As Su Min plunged into the Weak Water, the sea demons followed closely behind. After all, the pills she had offered were far too few—only a handful of them had the qualifications to trade with her. In the ocean, pills were even rarer than on land.
Inside the Weak Water...
Su Min's brows furrowed deeply.
"This water has a strong corrosive effect. I can't rely on spiritual energy to protect myself. If not for the Eastern Azure Wood, my physical body wouldn't be able to withstand it."
The Weak Water Secret Realm was similar to other secret realms she had entered—the moment she stepped in, she was scattered to a random location. Now, she was completely alone, surrounded by no demons—but the flowing water around her was extremely dangerous. If not for the Eastern Azure Wood slowly absorbing the moisture, even her Nascent Soul-level physique might not have held up.
"The bloodline legacies here are useless to me—and fighting the sea demons over them isn't worth it. Aside from gathering herbs along the way, my main goal is to find the Black Tortoise's legacy and the Northern Water's Profound Origin."
With this thought, she took out the Black Tortoise Token and poured her spiritual energy into it.
"No response? That's strange. Did I misremember, or has something changed?"
Su Min frowned.
The Black Tortoise's secret realm should have been here—she had even sensed it at the entrance. But now, inside, there was no trace of it.
The Four Symbols—though resembling beasts—were not ordinary demonic or divine beasts. Their legacies could not be inherited by demons, so Su Min's competition here was minimal. That was why she had come alone, without any helpers. But now, things weren't going as smoothly as she had hoped.
"Maybe it's a matter of timing. The Weak Water Secret Realm opens for decades—it's a crucial inheritance site for sea demons, much like the Golden Core Great Dao. I'll gather information and materials first, then search for the rest."
After some thought, she fastened the token to her waist. Now that she was inside the Weak Water, the token had stabilized—no longer at risk of suddenly disappearing. That, at least, was good news. Since that was the case, she might as well cast a wide net and search slowly.
Meanwhile, deep in the ocean...
An unremarkable figure was rapidly approaching. A small black snake, no longer than an arm, slithered silently through the pitch-black depths. Its presence was completely concealed—even if it were right in front of you, you wouldn't notice it. Its speed, however, was terrifyingly fast. In the blink of an eye, it had traversed tens of thousands of meters, arriving at the outskirts of the Weak Water Mansion.
Then, its lifeless eyes flickered with greed and intelligence. This was an ancient being—one that had transcended the Spirit Transformation stage long before the world's spiritual energy had declined. But that wasn't necessarily a good thing. Enlightenment-stage existences were too vast—no sealing crystal could contain them.
To survive, it had resorted to a brutal method: Severing its foundation.
It had cut its roots, its bloodline, forcibly reducing itself to the Spirit Transformation stage. And to prevent further deterioration, it had sealed itself in the abyss.
Now, decades after the world's revival, it had finally sensed the rich spiritual energy and the lifting of the world's suppression.
Naturally, it had broken free at once. But the price of its imperfect self-severing was steep. If it couldn't recover quickly, it might fall to the Nascent Soul stage—or worse.
Fortunately, its luck wasn't bad. A secret realm had opened just as it awoke. Every demon here was a delicious feast for it—so it had acted immediately. With a flick of its body, it darted into the darkness, vanishing without a trace.
One week later, inside the Weak Water...
Su Min landed in a somewhat disheveled state, then activated her Water-Avoiding Barrier. A small, dry area formed around her, allowing her to finally catch her breath.
"Little Gourd, you've evolved again. Don't say I mistreated you."
She patted the Treasure Gourd at her waist. Earlier, she had clashed with a late-stage Nascent Soul demon over a rare herb. After a fierce battle, she had slain it outright. In a normal environment, she could have fought effortlessly. But here, in the Weak Water, the sea demons could manipulate the surrounding currents to their advantage. Though Su Min wasn't afraid, she had still been thoroughly exhausted.
Now, after devouring three Nascent Soul demon corpses, her gourd had upgraded once more. The Demon-Slaying Thunder it could unleash was now powerful enough to injure Spirit Transformation experts. This gave her some means of self-defense against such foes. In this harsh environment, unless she obtained the Northern Water's Profound Origin, fighting water-adapted sea demons would be too disadvantageous.
"No leads at all. Hmm?"
Just as she was lamenting, her body suddenly shuddered. Her eyes flashed red, and in the next instant, she dashed away at full speed. At the same time, a thin black shadow pierced through the spot where her barrier had been.
"!!!"
Su Min's heart skipped a beat. If not for her keen alchemist's senses, she might have been impaled. No ordinary Spirit Transformation demon could have pulled off such an attack. So without hesitation, she fled without looking back. If she didn't know what it was, distance was the best option. Thunder crackled around her as she shot forward.
"A human? How is she so agile in the Weak Water?"
The black snake was slightly surprised. It had been inside the secret realm for a week, having devoured over a dozen Golden Core demons. Just now, while passing by, it had spotted this resting human. It had been cautious, only targeting Golden Core demons to avoid detection. But a human was a different story. In this environment, humans were severely weakened—and this one looked tender and delicious. But who would have thought she'd react so quickly?
This piqued its interest. Compared to demons, it craved human essence more—it was simply superior in quality. And though their contact had been brief, it had sensed something off about Su Min. So it gave chase, transforming into a black streak of light.
"What the hell is that thing? A Spirit Transformation snake demon? But..."
Su Min's body trembled again. Because she had sensed something unusual from it—a peculiar sense of incompleteness. In that instant, she realized what she was facing.
"Dammit, it's a Fallen One! It's too early to encounter them! Even if it hasn't fully recovered, it's at least at the peak of Spirit Transformation—stronger than most at that level. There's no way I can fight it now."
Cursing inwardly, she sped up even more. Faint trails of lightning marked her path through the Weak Water. Though a confrontation with the Fallen was inevitable, it couldn't be now. She needed to obtain the Northern Water's Profound Origin and reach Spirit Transformation first.
"If I can't outrun it, I'll lure it elsewhere. I remember there are a few Spirit Transformation demons here. These things instinctively repel others—if I can drive it away, even better."
With this plan in mind, Su Min wasn't fleeing blindly. The three clan leaders were gathered at an ancient ruin—she had avoided it earlier to prevent conflict. But now, with the snake closing in, she had no choice. So she dashed straight for the ruins.
The area was a graveyard of bones—a battlefield where countless powerful demons had fallen. Over time, it had become a legacy site for bloodline inheritance. Of course, those blood essences were only useful as materials to Su Min, so she had steered clear earlier. Except for that dim-witted giant crab, none of the demons had bothered her. But now, things were different. The moment she approached, three Spirit Transformation auras locked onto her.
"Human, this is not your place!!!"
Two of them were the same demons she had traded with earlier. Under normal circumstances, Su Min would have avoided them. But today, she charged straight in.
"???"
The three demons were stunned, but before they could react—
Their expressions darkened. Because they sensed that presence. A monstrous being, clearly a demon, yet instinctively repulsive to them.
"Who are you?! Leave at once!!!"
While they had only been wary of Su Min, their disgust for this thing was visceral.
"Hand over that human, and I'll leave."
The black snake's voice was calm. At this level, beings didn't act on whim—even if these three loathed it, they wouldn't attack outright. Besides, it didn't dare fight three Spirit Transformation demons at once.
"You— Huh?"
But the next moment, all four demons paused. Because Su Min's aura had vanished.
"She's a high-rank alchemist—her soul power surpasses ours."
After a long silence, the tortoise demon explained. As long as Su Min didn't touch the legacies, it preferred not to antagonize her. That single pill had been invaluable—and if she could refine more, her worth was immeasurable.
This secret realm might open once every few millennia, but pills were far more accessible.
And most importantly—they couldn't refine them themselves.
"You—!"
The black snake seethed with rage. It was clear these three had no intention of opposing Su Min—and it hadn't known she was a high-rank alchemist. But this realization only deepened its killing intent. Alchemists were not to be offended—but if offended, they must be killed. Even demons understood this principle. With a final glare, it turned and left.
Elsewhere, hidden beneath a pile of bones...
Su Min let out a quiet sigh of relief. Thankfully, she had reacted quickly enough. With the three clan leaders here, that thing wouldn't dare attack recklessly. But the root problem remained—she still had to deal with it eventually.
"Huh?"
Just as she was thinking, the token at her waist trembled.
"What?"
She stared at it in surprise.
Over the past week, she had searched most of the Weak Water Secret Realm. The three major sea demon clans had taken over the area, so she had avoided it. But who would have thought the key would be here?
Only now did she notice the enormous tortoise shell above her—and the Black Tortoise Token resonating with it.
"No wonder I couldn't find it no matter how hard I searched—it was here all along."
But her expression quickly turned solemn again. Because in the next moment, the giant shell seemed to come alive. A flood of information poured into her mind, forcing her to clutch her head in pain.
"This shell contains a drop of the Black Tortoise's bloodline legacy?!"
Su Min was stunned. Fortunately, the commotion was small—none of the other demons noticed. This allowed her to calmly absorb the information. Clearly, this was directly related to the Northern Water's Profound Origin. She couldn't afford to mess this up.
Meanwhile, on the ocean's surface...
A brilliant Buddhist light suddenly illuminated the waves. Liao Jie and several others emerged, their expressions cold as they gazed into the abyss below.
"It took us so long to pinpoint this location. If she's here for the Weak Water, she must be after the Northern Water's Profound Origin. This time, let's see how she escapes!!!"
Clutching three Black Tortoise Tokens in his hand, Liao Jie's face twisted with killing intent. The tokens weren't unique—but they were elusive. Most people would be lucky to find one. But for those skilled in divination, obtaining three wasn't impossible—for a price. With these, they could directly locate the Northern Water's Profound Origin. All that remained was to wait for Su Min to walk into their trap.