One week later...
"The progress is decent. Twenty stable Qi Refining cultivators is a solid foundation."
Standing atop a high pavilion that overlooked the expansive training ground, Su Min observed the disciplined group below with a mild, analytical interest. The air up here was thin and crisp, carrying the sharp scent of mountain pine and the rhythmic, guttural shouts of the men as they moved in unison. "At this point, your faction should be a credible match for the imperial court's direct forces. Given the Demon Queen's particular and costly methods, I doubt she has been able to produce much more than this in the same twenty years."
Over the past week, she had taken the time to truly relax, indulging in the comforts of a city she had not seen in two decades. She had enjoyed the taste of spiced meats and the silk of clean robes. Ideally, she should have used the accumulated faith energy from the temple to further temper her Great Sun Tathāgata Sutra, but for someone at the Foundation Establishment stage, each meaningful cultivation session required at least one or two months of uninterrupted focus. With the secret realm about to emerge, there simply wasn't enough time for a proper cycle.
Besides, being interrupted mid-cultivation could mean wasted effort at best or severe spiritual backlash at worst. Instead of rushing and risking instability, she decided it was wiser to wait until after the secret realm exploration was complete.
"If you want to come with me into the realm, that's fine," she stated. She turned to the two men standing respectfully behind her, their shadows long against the polished floor of the pavilion. "But don't bring too many people. Those newly advanced, early-stage Qi Refining rookies are practically useless against real traps or guardians. Three or four experienced hands will do. Most of these early secret realms are compact ancient cave abodes, and too many bodies will just get in the way and trigger more mechanisms."
Su Min's tone was practical and indifferent. The newly advanced cultivators training below, while a political asset to the manor, were of no practical help to her inside a dangerous, unknown space.
Moreover, as the world's spiritual energy continued to rise, these secret realms would grow larger and more complex. Some would even evolve into full fragments of lost worlds or minor planes. But for now, the early ones were still limited, and ordinary Qi Refining cultivators were of little use inside. Even Su Min, with all her advantages, knew she needed to be cautious.
"In that case, we will just bring the three of us," Cao Yuanmu responded, bowing respectfully. He referred to himself and his two original Qi Refining companions.
"You three little brats, huh? Fine." A faint, almost nostalgic smile touched Su Min's lips.
She gave a light nod. These three had been the first batch to reach the Qi Refining realm under her indirect tutelage, so their talents and foundations were naturally above average. Just recently, using the herbs from the warehouse, Su Min had refined a new batch of a dozen or so Qi Gathering Pills. Two of those pills had gone straight to this pair, efficiently boosting them all the way to the late Qi Refining stage.
Still, her casual term of address left the trio feeling slightly awkward. They weren't the young, impulsive upstarts they once were. Each now held a position of considerable power, but standing before Su Min, they still felt like greenhorns being assessed by their master. She certainly didn't treat them any differently.
"Let's go check the site where the mansion will descend."
There was about a week left until the ancient dwelling fully arrived. The spatial fluctuations at the location were already growing visibly stronger, shimmering like heat haze over a parched desert. Anyone in Weiwu Prefecture with even a sliver of cultivation could sense the gathering pressure in the air, a heavy stillness that made the birds go quiet.
Soon, deep in the western mountains,
"What an intense, concentrated wave of energy..." Su Min murmured. Her spiritual senses tingled with the raw power, a sensation like cold water running down her spine. "Is this the precursor to that ancient mansion's descent?"
She and her three companions stood atop a windswept rocky peak. They gazed into a secluded valley below where space had begun to visibly warp and distort, causing the light to bend into strange, iridescent ribbons. The few remote villages in the surrounding area had been evacuated on Prince Yong's orders, leaving the mountains eerily empty.
"This started showing clear signs about a month ago," Cao Yuanmu explained. He stepped beside her, the wind whipping his heavy robes. "Last time, with the smaller ruin, we only detected the spatial ripples a week after it had fully manifested."
According to the knowledge passed down from her game memories, these realms were pockets of space created by mighty cultivators before the great decline in spiritual energy. They had used profound laws to carve out pieces of reality, sealing them away from the decaying world to preserve spiritual density.
Then, when the world's energy recovered to a certain threshold, those sealed fragments would return. They would slowly reintegrate with the main world, like bubbles rising to the surface of a pond.
"The fluctuation pattern, it feels strange," Su Min noted. Her brow furrowed as she focused her senses on the shimmering distortion. "This doesn't feel like a small, personal cave dwelling. The spatial signature is more complex, more substantial. It's more like... wait."
Just as she was puzzling over the unusual distortions, something entirely unexpected happened. A translucent, blue-tinted screen, familiar yet long absent, materialized directly in her field of vision.
[Tianjiao Mansion]
[Danger Level: ★★☆☆☆]
[Hidden Difficulty: ★★★★★]
"This damn system actually has a function like this?" she thought. She was stunned into a momentary silence as the glowing text hovered before her eyes. "But, Tianjiao Mansion? That means there's a true Tianjiao cultivator sleeping inside."
Su Min fell into a heavy silence. In the game's framework, Tianjiao cultivators were among the most monstrously talented figures of their generation. While their nominal realm might not be sky-high, their actual combat ability, bolstered by unique physiques, legacies, or insights, could easily allow them to crush ordinary experts far above their level. Why would the abode of such a being awaken now, when the world's spiritual energy still hadn't recovered enough to support a true, thriving Era of Great Competition?
"But why would such a person's mansion appear now?" she wondered. A sense of foreboding grew in her chest, a cold weight that sat heavy beneath her ribs.
The current spiritual energy levels, while rising, weren't yet sufficient to support the full bloom of talent that defined a Great Competition Era. For a true Tianjiao's sealed abode to emerge this early was highly unusual.
"A self-sealed individual, perhaps? One who entered hibernation prematurely?" she theorized, running through the possibilities in her mind. "As long as we don't disturb their slumber, there shouldn't be much immediate danger. But if we accidentally trigger their awakening mechanisms or protective arrays, things could get very messy, very fast."
She frowned deeply. Normally, she wouldn't care much about the guardians in an ordinary estate. But a Tianjiao Mansion was a different league entirely. Picking a fight with an unknown, slumbering Tianjiao cultivator was far too risky without proper preparation.
Of course, Su Min herself, with her Heaven Path Foundation and unique constitution, could be considered a Tianjiao in her own right. If she had chosen a purely combat-oriented legendary physique at the start, she might even rank among the elite of elites.
"When the mansion fully opens and stabilizes, the three of you will stick close to me," she commanded. Her voice dropped into a cold, serious tone that made the air around them feel heavier. "Whatever I tell you not to touch, don't even look at it for too long. Otherwise, I won't be able to protect you from the consequences."
"Yes, we understand," the trio replied in unison. Their earlier casualness was gone, replaced by a rigid, military attention.
They shuddered involuntarily. It had been over two decades since they had last seen Su Min wear that particular expression. The last time had been during the final, tense moments before the battle with the fused Flame and Earth Elder.
They all knew that if Su Min hadn't been as strong as she was, and if those two old monsters hadn't underestimated her and attacked before merging their powers, the outcome of that day might have been a disastrous defeat for Yongzhou. A full-strength, prepared Foundation Establishment cultivator was no joke.
The fact that she was wearing that same look of focused caution now meant the mansion before them held something truly dangerous, something that even gave her pause.
"Alright, let's move. We have seen enough for now."
But just as she turned to lead them away, her entire body tensed. A cold, instinctual chill crawled up her spine, the sharp feeling of being watched by a predator. She whipped around, her sharp gaze piercing the distance. There, on a distant ridge opposite their peak, a lone black-robed figure stood. Silhouetted against the pale sky, he was gazing directly at her. His eyes, even from this distance, gleamed with a naked, unsettling greed that made Su Min's skin crawl.
When he noticed her sharp, returning stare, he visibly flinched. He then turned and melted back into the forest shadows with preternatural speed. He had been far away, well outside the normal spiritual perception range of an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator, but Su Min wasn't ordinary. As a master alchemist, her spiritual sense and soul strength were refined to a degree far above her peers.
"Mid-Foundation Establishment?" she muttered under her breath, analyzing the residual aura he had left behind. "A protector or guardian of the Tianjiao? No, the aura feels wrong, too predatory. Who was that?"
There wasn't time to give chase. The mere presence of another Foundation Establishment cultivator this deep in the wilds—and one exuding that kind of malevolent presence—was deeply unsettling.
"And the way he looked at me, that was definitely not a normal look of curiosity or rivalry," she mused, her eyes narrowing to slits. "Whoever he is, he is clearly here for the mansion too. We will meet again inside soon enough, I'm sure of it." A cold glint entered her eyes. "Let's see what you really are."
"Mid-Foundation?" one of the men behind her echoed. His voice was barely a whisper, and he was visibly shaken. Even the strongest among them, Cao Yuanmu, was far from that level. A Foundation cultivator wasn't someone they could treat lightly.
===
It's coming \(^o^)/~
We will venture into our "Female Lead" abode. The story of their bond will begin soon
Heavenly Pride (天骄) "Tianjiao": A term for prodigies who stand above ordinary geniuses, often possessing unique talents or combat prowess far beyond their cultivation level.