A Dao Comprehension-stage demonic beast, seeing it materialize from the fissure made both of their expressions instantly darken with a shared, heavy dread.
Su Min had indeed slain a Dao Comprehension-stage creature before, back during the incident with the fallen ones, but not without paying a steep price, nearly exhausting her spiritual energy. Now, even though she had reached the late Divine Transformation stage and was far stronger, she still had to be extremely cautious when facing such a monster. The gap between major realms was not something to be trifled with.
Only laws could truly oppose other laws.
Neither Su Min nor Tian Hao had fully mastered and integrated their own laws into their combat styles, so they had to tread carefully, relying on their raw power and wits.
"Azure Dragon Saint Manifestation!!!"
In that critical instant, Su Min clapped her hands together, her spiritual energy surging. A massive emerald-green wooden dragon materialized in the bloody sky, coiling around the monstrous beast that had just emerged with crushing force. Her eyes flashed with a strange, temporal light.
[Time's Erosion]
Almost immediately, the conjured wooden dragon began radiating the esoteric power of the Time Law, a faint shimmer distorting the air around the beast as it rapidly began draining the creature's lifespan. Though the beast had almost no intelligence left, its primal biological instincts screamed in alarm at this unnatural theft. Its massive body twisted and bucked violently, trying to break free from the dragon's unyielding grip.
BOOM!!!
Nearby mountains of corpses shattered into dust as the two colossal beings clashed, the sound echoing like thunder across the dead plains.
"Hiss, that is…"
Tian Hao, witnessing Su Min's bizarre and terrifying technique, couldn't help but stare in shock. The Time Law was already one of the most elusive and legendary laws to comprehend, yet she could not only grasp it but also directly steal lifespan from living beings. In just one minute, he could sense the beast had lost decades of its life. Though perhaps insignificant compared to a Dao Comprehension-stage creature's immense longevity, the very concept was still terrifying.
"Quit gawking and attack! Now!"
Seeing Tian Hao frozen in place for a moment, Su Min snapped, her voice strained. The environment here was saturated with death and decay, and if she recklessly expended too much of her own spiritual energy maintaining the technique, she risked drawing in the corrupting influence.
Even with the Northern Water's Profound Origin's incredible recovery abilities, she had to be careful. The best strategy was teamwork, especially since Tian Hao, as a pure body cultivator, had much lower energy consumption for his physical techniques.
Snapping out of his daze, Tian Hao roared, the sound full of battle intent. The phantom of the Primordial Martial Saint materialized behind him once more, and his fist descended like a meteor, aimed with unerring precision.
"Great Desolate Destruction Fist!!!"
Dozens of concentrated, powerful blows struck the exact same spot on the monster's hardest skull, the impact resonating like a drumbeat of doom.
CRACK!!!
A sharp, final sound echoed as the beast's head shattered under the relentless barrage, its mindless fury finally stilled.
"Incredible precision. And this beast didn't seem to have truly comprehended its own laws, otherwise, your Power Law wouldn't have crushed its defenses so easily."
Glancing at the dissolving corpse, Su Min retrieved her treasure gourd and absorbed the dissipating energy. She wasn't entirely sure what was up with this beast, why it lacked the finesse of law mastery; the environment here was simply too twisted and unnatural. But there was no time to dwell on academic questions.
"Don't move recklessly from now on. Can you sense the White Tiger's inheritance at all?"
Staring at the endless mountain range of corpses, Tian Hao's brow furrowed deeply. The scene was utterly horrifying. These remains undoubtedly belonged to Unity-stage experts, beings who could shape continents. For so many Unity and even the legendary Mahayana powerhouses to have fallen here… just what kind of cataclysmic battle had taken place?
"I can't sense a thing. This place is enormous, easily comparable to the entire Great Luo Tian Continent. And we're only at the very outskirts. Who knows what kind of horrors lie deeper in?"
Narrowing her eyes, Su Min couldn't detect even a whisper of the White Tiger's majestic aura. She didn't know if it simply hadn't manifested yet or if she was still too far away. But based on her past-life memories, both the White Tiger's inheritance and the Western Metal's Sharp Gold she needed were located at the very heart of this nightmarish battlefield.
"What exactly happened here? What war was this?"
While Su Min was lost in thought, cross-referencing her memories with the grim reality, Tian Hao asked grimly, his voice low.
"A war like a cosmic meat grinder. The lore suggests multiple worlds, manipulated by some unknown, higher force, were forced into a battle of annihilation against each other."
Su Min replied indifferently, her tone flat. This was just background lore from the "game", she didn't know the specifics, the motivations or the masterminds. Many crucial details had been locked behind DLCs that never saw the light of day.
But she did know one concrete fact; that in the end, the White Tiger, one of the mighty Four Symbols, had intervened at great cost to suppress everything, to seal the rift and quiet the slaughter. Not long after, the world entered the period known as the Great Sealing, and the White Tiger had left its inheritance and its own true body here to continue the eternal suppression.
"I see…"
Tian Hao frowned, his mind trying to grasp the scale of such a conflict. Clearly, Su Min didn't know much more than that skeletal outline.
Without further discussion, the two pressed onward, flying low over the landscape of the dead. The sights along the way made even jaded veterans like Su Min and Tian Hao suck in cold breaths. The sheer scale was staggering. The Himalayas of her old world stood at around 8,000 to 9,000 meters tall, yet here, even the smallest, most insignificant remains were several kilometers high.
A single dried skull, picked clean, was the size of a small mountain.
This wasn't just "grand", if some of the Westerners from her past life saw this, they'd undoubtedly call it the "Grave of the Gods."
But what truly unsettled Su Min and Tian Hao, more than the scale, were the remnants of desiccated flesh still clinging to some bones, and the parasitic worms, each over ten meters long, feasting on the corpses. These natural decomposers had been gnawing at the remains of these supreme experts for who knew how many millennia.
Neither of them dared to get close.
Not only were the worms utterly disgusting, but they also exuded a chilling, corrosive aura. Many were clearly at the Dao Comprehension stage, and their Decay Law, born from consuming infinite rot, was something no sane cultivator would ever want to touch.
Even slight contamination would be a nightmare to cleanse, requiring immense resources. Su Min had once used a precious seventh-grade pill just to break a powerful seal; dealing with this primordial decay would be even worse.
"No wonder those sea demons refused to enter. This place is a death trap in every sense of the word."
After teaming up to kill another late Divine Transformation-stage monstrous bird that dove at them from a ribcage, Tian Hao finally understood why the sea beasts stayed outside. Though they lacked higher intelligence, their instincts screamed at them to avoid the dangers festering inside.
Here, Dao Comprehension-stage creatures were as common as dirt, and Divine Transformation-stage beings were worse than dogs, mere fodder.
The only silver lining was that most of these Dao Comprehension beasts, perhaps due to their corrupted origins, couldn't properly wield their laws, making them weaker than a true master of the realm. But there were still absolute horrors like those decay worms, which were best avoided entirely.
Thanks to Su Min's keen perception and spiritual sense, the two managed to evade all the obvious Dao Comprehension-stage threats, weaving a path through the graveyard. But the endless swarms of Divine Transformation-stage beasts were still a constant headache. Su Min had even stopped using her gourd for now; it was completely full and busy internally refining its massive haul.
Once digested, the concentrated Demon-Slaying Thunder it could unleash would be strong enough to heavily injure many Dao Comprehension-stage foes, giving Su Min another valuable trump card when they needed it most.
"If only I could bring an Imperial Artifact in here, I'd blast these abominations all to ashes."
Su Min grumbled in frustration, swatting a flying beast aside. The constant, mindless assaults were wearing on her nerves. Originally, she had planned to enter at the Dao Comprehension stage, believing that at that point, she could've slaughtered these abominations with relative ease.
These corpses were intimidating now, but once she fully stepped into Dao Comprehension, their oppressive aura would mean nothing to her, their residual pressure easily shrugged off.
The reason she couldn't bring an Imperial Artifact was simple, their inherent restrictions.
The Golden Crow Clan, as the former rulers of the demon race, possessed two such artifacts. The Eastern Emperor Bell was out of the question, it was bloodline-locked to the Three-Legged Golden Crows alone.
The Golden Crow Ancient Bell, however, could theoretically be used by anyone bearing a Golden Crow mark. It could negate almost all laws, making it perfect for crushing troublesome foes who relied on esoteric abilities.
But the moment she entered this unstable space, the artifact would've automatically returned to the Golden Crows, its power too great for the fragile reality here to contain.
At her current strength, she couldn't defy that primordial rule.
"A… Great Desolate Holy Body? I feel a pull."
Just as Su Min was frowning, trying to sense their surroundings for a safe path through a canyon of spines,
Tian Hao suddenly froze in mid-air, as if sensing something profound. Then, without warning, he shot off toward a particular, gleaming skeleton in the distance.
Su Min sighed internally but followed without hesitation.
Their agreement had been to prioritize her inheritance, but right now, they had no leads on it whatsoever. There was no point in stopping him from investigating a potential clue. In the blink of an eye, they crossed thousands of miles of dead ground, arriving before a towering golden skeleton that stood like a majestic pillar between heaven and earth.
It was over ten thousand meters tall, its bones radiating a dazzling, pure golden light. Unlike the other rotting remains, this one was completely clean, no flesh, no parasitic worms, just pure, radiant bone that seemed to hum with latent power.
The moment Tian Hao saw it, his mind blanked, overwhelmed by a deep, resonant connection.
"A Mahayana-stage Great Desolate Holy Body… and its bones have turned completely golden. This is the sign of the physique reaching perfection. With this level of power, it could've challenged a true Emperor. Who, or what, could have possibly killed it?"
Su Min inhaled sharply, genuinely impressed.
Among the Five Great Holy Bodies, her Five Elements Holy Body was the most unique, reaching perfection wasn't just about cultivation level; it required specific, world-defying conditions. A perfected Five Elements Holy Body was said to be capable of slaying immortals.
The other Holy Bodies weren't quite as absurd, but they could still reliably fight above their realm; a Mahayana-stage expert could contend with a nascent Transcendence-stage powerhouse.
Of course, anomalies like Jiang Xi and Yao Xian'er were exceptions; the Lunar Sovereign Body and the Spiritual Dao Body were generally considered on par, with the latter having a slight edge due to its sheer versatility.
"Junior Tian Hao, a fellow Great Desolate Holy Body, pays respects to Senior."
Instead of responding to Su Min's musing, Tian Hao suddenly bowed deeply toward the skeleton, his voice filled with a mix of reverence and awe.
Then, something impossible happened.
The colossal golden skull turned, its empty eye sockets igniting with twin pools of brilliant golden flames.
"He's… not completely dead?!"
Su Min's lips twitched in surprise, but she quickly followed Tian Hao's lead and bowed respectfully. There was no shame in showing respect to such a venerable predecessor; she had seen for herself the power a Mahayana expert's remnants could wield. They could still snuff out her life easily.
"How many years has it been…? To think the first living beings I'd meet here would be a successor of the Great Desolate Holy Body and a bearer of the Five Elements Holy Body."
A weary, ancient sigh echoed across the mental plane as the flames in the skeleton's eyes flared. Then, the translucent figure of an old man materialized in the air before them. It was just a wisp of a soul, a final fragment, yet even this remnant could instantly discern their deepest physical secrets.
His gaze lingered on Su Min, sensing the three divine treasures within her dantian. Despite her youth, she was already halfway to perfecting her legendary Five Elements Holy Body.
"You seek the White Tiger's inheritance and the Western Metal's Sharp Gold, don't you?" the old soul stated more than asked.
"Yes. May Senior enlighten us on their location?" Su Min answered bluntly, getting straight to the point. Now that they'd found someone who could communicate, she wasn't about to waste time on pleasantries.
"You've stepped onto the Golden Core Avenue, inherited the legacy of the strongest Great Desolate Holy Body in history, the Desolate Martial Saint, and even absorbed part of his Dharma Body?" Instead of answering, the old man turned his full attention to Tian Hao, his golden eyes piercing.
"Correct."
Tian Hao nodded solemnly, and the phantom of the Desolate Martial Saint appeared behind him again, its aura vast and desolate.
Su Min barely suppressed an eye-roll.
She'd beaten that very phantom to pieces back in their Golden Core battle. Not exactly impressive from her perspective.
But of course, she kept that particular thought to herself.
"I see… It has been too long."
The old man sighed, a sound full of immense nostalgia, and closed his eyes as if reminiscing about epochs long past.
Then, without any further warning,
BOOM!!!
A torrent of golden light erupted from his skeletal sockets, and the massive ten-thousand-meter skeleton moved. A terrifying, physical pressure slammed into Su Min and Tian Hao, sending them flying tens of thousands of meters through the air from just the sheer air displacement of its arm swinging down.
"Let this old man see if you successors are worthy of that heavy mission. Come, fight with everything you have. If you defeat this manifestation of my will, I'll answer all your questions."
As his voice faded, the golden skeleton began donning armor woven from solidified golden light, its presence becoming even more overwhelming.
"Tch. Straight to the point, I guess."
Su Min and Tian Hao exchanged a single grim look after stabilizing themselves. This was an unexpected turn, but not entirely unmanageable. Su Min still had the two drops of blood essence Xie Yingying had given her before leaving. In a true, inescapable crisis, she could use one to escape this space.
These were from a Dao Comprehension-stage Xie Yingying, far more potent than the ones from before. But unless absolutely necessary, a life-or-death situation, she'd rather not waste such a precious commodity.
"Let's go. I know our deal was to prioritize your inheritance, but right now, passing this trial is the only way to get the answers we both need."
"No need to remind me. I'm not some stubborn fool who can't read the situation."
Su Min rolled her eyes, her own battle aura flaring to life.
If a fight was unavoidable, then so be it. They would face this remnant of a Mahayana expert together.