Deep within an unremarkable cave in the Great Desert, Su Min sat cross-legged in meditation.
"The five elemental treasures are gathered. But before breaking through, I must prepare the Foundation Establishment Pill. This seclusion will last for years. Fortunately, no one should disturb me here."
She retrieved her cauldron, eyeing the materials before her. The pill's rarity stemmed from its near-irreplaceable ingredients, though its Grade-3 mid-tier difficulty posed little challenge to her Nanming Lihuo.
"This should succeed in one attempt. I've already burned through enough of Prince Yong's herbs these past months. Failure isn't an option."
Unlike most pills that allowed substitutions, this recipe was rigidly fixed. She had only two sets of materials, and a single mistake would mean total failure.
Three days passed.
"Huff... that was exhausting."
Clearly, Su Min had slowed down her process to minimize the risk of failure. Now, in her hand were two pills emitting a faint glow.
"Foundation Establishment Pills... If word of this got out, the world would be shocked. In realms with deeper legacies, a bloody conflict would likely erupt."
She chuckled to herself but wasn't in a rush to consume them. Instead, she brought out the five elemental treasures — this was the true headache of cultivating via the Heavenly Dao path.
Of the three cultivation paths—Heaven, Earth, and Man—the human path was the simplest, requiring only a breakthrough. The Earth path demanded at least three of the five treasures. As for the Heavenly path, all five were necessary.
The problem was that to establish a Heavenly Foundation, all five treasures had to be completely refined and absorbed. The process could take ten to twenty years. But the reward was immense. Some cultivators could even begin to condense a phantom Golden Core, laying the groundwork for the next realm and gaining powerful divine abilities. The only drawback was the time it required.
By the time she emerged, others might have caught up to her in cultivation. But battle strength was another matter. Heavenly Foundation cultivators were exceedingly rare, perhaps only a handful per realm. In the Great Wei Dynasty, which served as the starting zone for players, resources were scarce and powerful beings few. Competition there wasn't fierce. In higher realms, however, it was brutal, more like a jungle where only the strongest survived.
In such places, without a dominant sect to regulate resources, chaos reigned. Even the battle for the Five Elemental Treasures was terrifying. But here, she had faced no competition, likely because no one expected to reach Foundation Establishment within decades or even knew about the Heaven path.
"Whew."
Exhaling softly, the five treasures rose around her, glowing faintly as they circled her form. She needed to absorb their elemental essence fully before taking the pill. The Heavenly Foundation was not something just anyone could attempt. One had to withstand the power of all five elements, a feat few could achieve. But as a player, Su Min's body possessed unique adaptability, allowing her to endure far more than others. Even the Five Elemental Forces were within her reach.
Time passed. The cave she had created gradually became buried beneath layers of sand. Yet her preparations were meticulous, and the chamber remained untouched. The shifting sands even served as natural camouflage. Even with modern technology, finding her would have been nearly impossible. And so, the years slipped away. In that silent desert, twenty years passed.
"Huu…"
With a deep breath, Su Min, still like a statue, slowly opened her eyes.
"How many years has it been? It feels like waking from a dream..."
She looked around the dusty cave, a trace of emotion flickering in her eyes. Her body, however, remained spotless. Spiritual energy continuously flowed through her, sweeping away dust. Her artifact armor made her seem almost out of place amid the desolation.
"Finally reached Foundation Establishment... Heavenly Path Foundation, even..."
Suddenly, Su Min clutched her head. A flood of unfamiliar information surged into her mind.
"Heavenly Dao Insight? No—this is... It's the Heavenly Dao's gift!"
At once, she sensed the source of the influx and smiled in joy. She had endured countless hardships for this moment, and now came her true reward. Although she had been able to defeat Fusion Realm cultivators at the peak of Qi Refining, her combat potential still fell short compared to those who pursued battle-oriented builds.
Just look at the others: Desolate Holy Bodies, Flameborne Physiques, Netherworld Death Bodies...
When paired with compatible fates, their strength became overwhelming. Late-stage Qi Refining cultivators who could defeat Foundation Establishment experts weren't rare. Some could even fight Golden Core cultivators. Compared to them, Su Min's path was different, but their advantage came with a heavy price—lifespan.
Spiritual energy revival came in cycles. Although the current era's energy was gradually recovering, reaching Golden Core was already considered elite. Beyond that, progress became impossible. This bottleneck would last nearly five centuries, the limit of the Golden Core stage. To advance further, they would have to reincarnate. Their fortunes carried over, but their physiques did not. Creating a new body with the same constitution was nearly impossible. Once their bodies changed, the unique "compatibility physique" players started with would vanish, and that was Su Min's greatest strength.
Unfortunately, the game had never made this clear.
As for sealing themselves inside treasures? That was futile. In-game, all such artifacts had long been looted, and the real world would be no different. The Demon Queen herself had destroyed her foundation trying to use one. The cost had been unbearable.