"Cough, cough, cough... That guy is ruthless, and his reflexes are terrifying."
Covered in dust and sent flying by the explosive shockwave, the moment the Vermilion Bird Saint Avatar detonated, the opponent also self-destructed her Dharma Body. Normally, with her fire resistance, the explosion of Nanming Lihuo wouldn't have severely injured her. But now, her condition was dire—she had suffered significant damage.
As for the other party, he wasn't faring much better. Just moments ago, Su Min had clearly seen one of his Earth-tier protective treasures shatter. Earth-tier treasures were incredibly rare—even Nascent Soul cultivators would struggle to refine them.
"I have to take the pills now."
Assessing her internal condition, Su Min muttered to herself. With a flick of her hand, two pills appeared in her palm.
[Bone-Melting Potential Pill (Fourth-tier, High-grade): Unleashes the user's full potential, maximizing combat power at the cost of damaging meridians.]
[Return from Death Pill (Fourth-tier, High-grade): Rapidly heals all injuries but leaves residual medicinal properties in the body, disrupting spiritual energy flow.]
She tossed both pills into her mouth. Almost instantly, her injuries completely healed, and her aura surged violently.
"Such powerful pills! A moment ago, she was half-dead, and now she's fully recovered. That explosion cost both sides dearly."
The spectators were stunned. The effects of these two pills were overwhelmingly potent—not only did they restore all injuries in an instant, but they also elevated her physical prowess to another level. Without a doubt, these were extremely rare, high-grade pills.
The only question was their side effects. But one thing was certain—just one of these pills would cost most people in attendance their entire fortune. As for the other combatant, he wasn't much better off. His Earth-tier life-saving treasure had been destroyed. The two were now on equal footing—or so it seemed.
"Hah, the Great Desolate Holy Body is at a huge loss. She's an alchemist—she can refine these pills as long as she has the materials. But that Earth-tier protective treasure? Not so easy to replace. Heh..."
"Ugh, alchemists are just ridiculously wealthy."
The crowd burst into laughter. For anyone else, consuming two such high-grade pills in succession would be a massive loss. But Su Min was an alchemist—obtaining these pills was far easier for her than for others.
"Brother Tian..."
A fiery-red-clad girl nearby paled. That Earth-tier artifact was Tian Hao's only life-saving trump card, obtained from the Great Desolate Secret Realm. Even among Golden Core cultivators—let alone early-stage Nascent Soul veterans—few could have destroyed it.
In other words, though both were only at Golden Core Late Stage, the intensity of their battle was such that even Nascent Soul cultivators caught in the crossfire would face certain death.
"Now, the two are back on equal footing..."
However, Xie Yingying remained calm. She knew Su Min had prepared three types of pills—she had only taken two so far. That meant she still had more cards up her sleeve.
"Those two light and dark divine artifacts were attached to his Dharma Body. Since he hasn't refined them into his own body, he can't use them now that his Dharma Body is destroyed. Damn it, Nanming Lihuo was also overused in defending earlier and is temporarily unusable."
Su Min quickly assessed her situation. Her opponent's self-destruction hadn't just taken out his Dharma Body—it had also detonated the opposing light and dark divine artifacts. The resulting explosion was devastating. In fact, she had been forced to use her own protective treasure just to barely survive.
Otherwise, she would've been killed instantly, forcing her to expend her second life. But the cost was that Nanming Lihuo was temporarily exhausted. The reason she had used her protective treasure and conserved her second life was simple—she needed to buy time for Nanming Lihuo to recover.
It wouldn't take long—just a few minutes.
But there was good news: her Nanming Lihuo would soon regain functionality. Though she couldn't summon the Vermilion Bird Saint Idols again for now, her combat power would still recover significantly. As for her opponent, his Dharma Body wouldn't be usable for days—maybe even months. With that in mind, a surge of cyan light enveloped her body, and she swung her sword in a fierce slash.
CLANG!!!
A crisp metallic clash reverberated across the battlefield as the Great Desolate Holy Body closed in on her.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The arena trembled under the force of their collisions. Their exchange was like a storm—every impact sent shivers down the spines of onlookers.
"These two are already engaging in such intense combat? That explosion just now would've killed most Nascent Soul cultivators. Yet they both survived—somehow. But this level of combat is insane! It's no less intense than before!"
"Indeed. These are the first-generation prodigies of this era. Their physical bodies have reached terrifying levels. Even without their earlier techniques, the sheer force of their clashes would overwhelm most Nascent Soul cultivators."
Many spectators winced at the sight. These two were absolute monsters. It was clear that in this Golden Core Heavenly Ranking, Su Min, Tian Hao, and the Lunar Sovereign Body would stand far above the rest.
"Tsk..."
Han Chaoyan, in particular, sucked in a cold breath. He was grateful Su Min hadn't used these methods against him—otherwise, his defeat would've been far more humiliating.
"These two..."
Even Xie Yingying and Yao Xian'er wore solemn expressions. This battle had left even them deeply unsettled. However, compared to the spectators, the two combatants were in relatively good spirits. After consuming the body-enhancing pill, Su Min's physical strength now matched her opponent's. Every exchange left both with heavy injuries—they were trading blow for blow.
~Edit and rewritten by Rikhi, Reiya_Alberich, ReiNyam~
Su Min wasn't in a hurry because she needed to weaken her opponent further. Only then would her trump card—the one specifically prepared to counter him—be most effective. As for Tian Hao, his strategy was simple: pressure Su Min to exhaust her pill's effects quickly. With Nanming Lihuo temporarily unusable, he could then crush her.
BOOM!!!
Another collision sent both fighters flying thousands of meters apart. In less than half a minute, the effects of Su Min's pill had worn off—far sooner than the usual three-minute duration.
"It seems your pill's effects have faded. To fight my Great Desolate Holy Body to this extent, you are truly formidable. But now, victory is mine."
Tian Hao's icy voice rang out as he lunged forward again, his fist radiating terrifying energy.
Saint Fist!
"Hmph."
But this time, Su Min's lips curled into a smirk. In an instant, a shimmering, flexible ribbon shot out, intercepting Tian Hao's strike and disrupting his momentum.
[Soft Heart Silk (High Mystic-tier)]: Woven from special metallic threads, it is both flexible and resilient. When combined with certain spells, it produces unique effects. Its nature allows it to dissipate most physical force.
This was Su Min's countermeasure against him. At full strength, Tian Hao could've easily broken free. But now, battered and injured, he struggled. The ribbon's ghostly, twisting movements completely hindered Tian Hao's advance. In his current state, he couldn't break free immediately. Seizing the opportunity, Su Min retrieved another item—a pendant.
[Five Elements Pendant (Mid Earth-tier)]: When activated, it unleashes the Five Elements Rotating Formation—a mysterious and devastating array. However, activating it requires mastery over all five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Legend claims it was forged by the Five Elements Great Emperor.
In an instant, five-colored light—gold, green, blue, red, and yellow—flashed around her before converging into the pendant. A massive five-elemental wheel materialized in the arena. Tian Hao, still struggling with the Soft Heart Silk, could only watch helplessly as the formation enveloped him.
"Another Earth-tier treasure?! And one that requires mastery of all five elements?! Who besides the Five Elements Holy Body could even use this?!"
"Enough talk. Just watch. The stricter the requirements, the more powerful the effect. This battle is about to end."
At this point, everyone understood. In a battle where both sides were evenly matched, victory came down to who had more—and stronger—trump cards. Sure enough, the Five Elements Formation erupted. In its orthodox form, the five elements nurtured all life. In its reversed form, it annihilated all existence. This was the power of a fully realized Five Elements Holy Body—and now, for the first time, a glimpse of it was revealed.
BOOM!
The reversed five elements engulfed Tian Hao. In an instant, his figure vanished from the arena—ejected by the Heavenly Ranking's protective mechanisms.
"The winner is decided!!!"
The crowd erupted. The Five Elements Holy Body's versatility was legendary—it was the most enigmatic of the five supreme physiques. Today, they had witnessed why.
"Haah... haah..."
Su Min gasped for breath as she watched her opponent disappear. She had expended most of her trump cards—only the Demon-Slaying Thunder, the Heavenly Life Sacrifice Pill, and her last resort, the activation of her Yin-Yang Body, remained unused.
Still, her condition was far from ideal. Moments later, she too was ejected from the arena. Without even bothering to disperse her divine sense, she immediately sat down in meditation. She needed to purge the residual medicinal energy in her body. Now that Nanming Lihuo had recovered slightly, she could use it to burn away the remnants and avoid affecting future battles.
As Su Min left, the arena fell into stunned silence. Even the so-called geniuses from various sects were forced to acknowledge the sheer gap between themselves and these two. Neither Su Min nor Tian Hao had fully realized their physiques yet—meaning their innate physique strength wasn't superior. The difference lay in them—not their gifts.
Moreover, Su Min hadn't even obtained the Five Elements Great Emperor's inheritance. No one knew how much stronger she'd become once she did.
"Next up is the Lunar Sovereign Body. I wonder if she'll give us another battle like this."
"Unlikely. It depends on the opponent. That Holy Son isn't weak, but the gap is too large."
"The Lunar Sovereign Body will win the next match—and the one after that. The Five Elements Holy Body user fought the Great Desolate Holy Body to a draw, used heavily side-effect-laden pills, and won't fully recover in just three days."
Many had already predicted the outcome. The Holy Son had made it this far largely due to luck. The Golden Core Heavenly Ranking wasn't mindless—it was a transcendent treasure with its own will. It avoided pitting the strongest against each other too early.
But even so, luck played a role. This Holy Son had been fortunate to rank one spot higher than his peers, earning himself an extra 300 years of lifespan. But this was as far as he'd go—the other four in the top five were all beyond him. As expected, Xie Yingying crushed him with little effort.
However...
"Heavenly Ranking, I forfeit the remaining matches."
After defeating her opponent, Xie Yingying declared flatly.
"What?!"
The crowd erupted in shock. But before anyone could question her, Xie Yingying turned and vanished from the arena.
[The final battle will commence one week from now.]
With Xie Yingying's withdrawal, the Heavenly Ranking promptly announced the schedule for the last match. Silence returned to the battlefield, leaving only bewildered spectators—and an excited, expectant Yao Xian'er. She had sensed something unusual.
"So, that little girl thinks she can fight me? Interesting. Very interesting."
With a smirk, Yao Xian'er disappeared. Today's battle had been thrilling. But in her eyes, Su Min had revealed most of her cards. If this was all she had, it still wouldn't be enough.
Had Su Min fully realized her physique, things might've been different. The interplay of the five elements was something even Yao Xian'er would tread carefully around.
But a half-formed Five Elements Holy Body? Not enough.
Yet Xie Yingying's actions suggested there was more to this.
And that...
Was worth looking forward to.