerges, we will report everything together."
"Fine."
Su Min nodded. Soon after, Tian Yinzi arrived, having just finished arranging the five foundational jade slips. He knew Su Min was deeply concerned about these external matters, so he had already prepared a comprehensive summary. But the first sentence out of his mouth made her forehead twitch in irritation.
"Those four provinces have been at war for over a decade. Yao Xin Province is the worst hit. Humans there have been nearly exterminated. The other three provinces initially joined forces to attack Yao Xin, but they are all scheming against each other, leading to a bloody stalemate."
"War, war, and more war… Sigh. Fine." Su Min could not help but sigh. Conflict was eternal in this world. It had never known lasting peace. And to cultivators, the corpses of demonic beasts were valuable materials, fueling the cycle of violence. "What role have we played in this?"
"We have done nothing but observe and record," Tian Yinzi replied carefully.
Knowing they had offended a major sect backed by a Divine Transformation expert, they had kept an extremely low profile. The disciples they sent out were all mature and cautious veterans. So despite the raging wars, none of the warring provinces were even aware of their existence. But the intelligence reports had revealed something peculiar, a fact that was now weighing heavily on everyone's minds.
"Grand Elder Su," Tian Yinzi ventured, his voice hesitant. "Is there… some connection between us and Yao Xin Province?"
This was the question they had all been silently wondering about. Due to their ordinary constitutions, the first few generations of immigrants Su Min had brought over had all passed away, not from mistreatment, but from natural causes. It was not until the seventh or eighth generation that people began cultivating in earnest under Su Min's guidance. The original pioneers had all perished, making Tian Yinzi part of the tenth generation or later. Yet, fragmented records of their ancestral homeland had been preserved. Su Min had never spoken much about it, but they had found many traces of their ancestors in Yao Xin Province. But Su Min was the only one left from that era. After all, the original East Mulberry Land had no native humans.
"Yao Xin Province…" Su Min's voice was calm and matter of fact. "That was your homeland. Tian Yinzi, I have seen your family records. Your ancestors were among the first group I brought from Yao Xin."
She did not hide the truth. Tian Yinzi's specific background had surprised her slightly. When she first visited Yao Xin centuries ago, she had seen a young boy desperately defending his small village against a demonic beast. He was talented, but his foundation was flawed. With the help of her elixirs, he had reached the Foundation Establishment stage but could progress no further, eventually passing away of old age. Now, Tian Yinzi was that very boy's descendant.
Fate worked in mysterious ways.
"I…" Tian Yinzi was stunned into silence. So was everyone else in the hall.
"I know you have sentimental attachments to that place," Su Min continued, her tone pragmatic. "But Yao Xin Province barely has any humans left, right?"
She did not bother mincing words. Even if it was their ancestral home, they had lived here for centuries. The environment here, rich in spiritual herbs, dense in energy, and full of high quality secret realms, far surpassed the desolate Yao Xin. None of them would ever consider leaving. But emotions were inevitable, and she did not plan to suppress them, as long as they did not interfere with her larger plans.
"Yes," Tian Yinzi confirmed, his voice heavy. "There are almost no humans left. A late stage Golden Core demon rules the land, backed by twenty other late stage Golden Core beasts. The remaining humans have been reduced to livestock. Forget Golden Core cultivators, even Foundation Establishment ones can be counted on one hand. The reason the other three provinces cannot advance is because of these powerful demonic beasts. Their combined Golden Core forces are roughly equal, creating a deadlock."
"I know what you are thinking," Su Min said, reading the unspoken plea in their eyes. "But now is not the time. We will have to wait... actually, you can intervene, but only after a year. Because..."
Su Min stopped mid sentence as her expression suddenly darkened. Now that she was at the Nascent Soul stage, her perception far surpassed that of any Golden Core cultivator. She could sense it clearly now, a subtle but persistent probing against her spiritual presence. Someone was using a powerful divination art, weaving together fate and the Heavenly Dao itself, to search for her.
This method came at a great cost, draining the user's lifespan and cultivation base. Even Divine Transformation experts would not dare attempt it lightly.
"!!!"
Seeing the storm cloud descend over Su Min's face, Tian Yinzi froze.
"We cannot afford to split our forces yet," she said, her voice now low and dangerous. "But in a year, that will not be an issue." Her eyes narrowed, gleaming with cold light. "Let us see what they dare to do!!!"
In that instant, a palpable murderous aura erupted from her, filling the entire hall. It was sharp and tangible, like a blade pressed against every throat. The pressure made even Tian Yinzi, a mid Golden Core cultivator, shudder involuntarily.
The killing intent of a Nascent Soul cultivator was truly a terrifying thing.