"The Heavenly Palace's a treasure forged by the collective efforts of the emperors of past eras, surpassing even standard imperial artifacts in scale and function. The only thing comparable to it's now is the Golden Core Avenue."
At this moment, Yao Xian'er was leading a large group of people, including Xie Yingying, through the void beneath a colossal, floating palace. Its sheer, impossible size was enough to rival the entire Heavenly Continent itself.
Now that a true immortal had arrived, they had to act immediately. They couldn't allow it to recover freely, they needed to buy this universe at least a few more centuries. Soon, the entire group surged out from the Heavenly Continent's protective barrier and ventured deep into the dark cosmos.
"What about that Great Desolate Sacred Body? His combat power was only slightly below Su Min's back in the day."
Yao Xian'er frowned slightly as she scanned the gathered crowd of experts. Of the top four from the legendary Heavenly Rankings back then, only she and Xie Yingying were present and accounted for. As for Su Min, she was in the midst of a frenzied, life or death closed door cultivation session, she was their final, ultimate trump card.
Their entire goal now was to buy her enough time to grow and complete her transformation. If the legendary Primordial Chaos Body could truly descend into this world, even if Su Min were only at the Mahayana stage, she could likely contend with that immortal. Until then, they had to protect her at all costs.
Since Su Min wasn't here, they needed every bit of reinforcement they could get.
But that young man named Tian Hao was nowhere to be found.
"I don't know."
Xie Yingying shrugged indifferently. That guy had vanished from the continent completely after the great battle to eradicate the Black Seal.
No one knew whether he had gone deep into the unexplored starry skies or somewhere else entirely. They'd even used special tracking methods from his sect, only to find his little girlfriend, who was now living in seclusion, raising their two children alone.
Later, for their safety, she'd joined the Immortal Sect for protection. But as for Tian Hao himself, even Xie Yingying had no clue. Either he'd stumbled upon a great, secret opportunity, or he was trapped in some bizarre secret realm.
As long as his soul lamp in his sect was still burning, the rest wasn't for them to worry about right now.
This time, virtually every Unity stage expert on the continent had mobilized, a truly unprecedented gathering, except for Su Min, who was in critical, life and death seclusion.
—
As for Su Min at this very moment,
"Cough, cough, Finally killed it."
Watching the watery law figure before her shatter into sparkling fragments, she finally let out a sigh of relief. She'd been trapped in this damned gray space for what felt like nearly a hundred years. Aside from the very first law creature she encountered, none of the others had lasted more than seven days under her relentless attacks before being obliterated.
After the initial period of chaos and adjustment, she'd regained full control of her power in this suppressed state. Moreover, as she continuously slew and absorbed more laws, her combat prowess had steadily increased, adapting to her new limitations.
More importantly, a blazing, determined fire now burned in her heart. Over this century of constant battle, she'd nearly exterminated all the chaotic law fragments left behind by Yao Xian'er. Countless laws now surged wildly within her body, vying for dominance.
"Time to forge the Myriad Laws Crucible. Success or failure hinges on this moment. And judging by my current state and accumulation, I mightn't even need the Mahayana Pill anymore to break through to Mahayana."
Feeling the profound, turbulent changes within her, Su Min had no choice but to halt her movements and sit down. She'd already absorbed all the law remnants here, truth be told, she was a little shocked by the sheer volume.
The condensed law essence here was enough to create over ten thousand Dao Comprehension stage cultivators, a number that likely surpassed the total number of Dao Comprehension experts in the current universe, including those in the Dark Universe.
It just went to show how truly terrifying Yao Xian'er, a peak expert of her time, had been. However, those who reached the Dao Comprehension stage directly through absorbing these law essences had a fatal flaw, the laws weren't truly comprehended by them themselves. Advancing further to the Unity stage would be exponentially harder as a result.
Of course, if you told this to any Divine Transformation stage cultivator, ninety nine out of a hundred would've agreed without hesitation. After all, out of a hundred Divine Transformation experts, maybe one would've ever reached Dao Comprehension through their own efforts.
Only supreme divine beasts or direct descendants of emperors had slightly better odds, but even then, the numbers were severely limited.
Take the Golden Crow Clan, for example. There were currently seven of them, but only three had reached Dao Comprehension. The other four were stuck at the Divine Transformation peak, and who knew when they'd finally break through?
"Time to refine."
Su Min's hands moved swiftly, forming a series of complex seals. Her face immediately twisted in pain, after all, she wasn't a Spirit Vein Body. While a mortal body had the highest potential ceiling, every step forward on this path was agonizingly difficult, like carving a path through solid rock.
"Pfft,"
The next moment, she couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of bright red blood. The myriad laws inside her raged violently, their conflicting energies pulverizing her bones, organs, and meridians in an instant.
This level of pain would've been utterly unbearable for the Su Min who'd just transmigrated into this world a millennium ago. But after a thousand years of constant life and death struggles and cultivation, her pain tolerance had reached monstrous levels.
"Steady my breath, guard my heart."
As a peak Unity stage expert, her regenerative abilities were terrifying. She didn't even care if her internal organs were temporarily mangled, what mattered now was avoiding permanent Dao injuries.
Physical wounds were trivial at her level, they'd heal quickly with energy and pills. But Dao injuries were another matter entirely, they could cripple a cultivator permanently. Just look at what happened to Tian Hao's little girlfriend, he'd begged left and right for Su Min to heal her, even agreeing to follow her into the deadly ancient battlefield. Though, admittedly, that expedition had been extremely fruitful for him in the end.
"Avoid Dao injuries at all costs. As long as my body doesn't fall apart completely, it's fine."
Her physical form was important, but not irreplaceable for a cultivator of her level. As long as her spiritual origin and soul weren't damaged, she'd be okay.
"Still need pills."
Assessing her dire internal condition, Su Min flicked her wrist, summoning two glowing pills from her spatial ring.
[Heartguard Pill (8th Tier, 7 Colored): Protects the heart meridian and spiritual origin from catastrophic damage.]
[Healing Pill (8th Tier, 3 Colored): Rapidly restores physical and meridian injuries.]
In an instant, she swallowed both, pills that'd drive any outsider mad with envy. A warm, soothing energy spread through her devastated body, rapidly healing the worst of her wounds. Then, the raging laws tore them apart again. Healed, then destroyed once more. The cycle of pain was excruciating, but with the pills' aid, Su Min finally stabilized the situation. The myriad laws began to slowly, painfully merge, and a peculiar sense of completion made her eyes widen in realization.
"This is, the missing piece? But no, something's still lacking. One final step."
Her eyes gleamed as she sensed familiar tremors from the two great origin powers lying dormant within her, the Five Elements Holy Body and the Half Step Chaos Physique.
Yin Yang Dual Qi. Five Elements Origin. Myriad Laws Crucible.
These were like the final puzzle pieces she was assembling, now, only the last one remained to be found and integrated.
But what was it?
"No matter. Finish the fusion first."
Her eyes flashed with determination. Though the missing piece frustrated her, she knew she had to take things step by step. She couldn't force a revelation.
—
Meanwhile, at the turbulent edge of the Dark Universe,
A massive, majestic palace slowly materialized from the void. Under the joint leadership of Yao Xian'er and Tian Yang, the absolute powerhouses of the various super factions stood with grim, resolute expressions.
They could all sense an ominous, deathly aura radiating from the darkness ahead. Even their spiritual energy grew restless and hard to control. The faces of these normally unflappable Unity stage experts darkened instantly.
"Listen well, everyone, inside the Dark Universe, never, ever absorb the ambient spiritual energy there. For us, it's pure corruption. If tainted by darkness, the best case scenario's a permanent drop in cultivation. The worst? Instant insanity and transformation into one of them."
Yao Xian'er's voice was calm but carried an iron firmness that brooked no argument. The others exchanged uneasy, knowing glances.
"You three actually fought in such an environment? Your strength must've plummeted, while those dark cultivators grew even stronger on their home turf."
Xie Yingying's expression was grim as she processed this. Now she understood just how harsh the conditions Su Min had endured were, and her heart ached for her.
"Exactly. Even with Tian Yang and me working together, killing a single Mahayana expert there was nearly impossible. Unless they were foolish enough to fight us to the death, which they never were, they'd always flee and recover."
Yao Xian'er's face darkened at the memory. Against opponents of the same level in the normal universe, she could crush them effortlessly. But those dark cultivators were masters of escape and attrition. Worse, they were far more ruthless than normal cultivators. Upon awakening to their power, they slaughtered and devoured everything familiar to them, completely erasing their former humanity.
Then, they turned on each other, consuming the weak until they were no longer themselves, just vessels of power and madness.
As for the ancient cultivators from the Dark Abyss itself, they were even more terrifying, they were often revivals of long fallen experts. Even Transcendence stage emperors had fallen there and been corrupted.
No matter who they were in life, in this corrupted place, they all became slaves of the darkness, extensions of its will.
"The Heavenly Palace's greatest use isn't just protecting this universe, it also gives us a secure foothold and a place to recover. It can isolate and filter dark energy, and it contains hundreds of high grade spirit veins within its structure."
Yao Xian'er held nothing back now, explaining everything they'd need to know to survive.
"So, what's the plan? Charge straight into the Dark Abyss head on?"
The others knew the stakes were existential and pressed for concrete details.
"No."
Yao Xian'er shook her head firmly. That would've been sheer suicide.
"First, understand this, those lurking in the deepest Dark Abyss, especially that general, can't leave it easily. The concentrated dark energy there shields them from heavenly detection, but only to a limit. If they venture into regions with thinner dark energy, the heavens will immediately lock onto them and strike them down with divine tribulation lightning.
Our best chance's to lure them out into the fringes of our universe, where they'll be heavily suppressed by the heavenly laws, weakening them significantly."
"Then what do we do now?"
"Storm the Dark Continent. Kill every Mahayana expert there we can find. Slaughter as many dark cultivators as possible to deny him resources."
The group let out a collective, subtle sigh of relief. At least they weren't being sent on a direct suicide mission into the abyss.
All of them carried their sect's imperial artifacts. Even if they couldn't defeat a Mahayana expert alone, they could stall them with the artifacts' power.
Only someone like the Skeleton Emperor, who could wield an imperial artifact without any restriction, had ever made them feel true despair. But these corrupted Mahayana experts, even if they were once their own ancestors, would no longer be recognized or aided by their former imperial artifacts after being tainted by darkness.
Soon, the colossal Heavenly Palace surged forward into the dark depths. The moment they neared the Dark Continent's gravitational pull, they clashed violently with another group emerging from the planet.
The battle erupted instantly, without any preamble.
This time, with the Heavenly Palace actively purging the dark energy around them and serving as an instant recovery base, Yao Xian'er no longer held back. But she didn't get to rampage freely for long, two Mahayana peak experts, radiating corrupted power, blocked her path.
"The Wind and Thunder Emperors?!"
Her face turned grave with recognition and sorrow. These two were her revered seniors, legendary figures who'd once led countless cultivators against the darkness in a previous era. But they'd fallen here, their bodies never recovered. The only silver lining was that their imperial artifacts had been retrieved by their descendants in time, preventing the treasures from being corrupted as well.
The downside? Their powerful bodies had never been recovered. Now, they were being puppeteered by the darkness, forced to fight against their own legacy.
Like the puppet path cultivator Su Min had once fought, their combined strength and coordination was terrifying.
Of course, as reanimated corpses without their full wills, they were far weaker than they'd been in their prime. Even in this ideal dark environment, they could only barely hold Yao Xian'er back, keeping her occupied and unable to assist others.
"The rest of you, move out! Head for the Dark Continent now!"
Seeing that most of the enemy's elite forces were tied down by their vanguard, Yao Xian'er barked orders to the main alliance force.
"Lady Yao, Please, let our ancestors rest in peace."
Three cultivators stepped forward from the crowd, bowing deeply to her. They were the current leaders and descendants of the Wind and Thunder Emperors' legacies. Seeing their revered ancestors' corpses defiled and used like this filled them with a cold, helpless rage.
But all three were only at the early Unity stage. Even with their inherited imperial artifacts, they couldn't safely intervene in a battle of this magnitude.
"I'll try to give them a clean end."
Yao Xian'er sighed, her expression complex. The environmental suppression here was brutal, even for her at her peak. It was going to be a long, difficult fight.