The Eastern Azure Wood

Although this beast carried traces of divine bloodline, it was far from pure. Su Min could have taken it down alone—but if she had, the result would've been the same: a charred, inedible carcass. At this point, she almost wished she had roasted it herself. At least then, she could've enjoyed a meal. Instead, the eagle's organs and blood had been utterly obliterated by Xie Yingying's frost explosion. Only the demon core remained. With a sigh, Su Min pocketed the core and approached the three radiant flowers.

"Now we have the rarest ingredient for the Nascent Soul Pill—wait, what are you doing?!"

SMACK!

A small branch whipped Xie Yingying's outstretched hand, forcing her to yelp and retreat.

"Ow! What was that for?!"

"A basic rule of alchemy: Never uproot a spirit herb unless absolutely necessary." Su Min scowled, twirling the branch in her fingers. "Yanking it out like that would've damaged the roots. These flowers will regrow if left intact."

With practiced precision, she sliced off the blossoms with her sword, carefully storing them in her spatial ring—where time stood still, preserving them perfectly.

As the eagle died, a black vortex appeared in the sky—the passage to the next trial. Xie Yingying moved to enter, but Su Min stopped her.

"No rush. This place is brimming with rare herbs, nourished by the Eastern Azure Wood's vitality. Let's gather what we can first."

"Won't the others seize the inheritance?"

"No." Su Min smirked. "They only have dragon scales. I bear the true mark—my connection is deeper. The core won't open for at least three weeks. Let them fight among themselves. The protagonist always arrives fashionably late."

Thanks to her Heavenly Dao Insight talent, Su Min could sense the correct path—a privilege the others lacked. In the game, this would've been marked by a glowing arrow. Here, it was pure instinct.

"Then let's strip this place bare."

Xie Yingying's eyes gleamed. Though she was wealthy, resources were finite. Having a Grade Four alchemist as an ally?

Priceless.

While Su Min and Xie Yingying looted leisurely, chaos reigned elsewhere. Without the Azure Dragon's mark, the other cultivators stumbled blindly between trial spaces. Each chamber locked them in until they defeated its guardian—forcing brutal, no-retreat battles.

And just as Su Min predicted: War broke out.

Three factions, each desperate for the Eastern Azure Wood, clashed in blood-soaked skirmishes. By the third day, the trial's entrance sealed shut—no one could leave until the inheritance was decided.

"Another rare ingredient—Aqua Spirit Fruit!" Su Min grinned, stashing it away. "Once this is over, I'll attempt Grade Four Mid-Tier alchemy. The materials here are unbelievably rich!"

Most sects couldn't sustain the resources needed for high-tier pill refining—not in this era of depleted spiritual energy. But the Dragon Domain?

A treasure trove.

Xie Yingying, eyes shining, she handed Su Min a new pill recipe.

"Flame Sun Spirit Pill—Grade Four Mid-Tier. It generates yang fire energy, preserving body heat. For the place I must go… it's essential."

In the game, players who chose the Lunar Sovereign Physique had to start with the Lunar Sovereign Ancient Scripture—it was unobtainable otherwise. But this was reality.

"The Eastern Azure Wood is key to reaching it," Xie Yingying murmured. "My ancestors… they must have foreseen this. They sealed me in Wei Wu Province for a reason."

"Three pills. Minimum." Su Min's tone turned serious. "No wonder you weren't in a hurry. The requirements are brutal."

In the next chamber, the scene was carnage. Blood painted the walls—cultivator blood, rich with spiritual energy.

"Three sects clashed here," Su Min observed coldly. "Probably fighting over treasures and the inheritance."

Looking at the surrounding situation and scattered information, Su Min could tell what happened at a glance.

After all, when entering this secret realm, there were two or three people in one space, and then they were scattered all over the place in disorder. With so many people from these sects, they were probably scattered in dozens of different rooms.

Moreover, the materials here are really good, and Su Min and Xie Yingying don't fight for them. It's because Su Min is an alchemist, and Xie Yingying will ask her to make pills in the end, so naturally she will give them all to Su Min. But those people may not be the same, and they may even fight among themselves because of snatching something.

Especially when the genius who had gone through the nine-nine-day tribulation was not around, basically no one else would give in to anyone else. Everyone had been tempered by the sixty-nine-day tribulation, so who was afraid of who?

"Let's move on."

Su Min glanced around expressionlessly, and this time she did not go to the parallel space. Instead, she walked towards the inner layer. However, this time, after she walked over, she bumped into a few people.

Three of them were disciples of the Shenxing Sect, but at this moment they were surrounding a fat man.

"Hand over all your things. I just saw you put a Red Sun Blood Crystal into your storage ring."

"That's an important ingredient for the elixir I need. I won't give it to you."

"You fat guy, are you looking for death?"

Before Su Min could say anything, the conversation between several people came over. This also made Su Min's mouth curl up slightly. In the outside world, there are very few open robberies. Because even independent cultivators will stick together, and it will be difficult to deal with a fight.

But it's different in the ruins, especially for those unlucky people who are left alone.

Because the two people did not hide, they were discovered the moment they entered. The three people who had been ferocious and greedy just now were stunned for a moment after seeing Su Min and Xie Yingying, but soon changed their faces to flattering.

"Two fairies, this fat man has stolen our things. Please forgive me, the guards here have been killed by us. You two fairies can go wherever you want."

"scram."

Hearing this, Su Min looked at these people with disdain. Had she and Xie Yingying been weaker, these vultures would've pounced without hesitation. No point wasting time on them.

"My two fairies, I am willing to exchange a Naiqiong Divine Ice for you two, and I only ask you to save my life."

Su Min barely flicked an eyebrow, but behind her, Xie Yingying went rigid. A hitch in her breath, fingers twitching—tiny tells, but Su Min caught them all. That hungry glint in Xie Yingying's eyes was unmistakable.

"Asshole, don't worry, fairies. Once we get that thing back, this Naiqiong Divine Ice will be offered to you with both hands."

Seeing this scene, the three people couldn't help but tremble, and then immediately made a promise to Xie Yingying.

Su Min didn't even glance at them. Instead, she tilted her head toward Xie Yingying, voice low. "You need it?"

A pause. Xie Yingying's throat moved, her usual frost faltering. "...Mn."

"Important?"

Another silence. Then, softer: "Mn."

Su Min exhaled through her nose. She hadn't planned to intervene—but the way Xie Yingying's gaze clung to the promise of that treasure, rare and desperate, unraveled something in her chest.

Without another word, she turned back to the disciples. "I'll give you one minute to disappear from our sight."

"you!!!"

"What's wrong? Can your Holy Son take revenge on me?"

Looking at the people whose faces suddenly changed, Su Min just spoke in an unusually domineering tone. Sure enough, the faces of the three people changed. The two people opposite were both strong men who had survived the nine-nine heavenly tribulations. What's more, there was another one who was a fourth-grade alchemist, and this person seemed to be the only fourth-grade alchemist in the entire Golden Pill Avenue.

Not to mention themselves, even their Holy Son would not dare to offend such an existence.

"Lucky you!!!"

Having said that, several people glared at the fat man fiercely, then turned around and disappeared into the room.

Su Min turned to the trembling man, her palm upturned in silent demand. "Show me."

The man didn't hesitate - with shaking hands, he produced an extraordinary sight: a silver-white crystal nearly the length of a person, its surface shimmering with trapped moonlight. "This is the treasure I got by chance."

As Su Min hefted the massive specimen, cold energy prickled against her skin like winter's breath. Xie Yingying's usually composed demeanor fractured. Her fingers twitched toward the crystal before she caught herself. "With this...I could enter the mid Golden Core realm," she murmured, voice thick with rare excitement.

Su Min arched an eyebrow. "How long to refine?"

"Five years. Perhaps ten." The words landed between them like stones.

Su Min's hand went absently to her head, fingers digging through dark hair in exasperation. The timeframe was absurd—if they could achieve that power boost immediately, their chances against the coming trials would skyrocket. The tactical advantage alone made her mouth water.

Yet reality proved disappointing. "Might as well wait for the next imperial dynasty while we're at it," she grumbled, the irony bitter on her tongue. Ten years from now, their enemies would have consolidated power, the treasures would be plundered, and any advantage lost.

Yet when she glanced at Xie Yingying's poorly concealed longing, something in her chest tightened. Without ceremony, she shoved the massive crystal into the other woman's arms. "Keep it. We'll find faster methods for now."

Xie Yingying caught the treasure with surprising grace, her usual icy mask slipping just enough to reveal something warmer beneath. Before either could speak further, Su Min was already striding toward the inner chambers. "Enough dawdling. The true prize awaits."

It wasn't long before the inheritance was opened. As for the fat monk, after seeing that Su Min didn't say anything, he turned around and left from another exit in the space.

Each space has an exit, and once you enter, you will be teleported out instantly. Of course, once you are out, it means that everything here has nothing to do with you. But judging from the other party's appearance, he has gained a lot of benefits. He is alone and weak, and he does not have the strength of Su Min and Xie Yingying, so he naturally knows how to stop while he is ahead.

Su Min did not stop the fat man's behavior. Instead, she took Xie Yingying to the deepest part. Now that they had gained a lot, it was time for her to leave after getting the final benefit.

At the core chamber, three figures stood in a deadly standoff: Mu Ling – The "Wood Madman," surrounded by writhing vines; Han Chaoyan – A blade-wielding prodigy, his aura sharp as tempered steel; Chang Lu – Cloaked in shadows, his movements eerily silent.

Above them, suspended in a barrier of green light, was a sapling—its leaves shimmering with celestial vitality.

The Eastern Azure Wood.

And coiled around it?

A tiny dragon, watching them all with ancient eyes.

Su Min's mark burned beneath her sleeve, the hidden dragon qi surging violently.

"Damn it… calm down!" She gritted her teeth, forcing the energy back. "Not yet…!"

At this time, Su Min couldn't help but hold down her arm. It felt just like the Qilin arm in Feng Yun that Bu Jingyun might lose control of. The Azure Dragon that she had entered the state of enlightenment at the beginning really gave her something else.

However, that thing might not be very useful, so the system did not detect it, and Su Min didn't even know about it.

Xie Yingying shot her a concerned glance. "Are you—?"

"It's okay, the situation is fine. Uh, help me protect the law for a while."

But at this moment Su Min's expression suddenly changed, because at this moment countless information was being directly instilled into her mind.

During this period of time, many people entered this core area. Afterwards, almost all of them were attracted by Eastern Azure Wood at first sight, just like Su Min. But these people quickly came to their senses because they noticed three cold gazes.

This was exactly what the three saints in the confrontation had released. If they started fighting, it would be hard to predict the outcome. So the obstacles had to be removed as soon as possible. As for why Su Min and Xie Yingying didn't take action, it was very simple: they were too strong.

As for the people who were locked by that gaze, if they were disciples of the three sects, they would immediately find their own camps, while the independent cultivators would very wisely turn around and run towards the exit.

Moreover, these two people dawdled all the way and almost arrived here on time. You know, after they entered, they rushed all the way in, for fear of missing this.