The Ink Qilin's Maturity and the Ambush

"Now, it's just a matter of who kills whom. Heh."

Watching the group disperse, Su Min revealed a dangerous smile.

The enemy had likely accounted for Xie Yingying and the little Golden Crow—two Unity-stage powerhouses—and perhaps even the two Imperial Artifacts of the Golden Crow Clan. But they could never have anticipated everything else she had prepared.

As for the other two super divine beasts and the Great Desolate Holy Body? The enemy had no clue.

Su Min's assembled forces were more than sufficient. After all, most of the Black Seal's top experts were Unity-stage. Even at their peak, they wouldn't be much of a threat.

The only ones worth worrying about were the Skeletal Emperor and the organization's second-in-command. The Skeletal Emperor was one thing, but the second seat was no pushover either. Though he lacked a special constitution, he had honed his ordinary body to a terrifying degree.

Apart from the Skeletal Emperor, Su Min planned to leave none of them alive.

She would have the little Golden Crow and the Dragon Princess team up to pin down the second seat. As super divine beasts wielding divine artifacts, they could handle him.

Killing him outright might be difficult—Su Min knew his trump card. He had developed a secret technique that allowed him to create a perfect clone of himself as long as his true body remained in an altar.

The only way to kill him was to storm his lair and destroy his original form.

But that wouldn't be easy. Su Min intended to wait until her Five Elements Holy Body reached Great Completion before charging in to finish him off. After that, she would head to the edge of the cosmos to investigate the faint summons she had been sensing.

Time passed minute by minute.

For cultivators, lengthy conferences were normal. This continent—more of a floating island than a planet—was unimaginably vast, easily dwarfing the solar system if fully spread out.

Gathering participants took ages.

Modern technology didn't work here, either. Electrical systems frequently short-circuited due to chaotic energy fluctuations. Even the phone Lin Yao had brought from Earth burned out the moment she took it out.

So the conference proceeded intermittently, with many attendees arriving halfway through.

Less than a year after Lin Yao's departure—

ROAR!!!

A deafening cry echoed as a colossal qilin, wreathed in black-and-white light, emerged into the world. Its aura surged violently, sweeping across hundreds of kilometers.

Even coastal cities in Eastern Mulberry Continent sensed the disturbance. Though its cultivation was only early Dao Comprehension stage, the purity of its energy was astounding.

"It's time."

Su Min's eyes snapped open.

She was now one step away from Great Completion of her Five Elements Holy Body—a goal she had pursued for centuries. The anticipation was unbearable. It was like playing a game where a satellite took millennia to deploy. Most would go mad waiting. Though Su Min had remained patient, the final step was within reach. How could she not feel the excitement?

Her thousand-year dream was about to be realized.

"There's no point delaying further. The Skeletal Emperor's peak strength is already established. If we drag this out, he'll reach Mahayana stage before me."

"The war begins now."

With that, she vanished, reappearing beneath the gigantic qilin. A flash of light later, the massive creature shrank rapidly.

In the blink of an eye, a girl with ash-black hair and heterochromatic blue-and-gold eyes stood before Su Min.

The sight gave Su Min pause.

"Junior Mo Yun thanks Senior Su for her salvation. Now that I've reached the early Dao Comprehension stage, I can summon the Qilin Ancestral Land from the dimensional seams. The Central Wutu Divine Earth is there."

Mo Yun—the Ink Qilin—bowed respectfully. She knew her race would have gone extinct without Su Min.

As for the Central Wutu Divine Earth, she disclosed its location freely. Though Su Min hadn't been present, Xie Yingying and the little Golden Crow had made her swear a soul oath: if she withheld the Central Wutu Divine Earth from Su Min, the backlash would annihilate the entire qilin race.

Not that the treasure was irreplaceable for them. The qilin possessed many divine artifacts, including the Imperial Heaven Earth as a backup.

"Don't rush. Things won't go smoothly this time. Where is your Qilin Secret Realm, and how far is it?"

"The Western Sea."

Su Min's neck stiffened.

Eastern Mulberry Continent, as the name suggested, lay on the eastern edge of the continent. The Western Sea was... all the way on the opposite side.

Since the Heavenly Continent wasn't spherical, the only way there was to traverse the entire landmass.

"Damn. We'll have to enter the void and use spatial compression to reach the west directly. Crossing realm by realm would take too long."

Su Min rubbed her temples, a sly glint in her eyes.

Unity-stage battles would shake the heavens. Fighting in the void was ideal—at her current level, a full-power strike could split small asteroids. On land, the aftershocks would devastate entire regions.

Mo Yun, however, looked utterly lost.

"What's happening?"

Su Min gave her a quick rundown. By the time she finished, Mo Yun's lips were twitching uncontrollably. Having awakened so late, she was lagging behind other divine beasts. While they had reached Unity stage, she was stuck at early Dao Comprehension.

Worse, without her clan's resources, her progress would crawl. Super divine beasts could advance unimpeded to Mahayana peak—but only with vast resources, which required their ancestral inheritance.

The other qilin were even worse off, all stuck at Golden Core stage. Their race had no means of self-defense now.

In exchange for the Central Wutu Divine Earth, Su Min would offer them protection—and in return, the qilin would obey her commands.

"A Great Emperor... I'm afraid I can't participate in this battle."

Mo Yun smiled bitterly. Though proud as a super divine beast, she wasn't stupid. This fight was beyond her. Her head drooped. Her bloodline was on par with the Five-Clawed Divine Dragon and Three-Legged Golden Crow, yet here she was—weak and helpless.

"Don't blame yourself. Your father's the one who got backstabbed by his own servant."

Su Min patted her shoulder reassuringly. She still needed the Central Wutu Divine Earth, after all.

Though the qilin would face hardships, they wouldn't be insurmountable. Divine beasts had a mutual defense pact—a relic of the ancient Human-God Wars, when sheer numbers had nearly driven them to extinction.

If Mo Yun swallowed her pride, she could seek refuge elsewhere. But Su Min—a grandmaster alchemist—was the best patron available. Being her "dog" was far more honorable than being a stray mutt with no master.

Mo Yun's face flushed crimson at the analogy.

Her father, the previous Qilin Emperor, had brought this shame upon them.

"Come with me. I've gathered enough strength for this."

Su Min's smile turned predatory, her killing intent so palpable that Mo Yun shrank back. Divine beasts might look down on ordinary humans, but none dared disrespect the strong—least of all Su Min.

Soon, in a modest chamber:

Su Min sat at the head of the table.

To her right: Tian Hao and Xie Yingying.

To her left: The little Golden Crow, the Dragon Princess, and the Nine-Colored Heavenly Phoenix.

Mo Yun took the last seat—no surprise, given she was the weakest. She couldn't even summon her clan's Imperial Artifacts yet.

"Everyone understands the situation. This will be a battle of terrifying scale—one that could shake the entire Heavenly Continent. Our enemy includes a former Great Emperor. If anyone wishes to back out, do so now. I won't stop you."

No one moved.

These were no ordinary cultivators. They hungered to test themselves against a fallen emperor.

"Good. The plan is simple: There is no plan. The Skeletal Emperor is yours."

Su Min nodded at the Golden Crow and Dragon Princess.

"With two Imperial Artifacts between you, it shouldn't be a problem."

"Leave it to us."

The two divine beasts exchanged glances. Neighbors who frequently sparred, they knew each other's styles intimately.

"The rest of you will handle the rabble. As for the Black Seal's second seat—he's mine."

Su Min's grin widened.

Earlier, in a shadowy hall:

"The Ink Qilin has awakened. Though only at Dao Comprehension stage, her aura swept across Eastern Mulberry Continent. She'll likely head for the Qilin Secret Realm soon."

The assembled figures exchanged uneasy glances. Mo Yun's emergence had been impossible to miss—her uncontrolled energy surges had broadcasted her presence.

Under the Skeletal Emperor's leadership, they had regained much of their strength. Ten Unity-stage experts now stood in their ranks—a force no single faction could withstand.

Yet at the mention of Su Min, shoulders hunched instinctively.

The alchemy grandmaster had slain their third seat while still at late Dao Comprehension stage. A century had passed since then—who knew if she had broken through to Unity?

For most, advancing to Unity in a hundred years was a joke.

But for her? No one doubted it.

As an eighth-grade alchemist, she likely had Unity Pills and other high-tier recovery aids. Fighting her was... unsettling.

"Hmph."

The Skeletal Emperor's cold snort cut through the tension. Leading these fallen was a headache. Stripped of their former ambition, they obeyed only under duress—and even then, half-heartedly.

"I will take action personally. Your task is to delay the others. Dismissed."

He waved a skeletal hand.

"The qilin's destination is the Western Sea—too far from Eastern Mulberry Continent. She'll have to traverse the void. We ambush her there."

"Yes."

The hall fell silent again, the air thick with resignation.

The Skeletal Emperor massaged his temples. Dealing with these walking corpses was exhausting.

But the plan was set.

Su Min would die here.

Then, as his master commanded, he would await and eliminate the Child of Chaos.

Only then would true immortality be theirs.