"No rush to head for the secret inheritance just yet," Su Min said, her eyes narrowing as she scanned the alien landscape below. "I just spotted a Golden Core-stage demonic beast. Old friend, it is time for you to eat. Your lightning has been a bit underwhelming lately."
As she spoke, she pulled out her treasured gourd, patting it affectionately. She knew obtaining the Azure Dragon's inheritance would not be easy. There was still some time before it officially opened, and the Golden Core Avenue itself was not overwhelmingly large, roughly the size of the old Wei Wu Province.
At her current level of strength, if this gourd did not evolve again, it risked becoming obsolete. Like her life-bound spiritual treasure, this innate spiritual artifact had the potential for continuous strengthening.
"Where did you even get that gourd?" Xie Yingying asked, eyeing the vessel with a mix of curiosity and unease.
"A secret!" Su Min replied with a playful grin, cradling the gourd like a beloved child.
Watching her dote on the object, Xie Yingying felt a slight chill. She had seen this gourd in action before; it had severely wounded a Golden Core-stage zombie with a single strike. Of course, if not for the zombie's unique undead nature, it would have been killed outright.
Initially, Xie Yingying had assumed it was just a powerful artifact. But after personally experiencing the horrors of the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation, she was stunned to realize the truth. The gourd contained the genuine Demon-Slaying Thunder from that very tribulation.
No one who had not been struck by it could understand its sheer terror, especially the final bolt. Xie Yingying had been forced to shatter two precious Earth-grade disposable artifacts in succession just to survive. Su Min had endured an even more brutal ordeal, unable to block the final strike and barely scraping through by a thread.
Now, Xie Yingying understood Su Min's attachment. That said, the Demon-Slaying Thunder inside the gourd was far weaker than the heavenly tribulation's original version. At her current level, taking a single bolt would not be a problem. What sent a genuine chill down her spine was the undeniable fact that this thing could level up.
That was precisely why Su Min was in such a hurry to strengthen it. Now that she was a full Golden Core cultivator, tempered by the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation no less, the current Demon-Slaying Thunder was practically useless in her eyes. It was also why she had not bothered using it against the Demon Queen; the result would have been embarrassing. More critically, the Spirit Nectar it produced was no longer potent enough to sustain her Golden Core cultivation.
To upgrade it, she needed to feed it Golden Core-stage demonic beasts. The problem was, they were incredibly rare in the outside world. Demonic beasts had a much harder time cultivating and advancing than humans. Lacking innate intelligence, they often relied on devouring humans to gain sentience, a process that involved slaughtering hundreds or thousands. As a result, they were either hunted down by righteous cultivators or struck dead by heavenly lightning before they could advance. Even on Su Min's island, where spirit beasts cultivated the enlightened Divine Flame Path, there were only two Golden Core-stage beasts, a testament to their rarity.
But here, on the Golden Core Avenue, Golden Core demonic beasts actually existed, which surprised Su Min. Thinking about it, it made sense. The spiritual energy here was far denser than the outside world, and this pocket dimension had remained unchanged for tens of thousands of years. Furthermore, there were no humans here to hunt them, allowing the beasts to fight and evolve naturally.
At that moment, Su Min descended from the sky. She channeled the Nanming Lihuo and crashed down like a living meteor, instantly crushing an unsuspecting Golden Core serpent demon to death. The impact was so direct it almost looked like she had sat on it.
"The demon core and scales are decent," she remarked, already carving into the carcass with practiced efficiency. "The poison sac can be used for materials. The rest is all yours, old friend. Do not disappoint me."
She grinned, holding up the gourd and pointing its opening at the beast's remains. In an instant, the massive carcass was absorbed into the seemingly small vessel. She gave the gourd a satisfied shake. "You are really not picky at all."
Blood arced through the air as her blade worked. Xie Yingying flinched slightly when a crimson spray landed near her boots, not that Su Min seemed to notice. If not for the self cleaning enchantments woven into their robes, they would have been drenched. A flicker of spiritual energy stripped the gore away, leaving them pristine.
It was then, watching Su Min wipe her blade clean on the serpent's own scales with the casual indifference of a hunter maintaining her tools, that Xie Yingying fully understood why this woman struck her as so profoundly bizarre.
Su Min had absolutely zero awareness of, or care for, how a female cultivator was traditionally expected to behave. She was bold, unrestrained, and had a filthy mouth, capable of verbally dismantling even a Golden Core stage corpse demon, an incident still fresh in Xie Yingying's memory.
Appearance and poise were important tools for female cultivators. The cultivation world was overwhelmingly male dominated, giving women who mastered those arts a significant social advantage. Yet here was Su Min, willfully discarding every advantage her gender could provide. Where others moved with calculated grace, Su Min left chaos in her wake, a hurricane in human form that upended every expectation.
But here was the cruel irony, Su Min knew. Every rule, every stitch of propriety, the poetry, the tea ceremonies that lasted hours, the way noblewomen were taught to smile like porcelain dolls, she had inherited it all. The original Su Min, daughter of the Minister of Rites, had been drilled in these arts until they were as natural as breathing. And when the current Su Min's soul had transmigrated into this body, she had absorbed those memories completely.
She could play the game. She simply refused to.
Perhaps it was the influence of her original world, a place where women cursed freely and fought without apology. Perhaps it was the bitterness of knowing her clan had been slaughtered despite their perfect obedience, their impeccable etiquette amounting to nothing when the Emperor's blade fell. Or perhaps it was just that Su Min had never been good at kneeling.
Xie Yingying began contemplating how to rein Su Min in before her boldness spiraled completely out of control. If Su Min had been a man, her behavior would have been celebrated. The same reckless courage that made people whisper behind her back would have been called heroic. The vulgar wit that shocked polite society would have been praised as clever repartee. She probably would have won over countless admirers, her name celebrated in songs and poems.
But as things stood, it was just strange. And it was not just Xie Yingying who thought so. The first generation Prince Yong had also been rendered speechless when he heard reports of Su Min charging headfirst through a sandstorm. He had even remarked that Su Min was "one hell of a man," a comment none of his subordinates would have dared to make about a female expert. But since they had been in a mutually beneficial arrangement at the time, he had held his tongue.
"One is not enough," Su Min declared, snapping Xie Yingying from her thoughts. "Let us hunt a few more. The Azure Dragon ruins will not appear for a while yet, so we might as well gather some demonic beasts to upgrade my gourd. I will treat you to a drink when it is done."
"…"
Xie Yingying could only stare wordlessly as Su Min scampered off with renewed vigor, a predator in search of more prey.
That said, Su Min was not wrong about one thing. The Demon Slaying Thunder's current power was no longer sufficient for the challenges here. The reason it had devastated the corpse demon was due to a combination of factors, the demon's unstable foundation, its incomplete cultivation, and the lightning's inherent advantage against undead creatures. But against the top tier Golden Core cultivators gathered here, it would not be nearly as effective. Strengthening it was a clear priority. And given their current combined strength, ordinary Golden Core demonic beasts were little more than target practice.
In less than three days, Su Min had gathered enough demonic beasts. Her gourd began to tremble violently in her hand. It had eaten its fill and was ready to evolve. The gourd's requirements were simple, feed it demonic beasts. For the past century, it had remained unchanged, much to her frustration. She could not find enough demonic beasts in the outside world, and she refused to kill the enlightened spirit beasts on her island, leaving her stuck. But now, the well fed gourd trembled with excitement, as if cheering for its owner. New, intricate patterns had appeared on its surface, just like during its previous evolution. She knew her treasure had upgraded.
She uncorked the gourd and, under Xie Yingying's horrified gaze, pointed the opening directly at herself.
In that instant, Xie Yingying bolted backward several paces. Pointing the gourd at herself was the equivalent of aiming a loaded cannon at her own head, especially when Su Min tilted it toward her mouth. Xie Yingying felt her soul was about to leave her body.
"Is she going to drink the Demon Slaying Thunder?!" Even for a Golden Core cultivator, swallowing heavenly lightning directly was insane! The body's internal defenses were far weaker than its external ones. "Is she trying to temper her body with lightning? Even so, the Demon Slaying Thunder is too much!"
Just as Xie Yingying debated whether to physically stop Su Min from committing suicide, a clear, sparkling stream of liquid poured out of the gourd and into Su Min's mouth.
"Ahhh, refreshing!" Su Min smacked her lips. "This wine is still incredibly useful for Golden Core cultivators. Want a sip? It will do wonders for your cultivation."
"…"
Xie Yingying stared at Su Min, then at the gourd, then remembered the dismembered, bloody corpses that had been stuffed inside and the visceral stench they had given off during the process…
Gag—
"???" Su Min looked at her, confused.
"The demonic beasts are refined, not turned into corpse soup," she explained patiently. "Think of it like distilled liquor, perfectly safe and reliable."
Standing on her flying sword, Su Min could not help but laugh. She had long since confirmed that the gourd did not simply serve up liquefied demonic beast remains. It fully absorbed and refined them on a fundamental level, secreting a purified, potent product. To put it in terms from her old world, it was like distillation in an absolutely sterile container. Besides, as a modern person, she had seen all kinds of food safety scandals, gutter oil, arsenic laced ingredients, zombie meat. She was used to the idea of science and technology purifying things. And with her current cultivation, she could probably chug industrial poison like soda without a care. What was there to fear?
Plus, the wine was genuinely useful. What she had not expected was Xie Yingying's extreme reaction. Though she could intellectually tell Su Min was offering her something valuable, she absolutely, physically refused to drink it, preferring to cultivate the slow way with high grade spirit stones instead.
Su Min could only sigh internally. "Spoiled young mistresses from ancient lineages were just built different."
"The Azure Dragon's secret realm will open in about three months," Su Min said, changing the subject. "By then, a flood of enemies will arrive. And the realm will not just contain the inheritance. There will be plenty of other treasures too."
Setting the topic of the gourd wine aside, she stopped pressing the issue. Since the wine was limited, if Xie Yingying did not want it, she would use it herself. Golden Core cultivation was far more demanding than Foundation Establishment. Every single step was difficult and required vast, vast resources. Without a major sect backing her, progress would be agonizingly slow. And unlike Xie Yingying, Su Min was not rolling in inherited wealth. Every step forward had to be earned through her own blood and effort.
"The Four Symbols inheritances will trigger a frenzied competition. Even the top tier sects will join in," Xie Yingying nodded in agreement. Her own Heavenly Yin Sect had been barely considered a first rate force, far inferior to the true powerhouses. For example, during the ancient battles for resources like the Sealing Crystal, they had gained almost nothing. The Sealing Crystal they had finally obtained had not been enough to preserve the sect's foundation, so they had handed it all to her. As a once in ten thousand years Lunar Sovereign Physique possessor, she was their only hope of reviving the sect's legacy. After leaving her with ample resources, the entire sect had willingly vanished into the river of time.
"The two of us are still too weak alone," Su Min stated the obvious. "We will need reliable allies. And…" Here, she summoned the Nanming Lihuo in her palm, the crimson flames dancing. "Normally, a person can only master one supreme divine artifact. If they know I have Nanming Lihuo, they will likely let their guard down around me."
Such heavenly treasures were not easy to refine. One per person was the generally accepted limit. Though Su Min also had a trace of heavenly lightning in her body, it was extremely weak and could not be projected outward, so no one would notice it. Seeing Su Min's confidence, Xie Yingying did not press further.
After all, the lightning's true purpose was to serve as a key, helping Su Min unlock the ultimate Five Thunders Technique. If she already had Nanming Lihuo, trying to devour another supreme flame like the Azure Wood Divine Flame would be suicidal. The same principle had applied in the game, where players had to choose their divine artifacts carefully. But there was one exception, the Five Elements Holy Body.
As a Tier 1 physique, the Five Elements Holy Body required five heavenly divine artifacts to reach its full potential. Only when the five elements cycled in perfect harmony would the physique's true world shaking power awaken, placing it at the very peak of Tier 1, enough to rival even the Lunar Sovereign Physique.
One should not underestimate the Lunar Sovereign Physique. Among the handful of Tier 1 physiques that existed, the Lunar Sovereign and Solar Sovereign Physiques were considered the strongest. They were unconditionally powerful, inherently capable of suppressing even heavenly divine artifacts. The others required extreme measures and perfect conditions to reach their limits. For example, Su Min needed all five divine artifacts to perfect her Five Elements Holy Body. But Xie Yingying was already terrifyingly strong by nature. Her only shortcoming was the lack of the Lunar Sovereign Ancient Scripture, which would fully unleash her physique's potential.
That said, no matter how powerful a physique was, it meant nothing without sufficient cultivation to back it up. The world was vast and filled with all manner of experts and strange encounters. No one could truly claim invincibility. Even among those with ordinary physiques, peerless geniuses could emerge.
So the two of them needed to plan carefully. As for finding allies, Su Min had a simple idea. She was a mid level Grade Four alchemist, a rarity in these parts. Besides, what did most people seek here if not greater opportunities? And who could say that high level alchemy was not a tremendous opportunity in itself?
Plus, these people were all likely filthy rich. Though perhaps not as much as Xie Yingying with her sect's entire inheritance, they were certainly wealthier than Su Min. After all, she was truly poor, relatively speaking. Everything she had was scraped together through sheer, hard effort.
"You want to gather people with your alchemy skills? It is possible," Xie Yingying conceded. "But they will not be reliable. You will need to set high conditions to ensure some semblance of control."
Xie Yingying did not object to the plan, but as she said, these temporary allies could not be trusted. Under normal circumstances, they might not slack off, but in a true life or death crisis, all bets were off.
"That is what intelligence is for," Su Min said with a cold smirk. "If we know their abilities, techniques, and physiques beforehand, we will not even need them as true allies. We can handle them easily if they turn on us."
Just look at the Demon Queen. She had been wiped out in one smooth combo, without a chance to even resist. This time, Su Min was aiming for the core inheritance, so her real competitors were few in number. Xie Yingying was in a similar boat. Her Lunar Sovereign Physique was overwhelmingly powerful, but it came with a specific drawback, the things she needed were exceedingly rare and always highly contested.
"Then we will play it by ear," Xie Yingying agreed. "Oh, and make sure you do not end up empowering the enemy with your pills."
"Relax," Su Min replied confidently. "The pills I refine for this purpose will not be fully digested for at least half a year. If they try to compete with me before then, the backlash will make it even easier for me."
As a master alchemist, she had plenty of subtle tricks to ensure no one could use her own creations against her in the short term. By the time they finished safely digesting the pills, the inheritance opportunity would be long gone. With their basic strategy set, the two continued their journey. The Azure Dragon Domain was one of the most important inheritance regions on the entire Golden Core Avenue.
Dragons were among the most powerful mythical creatures in existence, not the comical Dragon Kings of folk tales. Thus, this area had instantly become a major hotspot, with countless dragon related legacies and treasures rumored to be hidden within. But most of these smaller inheritances did not interest Su Min.
Inheritances were not a case of "the more, the better." Besides, a person could typically only fully receive one major inheritance at a time. The truly top tier ones, like the Azure Dragon's, had not even appeared yet, so there was no point in exhausting themselves in early competitions. Of course, just because Su Min was not interested did not mean others felt the same. For most cultivators, the best they could hope for was gathering some rare herbs or a minor legacy.
Just look at how brutal the Nine Nine Heavenly Tribulation was. Su Min had not been able to block the final strike and had barely survived by the skin of her teeth. Xie Yingying had paid an even steeper price, shattering two Earth grade artifacts to endure. Even if they were disposable, the cost was staggering. Most cultivators here would leap at a fraction of such power.
"Lots of people here already," Su Min observed as they finally arrived at the periphery of the Azure Dragon Domain. The place was already crowded with cultivators from various states. "Maybe we can find some good loot, or at least some good intelligence."
Dragons were a diverse race, and their inheritances varied widely. Aside from the supreme Azure Dragon inheritance Su Min wanted, there were others of a similar, powerful rank. The earlier an inheritance appeared, the more ordinary it usually was. The best would emerge last. In three months, the Azure Dragon inheritance would open alongside several other high level ones, but a cultivator could only choose one. By the time someone finished receiving one inheritance, the others would be long gone.
So even though the truly coveted inheritances had not appeared yet, the place was already packed with hopefuls trying to secure a better position or scout the competition.
But today…
"Why do I feel so weird…" Xie Yingying stared blankly at the scene before her, utterly speechless.
Upon arriving at the bustling, temporary gathering point, Su Min had immediately resumed her old trade. She had pulled out the very same stall she had used centuries ago in Sky Summit City from her spatial ring. Thanks to the near timeless preservation of the ring's storage, the stall and its bold banner looked as good as new.