On the moonlit mountain peak, two slender figures sat cross-legged with a small, low table between them. A steaming teapot sat to the side, its delicate, fragrant aroma blending with the cool night air.
"Ah… I really missed this," Su Min said, a genuine smile touching her lips as she gazed at the pale green bamboo leaves floating in her porcelain cup. "I ran out of this tea ages ago. It has been a long time since I have been back."
The clean, crisp bamboo fragrance was more than just comforting, it carried a wave of old memories. She gently swirled the cup, watching the leaves drift.
"I wonder how those little ones are doing now. I used to worry about their future, but just looking at these leaves… I know they are fine. They should have reached the Qi Refining stage by now."
The tea leaves had been brought by Xie Yingying, and Su Min had recognized their origin at a glance. They were from the bamboo spirits she had once raised in the southern frontier, her personal "plants," much like someone in a modern home might keep a garden of flowers.
What truly comforted her was the subtle spiritual signature in the leaves, proof they had not been harvested by force or violence.
"The Nine Great Bamboo Spirits of the Southern Border are quite famous in southern Wei Wu Prefecture," Xie Yingying explained calmly. "They are revered by the mountain folk there as guardian spirits of the forests. After decades of incense offerings and sincere veneration, they have even been formally enshrined as temple protectors. Of course they are thriving, they have been blessed by the faith of the people."
"You did not bully them, did you?"
Su Min eyed Xie Yingying with open curiosity.
The woman was not the bloodthirsty or cruel type. In fact, her overall temper might be more even and patient than her own.
If she had been the one abruptly awakened in that sealed estate, she might not have killed anyone, but every single trespasser would have left with a severe beating. Just imagine waking up after a long sleep to find a group of rats rummaging through your home. Her blood pressure would have skyrocketed.
"No. They carried your aura so strongly. I just… plucked a few leaves. That is all." Xie Yingying's voice weakened slightly on the last words, lacking its usual definitive edge.
"Fine. As long as they are alive and well."
Su Min raised a skeptical eyebrow. That tone lacked conviction. Clearly, the leaves had been harvested by force, but likely not excessively so. The most probable scenario was that someone had mentioned the miraculous, calming properties of the bamboo spirit tea, and Xie Yingying, in her clinical curiosity, could not resist testing it out for herself.
Still, she did not press the matter. She had been far more ruthless when she had picked leaves from them in the past, back when they were still young and fragile.
In the end, things seemed to have worked out for the best. Before leaving the southern frontier, she had carefully transplanted those bamboo spirits into protected, spiritual groves, hoping they would aid the nearby mountain folk. It appeared that their strength had steadily grown since, even earning them a place of honor.
"Setting that aside," Xie Yingying began, shifting the conversation to more pressing matters. "As someone native to this era, how much do you actually know about the Golden Core stage?"
"Absolutely nothing. I am a total newbie in that department."
"..."
Xie Yingying stared at Su Min's utterly unapologetic expression, momentarily rendered speechless. She had always assumed Su Min was a master schemer with deep, hidden knowledge, but now it seemed the woman was missing a critical brain cell.
"How many tribulations do you plan to face for your Golden Core breakthrough?" she asked, getting straight to the point.
"Hmm..."
Su Min's expression finally turned serious. Jokes aside, heavenly tribulations were no laughing matter, they were genuinely deadly.
In this world, cultivators did not face tribulations at every minor stage. They only faced two major heavenly ordeals in their entire path.
The first was the Three Nine Heavenly Tribulation at the Golden Core breakthrough.
The second was the final Immortal Ascension Tribulation after achieving immortality.
The Three Nine Tribulation was a test from the heavens, not a pure suppression mechanism. Passing it granted additional rewards and solidified one's foundation. But the Three Nine Tribulation, with its three waves of nine strikes, was just the baseline. Anyone who cleared it would become a Golden Core cultivator.
However, just like the Heavenly, Earthly, and Mortal Dao Foundations, the Golden Core stage also had its own tiers of quality. After surviving the first set of lightning strikes, the tribulation clouds would not immediately disperse. At that critical juncture, you could choose to endure more, voluntarily escalating the trial to the Six Nine Tribulation, or even the peak, legendary Nine Nine Tribulation.
The rewards grew exponentially with each tier, but so did the mortal risk. For Su Min, with her Heavenly Dao Foundation, the basic Three Nine Tribulation was no threat at all. Even Mortal Dao Foundation cultivators could become Golden Core experts. With her current foundation, surviving the Six Nine Tribulation was manageable, but the Nine Nine Tribulation required serious, dedicated preparation. Pills, defensive artifacts, and special techniques were all critical for surviving the highest tier tribulation. Once this corpse demon was dealt with, she would need to start gathering what she needed.
"At least the Six Nine Tribulation," Su Min stated firmly. "As for the Nine Nine… I will decide when the time comes, based on my preparations."
"Good. At least you understand the risks involved. I will not lecture you further on it."
Xie Yingying exhaled a quiet sigh of relief. It was reassuring to know Su Min was not completely clueless or recklessly overconfident. Their conversation continued, drifting to other topics, but Su Min grew increasingly cautious with her own words. Xie Yingying, for her part, was remarkably candid, sharing details about her sect and her background as a Holy Maiden. Su Min, on the other hand, had to carefully mask her own otherworldly origins, sticking strictly to the established facts of her "Su Min" identity.
As for how she truly came to this world? Not a single word was spoken.
But the quiet, pleasant moment could not last. A full, silvery moon rose high above the horizon, bathing the land in its cold light. And from the heart of the valley below them, a foul, concentrated deathly aura surged violently into the night sky, disrupting the peaceful atmosphere.
"It has emerged."
In an instant, the tea was forgotten. Both women stood in unison, their faces turning grim, eyes locked on the source of the disturbance. A palpable pressure pulsed from the valley below, a spiritual weight that felt stronger than either of them. A Corpse King had broken free of its earthly cocoon and reached the Golden Core level.
"Arooo—!"
A mournful, grating howl echoed under the moonlight. The creature's rotting lips peeled back to reveal rows of blackened, jagged teeth, its jaw unhinging grotesquely as if to drink in the moon's cold essence.
The two women exchanged a single, determined glance. No words were needed. They leapt from the mountain peak into the sky, their figures cutting through the night air. They could not allow the beast to continue devouring the moon's essence, which would only make it stronger. Now that the creature had fully awakened and its monster core had formed, there was no more time for hesitation. It had to die.
Though…
"Rotting flesh, a single demon core, and absolutely nothing else of value," Su Min cursed silently as she flew. "And it is not even a normal demon, it is a corpse demon. Disgusting. If I were not preparing for the Golden Spirit Pill, I would not even touch this thing."
The flying gourd at her waist pulsed with a faint, warm light. It did not absorb humans or humanoids, and she would never let it, even if it could. She still remembered the words of a man once named Huang, a core rule from a lifetime ago.
"No humanoids. If it looks like a person, toss it out."
The spiritual wine the gourd brewed was a peerless delicacy, but the very idea of it mingling with the essence of corpses made her stomach churn. Still, despite her internal grumbling, Su Min did not delay. Before she had even closed half the distance, she thrust out a palm. A brilliant golden mantra seal burst forth, a massive Sanskrit character blazing with the intensity of the sun, slamming down onto the corpse king's form with terrifying, purifying force.
Xie Yingying's eyes widened in a flicker of surprise. Su Min was not holding back, she had begun her assault in deadly earnest.
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Ahem... they are clearly bonding on this chapter.