The Two Elders of Flame and Earth

"Mu'er, take these two to the rear hall."

With a glance at the jade bottle in his hand, Prince Yong handed it over. Under the grateful gazes of the two men, he signaled for his son to lead them away to consume the pills—especially since Su Min remained seated here. It wouldn't do for them to reveal too much in front of her.

Moments later, a surge of formidable spiritual pressure pulsed from the rear of the hall. Only then did Prince Yong allow himself a sigh of relief. Three true Qi Refining cultivators now stood beneath his banner—not those pitiful excuses for cultivators who had been casually slaughtered by Su Min earlier, but genuine warriors of the path.

With this reinforcement, his faction's strength had leapt forward. Turning back to Su Min, he shifted the topic toward more pressing concerns.

"Miss Su, the two items you seek... I'm afraid they are not within the borders of Great Wei. Otherwise, there would have been word long ago."

"Not in Great Wei?"

Su Min's brow twitched. A vague unease crept into her heart.

"They're likely on the northern plains. Even our influence struggles to penetrate that region. However... I did receive a report—though it remains unverified."

"What kind of report?" Her expression tightened further.

The territories of Great Wei were vast, yet its dominion did not encompass all. They had firm control over the most prosperous lands, but the south was guarded by rugged mountain ranges, the west by a sea of shifting dunes, and the north... the endless grasslands. These outer realms were unsuitable for farming, and so Great Wei had little hold over them.

"In the past decade, two top masters have emerged on the grasslands. They've spent ten years conquering the scattered tribes, and now… they're close to unifying the entire steppe." Prince Yong's expression darkened. "This is not good news for us."

"Two of them?" Su Min's stomach sank. She was starting to remember something.

"Yes. They are known as the Twin Elders of Flame and Earth. Over a year ago, they ventured deep into the heart of the plains. No one knows exactly what transpired, but they returned each wielding a powerful artifact attuned to their elemental affinities."

"Damn it. That's troublesome."

Su Min believed him immediately. In the game world she once knew, these two were infamous mid-game bosses—a side quest that most players would avoid unless they deliberately wandered into the northern grasslands.

But evasion came with consequences. Ignoring that side quest meant the tribes of the plains would eventually launch a devastating invasion. Even with the Demon Queen holding the line, Great Wei wouldn't fall outright—but vast swathes of territory would be lost to the nomads. The fate of the common folk left behind? One only needed to remember the chaos of the Five Barbarians and Sixteen Kingdoms period to imagine it.

Ultimately, those two old monsters would be subdued by the Demon Queen and stand as elite foes in the late game. But if intercepted early, they were only at the late Qi Refining stage. Once under her command, they would undergo transformations and rise to the Golden Core realm.

Even more dangerously, their cultivation techniques allowed them to temporarily merge their powers, becoming a monstrous dual-force entity. Against such a fusion, even someone of equal rank would struggle to survive.

~Edit and rewritten by Rikhi, Reiya_Alberich, ReiNyam~

Su Min had never intended to provoke them. But now, if the two Foundation Establishment materials she sought were indeed in their hands, then delay would only lead to disaster. If those two broke into the Foundation Establishment realm first, it would be almost impossible for her to seize the items from them.

As for their origins—they were much like the Demon Queen herself. Ancient beings once sealed away. However, it seemed their former clans were weak, and the seals around them incomplete. They had awakened decades early.

And even after all this time, they remained at the late Qi Refininf stage. Their raw combat prowess, however, was anything but weak. Their combined technique was terrifying—even Su Min felt wary of it.

"A pity," she murmured. "It seems battle is inevitable. They have no path to Foundation Establishment unless the Demon Empress aids them directly. That being the case, striking first is the best course."

Su Min fell into deep thought, weighing her options.

"Miss Su? Miss Su?"

Prince Yong's voice roused her. In truth, he had a request of her now. With the grasslands nearly unified, the tribes' age-old instinct—to march south—would surely awaken. Yongzhou City, guarding the borderlands of grass and sand, would bear the first assault.

Even with three Qi Refining cultivators under his command, he felt no ease. Too many reports had filtered in, leading him to suspect those two elders were already at the peak of Qi Refining.

Unless the Demon Queen herself intervened, he could think of no one within Great Wei capable of stopping them... except the woman before him.

"War is coming, isn't it?" Su Min asked calmly.

"You sensed it too, then."

"I understand what you want. The Twin Elders of Flame and Earth... Fine. I'll deal with them. But make no mistake—those two aren't beneath me in cultivation. Don't place your hopes on your three new recruits. And don't expect help from the palace either."

She wasn't exaggerating. Getting that dog of an emperor to produce a Foundation Establishment cultivator in short order was a fool's dream. As for the Demon Queen herself? That was even more impossible. Which meant the burden fell solely on her. She could walk away—but if she did, the path to Foundation Establishment through Heaven's Mandate would grow distant.

These rare artifacts—true treasures birthed once in decades by the world—could not be replaced easily. Missing this chance might mean waiting a century. By then, the Demon Queen would act freely, and if Su Min remained at Qi Refining... she would stand no chance. Worse still, if she fled now, not just Yongzhou, but the three provinces beyond would likely fall into chaos and bloodshed. For her own sake—and the sake of others—she had to stay.

"Then I thank Miss Su for your help."

"Don't thank me yet." Her tone turned cold. "Before I act, I must remain hidden. They must not learn of my power. In the meantime, spare no cost in gathering information on those two. If I am to face them alone, I need every possible edge."

Of course, she already knew much of their abilities from the game. But this wasn't a game anymore. The real world allowed for deviation. In the game, those two never left their stronghold in search of rare treasures. But perhaps now, the allure of Foundation Establishment materials had drawn them out.

Besides, those materials weren't just useful for cultivation. Even unrefined, they were rare enough to act as powerful spiritual artifacts on their own. It was only natural she gather as much intel as possible. One more thing—in the game, weapon forgers were far rarer than pill alchemists. Many cultivators ended up like Hui Ming of the desert: powerful but poorly equipped. But Su Min was clad in full spiritual armor. Her chances weren't low.

Even so...

"I'll have to be careful."