The Dark Continent—Su Min had arrived here once again, stepping onto the desolate, cracked earth.
Just like before, she came without any fanfare, her presence a ghost in the machine.
There was no other choice. No matter how strong she was, she couldn't single handedly suppress the entire Dark Continent and its hidden horrors. If she were to be surrounded and attacked by multiple Mahayana stage experts, she would end up like Yao Xian'er back then, likely chased around frantically with no guarantee of a clean escape.
Moreover, she hadn't even reached the late Unity stage yet, let alone the vaunted Mahayana stage. Killing those wily, entrenched dark cultivators would be extremely difficult. They might not be able to defeat her in a straight fight, but if they chose to flee at the slightest provocation, she would have no reliable way to stop them all.
The previous Fulu Mountain God had only stayed to fight because she had preemptively severed his best escape route.
When one's cultivation reached a certain level, the primary consideration in any fight became how to prevent the opponent from escaping. While Su Min feared no one in terms of raw speed alone, many combat situations weren't just about speed. Traps, domains, and spatial locks all played a part.
"Now, let's see who's left."
With great interest, she examined the jade slip Yao Xian'er had given her. In the nearly hundred years since she had left, no new Mahayana stage cultivators had emerged here, which was excellent news.
After all, even in the ancient, prosperous eras, Mahayana stage cultivators were exceedingly rare. Even the super sects, those that had produced Great Emperors and possessed complete Emperor level legacies, couldn't guarantee always having a Mahayana stage expert in residence.
As for Xie Yingying's former sect, the Heavenly Yin Sect, it went without saying. Apart from its legendary founder, the strongest members had only been at the Unity stage. Thus, Xie Yingying could now be considered the second strongest in the sect's entire history, just one step away from being its greatest.
"You are the one, Dragon King of Jing River."
Soon, Su Min locked onto her next target. Like the Fulu Mountain God, this was an early Mahayana stage cultivator. However, his lair was in a vast river system, hence the title "Dragon King."
Of course, rivers on a continent of this scale couldn't be underestimated. In her previous life on Earth, there had been a place called Yunmeng Marsh, an absurdly massive lake system that, by modern standards, could even be called an inland sea.
This Jing River was similar, an extremely vast, interconnected water system of lakes and rivers. Unlike the Heaven's Continent, which was divided into separate plates, the Dark Continent was one continuous, monstrous landmass.
So how large was this water system? By Su Min's conservative estimate, it was significantly bigger than one of the three great states on the Heavenly Continent, like the Great Luo Tian State.
If placed in her previous world, its total water volume would have surpassed Earth's several times over, perhaps even dozens of times. The exact amount was unclear, and Su Min had no real interest in figuring it out. It was just a number.
"First, I need to find that guy's lair. I refuse to believe he is holed up like a turtle inside the entire river system."
Having made up her mind, Su Min began formulating a meticulous plan. Though her combat style was wildly aggressive, her methods for setting up a kill were anything but reckless. When she wanted someone dead, she would use any means necessary, fair or foul.
Over the years, many cultivators who were around her level or slightly weaker, had suffered from her clever ambushes. Some had died as a result, while others who survived cursed her vehemently. With such a wealth of successful practical experience, Su Min decided to employ the same tactics again. She aimed to visit a major city to gather information, so her destination was a massive riverside settlement.
As for currency in this mortal society, it was simply gold and silver. She had endless amounts of both. Not because she could refine them herself from base elements, but because the universe was so vast, and such resources were absurdly abundant on uninhabited worlds.
Before coming here, she had even refined an entire metallic planet for fun, extracting large quantities of rare metals, most of which she discarded afterward. While she feared no radiation and could withstand all known nuclear weapons with her bare body, she had no desire to become a walking radiation hazard. She only kept some purified gold and silver for occasions like this.
Now, she sat in an extravagantly decorated high rise tavern, facing a young, attentive waiter.
"Three large fish, one steamed, one braised, and one prepared however your chef thinks tastes best. Also, three catties of beef and five catties of your finest liquor. Be quick about it, and keep the change."
"..."
As Su Min spoke, the entire tavern fell into a stunned silence. Everyone stared at the woman before them, standing around 1.72 meters tall, undeniably statuesque, especially with her heeled combat boots adding to her height. She was a strikingly beautiful woman.
But her order left everyone dumbfounded. Could she really finish all that food and drink by herself?
"Right away, honored guest."
Unlike the gaping patrons, the waiter simply offered a professional smile. He had a good eye for people, though he couldn't discern Su Min's exact background, he could tell she wasn't someone to trifle with. He promptly took the heavy silver ingot and hurried to the kitchen.
Along the way, he gleefully examined the silver in his hand, its purity and weight were top notch. This woman was certainly no ordinary person. The fish would take some time, but the liquor arrived immediately. An exquisitely crafted ceramic flask was placed before Su Min, who poured herself a cup and downed it in one go.
Then another. And another. In the blink of an eye, she had consumed quite a bit. The onlookers were astonished, this woman drank and now ate with a boldness rivaling any man.
Su Min paid no attention to their bewildered gazes. After her last visit, she had confirmed that hiding her presence completely was unnecessary for this part. She had already cast subtle mental suggestions on these people, they would forget her entirely in a few moments.
Besides, she wasn't here just for a free meal. At the edge of her vision, visible through the large window, lay the "great river", though in truth, from this vantage point, it was no different from an ocean, stretching to the horizon.
Her purpose in dining here, apart from satisfying her long neglected cravings, was to find a way to legitimately infiltrate that guy's inner circle. Having drifted through the empty, sterile void of space for nearly a century, her taste buds had long grown dull.
The true principle of cultivation was to restrain one's desires, not sever them entirely. Thus, Su Min hadn't turned herself into an emotionless cultivation machine, she retained all the ordinary pleasures of life, including good food.
"Mmm, delicious."
Savoring the complex flavors, Su Min felt genuinely happy. Only this kind of sensory pleasure could bring her back to her original, simple joy. After reaching the Unity stage, food was no longer a necessity for survival, with sufficient spiritual energy, she could survive indefinitely without eating or drinking.
But Su Min felt that living like that would be too pitiful, worse than being some ascetic monk.
"Can't find the target at all."
Though her mouth was busy enjoying the meal, her mind was entirely focused on scanning the massive river system. Her current location was at the very center of this vast water network. With her current soul power, she could envelop the entire area if she wished.
However, to avoid alerting her hypersensitive prey, she didn't unleash her full spiritual sense. Instead, she searched the waters bit by bit, carefully and slowly, only to quickly realize she found nothing, no core consciousness, no powerful aura.
"No traces at all. Could he have split himself apart like the Fulu Mountain God? That would be troublesome."
The Fulu Mountain God had merged his core consciousness with the mountain's essence and, secretly, with the continent's primary ley lines.
To kill him, she had to first sever his connection to the earth, otherwise, he could escape effortlessly into the bedrock. If this Dragon King guy had similarly fused with the river's fortune or the continental water veins, it would be equally problematic.
That would mean she'd have to cut off all rivers and lakes across the entire Dark Continent to kill him. Setting aside whether that would turn the entire continent into a desolate wasteland, the bigger issue was, she simply lacked the capability to affect such a vast area.
"Does he have any other weaknesses? I can't just attack him directly without a plan."
Narrowing her eyes as she stared at the shimmering river below, Su Min fell into deep thought. Like the Fulu Mountain God, killing him required first destroying his foundation, his connection to the land.
That part wasn't too difficult for her in theory, the Five Elements Holy Body was incredibly versatile for such elemental severing.
But the absolute prerequisite was finding his core consciousness first.
"Have the preparations for this year's Dragon King's Bride Ceremony been completed? If the number of children is not enough, the Dragon King will be furious. Do you not remember the great flood three years ago? It was horrifying."
"This year, we have gathered over a thousand boys and girls. Surely the Dragon King will be pleased. With so many dragon descendants, each can probably have one."
"Let's hope for good weather these next two years. Sigh..."
"Hmm?"
Hearing this conversation from a nearby table, Su Min inconspicuously devoured an entire fish, bones and all, while pricking up her ears. At the same time, she employed a subtle technique to make everyone in the tavern forget her presence once she left. She then began pondering how to approach her target.
Clearly, the Dragon King's Bride Ceremony was the perfect opportunity to get close. Thus, she quickly made up her mind to use it.
Soon, the day of the ceremony began.
Before a broad, calm stretch of the river, tens of thousands of people gathered. Then came the thousands of bewildered, terrified children, their limbs bound with red cloth, red balls stuffed into their mouths to silence them, placed one by one onto small, crude rafts. After a round of eerie singing and dancing by the priests, the rafts were released, drifting slowly into the river's vast, misty depths.
Simultaneously, from deep within the waters, humanoid figures with horned heads and featureless, masked faces emerged, one figure for each child. Su Min, watching from the shore with concealed spiritual sense, quickly confirmed their numbers matched the children's exactly.
"Like that big dark face from the mountain, these are just transport mechanisms, not his true body. But this one consumes a person each, I can't just sneak in disguised as a child."
Su Min grasped his method now. Just like the mountain god, he used superstition and the threat of natural disasters to intimidate the masses into compliance. If the sacrifices were insufficient, he would unleash calamities, if sufficient, he would refrain.
Clearly, he offered these people nothing but threats, only demanding tribute. It was punishment without reward. And none of the common people realized that their so called protector was the very source of their suffering.
How could such selfish, powerful beings spare even a glance for mortal lives?
Thus, the disasters they suffered were either completely natural occurrences or, more likely, directly caused by the so called Dragon King himself. For a Mahayana stage cultivator, a mere flip of his hand or a focused thought could bring life shattering misery to countless mortal souls.
"If I can't enter disguised, then I will have to charge in using the water itself. Five Elements Cycle, Water as Sovereign, Waterflow Body."
At this moment, Su Min's hands shifted rapidly under her robe, forming a series of complex seals. Almost instantly, her physical body underwent a subtle, profound change. Just as she had unlocked the Blazing Sun Body after obtaining and integrating the Nanming Lihuo, obtaining the Northern Water's Profound Origin first would have naturally granted her the Waterflow Body.
This special physique allowed her to merge her form perfectly with any body of water, ensuring she wouldn't be detected by most spiritual senses. Thus, she consciously concealed her other four elemental attributes, leaving only the pure water element to envelop her entire being. Her physical body then seemed to dissolve into liquid itself, merging seamlessly with the river water as she slipped in.
At the same time, the water clones below each claimed a child, gripping them with watery hands and carrying them down into the lightless depths.
Su Min followed closely behind, a ghost in the current. However, this guy's methods differed from the mountain god's. The latter had activated the soul fragments within the children, making them devour and slaughter each other, refining them into a more potent "snack" through survival of the fittest.
But this one was entirely different. The children weren't allowed to fight or evolve. Instead, once inside the watery embrace of the clones, they began dissolving, first their clothes, then their flesh, and finally their bones, all consumed by the spiritual water.
In less than a minute, the children were completely consumed, leaving no trace behind, their soul fragments absorbed into the water clone.
Su Min's pupils constricted slightly at the efficient, cruel process, followed by a hint of relief. Thankfully, she hadn't recklessly tried to blend in as a sacrifice, that would have alerted him immediately and ruined the ambush.
Then, the thousands of water clones began merging with each other, carrying the condensed soul fragments of the children. In the blink of an eye, thousands merged into one larger, more potent water entity, which then plunged downwards into a complex, watery network that Su Min hadn't noticed before.
"Oh?"
Su Min paused briefly, surprised by the hidden formation, but after a moment's hesitation, gritted her teeth and followed the merged clone into the network.
Then she froze, her spiritual senses widening as she discovered the truth. This seemingly small watery cavern was actually just one node in an intricately arranged, massive web spanning the entire Jing River's countless tributaries. And at the very center of this web lay the river's spiritual origin point.
"No wonder I couldn't find you before. You are not in one place, you are the entire network itself."
Now understanding his secret, Su Min continued following the spiritual current, her presence masked by her Waterflow Body and the Northern Water's Profound Origin. With her immense soul power and this elemental advantage, her infiltration went entirely unnoticed by the slumbering consciousness of the Dragon King. The hunt was on.