On the third-tier platform, a sacred altar stood solemn and mysterious, rising at the very summit of the terrace.
The moment the group finished climbing the stone steps and set foot on this third tier, they felt an aura of primordial antiquity wash over them. The altar had clearly withstood countless ages; its deep sense of ancient gravitas stirred an almost irresistible impulse to kneel in reverence.
Yet the erosion of time seemed to have left no mark whatsoever on the altar. It was spotless, as immaculate as if someone tended to it and polished it every single day.
But everyone present knew that this ancient medicinal holy land opened only once every three thousand years. There was absolutely no one who came here to clean it.
And yet the altar was truly without a single speck of dust — not the slightest trace of wear or decay anywhere on its surface.
It was as though the endless river of time had deposited only a sense of primordial majesty here, and nothing else.
Jiang Chen stood toward the back of the group, his expression as calm and still as a deep well. But inside, a storm of shock was raging.
The instant he had stepped onto the third-tier platform, he had sensed a strange resonance — a feeling that this ancient medicinal garden was somehow connected to him personally.
But when he probed deeper, this faint, elusive thread of connection did not seem to exist between the garden and himself.
Instead, it was coming from the altar — and from the nameless treasure blade strapped to his back.
This discovery left Jiang Chen utterly astonished.
He had always known this treasure blade was no ordinary weapon. Though he had used it in combat time and again, his "Against the Tide Blade Art" was far too low-level a technique to unlock even a fraction of the blade's true potential. At best, he had scratched the surface.
What baffled Jiang Chen most was this:
He had obtained this blade in the Eastern Kingdom. Back then, during the Dragon Inception Tournament, Du Ruhai — the chief steward who served as the event's second-in-command — had his estate seized. Among the confiscated belongings, this ancient-looking treasure blade was all Jiang Chen had taken.
Princess Gouyu had been present at the time. When they ransacked Du Ruhai's home, Jiang Chen had taken almost nothing else — just this seemingly plain, unassuming blade.
For all this time, though he had wielded it against enemies, he had never managed to draw out anything deeper from its power.
Now, quite by chance, in this sacred altar atop Huanbo Mountain, he had stumbled upon a thread of connection.
It was subtle — barely there, fading in and out like mist — but Jiang Chen was highly sensitive, and he could perceive it with perfect clarity.
"A treasure blade from the Eastern Kingdom, and a sacred altar deep in the Myriad Domain's Huanbo Mountain. What possible connection could there be between the two?"
No matter how he turned the question over in his mind, Jiang Chen could not figure it out.
What he was certain of, however, was that the blade and the altar were linked. Even if there was no direct relationship, there had to be an indirect one.
As for how the blade had ended up in Du Ruhai's possession — buried like a luminous pearl in the dust, its brilliance hidden away — that was an ancient tale that no living person could easily untangle.
Having made this discovery, Jiang Chen kept his composure, betraying nothing. Instead, he quietly studied the altar.
The towering structure was ringed by twelve cylindrical pillars, each one carved with extraordinarily profound and archaic runes.
Together, these runes formed a seamless whole — the twelve pillars bound into a single, perfect unity by the arcane inscriptions.
Above the pillars rose the altar's dome, adorned with vividly rendered ancient totems. But no one could decipher what those totems were meant to convey.
Though the altar appeared deceptively simple — straightforward and clear at first glance — it radiated a sacred, awe-inspiring presence that made it impossible to stare at directly.
Jiang Chen looked more carefully. Surrounding the altar were tiers of white jade steps, and around those steps, faint ripples shimmered like waves barely visible to the eye.
Jiang Chen recognized them at once: these were extremely powerful formation restrictions.
It seemed that despite the untold ages through which this altar had endured, its protective wards remained fully intact.
Which meant the interior of the altar was a forbidden zone — off limits to anyone who dared trespass.
Those seemingly gentle, undulating ripples looked as soft and harmless as water. But Jiang Chen was certain that even the strongest person present — Elder Xiang Qian himself — would be obliterated on the spot if he inadvertently stepped inside.
Elder Xiang Qian had been studying the altar's perimeter for some time, and a grave expression had settled on his face. He turned to the group and warned, "Everyone, be careful. Do not set foot inside this altar's boundary. These invisible restrictions will kill you instantly."
He knew what he was looking at.
A chill ran through the crowd. Fortunately, the altar had never been their primary objective. Though it was undeniably sacred, one could see with the naked eye that its interior was empty — there was nothing of apparent value inside.
Most of the group concluded that the altar served a purely ceremonial purpose. It may have held immense significance in the ancient era, but for them, it held little practical value.
Elder Xiang Qian, however, did not treat it with any less respect. He stepped forward and bowed deeply to the altar. "We pay our respects to the ancient spirits of this sacred ground. We are humble travelers from the Myriad Domain. Passing through this holy site, we dare not offer offense. For the sake of the Myriad Domain's future, we humbly seek to gather a portion of the Heaven Grade spiritual medicines. May the spirits not hold it against us."
The elders from the other great sects stepped forward in turn, offering their own bows and prayers.
Whether this ritual actually served any purpose was unclear, but it gave everyone a measure of peace of mind.
At the four corners around the altar, four circular plots of spirit ground shimmered beneath veils of spiritual energy — and even through that shimmering barrier, the Heaven Grade spiritual medicines growing within were faintly visible!
Each plot contained exactly three Heaven Grade spiritual medicines.
That made twelve Heaven Grade spiritual medicines in total.