With the death of the last Golden Core cultivator, a heavy silence fell. There was no one left from the Blood Puppet Sect standing within the great golden formation.
"It is done," Su Min said, her voice calm. She looked down at the lifeless body in her hand, then casually tossed it aside. "Next is to eradicate them completely."
Two Divine Transformation cultivators, over a dozen Nascent Soul cultivators, and dozens of Golden Core disciples, given the current state of the world, this loss was enough to drain the lifeblood from even a major sect.
~
Meanwhile, ten minutes earlier, in the opulent halls of the Ancient Mansion Holy City...
"Two Ancestors, this is a great opportunity for us!"
The Holy Son, now firmly in the Nascent Soul stage, stood before the two elder ancestors of his sect, his expression earnest. Su Min had offered them very favorable terms. Once the main Blood Puppet Sect force entered the spatial tunnel, they were to block any retreat and assist in the final extermination. The reward was three fifth grade pills and half of the Blood Puppet Sect's remaining assets after the deed was done.
Though Su Min was not afraid to fight alone, she adhered to the pragmatic principle of "the more allies, the better" and had enlisted their help to ensure a clean sweep.
But to the Holy Son's profound dismay, the two elders were hesitant, unwilling to commit fully. In truth, their caution was understandable. They knew the Blood Puppet Sect's known strength, one mid stage and one peak stage Divine Transformation cultivator, which was slightly weaker than their own two peak stage elders. But no one knew what hidden, desperate cards a cornered sect might play.
Thus, the two elders remained unmoved. After all, low grade fifth tier pills, while valuable, were not utterly irreplaceable for them. Still, to humor their promising Holy Son, they agreed to a compromise. He could lead a contingent to surround the Blood Puppet Sect's perimeter. If the Blood Puppet Sect succeeded in their assault, they could still intervene to "rescue" their people. If the battle was evenly matched or tilted in Su Min's favor, they would lend a hand. But if Su Min's forces were being overwhelmed, they would flee immediately.
Helping someone in truly dire straits was out of the question, the risk was too great. "Adding flowers to brocade," intervening when victory was already assured, was more their style. They calculated that with two Divine Transformation cultivators and the Blood Puppet Sect's hidden reserves, Su Min's forces could not possibly crush them instantly. That would give them time to arrive and drive a harder, more profitable bargain.
But when the Holy Son and his group finally arrived, dragging their feet intentionally, they were met with a shocking sight. Thick, black smoke rose over the Blood Puppet Sect's mountains, not the serene mist of a spiritual paradise, but the acrid fumes of complete destruction.
"What in the world?! Where are Mu Xue and Mu Kui?!"
In that instant, the peak Divine Transformation elder from the Ancient Mansion Holy City swore aloud, his composure shattered. What had happened? How had the Blood Puppet Sect been crushed so utterly and so fast?
"Ancestor, what do we do now?" the Holy Son asked, his expression darkening. "The terms Lady Su offered earlier are certainly no longer on the table."
He was internally tempted to strangle his elders for their shortsightedness, but given the vast gap in strength, he could only suppress the urge. Beyond the immediate rewards, they had missed a golden chance to earn a significant favor from Su Min. Though it might not be crucial now, given her terrifying talent, her becoming a sixth grade alchemist was almost inevitable. A favor from a future sixth grade alchemist would be priceless for their sect.
"You go and greet her," the elder finally sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly. "I will take the others and ensure no one escapes." His real instruction was for the Holy Son to investigate what terrifying trump cards Su Min had used. Since she could wipe out two Divine Transformation experts so easily, any thought of coercion was foolish. It was better to keep a respectful distance for now.
~
Meanwhile, above the smoldering ruins of the Blood Puppet Sect's headquarters...
Su Min, Xie Yingying, and the little Golden Crow stormed the sect's main compound. With almost all their elite forces annihilated, only the Blood Puppet Sect Leader, a genuine Nascent Soul cultivator, not one of the unstable, artificially elevated ones, remained. But what did that matter? In less than three exchanges, Su Min reduced him to a bloody mist with a single, clean slash.
Back when she had used the Azure Dragon Creation Art, she could hold her own against the Great Desolate Holy Body, a physique specialized in brutal close combat. This sect leader stood no chance. With their last true Nascent Soul cultivator gone, the Blood Puppet Sect lost all will and ability to resist. But just then...
"A group is approaching," the little Golden Crow said, her golden eyes narrowing with disdain. "The 'allies' you invited?"
It was clear these people had intended to swoop in at the last moment and reap the rewards without facing the true danger. But they were too late. The Blood Puppet Sect had already been crushed.
"Keep going. Show no mercy," Su Min instructed, her voice cold. "I never truly counted on them anyway. But since they are here, they might as well make themselves useful."
Glancing at the panicking disciples below, Su Min could not be bothered to intervene personally. Uprooting the entire Blood Puppet Sect, a weed with deep roots, would require dealing with countless peripheral forces and affiliated families, information Su Min simply did not have.
As the saying goes, your enemy knows you best. The Ancient Mansion Holy City, their long time rival, would have all the details on those satellite organizations. Su Min had never expected them to take real risks for her, so their designated role was always to clean up these peripheral forces. But their timing was suspicious, arriving just twenty minutes after the main battle began. In most large scale sect wars, twenty minutes would be enough to determine a victor, either through total annihilation or a bloody stalemate.
That would have been the perfect time for them to intervene and negotiate for maximum profit. But they never imagined the Blood Puppet Sect would fall like a house of cards. So when Su Min finally approached them, their expressions were deeply grim.
"It seems the terms of our deal need to be renegotiated," Su Min said, a cool smile playing on her lips as she addressed the group from the Ancient Mansion Holy City. "Do not you agree?"
"Whatever Lady Su requests, we shall comply."
The Holy Son inwardly cursed his elders eighteen generations. They had thought Su Min needed their military strength, but this had been a handout all along. She did not need their help to wipe out the Blood Puppet Sect's core. Had they arrived with sincere intent earlier, the benefits would have been immense. After all, Su Min's name and her word carried immense weight, something the Golden Core Avenue had already proven to all the major powers.
"Then here is the new deal," Su Min stated, her tone leaving no room for argument. "One low grade fifth tier pill. And ten percent of the Blood Puppet Sect's remaining assets, the most damaged and least valuable tenth. In return, you will help me completely eradicate the Blood Puppet Sect's peripheral forces and affiliated families. After it is done, that ruined tenth is yours."
Here, Su Min added a subtle but crucial condition to prevent them from sabotaging valuable assets out of spite or jealousy.
"Agreed."
The Holy Son's scalp prickled as he accepted. To him, Su Min was now an even deeper enigma. With their sects soon to be neighbors, he needed to understand her better. Moreover, they were clearly in the wrong this time. Given their failure to act, Su Min's terms were more than fair, so he had no choice but to nod. The balance of power had shifted dramatically, but open conflict was still to be avoided. And he knew one thing for certain, Su Min was not the type to seek conquest without cause.
After the swift renegotiations, the two sides quickly reached an agreement. The Ancient Mansion Holy City's main forces never even approached the Blood Puppet Sect's main hall, but news of its utter annihilation spread like a wildfire across the land. For all the major powers, this was earth shattering news. Only ten years since the world's barriers had fully opened, and already a deeply rooted, powerful sect had been eradicated. It was a stark reminder of the brutal efficiency of the cultivation world.
Though the Blood Puppet Sect had struck first and been justly counterattacked, that hardly mattered in the grand scheme. Strength was the ultimate truth. Of course, many sects now hurriedly prepared gifts, eager to visit the rising power. Alongside the news of the Blood Puppet Sect's fall came another tantalizing rumor, the Ancient Mansion Holy City had secured a chance to commission a fifth tier pill from Su Min.
Even if it was only low grade, it was still a genuine fifth tier pill! Most sects lacked the resources or connections to acquire such treasures. Even self sealed Divine Transformation cultivators were often only fifth tier alchemists themselves. The fact that Su Min was merely at the Nascent Soul stage made her achievement all the more terrifying. Once she reached Divine Transformation, she would undoubtedly become a sixth tier alchemist. In these early days of the world's reopening, she might well become the world's top alchemist. Naturally, everyone wanted to get on her good side.
~
Thus, in the grand, now pacified main hall of the former Blood Puppet Sect...
"As expected of the Grand Elder," Tian Yinzi said, looking at Su Min with profound admiration. He finally understood the weight her name now carried. "Just the mention of your name has set the entire cultivation world abuzz."
He had initially worried that destroying the Blood Puppet Sect would alarm the other major powers and make them hostile. But now, it seemed that fear was completely unnecessary.
"Treat the envoys well," Su Min instructed with a dismissive wave. "But make it clear that fifth tier pills are not easy for me to refine right now. I will not be accepting commissions lightly." She then turned to the more pressing matter. "By the way, how is the inventory of the Blood Puppet Sect's treasury proceeding?"
"It is... sparse," Tian Yinzi reported, a wry smile on his face. "To build that spatial tunnel and forcibly nurture those dozen plus False Nascent Souls, they exhausted nearly all their accumulated spiritual stones and rare materials. As for their cultivation manuals and technique jades... are we really sealing them all away? Some are quite powerful."
"Tch. Look at how their people behaved," Su Min retorted, her tone firm. "Arrogant, impulsive, and cruel. It was all influenced by the foundational nature of that technique. No one in our sect is to practice it, that is an order. And send our people to work with the Holy City's disciples in cataloging the rest of the Blood Puppet Sect's assets across their territories."
"Understood."
Tian Yinzi nodded, accepting the command without question. The core manuals were now in Su Min's personal possession, forbidden to all. They both knew that wiping out every last disciple and outer family member affiliated with the Blood Puppet Sect was impractical, but the core members, those who fully embodied the sect's vicious teachings, could not be spared. The roots had to be burned out.