Su Min could only sigh helplessly. If things really worked that way, she wouldn't let any opportunity slip by. She'd seize them all for herself. Unfortunately, reality wasn't so accommodating.
"No news... If it were near the imperial capital, I might still dare to go. But as I am now, if I encounter that Demon Queen, death would be almost certain."
Unrolling the scroll in her hands, Su Min fell into thought. Some of the scrolls kept within the merchant guild were probably classified beyond her access, but most records, especially disaster reports, wouldn't be so tightly guarded.
"It hasn't even manifested yet? How troublesome."
Tossing the scroll aside, Su Min leaned back, resting her chin in one hand as her eyes narrowed slightly. At that moment, the doors burst open and a middle-aged man in official robes rushed in, panic written all over his face. Su Min vaguely recognized him as one of the governor's aides, though she wasn't sure of his rank.
"What matter brings you rushing in so frantically?" she asked calmly.
"While the governor's men were escorting the villagers back, we were stopped by a bald donkey!"
"Bald donkey?"
Su Min blinked in confusion, then realization dawned. The governor's forces numbered in the thousands, and some were even at the Body Refining realm. For anyone to halt them outright, the interloper was clearly no ordinary man. And the term "bald donkey" could only refer to a monk.
"Someone from Lingxi Prefecture?"
In this world of the Path to Immortality, the lands stretched endlessly. The Great Wei where she now lived was merely a forgotten corner of the map, its ancient prefectures sealed behind vast celestial barriers known as the Boundary Formations.
In the original game, those barriers were designed to limit player exploration early on, creating tension and a sense of danger. Here, though, it was no simulation. It was real. Lingxi Prefecture was the sacred ground of the Buddhist sects.
The Great Wei had neither temples nor monks, yet the Buddhist lineage remained powerful even well into the late stages of the game. They commanded profound arts of reincarnation and samsara. Now that heaven and earth had awakened, a Demon Queen at the Golden Core stage might reign supreme across the Great Wei, but within the Buddhist sects, she would be nothing. Far stronger beings walked among them.
Still, for a monk to appear here meant someone had sent him. And whoever he was, he certainly wasn't weak.
"Why did he stop you?"
Su Min asked, her expression unreadable.
"He said he wished to take custody of the remaining villagers."
"Is that so..."
Su Min closed her eyes and fell silent. The villagers meant nothing to her. They had accepted the clam demon's gifts and become its accomplices in slaughter. How many innocent souls had been devoured because of their greed?
Yet, what truly concerned her wasn't the villagers but the monk himself. How had he managed to cross the barrier and enter this realm?
"Let him be," Su Min said at last, smiling faintly. "The clam demon is dead. Those who received its direct blessing are already corpses. The rest will cause no great stir."
The official hesitated, surprise flickering across his face. He could tell: the lady before him had no intention of opposing the monk. Truthfully, Su Min had another reason for leaving it alone.
In the game, monks were renowned for their compassion. Whenever players encountered villages devastated by demons, the safest course was to entrust the survivors to the Buddhists. Later records showed that most of those people lived out their natural lives peacefully, though not without the occasional dark secret behind the scenes.
At that moment, a deep, resonant voice echoed through the hall.
"Amitabha. Many thanks, benefactor, for your understanding."
!!!
The very walls trembled with the power carried in that simple phrase. The official nearly collapsed in fright, his legs buckling. Even Su Min's expression changed sharply. She had not sensed his approach at all.
"Foundation Establishment..."
She narrowed her eyes at the golden-robed monk who now stood before her. His cultivation was clearly above hers, yet she felt no immediate danger. If he had intended to kill her, he would have done so long ago, back when she led her forces against the village. That meant he wasn't acting on blind righteousness. Still, she kept her guard up.
"Since you're here, you might as well sit."
Though dangerous, the monk had not yet reached the Golden Core stage. He was still within the mortal realm, albeit far above her current level. A soft flash of golden light filled the air as he fully materialized before her, his entire body bathed in a faint, sacred glow.
"Benefactor seeks the Five Elements Treasures, yes? I happen to know the whereabouts of one."
Su Min's gaze sharpened.
"You are a Reincarnated Arhat from Lingxi Prefecture, aren't you? Why have you come here?"
She wasted no time on niceties, going straight to the point. In this world, "Revelations" referred to the lingering will and insights of ancient cultivators imprinted upon heaven and earth. Sometimes Body Refining cultivators stumbled upon these echoes by chance. But Buddhism held a greater secret: complete reincarnation techniques. Though these allowed a cultivator's legacy to continue, they did not guarantee that the new vessel retained its past memories or consciousness.
"Benefactor is indeed perceptive," the monk said with a serene smile, palms pressed together. "I am from Lingxi Prefecture, inheritor of an ancient path. The suffering of all beings in this land reached my ears, so I performed a secret rite to cross the barrier and offer salvation to the lost."
Su Min snorted inwardly.
"A noble ambition, but ultimately meaningless. The barriers between realms have not yet fallen. Crossing them must have placed great strain on you. Even now, to act freely would be dangerous. One misstep and you risk being expelled." She watched him carefully as she spoke, noting the faint tightening of his brow.
Good.
That meant he couldn't easily obliterate her with a single strike. She could work with that.
"Indeed. Thus, I wish to propose a trade."
"A trade?"
"You are preparing to advance to Foundation Establishment, are you not? When I crossed into this realm, I saw a creature dwelling in the western desert. It stands only a few meters tall but is covered in blades of strange metal. Its cultivation has already reached the late stage of Qi Refining. If it forms its core, it will become a true catastrophe."
Su Min's brows furrowed.
"The Metal Aspect of Slaughter..."
"Precisely," the monk said gravely. "In exchange, I hope you will accept a Buddhist seat of dharma."
Su Min's expression darkened.
She remembered all too well how, in her past life, Buddhism had sought to spread its faith by rebranding Daoist deities as Bodhisattvas and divine protectors.
It seemed history was preparing to repeat itself.