"Huff, huff, huff..."
Su Min exhaled deeply as she stared at the golden pill before her. Without hesitation, she tossed it into her mouth.
In an instant, her face twisted in pain.
A violent, rampaging energy surged through her body—this level of pill was something even an ordinary Mahayana cultivator wouldn't dare consume recklessly. And because Su Min had added her own "special ingredients," the effects were even more explosive. For a moment, she nearly buckled under the force. But then, her expression shifted sharply.
"Steady the mind. Begin refinement."
Taking a deep breath, she channeled all the energy within her body. Her cultivation surged violently, reaching the peak of mid-stage Mahayana in the blink of an eye.
"More important than cultivation advancement is refining the turbid energy—balancing my Chaos Body and pushing it to true perfection."
Her hands moved rapidly, guiding the energy flow within her. Right now, raising her cultivation wasn't the priority. First, she had to ensure her Chaos Body reached completion. Only then would she use the remaining energy to see how far she could go.
In that instant, the turbid energy began merging with her limbs and bones. The imbalance between pure and turbid energy within her body rapidly corrected itself, stabilizing into perfect harmony. While Su Min was undergoing her final seclusion, the five rulers of the Burial Ground Nether Realm were holding a meeting.
"That woman is dead. This time, I had the Warden take advantage of the collapsing passage. The side effect of the Zhexian Curse is that it leaves a coordinate in that universe. Once the passage reforms, we can send a large number of immortals there."
The five rulers looked pleased. Ten upper immortals had unleashed the Zhexian Curse, and in doing so, they had also exposed the coordinates of that world.
The only regret was that the Nether Prison had completely collapsed, and the passage was gone. But it wasn't a big problem—the passage used by the seven immortals they had previously sent (who never returned) was almost restored.
After all, it couldn't remain in an energy storm forever.
"With the Zhexian Curse as a marker, we can directly dispatch a large number of immortals to that universe. Once we destroy it completely and sink it into the Burial Ground Nether Realm, our world will expand further, allowing more powerhouses to emerge."
The Burial Ground Nether Realm hadn't always been this strong. In ancient times, they had destroyed and corrupted dozens of universes, assimilating them into their own. This was how they produced more experts. Originally, they were just the remnants left behind after the creation of the cosmos—most of the essence had formed countless universes, leaving little for them.
But in the earliest era, they spent hundreds of thousands of years and countless lives to completely annihilate a single universe and merge it into the Burial Mound Nether Realm. Only after fully absorbing a universe could they produce their first immortal.
Then came the second, the third…
The universes closest to the Burial Ground Nether Realm were all devoured this way—until they encountered a Chaos Body wielder who slaughtered all their strongest experts.
Their plans were forced to halt, but it wasn't a major setback. As long as they continued increasing the turbid energy in those universes, they would naturally drift closer to the Burial Mound Nether Realm. Eventually, even without invasion, those universes would merge with theirs.
But this process was excruciatingly slow—measured in hundreds of millions of years. So they had to actively consume all universes. The closest one now was Su Min's.
They could wait, but there was no need to wait idly. They could afford to put in some effort now. Besides, they were all suppressing immense fury. Each of the five families had sacrificed two upper immortals—a devastating loss.
Even though they had suppressed all other factions, they couldn't completely eliminate them. The Burial Mound Nether Realm was simply too vast, and they needed upper immortals to control large territories. With ten of them gone, huge power vacuums had formed, leaving room for new families or experts to rise and challenge them.
So the best course of action was to conquer that world as soon as possible. It would be a great achievement for the Burial Ground Nether Realm, ensuring their continued dominance. Not to mention, the remains of that Chaos Body wielder should still be there. They could offer them to their master as tribute.
"The Tiger Family will send ten lower immortals."
"Nonsense! That passage can only accommodate ten lower immortals for a short time. You can't hog all the benefits—the Crane Family demands two slots!"
"We want our share too!"
The small meeting space erupted into chaos as the factions glared at each other, none willing to back down. This was a matter of real profit—none of them would yield an inch. In the end, it was simple: ten slots, two per family. Once that world was assimilated, they could divide its essence among themselves.
Meanwhile, Su Min sat with her eyes closed, silently digesting the pill's effects.
Within her, the pure and turbid energies had finally reached a critical balance.
Then, in the next moment—
All of her aura vanished.
It was as if she had ceased to exist. The overwhelming energy that had once radiated from her was now completely suppressed. Right now, Su Min didn't look like a wielder of the Chaos Body at all. Instead, she seemed like an ordinary mortal.
"Perfect return to simplicity. Perfect Chaos Body. Now, I possess the strength to slaughter immortals—at least, those so-called 'immortals.'"
Feeling the changes in her body, Su Min allowed herself a small smile of relief.
Her cultivation had now reached the peak of Mahayana—just one step away from true immortality.
"The mortal path is long, but the immortal path is invisible. Taking that final step will be unimaginably difficult."
A trace of melancholy flickered across her face. Only now, standing at this threshold, did she realize how arduous the road ahead would be. But conversely, once she took that step, it would be a metamorphosis beyond compare. Unfortunately, this final hurdle was daunting. Even with her current strength, it seemed nearly impossible.
Because now, one last trial stood in her way—the Immortal Tribulation.
"The Immortal Tribulation—unprecedented since ancient times."
Narrowing her eyes, Su Min sensed the subtle shifts in the heavens. After reaching late-stage Mahayana, she had gained some enlightenment. It was a direct warning—or perhaps a hint—from the Heavenly Dao itself.
Just as the Golden Core Tribulation was divided into three levels—Three-Nine, Six-Nine, and the most terrifying Nine-Nine—the Immortal Tribulation also had three tiers.
The highest level was known as Annihilation. Surviving it would allow one to transcend the very concept of immortality, reaching a realm beyond.
But how could that be easy?
Since ancient times, only a handful had ever succeeded. Even with her perfected Chaos Body, it wasn't enough. And there was one more complication—because of her Chaos Body, she couldn't enter the Transcendence stage.
Her next step would have to be straight into immortality.
"It seems I'll need to accumulate strength slowly. As for how… Hm?"
Just as she was pondering, Su Min froze.
The moment her Chaos Body had reached perfection, she had sensed something else—
A terrifying mark left behind by the Burial Ground Nether Realm.
"Is this from that curse embedded deep in my soul? Interesting. Very interesting."
She immediately understood—they intended to use her as an anchor to invade this world again.
"It seems I can't afford to delay. But before they arrive, I need to discuss something with Yao Xian'er."
As for those fools? Once they came, she'd give them a big surprise.
Perfect timing to baptize her weapon in immortal blood and elevate it to a true immortal artifact.
"First, I'll consult Yao Xian'er about that self-severing technique of hers. It'll be very useful to me."
Her eyes glinted as she vanished from the spot.
Now that her Chaos Body was perfected, she could commune with the heavens and earth. Returning from the withered dark universe to the Heavenly Continent took only a thought.
Soon…
"Peak Mahayana cultivation… and a perfected Chaos Body?"
Yao Xian'er stared at Su Min in shock. If not for Su Min deliberately releasing her aura, Yao Xian'er wouldn't have been able to sense her at all.
What was even more terrifying was that Su Min now seemed utterly ordinary. That should have been impossible—even an imperfect Chaos Body or her previous Five Elements Saint Body had shone like the sun.
There was only one explanation—
Su Min had achieved true perfection, returning to a state of simplicity.
Otherwise, Yao Xian'er wouldn't have been completely unable to perceive her.
"I'm still in the Chaos Body stage, but now that I want to take that final step, the Chaos Body has temporarily become an obstacle. I need to ask you about something."
"What is it?"
"Your self-created self-severing technique. Your cultivation has also returned to peak Mahayana. I can sense that your Spirit Dao Body has been restored—and is even stronger now."
Su Min's tone was calm as she studied Yao Xian'er.
Many had tried self-severing, but most ended up as half-living wrecks.
Yao Xian'er's method, however, was extraordinary. Not only did it preserve one's mind, but it also didn't seem to drain lifespan—it might even grant eternal life.
"You want to learn it?"
Yao Xian'er's expression turned solemn.
"Yes."
"I can teach you, but I must warn you—every step is a trap. One misstep, and you could die without a trace."
"Just tell me."
Su Min's voice remained steady. She might not necessarily follow this path, but it would be an important reference.
"Severing one's origin completely destroys the foundation. Recovery only begins after reaching Mahayana. And you guessed right—after severing, all lifespan is lost. You'll be reduced to a mortal with only one year of life. Within that year, you must reach the Qi Refining stage. Otherwise, you'll age to death."
Yao Xian'er's eyes narrowed.
"In theory, advancing from mortal to Qi Refining in a year isn't hard. But—"
Her method involved completely severing the original path.
"Take Jiang Xi, for example. Her situation was different from mine. Even though she was re-cultivating, it took her three years to go from mortal to Qi Refining."
"That's not a problem for me."
"Second, if you truly self-sever, your cultivation will plummet. You can use secret techniques to recover quickly, but the cost is severe. Even if you return to Mahayana, you'll only have a few thousand years of lifespan left. And during that time, you can't use this method again."
"Also not a problem."
"Finally, this method isn't guaranteed to succeed. When I first attempted it, I only had a 30% chance of survival. I'll teach you, but I advise against using it immediately. Those people won't give up so easily."
"I know. I plan to give them a 'gift'—buying this world ten thousand years of peace. That'll give me plenty of time to contemplate my next steps."
A cold killing intent flashed in Su Min's eyes.
Those pests just wouldn't stay dead.
But it didn't matter. She'd slaughter every last one who dared come.
Then, using their immortal blood, she'd seal the passage. That would buy at least ten thousand years before the Burial Ground Nether Realm could invade again.
Plenty of time to forge her own path.
With her current strength, surviving the lowest-tier Immortal Tribulation wouldn't be an issue. But she knew that was meaningless—because upstream in the river of time, something was watching her.
She had infinite lifespan anyway. There was no rush to ascend.
If she was going to do it, she'd do it right—surpassing all limits.
Seeing Su Min's expression, Yao Xian'er said nothing more.
She simply nodded.
Su Min already had a plan.
That was for the best.