The conversation between Jiang Xi and Yao Xian'er before her spectral departure had not been hidden from Su Min's heightened senses. Jiang Xi had already pointed her toward a clear, if perilous, path: the ancient battlefield of Fengdu.
Back when Su Min had first obtained that precious, foundational trace of Taiyang Qi with the help of her Heavenly Dao Insight, that specific opportunity had been a one time affair, a unique convergence of circumstances. Unless she followed Yao Xian'er's extreme method of severing her cultivation entirely and starting anew from scratch, there would be no second chance to acquire it so purely.
But the feasibility of that drastic method was practically zero for her now.
True re cultivation had strict prerequisites; one had to be at least at the Mahayana stage to even survive the process. Otherwise, recklessly severing one's cultivation base would lead to the same tragic fate as those fallen ones they hunted, a broken, dissipating soul. Not everyone possessed the unique qualifications or the profound foundational stability to safely use the special, dangerous method Yao Xian'er had created.
Thus, if Su Min wanted to properly nurture the nascent Taiyin Qi within herself, to bring it into balance with the Taiyang Qi, there was only one reliable way: to obtain a relatively intact corpse of a powerful Lunar Sovereign physique cultivator, or, failing that, the essence from many such corpses.
But none were available here in this tomb. Jiang Xi's body was long gone, and her essence blood was now spent. The only place such rare, preserved remains could be found in any number was the ancient battlefield.
While both Solar Sovereign and Lunar Sovereign physiques were legendary and rare, over countless years and cosmic cycles, their numbers had still accumulated to a considerable extent in the grand tally of history. Moreover, that specific battlefield was special, a graveyard for the mighty.
It was an ancient battleground, said to be the primary site of the cataclysmic Heaven Sealing War just before the world was locked away and its connection to the higher realms severed. The legendary Four Symbols had all participated in that final conflict and had perished there. Even the mighty Yao Xian'er was one of the few, famed survivors of that very war.
Back then, she had been the only cultivator at the Ascension stage present on their side, so she naturally took the lead in the final, desperate stand. From what Su Min had pieced together from fragments of lore, wars of that apocalyptic scale had occurred hundreds of times on that very battlefield over the eons.
The number of Mahayana experts who had fallen there was truly incalculable, and among that staggering number were many bearers of rare and powerful physiques. Even the Four Symbols themselves had perished there countless times across the ages.
They were special existences, natural deities born from the collective will and spiritual energy of all living beings. If one died, another would be born centuries later, the title and power passing on. Thus, only one of each could exist in the world at any given time, but given the vastness of geological time and the finite limits of even their lifespans, everything was subject to cycles of death and rebirth.
Even these natural deities were no exception to this rule. Their lifespans, while far longer than any human's, were not infinite like Su Min's.
"First, I should absorb this vast soul energy. The boost it will give me will be enormous, a solid foundation for what is to come."
Pulling her thoughts back to the immediate present, Su Min took out the captured, purified energy, which glowed with a soft, placid light. Absorbing souls was no joke, a dangerous and taboo art; just look at Jiang Xi, who had been tormented to the brink of complete destruction by a fused soul. If not for Su Min's timely arrival and unique intervention, even Yao Xian'er would not have been able to save her from dissolution.
Because that evil soul had a special, parasitic connection with her, a bond which Su Min's primordial energy had happened to sever completely. Now the two of them owed her an enormous favor, a debt of causality that would undoubtedly prove useful later in her journey.
But this captured energy had no such issues. She had completely erased all consciousness and will within it, leaving only pure, malleable soul force. After absorbing this, her own soul would definitely advance further, growing denser and more powerful. She might even be able to refine the profound Dao Comprehension Pills at her current Divine Transformation mid stage, while also potentially gaining preliminary insights into the elusive Time Law.
"While Yingying has not emerged from her breakthrough yet, I will enter seclusion again. Then I will need to begin preparations for my Dao Comprehension Pill. Within a hundred years, I must reach the Dao Comprehension stage. Only then will I be truly qualified to enter that battlefield, otherwise, it would be sheer suicide."
Su Min's eyes flashed with determination. There were far too many powerful, residual beings and ancient curses there, making it far more dangerous than any secret realm she had yet encountered. Just look at Jiang Xi here. If they had truly fought with intent to kill, Su Min felt 90 percent certain she would die here, despite all her advantages. Consider that single drop of Lunar Sovereign Essence Blood Jiang Xi had produced earlier.
That alone contained enough concentrated, explosive energy to kill her several times over. However, that was a battlefield. The remnants there definitely would not be as well preserved or as passive as in this carefully constructed tomb. Even so, a mere Divine Transformation stage cultivator like her should not go seeking death there. Even the early Dao Comprehension stage would not be completely safe from its horrors.
With her plan firmly set, Su Min mobilized the power within her body, the new soul energy and the lingering essence blood, and entered a deep state of seclusion again. The environment here was perfectly safe now, all threats neutralized, the ideal time to focus entirely on cultivation without distraction. Thus, time within the tomb began to slowly pass, unmarked by sun or moon.
For cultivators at the Divine Transformation stage, a single, focused seclusion might span an ordinary mortal's entire lifetime. To mortals, Divine Transformation stage cultivators, with their vast power and immense lifespans, were practically no different from true gods.
One day, two days, three days... In the blink of an eye, five or six more years passed as Su Min sat motionless, wholly absorbed in refining the vast soul energy. This process would take her a long time. Advancing one's soul even slightly was extremely difficult and time consuming. Look at those master alchemists, struggling so hard for decades just to make a slight improvement in their soul force to refine higher grade pills.
They were all like those gamers who could only enter the Karazhan raid after they had already graduated from it and obtained better gear. She, with her direct method of purifying and absorbing a Mahayana level soul, was truly an exception, bypassing years of grueling effort.
While Su Min remained deep in seclusion, within the nearby radiant spring of spiritual energy, Xie Yingying's eyes suddenly snapped open.
An overwhelming, profound force surged through every fiber of her being, a power that was cold, ethereal, and boundless. It was the feeling of a fundamental truth of the universe settling into her core.
The Lunar Law had fully awakened within her.
A law so absolute that once invoked, all light and life beneath the heavens would wither under its pale gaze. For those born with the Lunar Sovereign Physique, this Law did not just shape their power, it was their blood, their bones, their very soul. Yet its overwhelming dominance came at a cost: it made sensing other, lesser Laws nearly impossible. But that limitation did not matter to her anymore, not when she held this.
For this Law… stood among the highest, most fundamental principles in all the heavens.
"...Senior Jiang is gone."
The moment she spoke the words aloud, her heart clenched. That ever present, subtle trace of Jiang Xi's consciousness, who had silently guided her, watched over her, sheltered her during the most vulnerable stages of her inheritance, had completely vanished from this space.
The one who led her to the Dao Comprehension stage. The one who entrusted her with so much knowledge and power. Now, that gentle, weary presence was nowhere to be found. A sharp flicker of grief crossed her heart, but it was quickly replaced by a cold dread.
That thing, the evil soul, had been lurking in the shadows all along, waiting for the moment of her breakthrough. Had it succeeded in its final moments, taking Jiang Xi with it into oblivion?
Even with her current, formidable strength, the thought of what that malevolent entity could have done to a fading remnant soul made her shiver.
"…No. It could not have possessed me now. That window is firmly closed."
She shook her head, forcing herself to take a steadying breath. Now that she had fully stepped into the Dao Comprehension stage, her spirit and body solidified by cosmic law, the chance for direct possession was over. The malevolent remnant would find her spiritual body far too strong and integrated to invade.
Still, something about the silence did not sit right with her.
"Could this have been part of her plan all along? A final contingency… a sacrifice?"
She did not know for certain. But she could not stay idle, could not just accept this outcome. She had never been one to sit back while others bore the burden for her; if she had been that kind of person, she never would have walked this dangerous path alongside Su Min in the first place.
With her current strength, paired with Jiang Xi's inherited Lunar Flame and the Divine Ice deep within her core, she felt she could end this, that the evil soul could still be found and destroyed. But as she stepped out of the shimmering spring, ready for action, everything around her made her stop.
Silence.
Not a peaceful silence, but one that was too deep, too complete. As if the air itself was holding its breath. Not a whisper of chaos, not even the distant tremor of hostile energy that should have lingered from the evil soul's presence.
It was unnerving.
Xie Yingying's brows furrowed slightly in suspicion. Her divine sense spread outward in a wide, careful arc, then froze as it brushed against a familiar presence.
A familiar, warm, and solid aura rested not far away. In this silent space, it was quiet, steady, glowing with power that was still in the midst of a profound transformation.
"…Su Min?"
"She was here?"
"Already at Divine Transformation mid stage?"
Xie Yingying's pupils shrank in surprise as she focused her senses more keenly. Faint but distinct traces of three different heavenly treasures resonated powerfully inside Su Min's body, a testament to her recent trials.
"She came here from the Black Tortoise Secret Realm...? She has been busy."
A wave of astonishment hit her. She herself had stepped into Dao Comprehension only through a miraculous, once in a lifetime inheritance, a legacy perfectly tailored to her bloodline. Even with the Lunar Sovereign Body's lack of bottlenecks, she never would have reached this level alone in such a short time through normal cultivation.
But Su Min,
She had no such tailored inheritance. No divine blooded shortcut. The Five Elements Holy Body was profoundly powerful, but it was also stubborn and demanding. Its path to power demanded constant refinement, constant, life or death battles to force evolution.
And yet… here she was, already at mid stage Divine Transformation, her aura dense and formidable. Even more shocking was that Su Min's spiritual guard was completely down, her focus turned entirely inward, clearly trusting implicitly that no one here would harm her.
"...You came all this way to help me, did you not?"
A gentle, overwhelming warmth bloomed in Xie Yingying's chest, melting the last of her anxiety. In the cutthroat cultivation world, where betrayal and selfishness ran rampant, someone who would walk unhesitatingly into danger beside you… was a gift rarer than any heavenly treasure.
Xie Yingying moved forward and knelt softly beside the meditating Su Min, quietly brushing a stray strand of dark hair from her brow with a tender touch. Then, wordlessly, she sat down cross legged beside her, her eyes calm, her presence a solid, unwavering bastion, becoming Su Min's silent shield.
The powerful enemies who had once pursued her so relentlessly had all vanished, their auras scattered into nothingness. She already knew, without a doubt, whose hand was behind that.
"She is so reckless," Xie Yingying murmured to herself, a fond, exasperated smile touching her lips. "But that is just like her. It is who she is."
With that, she closed her eyes, not to rest, but to stand vigilant guard. If Su Min was willing to bear the storm for her, to face down unknown dangers on her behalf, then she would become the unbreakable wall that blocked out the sky, ensuring her partner's peace.
While Su Min remained in deep seclusion, unaware of the outside world, unrest was brewing in the lands beyond the tomb.
"Completely gone. All three of them. Who could have killed those three old things?"
In a modest, dimly lit room hidden away from prying eyes, five decrepit elders conversed in quiet, grim tones. The leader's aura alone commanded awe and fear. He was a genuine Dao Comprehension stage expert, and though he had fallen from his peak, he had once stood at the pinnacle of the Unity stage.
Recently, he had personally annihilated three entire mid tier sects, each of which had had their own Divine Transformation stage experts guarding them. Unfortunately, facing a former Unity stage powerhouse like him, even unleashing all their hidden cards and ultimate techniques had proved utterly futile.
In the end, the entire sects and countless thousands of lives had become mere blood sustenance for him, fuel for his restoration. Now restored to a stable Dao Comprehension stage, he led this small band of fallen ones. Humans naturally banded together, especially now that the super sects were actively hunting the fallen, forcing them into a corner.
A silent war had already begun, forcing the fallen to unite for survival. But this alliance was inherently unstable. Compared to regular cultivators, they saw each other as the best possible nourishment, a constant temptation.
"No idea, but I heard they were last seen hunting that girl with the Lunar Sovereign Physique."
"That one from the Immortal sect? Could she have counterattacked? I thought the intelligence said she was only at the Nascent Soul stage. How could those three half step Dao Comprehension fools fail?"
"Their life talismans shattered in the northern snowy fields. That is the location."
"Hmm..."
After this brief, grim exchange, the room fell into a heavy silence again. Such outstanding, heaven defying talents were inherently dangerous to them.
They had no doubt these rising geniuses would happily hunt them down given the chance. Of the top five on the current Heavenly Dao Rankings, apart from the one blessed by ludicrous luck, they wanted to eliminate the other four completely. Moreover, these fallen ones had suffered their heaviest, most humiliating losses in recent years from exactly these people.
Yao Xian'er personally guarded Great Luo Tian Province, one of the richest spiritual regions, making countless fallen ones dare not even approach its borders, let alone the neighboring provinces.
As for the Great Desolate Holy Body, with his destiny to protect all living beings, he actively and zealously hunted the fallen. Three of their kind had already died by his hand, causing quite a stir and wave of fear among their ranks. Another group was already planning to ambush him.
The remaining two kept lower profiles, but Su Min, the fifth, also had confirmed kills to her name. None of this was good news for them. Yao Xian'er was one thing, a known, immovable mountain, but the Great Desolate Holy Body and Su Min were both still at the Divine Transformation stage. For mere Divine Transformation cultivators to directly kill fallen ones, who were all former experts—this boded extremely ill for their future.
Though the fallen were only at half step Dao Comprehension now, they were all former genuine Dao Comprehension experts with vast combat experience!
If these monstrous geniuses reached the Dao Comprehension stage themselves, they would have to avoid them like they avoided Yao Xian'er. That would be disastrous. More such individuals would drastically shrink their already limited hunting grounds.
Moreover, the flesh and blood of these legendary physique holders were great nourishment for them, making them coveted prizes, a dangerous temptation.
Regardless, whether to act now depended on their leader's decision. If those three were truly dead, the outcome for a smaller group would likely be the same.
"Prepare to move. We cannot allow the Lunar Sovereign Physique to grow unchecked. If she has helpers, kill them too. Leave no witnesses."
Gulp—
The others in the room grew visibly excited, a hungry glint in their eyes. Though they did not know what those three had encountered, the last intelligence before their deaths had suggested strange anomalies around the legendary Lunar Tomb.
Perhaps those ancient anomalies were what killed them. But regardless, a living Lunar Sovereign Physique's flesh and essence were immensely nourishing, more valuable spiritually than destroying an entire mid tier sect. Moreover, destroying sects was not simple anymore now that the great sect assembly had concluded and alliances were formally forged.
The three super sects might not need such pacts, but the other major sects were truly forming tight knit alliances, even establishing rapid spatial teleportation connections between their headquarters. Attacking one truly meant facing a group assault now.
Of the three current super sects, apart from the original two ancient powers, there was now Su Min's nascent one. Though its foundation was still slightly weaker compared to those two millennia old institutions, the fact that it had a super divine beast personally guarding it made it no less formidable a foe.
"Humph, you all will not go for this prize alone, I see the greed and fear in your eyes. I need to contact outside help from another group. We will strike together before the Lunar Sovereign emerges from her seclusion."
The leader's calm, decisive statement made the others feel a brief spike of resentment at his command, but they quickly acquiesced, knowing he was right. They truly did not know what had happened in the tomb, making the risk too great for a single group. If it was help they were facing, it must be at least Dao Comprehension stage. With two Dao Comprehension experts in their alliance, they could at least escape safely if the enemy proved too powerful.
With that settled, the fallen ones departed the hidden room to continue their grim work, devouring lives and spiritual bases in the surrounding lands, striving to restore themselves fully to the Dao Comprehension stage to prepare for the coming fight.
Soon after they left, the room was plunged into true silence once more, a silence that held for a long while, until a specific, hidden formation circle in the floor began to glow. Then, a dazzling, pure Buddhist light started to flicker within the empty room, a silent, holy witness to the darkness that had convened there.
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This chapter is also sweet~~
Jiang Xi and Yao Xian'er also sweet. Even if their interactions is just few scene, but it still sweet
Damn, I really hope both of them have happy ending.
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[Notes]
In cultivation, there are four foundational pillars often emphasized: master, technique, wealth, and partner. Among them, the Taoist partner is always listed last, not because they are least important, but because they hold a unique role. A master offers guidance, techniques grant power, and wealth ensures resources. But only a partner walks the long and uncertain road toward immortality with you.
Yet of all the pillars, the Taoist partner is the hardest to attain. The others rely on effort, talent, or fortune, things that can be sought or earned. A partner, however, touches something deeper. They involve the heart, a place no technique can fully command. Emotions shift, intentions change, and even the closest bond can falter under time and pressure. That is why, although essential, a Taoist partner remains the most elusive and fragile of bonds.
That is why, throughout this novel, characters like Su Min and Xie Yingying often say things such as, "In the cultivation world, where betrayal and selfishness run rampant, someone who walks beside you without hesitation… is a rare gift."
Because it is.
The road to immortality is long. Harsh. Unforgiving. Even the strongest cultivator can falter, not from wounds or failure, but from the slow erosion of the heart. Years blur, goals change, loyalties fade. What once felt eternal becomes fragile. To remain the same, to stay without letting the years wear down one's sincerity or loyalty, to endure without growing distant or indifferent, is a rarity more precious than spirit stones or divine techniques
So a Taoist partner is not merely someone who cultivates beside you. They are the rarest kind of companion, one whose heart remains steady when everything else shifts. That is what makes them so difficult to find, and even harder to hold onto.
That is the weight behind the fourth pillar. Not just a partner, but a companion whose heart remains aligned with yours, no matter how far the road stretches.