This outcome left Su Min thoroughly exasperated.
Divine beasts didn't mature through time alone, they needed energy accumulation. Little Golden Crow and the Dragon Princess had grown rapidly thanks to powerful backing. The Qilins possessed similar resources within their secret realm, but inaccessible now. The burden fell entirely on Su Min.
"Who knows how long that bastard needs to awaken. Probably devouring his followers right now."
Suppressing her frustration, Su Min observed the planetary barrier hovering ten kilometers above surface—an impenetrable cage. Even the ancient battlefield remained inaccessible now.
Only waiting remained until the Fallen awakened.
Others faced greater headaches.
"The barrier severed satellite signals worldwide. Civilization regressed decades overnight."
Lin Yao grimaced at her barely-functional computer.
"Care for an outing? I've time to kill."
Su Min's ghostly appearance behind her elicited a shriek.
"Ah!!!"
The golden core cultivator quickly composed herself, being startled like this normally signaled danger, but with Su Min, it was routine.
"Master, you scared me half to death! And with global chaos now..."
"Precisely why I want to see the extent. That creature will awaken in about a year—too short for meaningful preparation."
Dao Comprehension cultivators lived five millennia. Their seclusion sessions spanned decades to centuries. A mere year was insignificant. Without intelligence on her enemy, even crafting counter-artifacts proved impossible.
Yet Su Min remained calm. Having sabotaged all his contingencies and forced premature awakening, the Fallen would be lucky to retain one-tenth strength—far weaker than the Mahayana skeleton she'd faced before.
Especially after obtaining Western Metal's Sharp Gold, she craved a worthy opponent for full exertion. His emergence would serve nicely.
"Let's go."
Lin Yao abandoned her worries, following Su Min beyond the fortress. Explaining things to masses wasn't her responsibility. Outside, Su Min immediately noticed disturbances—flames and raging spiritual energy in one direction.
"Purging the Zhong family. No wonder master avoided the alliance—traitors indeed. They orchestrated my pursuit."
Lin Yao's expression darkened with killing intent. She'd abstained from the purge, rooting out such entrenched powers required at least Nascent Soul cultivators. As an early golden core cultivator, she'd be easy prey for desperate counterattacks. Others merely saw her as collateral in Su Min's disruption of their schemes.
"Thorough eradication is troublesome."
Su Min massaged her temples. Eliminating deep-rooted factions was notoriously difficult—even annihilating the Blood Puppet Sect required decades and allied assistance, costing one golden core cultivator's life.
The Future Maitreya Mountain proved even worse, she'd needed to outsource their destruction to monks. Unless she unleashed Little Golden Crow and Dragon Princess with emperor artifacts to raze entire regions, which would make her the continent's public enemy.
Most Fallen Ones consumed mere millions not billions of lives. Su Min wouldn't cross that line.
"Any good eateries around? I haven't feasted properly in ages."
Stretching lazily, they vanished, reappearing in a nearly-deserted barbecue joint, the recent cataclysmic battle's aftermath left few in dining moods. Despite Su Min mitigating collateral damage, her final impact had triggered devastating earthquakes.
"Welcome, beauties! Your order?"
The server's eyes lit up at Su Min's striking appearance, flawless jade skin and pristine features needed no adornment. Lin Yao, though slightly less dazzling, still turned heads.
"Three whole roasted lambs to start."
Lin Yao's cheek twitched at her master's appetite. The stunned server quickly deduced their cultivator status and retreated respectfully.
"Disasters everywhere. An entire city destroyed by quakes. Do Dao Comprehension experts always wreak such havoc?"
Lin Yao referenced the Fallen followers' parting attack that had actually wounded Su Min.
"Count your blessings. A Mahayana practitioner could've split your planet in half. This world's spatial stability is fragile."
Su Min rolled her eyes, her homeland could withstand Dao Comprehension battles better.
"Master, when he awakens...your fight won't destroy..."
"Relax. We'll take it to the void."
Su Min smirked. Unlike her world's spatial restrictions, here she could physically fly into space—as could her enemy. Neither would risk damaging this "livestock pen."
Thud
The door burst open as a disheveled man staggered in.
"Ten beers!"
"Old Yu...life goes on..."
The server explained softly: "His family was in the destroyed city..."
Su Min simply nodded.
"Master..."
Lin Yao's concerned look prompted a soundproof barrier.
"Don't look at me like that. I'm just a passing hero. These tragedies weren't my making, and I've done my best."
Decades of witnessing suffering had inured Su Min. She only ensured events weren't her fault.
"One year of hardship remains. The ancient battlefield's rift can't be sealed permanently either."
Without her intervention, the Fallen would've awakened at full strength, potentially reaching Unity stage within years—a true apocalypse for this world.
"Your roasted lambs, beauties!"
The aromatic meat diverted their gloomy thoughts—relaxation took priority now.
Meanwhile, within the sealed barrier...
A solitary figure sat amidst blood-red mist so thick it seemed solid.
"Replaced all Qilin eggs with ostrich eggs, those imbeciles! Then awakened me prematurely—death was too merciful."
Bloodlight flashed in his eyes, making space tremble.
The Bloodfiend Patriarch—once an early Mahayana expert.
Struck by Heavenly Decay upon reaching Mahayana, he'd sealed himself at the cost of severing most cultivation, regressing to half-step Dao Comprehension. His current strength stemmed from past service to Qilin kind. Though bound by soul oaths, a lucky tomb raid netted him a Death Substitute Doll—negating one fatal backlash.
Thus when the Elder Qilin sacrificed itself to strengthen their ancestral defenses, he'd stolen nearly all Qilin eggs before fleeing across the void to this life-bearing planet. Meticulous preparations included grooming human followers—humanity being the universe's favored children, appearing on all life-bearing worlds.
Yet at the final moment, everything collapsed. His followers not only awakened him prematurely but lost all sacrificial offerings.
In rage, he'd devoured all remaining followers, barely restoring Dao Comprehension strength. But a severed Mahayana's lifespan burned rapidly without continuous flesh consumption—a flaw Unity stage practitioners avoided.
"That woman must be from Heavenly's Continent, answering the Qilins' distress call. DAMN IT!!!"