Sigh…
Hearing this, Su Min could only let out a helpless sigh. The time frame wasn't a big issue for her, but it still felt like a bit of a loss. So now, she watched expressionlessly as Tian Hao entered a small cave, while she herself could do nothing for the time being.
Looking around at the environment, she didn't dare venture alone into this battlefield. There were Dao Comprehension-stage beasts with twisted minds, and even the corpses of fallen experts could still kill her. Fortunately, this area had been thoroughly cleansed by the Mahayana expert, making it relatively safe.
"Little girl, don't be so disheartened. Take this—it's a special treasure I crafted in my time. Before my death, I sent most of my artifacts away, leaving only this behind."
With a wave of his hand, the old man summoned a golden orb that floated before Su Min.
"What is this?"
"A disposable artifact of mine, albeit only at the low Heaven Tier. It contains the essence of my fist technique—equivalent to a casual strike from my peak. To me, it was just a toy, but for you, it should be quite useful."
"Indeed."
Su Min silently pocketed the golden orb. It would be invaluable to her. But since there was no rush now, she might as well continue secluded cultivation. Though she couldn't break through to the Dao Comprehension stage yet, accumulating more insights wouldn't hurt.
The main bottleneck was still energy—her current spiritual power was far from sufficient for the breakthrough.
"I hope tragedies like this won't repeat. These two juniors are quite promising."
High above, the old man took one last deep look at the two cultivating figures before exhaling slowly. He was already dead—this was just a wisp of his remnant soul, clinging to his bones. Now that his skeleton had been passed on, there was nothing left tethering him to this world.
And so, his form dissipated completely into the void.
"The senior has left. You'd better absorb his legacy properly."
On the ground, Su Min and Tian Hao both looked up at where the ethereal figure had vanished. She couldn't help but sigh—such a mighty existence had turned to ash, forever erased from the world.
"In the end, he never told us what really happened here."
Tian Hao bowed deeply in that direction, his brow tightly furrowed.
"The ancient battlefield formed during the Era of Immortal Fall. Since then, countless experts—at least Unity-stage, even Mahayana—have fought and died here. And they came from different worlds, not just ours."
"For what?"
Hearing this, Tian Hao felt goosebumps rise all over his body.
"Have you heard of the Fallen Ones?"
"I've killed at least ten of them."
Tian Hao's pupils sharpened with killing intent. Clearly, he held not an ounce of goodwill toward those beings.
"Same here."
Su Min chuckled before dropping a bombshell that sent chills down his spine.
"What if I told you… it involved a Fallen Immortal?"
Hiss—
"Enough. Knowing too much won't do you any good. That's all I understand anyway. The formation of this place is tied to that Fallen Immortal—something far beyond our current scope. So focus on your cultivation and help me secure the White Tiger's legacy."
With that, Su Min walked away, ready to continue comprehending the Time Law. Though her current realm limited further insights, every bit of accumulation would propel her forward once she reached the Dao Comprehension stage.
"A Fallen Immortal…"
Tian Hao took a deep breath, feeling the weight of those words. Before such an existence, even the so-called Great Emperors—those at the Ascension stage—would struggle to prevail. After all, no matter how broken, an Immortal was still an Immortal.
Meanwhile, Su Min returned to her makeshift cave and summoned her cauldron, leaping inside. It couldn't function as a time chamber for cultivation, but it still had its uses.
"This time, I must reach the Dao Comprehension stage with the White Tiger's legacy. Failure is not an option."
With that resolve, she immersed herself in cultivation. Tian Hao did the same—his breakthrough to Dao Comprehension was equally urgent. Time flowed relentlessly. Within the ancient battlefield, everything seemed frozen, unchanging.
But this place was special—a completely independent realm. Unlike the Buddhist Water-Land Ceremony or Jiang Xi's tomb, which were pocket dimensions carved from the main world, this was a full-fledged world in itself.
Once, it teemed with life. But when even Unity and Mahayana experts fell in droves, how could the lesser beings survive?
Yet the cataclysmic wars had left this shattered world with a unique trait—its barriers were exceptionally fragile. If it could connect to Su Min's world, it could link to others too. Hidden throughout this realm were spatial rifts, gateways to different worlds.
Elsewhere, before one such rift…
Several figures stood with arms crossed, observing the fissure. Below them lay humans—piled upon one another in a grotesque mountain of flesh.
"Damn it, Dao Comprehension cultivators can't even enter."
A pale, effeminate youth with white hair scowled at the rift. Black blood dripped from the narrow fissure. With each drop, the sea of people below convulsed in agony.
Cries, screams, and wails of despair filled the air.
"Young Master, we've gathered a million souls. With our sect's secret art, we can temporarily widen the passage, allowing Dao Comprehension-stage entry."
"Hurry up then. This Young Master will claim the White Tiger's legacy."
The youth waved lazily.
"As you command."
The elder behind him raised a hand, and crimson arrays divided the area into sections. Instantly, the flesh of every man, woman, and child was stripped away, leaving only bones.
The piled skeletons formed a macabre landscape, yet the youth paid no mind.
"Heavenly Tiger Secret Art—Blood Refinement of the Firmament!"
The rift trembled violently as more black filth gushed forth, swallowing the bones whole. Screams erupted from the skeletons—their souls, not yet dispersed, were now trapped within the taint. The black blood clung to the bones like parasites, twisting them into grotesque monsters.
"Tch, amusing. As expected of a stronghold of the fallen. Elders, the passage can now accommodate Dao Comprehension cultivators. The two of you—both at late Dao Comprehension—will accompany me. Elder Mu, you as well."
"Yes."
The three behind him nodded before plunging into the rift, ignoring the writhing abominations below.
Had Su Min and Tian Hao been present, they would've immediately sensed the nauseating aura radiating from two of the youth's companions—these were Fallen Ones, fully restored in power.
How many worlds had they devoured to reach such strength?
As for the monsters left behind—whether they'd wreak havoc was none of their concern.
Of course, this wasn't the only rift. Others had entered at late Divine Transformation or half-step Dao Comprehension. Soon, life—foreign life—began to seep into this world.
But given its vastness, these newcomers had yet to cross paths. Worse, they were immediately beset by hordes of monsters, leaving no room for exploration.
Regardless, the ancient battlefield was no longer peaceful.
Back in the cave…
Su Min slowly opened her eyes.
"Progress is decent, but too slow. For Divine Transformation cultivators, it's either centuries of accumulation or rare opportunities—otherwise, advancement is near impossible."
She sighed, feeling the limits of her current realm. Though she'd grown stronger, the gap to the next stage remained vast. The White Tiger's legacy was now a necessity. Unaware of the outside changes, Su Min wouldn't have cared much even if she knew. After all, she was a bona fide transmigrator—very little could faze her. In fact, meeting people from other worlds might even excite her.
"Time to push further."
With that thought, she floated out of the cave—only to frown immediately. The reason she'd ended her seclusion was simple: danger. Per their agreement, she was to guard Tian Hao's breakthrough to Dao Comprehension. She'd even given him a Dao Comprehension Pill to hasten the process.
A gut feeling told her that without a Dao Comprehension expert on her side, securing the legacy would be near impossible.
But stepping outside, she massaged her temples in frustration.
Their sanctuary was being corroded—literally.
The crimson soil and parasitic organisms were creeping closer.
This had once been the burial site of the Great Desolate Holy Body. Even in death, his residual power had purged all corruption, keeping the area pristine.
But now that he was truly gone, the filth was seeping back in like water filling a void. When Su Min first entered seclusion, the surroundings were still safe. Now, they weren't.
"Headache. Hurry up and wake already."
She grumbled internally. Unlike the Mahayana expert, she couldn't repel the encroachment entirely. At best, she could slow it down. Against the creeping black blood oozing from all directions, she was practically helpless.
"If you don't break through within ten years, I'm dragging you out. Better to fail and try again than die—or worse, get corrupted."
She steeled herself. If Tian Hao took too long, she'd have no choice but to interrupt. By then, this place would be overrun. What seemed like barren ground was actually steeped in the tainted blood of fallen experts—seeping deep into the earth, permeating every inch of this world.
Now, like a natural tide, it was spreading unstoppably.
All Su Min could do was buy time.
Pulling out a stack of scrolls, she unfurled them to reveal intricate arrays.
Array Scrolls
Among the three auxiliary professions of cultivators—alchemy, arrays, and artifact forging—their prestige and difficulty descended in that order.
Alchemists were rarest, array masters moderately common, and blacksmiths practically a dime a dozen (since most experts dabbled in forging).
These scrolls, traded for a single high-grade Tier 6 pill, contained dozens of Divine Transformation-level arrays. Now, they'd finally prove useful.
"That tainted blood is highly corrosive—even I can't touch it carelessly. Let's buy you some time."
Watching the arrays unfold overhead, encasing the area like a protective dome, Su Min could only sigh.