"Let's go, little tiger. To the Hundred Herb Garden!" Xi Yue mounted the white tiger and raised her arm, issuing her command.
There were few worthwhile treasures in the Hundred Broken Mountains. The only things that truly caught her eye were the Taiyi True Water, the Immortality Spring, and that Spirit-Connecting Divine Flower.
The latter two were both in the Hundred Herb Garden. She had come on this trip precisely to obtain them.
As for places like the Heavenly Bone forbidden zone, she would pass. There was nothing particularly good there, and she would rather not claim the opportunity involving that little pagoda.
That would be another karmic entanglement, and besides, the thing would not be of much use to her.
She had sent Qing Shuang to compete for the Taiyi True Water instead. Qing Shuang was strong enough to roam freely through the Hundred Broken Mountains; even those few sealers were no match for her.
The white tiger hung its head, utterly reluctant. But when its gaze met Xi Yue's deep, icy eyes, it shuddered, its fur standing on end in an instant.
It immediately abandoned any thought of protesting, adopted a fawning expression, and unleashed a supreme divine ability of speed, racing toward their destination.
When they arrived at the Hundred Herb Garden, medicinal fragrance filled the air. Xi Yue could not help lifting her delicate nose, feeling refreshed and soothed.
"Tap tap tap tap tap tap... Ah, you're killing me!"
In Xi Yue's hand, a stubborn stone the size of a human head was screaming. It had eyes and a mouth, looking very much like some peculiar living creature.
"A God-Striking Stone?" Xi Yue said.
"What God-Striking Stone? Never heard of it! I just lived in the divine garden and got dusted with pollen from a Spirit-Connecting Divine Flower. That awakened my intelligence and let me talk!" the stone shouted.
"You've seen the Spirit-Connecting Divine Flower?" Xi Yue held the stone and tapped it lightly, asking in an offhand tone.
"Yes, yes! It's right here in the Hundred Herb Garden. That's the truly rare treasure. Hurry and find it! If you're late, someone else will beat you to it."
The stone howled under her painful grip, constantly feeling as though it might crack apart in her hand at any moment.
"Little tiger, go corner the Spirit-Connecting Divine Flower for me." Xi Yue ignored the God-Striking Stone and entrusted the white tiger with an important task instead.
The white tiger gave a low whimper, looking utterly docile, and raced straight into the depths of the Hundred Herb Garden. It showed not a trace of the majesty befitting a Primordial Remnant.
Within the Hundred Herb Garden, medicinal fields stretched endlessly. Spiritual herbs grew in vast swathes, their essence surging, radiant colors flowing, and rich fragrance filling the air.
Deeper within the medicinal fields, endless auspicious radiance gushed forth like an ocean of spiritual energy. Divine clouds danced and treasures shone brilliantly, creating a dazzling sight.
This was a Divine Medicine Garden from ancient times, and many spiritual herbs still grew within it. Some had withered into the soil, leaving seeds that sprouted anew. Hazy spiritual vapor rose, and auspicious energy shrouded everything.
"This spiritual soil is rather good. A pity it's so difficult to take away."
As she ventured deeper, the field of force became exceptionally powerful. Even the void was somewhat distorted, and a strange law was at work, preventing anyone from destroying the place.
Had an ordinary expert come here, they would surely have been crushed into bloody pulp on the spot. This place was far too eerie, with a terrifying hidden power circulating through it.
At that thought, inspiration struck her. She looked toward Little Pagoda within her sea of consciousness. "Little Pagoda, do you eat dirt?"
She had thought Little Pagoda would not respond, but unexpectedly, Little Pagoda trembled twice. The response was rather subdued, as though struggling with some reluctance and distaste.
In the end, Little Pagoda gave up resisting and darted out, wreathed in chaotic energy. Fine threads spread out, disregarding the field of force and plunging straight into the Divine Soil.
In just an instant, the entire medicinal field erupted with dazzling divine brilliance. Endless divine energy burst from the soil and flowed through those fine threads into Little Pagoda.
Xi Yue seized the opportunity to begin harvesting with abandon, sweeping all those spiritual herbs into her possession. Though she did not think much of them individually, their sheer quantity made up for it.
The field of force could not truly stop her. At most, it created a few obstacles.
One should always leave a little leeway, so she did not take absolutely everything. Instead, she left a few plants behind, arranged neatly in a line. She even measured it by eye: it was a good hundred feet long.
"I really am too merciful," Xi Yue sighed. I'm still too kindhearted. Anyone else would surely have wanted to take every last one.
"Hey, leave some for me!" the God-Striking Stone cried, charging into the Divine Soil and beginning to gnaw on it.
Little Pagoda did not stop the stone, and even thoughtfully set aside a small patch of the medicinal field for it to eat.
Come to think of it, creatures like the God-Striking Stone really were peculiar. There were only a handful in all heaven and earth. They did not need to cultivate; they could evolve continually simply by devouring divine substances.
She casually performed a few passages of the God-Striking Stone Precious Art she had learned in the Ancestral Temple. Strange phenomena immediately arose. "It really does work."
At that moment, the God-Striking Stone glowed all over, involuntarily manifesting its power. Even the stone itself was startled. What was going on?
"What are you doing? Are you trying to destroy this Divine Medicine Garden?"
At that moment, several creatures burst in and discovered that someone had arrived before them. When they saw the empty medicinal fields and the Divine Soil stripped of its spiritual glow, they immediately roared, trying to stop her.
Whoosh!
Two streaks of golden light tore through the air, brimming with killing intent as they attacked Xi Yue.
With a smack, Xi Yue scattered both streaks of golden light with a single slap, leaving not even the faintest trace.
Xi Yue looked back. Her attacker was a humanoid creature covered in golden hair a foot long, brilliant and dazzling. A pair of flood-dragon horns grew from its head, also golden and flashing with divine light.
"A Golden Beast?" Xi Yue said.
Such creatures existed only in the Primordial Divine Mountain. They served the pure-blooded ferocious beasts there, yet were far stronger than ordinary ferocious beasts and possessed boundless divine abilities.
Beside it stood creatures of various shapes. Some were humanoid, but most had the forms of ferocious beasts.
"Looks like I can have a mixed stew today," Xi Yue said with a faint smile, her gaze sweeping over several of the ferocious beasts.
Come to think of it, she had been away for quite a while and had not eaten ferocious beast meat in a long time. Now she could finally feast to her heart's content.
In less than half a quarter of an hour, all the ferocious beasts had been subdued. They sprawled on the ground, coughing up mouthfuls of blood, their eyes filled with terror.
What kind of "youth" was this? She was far too valiant! All alone, she had fought a host of mighty foes and subdued them all, like an unrivaled Heavenly God, sweeping away everything in her path!
As for the few humanoid creatures, their eyes were also filled with fear. They trembled and convulsed, terrified that the person before them would turn on them.
Just then, Xi Yue's gaze settled on a purple-haired girl. She was beautiful, her purple robes fluttering lightly and her hair cascading like flowing light. Among the crowd of creatures, she stood out with an ethereal grace.
When the girl saw that gaze turn toward her, her heart tightened. She instinctively crossed her arms in front of herself, her voice trembling slightly. "You... don't come any closer!"
Xi Yue ignored her and had already approached
, carefully looking her over from head to toe before giving a slight nod.
It had to be said that this girl possessed peerless beauty, a rare loveliness in this world. It seemed Shi Hao had quite a good eye after all.
Seeing her behave this way, the purple-haired girl grew even more uneasy. Her voice was slightly hoarse. "I... I'll die before I submit!"