"...This pressure..."
Within the royal palace grounds, Sage White-Beard, on his way to an audience with his king, felt the hair on his arms stand on end the instant he sensed the immense qi rippling through the air. It carried none of the crushing, subjugating weight of that heroine of the battlefield. Instead, it was full of warmth and comfort, as though he stood in the middle of nature itself.
"...Could someone truly have reached Ancient Sage in this era?"
The old man murmured to himself. He changed course without a second thought, his legs carrying him swiftly toward the source of that sensation. He was not the only one — every cultivator of his level across the city had grown too restless to sit still.
Because the emergence of a new Ancient Sage meant the long-standing balance of power in the city was about to collapse!
Whoever managed to claim this person would become a formidable new power, holding an overwhelming advantage in their grasp. They rushed toward the source with the same urgency as when Bai Fanxian had first appeared.
No matter what, they had to bring this person to their side!
And so, in that moment, a quiet chaos began to spread through Moondrift City.
.
.
.
"...Meow! I'm back, meow."
The little black kitten dropped out of the sky onto Su Lin's shoulder. At first, it raised its head proudly, hoping for praise. But the next instant, when it noticed the bright red blood pouring from her arm, its face went pale.
"Meow! You're hurt, meow! What do I do, meow!?"
Kuro fretted, not knowing what to do. Then, catching sight of the two sisters — blood smeared across their mouths, battered from being sent flying by Huang Yaoyao — it scrambled over to check on them, worried sick.
"Kuro... We're fine... Go check on Senior Sister Mu Xia..."
Xinjia struggled to prop herself up and pointed toward the ruins nearby, where Mu Xia's half-dead body lay in a state that was clearly far worse.
"Meow!?"
The little creature trembled all over. It licked at Mu Xia's hand with its rough tongue, hoping against hope that it might help her wake.
"...Where did this cat come from?"
Yaoyao, still dazed and unable to keep up with what was happening, glared at Kuro with irritation. She drew out her whip, ready to send both cat and girl flying with a single strike, but at that moment her father's booming voice stopped her cold.
"Yaoyao!"
"...Father?"
The girl frowned in confusion. She turned to find Huang Zhailong, his face already draining of color, staring transfixed at the woman standing calmly in midair.
At first, he had not been sure. But now, he was certain.
The place where that pillar of qi had torn upward into the sky... was the mountain peak where the Goddess Alchemy Palace stood!
"What is there for you to worry about, Father? She's just some dying empress, isn't she? Just step in yourself — I guarantee it won't take more than two moves..."
"Yaoyao!"
The girl could not understand why her father would still show such deference to that Alchemy Empress.
If everything went according to his plan, the entire Palace would soon be kneeling at her father's feet.
But inside, Huang Zhailong no longer felt any of that confidence. He pressed his palms together and slowly bowed in respect to Luo Qingyan, under the shocked stares of his daughter and his own men.
"Alchemy Empress... It has been a long time."
"...It really has been a long time. Must be years, I suppose, since you last called me that."
Luo Qingyan spoke calmly, but her words made Huang Zhailong flinch. It was exactly as she said. Once the Goddess Alchemy Palace began to decline, he had distanced himself from her, even refusing to help — going so far as to humiliate her by refusing to meet her in person when she came to ask for aid.
"How could I ever do something so discourteous... Our two sides have been friends for years. Even my own son-in-law was once cared for by your Palace."
"Friends? Now why don't I remember it that way..."
Luo Qingyan's gaze drifted to her four disciples.
In that instant, he felt her eyes turn to ice.
"This is only a squabble between children..."
"...Then why can I feel the aura of your Heavenly Sword Intent lingering in their wounds?"
Rumble...
"Protect the sect head!"
The dozen or so elders who had come with him spread out on either side, Huang Zhailong at the center, the instant a wave of overwhelming qi surged out from Luo Qingyan's body.
"Alchemy Empress... if we're speaking plainly, it was your disciple who started this. She beat one of our junior disciples to the brink of death. Everyone standing around here can bear witness."
One of the elders tried to paint his own side as the wronged party, dragging the uninvolved onlookers into it for good measure.
No one dared to contradict him. The pressure of a dozen elders and the Virtue Sword Sect's standing in the city made it clear no one wanted trouble.
"That's not true!"
Still the most level-headed of the group, Su Lin stepped forward at once, cutting in sharply. She glared at the Virtue Sword Sect group with open disgust.
"Mu Xia only gave him a light push. This was their plan from the very start!"
"Stay out of this, little girl!"
One elder lunged forward, determined to silence her before she could say another word — but his body suddenly froze mid-motion. Both his arms and legs were now bound tight by something wrapped around them.
"...What is this?"
Vines?
Not just vines — roots had sprung up from the ground as well. They moved as though alive, brimming with power. The elder tried to force the qi in his body to break them, but after ten breaths of struggling, despair crept over his face. Not only could he not break them — not even the faintest tear had appeared!
"S-Sect head, help me!"
He turned to his comrades and his sect head for help, but Huang Zhailong's face had gone graver than they had ever seen it. He could feel the entire area around them slowly beginning to change.
Don't tell me...
"...A Domain?"
If a Sage was one who had cultivated Intent...
...then a Domain must be the sole privilege of one who had reached Ancient Sage!
The term was recorded in ancient tomes that compiled methods of cultivation, but at some point no one could quite pinpoint, it had faded into legend — no one had ever fought their way to that level.
"Something this unbelievable..."
The ground around them trembled faintly, and countless roots surged upward from the earth. They gathered together into a tree dozens of meters tall, sprouting massive leaves until they nearly blotted out the sky. The green vines, not to be outdone, split and multiplied beyond counting, writhing all around as though they were living things!
"...Domain of Three Seasons Flora."
"The first season..."
"Season of... Venom."
"Gaaah!!?"
The moment Luo Qingyan's words faded, screams erupted beneath the shadow of the great tree. One elder, wide-eyed with panic, realized the comrade beside him had vanished, only to find him already yanked into midair by the green vines, utterly unable to resist!
"Elder Chu!"
One old man tried to rush to his aid. He drew his sword and leaped up, hoping to sever the vines, but the moment the blade's edge touched them, his body began to convulse, completely beyond his control.
"Elder Fang!"
"Don't touch him!" Huang Zhailong shouted his warning, but it was already too late. Another elder who grabbed his comrade's body convulsed right along with him.
"What is happening!?"
Chaos broke out within seconds. They watched, hair standing on end, as their comrades grew pale and gaunt before their very eyes in a matter of moments. So the vines could not only bind their movement — they could drain the very qi from their victims!?
And the next sight confirmed it. Countless streams of green light traveled along the vines and roots, flowing together toward the great tree at the center of the Domain, and the leaves along its branches visibly grew thicker before their eyes!
"...This is too terrifying."
The onlookers who had gathered to watch trembled uncontrollably. The Domain stretched across dozens of meters, sweeping up uninvolved bystanders along with it. At first they feared they would be caught up in it too, but the vines seemed able to tell friend from foe — they merely brushed past with the lightest touch before moving on, uninterested.
"Gaaah!!"
"Gather in the center! Do not stand alone, no matter what!"
Huang Zhailong barked the order after sizing up the situation. Once his disciples and elders had steadied themselves, he drew the sword at his waist and drove it into the ground.
"Protective Sword Formation!"
Along with him, the remaining elders rushed to plant their own swords at different points around the group. As they poured the qi in their bodies into the hilts, threads of white light stretched out to connect each blade in midair.
Twang!
The vines nearby sensed their targets had gathered together. But when they lunged to seize them, the white sword qi rose up to hold them back.
"...Alchemy Empress. Let's talk this over first."
Once he felt safe again, Huang Zhailong finally spoke. He stared at Luo Qingyan, who simply stood there, the massive tree looming behind her.
"...Talk?"
"Father! We don't need to talk to them anymore!"
Just then, Huang Yaoyao, forgotten until this moment, cut in abruptly. Luck had it that she stood close enough to the Goddess Alchemy Palace disciples that the venomous vines ignored her. She drew the short white blade she kept on hand for emergencies and pressed it against Mu Xia, who lay collapsed on the ground behind her.
"Let us go from these damned trees! Or this woman dies!"
Fear filled Huang Yaoyao's eyes. She watched the green vines surge toward her, only to stall in place, dozens of them writhing all around, as though sizing her up.
"Yaoyao!"
Huang Zhailong shouted in a panic. He had been trying to end things peacefully, and now his own daughter was ruining it all over again!
"I did well, didn't I, Father?... Oh, right... What if we make them trade their treasures for her?"
The girl began to laugh, unhinged, like someone who had lost her mind. Raised as delicately as an egg cushioned in stone, she had never once tasted disappointment. To her, her father was the strongest man in the city — Huang Zhailong's power stood on par with Sage White-Beard himself. So the sight of him being cornered by a single woman, one she had always believed too weak to keep her pride and had come begging for help, had never once crossed her mind.
What was this... It had to be a dream, wasn't it?
That's right! Everything was supposed to go according to her father's plan...
...That woman was the one who had ruined everything.
"Luo Qingyan!... All of this... all of this is because of you..."
Hatred crept into Huang Yaoyao's eyes. The look she leveled at Luo Qingyan brimmed with malice. She could not have cared less about who was actually to blame for any of it.
"Disperse your power, unless you want these girls to die!"
She pressed the blade backward without even looking, her eyes fixed on nothing but Luo Qingyan.
And that was why she never noticed...
"Yaoyao!"
"...Who exactly did you say was going to die?"
"...Huh?"
CRACK!?
Huang Yaoyao heard only a loud crack from behind her. The next instant, her world went white as a fist packed full of qi slammed into her face for the second time!
In the last moment before she blacked out, her eyes went wide with disbelief, because the fist belonged to the very girl who, until just a moment ago, had been lying half-dead on the ground!
...Why was that woman
still able to stand up again!
"Senior Sister Mu Xia!?"
Xinjia and Xinhong cried out in joy. The two girls helped each other up and rushed toward their senior sister, who had recovered as though by miracle!
"You're all right... You're really all right!"
Mu Xia was just as confused as they were. She slowly raised her arm, wincing at the sharp pain from her wounds. She was not fully healed yet, but she was far better than before — even her fractured bones had begun to mend, close to normal again.
"...What is this."
And that was when someone noticed the small roots wound around the girl's ankle. Green light flowed through them without pause, and the more of that light poured in, the more Mu Xia could feel her strength returning.
Huang Zhailong turned sharply toward Luo Qingyan, on pure instinct.
...He had thought it strange that she had not so much as glanced at her injured disciple.
It was not that she had not looked...
But she had been helping her from the very moment she arrived!
"...Domain of Three Seasons Flora."
"The second season..."
"Season of... Restoration."