"If those three Qi Refining cultivators cannot even handle a few lingering spirits, then they might as well just kill themselves and save everyone the trouble."
Su Min quickly found a convenient excuse, brushing off the implied responsibility with a wave of her hand. She was not sure about the other martial artists, but those three she had personally trained and equipped should definitely still be alive and capable. The vengeful spirits of common soldiers should not pose too great a threat to them, though she conceded they were undoubtedly a nuisance to eradicate completely, like trying to swat every single fly in a vast, rotting field.
Some problems in this world simply could not be solved by brute force alone. It required specific methods, rituals and purifications that were not her specialty. She recalled the monstrous clam she had encountered in the desert. While it had possessed one of the five elemental treasures she needed, its own origins were no less extraordinary and sinister, a creature born of ancient grudges.
The death toll from that final battle had been truly staggering. After the war concluded, she had lingered for a few days before her seclusion and had witnessed the horrifying carnage firsthand. The Flame and Earth Elders had brought their entire societal structure with them, not just cavalry but countless support personnel, elderly, women, children, and slaves. These non combatants had borne the brutal brunt of the chaotic, panicked stampede, caught in a tide of their own people's fear.
Without horses to flee on, they had been ruthlessly trampled and crushed by their own fleeing army, their deaths adding a layer of profound tragedy to the victory.
Rough estimates from the aftermath put the total casualties at no less than two hundred thousand souls, with the shocking reality that over ninety percent had been killed by their own side in the mad rush to escape. Left unresolved, such concentrated resentment and violent death could indeed fester and birth something truly monstrous, a spiritual plague on the land.
"You, always so eager to kill and destroy, never bother to clean up the spiritual mess you leave behind," Hui Ming observed, not with accusation, but with a weary statement of fact, as if commenting on the weather.
"Well, the two Elders of Flame and Earth are gone for good, body, soul, and all spiritual traces," Su Min countered, folding her arms. "Without their powerful remains acting as a core medium, nothing at the Foundation Establishment stage should be able to manifest from that battlefield. The spirits should be weak, disconnected, little more than echoes."
Hui Ming sighed, a soft exhalation of patience. "I am not here to argue the specifics, Senior. I merely state what is. In any case, the successful spread of Buddhism here in the northern reaches of Great Wei owes much to your initial, forceful endorsement."
"Mn," Su Min replied noncommittally, a short, grunting sound. Then she smirked, a flash of white teeth. "It was a mutually beneficial arrangement." And one with lasting perks, she thought privately. She had profited handsomely from the faith directed her way, even if it was unintentional on her part, a passive income of spiritual power.
"Master has already consolidated the major temples in this entire region under a unified discipline," Hui Ming continued, his voice steady. "Your deeds, Senior, even I cannot help but admire them."
It was clear his admiration was genuine, devoid of flattery. Without Su Min's intervention, the people of the southern prefectures would have faced slaughter, perhaps even eradication. And the coastal county by the East Sea, had that giant clam demon she slew gone unchecked and reached Foundation Establishment, it would have unleashed a true catastrophe upon the land, drowning villages and cities. There was also her pacification of the desert tribes, and more, a list of averted disasters.
Unknowingly, almost incidentally, Su Min had already become a silent guardian, protecting countless lives across the realm, a role she never sought but could not deny.
"No wonder the faith is so strong, well, this makes things much easier for me," Su Min mused aloud, tapping a finger on her chin. "I will just come here to collect the incense offerings from now on. It is a convenient arrangement." She then fixed him with a direct look, her eyes sharp. "By the way, you still have not told me why you specifically came to find me today?"
Su Min seemed genuinely pleased with the temple's existence. It was obviously a unique Buddhist technique that allowed him to sense her arrival the moment she entered the city. As an established religious sect, they certainly possessed their own mysterious arts. Though they had not explained the specifics to her, it was enough that they had taken the initiative to help organize such a troublesome matter as public faith, saving her the immense bother.
"That is because, three years ago, a Foundation Establishment stage demon beast appeared in the eastern marshes."
"A Foundation Establishment level demon?" Su Min's interest was immediately piqued, her posture straightening. "What is its origin? Such a creature does not just appear from nowhere. The spiritual energy here is still too thin to naturally breed one."
"It was a demon beast that happened to find a rare temporal crystal to seal itself away in during the last age," Hui Ming explained calmly. "You know my Master's situation. He is often, otherwise occupied. What appeared to confront the beast was merely one of his avatars, possessing great spiritual presence but lacking true combat strength. Naturally, we were overmatched. We summoned a young prodigy, a monk from the northern grasslands, to assist. I had originally planned to take my time and reach Foundation Establishment through the more stable Earth Path, but the situation was too urgent. To protect the people from this demon, I had no choice but to break through directly using the Human Path."
"That truly commands respect," Su Min said, her tone carrying a rare note of sincerity, devoid of her usual mockery.
She herself had been utterly unwilling to give up on the supreme Heavenly Path Foundation Establishment, even at the cost of twenty years in secluded cultivation. But she understood the weight of his sacrifice. It had already been twenty years since she last gathered a complete set of materials for the Earth Path. Surely new elemental treasures must have started to appear by now in the revitalized world, bubbling up from the ley lines.
Achieving Foundation Establishment through the Heavenly Path was a monumental feat. She was not even certain she herself had been fully qualified, relying on her unique player like constitution to succeed. Still, with Prince Yong's vast intelligence network and resources, helping someone like Hui Ming walk the Path of the Earth should have been manageable. The fact that he gave up that stable, powerful opportunity for the sake of others genuinely impressed her.
"The desert kingdom has now formally allied with Prince Yong," Hui Ming added, changing the subject. "The newly crowned King U'er has two of my senior disciples stationed there to watch over things and maintain the peace. The land is still barren, so powerful demons and spirits are fewer. That is the main reason I have been able to come here, to help establish a proper Buddhist foothold and bring order. But the wider realm grows ever more chaotic. Prince Yong's Eight Prefectures remain the only true bastion of stability in the north, a lone rock in a turbulent sea."
"Is that so," Su Min sighed, a familiar disdain for the central government rising in her heart like a bitter taste.
If it were not for that Demon Queen's protection of the Emperor, she would have long since overturned that so called imperial court herself. The sentiment that "kings and nobles are not born to rule, but earn their mandate", that kind of defiant, merit based thinking was etched into her very bones, a fundamental part of her worldview.
"My master's great Dharma Assembly was originally intended to be temple bound," Hui Ming continued, "but Prince Yong himself requested a public venue in the city square. He believed it would help calm the populace and unite their spirits under a common banner."
"Hmph. That old fox is as desperate for control and soft power as ever," Su Min chuckled, a wicked grin playing on her lips as she saw right through the political maneuver.
She understood the dynamic perfectly. Religion, left completely unchecked, could become a calamity for any ruler. It had to be bound by discipline and, ideally, co opted by the state, its power channeled for secular stability.
"It is merely cooperation, not subjugation," Hui Ming clarified calmly, unruffled. "We no longer spread the faith through aggressive proselytizing. My master's teachings now focus primarily on practical cultivation techniques, meditation, and spiritual insights for daily life." He then delivered another piece of news. "Oh, and the old Prince Yong passed away ten years ago. The current Prince Yong is his successor, the son you once gifted the pill to. Would you like me to introduce you?"
"Sure. Lead the way."
Su Min nodded. She could have simply revealed her identity and marched directly into the palace, but that would inevitably attract far too much attention and ceremony. She was not in the mood to stir up a huge commotion. The moment word of her return spread, she would be swarmed by countless cultivators and officials clutching rare herbs and begging for pills. She could not kill them all for being annoying, well, she technically could, but that would be excessive and counterproductive, creating more problems than it solved.
With Hui Ming's quiet introduction, she could meet the new Prince Yong discreetly. Though the old one had passed, the new lord, who owed his Qi Refining cultivation and likely his life to her, would surely not deny her an audience. She also needed to tap into the royal intelligence network for a few personal matters, namely the locations of newly emerged elemental treasures for her continued cultivation.
Before long, guided by Hui Ming through a series of quiet backstreets that smelled of damp stone and drying laundry, Su Min slipped through a small, inconspicuous path hidden behind the temple, one that led directly to a secluded rear entrance of Prince Yong's residence, a door meant for servants and secrets.
"Any closer cooperation between temple and state, and they might as well just hang a rebellion banner from the city walls," Su Min muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes at the blatant political maneuvering. "Can they not just act with a little more subtlety and dignity?"
Hearing her blunt remark, Hui Ming could only smile helplessly, a faint curve of his lips. Not everyone possessed the world shaking power to be as carefree and dismissive of politics as Su Min. And how could he not know what she had done in this very city two decades prior? Though a full generation had passed, her influence still ran deep in its foundations. Many of the officers and officials who had fought in that war were still alive, now holding positions of authority and passing on stories.
As those people aged and rose in rank, their tales of Su Min's legendary power only grew in weight and reverence. In the Eight Prefectures of Prince Yong, she was a figure of almost mythical, terrifying renown. Even the Prince himself had to take her potential opinion very seriously. In a typical mortal realm, someone with her independent power might have been suppressed or even arrested as a threat. Here, she was a foundational pillar of the state's very survival, a check on all other powers.
Despite their casual tone, both were cultivators at the Foundation Establishment level. Their steps, while appearing normal, carried them with preternatural swiftness, covering great distances with effortless ease. In the blink of an eye, they arrived at the main palace and, with little obstruction after Hui Ming announced them to a guard who paled and rushed inside, were granted an immediate audience with the current Prince Yong, the very man, now middle aged with streaks of grey in his hair, who had once received her alchemical gift as a young prince.
"How time changes all..."
Gazing at the mature, stern faced man before her who bore the clear features of his father, and thinking of the now deceased old Prince Yong, Su Min could not help but feel a sudden, unexpected wave of melancholy emotion. Twenty years had passed in the blink of an eye for her, a long nap. For them, it was half a lifetime, a period of immense change, growth, and loss, the rise of a new generation. But in her memory, their last meeting felt as vivid and immediate as yesterday.