Hunting Season

Inside the Cave Dwelling...

"Why are you bothering me again? I haven't recovered yet—I can't help you."

Yao Xian'er rolled her eyes as she watched Su Min sneak in once more. Only about a year had passed since their last meeting, and yet here Su Min was again. Of course, Yao Xian'er knew exactly why.

Most likely, she had run into trouble while hunting those Mahayana cultivators. Those beings might not be the strongest, but they were undoubtedly the most slippery. Many had escaped from Yao Xian'er's grasp before. Even though she had reached the late-Mahayana stage making her slightly stronger than her peak self, Mahayana was still Mahayana.

There were still limitations.

Just as a Dao Comprehension-stage Su Min couldn't casually lift the Five Elements Mountain, some things remained beyond her. If a Mahayana cultivator was determined to flee, even Yao Xian'er would have to expend tremendous effort to stop them.

"Remember the Fulu Mountain God? I killed him."

"...Huh?"

Yao Xian'er froze, her expression shifting to disbelief.

"That guy wasn't just fused with Fulu Mountain he had merged with the earth's veins. Back then, I finally tracked him down, but the bastard just ran away without even fighting me."

"Tch."

Su Min rolled her eyes.

Good thing she had severed his escape route in their first encounter.

"How did you kill him?"

Yao Xian'er was genuinely curious. No matter how strong Su Min was, if the opponent refused to engage, killing them was nearly impossible. Yet Su Min had done it. So she briefly recounted her experience. By the time she finished, Yao Xian'er's eyes had widened.

"You actually crawled through a dog hole?"

"That was no dog hole! If I hadn't crippled his escape route first, I might not have caught him at all."

Su Min shuddered at the thought. If she hadn't done that, the Mountain God would've bolted at the first sign of trouble—no hesitation. No matter how insane these creatures acted, once they reached Mahayana, they were all cunning survivors. If they weren't, they wouldn't have made it this far. This time, she had gotten lucky, she stumbled upon his life gate.

But what about the next one?

Su Min was completely in the dark.

At worst, she'd waste her efforts.

At worst… she'd get ambushed.

"Do you know anything about the life gates of the other six?"

Su Min's eyes gleamed with a cold light.

"If I knew, they'd already be dead. Those guys clawed their way up from fragments, unlike those three Divine Beasts, who birthed new wills from their bodies. Killing them won't be easy."

"Damn."

"But don't worry too much. As long as their numbers stay below ten, no major crisis will erupt. And now that you've killed one, the situation isn't urgent yet."

"Fair enough. Do you know where any Unity-stage cultivators are hiding? I want to reach late-Unity first before dealing with the Mahayana ones. Especially those mid-to-late Mahayana old monsters, I might not have an absolute advantage against them yet."

"That's trickier. They're all hiding in the Dark Starry Sky, and their presence is faint due to their lower cultivation."

"Perfect. They're my targets. Easy prey first. Once I reach late-Unity, I'll deal with the Mahayana ones."

A predatory glint flashed in Su Min's eyes.

These Unity-stage cultivators were ideal—simple, painless, efficient.

"Not a bad plan. Back then, we also leveled up quickly by hunting these Unity-stage Dark cultivators. Here's an ancient star map of the Dark Starry Sky, it marks the areas we've explored. But be warned: never approach this red zone. It's too close to Kong. Don't go there until you reach Mahayana—or even Ascension. That place is filled with unrecoverable corpses, and it's under His jurisdiction."

A starry hologram unfolded before Su Min, highlighting a crimson region.

"Don't worry, I'm not suicidal. What about the Mahayana cultivators there?"

Su Min chuckled. She wasn't about to throw her life away.

"Their dark matter isn't concentrated enough to form anchors, and they rely on it too heavily to leave the core zones. As for the rest… that's His business. You don't need to worry about it yet. Just remember, you're on your own here. Be careful."

With that, Su Min left Yao Xian'er to her recovery. Mahayana cultivators didn't appear easily, even on the Dark Continent. With one already eliminated, things should stay stable for a while. Now, her hunting season in the Dark Starry Sky would begin.

This would be a long process, but still faster than grinding her way to late-Unity through cultivation. If she relied solely on cultivation, it'd take her at least a thousand years.

Too slow.

Honestly, ever since reaching Dao Comprehension, she had never advanced purely through cultivation. It was always fortuitous encounters, secret realms, or massive resources. And frankly, that was the norm for most high-level cultivators nowadays. Soon, Su Min arrived at the outskirts of the Dark Continent and unfolded the star map.

Finding those Unity-stage cultivators was both easy and hard.

The main issue?

They needed to stay near living planet, because they required sacrificial offerings to devour. Since they didn't dare approach the resource-rich Dark Continent, they lurked in the backwaters.

As for the red zone?

No chance.

That place had no ordinary lifeforms, and any who entered would be torn apart instantly.

"Let's see… the nearest life-bearing planet is about one light-year away. Size-wise… using Earth as reference, its diameter is twice as large. A planet teeming with life. Perfect—I'll start there."

With that, Su Min plunged into the starry void. One light-year was nothing to her. Once she locked onto the coordinates, the journey took no time. If there was a living planet, there would be Dark cultivators lurking nearby, slowly "farming" it. The ordinary people on these planets were safe, those cultivators had no interest in them. But if you possessed soul fragments or spiritual potential?

You were food.

Soon, Su Min arrived at her destination, a pale blue planet.

"Now this is normal. A proper star, and the life here isn't bad, probably over a billion. Not as populated as Earth, but decent for the Dark Starry Sky. A planet like this must have something hiding in it."

Observing the world below, Su Min's eyes gleamed. After a moment's thought, she descended. Technically, she could just blow up the planet. For a Unity-stage cultivator, planet-busting wasn't hard. But that wouldn't necessarily solve the problem. She didn't know what kind of predator lurked here. Even if she destroyed the planet, the target might survive. Besides, most of the life here was innocent. She wasn't a mass murderer. She couldn't bring herself to do it.

On the Planet's Surface...

"As expected, this place resembles ancient Earth. Farming, weaving… and zero traces of cultivators."

With her current soul power, Su Min could scan the entire planet effortlessly, but that would be too conspicuous. So she only swept a small area, ensuring even a Mahayana cultivator wouldn't detect her.The society here was roughly at the steam era, with almost no cultivators in sight. Only one or two individuals stood out.

"Let's see… not completely empty. Ah, found one, a child."

Thanks to absorbing so many soul fragments, Su Min was highly sensitive to their presence. Her target was a seven or eight-year-old boy, but his body housed a large soul fragment.

Perfect bait.

With that, Su Min infiltrated the planet, observing the boy's life while quietly waiting for his awakening and the predators it would attract. Learning from her fight with the Fulu Mountain God, she had decided against brute force. Instead, she would approach through the sacrificial channels, sever their escape routes, then strike. She was also curious, what was a Dark Starry Sky-born cultivator like?

The previous feast couldn't serve as reference, it had been too rushed.

Time Passed...

Su Min lurked in the shadows, watching the boy. She had no intention of interfering, Dark Continent cultivators weren't worth saving. As expected, the boy awakened at age twelve. The mismatch between his soul and body triggered an urgent craving for energy, driving him to advance rapidly. His parents would've been the first victims.

But Su Min was watching. She had no interest in witnessing a familial tragedy. So when the boy awakened, she tossed him a piece of meat. It was similar to newly turned demons in Demon Slayer, an insatiable hunger for souls, nearly impossible to resist. She wondered how he'd react after regaining control.

Thus, she gave him a purified soul fragment scrap, leftovers from her earlier harvest. Aside from the Fulu Mountain God's massive fragment, she had plenty of smaller ones, too insignificant for her to absorb fully. This was the perfect test.

As predicted, the boy devoured the fragment without hesitation. In just one day, he went from an ordinary child to a Qi Refining cultivator. If anyone from the Heavenly Continent saw this, their eyes would pop out. Even the fastest recorded progression there took a full year.

"Some humanity remains… but not much."

Su Min's interest was piqued. After satisfying his ravenous hunger, the boy regained rationality, and chose not to attack his parents. Instead, he left them and wandered the city. That night, he detected another soul fragment inside an infant and lunged to bite it.

But this time, he failed.

A group of armored figures wearing special restraints, captured him.

The planet's true rulers:

The Church of Light.

"Ordinary humans… yet they can capture a Qi Refining cultivator? Must be those Earth-grade armors powered by special cores. Even mortals can use them. Fully equipped, they can fight Qi Refining cultivators."

Su Min narrowed her eyes.

This Church of Light was suspicious.

They specialized in hunting so-called "Fallen Ones" and even possessed spatial deployment technology beyond the steam era, allowing rapid response anywhere. Since they were too far initially, Su Min hadn't noticed them earlier. To avoid alerting her prey, she had only scanned a small area—one without the Church's presence.

But now that they'd appeared, she could guess what was happening. Sure enough, the boy was dragged to the Church's local branch, then placed on an altar for sacrifice to their "God of Light."

Su Min smirked.

"Oh? Playing the "self-sacrifice" game, are we?"

This was a familiar tactic, one she knew how to counter.

Quietly, she took out a walnut-sized artifact and slipped inside.

[Heaven and Earth Locket (Earth-grade low-tier artifact): Contains a tiny pocket dimension.]

The key difference between spatial artifacts and dimension-containing treasures was the ability to hold living beings. Anything that could store life was valuable. She attached it to the boy's back, then licked her lips in anticipation.

Now… it's hunting season.