This was precisely why Xie Yingying was so insistent on forging a bond with Su Min. A single, solid favor from a high level alchemist was a treasure that could drive countless powerful experts mad with desire. Moreover, while Su Min's innate Blazing Sun Body might be considered average by lofty standards, when combined with the devastating Nanming Lihuo, even someone of Xie Yingying's stature and unique physique had to take her utterly seriously.
Just look at the evidence before them, Prince Yong's Mansion. Over the past twenty years, bolstered by the pills Su Min provided or inspired, they had produced over a thousand Body Refining Stage cultivators. Yet, in all that time, they had only managed to nurture two alchemists of their own, a pitifully small number. In fact, the entire Wei Wu Province probably could not scrounge up a fourth competent alchemist. Some individuals might have the innate qualifications, but becoming a true alchemist required more than just the right techniques. It demanded a near bottomless pit of resources and a stock of precious pill recipes to practice with, trial after expensive trial.
Very few factions could afford such a monumental investment. Su Min herself had only managed it initially by relying on the humble contributions of a few hundred mountain villagers before attaching herself to the deep coffers of Prince Yong's Mansion. And since she was a "player," blessed with an otherworldly intuition for these processes, this aspect was infinitely easier for her than for any ordinary mortal striving for the same goal.
Of course, the more practical reason was that first grade pills were not as uniquely valuable as they had been decades ago. The world was changing, and the bar for power was rising.
Soon after, within the main hall of Prince Yong's Mansion—
"It is dead. You can rest easy now."
Seeing Prince Yong pacing the room like a caged animal, his face etched with deep worry, Su Min's simple declaration finally made him exhale a shuddering breath of relief. The night the Corpse Demon had fully emerged, its terrifying, soul chilling aura had been faintly detectable even from this distance. That faint, distant trace alone had been enough to make his hair stand on end, stirring a genuine, primal fear that had nothing to do with courage.
"Hah…"
As he let out a long, weary breath, Prince Yong placed a piece of intelligence down on the table before Su Min.
"This is the latest report. Just a few days ago, the main rebel army from Tianshui Prefecture reached the very gates of the Great Wei capital. The Great Wei court is even weaker than I imagined. They simply allowed tens of thousands of troops to march straight in, meeting no real resistance."
"And then?"
Seeing the grim twist of Prince Yong's expression, Su Min arched a single eyebrow, her voice cool and laced with knowing mockery.
"They were all buried beneath the imperial city walls, turned into nourishment for that old monster," he confirmed, his voice heavy. "The leader of the Tianshui rebels was a man who had reached the Foundation Establishment Stage through sheer will, without relying on any pills. A rare talent. Yet, in the end, the old Demon Queen sacrificed them all, every last one. The whole world is reeling from the shock."
"He was too impatient," Su Min said, her tone devoid of sympathy. "You want the throne, do you not? I can help you achieve that, though I cannot personally guarantee that you will be the one to sit on it. It can still be someone from your direct bloodline."
No matter what, she was determined to tear down that despicable couple in the capital. But once she killed them, the entire Great Wei Dynasty would collapse into chaos. After getting her revenge, she had no desire to manage the resulting mess. A new order would have to be established, but she had less than zero interest in becoming an empress. That sounded like a special kind of hell. Founding her own sect was already the absolute limit of the worldly responsibility she was willing to endure.
Right now, Prince Yong was the only local power with the strength and legitimacy to potentially take over. Truthfully, thanks to the emperor's relentless exploitation and the Heavenly Decay, the Great Wei had been weakened to an extreme degree. Any other dynasty would have collapsed into fragments long ago. But the combined, terrifying deterrence of the Demon Queen and her elite Demon Slaying Division was the only glue holding the rotting edifice together. Such was the overwhelming power of supreme experts in this decaying era.
"How long must we wait?" Prince Yong asked, his voice a low rumble.
Hearing Su Min's words, he took a deep, steadying breath. This was the ultimate, centuries old goal of his lineage, a dream they had nurtured and waited for over a hundred years. They had even allowed Su Min to freely take whatever resources she needed from their stores, all for the sake of this one, pivotal promise.
"About thirty years. By then, I will have reached the Golden Core Stage. Only then will I have the true confidence to face and kill that demon queen. Until that day, no matter what provocation you face, you must endure."
Su Min's expression was grave, leaving no room for debate. Once the time was right, she would help Prince Yong overthrow the dynasty. After that, she planned to leave the mainland entirely and find a secluded spiritual island to quietly wait for the prophesied opening of the Golden Core Avenue.
As long as the new rulers did not provoke heaven's wrath with their governance, she would not interfere further.
As for founding a sect, at the early Golden Core Stage, she still was not quite qualified to establish a truly enduring legacy. Besides, the legendary Three Blessed Lands had yet to emerge from their seclusion. Those hidden realms were her true long term targets. A backwater province like Wei Wu was not even worth her serious consideration. Establishing a sect here would offer little help to her ultimate path.
"Thirty years… Sigh."
Prince Yong sighed deeply and leaned back in his heavy wooden chair, a trace of profound melancholy in his eyes. He was a realist, he knew he likely would not live to see that day himself. Still, as long as the demon queen could not act freely outside the capital, Prince Yong's Mansion had no reason to fear the imperial court's direct military might.
But the old Demon Queen's personal deterrence was too terrifying. The recent, effortless massacre at the capital gates had shaken the entire world. For at least the next decade, no faction would dare to raise a banner in open rebellion. A Foundation Establishment expert, over a dozen Qi Refining cultivators, hundreds of Body Refining warriors, and tens of thousands of elite soldiers, all wiped out in a single night. The only faction capable of mustering a stronger force than this was Prince Yong's Mansion itself, and that was only with two decades of Su Min's help. But the core problem remained, they had no one who could personally stand against the Demon Queen or counter her vile methods. Not even Su Min in her current state.
As for Prince Yong himself, he probably would not live another thirty years. He had only reached the Body Refining Stage late in life with the help of Body Tempering Pills, and he had been far too old when he broke through. There was no chance for further advancement. His body, though fortified, was still mortal and would not last that long. But that time would allow his son and grandson to accumulate more experts and resources. Once the imperial capital fell, they could swiftly take control of the entire empire.
"Alright then," Su Min said, concluding the audience. "Have someone prepare a quiet room for me. I plan to enter seclusion for a while. After that, I will be leaving."
She stood and dusted off her sleeves with a brisk motion.
"Remember, that old hag cannot act recklessly for now, but that does not mean you should raise the banner too early. Stick to your original plan and slowly chip away at the Great Wei's territory and influence. That is enough. Today's meeting ends here."
Without waiting for Prince Yong's formal response, Su Min turned and left the hall, Xie Yingying following silently in her wake like a shadow. She was entering seclusion for two primary reasons. First, to fulfill her promise and refine the third grade high pill for Xie Yingying. Second, the act of slaying the Corpse Fiend had caused a noticeable ripple in her Heavenly Dao Insight. Now, she needed absolute peace and quiet to process the subtle reactions it had stirred within her cultivation base.
After this round of seclusion, she would be back on the road again. If she truly wanted to pass the legendary Nine Nine Heavenly Tribulation, she had a mountain of work to do. The initial Three Nine and the more demanding Six Nine tribulations were manageable with her foundation, but the final, earth-shattering bolts of heavenly thunder would require every hidden trump card she could possibly prepare.
And it was not like she had to rely solely on her own body to resist the Heavenly Tribulation's fury. She had other tools, artifacts, and formations in mind. Once she finally stepped into the Golden Core stage, her very first order of business would be settling her long standing debt with that damned emperor, for good.
"Oh, right," she said suddenly, as they reached the secluded courtyard room the estate stewards had prepared for her. Su Min extended a delicate, expectant hand toward Xie Yingying in a classic, money grubbing gesture. "Hand over the herbs. I will refine your pill during this seclusion. And do not worry, this time, I will not accidentally shave any extra years off your lifespan."
"…"
Xie Yingying looked at the outstretched hand, then at Su Min's utterly serious face. She said nothing. She simply retrieved the mystical Xuantian Gourd that also served as a portable mansion, and with a series of soft, shimmering lights, the rare herbs she had gathered, each carefully preserved through special temporal methods, floated into the air one by one, landing before Su Min in an elegant, fragrant drift.