"Hah."
A soft and weary exhale escaped Su Min's lips as she blinked her eyes open. The first thing she saw was Xie Yingying's face hovering close to her own. Those obsidian eyes were gleaming with a quiet and unmistakable amusement. She was watching Su Min like a satisfied cat that had finally cornered its favorite prey, her presence a cool weight in the dim light of the Lunar Sovereign Secret Realm.
"You forfeited?" Su Min murmured. Her voice was rough and dry from disuse.
Another heavy breath left her as she sat up on the stone dais, rolling her stiff shoulders. Three, maybe four days had passed since that brutal battle with Tian Hao. It was just enough time to purge the last stubborn traces of medicinal energy from her system and mend the jagged tears in her meridians. The fact that the Golden Core Heavenly Ranking hadn't dragged her back into another match could only mean one thing: Xie Yingying had withdrawn after her own decisive victory.
"Of course I did," Xie Yingying replied. She tilted her head, her expression unreadable behind a mask of frosty calm. "I left the opportunity to you."
A brief pause followed. Xie Yingying's gaze drifted over Su Min's form, tracing the marks of healed wounds with intensity.
"If we fought now," Xie Yingying continued, her voice dropping an octave, "you would have to expose every last trump card you have left. I won't have you breaking yourself for a ranking match against me."
Su Min scoffed, but the sound had no real bite to it. She reached up to rub the back of her neck. "And here I thought you just couldn't bear to hit me."
The corner of Xie Yingying's mouth twitched. It's almost a smile, but not quite. "Don't flatter yourself."
Truthfully, Su Min had only needed a single day to recover from her most visible injuries. The Eastern Azure Wood's enhancement of her physique wasn't no joke, acting as a constant font of restorative vitality. But if they were to fight now, the rules of the Avenue meant she wouldn't be able to rely on those two potent pills again so soon. The third one was still usable, and its side effects could be ignored, but it wouldn't be enough to bridge the gap against Xie Yingying's full power.
"I thought you would take it easy," Xie Yingying mused. She reached out and began tracing idle, rhythmic patterns on Su Min's wrist. "Instead, you fought like a woman possessed."
"Had to." Su Min caught the other woman's fingers, squeezing them lightly in a protective gesture. "That prize wasn't something I could half-ass. It's far too important for my future."
A beat of silence stretched between them. Xie Yingying's smirk softened into something quieter and warmer. She knew better than anyone how stubborn Su Min could be when she fixated on a goal. If that meant stepping aside so Su Min wouldn't have to break her own foundation further, then it's a small price to pay.
Xie Yingying studied Su Min's pensive expression for a long moment. "So after the Golden Core Avenue concludes, you will be hunting for more divine artifacts," she said thoughtfully. "Awakening your Five Elements Holy Body completely is your real goal, isn't it?"
Su Min nodded absently, her fingers tracing the edge of her embroidered sleeve. "That's a long-term project. Our first priority after leaving this place is breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm."
"To handle the Blood Puppet Sect's vengeance?"
A dry, sharp chuckle escaped Su Min's lips. "They are barely a footnote in the records."
Su Min's brow furrowed. In the game, the Golden Core Avenue had only been an interlude. The true second chapter would begin only after the world underwent another and far greater upheaval.
Xie Yingying's brow furrowed in turn. She didn't like the look in Su Min's eyes. "You call that minor?"
"Have you ever heard of the Fallen Immortals?" Su Min asked.
"Mn?"
Xie Yingying's expression darkened instantly. She didn't understand the term, but the name alone told her it was nothing good. The air in the cave seemed to grow colder as the words hung there.
The Fallen Immortals weren't actual immortals. They were cultivators who had once reached heights beyond the known realms. The first three realms—Body Refining, Qi Refining, and Foundation Establishment—were considered the lower tiers. At those stages, the cost of sealing oneself to avoid the Heavenly Tribulation wasn't exorbitant, and the differences in power weren't vast. Thus, many, including Xie Yingying herself, had chosen to be sealed at that level.
Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Divine Transformation made up the middle tiers. The cost of sealing oneself at these stages grew exponentially. This was especially true for Divine Transformation cultivators, who represented the upper limit of self-sealing.
Even the most ancient and wealthy sects could only afford to seal one or two Divine Transformation experts. Beyond that was impossible. Yet Divine Transformation wasn't the peak of the mountain. Those who surpassed it were simply too powerful for any crystal to contain. If they wished to survive the long eons, they had only one option: they had to sever their own cultivation. They had to sever their very foundation.
Like the Demon Queen, they would cut away their strength. They would reduce themselves to the peak of the Divine Transformation realm. Yet, due to their accumulated power and profound insights, their combat prowess would far exceed that of ordinary cultivators even after such a sacrifice.
This method was the most stable way to survive. When the world underwent its next great transformation, they would re-emerge as apex beings. But such a sacrifice came at a terrible price. To recover their former glory, they needed to devour the life force of all living things.
That's the true Age of Blood. The chaos brought by the Demon Queen would pale in comparison to that catastrophe. After all, the Demon Queen had only resorted to self-severing because she was too weak to obtain enough sealing crystals. But those who had once stood at the pinnacle? They had the means to gather the resources needed to seal themselves at the Divine Transformation level.
Thus, the second chapter of the game revolved around those beings. They were the true instigators of the Dark Calamity: the Fallen Immortals.
No matter how mighty or noble they had once been, they would now stand against all life. And among the countless mortals, cultivators were the most nourishing prey. Devouring a hundred thousand mortals couldn't compare to consuming the essence of a single Golden Core cultivator.
"Tell me," Su Min began quietly. She looked directly into Xie Yingying's eyes. "Has your Heavenly Yin Sect ever produced anyone who ascended beyond Divine Transformation?"
Xie Yingying hesitated before answering, her fingers tightening around Su Min's hand. "We had one ancestor who did."
"And when faced with the Heavenly Decay, what did they do?"
"They... accepted their fate. After sealing me away, they faded with dignity."
Su Min's smile held no warmth. "Now imagine those who refused such grace. I'm not talking about the ones like Yao Xian'er who severed their ties, nor the Buddhists choosing rebirth. Picture instead the proudest and most powerful cultivators stripping themselves down to Divine Transformation's peak and burying themselves in the deepest seals."
Xie Yingying's breath hitched as understanding finally dawned on her. The horror of the concept was a cold weight in her stomach.
"...only to emerge when the world is ripe for harvest," Su Min finished. Her words were dripping like poisoned honey. "Feasting on all life to reclaim what they lost. That's the true Age of Blood awaiting us."
The color drained from Xie Yingying's face. Current cultivators could barely reach the Divine Transformation realm. How could they possibly stand against such abominations?
"Why..." Her voice cracked. "Why no one speak of this?"
"Would shepherds warn their sheep of the coming slaughter?" Su Min's bitter laugh carried centuries of grim and forbidden knowledge. "But we have time yet. There's at least a century before those seals begin to weaken."
As silence stretched between them, Xie Yingying watched the way Su Min's fingers curled into determined fists beneath her silk sleeves. No despair clouded those eyes. There was only relentless calculation. The sight steadied Xie Yingying's own racing heart. If Su Min still fought for their future, then so would she.
However, there was one thing Su Min hadn't mentioned. The Fallen Immortals wouldn't emerge all at once. If a sect possessed a Divine Transformation protector and inherited treasures, they could remain stable for a considerable time.
Her own Eastern Mulberry Island had the Little Golden Crow and the entire Golden Crow Clan's legacy. Self-preservation wouldn't be an issue, though expansion would be impossible for a while.
No matter what, Su Min had to grow stronger. Hunting those fallen cultivators wasn't without its benefits. Their refined essence and ancient treasures were invaluable for an alchemist.
So while Su Min was wary, she wasn't afraid. As long as she could fully awaken her Five Elements Holy Body before the third chapter arrived, there would still be hope for them. Otherwise, true suffering would begin. Her time wasn't limitless, but it wasn't hopeless either.
Meanwhile, in a small and quiet forest within the Golden Core Avenue.
A figure in white robes hovered in the air. A celestial Gossip of Eight Trigrams was rotating slowly above her head, casting shifting shadows on the grass.
"Her origins are completely untraceable. They are shrouded in a persistent chaos."
Yao Xian'er's brows knitted tightly together in concentration.
"My laws are already perfected. The first-place reward means little to me. I could concede it to her, but..."
Her eyes narrowed. A spark of cold fire ignited within them, reflecting the rotating trigrams.
"True power isn't obtained through charity. If she wants it, she will have to take it from me."
A spark of anticipation ignited within her spirit.
The final battle was coming. And the entire Golden Core Avenue was waiting for the outcome.
Dawn broke over the Golden Core Avenue as cultivators streamed through its reopened gates like a massive, glittering tidal wave. The air hummed with a restless energy and whispered speculation. All of it centered on yesterday's shocking forfeit.
The Lunar Sovereign Body's withdrawal had sent ripples of confusion through the tournament. When Xie Yingying stepped down without a fight, the message was clear to every observer: she refused to face her in combat. To the watching world, this could only mean one thing.
Su Min still had an unbeatable card she hadn't yet played.
Many claimed that the three supreme physiques stood above the rest of the world. But above even them was one exception: Yao Xian'er.
When Su Min had fought three opponents at once, she had been severely injured. The Great Desolate Holy Body had been chased into embarrassing retreats.
But Yao Xian'er?
Every opponent who had faced her felt only one thing.
Invincibility.
Every strike she made was flawless. Every defense was impenetrable. Every opponent was left with the same bone-deep realization that they stood no chance from the very beginning. Where Su Min fought through grit and clever strategy, Yao Xian'er moved with the effortless certainty of the sun rising in the east.
Despite having the most ordinary physique imaginable, her strength defied all known logic. Even the Great Desolate Holy Body had fallen after only a few exchanges without so much as scratching her white robes. Some, like Su Min, had guessed her true origins.
To sever all of one's cultivation and start anew?
Of ten such experts, perhaps only one would have the necessary resolve. It meant abandoning everything they had worked for over centuries. It meant facing untold dangers and enduring endless tribulations with a mortal's fragility. Those who succeeded usually owed their survival to rare and irreplicable fortunes.
The air itself seemed to vibrate with a nervous energy, thousands of breaths held in collective anticipation. Then, like twin stars descending from the heavens, two figures shimmered into existence at opposite ends of the vast arena.
Murmurs rippled through the crowd as gazes flickered between them. Some observers nodded toward Su Min, their reluctant respect evident in the set of their jaws and the slight dips of their heads. But when eyes turned to Yao Xian'er, shoulders instinctively hunched. Some found themselves swallowing hard against the sudden dryness in their throats.
"It's starting. Let's see how you handle her."
Tian Hao, still pale from his previous injuries, clenched his fists until they turned white. Unlike Su Min, he wasn't an alchemist. His recovery had been a slow and painful process. But since he had lost fairly, he wouldn't complain.
Instead, he was curious.
How would Su Min face that monster?
===
"堕仙" (Fallen Immortals):
Chose this over "Corrupted Immortals" to emphasize their fallen from grace nature rather than mere corruption.