Final Preparations Before Great Completion

The shimmering sea stretched endlessly as a woman and a beast stood side by side.

Compared to the turbulent East Sea, the West Sea was eerily calm.

The neighboring regions bordering the West Sea were relatively weak—none even had Dao Comprehension Stage cultivators. The Qilin Ancient Emperor had chosen this location well, but unfortunately, he had been ambushed.

"Now that we've located it, pull it out."

Glancing at a Divine Transformation Stage cultivator hundreds of kilometers away who had fled in terror upon sensing her overwhelming aura, Su Min turned to the Ink Qilin beside her.

Having reached the Unity Stage, her perception had reached terrifying heights. She could now envelop an entire planet with her divine sense. Any Divine Transformation Stage cultivator who sensed her hostility wouldn't dare approach.

The gap between cultivation stages only widened as one progressed—some chasms were simply insurmountable.

"Found it."

The Ink Qilin's massive pupils slowly opened. Despite being only at the Dao Comprehension Stage, her true form was as towering as a mountain range.

Then, the colossal qilin vanished, and Mo Yun returned to her human form. Like most supreme divine beasts, she typically remained in human form—their true bodies were too cumbersome for daily life.

"Follow me."

With that, the little qilin transformed into a streak of light, and Su Min followed closely. Soon, they arrived above an unremarkable patch of ocean.

Mo Yun channeled all her spiritual energy.

A massive spatial gate tore open in the void.

Su Min instinctively swallowed hard—her blood surged with excitement.

Her Five Elements Holy Body was acutely sensitive to divine treasures of heaven and earth. And what she sensed inside was even more shocking—nearly ten such treasures!

No wonder the Qilin Clan had been so eager to hand over the Central Wutu Divine Earth and seek her protection. With their current strength, guarding such wealth was impossible.

The Golden Crow Clan, for comparison, only possessed two.

"Let's relocate your secret realm first. Leaving it here is too dangerous."

Taking a deep breath, Su Min suppressed her excitement. Now wasn't the time to absorb the Central Wutu Divine Earth—she needed a secure location.

A scepter flew out from the secret realm, landing in Mo Yun's grasp. Her expression relaxed slightly—this was the Qilin Ancient Scepter, their clan's Imperial Artifact. With it, she at least had some measure of protection.

With another wave of her hand, the spatial passage rapidly shrank before merging into the scepter's tip.

Once done, she nodded at Su Min.

The two vanished from the West Sea, traversing the void toward the Eastern Mulberry Continent. Only there—under the protection of the Golden Crow Clan's Imperial Runes, with the Golden Crow and Xie Yingying guarding her—could Su Min truly focus.

The Following Month – Eastern Mulberry Continent

"I will be entering a long seclusion. Once I emerge, I will journey to the end of the world."

Su Min's declaration sent a ripple of shock through the gathered crowd.

Xie Yingying's eyes flickered with realization—she, too, had sensed that faint summons.

"The same place Senior Yao went? When I last spoke with Senior Jiang, she mentioned something about 'them' descending soon."

"Mn."

Su Min nodded. As for what this "darkness" was, she only had a vague idea—something far more terrifying than the fallen cultivators.

The Fallen Immortals.

Unlike the Skeleton Emperor, these beings were what all cultivators once aspired to become—true Immortals.

Ancient, unfathomable, existing beyond recorded history.

They were the masterminds behind everything.

In the game, they had never appeared directly—only hinted at in lore, likely reserved for future expansions.

But in this world, their presence was undeniable.

The ancient battlefield—where countless Mahayana and Unity Stage experts had fallen, forcing the White Tiger to sacrifice itself to suppress it—was their handiwork.

"Senior Jiang warned me not to venture there unless I reach the Mahayana Stage. Su Min, do you know where the corpses of all those great emperors lie?"

"Hm?"

Su Min paused.

So many Mahayana experts—even in death, their power should have lingered. Yet none had risen as undead, save for the Skeleton Emperor.

"That is the final resting place of the emperors. Countless great beings—one after another—forged themselves into a wall to shield this universe."

"Why didn't you mention this earlier?"

Su Min frowned.

"What use would it have been? Both of us are merely Unity Stage cultivators—far from that level. But since you've decided to go, I'll share what I know."

Xie Yingying smiled bitterly, then glanced at the Golden Crow. The latter shook her head.

"For divine beasts, bloodline is both a treasure and a shackle. I can reach the Mahayana Stage—even its peak—without hindrance. But going beyond is nearly impossible. Our Golden Crow Clan has existed since ancient times, yet only a single emperor ever emerged—my ancestor, the Donghuang Taiyi. I know nothing of these secrets. Perhaps our ancestors deemed such knowledge irrelevant and sealed it away."

"Enough speculation. First, I'll achieve Great Completion. Then, I'll annihilate the Skeleton Emperor—ending this universe's final darkness."

Su Min set aside the matter.

As always, she would advance step by step. But before that, the Skeleton Emperor had to die.

In the game, the Skeleton Emperor's strength varied—anywhere from Unity Stage to Ascension Stage, depending on when players faced him. The "perfect" ending required defeating him at Unity Stage—otherwise, countless planets would be devoured before his forces descended upon the Heavenly Continent.

Su Min had no intention of dragging this out. But storming his lair wasn't a numbers game—she needed her Five Elements Holy Body at full power.

"Understood."

Xie Yingying and the Golden Crow exchanged a glance but said no more.

Su Min's path was perilous, but inaction would doom the world. Had Yao Xian'er and the Great Thunder Temple's master still been present, Black Seal would never have run rampant.

Only after Su Min reached the Unity Stage had they been eradicated. If even those two couldn't spare attention, the threat was dire indeed. Were it not for their soul lamps still burning, many would assume they were dead.

~

Su Min stepped into the Qilin Clan's secret realm, now brimming with harmonious elemental energy.

If this were a beast-taming world, her perfect partner would undoubtedly be the Ink Qilin—both were darlings of the five elements. The ancient Qilin training grounds were a breathtaking sight.

The rambunctious young qilins—once wreaking havoc in Su Min's sect—now slumbered peacefully, their bodies visibly growing. With their divine bloodlines, they would advance directly to the Divine Transformation Stage without bottlenecks. Beyond that, progress would slow.

Su Min paid them little mind, striding toward Mo Yun.

In the qilin's hands swirled a peculiar element—the Central Wutu Divine Earth one of the Qilin Clan's heavenly treasures. She had already erased its bloodline imprint, leaving it pure for Su Min to refine.

"The Central Wutu Divine Earth is yours. Do not tarnish its legacy."

Mo Yun spoke reluctantly but knew the stakes. Su Min had saved their clan—this was non-negotiable.

"Rest assured. The Central Wutu Divine Earth is finally mine."

Su Min's lips curled into a rare smile. With this, her Five Elements Holy Body would achieve Great Completion. But she knew this wasn't her end goal. Perhaps the Chaos Body was.

As a "player," she could inherently harmonize all things—a hallmark of the Chaos Body. A existence so transcendent that its mere birth terrified the world's strongest.

"Yin and Yang shall never meet."

That was the ultimate measure taken by those lurking in the shadows to prevent a Chaos Body's birth—altering the Heavenly Dao itself.

The cost?

Su Min didn't know, but she was certain even a Unity Stage cultivator couldn't pay it. Not even Mahayana or Ascension Stage experts could. It demanded the sacrifice of a true Immortal—perhaps even more.

"The Great Completion Five Elements Holy Body… What intoxicating power. Time to begin."

Stowing her ambitions, Su Min bid Mo Yun farewell and vanished into the Eastern Mulberry Continent's depths.

Her seclusion location? A secret to all.

~

In the cosmic abyss, a pair of furious eyes snapped open. The Skeleton Emperor—once forced to flee by Su Min—seethed with killing intent.

"That woman…"

She was on the verge of Great Completion.

His plan had failed.

Now, she would claim the Central Wutu Divine Earth.

A pre-Great Completion Su Min was already terrifying.

At full power?

She might rival a Mahayana Stage expert while still at Unity Stage.

An unthinkable threat.

The moment Su Min left, he had driven his lair deeper into the cosmos.

But that wasn't enough.

He needed fuel.

More.

More.

Before Su Min found him, he would devour as many living worlds as possible. Lifeless planets were useless—only thriving, vibrant ones held value.

Thus began the Cosmic Plague.

World after world was discovered.

Then, a nightmarish sac—larger than their star system—descended upon them. Entire civilizations watched in despair as their planet was consumed whole. Even those who had transcended their homeworld, wielding planet-destroying weapons, were powerless.

Their attacks—even star-shattering cannons—were futile. For the first time, the arrogant conquerors tasted true despair. The heavens had come to collect their debt.