Facing such an overwhelming opponent, the Dragon King of Jing River could only choke on his own blood in frustration. What he didn't know was that he wasn't the first to suffer this fate at Su Min's hands.
Even for a Mahayana-stage cultivator, obtaining an eighth-tier pill was no easy feat. In this era, Su Min was the only one capable of refining such pills, meaning no one else could match her sheer stockpile.
"This fight ends now."
Seeing the expression on the water dragon's face, Su Min knew he had no more tricks left. She had severed his connection to the Source of Ten Thousand Rivers, cutting off his endless energy supply.
With a single swing of her twin swords, the balance of Yin and Yang in the entire region trembled.
"Twin Annihilation of Yin and Yang!"
In an instant, the dual forces of Lunar Sovereign and Solar Sovereign erupted from both sides of the Dragon King, their power surging outward. The countless heads of the hydra withered rapidly, and the massive water dragon convulsed in agony.
"NO—!!"
A desperate roar tore through the air, but no matter how he struggled, escape was impossible. His retreat had been sealed from the very beginning.
"AHHH—!!"
A final scream echoed as the colossal body disintegrated under the crushing forces of Yin and Yang.
"Hah…"
Su Min exhaled deeply, sensing the complete dissipation of the Dragon King's soul. The red dot on her jade slip had vanished. She deactivated her Half-Step Chaos Body, then descended from the sky—only for her legs to buckle, nearly sending her to her knees.
"I really shouldn't have been so cocky. Sealing the spiritual source of the rivers while fighting that guy almost drained me dry."
Her face twisted in discomfort. The battle had taken a toll, but now that it was over, she didn't need to consume any more Spirit Recovery Pills. After all, even the best medicine carried impurities. Overuse would eventually backfire.
"These two were the weakest. The remaining targets are four at the Mahayana middle-stage and one at the late-stage."
She examined her jade slip, then took a deep breath before pulling out her gourd and gulping down several mouthfuls of spirit wine. Without hesitation, she left the area. The battle hadn't caused much disturbance, especially since she had sealed the spiritual spring. No one had been affected, and no other powerhouses had been alerted.
So Su Min immediately sat down cross-legged. The water-attributed spiritual energy here was dense, and despite the dark contamination, this was the fastest place for her to recover.
One month later…
"Finally restored. And I've purified these soul fragments too."
She examined the large, fragmented soul in her hand, her eyes flickering. Advancing from Unity late-stage to Mahayana required an astronomical amount of energy, more than the total consumption from an ordinary mortal all the way to Unity-stage.
These soul fragments, while substantial, were far from enough.
Storing them away, she prepared to hunt her next target.
"I'll choose from the four Mahayana middle-stage ones. The gap between each stage is enormous, so this won't be easy."
After dealing with two Mahayana-stage cultivators, Su Min had learned just how far they would go to survive. She wasn't confident she could kill any of the Mahayana middle-stage targets, unless they were foolish enough to fight her to the death.
But that was unlikely. The previous two had only been trapped because she cut off their escape routes. And doing so came at a cost—one that might leave her too weakened to finish the job.
Beep… Beep… Beep…
Just as she was lost in thought, a series of urgent chimes came from her waist. She pulled out a communication talisman and heard Yao Xian'er's grave voice.
"Su Min, come to my location immediately. We have a major crisis. They're about to make a desperate move. If a Dark Rebellion erupts in the current state of the universe, it'll be a catastrophe."
"Huh?"
Su Min blinked in confusion. Those beings were supposed to be blocked by the world's barriers. If they couldn't descend, then the dark creatures and cultivators shouldn't be able to leave the Dark Universe.
"Get here now. It's urgent. They're going all out. I don't know why, but this is serious."
Yao Xian'er's voice cut off, and Su Min immediately shot to her feet, transforming into a streak of light. The coordinates led not to the Dark Continent, but to the outer edge of the Dark Universe's core a place she had always avoided. Even Yao Xian'er had warned her against approaching it.
But now, she was being summoned there.
Soon…
Upon arrival, she found Yao Xian'er and Tianyang the Monk already waiting.
"Long time no see, Benefactor Su. Even without the proper cultivation method, I can still sense the aura of the Great Sun Tathagata upon you."
Tianyang greeted her with a respectful bow.
"Likewise, Master Tianyang."
Su Min returned the courtesy with a smile. Though they had once schemed against each other, their cooperation had been mutually beneficial. There were no hard feelings.
"What's going on? I was in the middle of planning to hunt a Mahayana middle-stage dark cultivator."
Her tone turned serious. She needed at least a few more Mahayana middle-stage souls, possibly even that late-stage one to break through.
Being interrupted now was beyond frustrating.
"Look closely."
Tianyang pointed toward the crimson depths of the universe. Su Min's brow twitched. Out of curiosity, she had ventured near this place before, but beyond the dense dark energy, there had been nothing unusual.
Now, however, things were different.
Dark matter was surging violently, and the core region was expanding rapidly. In the short time they had been talking, it had already spread another kilometer.
On a cosmic scale, even if it expanded for ten thousand years, it wouldn't matter. But the real concern was what lay behind this sudden instability. Something that had remained unchanged for countless millennia was now shifting and it wasn't natural.
"The Dark Immortals are preparing to forcibly descend from the Immortal Realm."
"What?"
Su Min was stunned. She didn't fully understand.
"Let me explain. At the deepest part of the Dark Universe lies a passage to the Dark Immortal Realm. Crossing it means ascending to immortality. But the passage is filled with chaotic energy, even a true Ascension-stage cultivator might not survive, let alone a mere Nirvana-stage one."
"I see…"
Su Min's eyes narrowed. The Ascension-stage referred to achieving immortality while still in the mortal world, attaining eternal dao.
Both Yao Xian'er and Tianyang were pursuing this, yet neither was even close.
"Even if those immortals sense an anchor and forcibly descend, they'll suffer dao wounds that cannot be healed in this universe. They'll fall from perfection, their power greatly diminished—hence why we call them 'Crippled Immortals.' Every few tens of thousands of years, they descend once. I, the Five Elements Great Emperor, the Great Desolate Martial Sage, and the Lunar Ancient Emperor—we've all fought life-and-death battles against them."
"The soul fragments drifting through the Dark Universe and entering newborns all come from the fallen experts of those wars. Countless Unity-stage and Mahayana cultivators have perished here."
Yao Xian'er's voice was laced with killing intent. She had clearly experienced the brutality of those battles.
"But I've suppressed the anchors to an extreme degree. Has the rule changed? Can those core dark cultivators now serve as anchors?"
Su Min's expression darkened. This was bad.
"No. But they can descend forcibly and even cast curses. However, cursing an entire universe comes at a terrible price. It may require the blood sacrifice of dozens, even hundreds, of immortals."
"'Yin and Yang Shall Never Meet'?"
"Exactly. They fear the Chaos Body. Back when you were still on the Golden Core Avenue, I said that if you truly were a Chaos Body, I would unleash my origin power, restore myself to Mahayana, and personally block their descent to buy you thousands of years to cultivate. But now… their fear of the Chaos Body seems even greater than I imagined."
"Do they know I have a Chaos Body?"
"No. But for them to willingly pave a path with immortal bones and forcibly descend, there must be a reason. And I don't believe it's a trivial one."
"Neither do I."
Su Min let out a bitter laugh. The cost of using immortal remains to force their way into this world was unimaginable. The fact that they were willing to pay it meant only one thing—
Somehow, they had sensed the progress of her Chaos Body.
"So what now? Should we charge in? I can hold my own against many Mahayana cultivators, but compared to you two, I'm still lacking."
"It's too late. The Dark Universe isn't even safe anymore. The dark energy released by the immortal bones will temporarily empower the dark cultivators while suppressing and corrupting us. And this is just the beginning, they'll soon envelop the entire Dark Continent."
"What a headache…"
Su Min rubbed her temples. This was terrible news.
"Exactly. Continuing to hunt there is too risky. Even staying in the Dark Universe is dangerous. We must retreat immediately. Once they enter the normal universe, they'll be heavily suppressed. We need to return to our home ground."
"But what about the common people?"
Yao Xian'er could only shrug helplessly. "If the three of us fall, even more will die. Besides, you still have time. Focus on reaching Mahayana first."
"Fine."
What else could Su Min say? Though she had many methods, preparing to kill another Mahayana target could take decades—even a century or two. She wouldn't always be as lucky as before, stumbling upon a ritual at the perfect moment.
But if they entered the normal universe, things would be different.
The cosmic laws would naturally suppress dark energy, and their usual tricks would be weakened. Killing them would become easier.
However, there was a downside, their primary target would undoubtedly be Heavenly Continent.
But in the vastness of the universe, Heaven's Continent was just a drop in the ocean. Countless other lives would suffer.
Yet what choice did they have? All three understood priorities. Excessive compassion now would only plunge the world into deeper despair.
"Understood. Let's return to Heavenly Continent. Then, using our influence, we'll gather a true cultivator alliance. This time, we'll need an army."
The other two nodded in agreement.
Even if the enemy had Crippled Immortals, they weren't without hope. Outside the Dark Universe, even immortals would be severely weakened.