Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
With each successive, brutal collision, the Skeleton Emperor's complexion grew more ashen, his already withered vitality draining away like sand through an hourglass. As a fallen being who had clawed his way back from the brink, his life force had never been truly stable to begin with. Now, facing Su Min's ruthless, time-accelerating and lifespan-draining tactics, he was truly experiencing the worst possible luck imaginable for a cultivator.
To be fair, his techniques were genuinely formidable, the legacy of a former emperor. The two of them had already shattered multiple stars and countless planetoids along their winding battle path through the cosmos, and he'd managed to hold his ground each time through sheer grit and millennia of combat experience. Yet with every successful parry or dodge, his internal despair only deepened. His imperial artifact was destroyed, annihilating even his last chance for a desperate, mutual-destruction counterattack.
Now, under Su Min's relentless, frenzied assault, he was completely spent, running on fumes. The chilling sensation of watching oneself march inexorably toward certain death—this was the Skeleton Emperor's current, inescapable reality. A truly hopeless battle looked exactly like this. His face had already turned the color of cold ashes, a mask of final defeat.
"Wouldn't it have been better to give up and let me kill you earlier? Such pointless survival instincts."
Just then, Su Min's ghostly, almost bored voice rang out, clear in the void. To her slight surprise, the Skeleton Emperor, as if finally accepting the futility, suddenly abandoned all defense, allowing her next sword strike to cleanly reduce his withered form to cosmic dust—a true annihilation of both body and dao, leaving no trace for reincarnation.
"Whew..."
Su Min finally allowed herself to exhale fully, the tension leaving her shoulders as she gradually withdrew her power. Her magnificent armor dissipated into motes of light, revealing the pristine, undamaged battle dress she wore beneath—another high-grade artifact she'd forged herself, perfectly compatible with and designed to be worn under her Four Sacred Beasts armor.
"It's done. The final and greatest known threat to this universe has been eliminated. No matter how violently the remaining super sects fight among themselves, their squabbles won't drag entire civilian populations into the crossfire anymore. All that remains now are the deeper, more obscure matters in the universe's uncharted depths."
At this thought, Su Min's expression turned somewhat melancholy, a rare hint of wistfulness crossing her features. From the moment she killed the Skeleton Emperor, everything she had known about this world from the "game" had officially concluded, the final page turned. She could now relegate all that foreknowledge to the past, a closed book.
In other words, her future foresight would no longer be of any use, not that it had been particularly reliable anyway. This was essentially a sandbox-style world with randomly generated events after the main storyline. Beyond certain fixed, major storyline quests, everything else required personal exploration and discovery from here on out.
"First, I should check on those people. That white-robed girl seems particularly interesting."
With that, Su Min turned her gaze toward the distant fleet, which hung in space like a cluster of glittering insects. In her normal vision, the massive ships now appeared no larger than specks of dust, though if she channeled a trickle of spiritual energy into her eyes, she could still see every detail on their bridges with perfect, crystal clarity.
But there was no need for such exertion. In the pure, uncluttered vacuum of space, many of her movement techniques received special enhancements, their efficiency multiplied. In the blink of an eye, she descended before the assembled crowd on the flagship bridge once more. What immediately greeted her were faces filled with raw worship and desperate longing, none of which interested her in the slightest. She'd seen such looks far too many times before, and their blind adoration held no practical value for her.
For one, she didn't follow the Path of Divine Flame or any faith-based cultivation method, making their belief useless to her. Secondly, from a purely scientific standpoint, these people were already quite advanced. Their interstellar domain was vast, but to Su Min, it was a backwater, too remote to matter.
They were simply too far from the Heavenly Continent's sphere of influence. At their current sub-light expansion rate, it would take them many decades just to make contact with its outer reaches, a timeline hardly relevant to her own plans.
After a cursory, disinterested glance over the kneeling figures, she beckoned the white-robed girl forward. None of the others had caught her eye or sparked her interest.
"As agreed, you'll come with me. Your innate talents remain completely dormant and undeveloped here, it's just a waste of your potential and your lifespan. I can show you a far grander world, a wider stage for you to grow."
"Yes, honored one."
The girl, Yang Meng, nodded obediently, her voice soft but firm. In her unique perception, Su Min shone like a blazing sun, overwhelming and absolute, while she herself was little more than a faint firefly in comparison. With the cosmic locust plague now over, the immediate threat to her people gone, she felt there was no compelling reason to remain.
As water flows downward, people naturally strive for greater heights. This was a universal truth.
The girl had no logical reason to refuse Su Min's offer. Everyone else here had become irrelevant to her future path. In the next instant, her figure vanished from the bridge, Su Min having stored her safely within a specially crafted spatial container, a small world fragment designed for transporting living beings.
With her primary objective settled, Su Min prepared to depart immediately, but a voice stopped her.
"O Divine One, might you, in your grace, point the way forward for us? A direction for our civilization?"
A late-stage Divine Transformation cultivator, the fleet admiral, stepped forward, boldly blocking Su Min's path. His heart pounded violently against his ribs, he had no idea whether she might annihilate him for this audacity. But as the old saying went, it was worth the risk. "Hear the Dao in the morning, die content at night."
"Hmm?"
Su Min's eyebrow twitched in mild annoyance, but then she paused, sensing a faint, pleading emotion emanating from the girl inside her container. Apparently, Yang Meng wished to leave something behind for her homeland, a final gift or a path forward.
"Take this."
Not bothering with further discussion or ceremony, Su Min produced a blank jade slip from her sleeve and, in an instant, imprinted it with foundational information about the Dao Comprehension stage, the next major realm they all sought. Whether they could actually grasp the profound laws within was no concern of hers; her debt, prompted by the girl's wish, was paid.
Then, without another word, she vanished from the bridge, leaving the crowd staring dumbfounded at the empty space where she'd stood just a moment before.
"She's just... gone?"
They exchanged bewildered, slightly lost glances, simultaneously relieved and filled with regret.
Relieved because they'd secretly feared Su Min might decide to enslave them all. Against her absolute power, they knew prostrating themselves would have been their only option. Regretful because even a few casual words of advice from such an existence could have brought them immense, civilization-altering benefits. Now all they had was this single jade slip. Though a quick mental scan revealed its contents were indeed astonishing and precious, human greed was infinite; they always, instinctively, wanted more.
"In any case," the admiral who'd risked stopping her said, turning to address the group, his voice firming with resolve, "we should erect statues of her across all our planets. Even if she has no personal interest in us, her image and what she represents can serve as a powerful unifying symbol for our alliance."
Footage of Su Min's appearance and her battle had already spread across their networks, and her mere presence had quelled the recent societal chaos, meaning this mysterious savior's imprint on their collective psyche couldn't be erased, even if they wanted to.
Most importantly, they'd now witnessed the universe's true, existential terrors. Their previous political infighting and border squabbles seemed laughably petty in comparison. To survive in this dark forest of a cosmos, their known civilizations would need to band together, to unite.
But since they were all roughly evenly matched in power, they required a neutral, transcendent banner under which to gather, and Su Min, an outsider who wanted nothing from them, fit the role perfectly.
Unaware of these political deliberations, Su Min had already arrived at a quiet, Earth-like planet where she released the white-robed girl onto a grassy plain.
"Little one, how old are you?" Su Min asked, her tone now more conversational than commanding.
"Three hundred standard years," the girl replied softly.
"Any family? When I take someone under my wing, I prefer bringing their entire household if possible. It avoids... complications."
As an avid novel reader, Su Min never understood those stereotypical sects that forcibly took young, talented girls from their families, creating future plotlines of revenge and tragedy. If she was taking someone, she'd bring the whole family if it was feasible.
"None. I was born on Daryl Star. My parents were non-cultivators. They've both passed from old age, many years ago."
"I see." Su Min nodded. "Before taking you back to my home, let me explain the unique gift you possess. You possess an extremely rare Heavenly Eye. A Third Eye."
"Heavenly Eye?" Yang Meng repeated, her blind-seeming eyes widening slightly.
"Correct. Your ability to perceive me through causality and karma, despite the vast difference in our cultivation realms, indicates an extraordinary latent talent. Any ordinary Divine Transformation cultivator would have had their head explode from the mental feedback of the attempt."
The girl shivered slightly at this blunt revelation, a new understanding of her own narrow survival dawning on her.
"Your name?"
"Yang Meng."
"Pleasant name. Since there's nothing else tying you here, you'll come with me now. Are you ready?"
"How far is your destination from here?" Yang Meng asked, a hint of natural curiosity in her voice.
"Impossible to quantify for you. With your civilization's current technology, reaching it would take tens of thousands of years, perhaps more. Come."
With a simple wave of her hand, the two figures disappeared from the planet's surface. Su Min headed straight for her destination, the Heavenly Continent, with no further interest in this remote star sector's future development. The universe was vast beyond any mortal measure, with countless life-bearing worlds. She wouldn't actively destroy civilizations, but she also had no particular intention of personally guiding their development. It was not her role.
The journey back to the Heavenly Continent, utilizing her space-folding ability, took less than two weeks. Upon landing smoothly in the heart of East Mulberry State, in the courtyard of her residence, she was immediately met by a familiar presence.
"You brought back another girl? And this one is blind?"
Xie Yingying blinked, her gaze instantly zeroing in on the white-robed girl, quickly noticing her unusual, pure white eyes.
"You see it too? This little one actually perceived me through karma and survived the experience, quite remarkable, really."
Su Min smiled slightly. For an early-stage Divine Transformation cultivator to accomplish this wasn't just impressive, it bordered on the miraculous, a testament to a truly heaven-defying talent.
"Through causality? That is rare indeed," Xie Yingying agreed, her expression turning more serious as she examined Yang Meng more closely. "But those eyes, they haven't awakened yet, have they? They're still dormant."
Xie Yingying nodded, clearly familiar with the legends and signs of Heavenly Eyes.
As for Yang Meng, she trembled slightly as she listened, overwhelmed. To her unique spiritual senses, Su Min blazed like a noonday sun, overwhelming and majestic, while Xie Yingying, though slightly less intense, still shone with the brilliant, potent light of a full moon. She had naively thought such beings numbered only one or two in the entire universe. Apparently, in this new place, there were more, a concentration of power she couldn't have imagined.
"First, we need to prepare the eye-opening ritual for her," Su Min said, getting down to business. "For her subsequent cultivation techniques, we can adapt some of the higher-tier scriptures from the Future Bliss Mountain's library, their specialized knowledge in causality manipulation should be exceptionally suitable."
"What will you do now?" Xie Yingying asked, her gaze lingering on Su Min.
"I need to consult Senior Jiang Xi. She knows much about the deeper truths of this world that she hasn't shared with us yet. Now that I'm strong enough, it's time to learn those secrets, to understand what lies ahead."
Xie Yingying frowned slightly, a flicker of concern in her eyes, but she didn't voice any objection. She understood Su Min's ambitions and her need for answers about the nature of their reality.
The eye-opening ritual for a Heavenly Eye was a profound and delicate process, requiring extensive and rare preparations. Since Su Min clearly valued this girl's rare talent, there was no reason for Xie Yingying to refuse handling the arrangements. Whether Yang Meng officially counted as Su Min's disciple or not mattered little, such a promising seedling, once identified, was never to be neglected or turned away.
"Rest here for now," Xie Yingying said, her tone becoming slightly warmer as she addressed the stunned Yang Meng. "We'll help you awaken your eyes. Your abilities will prove very useful later, I'm sure. Also, you should be able to advance to the Dao Comprehension stage soon after."
"Eh? So soon?"
Yang Meng looked utterly bewildered. She now knew about the Dao Comprehension stage, Su Min had patiently explained the entire orthodox cultivation system to her during their journey.
Their civilization's so-called "evolvers" followed essentially the same path, just with different terminology. The next major stage required comprehending a sliver of cosmic law to reach Dao Comprehension.
Su Min and Xie Yingying, she learned, stood at the even higher, almost mythical Unity stage, with the legendary Mahayana and the so-called Great Emperor, or Ascension, realm above that. The final, theoretical realm, the truly immortal Transcendence stage, remained only a legend, a goal no one in known history had confirmed reaching.
But was advancing to Dao Comprehension really so simple? Something that could be announced so casually?
Su Min wasn't speaking idly. With Yang Meng's existing innate affinity for causal laws, she already verged on touching the edges of those profound truths. Once her Heavenly Eyes were fully awakened, that natural barrier would likely shatter, allowing her to breakthrough immediately.
Not that Su Min needed her combat strength anytime soon. This was merely about properly nurturing a rare talent.
Without even sitting down to rest, Su Min departed from East Mulberry State again almost immediately, returning to the Heavenly Continent's outer layer, specifically, to Great Luo Tian State, where Yao Xian'er had once prepared a secluded mountain residence for her.
Though Yao Xian'er had since left to manage her own affairs and pursuits, she'd bequeathed the property to Jiang Xi for her quiet cultivation and recovery. Jiang Xi, once a peak Mahayana expert, the Lunar Sovereign, had to start her cultivation anew from the foundation after being stripped of her Lunar Sovereign Body. Now at the early-stage of Dao Comprehension, her combat power and insight remained formidable, but her current cultivation level naturally limited her compared to the current top-tier experts of the world.
Still, she lived comfortably and securely here. Owing to her past kindness to Xie Yingying, Yao Xian'er's explicit patronage, and her own solitary, non-threatening nature, no one in the region dared to trouble her.
The scenic, mist-shrouded mountains now stirred with a ripple of activity as a familiar figure descended from the skies, effortlessly piercing the complex, multi-layered defensive arrays, which shimmered but did not resist, to land gracefully in the courtyard before Jiang Xi, who was sipping tea.
"Tsk tsk, the legendary Five Elements Holy Body's mystique is well-earned," Jiang Xi remarked, setting her cup down and examining Su Min with open interest. "You penetrated those imperial-grade formations as if they were mere paper. If their original creator knew, she'd be livid with frustration."
Of course, Su Min had announced her visit via a message slip beforehand, this wasn't a trespass but an expected arrival.
"At my current strength, if I encountered that creator at the early-stage Unity level, I could fight her evenly without relying on any external aids or tricks," Su Min stated calmly, matter-of-factly.
During their last clash in the Golden Core trial realm, she'd been forced to rely on a drop of Xie Yingying's essential blood, an external boost. Otherwise, victory against a true Unity stage expert at that time would have been impossible.
"Is that so? How fascinating your body must be on the inside," Jiang Xi mused, her intrigued expression deepening.
"Heh," Su Min merely chuckled in response, neither confirming nor denying, as she took a seat across from the former Lunar Sovereign, ready to discuss the weighty matters that had brought her here.
===
Yingying did your heart skip a beat when she brought back another girl??? LOL
"Su Min blazed like a noonday sun, overwhelming and majestic, while Xie Yingying, though slightly less intense, still shone with the brilliant, potent light of a full moon. "
Their Yin-Yang pair seems still manifest, even if Su Min was not fully awaken her Solar Sovereign body.