Hundred Herb Garden

Boom!

The tremors of battle swept over. Human prodigies were locked in fierce combat, their runes soaring into the heavens and cracking the surrounding peaks.

Suddenly, a purple figure appeared on the battlefield without a sound.

"Who's there?"

The battling human prodigies started in alarm and looked over. They saw only a figure shrouded in divine light, her face indistinct, yet they could feel her peerless grace.

As that graceful figure swept past, heaven and earth fell silent in an instant, and the sky-piercing runes scattered on the wind.

"What?!"

The human prodigies cried out as though they had seen a ghost.

They had been subdued without a sound. They had not even noticed how she had acted, nor had she attacked them-she had simply dissolved their battle.

This was even more stunning than overpowering them outright. What sort of fearsome figure could accomplish such a thing?

But before they could reach any conclusion, the purple figure had already gone far away, like a swan goose flashing past their eyes.

"What a terrifying person!"

After that interruption, the human prodigies had no desire to keep fighting. They immediately left, afraid of encountering someone so terrifying again. Their hearts would not be able to take it.

Before long, Yun Ying arrived outside the Hundred Herb Garden.

Vegetation flourished here, and the wooded hills were lush and green. Within the Hundred Herb Garden, auspicious colors radiated in all directions, mist flowed, and sacred radiance filled the air.

Yun Ying soon stepped into the bounds of the Hundred Herb Garden. A weight abruptly descended upon her, leaving her slightly surprised, but she continued forward.

The farther she went into the Hundred Herb Garden, the greater the pressure became. No wonder this was not a place ordinary people could enter.

A little while later, Yun Ying reached the medicinal fields proper.

Rich fragrance greeted her. This place was like an ocean of spiritual energy, with divine rosy light dancing and vital essence billowing. Hazy vapor enveloped it, sacred and serene.

Spiritual herbs grew throughout the fields, shimmering with flowing colors and filling the air with their medicinal fragrance.

However, Yun Ying also saw traces of battle, along with many scraps of spiritual herbs left on the ground, presumably remnants from someone harvesting them.

Then Yun Ying stepped into the medicinal fields. In an instant, the pressure on her surged again, reaching more than ten times that outside.

"What a powerful field."

Yun Ying sighed in admiration, then continued deeper into the medicinal fields. Though the field here was fearsome, she could still move through it with ease.

As she passed a spiritual herb, Yun Ying reached out to pick it. But before she could touch it, a ripple appeared and knocked her hand away.

"A vibrational force."

Yun Ying withdrew her hand. So that was how those scraps of spiritual herbs had come about. It seemed harvesting the herbs here was no simple matter either; one would likely have to pay a considerable price.

She did not pick any spiritual herbs, instead continuing deeper into the medicinal fields.

Deep within the fields, a golden glow was faintly visible, but it was not dazzling. Instead, it was abnormally dim.

"Did I come too late? The Immortality Divine Spring has already been taken."

Yun Ying looked over and could clearly see a small pool. Its bottom was already exposed, with only a little fine golden sand remaining and not a drop of spring water.

There were many traces of battle here as well. Yun Xi had also taken part, but now she seemed to have left.

Suddenly, Yun Ying sensed an unfamiliar presence behind her and turned around.

"Ferocious beast, you're the only one left now! Come quietly and guard my village entrance!"

Yun Ying had only just turned when she heard a loud shout. A human boy lunged toward her, yelling strange, incomprehensible things.

The Human Youth looked only eleven or twelve years old. Though he was rather short, his aura was powerful.

Yun Ying shifted sideways, avoiding his lunge, but he immediately sprang at her again with incredible speed.

This surprised Yun Ying somewhat. For this Human Youth to move so swiftly even here, his mastery of the physical body had to be impressive.

With a thought, Yun Ying dodged away again and appeared a short distance off. She regarded him calmly. "Who are you?"

"Who am I? Ferocious beast, what nonsense are you spouting?"

At Yun Ying's question, the Human Youth froze, surprised as well. Why did she look as though she did not recognize him? Hadn't they just fought a great battle earlier?

"Did you knock her brains loose?"

The Human Youth looked at the golden stone in his hand and asked, since he had used it earlier to knock several lumps onto her head.

"Bullshit! How could I have that kind of ability? If I did, I'd have hurled myself at your head long ago!"

The golden stone answered irritably.

"What did you say? Try saying that again!"

The Human Youth's expression turned hostile.

"Uh... I didn't say anything."

The golden stone immediately backed down and shut its mouth.

Across from them, Yun Ying watched this strange pair: a human and a talking golden stone. Judging by the boy's reaction, he must have mistaken her for Yun Xi. After all, she and Yun Xi looked exactly alike.

"You really don't recognize me?"

The Human Youth looked at Yun Ying, his face full of suspicion. He suspected she was lying to him.

"No."

Yun Ying answered calmly.

This left the Human Youth baffled. She did not seem to be lying, but that made it all the stranger. Could there really be two people in this world who looked exactly alike?

Besides, now that he thought about it, she did feel very different from when he had seen her before, especially her bearing.

The purple-clad girl before him had an ethereal, cool bearing, aloof and extraordinary, with eyes of unfathomable depth. Although she was looking at him, she seemed to be looking at something else entirely. It was very strange.

"He's over there!"

Suddenly, several immensely powerful presences approached, immediately drawing the Human Youth's attention.

"Oh no, why did they come back?!"

At the sight of those "familiar" figures, the Human Youth was like a bird startled by a bowstring. He immediately took to his heels, no longer bothering with Yun Ying.

Yun Ying looked over. It was the Chi Dragon, Zhujian, and the others. They had come to the Hundred Broken Mountains as well.

However, they were all brimming with murderous intent as they charged after the Human Youth. Clearly, something had happened.

Soon, the Chi Dragon and the others had chased the Human Youth far into the distance.

"Ying!"

At that moment, Yun Xi appeared. She was delighted to see Yun Ying.

"Did something happen? Why are the Chi Dragon and the others chasing a Human Youth?"

Yun Ying asked with a faint smile.

At Yun Ying's question, a hint of awkwardness crossed Yun Xi's face. She said indignantly, "That little thief said he wanted to capture Pureblood Creatures and take them back to guard his village entrance. He's infuriating."

Hearing Yun Xi's words, Yun Ying finally understood why the Human Youth had shouted such a thing.

"He certainly has some nerve. Still, his mastery of the physical body looked outstanding to me. He must be an exceptional human talent."

Yun Ying smiled.

"What exceptional talent? He's nothing but a shameless little thief."

Yun Xi pursed her lips. Even now, her forehead still hurt a little.