The spatial fluctuations emanating from the hidden mansion were unlike anything the gathered cultivators had ever witnessed. A raw, avaricious gleam ignited in every pair of eyes. To them, this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to break through to the Golden Core stage. The cultivator inside was just an obstacle to be removed.
They did not know. They could not know.
They were poking the tail of a sleeping dragon.
Then, a voice came.
"All of you—kneel!!!"
It was not loud, nor was it shrill. It was only cold.
Utterly frigid.
Like divine judgment given form.
A moment later, the entire sky seemed to ignite with an invisible, crushing pressure. The clouds themselves tore apart in a blaze of crimson spiritual light. Screams echoed as cultivators plummeted from their flying swords, their knees buckling and hitting the ground under the overwhelming weight.
"Golden Core?!"
"Impossible! Even a Golden Core expert shouldn't possess this level of power!"
The imperial envoys were especially shocked. The aura of their own Golden Core ancestor had never felt even remotely this oppressive.
This was not merely the pressure of a high-level cultivator.
It was rage.
It was fury made tangible.
It was a celestial mountain crushing mortal ants.
From above, a figure descended, wreathed in crimson light. Her white robes snapped around her like war banners, her eyes blazing with pure, undiluted killing intent. Su Min hovered in the air, her expression cold as winter frost. Yet, beneath that layer of icy fury was a faint, terrified tremor she refused to acknowledge. Her gaze swept over the crowd of trembling cultivators.
"You dared," she said, her voice soft, low, and dripping with lethal promise.
There was no roar, no scream. Only those two quiet words, soaked in death.
"Senior," the Earth Demon Old Ghost gritted out, fighting to remain standing through the pressure. "Surely someone of your esteemed stature would not stoop to competing with juniors for such a minor opportunity?" He was one desperate step away from Golden Core, and his greed made him foolish enough to challenge a being like her.
"Scram."
Su Min did not even bother to look at him. Even if he somehow succeeded in his breakthrough, killing him would still require no more effort than swatting a fly.
A flash of red light. A thunderous boom. His body was hurled backward like a discarded rag doll, smashing into a cliff face with a sickening crunch, blood staining the grey rock. He would live, but only just. Any more words from him, and even that mercy would vanish.
The very air seemed to darken and thicken around Su Min. The Nanming Lihuo cloaked her form, a testament to her flawless foundations. She had walked the Heavenly Path Foundation Establishment and endured the legendary Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation. An ordinary Golden Core cultivator could not suppress a crowd of this size with presence alone, but she was not ordinary. Here, in this moment, she was the heavens themselves.
And yet, her voice softened, losing its edge of wrath as she turned away from the stunned and terrified onlookers.
"Xie Yingying," she said, her tone quiet but carrying, directed at the crystalline palace. "Aren't you coming out? Or do you need me to carry you again?"
Her spiritual energy swept out, not as a crushing wave, but as a gentle, precise breeze. With a flick of her sleeve, she tore apart the final, fragile layer of the mansion's concealment array.
The illusion shattered.
From within the now-visible, shrinking mansion, a woman emerged. She was clad in flowing black robes, her hair streaming behind her like a river of moonlight. Her cultivation base hovered at the very peak of Foundation Establishment, and with her unique Heavenly Yin Physique, a breakthrough was imminent. When her eyes found Su Min's, the guarded chill in them melted away, replaced by a warmth that was quiet and profound.
Su Min's gaze locked onto her—alive, unharmed, right there—and something tight and anxious in her chest finally loosened.
Xie Yingying's voice was softer than Su Min remembered, laced with something unfamiliar. Relief.
"Su Min…"
Her next words drifted out like a sigh, threaded with clear admiration and pride. "Su Min, you have done well these past centuries. Not only reaching Golden Core, but your vitality remains completely untouched."
She took a step forward, her eyes glimmering. "That aura… you passed the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation, did you not?"
Su Min's lips curved into a faint, proud smile. "Would you have expected anything less?"
Xie Yingying exhaled, a sound almost like a laugh. "No. I suppose not."
For a long moment, silence stretched between them. Three centuries of separation seemed to condense into that single, shared glance. Then Su Min spoke again, her voice quieter now, the earlier bravado fading into something more raw and genuine.
"I told you I would come."
Not I told you I would, not You should have waited. Just I told you I'd come. Simple, heavy, a vow kept across the centuries.
Xie Yingying's breath hitched. The teasing lilt she had mustered earlier faltered, replaced by something quieter, more vulnerable. "You did," she murmured. "Even if you took your time about it."
Su Min descended the last of the distance between them. The cultivators still groveling in the dirt might as well have been ghosts for all the attention she paid them now.
"Late or not," she said, her voice low, "I am here."
And because she could not help it, because three centuries of battles and waiting had carved the words into her bones, she added, "Did you doubt me?"
Xie Yingying's smile was small and private, meant for Su Min alone. "Never."
A hushed, awed ripple spread through the onlookers. The name alone struck them like thunder—Su Min. The Earth Demon Old Ghost's resentful glare dissolved into wide-eyed terror and groveling awe. None of them had ever seen her in person, though her statues stood in cities and sects across the realm like divine relics. Her name was carved into the very bedrock of legend.
The first Golden Core cultivator born of Wei Wu State. The slayer of the infamous Demon Queen. The Danxian whose pills had become priceless treasures the moment she had vanished from the world.
And now—she had withstood the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation?
Even their imperial ancestor would be reduced to ash before such a force. The final strike of a Nine-Nine Tribulation was said to rival the full-powered assault of a peak Golden Core cultivator. Some rumors even claimed it brushed the threshold of Nascent Soul.
"Danxian! My grandfather served under you—Cao Yuanmu! In the name of the Yong royal family, I invite you to the palace as our most honored guest!" A fawning imperial envoy scrambled forward the moment Su Min's pressure lifted slightly.
Su Min shook her head. She owed the Yong family nothing. She had already secured their rule and left them with decades worth of pills. Their first Golden Core ancestor had emerged a century after her departure, relying on the resources she left behind to ascend before his lifespan ran out.
"I have long withdrawn from worldly affairs," she stated flatly. "With a Golden Core expert guarding you, you will be fine. Let's go." With that, she gestured, and Xie Yingying stepped onto her flying sword. In a streak of light, they vanished from the stunned crowd.
"Farewell, Danxian!" voices called out behind them. No one dared to stop them. Even the grievously wounded Earth Demon Old Ghost managed a kowtow from where he lay.
—
"You are ready for the Golden Core Avenue," Xie Yingying said, studying Su Min as they flew. "Do you have a safe place to rest before we enter? I have some items I cannot bring inside, so they will need guarding."
Xie Yingying looked at Su Min carefully. If the Su Min of centuries past had made her wary, the woman standing before her now stirred something far deeper. There was admiration in her eyes, and a touch of something she could not quite name. The gap between Foundation Establishment and Golden Core was immense, but the gap between an ordinary Golden Core and one who had survived the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation was a chasm.
There was no denying it—Su Min had not just met the requirement to enter the Golden Core Avenue; she had shattered it. Heavenly Foundation Establishment was the base requirement, surviving the Six-Nine Tribulation was the gateway. But Su Min had walked through the ultimate fire and come out tempered by the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation itself.
"I have a place," Su Min confirmed. "How long can you last before your tribulation is triggered?"
"Three months, if I do not engage in any major fights," Xie Yingying answered.
A thoughtful pause lingered between them, heavy with unspoken questions and plans.
"That is more than enough. Come to my sect first," Su Min said, her tone softening from its earlier sharpness. "Also, since you carry the complete legacy of the Heavenly Yin Sect, why not join mine?"
"Huh?" Xie Yingying blinked, caught completely off guard. Of all the things she expected Su Min to say, this was not on the list. She had known Su Min had likely established a sect of her own—someone with her ambition and power would not settle quietly—but in this backwater state? And to invite her in, just like that…?
Then they reached the world's edge, where the spiritual barrier shimmered. Su Min summoned her spatial shuttle. When the sky seemed to split open and the familiar edges of the continent faded behind them, Xie Yingying's breath caught in her throat. She had not even known this part of the world existed, let alone that it was traversable.
But nothing prepared her for what came next.
And then, she saw it.
A colossal golden tree rose from the center of a hidden continent, its branches piercing the clouds, glowing with an ancient, divine brilliance. Its very presence seemed to anchor the soul of the land.
"How is that for a foundation?" Su Min said with a smile, her voice light, but her eyes flickering with something more vulnerable—a sliver of hope for approval. "Better than the Mingling Province, no?"
Xie Yingying could only stare, momentarily speechless.
"This place… this spiritual aura… is that the divine Fusang Tree?"
Su Min's grin widened as she watched Xie Yingying's stunned reaction.
She craved what Xie Yingying possessed—her legacy. Not just her body, she hastily corrected herself internally, definitely just the legacy… probably. Her own collection of inheritances was clever and powerful but ultimately a patchwork. In contrast, Xie Yingying's was a complete, refined system, elegant and rooted in one of the most ancient and prestigious sects in the realm.
She wanted it. She needed it to complete her own path. But the real question was—would Xie Yingying say yes?
"This place…" Xie Yingying finally murmured, her eyes wide as she took in the impossible sight of the Fusang Divine Tree.
Xie Yingying's heart stirred. Her primary mission was to preserve her sect's legacy, not to rebuild it entirely from scratch—a task too monumental and time-consuming for most. Her original plan had been to find and merge with a suitable, established sect after exiting the Golden Core Avenue.
But this offer… This place…
And the way Su Min had looked at her—half-serious, half-teasing, but with that unmistakable earnest glint in her eyes…
It was tempting.
Very tempting.
The Fusang Tree alone hinted at profound ties to the Golden Crow lineage. A heritage truly worthy of any great legacy.
"My sect is still young," Su Min said, her voice low and inviting. "But it has immense potential. And… I think you would fit here."
Silence fell between them, but it was not awkward. It was heavy—with thought, with decision, with something neither of them dared to name just yet.
Xie Yingying's lips curved into a faint, knowing smile. "You are dangerous, Su Min."
Su Min's grin widened, a glint of pure mischief in her eyes. "To my enemies, certainly."
But the way she looked at Xie Yingying said more. "Not to you. Never to you."
"Help me obtain the Lunar Sovereign Ancient Scripture inside the Avenue," Xie Yingying said, her voice softening. "It is crucial to me. My sect's elders spent their entire lifetimes searching for clues to its location."
"Deal. But I have a condition of my own." With a fluid motion, Su Min rolled up her sleeve, revealing a shimmering, intricate dragon-shaped mark etched into her shoulder.
"The Azure Dragon Emissary mark?" Xie Yingying's eyes widened in shock. "But you already bear the complete Vermilion Bird's legacy. How can you hold the key to the Azure Dragon's as well? Wait—" She shook her head, dismissing the question. "Never mind. I am technically homeless anyway, and I will need a stable base for the century we will spend inside the Golden Core Avenue."
She studied Su Min carefully, suspicion mingling with a reluctant, growing trust. Secrets were the currency of cultivators, after all. And this place—the sanctuary Su Min was offering—was far too valuable to turn down.
"Lunar Sovereign Physique?"
The new voice came from the Peacock King, who had appeared silently and was watching Xie Yingying with keen interest.
"Is there a problem?" Su Min raised an eyebrow, her tone protective.
"No," the Peacock King replied calmly. "But she must stay away from the Fusang Tree. The young mistress is still dormant, and the clash of your yin energy with the tree's supreme yang essence would provoke her."
"Understood," Xie Yingying nodded immediately. She was not foolish enough to antagonize a divine wonder of such power.
"We will enter seclusion one last time," Su Min declared. "Gather every medicinal ingredient you can. I will refine breakthrough pills for us before we step into the Golden Core Avenue. We might not emerge until the Avenue itself ends."
Inside the Avenue, the heavenly suppression would ease, allowing them to advance all the way to Golden Core Perfection. Leaving early, however, would trigger Heavenly Decay—something Su Min's robust foundations could likely withstand, but Xie Yingying probably could not. Once the Avenue closed for good, a new great era would begin, ancient powers would awaken fully, and the barriers between states would fall.
Chaos would return.
With the Peacock King dismissed, Xie Yingying let out a soft sigh.
"You have more secrets than I ever imagined," she said, looking at Su Min. "That was a Golden Crow retainer, was it not? To think a vanished race like theirs would reawaken here…"
"This shuttle was the Demon Queen's treasure," Su Min offered as a partial truth to cover her tracks. The Demon Queen's map scroll, which was proof enough, was still in her possession. "She hibernated for centuries, seeking this very land. A pity it all fell into my lap."
Soon, they landed in the secluded back mountains of the East Sea Immortal Gate.
"Prepare for your tribulation," Su Min instructed. "I will refine our pills and leave my legacy instructions here. With the Peacock King and the Azure Dragon King guarding this place, our belongings will be safe."
Time was short. Su Min's own tribulation had nearly exceeded her limits, and she would not risk letting Xie Yingying face a similar, uncontrolled fate.
"I will find an isolated island for my tribulation," Xie Yingying said. "I will not endanger the mainland."
After a tribulation, heavenly rewards would often grant new divine abilities, but those required precise conditions to absorb fully. Su Min's own control over heavenly thunder, for example, had been forged through ten years of relentless bombardment during her seclusion.
With that, they parted ways for now—Su Min to her alchemy chamber, Xie Yingying to a distant, lonely island to face her destiny.
Back in her forge, Su Min sorted through mountains of spiritual ingredients, including several potent Golden Core beast cores that the Azure Dragon King had likely hunted from the surrounding seas. She stored the cores away for a future project.
Her focus now was singular: crafting the most potent, stable, and side-effect-free breakthrough pills she could manage. The island's resources were vast, and even with the help of the spirit beasts, they had barely scratched the surface of its true wealth.
===
Finally she get a homeless Yingying. Don't worry her full body & legacy will be yours only.