In a spacious valley, a group of trembling young Qilins stared at Su Min, who was shrouded in dark energy.
Like the little Golden Crow, these Qilins were born at the Golden Core stage. However, their minds were still immature, akin to puppies.
At this age, no matter the creature, their energy was at its peak—and these Qilins were no exception.
"Stay put. See this valley? If any of you dare step out, don't blame me for turning you all into braised meat!"
"Whimper…"
Faced with Su Min's terrifying aura, the little Qilins trembled and nodded frantically.
Though these little ones were at the Golden Core stage, there were plenty within the Immortal Gate who could suppress them. However, since they had been brought in by Su Min—and were crucial to obtaining the Central Earth Essence—no one in the sect dared to say much. As a result, chaos had ensued.
Of course, part of the reason was that these Qilins were adorable, and many female cultivators couldn't resist doting on them. Given the skewed gender ratio in the cultivation world, male cultivators tended to indulge them, making discipline even harder.
Now that Su Min had returned, she put an immediate stop to their antics. Not only did she confine the Qilins to the valley, but she also completely isolated them from the sect's disciples. As for the displeased female cultivators? Su Min couldn't care less—were they really going to rebel over this?
"Headache. Speaking of which, where's the Black Qilin?"
After dealing with the little ones, Su Min turned to Tian Yinzi. Xie Yingying seemed to be in seclusion and hadn't emerged yet.
What surprised Su Min, however, was that the royal Black Qilin wasn't among them. No wonder there was no one to keep them in check—had that egg been a dud?
"Elder Su, shortly after you left for Future Maitreya Mountain, the Black Qilin hatched. However, divine beasts grow differently from humans—they require vast amounts of energy. Knowing that you needed the Central Wutu Divine Earth to complete your mastery, the sect provided her with abundant resources after her birth."
"I see…"
Su Min nodded, unsurprised.
Every divine beast race prepared ample resources for their descendants. The Golden Crows had the Fusang Ancient Tree, the dragons had the Dragon Nurturing Pool, and the Qilins supposedly had the Five Elements Vein—though that was located within their secret realm. Unfortunately, their home had been ransacked, leaving them in a rather pathetic state.
The direct consequence was that those resources were now inaccessible, forcing the sect to step in.
Supporting one Qilin's rapid growth wasn't an issue, but an entire pack? The sect would be drained dry. Besides, Su Min only needed the Central Earth Essence—once the Black Qilin matured, that would suffice.
And if she were to think more cynically… if the Black Qilin dared to renege on their deal, well… these little Qilins would make excellent hostages.
"What about the Central Wutu Divine Earth?"
Su Min was well aware of these underhanded tactics—they were just insurance. Best not to use them unless absolutely necessary.
"After her birth, Elder Xie forced her to sign a contract. Once she matures and reopens the Qilin Secret Realm, she will hand over the Central Wutu Divine Earth."
"Seems I worried for nothing."
Su Min nodded inwardly. It was best not to resort to extreme measures.
"Where is the Black Qilin now?"
"She has reformed into a cocoon and is currently incommunicado. As for her location… she's near the Fusang Ancient Tree. The energy there is the most abundant, and with Donghuang Taiyu watching over her, it's the safest place."
"Then there's nothing left to worry about."
Su Min smiled in satisfaction. Establishing this sect had been the right move—it was meant to handle miscellaneous tasks for her. Now, it was proving its worth.
After guiding them onto the right path, she had mostly left them to their own devices, focusing instead on her own pursuits. And now, after all this time, the sect was finally pulling its weight.
The people of this world had an inherent sense of devotion to their sect's high-ranking members, making them incredibly easy to manage.
Then again, it made sense—without Su Min, the little Golden Crow, and the others as protectors, they'd be in the same dire straits as the rest.
"I should continue my seclusion and attempt to break through to the eighth-tier alchemist realm. The gains this time have been substantial."
With nothing urgent left to handle, Su Min decided to focus on her next goal—becoming an eighth-tier alchemist.
"An eighth-tier alchemist?!"
Tian Yinzi was stunned. Currently, there were only two seventh-tier alchemists in the entire continent—Su Min and another who had recently broken through. However, the latter was still far from being able to refine Dao Comprehension Pills, making Su Min's prowess utterly unmatched.
"Indeed. Whether I'll succeed or not remains to be seen."
With a faint nod, Su Min turned and left.
~
Back in her small room, Su Min took out her cauldron. As she traced the patterns on its surface, her expression darkened slightly.
"This cauldron is also suffering. A high-grade Earth-tier alchemy furnace… after accompanying me for so long, it's about to be retired."
She sighed. This cauldron had been a gift from the Great Thunder Temple and had served her well. But for eighth-tier pills, a high-grade Earth-tier furnace was no longer sufficient.
While she estimated it could still handle low-grade eighth-tier pills, anything higher would inevitably cause an explosion.
Thus, crafting a Heaven-tier artifact had to be prioritized. Unfortunately, Su Min currently lacked the ability to forge one.
"Let's begin refining. Who knows how long this will take?"
Suppressing her thoughts, she sat cross-legged and waved her hand. Over a thousand medicinal ingredients flew out from her ring.
Eighth-tier pills required an incredibly complex refining process. Though not all the ingredients were top-tier, many were still rare and precious.
Alchemy was a money-burning profession, and even someone as wealthy as Su Min felt the pinch.
"Hah…"
Taking a deep breath, she focused. The pill she intended to refine was an eighth-tier healing pill—the most basic of its grade.
She had already failed several attempts before, forcing her to stop out of sheer frustration.
But now, with her enhanced soul power, she was confident.
In an instant, the temperature in the room skyrocketed.
Like flowing water, the ingredients entered the cauldron one after another, instantly purified upon contact with the flames.
The speed of her refinement surpassed anything any known alchemist could achieve—a thousand ingredients purified in half a day.
"Much faster than before."
Su Min exhaled, observing the thousand medicinal essences floating inside the cauldron, each wrapped in her soul power.
Maintaining them in this state was incredibly taxing—each required a precise temperature, neither too high nor too low. The complexity was enough to make even a seventh-tier alchemist's head explode.
Previously, she could complete this step, but her soul power would be nearly depleted, leaving her unable to proceed with fusion.
Now, however, she could finally take the next step.
"Begin fusion."
With a mental command, the essences began converging toward the center, merging together like moths drawn to flame.
In the blink of an eye, the multicolored liquids fused into one.
Even Su Min felt dizzy—eighth-tier pills were no joke.
"Pill Formation!!!"
Knowing she couldn't delay any longer, Su Min slammed her palm onto the cauldron. The liquid violently compressed—
And then…
BOOM!!!
Dark clouds gathered in the sky as thunder materialized out of nowhere.
"Holy shit, I succeeded on the first try?!"
Su Min's eyes widened in shock—before she collapsed onto the ground like a dead fish, utterly drained.
"Damn it, the tribulation's coming… and I can't even move!"
She hadn't expected to succeed so quickly. Now, with her energy completely spent, she was defenseless against the incoming lightning.
With no other choice, she mustered all her strength and shouted at the top of her lungs—
"YINGYING, SAVE ME!!!"
BANG!!!
Deep within the Immortal Gate, a figure burst out from a frozen pond, soaring into the sky like a meteor.
In the next instant—
CRACK!!!
The tribulation lightning collided head-on with the figure, shaking the entire sect.
"Which lunatic is provoking a tribulation inside the sect?!"
Countless cultivators trembled in fear. The Immortal Gate stood at the heart of Eastern Mulberry Land—the largest city in the eastern continent, with a population of tens of millions, rivaling even modern metropolises.
Naturally, countless cultivators resided here. Though they hadn't heard Su Min's desperate cry, the clash between a Dao Comprehension expert and heavenly tribulation was impossible to miss.
Many cursed aloud—the sheer pressure made their knees buckle.
The tribulation's lightning covered hundreds of kilometers, forcing even the proudest experts to cower like frightened birds.
Tribulations were no joke. Even a Golden Core tribulation could become deadly if interfered with.
But soon, people realized something was off.
"This lightning… it's too strong. I'm at the Divine Transformation stage, and even I feel my heart pounding!"
"Same here, and I'm at the Nascent Soul stage!"
"What is the Immortal Gate doing? Even their patrol teams look just as clueless as us!"
"Did someone come here to drag the sect down with them by triggering a tribulation?"
"Impossible! The Immortal Gate has countless experts—no Golden Core cultivator could waltz in with a tribulation and survive!"
Then, someone finally recognized the truth.
"This isn't a breakthrough tribulation… it's a Pill Tribulation! Someone in the sect is refining an eighth-tier pill!"
Silence.
Pill Tribulations were legendary, even in the ancient golden age.
"An eighth-tier alchemist… in less than a thousand years after the end of the end times?!"
The implications were staggering.
And as the realization spread, cultivators from all over began fleeing—not out of fear, but to spread the news.
The Immortal Gate had just birthed a monster—an eighth-tier alchemist.