"What a fast runner," Su Min murmured, not even bothering to chase the panicked figure fleeing into the distance. He was already a dead man walking. His cultivation had been forcibly boosted far beyond what his foundation could support, and now he had burned his remaining life force using a forbidden art in his desperate escape. That was no different from suicide. So she simply stood her ground on the bloodied earth and whispered a soft, cold countdown into the quiet air.
"Five... four... three... two... one... boom."
Bang—
Right on cue, as her voice faded, a muffled, wet explosion echoed from beyond a distant ridge. The man, having barely stumbled out of sight, suddenly burst apart into a fine, crimson mist, his unstable body unable to contain the violent energies raging within him. After the soul shattering shockwave from the Tiger Bone Ring, their spiritual foundations had been hanging by a thread, and his final desperate act had been the strain that snapped it.
From the very start, Su Min never intended to let a single one of them leave alive. Even if her flying sword could not reach him in time, he was doomed to die regardless, a puppet whose strings had been cut. In the end, she did not even need to lift a finger. Watching the last of her enemies self destruct at the edge of her vision, Su Min narrowed her eyes slightly, the scene confirming her calculations.
"Now there is no one left to fight me for it," she said to the silent, watching forest, a statement of fact rather than a boast.
Surveying the wreckage and carnage around her, the scorched earth and the lingering stench of death, she turned and quietly made her way back up her mountain without a backward glance. It was clear that even the so called Demon Queen had no more powerful cultivators to dispatch, at least not on such short notice. Sending mere Body Refining stage warriors at this point would be utterly meaningless, like throwing drops of water on a raging fire. Besides, there was less than a month left before the celestial phenomenon ended. It was already far too late for reinforcements to matter.
Su Min's lips curved into a faint, cold smile as she walked. There was no longer any need for her to linger here in a state of high alert. As she left, the entire city at the mountain's foot gradually fell into an eerie, watchful stillness. The frenzied greed that had once filled the streets and taverns was now completely replaced by a deep, oppressive fear that hung in the air like a fog.
The three slaughtered powerhouses from the Demon Slaying Division had been more than enough to strike terror into every heart. But Su Min, she was something else entirely, a force of nature. She had killed them as easily as one swats flies, without any apparent effort. With such overwhelming, absolute power on display, who would still be foolish enough to covet the treasure? No matter how precious a treasure was, one had to be alive to enjoy it. That simple truth had been brutally engraved into everyone's mind.
Meanwhile, deep within the opulent, secluded halls of the imperial palace of Great Wei...
Crack. Crack. Crack.
Three soul jade tablets, each meticulously carved and representing one of the dispatched envoys, shattered simultaneously on an ornate obsidian table. The sharp, clear sounds cut through the light music and careless laughter of a royal banquet, bringing the merrymaking to an abrupt, jarring halt. An eerie, suffocating silence took hold of the grand hall, the courtiers frozen in place.
"Impossible!" Emperor Wei's expression turned ashen, a flicker of genuine, unvarnished horror in his eyes as he stared at the jade fragments. "Those were three Qi Refining Stage cultivators!" His voice was a strained whisper.
Each of those fallen men had been vastly stronger than himself, pillars of his borrowed power, and yet all three had been annihilated almost at once, as if they were nothing. The woman curled around his arm, her beauty as striking as it was chilling, uncoiled herself and rose slowly, her movements fluid and unnervingly calm. The Demon Queen approached the table, her expression serene yet dripping with cold disdain as she lightly touched the jade shards with a single, pale finger.
"Calm yourself, my emperor," she said, her voice a low, composed murmur that nonetheless carried through the silent hall. "They were but imperfect prototypes, flawed creations rushed into service. Give me ten more years, and I will forge perfect ones, flawless killing machines who can crush that damnable alchemist like a bug." Her gaze sharpened, glinting with icy, promised malice. "It is a pity, though. That wondrous treasure shall fall into her hands now. We were too slow."
Her voice then dipped into a venomous whisper meant only for his ear. "Very well. Then let us offer her a different kind of gift. A despair so profound she cannot escape it, born from the child you and I shall create together. A living weapon bred for a single purpose."
The emperor said nothing, his face a mask of conflicted emotions, part fear, part grim acceptance. What truly transpired in the palace that night, the dark pacts whispered in shadowed chambers, none beyond its walls would ever know.
Yet elsewhere, word of the treasure's emergence and the subsequent one sided battle spread like wildfire carried by the wind. Su Min's stunning display of power had been witnessed by countless hidden eyes in the crowd, spies and adventurers alike. Her strength seemed to stand above all others under heaven, a new peak in a changing world. Her unparalleled skill in alchemy, crafting pills that could seemingly bargain with ghosts and gods, only added to her growing, almost mythical legend.
In the shadows of the martial world, in secluded sects and noble houses, countless figures silently packed their belongings, preparing to seek her out, to journey to the southern borderlands. Some sought to court her favor with gifts and flattery, others to forge alliances of mutual benefit. In more than one powerful family, elders began urgently reviewing their lineage records, looking over their most promising, handsome juniors, hoping to present a "perfect husband" for the young prodigy. For although Su Min's power was terrifying, she appeared no older than seventeen or eighteen, a bloom of youth still untouched by time. In their narrow, traditional thinking, a young maiden, no matter how powerful, ultimately needed a worthy husband to secure her future and continue her legacy.
Secret, sometimes violent competitions even broke out among proud young heroes, each hoping to distinguish himself in some grand feat and catch her eye when the opportunity arose, dreaming of a union that would bring them immense power.
Of course, there were those with clearer heads and colder calculations. Prince Yong, for instance, had already issued a strict, unequivocal order to his entire faction, his voice leaving no room for debate, "Do not even think about approaching her. Do not send envoys. Do not propose marriages. Leave her completely alone."
He knew her pride and her ruthless nature from the reports. She would never deign to notice their petty, mortal schemes. She had already stepped onto a path no ordinary mortal could ever hope to touch, a road that led to the heavens. With her innate gifts and the legendary treasure she now held, she would one day soar high into the heavens, far beyond the mundane squabbles of kings and princes.
If she had ever sought shelter or an alliance, he would have welcomed her as his most honored guest, even offered his own most talented children in marriage. Any son who pleased her would be guaranteed to become the next Prince of Yong. But she had never even glanced in their direction. He understood with a sinking certainty that there were no bargaining chips left in the mortal realm that could possibly sway her. Su Min's ambitions, it seemed, had never been of this world to begin with.
As Su Min had anticipated, after that day of slaughter, no one dared to contest her claim or approach her mountain. The chaos of the martial world continued to churn in secret, plots and schemes weaving in the dark, but not a single soul dared to step into her shadow or challenge her domain directly.
Time flowed on, the seasons turning without care. The brilliant celestial light that had once shrouded the treasure peak slowly waned, its golden radiance fading day by day like a dying ember until it vanished entirely from the sky. The long awaited process was complete. The gourd, now fully mature and pulsating with power, detached itself from its withered vine and floated gently into Su Min's waiting hand, humming softly with immense, contained energy that vibrated up her arm. She gazed down at it, a glimmer of rare, genuine satisfaction in her eyes.
"An innate spiritual treasure," she whispered, feeling its deep resonance with her own soul, a connection that felt predestined. "It is like a player's character. It can grow and evolve alongside its master, each seeking higher realms through the bond they share. A true partnership of mutual achievement."
At that moment, a familiar, luminous information panel shimmered into view before her mind's eye.
[Heaven and Earth Qiankun Gourd (Innate Spiritual Treasure)]
(1) Refining All Things: Capable of refining any captured demon, monster, or ghost. After their defeat, their essence is drawn into the gourd for processing.
(2) Annihilation Strike: Generates "Demon Slaying Thunder" based on the number and quality of captured entities. Delivers a single, devastating blow. (Note: Cannot be cast repeatedly in a short period.)
(3) Essence Brewing: Transforms the souls of captured beings into specialized elixirs with unique, potent effects.
Su Min's eyebrows lifted slightly in surprise and deep approval.
"Demon Slaying Thunder... this one is very good." A real smile, thin and sharp, touched her lips.
The first ability, though simply worded, was immensely practical. Monsters and demons often had countless bizarre ways to cheat death or regenerate, but none could escape being utterly refined and consumed by this fundamental power. The second ability was even better, a true trump card. In the games she remembered, Demon Slaying Thunder was a top tier weapon against powerful boss level enemies. A single strike could wipe away a massive portion of an enemy's vitality, perfect for breaking through seemingly impossible defenses or turning the tide in a desperate fight.
And this was not a game. A real injury here meant a real, debilitating weakening of strength, a potentially fatal vulnerability. To make it even more potent, the lightning attack was often bundled with brutal secondary effects, like paralysis, silencing, or inducing uncontrollable rage in the target, breaking their focus. It was no wonder that in those games, this was the first innate treasure players scrambled to obtain, the one they were willing to reset their progress for endlessly until they secured it.
As for the third ability, Essence Brewing, it was new to her. She had not encountered anything quite like it in her past life's knowledge. But her instincts told her that if she took the time to experiment and develop it, this power would prove to be incredibly versatile and invaluable, a source of unique power ups and solutions. All in all, this gourd would become the cornerstone of her strength, a divine weapon capable of turning the tide in the most desperate situations, her key to surviving the trials to come.
Especially the lightning, it held special suppressive power against all demonic and evil creatures, the very kind she was certain to face. And against regular humans, well, even without a specific elemental weakness, the sheer, overwhelming, concussive force of the thunder would be more than enough to decide any battle.