Su Min wasn't overly concerned about having several of her abilities sealed. Because immediately after these three seals were activated, the giant Buddha behind Liao Meng also became significantly more ethereal.
Anything related to special karma comes with tremendous costs. Every time she released her powers, she would be forcibly ejected from that state. The price Liao Meng paid after activating his seals was equally enormous—at the very least, Su Min could sense that his laws could no longer be used.
Moreover, these seals were only temporary. He didn't possess the ability to permanently seal her. Once the battle concluded, she could find a place to break through them.
But it was clear these abilities would be unusable during this fight. As compensation, however, her opponent's laws should also be rendered unusable.
After all, her inheritance came from the Four Symbols, which existed at an extraordinarily high level. These seals didn't just consider raw power but also the hierarchy of strength. In fact, it was quite impressive that he managed to seal them all.
But here lay a problem: if we were to view this through game statistics...
Body Refining, Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment—each breakthrough in these stages came with massive stat increases.
However, the attribute improvements between Divine Transformation and Dao Comprehension weren't as dramatic. But this didn't mean the gap was small. According to game mechanics, after obtaining laws, all attacks and defenses would receive law-based enhancements beyond just skills.
This was equivalent to opening an entirely new multiplier category. Of course, reality differed from games. But the difference between a Dao Comprehension cultivator who couldn't use laws and a Divine Transformation cultivator wasn't that significant.
Yet Liao Meng clearly had absolute confidence in his abilities. Seeing Su Min's movements, his expression remained largely unchanged.
To ensure absolute success, he had meticulously observed Su Min's most recent battles. Though the cost was enormous—damaging the very foundations of Future Maitreya Mountain—even irreparably harming their faith barrier. Combining this with records of Su Min's public demonstrations during sect gatherings, he had summarized her capabilities.
First, he had to admit Su Min was powerful, especially after reaching mid-stage Divine Transformation. She possessed strength sufficient to easily kill half-step Dao Comprehension experts. But her greatest advantages were two-fold:
First was her Four Symbols inheritance. Second was that bizarre state—the latter being what he feared most, as he found himself utterly incapable of observing its specifics, even when staking the entirety of Future Maitreya Mountain.
Thus, he absolutely had to seal those abilities, no matter the cost. Su Min could sense his laws being completely drained. But even so, without those two advantages, Su Min would be like a tiger with its fangs pulled—still dangerous, but far less threatening to him.
"It seems your cleverness may have backfired. I think I understand your abilities now," Su Min said coolly, observing the monk before her.
They could observe her combat capabilities, but only those she had actually used. Unused abilities remained hidden.
Su Min habitually employed Four Symbols power in battle simply because it was straightforward, brutal, and effective. Why chant lengthy incantations when a single sword strike could achieve the same result more efficiently?
But let's not forget—she had also obtained the Five Elements Emperor's inheritance. Her repertoire was vast. Though she seldom used these techniques, that didn't mean she couldn't.
To prepare for various conflicts, she had never ceased studying the Ancient Five Elements Scripture. Moreover, she also possessed the Great Sun Tathāgata Sutra.
At this moment, Su Min's eyes narrowed slightly before suddenly snapping open, her entire body radiating light.
"Five Elements Creation—Wooden Buddha!!!"
BOOM!!!
As Su Min pressed her palms together, the earth trembled as thunderous roars echoed across the sky. Even Xie Yingying and the ancient spirit, locked in their own heated battle, paused to glance at the distant battlefield where a colossal figure was emerging from the ground.
"The Great Sun Tathāgata!!!"
Even Liao Meng couldn't help but inhale sharply at the sight before him—a behemoth several hundred meters tall, a magnificent wooden Buddha surpassing even the grandest temple statues in splendor.
Though constructed from Eastern Azure Wood, the Buddha's interior contained two other divine materials and additional elemental powers. Creating such a terrifying construct required combining the Great Sun Tathāgata Sutra with the Ancient Five Elements Scripture—the pinnacle of cultivation techniques and mental methods.
Its might rivaled any of the Four Symbols' sacred forms, though the energy expenditure was tremendous. After summoning this wooden construct, Su Min's aura noticeably weakened.
She had never used this in battle due to its massive cost, catching Liao Meng completely off guard. But she wasn't done yet.
"Thousand-Handed Pagoda!!!"
Suddenly, countless gigantic hands emerged from the Buddha's back like a peacock spreading its tail. This was partly inspired by imagery from Su Min's past life—now that she possessed such power, she couldn't resist indulging in some theatrical flair.
"Liao Meng, today I'll fight you with one hand tied."
As the stunned monk gaped at the peacock-like display, the sky filled with massive fists came crashing down—particularly targeting the Great Sun Tathāgata apparition behind him.
"This is what you call 'one hand tied'?!"
Liao Meng nearly cursed at the overwhelming assault but immediately raised defenses. That apparition was his ultimate trump card. Unlike Su Min, who possessed multiple divine materials, he had none. This apparition was crucial to his combat strength. If destroyed by Su Min, it would take considerable time to reform.
Golden light erupted from him, meeting the endless barrage head-on.
Then—
BOOM!!!
The first few punches couldn't penetrate his defenses, but hundreds followed in rapid succession. His golden barrier lasted less than a second before collapsing.
The remaining fists annihilated the Maitreya apparition before slamming into the ground, causing earthquakes and sending dust clouds skyward. The frozen tundra shattered, revealing bare soil beneath.
Liao Meng dodged frantically. With the apparition gone, all attacks focused solely on him. Each strike could critically injure a Divine Transformation cultivator. While one or two were manageable, sustained hits would be catastrophic.
When the assault finally ceased, Liao Meng emerged pale-faced, surveying the kilometer-wide crater field below. Had this occurred over a city, no one would have survived.
"Cough!"
Blood sprayed from his mouth—Su Min's perception was so acute that despite the chaotic-seeming barrage, at least ten blows had landed precisely. His Buddha-body fractured completely.
What truly infuriated him was noticing that Su Min had indeed held back—one hand remained unused on the Buddha's back. And on that hand, he made an internationally accepted middle finger gesture of friendship. Although he didn't quite know what it was, it was undoubtedly not a good thing. As for this, it was just Su Min's own bad taste.
Soon, the massive Buddha collapsed—even with Northern Water's Profound Origin's support, Su Min couldn't sustain it further.
But before Liao Meng could recover, another terrifying punch came flying.
THUD!!!
The blow sent shockwaves through the air as Su Min, now clad in armor, pressed her advantage. Having expended most of her spiritual energy to destroy that troublesome apparition, it was time for close-quarters combat.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Amidst the snowstorm, violent collisions echoed continuously. Liao Meng's expression darkened—that initial full-power strike had already injured him, and this relentless assault prevented any recovery.
Meanwhile, Su Min was popping pills.
As an alchemist, she had ample sixth-grade elixirs. Swallowing a strength-boosting pill, she hammered down with her massive sword in wild but effective swings.
She had to capitalize on his injuries before he could recover. Having killed Future Maitreya Mountain's head alchemist and with the sect now ostracized, he surely lacked restorative pills.
"Golden Cymbals!!!"
In desperation, Liao Meng summoned massive golden cymbals that shot toward Su Min, threatening to clamp her between them.
Su Min's heart raced—this reminded her of Sun Wukong's entrapment in Journey to the West.
The cymbals moved impossibly fast, the pressure like the heavens themselves descending. A genuine Heavenly-tier treasure—once caught, escape would be impossible, and the interior surely held additional dangers.
Not interested in experiencing them firsthand, Su Min took a deep breath as her perception shifted.
"Time—stop."
Instantly, everything within hundreds of meters turned grayscale, as if reality itself had paused.
"Ugh!"
Blood trickled from Su Min's mouth—this was her current limit. Years of soul absorption had yielded this new ability, paving her path to Dao Comprehension. Upon reaching late-stage Divine Transformation, she would obtain complete time laws.
As expected, her time-stop wasn't absolute against law-wielders—they'd be affected but not completely frozen, with limited range.
But it sufficed. Seeing Liao Meng's stunned expression within the stopped time, Su Min didn't hesitate. She rushed forward and delivered a crushing blow.
From his perspective, Su Min moved in jarring fast-forward. Without his causality laws, he couldn't react in time.
THUD!!!
Time resumed as the cymbals snapped shut on empty air. Liao Meng rocketed backward, cratering the already ravaged ground with a fifty-meter-deep impact.
"Cough... Time laws? Impossible! No one can comprehend such—"
More blood spilled as his Buddha-body, already damaged, now teetered on the brink. Among all calculations, he'd never anticipated Su Min wielding the heavens-defying time laws.