A Dao Comprehension-stage demonic beast—seeing it made both of their expressions darken.
Su Min had indeed slain a Dao Comprehension-stage creature before, but not without paying a steep price. Now, even though she had reached the late Divine Transformation stage, she still had to be extremely cautious when facing such a monster.
Only laws could oppose laws.
Neither Su Min nor Tian Hao had fully mastered their own laws, so they had to tread carefully.
"Azure Dragon Saint Manifestation!!!"
In that instant, Su Min clapped her hands together, and a massive emerald-green wooden dragon materialized in the sky, coiling around the monstrous beast that had just emerged. Her eyes flashed.
[Time's Erosion]
Almost immediately, the wooden dragon began radiating the power of the Time Law, rapidly draining the beast's lifespan. Though the creature had almost no intelligence left, its biological instincts screamed in alarm. Its massive body twisted violently, trying to break free from the dragon's grip.
BOOM!!!
Mountains shattered as the two colossal beings clashed.
"Hiss—"
Tian Hao, witnessing Su Min's technique, couldn't help but stare in shock. The Time Law was already one of the most elusive laws to comprehend, yet she could even directly steal lifespan from living beings. In just one minute, the beast had lost decades of its life. Though insignificant compared to a Dao Comprehension-stage creature's longevity, it was still terrifying.
"Quit gawking and attack!"
Seeing Tian Hao frozen in place, Su Min snapped. The environment here was saturated with death and decay—if she recklessly expended too much spiritual energy, she risked corruption.
Even with the Northern Water's Profound Origin's incredible recovery abilities, she had to be careful. The best strategy was teamwork—especially since Tian Hao, as a body cultivator, had much lower energy consumption for his techniques.
Snapping out of his daze, Tian Hao roared. The phantom of the Primordial Martial Saint materialized behind him once more, and his fist descended like a meteor.
"Great Desolate Destruction Fist!!!"
Dozens of concentrated blows struck the same spot—the monster's hardest skull.
CRACK!!!
The beast's head shattered under the barrage.
"Incredible precision. And this beast didn't seem to have its own laws—otherwise, your Power Law wouldn't have crushed it so easily."
Glancing at the corpse, Su Min retrieved her treasure gourd and absorbed it. She wasn't entirely sure what was up with this beast—the environment here was too twisted. But there was no time to dwell on it.
"Don't move recklessly. Can you sense the White Tiger's inheritance?"
Staring at the mountain of corpses, Tian Hao's brow furrowed deeply. The scene was horrifying. These remains undoubtedly belonged to Unity-stage experts. For so many Unity and even Mahayana powerhouses to have fallen here… just what kind of battle had taken place?
"I can't sense it. This place is enormous—comparable to the Great Luo Tian Continent. And we're only at the outskirts. Who knows what lies deeper?"
Narrowing her eyes, Su Min couldn't detect the White Tiger's aura. She didn't know if it simply hadn't manifested yet or if she was still too far away. But based on her past-life memories, both the White Tiger's inheritance and the Western Metal's Sharp Gold were located at the heart of this battlefield.
"What exactly happened here?"
While Su Min was lost in thought, Tian Hao asked grimly.
"A war like a meat grinder. Multiple worlds, manipulated by some unknown force, were forced into a battle of annihilation."
Su Min replied indifferently. This was just background lore from the "game"—she didn't know the specifics. Many details had been locked behind DLCs.
But she did know that in the end, the White Tiger, one of the Four Symbols, had intervened to suppress everything. Not long after, the world entered the Great Sealing, and the White Tiger left its inheritance and true body here to continue the suppression.
"I see…"
Tian Hao frowned. Clearly, Su Min didn't know much more than that.
Without further discussion, the two pressed onward. The sights along the way made even Su Min and Tian Hao suck in cold breaths. The sheer scale was staggering. The Himalayas stood at around 8,000 to 9,000 meters tall—yet here, even the smallest remains were several kilometers high.
A single dried skull was the size of a small mountain.
This wasn't just "grand"—if some Westerners saw this, they'd undoubtedly call it the "Grave of the Gods."
But what truly unsettled Su Min and Tian Hao were the remnants of flesh clinging to the bones—and the parasitic worms, each over ten meters long, feasting on the corpses. These natural decomposers had been gnawing at the remains of these supreme experts for who knew how long.
Neither of them dared to get close.
Not only were the worms disgusting, but they also exuded a chilling aura. Many were at the Dao Comprehension stage, and their Decay Law—born from consuming rot—was something no sane cultivator wanted to touch.
Even slight contamination would be a nightmare to cleanse. Su Min had once used a seventh-grade pill just to break a seal—dealing with this would be even worse.
"No wonder those sea demons refused to enter. This place is a death trap."
After teaming up to kill another late Divine Transformation-stage monstrous bird, Tian Hao finally understood why the sea beasts stayed away. Though they lacked higher intelligence, their instincts warned them of the dangers inside.
Here, Dao Comprehension-stage creatures were as common as dirt, and Divine Transformation-stage beings were worse than dogs.
The only silver lining was that most of these Dao Comprehension beasts couldn't properly wield their laws, making them weaker than they should be. But there were still horrors like those worms—best avoided entirely.
Thanks to Su Min's keen perception, the two managed to evade all Dao Comprehension-stage threats. But the endless Divine Transformation-stage beasts were still a headache. Su Min had even stopped using her gourd—it was full and busy refining its haul.
Once digested, the Demon-Slaying Thunder it could unleash would be strong enough to heavily injure many Dao Comprehension-stage foes, giving Su Min another trump card.
"If only I could bring an Imperial Artifact in here, I'd blast them all to ashes."
Su Min grumbled in frustration. The constant assaults were wearing on her nerves. Originally, she had planned to enter at the Dao Comprehension stage—at that point, she could've slaughtered these abominations with ease.
These corpses were intimidating now, but once she fully stepped into Dao Comprehension, their oppressive aura would mean nothing.
The reason she couldn't bring an Imperial Artifact was simple—their restrictions.
The Golden Crow Clan, as the former rulers of the demon race, possessed two. The Eastern Emperor Bell was out of the question—it was bloodline-locked to the Three-Legged Golden Crows.
The Golden Crow Ancient Bell, however, could be used by anyone with a Golden Crow mark. It could negate almost all laws, making it perfect for crushing troublesome foes.
But the moment she entered this space, it would've automatically returned to the Golden Crows.
At her current strength, she couldn't defy that.
"A… Great Desolate Holy Body?"
Just as Su Min was frowning, trying to sense their surroundings for a safe path—
Tian Hao suddenly froze, as if sensing something. Then, without warning, he shot toward a particular skeleton.
Su Min sighed but followed.
Their agreement had been to prioritize her inheritance, but right now, they had no leads. No point stopping him. In the blink of an eye, they crossed thousands of miles, arriving before a towering golden skeleton that stood like a pillar between heaven and earth.
It was over ten thousand meters tall, its bones radiating a dazzling golden light. Unlike the other rotting remains, this one was completely clean—no flesh, no worms, just pure, radiant bone.
The moment Tian Hao saw it, his mind blanked.
He could feel a connection.
"A Mahayana-stage Great Desolate Holy Body… and its bones have turned completely golden. This is the sign of perfection. With this level of power, it could've challenged an Emperor. Who could've killed it?"
Su Min inhaled sharply.
Among the Five Great Holy Bodies, the Five Elements Holy Body was the most unique—reaching perfection wasn't just about cultivation; it required specific conditions. A perfected Five Elements Holy Body was said to be capable of slaying immortals.
The others weren't quite as absurd, but they could still fight above their realm—a Mahayana-stage expert could contend with a Transcendence-stage powerhouse.
Of course, Jiang Xi and Yao Xian'er were exceptions—the Lunar Sovereign Body and the Spiritual Dao Body were on par, with the latter having a slight edge due to its versatility.
"Junior Tian Hao, a Great Desolate Holy Body, pays respects to Senior."
Instead of responding to Su Min, Tian Hao suddenly bowed deeply.
Then—
The colossal golden skull turned, its empty eye sockets igniting with golden flames.
"He's… not completely dead?!"
Su Min's lips twitched, but she quickly followed Tian Hao's lead and bowed. No shame in showing respect—she had seen the power of a Mahayana expert's remnants before. They could still kill her easily.
"How many years has it been…? To think the first living beings I'd meet here would be a Great Desolate Holy Body and a Five Elements Holy Body."
A weary sigh echoed as the flames in the skeleton's eyes flared. Then, the figure of an old man materialized in the air. A wisp of a soul—yet even this remnant could instantly discern their depths.
His gaze lingered on Su Min, sensing the three divine treasures within her. Despite her youth, she was already halfway to perfecting her Five Elements Holy Body.
"You seek the White Tiger's inheritance and the Western Metal's Sharp Gold, don't you?"
"Yes. May Senior enlighten us on their location?"
Su Min answered bluntly. Now that they'd found someone who could communicate, she wasn't about to waste time.
"You've stepped onto the Golden Core Avenue, inherited the legacy of the strongest Great Desolate Holy Body in history—the Desolate Martial Saint—and even absorbed part of his Dharma Body?"
Instead of answering, the old man turned to Tian Hao.
"Correct."
Tian Hao nodded, and the phantom of the Desolate Martial Saint appeared behind him again.
Su Min barely suppressed an eye-roll.
She'd beaten that thing to pieces before. Not exactly impressive.
But of course, she kept that to herself.
"I see…"
The old man sighed nostalgically, closing his eyes as if reminiscing.
Then—
BOOM!!!
Golden light erupted from his sockets, and the massive skeleton moved. A terrifying pressure slammed into Su Min and Tian Hao, sending them flying tens of thousands of meters from just the air displacement of its arm swinging.
"Let this old man see if you successors are worthy of that mission. Come—fight with everything you have. If you defeat me, I'll answer all your questions."
As his voice faded, the golden skeleton began donning armor woven from light.
"Tch."
Su Min and Tian Hao exchanged grim looks. This was unexpected, but not entirely unmanageable. Su Min still had the two drops of blood essence Xie Yingying had given her before leaving. In a true crisis, she could use one to escape.
These were from a Dao Comprehension-stage Xie Yingying—far more potent than before. But unless absolutely necessary, she'd rather not waste them.
"Let's go. I know our deal was to prioritize your inheritance, but right now, passing this trial is the only way to get answers."
"No need to remind me. I'm not some stubborn fool."
Su Min rolled her eyes.
If a fight was unavoidable, then so be it.