The Puppet Emperor's remnant soul was now deeply perplexed. In the end, he simply stopped thinking about it, the youth these days really knew how to play wild.
He was already dead, his original body dismantled by the Medicine Buddha. All that remained was this wisp of a soul, clinging to existence for one purpose: to pass on his legacy. These ancient Great Emperors pursued only two things: immortality, and the eternal preservation of their lineage.
It was just a pity that he had committed too many sins in his time. In his research on puppetry, he had offended nearly every divine beast clan. As for why he didn't simply exterminate them? The reason was simple, the divine beast clans had their own alliances.
One or two were manageable, but if a group of supreme divine beasts came at him wielding imperial artifacts, even a Great Emperor would be threatened. So he'd simply captured a few Unity-stage beasts and called it a day.
But he knew that once his lifespan reached its end, retribution would come. So he decided to go all the way, bringing everything into his tomb. Yet as time passed, his pursuit ended in failure.
He had transformed himself into an imperial artifact, hoping to achieve eternal existence like other artifact spirits. But then he nearly lost himself to assimilation. Artifact spirits had no freedom, what was worse, most of the time their consciousness was in chaos, only awakening when necessary. Even more terrifying was the fact that he would have to become someone else's tool.
The so-called immortality was nothing more than wandering freely between heaven and earth. This completely violated the original purpose of cultivation. In the end, he had no choice but to halt the transformation, leaving him in a state between life and death, unable to live, yet unable to die.
It was only when the Medicine Buddha arrived that he found release. His final wish was simply to find a successor.
Now, the person before him left him conflicted. She was so young, and he had witnessed the battle outside. As far as Su Min was concerned, this was a flawless inheritor, but precisely because she was too flawless, he knew she wasn't suited to be his successor.
She had no need for puppetry, a cultivation method that violated the natural order.
"The Medicine Buddha's judgment is beyond question, little girl. I know what you seek. As an alchemist, you want puppets to help you withstand the heavenly tribulation, correct? This jade slip contains everything I know."
As the Puppet Ancient Emperor spoke, a jade slip slowly rose from the ground. Light shimmered across its surface, containing the ancient legacy of a Great Emperor.
"What does the Great Emperor wish of me?"
Su Min didn't immediately reach for it in greed. To her, this was merely icing on the cake. Moreover, she was standing before a Great Emperor. While she didn't fear the Medicine Buddha deceiving her, she still had to show these ancient powerhouses due respect.
"I want you to swear a soul oath, ensuring my lineage continues."
"Agreed."
Su Min answered almost without hesitation. She already had her own sect, incorporating this legacy would be no different from how Xie Yingying's Heavenly Yin Sect had merged with hers.
Currently, the Immortal Sect had two main lineages: Xie Yingying's Heavenly Yin branch, and Su Min's own Five Elements branch, along with the even more critical Alchemy branch. Adding a Puppetry branch wouldn't be an issue, she just needed to ensure the legacy survived.
She had no intention of hiding it either. She could simply place the Puppet Ancient Emperor's statue in the main hall. Of course, restrictions would be necessary, especially regarding the techniques for crafting puppets from living beings.
"Sigh... Don't disappoint me."
After hearing Su Min's oath, the Puppet Emperor let out a deep sigh. Then, that last wisp of his soul dissipated completely. The light enveloping the jade slip faded away. Su Min sighed softly before reaching out to take it.
But her brow soon furrowed as she realized just how troublesome these techniques were. The scroll contained numerous methods for creating puppets using living beings as a base, which made her expression darken.
She wasn't inherently opposed to such methods, but the risk of abuse was too high. Even if one didn't kill, obtaining high-level corpses would require grave robbing. A single misstep could turn the entire world against you.
"Fortunately, the Puppet Ancient Emperor was aware of the issues with his legacy. He labeled these as forbidden arts, not outright banned, but to be used with extreme caution. The other puppetry techniques aren't problematic, relying on natural treasures as their foundation."
As she flipped through the Puppet Ancient Tome, Su Min noted these distinctions. Truthfully, she had no interest in these methods. Controlling puppets required complex seals, this was an entire system unto itself, like the Tang Sect from some of the games she'd played in her past life.
She had no energy to integrate this into her own combat system, so she dismissed it outright. She could just take it back to her sect and let the younger generation study it. What she was really after lay within the forbidden arts section.
"Demon-Sealing Puppet, an extremely rare puppet that uses heavenly lightning as its source of evolution. But it requires the corpse of a powerful cultivator as its foundation. Tch, where am I supposed to get a corpse? Whatever, more important matters first."
Su Min rubbed her temples in frustration. It wasn't that she wanted to preserve corpses, but battles at her level required going all out, leaving little chance of intact remains.
"If all else fails, I can send people into the ancient battlefield to search. Half-step Dao Comprehension cultivators should be able to retrieve some Dao Comprehension-level corpses. Those would suffice as a foundation."
Soon, a plan formed in her mind. The ancient battlefield would undoubtedly be a treasure trove. The only pity was that she could no longer enter it herself after reaching the Dao Comprehension stage.
And for ordinary Divine Transformation cultivators, venturing inside was far too dangerous.
This would require careful planning upon her return. She didn't oppose puppetry itself, only its potential for abuse.
"More important than that is refining the Ten Thousand Laws within me. And now, control of this tomb is in my hands."
As she examined the jade slip, Su Min realized with surprise that it also served as the tomb's key. With this, she could relocate the entire structure. With a wave of her hand, the chamber behind her abruptly closed before sinking into the tomb's lowest level.
Unless she died, no one would disturb the Puppet Ancient Emperor's rest again. Though the man's reputation was poor, even having conflicts with the Little Golden Crow and dragon clans among her allies, he had still passed his legacy to her. The dead were gone; there was no point dwelling on past grievances.
"Next is the next step of my path, refining the laws within me and forging an indomitable dharma body, clearing the way for my Unity stage."
Su Min's eyes narrowed as she slowly sat down in meditation, beginning to refine the laws within her. She also needed to use this opportunity to advance to the late Dao Comprehension stage.
Thus began a long period of seclusion, one that would last until she reached that level. Time flowed swiftly, and for a Dao Comprehension cultivator, seclusion was naturally a lengthy affair.
Meanwhile, on the planet Su Min had once visited...
Squelch
A grotesque sound echoed as a massive Filthbeast was split in two.
"A Dao Comprehension-level Filthbeast is nothing special. But compared to how Master handled them back then, I'm still far behind."
Gazing at the enormous corpse floating on the ocean's surface, Lin Yao couldn't help but sigh. Her surroundings were now enveloped in a peculiar radiance, and the distant sea shimmered with tranquil waves.
The Filthbeasts that had once plagued this world had been completely eradicated. Humanity had reclaimed the oceans.
"I plan to leave this place to follow Master's path. Staying here, I'll never reach the Dao Comprehension stage."
Lin Yao's tone was calm as she addressed the group behind her. The moment she spoke, their expressions shifted slightly. Her cultivation had already reached the late Divine Transformation stage. Though the Dao Comprehension stage remained distant, her combat prowess was terrifying. She was now the planet's strongest cultivator.
Her battle strength carried faint echoes of Su Min's own dominance. Back then, Su Min had fought her way through every obstacle alone. But Lin Yao's path had been smoother, paved by her master's prior efforts. The method to completely eradicate the Filthbeasts had been found among the Bloodfiend Elder's collections. After Su Min killed him, his lair had been opened, where they discovered a Heaven-grade formation diagram.
With the planet's combined efforts and Lin Yao's rapid rise, they had finally confined the Filthbeasts to a minuscule area. Their calamity had ended. Su Min had known about this method but chose not to take it. Before leaving, she had simply offered guidance, this world's problems needed to be solved by its own people.
Now, after centuries of disaster, Lin Yao had no reason to stay.
She had never married nor had children. Family and friends had all faded into the river of time. With this crisis resolved, her only pursuit was immortality.
But this planet's spiritual foundation was too weak, she had no path to the Dao Comprehension stage here. When Su Min left, she had only just entered the Dao Comprehension stage and couldn't leave behind any guidance. So Lin Yao knew she had to depart.
"Miss Lin, are you certain?"
The others' expressions were far less composed. Lin Yao was their strongest cultivator, and she had no interest in power. Usually, she simply cultivated in peace, exactly the kind of existence everyone adored.
Unmatched strength, no meddling in affairs, always there as a safety net.
But now, her words filled them with unease. They knew their own limits, none would reach the Dao Comprehension stage in this lifetime. They could offer Lin Yao no assistance, and with no ties binding her, she was beyond their influence.
This wasn't ideal for them. In theory, they should have urged Lin Yao to marry quickly, bear children, then pour all their resources into raising those descendants. That would have given them leverage over her. But the problem lay with her master.
That great and mysterious existence. As the saying went, "A dead tiger's might remains", and Su Min wasn't even dead yet. If she returned to find her disciple being pressured into anything, her fury could flip this planet's continental plates.
None dared coerce Lin Yao, leaving them in an awkward position.
Faced with her determination to leave, they had no recourse. As for force? Just look at her equipment, a full set of Earth-grade armor and artifacts. They could attack her all day without piercing her defenses.
After all, Su Min had left behind no small number of treasures, ensuring Lin Yao's smooth journey through the Divine Transformation stage.
"I entrust this planet to you now," Lin Yao said quietly, her fingers brushing the cool surface of the control array. The gentle hum of the artifact resonated beneath her palm, a steady heartbeat in a world she had once protected. "As long as this formation continues to operate, you'll remain safe. That's all I can offer for now."
She paused, her gaze lifting toward the sky. Through the canopy of protective talismans above, distant stars shimmered like silver needles stitched across an endless night. "It's not like I'll never return," she murmured, as if trying to convince herself as much as anyone listening. "Maybe one day, like Master, I'll cross the sea of stars... and when that time comes, I'll visit again."
But even as she said it, the words tasted like smoke, distant, half-true, already fading. Her throat tightened. It had been many years since she last saw Su Min, yet that brief farewell still lingered, bright and unbearable, carved into the marrow of her soul. No final embrace, no lingering words. Just Su Min's back as she vanished into the sky, white robes flaring like starlight in the night, after slaying those Mahayana-level Fallen Ones with such terrifying grace.
Lin Yao had stood frozen then, too proud to beg her to stay, too young to understand the ache that would follow.
Now, as she faced the spatial rift carved into the heavens, her heart beat with a quiet, fierce resolve. Fear whispered at the edges of her mind, but it was drowned out by something stronger: the hope of finding her again.
A single image came unbidden. Su Min turning to smile with that unshakable calm. That memory had haunted Lin Yao's dreams for years, as vivid as the day it was made.
Without another word, she stepped into the rift.
Not for glory. Not for duty.
But to chase the shadow of someone she could never forget.
"She's really gone..."
The group watched Lin Yao's departure with mixed feelings but could say little. Regardless of Lin Yao herself, Su Min had been their great benefactor.
Had she not eliminated that fallen one, their only fate would have been becoming another's blood sacrifice. All they could do was stand there with constipated expressions, powerless to change anything.
"Let her go. It's better this way. At least we have some goodwill between us. If we ever venture out, we'll have connections. Let's head back and rest."
One elder seemed to have come to terms with it, leading the others away.
Thus, several more years passed. At the Immortal Sect...
"This is undoubtedly Su Min's handiwork. She mentioned it to me before. So you must be her disciple. Hmm..."
Xie Yingying studied the slightly nervous girl before her, deep in thought. That day, their sect had received a guest, one who arrived bearing a token with Su Min's mark. This was no small matter.
As an alchemist, every move Su Min made could send tremors through the continent. It was no exaggeration to say that a single promise from her could make superpowers go to war.
Thus, Su Min was usually extremely tight-lipped. For someone to arrive with such a token meant they must have rendered her significant aid.
Anyone connected to Su Min, especially those who had helped her, naturally received the Immortal Sect's full attention. And then this girl had dropped a bombshell: she was Su Min's disciple.
In the Immortal Sect, that essentially made her the young sect master.
As for Lin Yao, she was utterly dumbfounded. She knew her master was extraordinary, but this was beyond expectations. Especially with this supreme powerhouse before her staring with such an odd expression.