"What happened, what happened, what happened..."
The late Divine Transformation expert was utterly baffled. Just moments ago, he had clearly sensed his three subordinates preparing to strike—and then, nothing. They vanished without a trace.
This left him completely bewildered. He had been watching the entire time—no one else could have entered. The alliance didn't even have anyone stronger than him. If not for their need to keep the impurity beasts at bay, they would have already taken action against those people.
But what the hell just happened?
In truth, despite being far away, he had been monitoring the secret realm. However, his perception was nowhere near as sharp as Su Min's. He had been dragged into the time-stop without realizing it, completely unaware of Su Min's interference. She had deliberately left him alive to avoid alerting the enemy.
If she had killed a late Divine Transformation expert, the implications would have been obvious. Even taking out three early Divine Transformation cultivators was already pushing it, but leaving one alive would sow more confusion.
"This secret realm is so barren, there's practically nothing here?"
Inside, the late Nascent Soul leader couldn't help but complain. Lin Yao, however, pretended not to know what had happened and simply nodded along. She knew this had been a trap meant to kill her, but the assassins had already been whisked away by Su Min. Still, she played along, following the group as they explored the so-called "tomb."
Outside, not too far away—
"A late Divine Transformation expert... I'll keep an eye on him."
Su Min muttered to herself, not straying too far. She also took the opportunity to thoroughly search the minds of the three captives. As expected, she found a wealth of new information—including the locations of over a dozen hidden bases.
"Good heavens, did these people completely ransack the Qilin clan?"
Su Min was stunned by what she uncovered. Just how had that fallen Mahayana cultivator managed this?
Once she returned, she'd have to tell the Golden Crow and the Dragon Girl about the Qilin's plight. They'd probably laugh their heads off—how could a divine beast clan of the same tier end up in such a sorry state?
"That guy's gone. Time to act."
She quickly made her move, first confirming the types of Qilin eggs in each base before crafting replicas to replace them. The late Divine Transformation expert, unable to make sense of the situation, had finally left. That meant Lin Yao was safe—for now.
And so, Su Min happily continued her covert operations.
Meanwhile, in a hidden chamber—
"They disappeared?!"
The group was in a panic. Three Divine Transformation experts—gone. For them, this was a devastating loss. Cultivators of that level weren't easily replaced.
The room fell into an eerie silence.
"Did we forget something?"
The undercover Divine Transformation expert in the alliance suddenly spoke up.
"Hm?"
"The Netherworld Ghost Flame descended from the heavens—its arrival was far too unnatural."
"And?"
"According to our master's records, deep in the starry skies, there exists a special place—not a planet, but a vast continent suspended in the cosmos. It's known as the Celestial Continent, a land so immense that it defies natural laws."
"You mean...?"
The others exchanged glances, realization dawning.
"Exactly. The Heavenly Continent is the heart of all mysteries. It possesses the finest environment and resources, and even heavenly divine artifacts appear there in abundance. That Netherworld Ghost Flame likely originated from there."
"Go on."
"That damned girl has a unique constitution—one we've never encountered before. She didn't even have a proper cultivation method and had to rely on self-enlightenment. Yet, she reached the Golden Core stage at just thirty years old. Doesn't that strike you as absurd?"
"..."
The group fell silent. While some geniuses could advance rapidly through epiphanies, that usually required vast amounts of time. Lin Yao's progress was simply too unnatural.
"Precisely. Ancient powerhouses with special physiques often left behind unique inheritance methods. That girl must have entered a state of enlightenment during her cultivation, triggering something left behind by an ancient expert. That's how the Netherworld Ghost Flame and its legacy descended upon our world from the distant stars."
"And?"
"But it's not just the flame and the inheritance—there must also be protective measures. A Mahayana cultivator's handiwork is something you all understand."
"Tsk—!"
The group collectively shuddered.
Just like how Su Min and Tian Hao had encountered that skeletal remains in the ancient battlefield, Divine Transformation cultivators were nothing before a Mahayana existence. Even those two monstrously powerful Divine Transformation experts had barely managed to deflect its arm.
Had that skeleton been hostile, they would've been annihilated instantly. Thus, they knew all too well—only a Mahayana cultivator's methods could cross the endless starry void to reach them.
"So you're saying she has a Mahayana cultivator's protective mark inside her, which is why our people vanished?"
"Correct."
The others gritted their teeth. The atmosphere in the hall grew heavy. If this were true, even if all of them attacked together, they wouldn't stand a chance.
"Don't panic. No one can reach the Mahayana stage right now. That means the one who left the mark must already be dead, so its effects are limited. We'll have to use our master's treasure—a Heaven-grade high-tier artifact. If the two of us control it together, we should be able to suppress the Mahayana mark inside that girl."
"Hmm..."
The group fell silent once more.
A Heaven-grade high-tier artifact wasn't something cultivators at their level could wield freely. Even Su Min couldn't fully control one. Take Xie Yingying's Xuantian Mansion for example—that was a standard Heaven-grade high-tier artifact, yet even she rarely used it for direct attacks.
Such artifacts were weapons of Mahayana cultivators—not to be used lightly.
Activating one required an enormous price. They might even end up in a situation where two Heaven-grade artifacts clashed. While not as catastrophic as Imperial artifacts colliding, the backlash could still be devastating.
Worse, they might have to sacrifice Nascent Soul cultivators as fuel.
The group hesitated.
The Nascent Soul cultivators below them trembled—they were clearly the ones who'd be sacrificed. This was the cruel fate of those in major factions. Making this decision wouldn't be easy, so they needed to discuss it carefully.
While they deliberated, Su Min clapped her hands together, admiring the pile of eggs before her. These were the fruits of her labor. At this point, she could probably declare herself the Qilin clan's savior.
"According to the memories of those Divine Transformation cultivators, there's one last base left. Inside it is a black-and-white Qilin egg—likely the Qilin King's descendant."
After storing the eggs, she extracted the crucial information from their minds. The only downside was that none of them knew the exact location of the main altar. Still, it wasn't all bad. Aside from the main altar, she now had the locations of all the other bases. She had practically wiped them out in one go.
Not only that, but she had also left hidden marks on all the cultists. If she wanted, she could uproot the entire organization. But she wouldn't act yet—not until she secured that last Qilin egg.
"You're back. How was it?"
Su Min looked up with interest as Lin Yao returned to the room, exhausted.
"That secret realm was a complete trap—there was almost nothing of value inside. Most people came away empty-handed, including me... I couldn't find anything useful."
"That's to be expected. But I made quite the haul. Out of their six Divine Transformation experts, half are now in my hands. The future pressure on your alliance should ease a bit."
Su Min smirked before adding, "The only downside is that the next assassination attempt against you will probably be even more intense."
"Huh?!"
"An organization backed by a Mahayana cultivator's legacy won't be so easily destroyed."
"Mahayana..."
Even though she had heard it before, Lin Yao couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath. To her, a Mahayana cultivator was practically a deity. Then again, Su Min herself was already godlike in her eyes.
"No need to worry too much, though. Those self-sealed Mahayana cultivators have had to sacrifice too much. Plus, after so long under the suppression of the Heavenly Decay, the countermeasures they left behind are limited."
Su Min chuckled. Even if their master awakened, she wasn't afraid. In their current state, those Mahayana cultivators would be weaker than that skeletal remains they'd encountered—at least that thing had preserved its essence.
She wasn't just spouting nonsense. Just look at her homeland—most Mahayana legacies and ruins were sealed within the Golden Core Avenue. Very few remained in the outside world.
"What kind of countermeasures would a Mahayana cultivator leave behind?"
"Most likely a Heaven-grade high-tier artifact. But even I would struggle to wield something like that. They'd probably be in the same boat—maybe even need to burn Nascent Soul cultivators as fuel."
"Senior... can you handle that?"
"It'd be tough, but I should be able to protect myself."
"Huh?!"
Lin Yao's face paled. She couldn't help but mutter, "Damn it... if even Senior can't deal with it, then no one can."
She suddenly felt a wave of despair. This was such an undeserved calamity for her. She had always been surrounded by admirers, and with her supreme talent, everyone had treated her with deference. She had never offended anyone. Yet here she was, targeted for no reason. It was beyond frustrating.
"Tall trees catch much wind. As a genius, you must bear this weight. Your very existence threatens certain people, and they'll stop at nothing to eliminate you."
Su Min's smile turned cold as she spoke, her tone carrying a hint of personal experience.
The Future Maitreya Mountain Sect—that had been utterly baffling to her.
"!!!"
Lin Yao froze when she saw the look on Su Min's face. It was one of deep understanding.
"Half-step Dao Comprehension, Dao Comprehension... they even paid a huge price to uncover my trump cards."
"Huh?!"
"Oh, and the sect they belonged to once produced an Emperor."
"WHAT?!"
Lin Yao's jaw dropped. Then, her eyes filled with absolute admiration. Clearly, Su Min's experiences were an amplified version of her own. In that moment, she gazed at Su Min with undisguised reverence.
"So... what happened to that sect?"
"I annihilated them. Though, to be fair, they were already far down the wrong path. Their Imperial artifact abandoned them, so the process was... surprisingly smooth."
"Uh..."
"I led a group of Dao Comprehension experts to wipe them out. Oh, and we used five Imperial artifacts."
"..."
Lin Yao's scalp went numb. What kind of life had Su Min lived?!
"The only downside is that Imperial artifacts have their own wills. None of them chose to follow me here, so I don't have any on hand. Heck, I don't even have a Heaven-grade artifact."
"..."
Lin Yao was speechless. She had just gone from awe to despair in seconds. Truth be told, Su Min was also somewhat helpless.
She couldn't forge Heaven-grade artifacts herself, and there were vanishingly few in the world. Worse, Heaven-grade artifacts differed from Earth-grade ones in that they required specific cultivation methods to wield properly. Simply obtaining one wasn't enough.
Thus, to this day, Su Min didn't possess a single Heaven-grade artifact. No amount of high-tier pills could buy her one either.
It was an awkward situation.
Of course, no matter how powerful an artifact was, it still depended on the wielder.