The Swastika Mark

The true power of the Great Sun Tathāgata Sutra lies in its core technique—the embodiment of the Great Sun Tathāgata's golden body. According to legend, when fully manifested, the golden form could tower ten thousand zhang high, as if the Buddha himself descended into the mortal world.

Of course, such a display required an unimaginably profound cultivation base—one far beyond Su Min's current capabilities.

Still, with the activation of the technique, she managed to conjure a luminous golden avatar, about three or four meters tall—imperfect, yet awe-inspiring.

"The faith energy accumulated over these twenty years is substantial. Now that I've advanced further, both my Golden Bell Shield and Buddha's Protection should improve as well."

By the way, Su Min's Buddha's Protection could genuinely ward off misfortune—though not major calamities. It only worked against minor misfortunes, but don't underestimate those. For example, a child's sudden high fever—dangerous even in modern times, let alone this era.

Su Min's Buddha's Protection had prevented countless such tragedies, saving many children from premature death. Now, some even worshipped her like a fertility goddess, building clay idols at home to pray for blessings. Naturally, the accumulated faith energy was immense.

As for the so-called "toxicity of faith energy"? That didn't apply here. She had never forced anyone to believe in her, so the faith she received was free of excessive worldly desires. While not as pure as faith born from religious wars or forced devotion, it was completely harmless to her. And for Su Min, that was perfect.

She wasn't a faith-based cultivator. The Great Sun Tathāgata Sutra could be practiced without faith energy—just more slowly. But like pills, faith energy accelerated her cultivation without side effects. Why wouldn't she use it?

(Of course, for others, pills were a matter of life and death—but Su Min had infinite lifespan, so she could afford to take shortcuts.)

And so, as time passed...

One month, two months, three months...

The once-illusory golden avatar around her began to solidify, its form shimmering with ever-increasing presence. And then—on that day—an intense golden radiance erupted from her palm like a fountain of divine light.

There, embedded in her hand, a luminous golden 卍 character emerged briefly before vanishing like mist.

[Swastika Mark: An ancient symbol of auspiciousness and harmony. Once released, it can dispel calamity and suppress evil.]

"The second technique of the Great Sun Tathāgata Sutra? But I thought this thing was supposed to be on the chest."

The mark had appeared where her spiritual energy had gathered—her hand. Traditionally, the swastika symbol was said to be engraved upon the chest of the Buddha himself, but for it to appear here… it wasn't a flaw. In fact, it might even be better.

Otherwise, what—was she supposed to walk around in clothes that exposed her chest?

"Mid-stage Foundation Establishment. Aside from refining the Great Sun Tathāgata Sutra, the remaining energy—combined with the spirit nectar from my gourd—pushed me into mid-stage Foundation Establishment."

Su Min checked her condition, pleased. Mid-stage Foundation Establishment. Her Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment had taken twenty years, giving her an exceptionally stable foundation. Add in the spirit nectar (comparable to spirit stones) and two decades of accumulated faith energy, and her breakthrough was smooth as flight.

"Feels good…" she stretched, then tilted her head slightly. "There's someone outside."

Her gaze fell to a jade pendant by her side. "Yingying left this for me before she went into seclusion. If she's still cultivating, better not disturb her unless it's urgent."

She sighed softly. If Xie Yingying managed to push further in her training, it would make dealing with the corpse demon much easier. But as for having her fight the Demon Queen? Unrealistic.

~Edit and rewritten by Rikhi, Reiya_Alberich, ReiNyam~

For one, there was no real grudge between them. And more importantly, that Demon Queen wasn't someone a mere Foundation cultivator could challenge. At her peak, she had been at least Nascent Soul stage. To take her down, one needed to be at least a Golden Core cultivator—and Su Min estimated it'd take her several decades to reach that stage herself.

Besides, unlike Su Min, Xie Yingying didn't have eternal life. She could not afford to wait decades on end in seclusion. Even if she wanted to break through to Golden Core, she'd have to freeze her aging—and that came with its own price.

As Xie Yingying had once said: some Golden Core beasts born with ancient bloodlines and divine talents… even two of them together wouldn't stand a chance. Especially not against those with bloodline inheritance. While humans engrave their cultivation techniques upon the Heavenly Dao, beast clans pass them down through blood. These inheritances were terrifying.

That old Demon Queen? She wasn't any weaker than them. Even normal Golden Core cultivators, if they dared to gang up on her, might find themselves all slain. The real issue, though, was the massive gap between Foundation Establishment and Golden Core. That chasm was no joke—it was the line between mortal and immortal. Frankly, the fact that she and Xie Yingying could even consider killing a Golden Core cultivator was already insane.

"Corpse demons attack with Yin and cold energy. Yingying should be able to endure it. As for me, I'm its natural counter. This fight shouldn't be too difficult."

Corpse demons were born through unnatural means. They were flawed from the start. Forget rare techniques—if their powers didn't backfire on themselves, it was already a miracle. So to put it simply, even a Golden Core corpse demon was inferior to a proper Golden Core cultivator.

"It's been nearly half a year since I began this retreat… Let's see what's happening outside."

She pushed open the door—and found a monk waiting calmly outside.

"Congratulations, senior. Your Buddhist cultivation has reached new heights."

"What are you doing here?" Su Min raised an eyebrow. It was obvious he'd been waiting a while. He clearly had business with her.

"Not long ago, a merchant caravan arrived from the desert," the monk began respectfully. "Among them was our prince. He wishes to commission a weapon. He's prepared payment in full—and asked me to seek your aid."

"Alright," she nodded. No reason to refuse. She couldn't continue cultivating at the moment anyway. Until the corpse demon emerged, there wasn't much else on her schedule.

"Oh, right—Sect Master Mo has also arrived in Yongzhou, bearing lavish gifts."

"…That guy."

Su Min rubbed her temple with a groan. No doubt about it—he was here for Foundation Establishment pills. He must be nearing seventy by now. If he waited another ten or twenty years, he'd enter the decline of the Qi Refining stage. Even if he broke through by then, his foundation would be permanently damaged.

No wonder he was so eager during the last dungeon trial. He'd even helped her stop that Demon Prince's men from stealing the wood. Given that, it would be rude to turn him away now.