Spatial Wormhole

"That so-called 'divine calculator' isn't all that impressive."

With her eyes closed, Su Min coldly chuckled in her heart as she sensed the fading traces of the distant probing. To be fair, the other party was truly cowardly—only daring to glance at the location of Eastern Mulberry Land and not even attempting to glean any information about her. The probing had been fleeting, barely skimming the surface before locking onto the location and retreating immediately.

"What should I do? Launch a preemptive strike? No, that wouldn't be wise. Time is on my side—there's no need to take unnecessary risks."

After some thought, Su Min dismissed the idea of attacking first. She was worried that their forces might cross paths, leading to a pointless exchange of territory. Besides, once she reached the Divine Transformation stage, she could single-handedly storm their stronghold.

But for now, she had only just entered the Nascent Soul stage. There was still a long way to go. More importantly, their sect had suffered a generational gap. Those forcibly elevated to Nascent Soul through secret arts might be stronger than ordinary late-stage Golden Core cultivators, but against her, they were nothing. And even if Xie Yingying remained in seclusion, the Peacock King and the Azure Dragon King were still around.

"Let's see what tricks they have up their sleeves..."

With that thought, Su Min opened her eyes, only to find the entire room staring at her with awe.

"Everyone, disperse. I expect a major battle within a year. During this time, no Golden Core cultivator is to leave Eastern Mulberry Land. After a year, I'll give you an opportunity to intervene in the continent's conflicts."

"Understood!!!"

Her words sent a ripple of shock through the crowd, but they quickly accepted it. They had waited this long—what was one more year?

Su Min's reasoning was simple. Her sect alone now had over a hundred Golden Core cultivators. Including the spiritual beasts, that number exceeded two hundred. As for Nascent Soul cultivators, even without Xie Yingyang, there were still herself and the two divine beast guardians.

With such strength, there was no need for excessive caution. Consolidating power was necessary, especially when facing the Fallen Ones in the future.

If she ignored these four provinces, countless lives would be lost. And if those billions of souls were devoured by the Fallen Ones, it would be enough to restore most of a Fallen One's power—an unacceptable risk.

As the saying went, "When the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken." For the Fallen Ones, cultivators were the true delicacies. If even one of them recovered to the Dao Comprehension stage, they would begin hunting Nascent Soul and Divine Transformation cultivators en masse. By then, even the major sects might not escape unscathed.

Even if Su Min had infinite lifespan, she would still face endless pursuit. And given her immortality, the consequences would be even more terrifying.

"The Age of Dark Blood..."

Muttering to herself, Su Min vanished from the hall. Though only at the early Nascent Soul stage, her aura already rivaled most late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators. As for her cultivation, she couldn't rush it. She had to proceed step by step.

Meanwhile, at the Blood Puppet Sect...

"We've located Eastern Mulberry Land, but it's too far. Even for us, traveling back and forth would take far too long. A full-scale expedition isn't feasible."

"Do we have any intel on Eastern Mulberry Land's strength? Charging in blindly would be risky."

"None. That diviner refused to calculate anything beyond its location after hearing she was ranked first on the Golden Core Heavenly Rankings. So it's likely a minor realm—aside from those two, no one has ever seen a third person from Eastern Mulberry Land."

"Damn that Heavenly Diviner!!!"

Mu Kui cursed under his breath. Peering into the Heavenly Dao required bearing karmic consequences. And since Su Min was a victor in the recent divine conflict, the karmic weight tied to her was immense. Even a peak Divine Transformation expert wouldn't dare meddle carelessly. Thus, the diviner had only provided the location—nothing more.

This left Mu Kui furious but helpless.

"Prepare to forcibly construct a spatial wormhole. Even if it's not a major province, any land capable of nurturing two such powerhouses must be rich in spiritual energy. If we can seize it, given time, we might even surpass the Ancient Holy City."

"A spatial wormhole?!"

Mu Xue was momentarily stunned. Spatial wormholes were exorbitantly expensive—even the Blood Puppet Sect would have to exhaust their reserves. But once established, the benefits would be immense. Normally, a round trip would take a year. But with a wormhole, it would be nearly instantaneous. If Eastern Mulberry Land truly was a treasure trove, they could claim it as their own—a private paradise.

"Ordinary spatial tunnels take half a year, but ours will require a full year. To avoid alerting them, we must ensure our forces appear before them without warning."

"Fine. One more year for that woman, then."

Mu Xue nodded. This was the fastest they could manage—the distance was simply too vast. If they were closer, their hidden reserves could have been deployed.

But they couldn't afford to wait. The woman who had claimed first place in the Golden Core Heavenly Rankings was a monster. Given a century, who knew how strong she'd become? By then, even the two of them—one at peak Divine Transformation, the other at mid-stage—might not be enough.

Though they themselves had once topped the Golden Core Heavenly Rankings, their era had been far weaker. None had faced the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation—even the Six-Nine Tribulation had been rare.

But this generation's top five were all freaks. Especially the top two—Su Min had some unfathomable trump card, while the other was likely an ancient powerhouse reincarnated. Such beings were on an entirely different level.

Back in Eastern Mulberry Land...

"They're constructing a spatial wormhole? And it'll take a year? I thought they'd launch a long-distance expedition. Heh..."

Su Min nearly laughed as she read the message from her jade pendant.

The source? None other than the Holy Son of the Ancient Holy City.

"The ones who know you best are often your enemies."

With just a simple hint from her, the Holy Son had agreed to act as her informant. The jade pendant—a high-grade Mystic-tier communication artifact—ensured flawless transmission. Thus, Su Min was fully aware of the Blood Puppet Sect's movements. She had expected them to gather forces for a year-long campaign. But this? This was even better.

"If they want to come, let them. Let's see what they've got."

With that, Su Min shifted her focus. Though a fifth-grade alchemist, she couldn't recruit Divine Transformation experts. And Nascent Soul reinforcements were unnecessary—their enemies' Nascent Soul cultivators were a broken generation, forcibly elevated through dubious means.

"I should inform the Little Golden Crow. At her current strength, two peak Divine Transformation experts won't be an issue."

Thanks to the intelligence provided by the Ancient Holy City, Su Min had detailed dossiers on both Mu Kui and Mu Xue—including their hidden cards.

"Yingying is nearing the end of her seclusion. Once she's out, the two of us can work together. We might not be able to kill a peak Divine Transformation expert, but stalling one for a few minutes should be manageable. That's enough time for the Little Golden Crow to finish off the other."

With a plan in mind, Su Min decided to focus on training her sect's disciples. There was no need for closed-door cultivation this year—instead, she would fulfill her role as founder and mentor.

Especially for the alchemists under her.

"Not a single fourth-grade alchemist? That's just embarrassing."

To remedy this, she prepared guidance—and a reward.

During her recent seclusion, she had synthesized a Beast Flame. Though far inferior to a Heaven and Earth Divine Flame, it surpassed the weak flames extracted from Foundation Establishment beasts that most alchemists used. And since she had crafted it herself, she could tailor its properties—modeled after Nanming Lihuo, balanced for both combat and alchemy.

"So, the three of you will have to prove yourselves. The winner gets this Beast Flame core."

The three men before her—all early Golden Core cultivators and the sect's top alchemists after her—swallowed hard.

They were stuck at the peak of third-grade, just a step away from fourth. Though highly respected within the sect, even the Sect Master treated them with deference, in front of Su Min, they were nothing.

Su Min's method was simple: pressure.

These three had the potential to reach fourth-grade—though talent in soul strength was the real bottleneck. But they needed motivation.

"Follow my requirements. The victor claims the flame."

Seeing the hunger in their eyes, Su Min smiled.