As Tian Hao's words fell, Su Min clearly sensed a sharp aura erupting from the skeletal mountain range below. Evidently stimulated by their earlier battle, the White Tiger's legacy was about to emerge. However, those coveting this inheritance likely weren't limited to the previous group.
"Then I'll leave it to you. Don't let anyone disturb me. These are the remaining pills I have—enough to sustain you through prolonged combat."
Su Min's expression darkened slightly. While others might not be as formidable as the previous group, this place differed from others. Whether obtaining the Azure Dragon or Black Tortoise legacies, no matter how difficult the process, once victorious, she'd gained an absolutely safe environment.
But here was different. Clearly, the White Tiger hadn't prepared such conditions. As one of the Four Symbols representing slaughter, its inheritance was the most demanding.
"Understood."
Seeing the bottles and jars Su Min handed him, Tian Hao's lips twitched again. Truly befitting the title of the continent's top alchemist—she was an absolute tycoon. Dozens of seventh-grade pills, scores of sixth-grade pills—she'd handed them over without blinking.
He also knew that despite her vast reserves, Su Min rarely consumed pills normally to avoid compromising her foundation. Yet even so, her wealth was staggering.
Su Min also felt somewhat helpless. The environment was too hostile. With only Tian Hao accompanying her this time, she had to rely on him during the fusion process. Fortunately, this wouldn't be a prolonged seclusion.
The reason was simple—this place contained only a solitary legacy with no additional resources, meaning Su Min couldn't obtain sufficient energy for a breakthrough here.
"Seems I'll need another opportunity to reach the Dao Comprehension stage. Perhaps this is for the best. With the inter-world passages still limited, Dao Comprehension experts—being upper-tier cultivators—likely can't traverse them easily. While still at Divine Transformation, I should seize other opportunities."
Muttering to herself, Su Min began calculating in her mind.
First, this world's constraints prevented her from exceeding its limits.
Second, since the Kirin's secret treasury wasn't in her world, it must be elsewhere. She needed to locate the Kirin's ancestral grounds, where excessively high cultivation might actually hinder her.
Taking a deep breath, Su Min dove downward. The dense skeletal terrain held numerous gaps—sheer cliffs that would terrify ordinary people posed no obstacle to her.
Soon...
"..."
Speechless at the sight before her, Su Min didn't know what to say. A silvery-white metal hovered above a white tiger cub less than a meter tall. Clearly, this was the legacy she sought.
"This is too simplistic. The Azure Dragon had its complete stone statue space, and the Black Tortoise was equally impressive."
Su Min was thoroughly unimpressed. Like the Azure Dragon, the White Tiger had left no supplemental energy. But the Azure Wood's natural properties had generated some energy after fusion, while the Black Tortoise's legacy included an entire pool of essence blood.
This? Pathetically sparse. Su Min felt a headache coming on.
"Refine it first. Deal with the rest later."
After thorough inspection confirmed no major dangers or anomalies, Su Min relaxed slightly—though her expression soon turned solemn again.
Among the Five Elements heavenly treasures, fire and metal—the pure offensive elements—were hardest to refine, causing the most internal damage. With the Nanming Lihuo, she'd essentially received direct inheritance from the Vermilion Bird, which had suppressed its potency to ensure successful refinement.
But now, regardless, Su Min had to face this challenge head-on.
"Haaah..."
Taking a deep breath, Su Min grasped the pure white metal—and instantly, her hand erupted in bloody gashes. Mere contact had inflicted significant damage.
"Damn, that hurts."
She inhaled sharply. This was pure physical contact without any protection—necessary since swallowing it was required for refinement, demanding initial adaptation.
Reality had delivered a harsh lesson: her hand was lacerated from mere touch.
Her current bodily strength surpassed most steel—essentially an iron-clad physique—yet even that proved insufficient.
"All or nothing."
Gritting her teeth, she swallowed the metal whole.
"Ugh—!"
Instantly, sweat beaded on Su Min's forehead as her body convulsed, collapsing to the ground. The metal rampaged through her body—organs, blood vessels, and meridians suffering catastrophic damage.
"Cough—!"
Blood mingled with organ fragments sprayed from her mouth. This level of injury was rare for her.
Were she not at Divine Transformation stage—where her true core was her soul—this would have been fatal. Just as the White Tiger's legacy information warned: refining Western Metal's Sharp Gold required at least Divine Transformation cultivation.
Otherwise, it wasn't refinement—it was suicide. This was undoubtedly the most destructive sacred object she'd encountered.
"Unlike the other three, this metal embodies extremity."
Cursing inwardly, Su Min endured the pain to swallow a prepared pill.
[Soulguard Pill (7th-grade, lower tier): Protects the user's soul.]
This was her preparation based on intelligence—this metal's destructive potential demanded countermeasures. Though agonizing, the pain didn't exceed her expectations.
"Focus your spirit."
As the pill dissolved, the pain gradually dulled—the Northern Water's Profound Origin activating to repair the Western Metal's ravages. Below Divine Transformation, even Golden Core cultivators would lose half their lives to such trauma. The damage would leave permanent scars even if healed. The pill served a similar purpose—primarily shielding her soul.
"I have three. Effects diminish after the second. Must succeed this time."
Closing her eyes, Su Min accelerated her cultivation. Energy surged violently through her body as she sought to tame the metal. This was the most dangerous phase—survival was her limit, leaving no capacity to monitor external events.
Meanwhile, high above, Tian Hao narrowed his eyes.
"The Western Metal's aura vanished. She's begun refinement. I must guard her during this period. And..."
His lips curled slightly as he sensed an approaching presence. The metal's emergence had alerted the entire world. But only cultivators could respond—the half-dead entities couldn't move freely, while corrupted beings lacked the intellect to act on the information.
Sure enough, a middle-aged man soon arrived, only to freeze upon seeing Tian Hao's radiant form. After a brief hesitation, he turned and fled—the disparity between Divine Transformation late stage and genuine Dao Comprehension was insurmountable.
Yet the scent of a heavenly treasure was too tantalizing to abandon completely.
Owned treasures could only be envied—killing the holder wouldn't release them. But unclaimed ones? Fair game. Su Min herself had competed for the Azure Wood against several rivals, including one fool who sought revenge and was subsequently torn apart by her allies.
"Damn that Dao Comprehension expert! Don't think you can protect her forever. Over a hundred cultivators entered this world—someone will seize that treasure."
The man flew off, already planning to gather allies.
"A problem."
Tian Hao frowned deeply. He recognized the ill intent but couldn't pursue—doing so would leave Su Min unprotected during her critical refinement of the notoriously volatile Western Metal.
"Hope she doesn't take too long."
He sighed, anticipating inevitable battles ahead.
Time flowed slowly as Su Min's refinement progressed methodically.
Four-colored light now enveloped her—white, azure, crimson, and black representing the Four Symbols and their sacred objects. The azure, crimson, and black lights worked in concert to assimilate the white.
Beads of sweat covered Su Min's forehead, her robes thoroughly drenched—a rarity for a cultivator whose body had long transcended mundane temperature fluctuations.
"Hurts..."
This agony had persisted relentlessly—the most perilous refinement she'd attempted, requiring absolute concentration.
"Wonder how Tian Hao's faring. Just a few more months."
Currently focused solely on the metal, Su Min hadn't yet touched the White Tiger's legacy. The Four Symbols' legacies were immensely powerful but heavily restricted—bound inextricably to their sacred objects. Without them, the legacies were worthless. Once she refined the Western Metal's Sharp Gold, no one could steal the legacy. Her only concern now was Tian Hao's situation.
And reality matched her expectations. Outside...
"Fellow Daoist, please step aside. Such treasures belong to the capable."
A sage-looking elder smiled at Tian Hao, though keen eyes would spot the greed burning within. Cultivators might appear refined normally, but when supreme legacies were at stake, they'd fight tooth and nail.
Nor was he alone—over a dozen figures surrounded them, each wielding Heaven-grade low-tier artifacts and radiating Dao principles. All were half-step Dao Comprehension experts—those who'd reached their limits and needed desperate measures to advance further.
"Leave. Now. Or die."
Tian Hao's disgust was palpable. Unlike Su Min's relatively smooth ascent, his path had been carved through bloodshed. Having offended countless during the Golden Core Avenue, he'd faced relentless retaliation afterward. He'd seen too many of these so-called virtuous elders—spouting noble rhetoric while striking to kill.
Su Min was different—she rarely preached but acted when necessary.
"Young man, though your cultivation surpasses ours, do you truly believe you can stop us all? None who come here lack desperation—we're prepared to either reach Dao Comprehension or die trying."
The elder's face twisted with determination. With Dao Comprehension experts unable to enter and the journey perilous, only the truly desperate undertook it.