Did You Lay an Egg?

Speechlessly staring at Su Min in front of her, the little Golden Crow felt that she was still quite innocent.

She had only wanted to rob and plunder, but the woman before her was already planning to take over someone else's entire fortune. Indeed, she still had much to learn from her elder sister—thinking ahead was crucial.

Of course, Su Min hadn't come here to educate a child. She had two matters to attend to.

As she spoke, she took out her weapon. It had now reached the peak of the Mystic Tier. She intended to upgrade it to the Earth Tier (Low Grade), but there was a problem: Earth Tier materials couldn't be refined with her current cultivation level. She would need to reach at least late Nascent Soul or even Divine Transformation before she could attempt it.

Therefore, she had no choice but to seek external help—and the only one capable of assisting her was the little Golden Crow and her Sun True Flame.

The Sun True Flame, like Su Min's Nanming Lihuo was one of the heaven-and-earth divine flames.

However, their properties were different. As the incarnation of the sun, the Sun True Flame was characterized by its constant high temperature and eternal burning. This made fighting against a Golden Crow extremely troublesome. In game terms, the longer you fought a Golden Crow, the more fire-based debuffs—such as Burn, Ignite, and Scorch—would rapidly stack up.

Once they piled up, your health would plummet. Of course, that was just one aspect. As a pure combat flame, the Sun True Flame greatly enhanced its wielder's combat power—far more than Su Min's Nanming Lihuo. However, the Sun True Flame also had a major drawback.

It was highly unsuitable for alchemy and artifact refinement. For alchemy, the flame's temperature couldn't be suppressed, which meant it would incinerate all the materials. As for refining artifacts, it was decent for crafting large, simple weapons.

But for something like armor, which required extremely precise control, it was useless. The temperature couldn't be lowered enough for fine adjustments. This flaw, however, was perfect for Su Min's life-bound weapon—all it needed was to be reinforced with materials. That was why she had come to seek the little Golden Crow's help.

"Aren't you afraid I'll melt your weapon instead?"

Hearing Su Min's request, the little Golden Crow was slightly surprised. She knew the properties of her Sun True Flame well, so she was both shocked and pleased that Su Min had come to her for help.

"No. All you need to do is melt these materials and fuse them into my weapon. Unless you deliberately sabotage it, there's no way you'll destroy my treasure."

Su Min scoffed at the idea. She didn't expect the little Golden Crow to be skilled in alchemy or artifact refinement, but this task was simple enough.

"Leave it to me. Come back tomorrow to collect it."

Hearing this, the little Golden Crow happily puffed out her chest—which completely overshadowed Su Min's modest figure.

"Damn it."

Su Min's face darkened as she cursed under her breath. But she took a deep breath and continued:

"Their spatial passage is now complete. Use your Golden Crow Ancient Bell to see if you can locate where they'll emerge."

The Golden Crow Ancient Bell was an inherited treasure of the Golden Crow Clan. Its grade, like the Golden Core Great Dao, far surpassed the Heaven Tier—though which was stronger, she didn't know.

But the Golden Crow Ancient Bell had many uses, such as traversing time and space.

"Mhm."

The little Golden Crow nodded at Su Min's instructions. Then, Su Min left her secluded cultivation area and set up a furnace nearby to refine pills. After all, her weapon was bound to her. If it strayed too far, it would automatically return.

"Might as well refine the pills for the Azure Dragon and the Peacock King while I'm at it."

Squinting at the watch in her hand, Su Min began refining the pills. The Azure Dragon King and the Peacock King had helped her establish the sect's foundation. Otherwise, with her hands-off approach, the sect would have collapsed long ago.

The reason she was only doing this now was that the two had only recently gathered the necessary materials. Even though Su Min wasn't charging them labor fees, she couldn't procure the ingredients herself.

"After reaching the fifth grade, my alchemy progress has slowed down significantly."

Staring at the pill furnace, Su Min fell into thought. She still wasn't completely proficient in refining fifth-grade (Lower Tier) pills, let alone fifth-grade (Middle Tier).

It seemed she had hit a bottleneck in her alchemy skills. Of course, this bottleneck had come relatively late. Many fifth-grade alchemists were old monsters at the Divine Transformation stage—and even they could only refine fifth-grade (Lower to Middle Tier) pills.

But by the time Su Min reached their level, she would undoubtedly be able to refine sixth-grade pills.

"Looks like I'll have to attend the Great Thunder Temple's Buddhist Assembly. Blood Puppet Sect, you better hurry up."

After storing the pills she had refined for the Azure Dragon King and the Peacock King, Su Min pondered silently.

The two pills had taken a day to refine. When she went to retrieve her weapon from the little Golden Crow, it was already complete, floating in front of her. With a thought, it returned to her side.

[Five Elements Sacred Sword (Earth Tier - Mid Grade)]

[Effects]

[① Magic Sword: Enhances all five elemental attributes.]

[② Power Sword: Enhances melee combat effects, including armor-piercing and suppression.]

"Damn, that's brutally straightforward."

Looking at the description on her status panel, Su Min didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The weapon's evolution was perfectly tailored to her combat style—ranged sword techniques combined with close-quarters combat. This upgrade enhanced both aspects, making it ideal for her.

However, it wouldn't be as useful for others. The sword's enhancement for single attributes wasn't significant, but the synergy of the five elements was extraordinary. But Su Min didn't dwell on her weapon for long. Her attention was quickly drawn to the little Golden Crow, who was now holding a golden egg about twenty centimeters tall.

"Did you lay an egg?"

For a moment, Su Min was stunned. She knew that some hens could lay eggs without a rooster—unfertilized eggs meant for eating, not hatching.

But considering the Golden Crow was also a bird, she supposed it made sense. However, since the little Golden Crow was alone, this egg probably had great culinary value. She couldn't help but wonder how a divine beast's egg would taste.

"What are you thinking?"

Noticing Su Min's strange gaze, the little Golden Crow shuddered involuntarily and quickly hid the egg behind her back.

"I wasn't going to steal it!"

Su Min felt a pang of guilt. She really had been considering whether to make it into a tea egg or a fried egg.

"First of all, I didn't lay this. Second, this is the bloodline of our Golden Crow Clan."

"Just you?"

"What are you imagining? The Fusang Ancient Tree is our clan's inherited treasure. Over countless years, thousands of my clansmen imprinted their bloodline onto the tree. As long as a Golden Crow royal activates the tree, those bloodline imprints will resonate, and a Golden Crow egg will form on the tree."

"Oh, I see."

Su Min nodded. She had known the Fusang Ancient Tree was connected to the Golden Crow bloodline, but she hadn't realized it worked like this. The Golden Crow Clan had always been small—even at its peak, it never exceeded twenty members.

So, the imprints of thousands of clansmen must have been accumulated over an unimaginable span of time. But the idea of Golden Crow eggs growing like fruit on a tree was also amusing.

"This is the first egg the Fusang Ancient Tree has produced since I gained control of it. The next one might take who knows how long. I plan to place it in magma and use geothermal heat to incubate it. So, why are you sighing—"

Before the little Golden Crow could finish, Su Min let out a regretful sigh. She had imagined a mother hen brooding over her eggs. Clearly, divine beasts were quite different from ordinary chickens.

"What about the royal bloodline?"

Su Min was curious. After all, when she had first met the little Golden Crow, she had also been an egg.

"A current royal must sacrifice a large portion of their essence and blood to create one. The royal bloodline will dominate in the offspring. My father seemed to have encountered some accident (unforeseen event) back then—he poured nearly all of his essence and blood into the Fusang Ancient Tree, which led to my birth."

"I see..."

Su Min nodded and didn't press further. Jokes aside, there were more important matters to attend to.

"Now, come with me to confirm where those guys will descend. Since they've made the first move, don't blame me for being ruthless."

Her playful expression faded. Though she hadn't gotten to see how a Golden Crow incubated an egg, dealing with the Blood Puppet Sect took priority.

Su Min was known for her patience. Before making a move, she would never let her enemies detect her intentions. Back in the Wei-Wu Region, she had waited decades—until she reached the Golden Core stage—before settling scores with Demon Queen.

So, when it came to the Blood Puppet Sect, if she didn't act, that was one thing. But once she did, she would ensure their complete annihilation—leaving them no chance of recovery.

"Alright."

The little Golden Crow nodded. With a wave of her hand, a massive teleportation array appeared on the ground below. Through Su Min's perspective, she could see flickering flames within.

Without a word, the little Golden Crow casually tossed the Golden Crow egg into the magma. Su Min's eyebrow twitched violently.

At least two things were confirmed: Golden Crow eggs were incredibly sturdy; This egg probably couldn't be fried—it was better suited for being preserved as a century egg. After all, being thrown from such a height into magma without breaking or cooking said a lot.

Of course, the little Golden Crow had no idea what Su Min was thinking. Otherwise, she would've lunged over and taken a few bites out of her.

"It should be around here. I can sense the space here is extremely fragile—as if something is about to break through. They've hidden it well. Without my clan's inherited treasure, I wouldn't have been able to detect it."

Soon, the little Golden Crow located the target. Su Min's face darkened. The location was right above her sect's headquarters. She didn't know if these people were doing it on purpose, but if they were planning to descend right on top of her, then she wouldn't hold back. As the sect's core, this place was naturally the most heavily fortified. If they dared to land here, she would make sure they regretted it.

"Activate all the defensive formations. This time, however many come, none shall leave alive."

A cold smile played on Su Min's lips as she activated the sect's grand protective formation. This was no ordinary sect. Though its foundational techniques had been lacking initially, everything else was top-tier—especially since it used the Golden Crow Clan's grand formation. And if the little Golden Crow served as the formation's core, even Enlightenment Stage experts could die if they weren't careful.

With everything prepared, Su Min closed her eyes and meditated, quietly awaiting their arrival.

Meanwhile, in the Blood Puppet Sect...

"Hah..."

A long exhale echoed as the massive spatial tunnel was finally completed. First, they had hastily cultivated a batch of pseudo-Nascent Soul experts. Then, they had opened this enormous spatial passage. Even with their sect's vast resources, they were nearly drained.

But it was a necessary sacrifice.

The top-ranked genius on the Heavenly Rankings—just the thought was terrifying. To protect themselves, they had to strike first and eliminate her before she grew stronger. Otherwise, once she reached the Divine Transformation stage, their sect would face annihilation.

Someone like her wouldn't stop at Divine Transformation. Whether it was the Enlightenment Stage, Unity Stage, or even Mahayana Stage—who knew? But she didn't even need to reach Enlightenment Stage. At Divine Transformation, she could likely wipe out their entire sect.

"Elders, what if she's already left?"

A Nascent Soul cultivator—the only normal one left in the Blood Puppet Sect—voiced his concerns to the two elders. He had been severely injured during his tribulation and had to recuperate for a long time, missing the Golden Core Heavenly Rankings. Ironically, that had made him the sole survivor—a stroke of luck.

"Then we'll slaughter the entire Eastern Mulberry Region. Someone who's reached her level is already bound to that land. As for that sect... heh."

Mu Kui sneered. A region he had never heard of could only mean one thing—it was a newly emerged realm. Only such a place could produce such monstrous talent. But talent alone wasn't enough. Its foundations were too weak.

With one mid Divine Transformation and one peak Divine Transformation elder, they could easily crush her. Even if she had reached Nascent Soul, it wouldn't matter.

Their confidence was unshakable. Fear was not an option.

Even if they suspected these people were connected to that woman, it no longer mattered.

In the next moment, the spatial passage opened.

Two Divine Transformation experts, dozens of Nascent Soul cultivators, and several dozen Golden Core disciples charged in.