The Stone Heart was the core of the stone demon, equivalent to the demonic core of ordinary demonic beasts—but far rarer. To cultivate, a certain level of sentience was required, and for a stone to develop sentience was incredibly difficult. Just look at the piles of ore lying around—how many of them could think?
Most demonic beasts originated from animals that already possessed some degree of intelligence, some even quite high. Take, for example, a certain giant panda that held a grudge against its keeper for over twenty years. An ordinary person couldn't sustain resentment for that long.
Thus, for a stone to become a demon was exceptionally rare. However, the trade-off was that their requirements for reaching the so-called Golden Core stage were much lower—they didn't even have to face heavenly tribulations.
But there was a price for avoiding tribulations. Their mastery of spells was severely limited, barely capable of performing any complex techniques. Their behavior was largely instinct-driven, making them little more than slow, brute-force attackers.
This one was no exception. It swayed as it stood up, lumbering toward the two of them before—
BOOM!
A deafening explosion echoed as its massive fist left a crater in the ground.
"Don't interfere. Let me test my physique."
At that moment, Su Min turned her head and said to Xie Yingying. Then, she pulled out a feather from her sleeve and flicked it forward.
BOOM!
In an instant, a flash of crimson light erupted, and the explosion reverberated throughout the chamber. The stone demon's thick, ten-meter-long arm shattered and collapsed onto the ground.
"How is that possible?!"
Xie Yingying gasped in shock. What Su Min had just thrown was Nanming Lihuo, a flame of immense power—but it shouldn't have been this effective against a stone creature. Moreover, fire nurtured earth, meaning earth-attribute beings typically had high resistance to fire. This outcome was utterly baffling.
"The joints are relatively fragile. And my Nanming Lihuo is mixed with Eastern Azure Wood, amplifying its power."
Su Min watched expressionlessly, unfazed by Xie Yingying's astonishment. First of all, her Nanming Lihuo wasn't pure—it was all infused with Eastern Azure Wood. Wood fed fire, enhancing all her flame-based attacks to terrifying levels. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't be so extreme, since the primary damage source was still Nanming Lihuo.
But she had the Fire-Wood Holy Body. Though not yet a complete Five Elements Holy Body, she already possessed the embryonic form of the holy physique. Even if earth inherently countered fire (just as fire countered wood), under the influence of her constitution, this counteractive relationship was completely reversed. Instead, it followed the principle of wood overcoming earth, resulting in this astonishing effect at first contact.
"Just as I expected."
Su Min remained indifferent. She wasn't surprised by this outcome. While an early Nascent Soul-stage physical body was formidable, even body cultivators needed spells to complement their attacks—they couldn't just tank everything with brute force.
Moreover, Su Min had Eastern Azure Wood. This stone demon was the perfect training dummy.
"With the elemental advantage confirmed, it's time to test the Azure Dragon's legacy—Four Symbols Possession."
In an instant, a surge of violent energy coursed through Su Min's body, so intense that even her meridians trembled. Though the Azure Dragon Possession had been integrated into the Four Symbols Possession, its effects remained. The moment she activated it, Su Min couldn't help but shudder—the energy was simply too overwhelming.
The human physique was inherently fragile, far inferior to ancient bloodline demonic beasts. But just as the energy threatened to burst out, a layer of green light enveloped her blood vessels and meridians, stabilizing the power.
Eastern Azure Wood, one of the divine wood attributes, was fundamentally different from the blazing fury of fire-based divine objects. While its direct offensive power paled in comparison, its true value lay in protecting meridians, enhancing recovery, fortifying the body, and expanding spiritual energy reserves—all synergizing with specific techniques and skill combinations to maximize combat potential.
For body cultivators, a wood-based divine object like Eastern Azure Wood offered far greater benefits than a fire-based one. And just as Nanming Lihuo stood as the most versatile among fire-based divine objects, Eastern Azure Wood was the same for wood—a well-rounded all-rounder.
It might not excel in any single aspect compared to specialized divine objects, but its adaptability made it the most reliable in complex situations. For example, the Azure Dragon's legacy. Without Eastern Azure Wood's protection, activating it would instantly inflict severe damage to the meridians. The power of the Azure Dragon, one of the Four Symbols, was not something a human body could endure. Thus, without Eastern Azure Wood, the Azure Dragon's legacy would be utterly useless.
"Now, let's see the physical changes."
Her primary offensive methods hadn't changed much—she still relied on Nanming Lihuo as her main attack, with Eastern Azure Wood serving as support. But the synergy between the two created a 1+1>2 effect, making her combat power terrifying.
So Su Min sheathed her sword and leaped into the air, her hand glowing with azure light. A phantom dragon claw materialized before she slammed it down onto the stone demon.
"Azure Dragon's Claw!"
"ROAR—!"
The monster howled in pain as a small, claw-shaped imprint was left on its back.
"Must you, a female cultivator, fight so… manly?"
Xie Yingying facepalmed at Su Min's attack. While this strike wasn't as devastating as the earlier fiery explosion, it was purely physical. The dragon claw was more like condensed energy, enhancing the impact. This was the hallmark of body cultivators—internal and external techniques.
Internal techniques focused on amplifying raw physical power, with minimal additional effects. External techniques emphasized elemental or energy-based enhancements. Neither was inherently superior—it depended on the situation. Against a monster like this, with sky-high physical resistance, external techniques were obviously better.
So, almost immediately—
Su Min's other fist rose high before smashing down with brutal force.
"Azure Dragon's Heavenwood Fist!"
BOOM!
This time, the stone demon wasn't so lucky. Its massive body trembled violently as a gaping hole was blown open in its torso.
"Tch. I still have a long way to go."
Looking at the crater she'd punched into the stone demon, Su Min muttered to herself. Currently, when using the Azure Dragon Creation Art, she could only harness Eastern Azure Wood's power—not Nanming Lihuo. This meant she couldn't exploit the wood-feeds-fire advantage, making her melee combat slightly inferior to her ranged attacks.
Still, even this was formidable. The Azure Dragon's legacy, combined with Eastern Azure Wood, was one of the most elite inheritances in the Golden Core Avenue. But there was room for improvement—something Su Min would have to develop herself.
"A big, dumb brute with strength but no intelligence. Time to end this."
Having tested her abilities, Su Min had no interest in dragging this out. While her attacks had been effective, the stone demon's sheer size meant she'd be whittling away at it forever. She only needed to gauge her new techniques—not waste time on a prolonged fight.
Besides, despite its physical might, the stone demon's low intelligence made it far from a real threat. Any halfway decent late-stage Golden Core cultivator with the right elemental advantage could dismantle it slowly. And that was just an average Golden Core cultivator—not even one who had survived the Six-Nine or Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulations.
So she had no intention of continuing. While the monster flailed at her like she was an annoying insect, she seized the opportunity to snatch the small banner, ensuring it wouldn't be caught in her next attack. Then, without hesitation, Su Min formed hand seals mid-air. In an instant, the Vermilion Bird Holy Idol materialized behind her, its crimson form blazing with power.
BOOM!
A torrent of flames erupted, engulfing the stone giant in an inferno. Within seconds, it was reduced to ashes.
"This must be due to her physique. The Five Elements Holy Body is only a legend. Even if Su Min hasn't fully mastered it, the effects are already terrifying."
Xie Yingying watched coldly, analyzing inwardly. She had realized that such overwhelming power had to stem from Su Min's physique—one that could rival her own Lunar Sovereign Body.
"Reversing elemental counters… If perfected, it would be absolutely oppressive."
Expressionless, Xie Yingying grasped the implications. The Five Elements were the foundation of the world—all other attributes derived from them. If Su Min achieved a complete Five Elements cycle within her body, she would counter everything while resisting all attacks. Only a handful of physiques—like the Lunar Sovereign Body, Solar Sovereign Body, or certain monstrous body cultivators—could stand against her. And even then, none would hold a true advantage.
"The Five Elements Flags is secured. Hmph, the quality of this Stone Heart is about on par with a Golden Core-stage demonic beast's core."
As she spoke, the stone demon was completely annihilated by Su Min's flames. Despite its monstrous physical resistance, it stood no chance against Nanming Lihuo amplified by Eastern Azure Wood.
The Fire-Wood Holy Body not only granted partial Five Elements abilities but also directly enhanced the potency of fire and wood attributes. Su Min was quite satisfied with her current state.
"With the Five Elements Flags collected, let's backtrack and gather the spiritual herbs we passed earlier. While the legacy isn't a must for us, it's still worth seeing. There might be other treasures there."
This wasn't a safe place to activate the flags. Moreover, legacy trials were notoriously brutal—both as tests for inheritors and safeguards against wasting the legacy.
There was no need to rush. In fact, her trial might be even more absurd than Xie Yingying's Lunar Sovereign Legacy. If it proved too much, she wouldn't hesitate to bail—she had Heavenly Dao Insight as a fallback. It wasn't worth dying for this.
"Agreed. I'm more curious about that Wood Madman. This secret realm is vast—who knows where he's run off to?"
Xie Yingying smirked. Su Min had underestimated herself. She thought people wouldn't risk their lives for a single pill, but in reality, some absolutely would. For example—
At that very moment, on the other side of the ruins, the Wood Madman was being hunted down by a mob.
"Han Chaoyan, you ungrateful bastard. Aren't you afraid that after the heaven and earth are connected, our Blood Puppet Sect will destroy you?"
Looking at a familiar figure among the people who were surrounding and killing him, Mu Lingqi felt like vomiting blood. Of course, he was more afraid than angry, because more than a dozen people from the sect wanted to kill him. What was even more terrifying was that all his life-saving methods had been blown away by Su Min, and now he didn't even have the ability to drag one or two people down with him.
~Edit and rewritten by Rikhi, Reiya_Alberich, ReiNyam~
"Heh, I owe you nothing. You brought this on yourself. Your head's worth five fourth-grade pills now. At least die knowing why—what kind of idiot tries to take revenge after all that?"
Han Chaoyan's expression was almost pitying. Back then, both he and Chang Lu had been beaten out, yet neither dared seek retaliation. But this fool just couldn't let it go. Now that Su Min had openly put a bounty on his head, they had no reason to hold back.
"Everyone, listen! Lady Su only asked for his head. With so many of us here, no one can monopolize the reward. So let's compete fairly—the share of the head each of us secures will determine our priority for her alchemy services. And remember, alchemists require self-provided materials. None of us can afford to supply everything alone."
Han Chaoyan addressed the crowd confidently. With the Nether Ghost Water in his possession and his cultivation at mid Golden Core, he was among the top young masters present. He had the right to propose this.
"Agreed."
The others nodded. Cultivation wasn't just about strength—it was also about politics. Trying to hog the kill would make enemies of everyone. And since Su Min had offered five slots, they could compete for shares.
"You bastards—!!!"
The Wood Madman's face twisted in rage. They were discussing how to divide his head right in front of him!
"Attack together! Don't let him self-destruct! If his body's gone, how will we claim the reward?"
With that, the mob surged forward. A Golden Core cultivator's self-destruction was no joke. And while Golden Core experts had inner cores, they hadn't yet formed souls. If his head was destroyed, he'd die for sure. Only at the Nascent Soul stage could one survive without a physical body. But it was too late for the Wood Madman. In less than five minutes, his core was shattered by a coordinated assault. Then, four people each grabbed a limb and—
RIP—!
His head was torn apart. To prevent disputes, they even used special preservation methods on the remains. But the chaos didn't end there. A free-for-all broke out immediately after.
"Bastard! I took the brunt of his dying counterattack and wasted a life-saving treasure! What's the meaning of this?!"
"Screw off! This is ours!"
BOOM—!
The battlefield descended into utter mayhem. These were all proud young masters—none would back down easily. And some had indeed sacrificed treasures to survive the Wood Madman's last stand. Had Su Min been present, she might've pitied the Wood Madman. Not only was he dead, but his corpse was being fought over like scraps.
But she wasn't there. Instead, she and Xie Yingying were busy looting treasures when—
"Do you feel that? There's chaotic spiritual energy surging somewhere. Did the Wood Madman put up that much of a fight? Or are they battling over his head?"
Plucking a rare herb and stuffing it into her bag, Su Min glanced at Xie Yingying. As the mastermind, she knew what was happening—but the scale was beyond her expectations.
"At this rate, he'll be lucky if any part of his body remains intact."
Though Xie Yingying's spiritual perception was far inferior to Su Min's, the disturbance was too massive to miss. Even those outside the ruins could probably sense it.
Meanwhile, outside—
A group of Golden Core cultivators (those who had only endured the Three-Nine Heavenly Tribulation) watched in cold sweat. Over the past decade, they'd learned one thing: they stood no chance here.
So they stayed at the entrance, now profoundly grateful they hadn't entered.