Adrian turned toward Marivelle and raised his hand, casting a spell. An emerald essence flowed out from his palm, manifesting as a soft but dense glow that enveloped her body entirely. The energy pulsed gently as it seeped into her wounds, knitting torn flesh and mending shattered internals with visible speed.
Within moments, the damage she had suffered was completely healed.
Without pausing, Adrian turned toward Lara and cast the same spell. The emerald light surrounded her as well, flowing through her body and repairing the injuries she had sustained during her fight with Kenric.
Seeing this, the members of the Crimson Vital Sect did not even know how to react anymore. They had already seen Adrian wield three divine concepts, then reverse engineer and repair a UNI-Sect server formation, and also, just in this fight, he had demonstrated spatial techniques, showing his comprehension of space concept. And now, he was calmly using the Life concept as well.
Their minds could no longer process how Adrian had so many concepts in any coherent way.
Lara felt the healing effect most clearly. As the emerald essence flowed through her body, she sensed something unexpected. One of her internal injuries, a deep and persistent wound that she had suffered in the recent war, vanished completely.
She pressed her hand against her ribs, where the old wound had been. She now felt no dull ache that flared when she pushed her mana too hard at that spot. There was no lingering instability, no residual damage left behind.
That realization stunned her. This was not ordinary healing. Adrian's comprehension of the Life concept was deep, and the healing spell he had used was far beyond ordinary standards. This internal wound of hers had not even been able to heal fully by the elders back in the sect.
In terms of effectiveness, Adrian's spell was comparable to the effects of a High-Grade Healing Pill.
High-Grade Healing Pills were items produced only by major sects that specialized in the alchemy field. Minor sects simply did not possess the resources to create them. At best, they could refine Lower-Grade Healing Pills, which contained limited lifeforce and could never fully restore severe or internal injuries.
These High-Grade Healing Pills costs were extremely high, so most minor sect cultivators just used Lower-Grade ones.
Marivelle felt the same realization settle in her mind as well.
She had taken High-Grade Healing Pills before, during missions where the Everlasting Pill Sect deemed her valuable enough to expend such resources. The sensation was identical. The warmth, the completeness, the absence of any lingering damage.
Once the healing was complete, Adrian turned his attention back to Marivelle and asked, "Did the Everlasting Pill Sect find the alchemy garden?"
"No," she replied. "Until I left the sect's base here, no information had been received about finding the alchemy garden. All teams were still searching. However, it is possible that another group, or Elder Casmir's team, may have discovered it already."
She paused, glancing toward the ruins behind her, "Since communication here is severely affected by the chaotic environment, I can only know for certain if updates were transmitted by returning to the sect base within this planet."
Marivelle's demeanor had changed completely now. She was no longer hostile, nor defensive. Now that she stood as Adrian's contracted mercenary, her tone was professional and respectful.
She continued, "Also, Kenric and the others who fled should reach the base soon and inform the sect about what happened here. It is likely that the sect leader will request assistance from another minor sect leader."
Adrian nodded slowly, processing the information. The Everlasting Pill Sect was an upper minor sect, so having connections with other minor sects was normal. This information also confirmed that they, like the Crimson Vital Sect, lacked a reliable solution for long-range communication on this planet. Even with formations, signals weakened rapidly, especially in heavily chaotic regions such as the cities where authority was required just to move.
"How many minor sect leaders are allied with your sect?" Adrian asked.
Marivelle answered, "Two. Both of them are upper minor sects. One is located in this galaxy, and one is in another galaxy far away from here. If the Sect leader requests aid, at least one will respond."
Hearing this, Lara and the others felt a renewed sense of urgency.
They already knew the Everlasting Pill Sect had connections, but convincing another sect leader to intervene was not a small matter. The cost alone was enormous, which was why the Everlasting Pill Sect had not pursued that option earlier in the war. Now, however, the presence of Adrian would force their hand.
Once another sect leader entered the relic site, everything would become more complicated. Their chances of securing the Core-Reforging Lotus would diminish sharply.
Adrian understood this as well. And even he did not know how well he would fare against a sect leader. Those beings wielded around seventy percent authority, and so if Adrian fought them, he would not have the advantage of surplus authority. The surplus authority could be said to be the primary reason for his victory against Marivelle. If he didn't have that, he could not be certain of victory.
In that situation, he would be forced to reveal more of his authority, which would draw far too much attention at a time when he was not ready.
The only solution Adrian could think of for this was increasing his combat mastery. If he had more time to study authority techniques and refine his combat mastery, he might not need to rely on surplus authority at all. But that kind of growth required time, and time was exactly what they lacked.
"Let's move," Adrian said decisively. "It doesn't matter if they contact another sect. It should still take them some time to arrive here. If we reach the Azure Garden before that and secure the core-reforging plant, we don't need to worry about it."
Lara and the elders nodded. If they got the plant and their sect leader was healed, then it meant they would have two strong beings on their side. In that situation, they would have the advantage.
"Agreed," Lara said, "Every moment we waste here gives them time to organize."
Marivelle frowned slightly, confused. "Azure Garden?"
"It's the alchemy garden on this planet," Adrian replied.
Her eyes widened, "You know its location?"
Adrian simply nodded and offered no further explanation.
Marivelle was left speechless. How they had obtained both the name and the location was beyond her understanding. She could only assume that they had discovered an intact server formation and extracted the information from it. The possibility that Adrian had personally repaired a UNI-Sect formation never crossed her mind. Such a feat was simply too absurd to consider.
The group reformed quickly. Marivelle joined them, taking a position near Adrian. Neither Lara nor Marivelle needed time to rest and recover. The entire battle had only lasted for a few moments, and the drain on their resources was also low. Marivelle had not even used ten percent of her mana reserves, as she was overwhelmed and got defeated before she could use any.
They began flying east once more, with Adrian leading from the front. His crimson domain expanded again, parting the chaotic energies ahead of them. The refined essence flowed steadily into his Mana Sea as they advanced, a constant trickle that sustained his reserves without effort.
Occasionally, Adrian glimpsed the remains of starships half-buried in the dirt, their hulls corroded beyond recognition.
As they traveled, they passed multiple ruined cities and shattered establishments. None of them slowed down to investigate. Their target was singular and clear.
They flew in silence, the only sound was the faint hum of divine essence sustaining their flight.
Eventually, they approached a massive establishment resembling yet another city. As before, they began flying past it without stopping. However, this time, Adrian felt something was wrong.
His domain struggled. The refinement process slowed noticeably, taking far longer to break down the surrounding energies than it had even near the leaking formation cores. This resistance was different, heavier, and more persistent.
Adrian halted mid-flight and expanded his domain further, searching for the source. Almost immediately, he identified it.
A massive amalgamation of energies lay ahead, far denser and more complex than anything they had encountered so far within this planet.
"What is it?" Lara asked, pulling up beside him.
Adrian immediately stopped expanding his domain. If this was the alchemy garden, then his domain's inherent refinement would interfere with the plants themselves, something he did not want to risk. He compressed his domain back to a controlled range and motioned for the others to follow.
"We're close," Adrian said.
They advanced carefully.
The chaotic energy thickened with every kilometre, until even the disciples struggled to maintain flight despite Adrian's domain clearing a path. The elders activated their own domains in response, layering additional protection around the group.
Soon, a vast garden came into view, stretching far beyond their limited perception could fully encompass within this planet.
At last, they had found the Azure Garden.