The Future Maitreya Mountain had no idea about Su Min's secret alliances, the web of agreements and promises she had woven in the shadows. Even if they had known, they would have been powerless to stop her. The momentum was against them, and the forces arrayed were too great.
The atmosphere within Future Maitreya Mountain was now one of utter despair, a heavy, palpable fog of defeat. To uncover Su Min's hidden cards and devise a suitable battle plan, they had paid a terrifying, soul-rending price. Back when the Blood Puppet Sect had asked the Divine Calculator, a Divine Transformation late-stage expert renowned for his foresight, to divine Su Min's fate, he had barely dared to glance at the threads of her destiny, only confirming her general location in the Eastern Mulberry Continent. The karmic cost of divining a heaven-defying genius like Su Min was simply too great, so immense that even a Divine Transformation late-stage cultivator dared not interfere directly for fear of his own soul shattering.
Naturally, Future Maitreya Mountain had pooled their vast resources to pay this price. They once had over a dozen proud Divine Transformation cultivators, but now half of them were dead, their souls scattered. Even worse, their founding ancestor, their ultimate protector, had fallen in battle, and yet, Su Min was still alive, thriving. All their sacrifices had been in vain. The deaths of several Divine Transformation cultivators and dozens of promising Golden Core cultivators meant nothing in the end. Though they could eventually reincarnate, who knew how many centuries that would take? And they would be lost to the sect.
Moreover, while they were fanatical in their beliefs, they were not fools. This was the third time they had failed to kill her, and this time, the damage was catastrophic, a mortal wound to the sect's vitality.
Even their greatest defensive trump card, the ancient Faith Barrier woven from the prayers of millions, had been compromised, its golden light dimmed. The karmic weight and heavenly secrets clinging to Su Min were beyond their imagination, reaching a level of horror that defied description. It was like trying to stare into the sun; it burned the gazer.
"What do we do now? The other branches have blockaded us. With our current strength, breaking through is impossible. More importantly, what is our next move?"
The Future Maitreya Mountain was now shrouded in a gloom so thick it felt physical. They had truly learned the meaning of "going for wool and coming home shorn." Their ambition had cost them everything.
If the outside world discovered the true extent of their weakness, they would be in grave danger. Other, hungrier sects might even forcibly invade their territory to carve it up like a feast.
Compared to the conflicts between secular sects, the infighting within the Buddhist sects was far more brutal and final. At worst, secular sects would annihilate them but could not easily absorb their believers. But other Buddhist sects? They could fully convert their followers, integrating them into their own spiritual frameworks. If that happened, the reincarnated elders of Future Maitreya Mountain would lose their spiritual anchors and vanish from the cycle forever.
And that was not even the worst of it; their entire foundation, built over millennia, would crumble into dust.
This was why heretics were hated more than heathens, and it was their greatest, most deeply buried fear.
"I do not know. But the Eastern Mulberry Continent now has two Dao Comprehension experts guarding it, the Lunar Sovereign Physique and the Three-Legged Golden Crow. That is the kind of power only a true super sect should possess."
"No one can leave now. The blockade is absolute. We are trapped here."
"..."
Future Maitreya Mountain was now teetering on the brink of the abyss. With the death of their ancestor, they no longer had a decisive, unifying leader. The sect was mired in endless, circular internal disputes, a ship with a broken rudder, until today.
Just as they were bickering as usual, a golden radiance ten thousand zhang wide suddenly blazed across the sky, tearing through the clouds like a second sun.
In an instant, the entire Maitreya Mountain was bathed in this oppressive, holy-seeming golden light. Many lower-level monks froze in shock before instinctively dropping to their knees in pious prayer, mistaking it for a divine sign.
But before they could utter a single word of worship, a furious, desperate roar erupted from the main hall of Maitreya Mountain, powered by spiritual energy so that it echoed across the peaks.
"Activate the Faith Barrier! We are under attack!!!"
Everyone was stunned. An attack on Future Maitreya Mountain? Such a thing had not happened in countless years. Even during the great Buddhist Purge of old, no enemy had ever dared to directly breach their main defenses. Who would dare such madness now?
The truth was, only the upper echelons of Future Maitreya Mountain knew about their secret, desperate schemes against Su Min. Most Core Formation and Golden Core cultivators were completely unaware of the calamity they had invited.
But they recognized the voice; it belonged to the Great Abbot of Future Maitreya Mountain, a Divine Transformation late-stage expert and now the sect's strongest remaining figure.
Unfortunately, his warning came too late.
Along with the golden radiance came a scorching solar inferno capable of reducing all things to ash, and the tangible pressure of an ancient, colossal bell that seemed to blot out the sky.
The Golden Crow Clan were the true embodiments of the sun. In other mythologies, such as Ra in Egyptian lore or Apollo in Greek myths, they were among the highest deities, and their power was absolute.
At this moment, every monk on the mountain felt as though the sun itself had descended upon them, its heat searing their skin and souls.
BOOM!
The enormous bell collided with the golden barrier shielding Maitreya Mountain. There were no fancy techniques, no intricate spells, just pure, unadulterated, world-shattering force. The impact was visible for thousands of miles, a shockwave of light and sound, like the sun itself crashing into the earth.
"What happened?"
"Someone forcibly breached the dimensional barriers and launched a direct assault on Future Maitreya Mountain! Should we go take a look? Whoever did this must have nerves of steel."
"..."
The other Buddhist sects blockading the area were stunned into silence. Attacking Future Maitreya Mountain head-on was sheer madness, a declaration of total war.
And anyone with such audacity would undoubtedly possess terrifying strength to back it up. None of the smaller branch sects dared to interfere, so they immediately sought guidance from the Great Thunder Temple and the Ancient Lamp Monastery, knowing only those two super sects could make the call.
But this time, both remained eerily, ominously silent.
Above the Great Thunder Temple, Yao Xian'er hovered in meditation, a silent sentinel. She had promised Su Min her support and would ensure no one from this quarter dared to act. As for the Ancient Lamp Monastery...
"This is our sect's decision. The Grand Elder has already led a strike force, including the Three-Legged Golden Crow, the Dragon Empress, and three other Dao Comprehension experts, to assault Future Maitreya Mountain's headquarters. Meanwhile, Lady Yao oversees the Great Thunder Temple. Rest assured, this operation targets only Future Maitreya Mountain and poses no threat to the common people or other orthodoxies. We ask that you refrain from overreacting. Once the operation concludes, the believers will be handed over to you for guidance."
"You, !"
The speaker was Tian Yinzi, a mere mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. Every powerful person present could crush him with a single slap, yet no one dared to move. Because he was Su Min's official envoy, here to deliver both a warning and a bribe. The Ancient Lamp Monastery was both furious and terrified.
First, it was clear the Great Thunder Temple had known about this in advance and had consented, leaving them completely in the dark. Second, the sheer scale of the assault was horrifying.
Three super sects and the legendary Dragon Clan had joined forces. This was not just a repeat of the Buddhist Purge; it was even more extreme and targeted. With the Great Thunder Temple standing aside, only a fool would try to intervene now.
Tian Yinzi also brought memory crystals containing Su Min's recollections of the repeated assassination attempts. After reviewing them, the upper echelons of the Ancient Lamp Monastery were speechless. They could not fathom why Future Maitreya Mountain had been so desperate, so foolish, to repeatedly provoke a seventh-grade alchemist, a figure of such pivotal importance.
Now, they were paying the ultimate price. It served them right.
Faced with frantic inquiries from other branches, both super sects chose to play dead, offering no response. Su Min held the moral high ground, and her strike was swift and decisive. Interfering now would invite devastating retribution. As for the other, smaller branches, after a moment of stunned silence, they settled in as spectators, watching the downfall from a safe distance.
Meanwhile, Maitreya Mountain was being systematically obliterated.
The majestic central peak was shattered, its ancient trees and proud pagodas incinerated into nothingness. The ancient bell slowly rose, its work done, and shrunk to land gently in the hands of the golden-armored young woman, the Little Golden Crow.
"The Donghuang Bell!? Cough, !"
In the main hall, an elder spat a mouthful of heart blood. Had it not been for their millennia-old Faith Barrier, a treasure accumulated over generations, even he, a late-stage Divine Transformation expert, would have perished instantly under that bell.
"That shell of yours is tough, but it is not perfect anymore, is it? You paid a hefty price to target me, huh? Only seven or eight Divine Transformation cultivators left? Pathetic."
A light, mocking voice rang out, cutting through the chaos, as a figure clad in sleek black armor descended from the sky, landing gracefully before the panting elder.
"You!!!"
The Great Abbot's face twisted in pure terror. As a top leader, he knew exactly why Su Min was here, and it filled him with a dread so deep it froze his marrow.
This was vengeance, plain and simple. Worse, Su Min was right. The Faith Barrier, forged from countless sincere prayers over the ages, was now damaged, its light flickering. The backlash from their desperate divinations had been so severe that after sacrificially offering three Divine Transformation cultivators to the heavenly laws, they had been forced to use the barrier itself to absorb the remaining, corrosive karma.
Repairs would take at least a thousand years of devoted prayer.
And now, at their absolute weakest moment, Su Min had come for them.
But his fear soon turned to absolute despair, a void where hope used to be.
Because hovering above him, blotting out the sky, were five overwhelming auras, each one locking onto him with lethal, unshakeable intent. And he could tell with his seasoned perception, every single one was at the genuine Dao Comprehension stage, not half-step, but the real, world-shaking deal.
"The Three-Legged Golden Crow... the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon... the Lunar Sovereign Physique... and those two from the super sects... sigh... Heaven has abandoned us. The egalitarian paradise we sought will never come to pass."
He knew then, with a cold, final certainty, that there was no room for negotiation, no chance for surrender. Five Dao Comprehension experts in this depleted era? This was not an attack; it was an extermination force.
"Glad you understand. Kill them all, Golden Core and above. The rest... we will see."
Su Min's voice was ice-cold, devoid of all mercy. At this point, showing mercy would only be cruelty to herself and her allies. Instantly, countless beams of spiritual light, blades of pure energy, and manifestations of divine beast power rained down upon the crumbling, groaning barrier. Within three minutes, the heart of Future Maitreya Mountain was bathed in blood and elemental chaos.
The grand formation, sustained by millennia of faith and the combined power of every cultivator in the sect, shattered with a sound like a universe breaking. The entire mountain erupted in chaos, screams, and the roar of collapsing architecture.
Though they had powerful artifacts of their own, heirlooms of past glories, they were instantly suppressed by the combined, overwhelming might of four supreme factions. The battle was far easier than Su Min had ever anticipated. Future Maitreya Mountain's weakness, their hollowed-out state, exceeded her wildest expectations. Under the combined assault of four supreme artifacts, the sect was utterly annihilated, its resistance crushed before it could truly form.
It was over before it even began. They could not even muster a meaningful resistance, let alone a coordinated fight back.
Su Min could only think one thing, a bewildered thought amidst the carnage:
That is it?
"Did they... not have an Emperor Artifact?"
She stared blankly at the smoldering ruins. A sect of this historical caliber, one of the three great Buddhist pillars, should have possessed at least one Emperor Artifact sleeping in its vaults. This had been too easy, like breaking a rotten door.
What Su Min did not know was that Future Maitreya Mountain did indeed have an Emperor Artifact. But Emperor Artifacts had their own spirits, their own wills, like the Golden Core Heavenly Ranking. And this one, witnessing the sect's descent into fanaticism, their wasteful sacrifices, and their diminishing virtue, had clearly abandoned Future Maitreya Mountain, falling into a slumber from which it could not be awakened.
Su Min had prepared for this very scenario, hence the overwhelming, excessive force. But in the end, their resistance had been laughably weak.
"Future Maitreya Mountain was weaker than expected. Where was their hidden strength, their final trump card?"
The other Dao Comprehension experts descended, landing around her, equally baffled, especially the elders from the two super sects who had expected a fiercer fight. In the end, only two of their own artifacts and the Dragon Clan's Ten-Thousand Dragon Pearl had been seriously deployed. The mighty Donghuang Bell, aside from its initial, shattering strike, had remained mostly unused, its power held in reserve.
Originally, the Bell's primary role was to contain the devastating spatial fallout of clashing Emperor Artifacts, preventing catastrophic collateral damage to the surrounding lands and innocent lives. Su Min had her limits; she would not let millions of commoners perish for her vengeance.
But in the end, they had drastically overestimated their enemy.
"Per our agreement, the spoils are yours. We will handle the remnants and the believer transition."
The two elders glanced at the ruins. They had little interest in most Buddhist-specific treasures, and Su Min had made it clear she needed compensation for her alchemical efforts and leadership. Seeing no reason to argue over trinkets, they acquiesced. Besides, most of the loot would be doctrinally incompatible and useless to them anyway.
"Here, a Heaven-grade high-tier artifact. A blood-stained kasaya, taken from their abbot. You probably cannot use it, and neither can anyone in your faction."
Xie Yingying landed silently beside Su Min, handing her the ornate, powerful robe. This artifact required profound Buddhist cultivation techniques to wield, and Su Min already had the compatible Black Tortoise Armor. Though inferior in raw grade to the kasaya, the armor was far more practical for her. By the time Su Min could somehow harness the kasaya's power, she would have long outgrown its usefulness.
"We will trade it with other sects later. A Heaven-grade high-tier artifact is valuable enough to exchange for something we can actually use."
Nodding, Su Min stored the kasaya and then vanished in a flash of movement, reappearing in a special, heavily warded location she had pinpointed with her spiritual sense,
The Treasure Vault.
The heart of every great sect, and the most valuable place of all.
This was her true target, the prize that made the entire bloody venture worthwhile.