Su Min wasn't the only one being careful. Almost every cultivator within the vast, spirit-drenched expanse of the Golden Core Avenue had gone to ground, vanishing into the shadows of hidden caves and ancient ruins. The normally bustling realm, usually vibrant with the sounds of sparring and the shimmering light of flying treasures, was now unnervingly still and quiet.
Even with tens of thousands of Golden Core cultivators gathered here, the realm itself was as vast as the entire Wei Wu Province. You could scatter a few million people across its rugged mountains and mist-choked valleys, and it would still feel profoundly empty.
As they moved swiftly through the desolate landscape, the air tasting of dry stone and old magic, Su Min didn't see another soul. It's abundantly clear that everyone else had hidden themselves away too. They were all waiting with bated breath for the main event: the Golden Core Heavenly Ranking. Only a select few elite cultivators could actually participate in the grueling battles, but even those watching from the sidelines stood to gain valuable insights. Watching the best of the best fight was a rare opportunity in itself.
"Perfect," Su Min said. She looked around their hidden sanctuary within the Lunar Sovereign Secret Realm. The air here was cool and smelled of frozen lotus. "We will just cultivate here peacefully until the ranking begins. It's like even the ceiling we shattered last time has been completely repaired by the realm's innate restorative powers."
Unlike other, temporary secret realms, this one remained permanently open. It's a stable pocket dimension, though only she and Xie Yingying could now enter it at will. There were no more trials or dangers to face now that Xie Yingying had already passed the final test and become the true inheritor.
"Even if we are badly injured in here, we don't have to worry about an ambush while we recover," Su Min noted with satisfaction. "The other cultivators probably have their own hidden spots. They are all waiting just like us for the ranking to start."
She pulled out her trusted cauldron again, the metal cold under her touch. She was ready to make one last attempt at refining the three foundational fifth-tier pills: the Healing Pills, Spirit Recovery Pills, and Antidotes. They were the most basic and essential pills for any major tier. They required the simplest ingredients and served as the best foundational practice for any aspiring high-level alchemist.
As time slipped quietly by in the dim cavern, the momentous day finally arrived.
The sky above the entire Golden Core Avenue erupted in a radiant and all-encompassing golden light. It bathed the entire realm in a blinding glow in an instant.
[The Golden Core Heavenly Ranking has begun.]
Both women opened their eyes at the exact same time, sensing the profound shift in the world's laws. After blowing up more than a dozen cauldrons in a frustrating succession of acrid smoke and molten slag, Su Min had finally, mercifully, managed to refine a single, successful fifth-tier Healing Pill. She stopped there immediately. There's no point in risking another explosive failure right before the ranking began.
"Close your eyes and focus your mind," Xie Yingying reminded her. She reached out, her fingers brushing Su Min's arm for a second, feeling the magnetic hum of their souls. "You will see the ranking interface. Just inscribe your true name clearly."
This was the mandatory registration for the ranking. Unlike the more casual postings before, real names were absolutely mandatory. No aliases or titles were allowed. This time, Su Min didn't mess around with clever pseudonyms. She wrote her name plainly and honestly in her mind.
[Su Min]
The next moment, a blinding golden light flooded her vision. Her consciousness was violently pulled from her body, a sensation like being dragged through a narrow glass tube. She was drawn into a vast, radiant, and unimaginably large arena.
"A martial stage constructed from pure spiritual energy?" she mused. She looked around with keen interest at the shimmering floor that felt as solid as diamond.
Hundreds of figures already stood in the immense space, though the arena's sheer and staggering scale made them seem few and far between. What immediately caught her sharp attention was that more than half of the participants were late-stage Golden Core cultivators. These were the powerful names already etched on the lower Golden Ranking. Outside the shimmering golden barrier that encircled the main stage, countless other cultivators watched as ethereal and translucent projections. They were mere fragments of their divine sense, not their real bodies.
"Look! The top ten from the Tianjiao Ranking are all here! And the female cultivators this time are terrifyingly strong!" a voice from the spectator crowd exclaimed.
"Focus! These are all monsters. Forget that near-invincible Fairy Yao."
"Just look at the enigmatic Lunar Sovereign Body and the Golden Core Avenue's top alchemist, Danxian."
"Their battle records are scarce. No one knows their true strength. They might even be able to crush ordinary early Nascent Soul cultivators!" another argued.
"True. That Danxian is probably loaded with pills. Fighting her must be like watching someone snack on spirit beans mid-battle. She would never run out of energy!"
"Are you stupid? She is the Five Elements Holy Body wielder with two divine artifacts! See that third-ranked guy on the Tianjiao Ranking, Han Chaoyan? He fought her once and barely escaped with his life. He is only ranked third because the two powerful women below him haven't challenged him yet."
"Tch. This is the first generation of true Tianjiao after eons of spiritual suppression. These people could dominate the rankings for the next ten thousand years."
"Future rankings won't compare to this one, which has accumulated power over countless eras. The top five get three hundred years of lifespan as a reward! Who wouldn't be tempted? Rumor says they will also receive special and unique rewards based on their final rank, but who knows if that's true?"
The crowd murmured in dawning realization. Among the top three on the prestigious Tianjiao Ranking, only the third, Han Chaoyan, hailed from a major and established sect. But everyone knew his abilities were fully exposed and documented. This made him vulnerable to those ranked strategically below him.
As for Danxian? No one knew her full hand. Back then, she had killed one powerful expert and repelled three others without even revealing her true strength or her hidden trump cards. Han Chaoyan stood no chance against her. This meant the top five might have no sect-affiliated cultivators at all, which would be a historic first.
The thought sent shivers down the spines of the spectators. This generation's Golden Core cultivators were truly unprecedented in history.
"Yawn. Quite the crowd," Su Min said. Her sharp eyes scanned the assembled figures, noting the way the light played off different robes and weapons. "So that's Yao Xian'er? I can't sense her depth at all. It's like looking into a bottomless abyss."
The outside chatter couldn't reach the inner arena, not that Su Min would have cared. Her gaze had instantly locked onto a woman dressed entirely in plain white. It was the stark, haunting shade of mourning robes.
Su Min's own wardrobe was varied and colorful. It's a mix of whites, blacks, blues, and yellows, all expertly tailored by master artisans back in Da Luo Tian Province. She had commissioned hundreds of sets, each crafted from durable spiritual fabrics that wouldn't shred in the middle of a heated battle.
But solid, unadorned white? Never. The tailors had outright refused to make such a thing. They called it funeral attire and claimed it was terribly bad luck for a living.
"It's her," Xie Yingying confirmed from beside her. Her voice was low and tense, her fingers curling into her palms. "She is indeed a mortal, with no visible cultivation base. But she makes me feel very strange. I... I feel a deep unease."
Before she could finish her thought, the woman in white turned her gaze slowly toward them.
In an instant, Xie Yingying felt as though she were drowning. She felt submerged in the eyes of an ancient colossus that was vast, weathered, and utterly unmoved by the passage of time itself. The pressure didn't hit her physical form. It crashed directly onto her soul like a falling mountain, a weight of immeasurable years and experience.
Her breath caught sharply in her throat, her fingers going ice cold.
Then, like a solid shield sliding seamlessly into place, Su Min stepped forward. She placed herself slightly in front of Xie Yingying in a protective stance.
"Stay calm," she murmured. Her own voice was remarkably steady. "Guard your heart. Don't let it in."
Just like that, the crushing and soul-deep weight lessened considerably. It was blocked by Su Min's own formidable spiritual presence.
Su Min had intercepted the woman's gaze without a moment's hesitation. Her own body trembled slightly from the impact, and her eyes widened in shock. As her own powerful spiritual sense brushed against that oppressive pressure, she felt as though ten thousand ancient laws had awakened inside her at once. They resonated violently through her meridians like spiritual thunder, smelling of ozone and scorched parchment.
No, this wasn't just pressure. This woman was a catalyst.
A vast and slumbering presence stirred deep within Su Min's own soul. It's something ancient and sealed, like a primordial lock beginning to crack under the immense strain.
Across the arena, Yao Xian'er's brows rose ever so slightly. Surprise, which was faint but undeniably real, touched her usually indifferent expression. Her origins aligned roughly with Su Min's guess. She had only meant to deliver a minor and wordless deterrent to the staring. Yet here was someone who not only could withstand it, but whose very spirit reacted by triggering a resonance of ten thousand laws within her.
It was unheard of in all her long years.
"A reincarnated immortal? No, her divine sense lacks the distinct mark of transcendence."
"A special physique, then? The Five Elements Holy Body is strong, but not to this extreme extent. Yet with the great era just beginning, perhaps such anomalous talents are a boon," she mused internally. Her gaze was analytical as it swept over Su Min.
Looking at Su Min, who now stood firmly and protectively in front of her companion, Yao Xian'er withdrew her gaze and said nothing more.
Among all the people gathered on the Golden Core Heaven Ranking, Su Min was the only one who could stand up to her pressure and look her directly in the face. Even the formidable Great Desolate Holy Body and the innate Lunar Sovereign Body were a little worse than her in this regard. In truth, Yao Xian'er didn't care much about the so-called supreme physiques. She mainly looked at the depth of one's soul and will.
Yet Su Min had not only endured it, she had actively shielded someone else through it. She was unshaken and fiercely protective.
And the way the girl behind her—that Lunar Sovereign Body—had reached out with a subtle and almost imperceptible curl of her fingers was even more interesting. She had moved as if to steady Su Min, but stopped just short, choosing to trust her instead.
To Yao Xian'er's ancient eyes, that silent exchange was more telling than any innate talent or powerful technique.
She said nothing. But a flicker of genuine interest lingered in her impassive gaze.
"You okay?" Su Min asked. She turned her head slightly toward Xie Yingying. Her voice was calm, but her stance remained protective, as if she still feared Yao Xian'er might look their way again. "We are just spiritual projections here, and she still affected you so deeply. She is no joke."
Xie Yingying's expression was still grim. Her gaze was fixed on the spot where that oppressive presence had been. But slowly, she exhaled a shaky breath and gave a tight, controlled nod.
"I'm fine. But she is dangerous beyond anything I have ever encountered."
Su Min watched her for a heartbeat longer than necessary. The faint pallor in Xie Yingying's cheeks hadn't fully faded.
"Yeah," she said softly. Her own eyes narrowed in serious thought. "She is."
She didn't add "don't worry," because it would have been a meaningless platitude. Instead, Su Min shifted her weight slightly closer. It wasn't enough for the other participants to notice, but it's enough for the fabric of their robes to brush gently together. It was a quiet and physical gesture. She offered reassurance not with words, but with a simple and solid presence.
Xie Yingying looked up at Su Min's profile. For a long second, she didn't speak, processing the simple act of protection. The possessive ache in her chest flared, but it's tempered by a profound gratitude.
"You blocked it," she finally said. Her voice was soft and unreadable. "You took that onto yourself."
Su Min shrugged one shoulder, trying to downplay it. "Instinct. I have a thick skin."
But Xie Yingying smiled then. It's a faint and fleeting thing. Her fingers brushed, barely there, a ghost of a touch against the back of Su Min's hand.
"Liar," she whispered, so only Su Min could hear. "You just couldn't bear to see me hurt."
Su Min said nothing in reply, but the flicker of protective heat in her gaze betrayed the truth of the statement.
The small and silent confrontation between the three of them was seen by nearly everyone present. Many people frowned thoughtfully. It's obvious that almost everyone here had fought that woman in white at some point, and some foolish groups had even tried to surround and kill her early on. But they had all been beaten to a pulp, their pride shattered like glass. Now, seeing that even the mighty Lunar Sovereign Body had been visibly affected by a mere look, everyone felt a fresh ripple of surprise and fear.
The Great Desolate Holy Body still had a long way to go to achieve its ultimate perfection, but the Lunar Sovereign Body was a complete and awakened supreme physique. Even it couldn't completely stop that woman's spiritual pressure. In their eyes, this Yao Xian'er was weirdly and unnaturally strong. She defied all conventional understanding of power at the Golden Core level.
It's necessary to understand that when facing other geniuses like the Great Desolate Holy Body, the Lunar Sovereign Body, or the Five Elements Holy Body, they just felt difficult to deal with. It's a tough battle. It wasn't definitely to the point where people felt utterly powerless and small from the very core of their soul.
They might feel frustrated or unhappy about being beaten by Su Min, but it's hard for them to even muster the basic desire to resist in front of Yao Xian'er. She inspired a kind of primal despair.
"What is her deal? Even the Lunar Sovereign Body couldn't handle her gaze. The Danxian only held firm because of her immense soul strength, which was honed from countless hours of delicate pill refining," a spectator whispered.
Then a resounding and authoritative voice echoed through the entire spiritual arena, cutting through all speculation and chatter.
[The Golden Core Heavenly Ranking has commenced. Opponents have been matched. The first elimination round begins in half a day. Prepare yourselves.]
Intricate golden threads of light instantly shot out, linking predetermined pairs of cultivators. Su Min's lips curled into a slight smile as she saw her opponent's face twist in pure and unadulterated despair.
"Luo Changshui, a late-stage Golden Core cultivator. Holy Son of the Minor Frost Sword Sect. Ranked 36th on the Heavenly Pride Ranking. Threat level: low," she recited quietly to herself. She recalled the detailed dossier she had studied.
She suppressed a smirk. The Tianjiao Ranking isn't absolute, and she wouldn't foolishly underestimate anyone, but she hadn't even bothered to prepare specific counters for those ranked below the top twenty. Her opponent, meanwhile, looked like he had just swallowed a whole vial of poison.
He wasn't weak by any standard. With some luck and favorable matchups, he might have cracked the top thirty, earning at least one valuable Dao baptism. But fate had cruelly paired him with a top-ten monster in the very first round. He knew the stark difference between regular geniuses and true freaks of nature. Before either of them could speak a word, brilliant light engulfed them both, whisking them away to their designated battlefield.
Back in the safety of their secret realm, where their physical bodies resided, Su Min lounged lazily on a cushion. She was completely at ease. Xie Yingying remained tense, her fingers twitching nervously at her side. Now she understood perfectly why Su Min had so insistently warned her to surrender immediately if they ever faced Yao Xian'er.
That woman possessed the terrifying ability to shatter Dao hearts permanently.
"Su Min…" Xie Yingying hesitated. She turned to her with a fragile glimmer of hope in her eyes. "Do you have a way to deal with her? A real plan?"
"Of course I do!" Su Min grinned. She puffed out her chest with an exaggerated confidence.
Xie Yingying leaned in slightly, intrigued despite her better judgment. "What is it? Tell me."
Su Min's grin widened into a full, impish smile. "The Cower and Cover Technique!"
Xie Yingying stared at her. "...What?"
===
Hi, I'm here again. Anyway, remember the poll from the prev, chapters? I already began to work on it. NoCP + Xianxia + FMC + Alchemist + Sound Cultivator. Now still on book vetting. "Crimson Lotus, Divine Path"
Stay Tune~~
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If you here to re read or in your 1st lap, Maybe you will find 'weird' or found some 'unnaturalness' about their sudden leap of relationship. Because in the last part of chapter "The Five Elements Emperor's Masterpiece" telling only Xie Yingying that really affected after the resonance happen.
But did you also remember they experimenting their new 'power' for decades in the chapter "The Young Play Wild"? For this chapter I already write 2 Extra chapter that talking about 'experiment' they did. One of them pure 'innocent' focus on cultivation. While the other one focus on their emotion, bond, their feelings toward each other and finally 'affirmed' about it.
I also plan to write another one with focus of 'Intimate Dual Cultivation', but I don't know if I was able to do it.
Right now the total of Extra Chapter that I written was 4: Extra 1: After Meeting With Her (Before "Wanting to Owe a Favor") It was about Xie YIngying investigation to Su Min 'past'; Extra 2: Moonlit Fragrance (Complimentary for "Golden Core Heavenly Tribulation") this when they 'picnic', waiting for the Golden Core Corpse King to mature; Extra 3 (p1): The Experiments of Sun and Moon; and Extra 3 (p2): Moonlace Bloom