Shattering Planet

"Huff, huff, huff..."

At this moment, the Skeleton Emperor was gasping heavily for breath. Colliding with Su Min was no joking matter. With each impact, he felt soul-rending pain as the power of the Five Elements continuously assailed his spirit.

What was even more terrifying was the extreme resistance that forced him to use only the most basic methods. Most of his power was being suppressed, while every one of Su Min's attacks carried devastating force.

This sense of frustration was unbearable for him - such was the terror of a fully realized Five Elements Holy Body.

To put it in gaming terms, it was both incredibly tanky while dealing massive damage. Fighting such an existence was truly despair-inducing. You'd unleash a beautiful combo of skills, only for them to grab you and land one charged punch that obliterates you.

Then they'd light a cigarette and say: "That idiot almost combo'd me to death. Good thing I'm more skilled."

The Skeleton Emperor's face was now frighteningly dark as he actively disengaged from Su Min. Despite its massive size, the ten-thousand-zhang tall figure moved with incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, he had retreated hundreds of kilometers - though for beings of their level, this distance was practically nothing.

Su Min didn't recklessly pursue, because she knew all his tricks. Just like the old witch who had nearly killed her right after her transmigration, she was very familiar with the Skeleton Emperor. There was no helping it - the former was the first chapter boss in the game. As players, they would naturally learn much about this gatekeeper boss.

"It's coming - Skeleton Myriad Blades."

Watching the blood-red giant create distance, Su Min simply observed calmly. This gave the Skeleton Emperor the feeling of punching cotton - his delaying tactic was being seen through. The skill he was about to use would instantly release countless bone spikes, both to protect himself and ambush the enemy. Yet Su Min just watched with the demeanor of a grandmaster, rendering his preparations useless.

"Skeleton Myriad Blades, Bones Give Birth to Heaven and Earth."

In the next instant, innumerable bone spikes erupted from the blood-red giant's body, then fused with its form. Had Su Min pursued, she would have been instantly impaled. This was the Skeleton Emperor's final trump card - completely merging the imperial artifact within his body with his crimson dharma form. Though this blood-red giant matched Su Min's size, it wasn't actually the Dharma Aspect technique.

The reason it could maintain such massive size and roughly match Su Min was because it had been forcibly constructed by devouring countless lives. Naturally, this came with a major weakness - absolutely no staying power, with each attack causing permanent damage.

He couldn't necessarily win even at full strength, let alone now. So he could only go all-in now, engaging Su Min in a life-or-death struggle.

Escape wasn't an option either. After achieving full mastery of the Five Elements Holy Body, Su Min's perception and sensitivity to spiritual energy had increased dramatically. The moment he turned to flee, he'd face her storm-like assault.

Thus his only choice was a head-on confrontation, charging directly at Su Min.

"Here it comes."

Though Su Min knew all his cards, she didn't make any special preparations. Against an imperial artifact, even heavenly-tier treasures were insignificant. The only option was to meet force with force, so the ancient bell began spinning violently again.

Though the Future Maitreya Bell wasn't her imperial artifact, when the Sinful Buddha forged this treasure, he had used time law as its core. Since then, no one in Future Maitreya Mountain could truly activate it.

But Su Min was different. As the bell rotated, space around her distorted - several nearby planets began experiencing time dilation, some accelerating, some decelerating. Bizarre scenes radiated outward from Su Min.

Those on the planet couldn't witness this spectacle though - their super cameras had already been destroyed by the earlier shockwaves. Not just the cameras - even the massive fleet had retreated to a safe distance.

Only the flagship remained, as the Divine Transformation cultivators present considered it akin to pilgrimage to witness what was nominally a Unity-level but effectively Mahayana-level battle.

As the saying goes: "Hear the Dao in the morning, die content at night."

For those who had reached their limits, nothing was more enticing than glimpsing a new path. Their only thought was that after this concluded, they'd even be willing to shamelessly flatter Su Min to learn more.

This was the Dao itself. They didn't believe in so-called gods, but knew there were always greater existences. Whether Su Min was a deity or not didn't matter - she represented a lifeform far beyond them, perhaps the legendary ultimate lifeform.

Of course, Su Min was unaware of these thoughts.

Otherwise she might have said something like "I am the ultimate lifeform, the XXXX warrior, XXXXXXX" or similar. Ironically, as her cultivation grew higher, she sometimes regressed into moments of chuunibyou outbursts.

But she remained oblivious and uninterested. Because at this moment, she was channeling all her power into the Future Maitreya Bell as she clashed with the Skeleton Emperor again. This time, there was no explosion. Observers felt reality itself distort as the two colossi collided - rather than detonating, everything around them began annihilating.

Silent death and destruction.

This was everyone's sole impression as they watched planets disintegrate, utterly mesmerized. While they were entranced, the Skeleton Emperor's expression finally changed. He had discovered something horrifying - his life force was rapidly depleting. This was no good sign. Though he was already burning lifespan, such rapid depletion at his level shouldn't happen. Soon, realization dawned.

"Time law???"

The Skeleton Emperor immediately guessed correctly - this was intelligence he'd never obtained. Su Min's ability had a peculiar trait - useless against stronger opponents, unnecessary against weaker ones. Nor could it be used in sparring, as it would turn into a deathmatch.

But against him, it was perfect. Su Min wasn't rushed at all - trading lifespan for lifespan was fine when hers vastly exceeded even ten-thousand-year-old monsters. The Five Elements Holy Body's characteristics were an extremely high floor and incredible endurance.

Her opponent wasn't a pure physical cultivator, yet was forced into this primitive clash. Moreover, each of her attacks permanently weakened him. So Su Min remained completely unhurried.

But while she was calm, the Skeleton Emperor was panicking. What cultivators sought was longevity and freedom - wealth and status meant nothing to them. Even a Golden Core cultivator could easily become a local emperor in many worlds. Thus, anything affecting lifespan was extremely sensitive for cultivators. Facing direct lifespan depletion, the Skeleton Emperor knew he had to go all out.

He had no choice - continuing would leave him unable to even fight back. So he did something that shocked even Su Min - with a mighty exertion, he repelled her. Then from his chest emerged a ten-thousand-zhang long blade... which immediately shattered. He had destroyed his own imperial artifact for this desperate attack.

"Madman!"

Su Min couldn't help inhaling sharply, immediately swallowing a pill.

[Heavenly Spirit Blazing Sky Pill (8th-grade, 3-colored lightning): Burns lifespan to greatly enhance all attributes.]

"Black Tortoise as anchor, sheltering all directions."

Instantly, the Black Tortoise on her Dharma Aspect armor shone brilliantly, turning the entire armor black and gold.

Simultaneously, the Skeleton Emperor roared:

"STRIKE!!!"

The shattered giant blade came crashing down with world-shaking force, space itself trembling. In less than an eye-blink, it reached Su Min.

BANG!

Su Min felt overwhelming force descend, her body helplessly sent flying an incalculable distance - even passing through a star, leaving her entire body burning with pain. Only after what felt like an eternity did she stop. Her Dharma Aspect completely dispersed, blood streaming from her mouth.

"That bastard really went all out. Damn it, I underestimated him - five strains and seven injuries."

Cursing inwardly, she swallowed another pill.

[Spring Restoration Saint Spirit Pill (8th-grade, 3-colored lightning): Consumes a millennium of lifespan to restore heavy injuries.]

As the pill took effect, Su Min felt much better and instantly vanished, reappearing before the Skeleton Emperor. Now they were barely 100 meters apart - his all-out attack had collapsed his blood avatar.

"How?! Wait... pills! How many did you take to still move?!"

Seeing Su Min before him again, the Skeleton Emperor finally showed terror. He hadn't expected to kill her in one strike, but her current state was unacceptable. Then he realized - as an alchemist, Su Min's pill reserves were terrifying.

"Good guess, but no reward."

Su Min didn't deny it. She'd prepared numerous life-risking and life-saving measures for this battle. The previous siege hadn't required them, but that didn't mean they wouldn't be useful now. So Su Min suddenly drew her weapon, transforming into a streak of light as she charged, smashing her weapon down with full force. Neither could maintain their dharma forms now.

No matter - they'd resort to primitive melee combat. In cultivation worlds, there was no assumption males were physically stronger than females. If average adult male strength was 1, females would be 0.8. While this showed some difference, further cultivation equalized things.

Most female cultivators avoided body refinement though, as it risked turning them into muscular figures, which was considered unaesthetic.

But Su Min's Eastern Azure Wood greatly enhanced her physique, and the Azure Dragon inheritance gave her incredible strength without affecting her appearance - no eight-pack abs or other incongruous features.

So in the next moment...

CLANG!!!

An ear-piercing collision sounded as the Skeleton Emperor took Su Min's frenzied slash head-on, sending him flying. Su Min gave no quarter, chasing as a streak of light. Another strike sent the Skeleton Emperor crashing into a Jupiter-sized planet. With something to brace against, Su Min could finally unleash a relentless barrage of attacks with her blade. Distant observers' eyes nearly popped out.

Though they could also unleash planet-destroying attacks, whether their all-out assaults or specialized planet-buster cannons, all required massive resources and lengthy preparation. But this casual, unhurried planetary disintegration was something they'd never witnessed.

From afar, cracks spread across the spherical planet, gradually expanding as the entire world slowly caved in, finally exploding when reaching a critical point. Though the two combatants were long invisible to the naked eye, their auras remained palpable. Battles of this level didn't allow for concealment - everything was displayed in full glory.

"And this is when both are nearly exhausted, yet can still casually shatter planets..."

The observers exchanged glances. During the earlier ultimate clash, they'd felt even glancing contact would be fatal. Now they realized that was an understatement.

This was truly despair-inducing combat far beyond ordinary people. Even at their weakest, these two could casually annihilate them all.