"Calm down, he's long dead."
Clearly, the Golden Crow's inherited memories had sent the little one into a rage.
Su Min had anticipated this. With a wave of her hand,
Boom!
The next moment, the little Golden Crow exploded like a bomb, because what appeared before her was a massive Golden Crow puppet.
Other puppets might be insignificant, but Su Min had specifically brought out the Golden Crow and dragon puppets. The tomb contained plenty of such puppets, originally selected by the Medicine Buddha to help his inheritor refine laws.
As for other divine beasts or fiendish creatures, they held no significance to her, so she used them without hesitation.
But the little Golden Crow was different. Seeing the grotesquely altered Golden Crow puppet, she completely bristled. Had she been in her true form, she'd have undoubtedly transformed into an adorable golden fluffball.
Of course, Su Min wisely refrained from commenting, instead looking skyward with feigned nonchalance.
"What about that emperor's lineage?"
Clearly ruffled, the little Golden Crow glared murderously at Su Min.
"Hmm..."
Su Min expressionlessly pointed at herself, freezing the little Golden Crow in stunned silence.
"He played himself to death long ago. I only just acquired this."
Without further explanation, Su Min summoned the massively shrunken tomb before them. The sight deflated the little Golden Crow like a punctured balloon. Only two words echoed in her mind: ruthless.
This guy had turned his entire lineage into puppets, not a single living soul remained. It left her with no outlet for her rage, truly walking his path left no path for others.
"Forget it. No point raging against puppets. Later, let me go in and vent properly. Don't worry, I won't dismantle the place."
The little Golden Crow narrowed her eyes. A quick scan had revealed the tomb's secre, the endlessly regenerating puppets would make perfect training dummies.
Her anger dissipated. Any puppets removed would instantly become worthless. Observing the disintegrating corpse below, the little Golden Crow rubbed her temples. After being removed by Su Min, it had completely fallen apart, utterly valueless. Even if valuable, she'd have reclaimed it anyway.
With a wave, the earth's veins reappeared, and the corpse slowly sank into them.
Then, flames erupted from the earth's veins.
"I also have a dragon corpse to deliver to Ao Xue. As for the others, can't be bothered. Not like I know them well anyway."
Su Min simply nodded. Seeing the little Golden Crow in low spirits, she didn't know how to comfort her, though secretly disappointed she couldn't see the ruffled bird form.
"Wait, dragons!!!"
Suddenly, the little Golden Crow paused, an odd expression crossing her face before she flew over with a grin, hugging Su Min's arm.
"Could you let me return that dragon to the mudskipper?"
←_←
Su Min instantly saw through the little bird's scheme. But for convenience's sake, she tossed it over.
"Don't get cocky. If you get beaten black and blue again, I won't avenge you."
Su Min merely offered this warning about the little Golden Crow's death wish. After all, she'd been beaten to a pulp more than once, always licking her wounds in private. With her pride, she'd never ask Su Min for help after losing a fair one-on-one fight.
"Phew..."
With matters settled, Su Min returned to the sect. She summoned all half-step Dao Comprehension cultivator, including Xie Yingying and Elder Zhu, while Lin Yao observed from the sidelines.
Divine Transformation cultivators who hadn't crossed the threshold entering would be suicidal, risking not just a beating but their lives. Though Su Min had her own schemes, she'd never endanger her disciple.
"This is the Puppet Ancient Emperor's legacy I obtained, containing countless puppets ranging from Dao Comprehension to Unity and even Mahayana stages. This will be crucial for your advancement, a Great Emperor's inheritance that fills our sect's final gap."
"Hiss, "
As Su Min spoke, the room filled with shocked gasps. Super sects and clans all possessed Great Emperor inheritance realms, until now, they hadn't. This meant progressing beyond Dao Comprehension had been nearly impossible.
That Su Min and Xie Yingying advanced so smoothly was due to their special circumstances. Even Elder Zhu didn't know how long reaching mid Dao Comprehension would take.
But with this, their sect's last deficiency was remedied.
"Listen carefully. First, never remove puppets from inside. They'll instantly decay. Second, only half-step Dao Comprehension cultivators who've comprehended laws may enter. No exceptions, not even the strongest late Divine Transformation cultivators. Understood?!"
Here, Su Min specifically eyed the eager Lin Yao, who immediately shrank back. Clearly, Su Min was warning her, disobedience wasn't an option.
"These puppets were modified from at least Dao Comprehension-stage corpses. Without law protection, they're too dangerous, and they attack in groups. Some even pushed me to the brink. Proceed with caution. The only silver lining is they won't leave their rooms."
"Yes!"
With that, Su Min placed the secret realm in the back mountains, notifying the divine and spirit beasts. The specifics she left to Elder Zhu and Xie Yingying, standard procedures existed for such matters.
Su Min currently had no interest in entering. First, she'd just reached late Dao Comprehension, needing to gradually temper her spiritual energy rather than rush advancement. Second, she had artifacts to craft for her dear disciple. Though still unable to forge Heaven-grade artifacts, Earth-grade high-tier ones were effortless.
But armor posed a headache. In her past life, privately hoarding armor could be deemed rebellion, showing its combat value. This world was similar. If regular artifacts cost 100, equivalent armor started at 10,000.
Naturally, crafting proved immensely difficult, even Su Min needed nearly a month.
"I've prepared new artifacts and equipment. You must exercise extreme caution in the ancient battlefield, beware not just corpses but people. But since you've traversed it once, no need for further warnings."
Lin Yao sat perfectly straight, both hands resting on her knees, back tense. She dared not move. Su Min's presence used to bring her comfort—warm, familiar, almost indulgent. Once, they had even bathed together, Su Min laughing lightly as she poured scented oil over Lin Yao's shoulders, calling her a spoiled fox. At the time, Lin Yao had been too stunned to speak, her cheeks burning. But she had basked in that closeness, treasured it, replayed it in her mind far too many times afterward.
Now, everything felt different.
Su Min was still the same—smiling faintly, eyes slightly narrowed, her hair tied up in the usual lazy bun—but the air between them had changed.
Or perhaps it was the eyes behind her.
Half-lidded and unreadable, Xie Yingying stood silently at Su Min's side like a shadow made of moonlight. Her presence filled the room, weightless yet suffocating. Lin Yao didn't need to turn around to feel it. That quiet gaze pressed against her back like the edge of a blade. Not threatening, not yet, but ever-present.
Seeing Lin Yao sitting rigidly straight and Xie Yingying's half-lidded gaze behind her, Su Min could only scratch her head awkwardly.
"Yes, Master."
Lin Yao's voice was soft, clipped. She straightened her back even more, though her shoulders were already stiff. She snuck a glance toward Xie Yingying—and immediately looked away. She didn't dare speak freely anymore. Not like before. Not when she felt as though any trace of closeness would be measured, catalogued, and silently judged.
"Oh," she added quickly, trying to shift the mood, "while you're there collect some Dao Comprehension-stage corpses for me. Living ones would be too dangerous, but dead ones should be manageable."
Lin Yao blinked, startled out of her silence. "Master, are you making puppets again?"
Lin Yao blinked in surprise. After releasing the secret realm, Su Min had also made the puppet compendium public, albeit censored. The living puppet techniques were classified as forbidden arts, known only to Su Min.
Even without those, the remaining puppet craft astonished many. Like modern silicone dolls, these puppets' realism was undeniable. But as an insider, Lin Yao knew those secret realm puppets' origins.
Su Min gave her a lazy side-eye. "Obviously. I need something to absorb tribulation lightning. When I refined my first eighth-grade pill, the heavenly tribulation nearly crisped me."
Her expression turned flat, lips drawn into a deadpan pout. The memory clearly still stung.
Su Min adopted a dead-fish expression. She refused to gather crowds for protection every time she refined pills. Though now she could handle that pill without such embarrassing the memory still haunted her.
"Pfft, leave it to me then," she said, a little more brightly. "I'll bring you the best-looking corpses I can find!"
Su Min rolled her eyes. "I'm making puppets, not dolls."
"Well, your puppets do look suspiciously lifelike..."
"That's the entire point. Realistic texture is essential."
Lin Yao was smiling now, a spark of their old rhythm flickering back to life. It bubbled up before she could stop it, startled and unguarded. For a moment, the tension in her chest eased.
Su Min smiled, but it was brief. "Then I can only wish you luck."
With a flick of her fingers, she tossed Lin Yao a jade ring brimming with carefully selected items—artifacts, formation tools, qi anchors, all personally tailored to Lin Yao's strengths. Her crafting plans' success now depended on the girl, Su Min certainly couldn't procure Dao Comprehension corpses herself. As the girl caught it, Su Min's fingers hovered a beat too long in the air, as if tempted to say more.
But she didn't.
Soon...
"Hmm, she's off."
Watching Lin Yao's vanishing light streak, Xie Yingying exhaled quietly. It wasn't dramatic, but it was unmistakably a sigh of relief.
This continent was still steeped in old customs, masters as second fathers, disciples as dutiful children. Most cultivators bowed and scraped before their elders, their speech always formal, their respect always rigid.
But Su Min?
Su Min didn't know how to play the part.
She never acted like a master. Never pulled rank. Once someone got close to her, titles and hierarchy meant nothing. Whether sect leader or servant, she treated them the same, with dry remarks, mild gestures, and a complete disregard for decorum.
To Xie Yingying, it was reckless. Dangerous.
Especially when it came to that girl.
She hadn't said anything at first. Hadn't even admitted it to herself. But the longer she watched Su Min interact with Lin Yao, the more unease coiled in her chest.
Too casual. Too unguarded.
A disciple shouldn't be able to touch her Master that easily. A disciple shouldn't look at her Master that way, and more importantly, a Master shouldn't let it slide.
It was absurd.
If Su Min truly saw Lin Yao as a disciple, she should have drawn a line. Should have taught her distance. Should have protected her. That was what Xie Yingying would've done.
And yet… Su Min just smiled and handed her pills, wrapped arms around her shoulders, ruffled her hair like some carefree parent, No. Not a parent. Something else.
And that was what made it unbearable. Xie Yingying didn't understand what she was feeling, exactly. Not anger. Not quite jealousy. And certainly not fear.
But there was something sharp in her whenever Lin Yao was around. Something cold and unpleasant. Something that made her want to cut through every thread of connection Su Min might weave with others. She would never say it aloud. Would never accuse Su Min of anything. She didn't need to. She just needed to stay close, closer than anyone else.
"Matters settled. Don't disappoint me, dear disciple. Oh, while we're temporarily free, compile a list of urgently needed herbs. Those brats are too weak, only reaching early sixth-grade alchemy with abysmal success rates."
Su Min rolled her eyes. Actually, sixth-grade alchemists were impressive, rare even in super sects, treasured like jewels. Only someone like Su Min would complain, leaving others speechless.
Sixth-grade alchemists warranted warm receptions from Dao Comprehension experts, even if they didn't need those pills personally, their factions certainly did.
"Count your blessings. Four early sixth-grade alchemists, every sect envies that. As for pills, there are some demands. Here's the task list, help refine these."
"Hmm..."
Scanning the list, Su Min's lips twitched uncontrollably. Some requests dated back over a decade! Thankfully cultivators lived long, otherwise it'd be like ordering a car in youth and receiving it when your kids could throw punches, some Russian joke.
Of course, Su Min only sweated internally. She couldn't truly become a pill-refining machine. They'd just have to endure, whenever she returned from seclusion, she refined batches anyway.
Those cultivators could only wait gratefully.
Thus every Su Min return sent the sect scrambling to tally resources, lest she vanish again without notice.
"Seventy-three sixth-grade pills, twelve seventh-grade pills, including eight Dao Comprehension Pills. That means eight potential Dao Comprehension candidates. Are materials sufficient? I can't provide that many myself."
Eighth-grade pills mainly benefited Unity-stage cultivators. For sixth-grade and below, the sect's other alchemists could manage. Thus Su Min only needed to handle the remainder, especially Dao Comprehension Pills.
~
"Great Emperor legacies are truly extraordinary. This month, two have emerged, their combat experience bringing them closer to Dao Comprehension. Even I'm intrigued. With you guarding the sect, I'll enter for proper training."
Super sects surpassed ordinary ones precisely because of these emperor-crafted realms. They provided rare combat experience, especially in this environment.
Most Dao Comprehension experts had extensive responsibilities, rarely risking life-and-death battles. Few matched Su Min and Tian Hao's rich experiences. For the majority progressing slowly, such realms were invaluable.
Previously, their sect's super status relied entirely on Su Min's support and the little Golden Crow's assistance. But with this, even separating from the divine beasts, their gap with true super sects was rapidly closing.
"Go ahead. I won't refine eighth-grade pills anyway. Just deliver the herbs to my chamber."
With a nod, Su Min entered her chamber with the materials. Though numerous, these pills would take merely a week, hardly strenuous.