"What's this?"
Just as Su Min was recovering her expended energy, several beams of special light emerged from the puppet remains and floated before her.
This made her pause, as she sensed an unusual familiarity emanating from them.
"This is the reward system set up by the Medicine Buddha for trial-takers. For each chamber you clear, you'll receive special rewards to comprehensively enhance your strength. Of course, there's a catch—these enhancements only work within the tomb. Once you leave, all buffs will disappear completely."
"What kind of roguelike gameplay is this?"
Hearing this, Su Min couldn't help but laugh bitterly. Still, she grabbed the lights without hesitation. Simultaneously, streams of information flowed into her mind.
[Buddha's Light Blessing: Grants you a protective shield of Buddhist light that can absorb significant damage. Resets every minute.]
"Interesting."
Seeing system prompts she hadn't encountered in a long time, Su Min remarked with interest. It gave her a strangely familiar feeling—like playing video games in her past life. Though that era felt distant now, the memories hadn't faded with time.
When she had visited her disciple's planet before, she'd indulged in some nostalgia. Now, this situation gave her the peculiar sensation of being in a game, which only heightened her curiosity about this place.
"You may proceed now, but there's no need to rush. The Medicine Buddha has separated these spaces—the puppets from other chambers can't cross over."
"Let me see what's next... Huh? A Taotie?"
Reading the jade slip's description, Su Min froze. Her expression then turned complicated as she saw the details—a Dao Comprehension stage Taotie. There was actually a mythical beast of this level here.
It seemed quite a few beings had defected to the Puppet Emperor back then. But thinking about it, this wasn't surprising. Take the Golden Crow clan's Azure Dragon King for example—originally a branch of the dragon race, he later joined the Golden Crow Emperor's faction, effectively severing ties with his ancestral lineage.
Though the separation wasn't hostile. That's why Ao Xue had remained civil toward him—neither condemning nor recruiting him, simply treating him as air.
"It retains its innate talent—Devouring Heaven and Earth. This isn't my first encounter with this ability, but damn is it annoying."
Reading the jade slip's warnings, Su Min frowned deeply. It reminded her of a fallen cultivator she'd once faced—that guy had tried to swallow her whole, only for her to blast her way out from inside.
But that opponent had only possessed a derivative version through inheritance, while what stood before her now was the genuine thing. If nothing else, its capacity would be far greater. She couldn't let it consume her.
"Might as well give it a try. With this special shield and knowing it only works in the tomb, I should make the most of it now."
Feeling the changes in her body, Su Min stepped forward into the next chamber—then immediately froze.
Because this room was completely different from the previous ones. Not only was the space much larger, but at its center stood a chilling sight—a nearly kilometer-tall beast.
Its body resembled a goat with a human face, eyes under its armpits, tiger's teeth, and human hands—the exact Taotie of legend.
As Su Min appeared, the Taotie seemed to sense her presence. Its massive body twitched slightly before the mechanical eyes under its arms slowly opened.
Unlike normal biological eyes, these were enormous mechanical pupils—devoid of life, utterly cold and artificial.
"ROAR!!!"
In the next instant, the Taotie charged at Su Min with terrifying momentum.
"Five Elements Buddha!!!"
Not daring to hesitate, Su Min slammed her palm against empty air. Instantly, a colossal ancient Buddha materialized. The two behemoths collided violently, shaking the entire chamber.
"Damn..."
Watching her summoned Buddha lock horns with the beast, Su Min's eyebrows twitched violently. She could feel her Buddha's form being gradually devoured, though the newly acquired shield provided temporary resistance.
"So the shield doesn't just protect me—it extends to my summons too. Not incredibly durable, but serviceable enough."
Su Min mused silently while her hands formed another series of seals.
"Thousand-Hand Pagoda!!!"
Hundreds of gigantic fists materialized and rained down upon the Taotie puppet.
BOOM
BOOM
BOOM
The chamber trembled under the barrage. Though many attacks were devoured, enough got through to have effect. Within moments, the Taotie was pinned against the wall by Su Min's furious assault, immobilized.
"Fuck me, that's durable."
Seeing the Taotie stuck to the wall, Su Min inwardly gasped. None of her attacks had actually dealt substantial damage.
Puppets lacked consciousness. While their creators had preserved some mental faculties for these followers, they'd prioritized constructing them as proper puppets—meaning layering on defensive enhancements.
Without coordinated tactics, the puppets in the previous hall could have overwhelmed Su Min, forcing her to reveal more trump cards rather than handling them so smoothly.
"This thing's body probably belonged to a Unity stage beast. Over time and after death, it degraded to Dao Comprehension level. Moreover, beasts differ fundamentally from humans—their Unity stage doesn't require condensing a dharma body, but directly enhances their original form."
Su Min's expression darkened. Beasts weren't humanoid to begin with, so they couldn't form dharma bodies. But this didn't make them weaker—just look at how the Golden Crow or dragon clans fought in human form.
The reason they didn't use their true forms was simple—as creatures favored by the heavenly dao, humans could perceive the Great Dao more easily. Thus most battles used human forms.
But upon reaching Unity stage, they'd fight primarily in true form. This didn't mean humans were weaker—at Unity stage, the gap between humans and ordinary divine beasts would close due to dharma bodies. Catching up to supreme divine beasts would require reaching Emperor level.
After all, their bloodlines virtually guaranteed them Mahayana peak. Whether they could advance to Emperor was another matter.
"Whew..."
Such powerful attacks couldn't be sustained indefinitely. Even Su Min had limits, and her assault gradually slowed. Humanoid puppets couldn't manifest dharma bodies.
But for these mythical beasts, their true forms were their dharma bodies. Even Su Min struggled to break them. The gap between Unity and Dao Comprehension was just this vast—and this despair-inducing.
Facing such a creature, Su Min felt genuine pressure. This puppet retained its racial talent—its entire body shrouded in devouring laws that weakened all incoming attacks.
Worse, it could digest absorbed attacks to replenish itself.
"No Emperor's legacy comes easy."
Watching the Taotie rise again, Su Min sighed internally. This thing's strength was absurd—without specific counters, it was practically invincible among Dao Comprehension cultivators.
"How to break its dharma body? Burst it from inside again? Probably won't work."
Squinting at the puppet, Su Min considered her options. She had two paths—overwhelming force or finding a weakness.
"Should I use..."
"Here's a hint—look closely at the Taotie's eyes."
Just as Su Min deliberated, the little cauldron reappeared. Since entering the tomb, it had stopped sleeping. Clearly, everything here held great importance—especially to it.
The Medicine Buddha hadn't kept his Emperor artifact. Instead, he'd poured all his efforts into nurturing it to its current state, making it deeply invested in his legacy.
"Eyes?"
Puzzled, Su Min examined the massive eyes—then realized something. They resembled screws. This was likely the puppet's control hub—remove them, and it would power down.
"Remember, not all puppets here require brute force. Observe carefully for alternative solutions."
With that, the Medicine Cauldron vanished back into Su Min's body, leaving her to narrow her eyes.
"First deal with this thing. Azure Dragon Idol—restrain it!"
As the monster charged again, Su Min summoned an enormous wooden dragon that coiled around the beast, toppling it once more.
Being a mindless puppet, it lacked intelligence. Now that its weakness was exposed, Su Min didn't hesitate—her Buddha charged forward and wrenched out the protruding eye.
CRACK
With that sound, the monster disassembled. Another special light appeared, which Su Min promptly grabbed.
[Devour Heaven and Earth: Grants ability to consume and digest attacks. Effectiveness scales with cultivation level.]
"This talent is..."
Su Min's eye twitched at the description. This reward was absurdly good. Considering how others struggled for Taotie inheritances, here she got it handed to her. The power boost was ridiculous—she almost didn't want to leave.
"Wait..."
But this thought immediately sent a chill down her spine. She'd remembered a core tenet of Buddhist cultivation—precepts.
Using special methods to restrain desires, preventing them from spiraling out of control. This world's Buddhism never advocated severing emotions—rather, it encouraged facing desires and overcoming them.
Cultivation was arduous enough. If one truly abandoned all desires, they might not reach some enlightened state—more likely just give up entirely.
Then what would be the point of cultivating? This realization struck Su Min.
"So that's it. Testing whether successors would become addicted to such power. This tomb doesn't just imprison the ancient Puppet Emperor—it's also a new cage for me."
Feeling the changes in her body, Su Min murmured.
"Good insight—didn't need my reminder. Your wisdom roots are exceptional. Experience more powers, use these diverse laws to temper your dharma body—don't lose yourself in borrowed strength."
The cauldron's voice sounded again, clearly relieved Su Min hadn't succumbed to temptation.
"An ordinary genius might have been ensnared, but this doesn't tempt me so easily."
Su Min shook her head with a smile. She had her own goals—no borrowed power would make her lose sight of them. Once her Five Elements Holy Body reached completion, its boost would dwarf all these miscellaneous abilities.
Jack of all trades, master of none.
While these abilities and laws were impressive, they paled beside her ambitions. Moreover, she suspected her physique's ultimate form might surpass even the Five Elements Body.
But to develop that far, she needed to reach completion first. And with the Qilin clan in her backyard, she needn't worry about that.
"Onward. Next chamber... What the—a Qiongqi???"
Reading the jade slip's description of the next chamber's guardian, Su Min's lips twitched uncontrollably. These challenges kept getting more intense—each one a mythical beast on par with divine creatures, none simple.
Qiongqi resembled a tiger the size of an ox, with wings.
Seeing this, Su Min wasn't in a hurry. She sat cross-legged to meditate—she wanted to see what else this place had in store.