Su Min could only sigh helplessly. If things truly 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've still dared 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 deep into thought. Although some of the scrolls held within the merchant guild were likely classified beyond her reach, most records — particularly disaster reports — wouldn't be hidden so securely.
"It hasn't even manifested yet...? How troublesome."
Tossing the scroll aside, Su Min leaned back, resting her chin in one hand, eyes narrowing slightly. Just then, the doors burst open, and a middle-aged man clad in official robes hurried in, panic plain on his face. Su Min vaguely recognized him — one of the governor's aides, though she wasn't exactly sure of his precise rank.
"What matter brings you rushing in so frantically?" She asked calmly, her tone unhurried.
"While the governor's men were escorting the villagers back... we were stopped by a bald donkey!"
"Bald donkey?"
Su Min blinked, momentarily confused, but realization quickly dawned. The governor's forces numbered in the thousands, some among them even at the Body Refining realm. To halt them outright... the interloper was clearly no ordinary man. And "bald donkey" — it could only refer to a monk.
"Someone from Lingxi Prefecture?"
In this world of the Path to Immortality, the lands were vast beyond imagination. The Great Wei where she now resided was but a forgotten corner of the map, with ancient prefectures scattered throughout, each sealed off behind great celestial barriers — the so-called Boundary Formations.
In the original game, these barriers were meant to limit players' exploration early on, creating a sense of pressure and danger. Here, however, it was reality. Lingxi Prefecture — that was the sacred ground of the Buddhist sects.
In the Great Wei, there were neither temples nor monks, but the Buddhist lineage remained a mighty force even well into the late stages of the game. They possessed profound arts of reincarnation and samsara. Now, with heaven and earth awakened, a Demon Queen at the Golden Core stage could indeed reign supreme across the Great Wei.
But within the Buddhist sects, she would be nothing — for among them walked beings far more terrifying. Still, for a monk to appear here... someone must have sent him. And undoubtedly, he was no weakling.
"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, falling silent. The villagers meant nothing to her. They had accepted the gifts of that clam demon and become accomplices to its devouring madness. How many innocent souls had been lost to the demon's maw because of their selfishness?
Still, what truly concerned her was not the villagers — but the monk himself. How had he crossed the barrier to arrive here?
"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.
~Edit and rewritten by Rikhi, Reiya_Alberich, ReiNyam~
In the game, monks were famed for their mercy. Whenever players encountered villages devastated by demons, handing the survivors over to the Buddhists was considered the best course of action. Later investigations showed most of those survivors lived out their natural lifespans afterward, without further catastrophe — though, naturally, there were occasional dark undercurrents.
At that moment, a majestic voice echoed throughout the room:
"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, assessing the golden-robed monk now standing before her. Clearly, his cultivation was far above hers. Yet, she felt no immediate threat to her life — if he had wished her dead, he would have acted already, especially back when she led her forces against the village. That implied he was no indiscriminate do-gooder... but still, caution was warranted.
"Since you're here, you might as well sit."
Though dangerous, the monk hadn't yet crossed into the Golden Core stage — still within the realm of mortals, albeit far above her current strength. A soft flash of golden light flared, and the monk materialized before her fully — his entire figure bathed in faint, sacred radiance.
"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 words, cutting straight to the heart of it. In this world, the phenomenon known as "Revelations" existed — the lingering will and insights of ancient cultivators etched into heaven and earth. Body Refining cultivators sometimes stumbled upon these echoes by chance. But Buddhism had a deeper secret: a complete cycle of reincarnation techniques. Though these arts allowed the inheritance of a cultivator's methods, they did not guarantee that the reincarnated soul would retain its past memories or will.
"Benefactor is wise indeed," the monk smiled serenely, hands clasped in prayer. "I am indeed from Lingxi Prefecture, inheritor of an ancient path. The suffering of all beings in this land reached my ears, and thus I performed a secret rite to cross the barrier — to offer salvation to the lost."
Su Min snorted inwardly.
"A noble ambition... yet ultimately meaningless. The barriers between the realms have not yet fallen. Crossing them, you must have suffered great constraints. Even to act now, you must tread carefully — or risk being forcibly expelled." She watched him closely as she spoke. The slight stiffening at the monk's brow confirmed her guess.
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 upon the western desert — a beast only a few meters tall, yet clad entirely in blades of strange metal. Its cultivation had already reached the late stage of Qi Refining. If left unchecked, once 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, from her past life — how Buddhism, seeking to spread its influence, had appropriated Daoist deities, rebranding them as Bodhisattvas and protectors of their faith.
It seemed history was preparing to repeat itself.