In the grey, misty little world, dense spiritual energy had condensed to the point of near-solidity, manifesting as a milky-white luminescence that filled every corner of the cramped space. At a glance, it looked as though the entire pocket dimension had been stuffed with wads of cotton.
This little world spanned perhaps a dozen li at most. It did not appear to be naturally formed—there were clear traces of it having been refined by someone's hand.
Which extraordinary figure of the ancient era had created it, no one could say.
A variety of medicinal fragrances drifted through the air, rich and heady beyond measure.
Across the dozen-odd li of ground, more than a dozen herb plots had been sectioned off. Most of them were now barren—nothing remained but fertile earth, scarred by the marks of harvesting. It was clear that someone had stripped this place of all its spirit medicines long ago.
This little world was, in fact, an ancient medicine garden!
One could only imagine how many rare spirit flowers and extraordinary herbs had once been planted in those dozen-odd plots, and how vast the medicinal potency and age they must have accumulated over the millennia.
Only two plots remained intact, covering no more than two or three li in total. Within them, spirit flowers and herbs with medicinal ages of ten thousand years or more grew in abundance, thriving and lush. The rich medicinal fragrance saturating the air emanated from the spirit medicines in these two remaining plots.
Surrounding these two herb gardens was a faint golden barrier of light—an ancient restriction.
At this moment, Gao Xueting sat cross-legged in a corner of the medicine garden, her hair in disarray, her beautiful face deathly pale, her aura feeble as she focused on healing her wounds. The Emperor Treasure, the Blazing Sun Mirror, hovered above her head, radiating a soft glow that enveloped her.
Her snow-white robes were dotted with blooms of dark crimson blood, and at her waist and abdomen, a wound stretching half a foot long had soaked that section of fabric scarlet.
She appeared to have just fought a devastating battle. Her Emperor Yuan was nearly depleted, and even as she recuperated, her delicate frame trembled uncontrollably.
Though this place held countless precious spirit herbs and miraculous medicines, none of them could restore her combat strength in such a short time.
Beyond the golden barrier, a figure wielded a Star-Chart Ocean-Burning Blade, relentlessly driving blade energy against the restriction. Each strike produced a thunderous boom, and the barrier shuddered violently with every impact, as though it might shatter at any moment.
Yet this restriction—whoever had laid it down, it had to be someone of supreme ability—appeared paper-thin but was in fact extraordinarily resilient. Despite the blade-wielding figure's sustained assault, it had not been breached.
The golden restriction had become the sole wall separating him from Gao Xueting, and the man was so enraged that he howled like a madman.
Suddenly, Gao Xueting slowly opened her eyes. She regarded the one attacking the restriction with an icy gaze and said flatly, "Ju Tianqing. I've known you for several hundred years. I never imagined I would only see your true face today. What a surprise."
Ju Tianqing snarled in fury, "Shut your mouth, wretch! Once I break through this restriction, I'll make sure to show you a good time!"
A flash of disgust and anger crossed Gao Xueting's luminous eyes. She hissed, "Abandon that thought. I would sever my own meridians and detonate myself before I let you touch a single hair on my head."
Ju Tianqing let out a cold snort. "That will depend on whether you even have the chance. You're gravely wounded now—barely able to move, let alone resist. Once I break this restriction, what happens next won't be up to you."
Gao Xueting snapped, "I am an Elder of the Qingyang Divine Temple! If I die here today, you can expect my temple to hunt you to the ends of the earth!"
Ju Tianqing laughed coldly. "The Qingyang Divine Temple is indeed formidable, and I hold Master Wen Zishan's strength in high regard. But so what? Your temple only throws its weight around in the Southern Region. This is the Eastern Region. No matter how powerful Master Wen's abilities, she can't very well come all the way here to cause trouble, can she? Even a mighty dragon cannot crush a local snake—haven't you heard that one, Elder Gao? Since I've set my sights on you, I'm not afraid of your temple's retaliation!"
A glimmer of despair flickered through Gao Xueting's beautiful eyes. She was gravely wounded, forced to flee into this medicine garden. Fortunately, the ancient power's restriction was here, and she had managed to activate it—but after all these ages, how long it could endure, she had no confidence in. If Ju Tianqing truly broke through, she would have no power to resist at all.
In her heart, she steeled her resolve: if the restriction truly fell, she would detonate herself on the spot. She would die before she let him ruin her purity.
Unbidden, that irreverent grin surfaced in her mind—that lazy way of speaking, that infuriating attitude. The steel in Gao Xueting's eyes gradually gave way to a trace of gentleness.
So what if he raised me from childhood? From the age of eighteen, I was already no longer a child.
How hateful that even after she had Cultivated to the Emperor level, in his eyes she was still just a little girl—never once treated as a woman.
If there were a next life, she would absolutely not let him raise her! She would grow up healthy and strong, and then, as a woman, she would stand before him once more!