"You're Too Small, Forget It"

"ARGHH—!!!"

In the pitch-black night, a massive '卍' character descended from the heavens like divine judgment, slamming down on the corpse fiend just as it was absorbing spiritual essence. The beast was pinned to the ground, hissing.

"You're from the Great Thunder Temple?"

Xie Yingying froze at the sight. That '卍' symbol was unmistakable—pure Buddhist power. But Su Min? She never once acted like a Buddhist cultivator. Sure, there were temples with her statues, but Xie Yingying always assumed the monks were just borrowing her fame to attract followers. That sort of exchange wasn't uncommon—they'd done it before.

But never had she imagined that Su Min actually wielded the core technique of Great Thunder Temple: the Great Sun Tathāgata Sutra.

"I made a deal with them. They gave it to me after I swore a heart oath not to spread it."

"That's impossible..."

To hand over a sect's core cultivation technique to an outsider? Even for the sake of spreading the faith, that crossed too many lines. And everyone in Great Thunder Temple should have sworn the same unbreakable oath Su Min did—unless...

"Stay away from them," Su Min added coolly. They 'enlighten' others without regard for reason."

"I got it from a high-ranking monk," she continued. "He had the authority. Anyway, that guy's yours. The seal won't hold much longer."

As they spoke, the two of them approached the pinned corpse fiend. Cracks had already started to spider across the glowing '卍' symbol holding it down. After all, this was a late-stage Foundation Establishment creature—just shy of Golden Core. A symbol like that, casually thrown, was never going to suppress it for long.

And just as expected—

CRACK!

With a bone-rattling roar, the massive '卍' shattered into light. The corpse fiend rose, its rotting form emanating a sickening aura of undeath.

"Hah! I've slept for far too long! But who would've thought—upon awakening, I'd be greeted by two such beauties? Kneel before me now, and when I reclaim my strength and rise again, I'll grant you the honor of becoming royal concubines in my harem!"

"You—!" Xie Yingying's face turned cold. Her hand already gripping a pitch-black slender sword, ready to charge in fury. But before she could move—

"Tch."

She was clearly unfazed by the corpse's vulgar taunts. What surprised her more… was that this thing could still talk. It had half a brain left, and yet it could still run its mouth?

So she tilted her head and asked in a tone halfway between mockery and curiosity, "Say… you still have that thing?"

"…"

Even Xie Yingying was dumbfounded now. What the hell was she asking?

"Hahaha! Once this king devours ten thousand humans, my flesh shall be restored! My virility shall return in full! How about it, beauties? Tempted?!"

The Corpse Demon—clearly understanding Su Min's implication—laughed arrogantly, even thrusting its hips forward to showcase its rotting lower half.

"..."

For a moment, Xie Yingying's brain short-circuited. She glanced sideways at Su Min, completely baffled by her "taste." Was this… was this her type?

Before she could say anything, Su Min's expression turned deadly serious.

"Nah. Too small. Not worth it."

"..."

"..."

Silence.

The entire world seemed to pause.

Both Xie Yingying and the Corpse Demon were rendered speechless.

Then—

"YOU WRETCHED WOMAN! THIS KING WILL SHOW YOU HIS MIGHT!!!"

After a brief stupor, the Corpse Demon erupted in rage, launching itself at Su Min like a cannonball. The speed and ferocity of its charge even startled Xie Yingying. She was just about to intercept—until she saw the faint smirk tug at the corner of Su Min's lips.

~Edit and rewritten by Rikhi, Reiya_Alberich, ReiNyam~

With a casual flick of her hand, a small gourd appeared in her palm. The moment the corpse fiend lunged close, he saw it. A tiny gourd—its mouth aimed directly at him. It was barely the size of a finger, but in his eyes, it gaped like a cosmic black hole, a devourer of souls.

His instincts screamed at him to run—

But his broken body could no longer obey. And then—

BOOM!!!

A bolt of pitch-black lightning streaked across the sky, blasting the Corpse Demon mid-air and slamming it into the ground.

[Demon-Slaying Thunder]

One of Su Min's trump cards. She had held back during her last battle with the Twin Elders of Flame and Earth. This time, she wasn't making the same mistake. The creature's howl of agony echoed through the valley.

It was true—hitting a Golden Core creature with Demon-Slaying Thunder wasn't easy. Their speed alone made it difficult to land a clean shot. That's why Su Min had provoked him on purpose. She didn't know what would trigger him exactly, but... if he'd been an emperor once, then taunting his manhood was bound to work.

"You—!"

Xie Yingying gaped, her mind struggling to process what just happened. The moment the creature had insulted them, she'd been ready to fight to the death. But who knew Su Min would pull such a dirty trick?

That Demon-Slaying Thunder had likely crippled the monster outright. And as Su Min had said earlier—she could've handled this newborn abomination alone.

"Quit staring and help me finish it off! Buy me some time—we're killing this thing together!"

Su Min snapped her out of her daze.

"R-right!"

Xie Yingying sprinted forward.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Their blades clashed furiously, neither gaining an advantage. But Su Min's sharp eyes noticed—frost was creeping over the zombie's body. He was undead—cold by nature. And yet, Xie Yingying's aura was freezing him over. This wasn't just a technique gap—it was pure physique suppression.

As for the Corpse Demon?

It was in sorry shape. Its head had been blown apart by Su Min's thunder, but such creatures didn't die unless their core was destroyed. Still, the damage was severe—otherwise, Xie Yingying wouldn't be holding it off so easily without even using her full power.

One silver lining?

Its mouth was gone. No more taunts or screams—just muffled, impotent rage.

Meanwhile, high above—

Su Min took a deep breath, Nanming Lihuo erupting across her body and channeling into her sword. A gigantic firebird began taking shape before her.

[Mystic Firewood Sword—Flame Manifestation]

In an instant, scorching waves of heat gathered, the energy fluctuations making the Corpse Demon below tremble violently.