"...Domain of Three Seasons Flora."
"The second season..."
"Season of... Restoration."
The moment her words faded, small roots sprouted up to wind around not only Mu Xia's ankle, but Xinjia's, Xinhong's, and even Su Lin's as well, channeling green light from the great tree at the center of the Domain into each of them.
"My wound... it's healing?"
Su Lin glanced down at the wound on her upper arm with startled eyes. It was the injury left by Huang Zhailong's Heavenly Sword Intent. Normally, his own qi and Intent would linger in the wound, deliberately slowing its healing to the utmost.
But the moment Luo Qingyan's qi poured in, the Intent of a man renowned as one of the strongest in Moondrift City shattered apart in an instant!
"It's healed... It's healed, meow!"
Kuro, perched beside Mu Xia, bounced up and down with joy. It licked her face with its rough tongue until she could only manage a strained smile.
Whoosh...
"...The external wounds are no trouble... but the internal ones may need medicine from that great lady of ours."
Luo Qingyan gave a light wave of her hand. The living roots wound loosely around her disciples and drew them closer. She examined the girls herself once more before laying all three of them down on the roots beneath the great tree.
There could be no doubt who Luo Qingyan meant by "that great lady of ours" — Bai Fanxian.
"Well then... that can wait for now."
Luo Qingyan turned her gaze to the Virtue Sword Sect members, who all flinched in unison. They trembled uncontrollably, the venomous vines still coiling around them from every direction.
"A-Alchemy Empress... Please, calm down first."
One of the sect's elders tried to wipe the sweat pouring down his face while pressing his palms together in a shaky plea.
"This is our fault, truly. Let's just..."
"What in the world is happening here!?"
But before he could finish speaking, a roar sounded from beyond the Domain's edge. It was Sage White-Beard, who had rushed the city's military forces to the scene the instant he sensed the violent clash of qi. Alongside him came Yang Fujiu, clad in a guard's uniform, close on his heels.
"Grand Marshal!"
The elders looked as though they had found hope. They hurried to cast pitiful looks toward Sage White-Beard, begging for his help.
"Luo Qing— The Alchemy Empress has lost her mind! Grand Marshal, please, help us!"
"We're all going to die. Grand Marshal, please, give us justice!"
"Look at our young miss, unconscious right there! Please, save her — save our poor young miss!"
Every disciple and elder of the Virtue Sword Sect had abandoned all shred of pride. They played the part of pitiful, wronged victims so convincingly that the bystanders who had witnessed the whole affair felt their stomachs turn with disgust.
Hadn't the entire sect been bullying those four young women just before the Alchemy Empress arrived?
Yet even so, none of them dared speak the truth aloud. As long as the Virtue Sword Sect still held any power in Moondrift City, the risk of retaliation down the line remained far too high.
"...Is that the truth?"
Sage White-Beard did not rush to a conclusion. The old man turned to meet Luo Qingyan's eyes, finding her strangely calm. Xinjia and Xinhong, seeing their Empress falsely accused, spoke up at once without hesitation.
"That's not true!"
"They're the ones who bullied us first...!"
Before the girl could finish, Luo Qingyan raised a hand to stop them from saying anything more. She stared at Sage White-Beard, unflinching.
"What do you think?"
She had not chosen to deny it.
...and had thrown the question right back at the old man besides!
"..."
Sage White-Beard was taken aback by how much Luo Qingyan had changed. Before, this woman had been the picture of quiet humility. Perhaps it was the weight of everything resting on her shoulders that had kept her from ever showing such defiance — every grievance, every discontent, silently buried in her heart all this time.
Now, it was as though all of it had finally been set free.
And this level of power, on top of it all...
"To think you would be the first to step into this realm..."
The old man pressed his palms together in respect. There was no longer any doubt whose Ancient Sage-level qi had surged out earlier.
And though he was many years her senior, Sage White-Beard was more than willing to show her his full respect.
In this world, seniority meant nothing.
Power alone determined where a person stood.
"There's no need to be so formal... My Palace has had your protection all along."
A faint smile touched the corner of Luo Qingyan's mouth as she pressed her palms together toward Sage White-Beard in genuine gratitude. During the years her Palace had fallen into decline, this old man had often stepped in to keep matters from spiraling out of control. He had never offered direct aid, but the fact that the Goddess Alchemy Palace had survived long enough to see Bai Fanxian's return owed no small debt to him.
"I didn't do all that much..."
Sage White-Beard waved his hands, too embarrassed to think of it as a favor owed. All he had ever done was ensure the pressured Palace received fair treatment, nothing more.
"But, Alchemy Empress... perhaps you would disperse your power for now. I believe we can talk this through and find a resolution together."
Weighing the current situation, the old man, still on the receiving end of the Virtue Sword Sect disciples' pleading looks, felt obligated to swallow his pride and ask Luo Qingyan to release them first.
After all, a clash in the middle of the city severe enough to damage buildings would demand answers to the authorities. Under normal circumstances, Sage White-Beard would have simply forced both sides into custody by now. The trouble was, nothing about the current situation was remotely normal...
...The Virtue Sword Sect side, he could manage.
But who would dare lay a hand on an Ancient Sage-level cultivator!
In the end, all he could do was hope she still held enough regard for him to back down peacefully.
But—
"...My apologies. I'm afraid I can't do that."
Luo Qingyan did not even pause to think. She closed her eyes and shook her head, refusing Sage White-Beard's request so bluntly that the sect's rotund elder went pale.
"What is the meaning of this! Do you have any idea what you're doing is against the law!?"
He tried to invoke the law in a situation like this. His words drew nothing but pitying stares from Mu Xia and Su Lin.
The law...
Wasn't what you people did against the law too!?
You used your strength to bully those who couldn't fight back, and now that someone stronger is doing the same to you, suddenly you cry about the law?
Mu Xia and Su Lin wanted to hurl a dozen curses at those shameless people, but they held their tongues. Everything now rested on their Alchemy Empress's judgment.
"...I suppose that's true."
Luo Qingyan's next words brought smiles to their faces. No matter how powerful a cultivator, in the end, none could stand against the authority of an entire city.
Especially not Moondrift City, one of the world's three great capitals.
"Then hurry up and let us g— Gah!?"
"...!?"
The heavyset elder never got to finish his sentence before his voice cut off entirely. When everyone turned, shocked, they found his body already wasted down to little more than bone. The old man's mouth opened and closed uselessly, no sound escaping his throat. It all happened in under three seconds. In the end, he suffocated to death as the green vines drained every last bit of energy from his body!
"...Wh— What did you just do..."
Huang Zhailong was one of those whose face had gone bloodless. He had watched as the stout elder lost all that fat along with decades of accumulated qi. The body, withered to the point that it looked like the lightest touch would send it crumbling into dust, was proof enough that this was no dream!
This Alchemy Empress had just killed a man!
And she had done it right in front of Sage White-Beard and Yang Fujiu, who had not spoken a single word since they arrived.
"Huang Zhailong. When you hurt my disciples, how did it feel?"
"..."
"N-No... Stay back."
"Gah! Sect head, help me!"
"Sect head! Please... please—"
Even as Luo Qingyan asked that question, her vines had not been idle. They lunged out to seize the Virtue Sword Sect elders one after another, choking the life from them beneath the despairing eyes of their own disciples.
"Sect head... Sect head..."
The last elder crawled and dragged himself to a stop before Huang Zhailong. He reached out, straining to grasp the leg of his sect head, his last hope, but it was futile. The venomous vines drained the last of his power. The image of that withered hand, still flailing weakly in midair, seared itself into Huang Zhailong's mind, sending his composure fleeing entirely.
Thud.
"S-Stay back! I was wrong! I was wrong!"
Neither the Virtue Sword Sect disciples nor the bystanders nearby could believe their own eyes. One of the city's most powerful men was on his knees, weeping and begging for mercy!
"F-Father?"
Huang Yaoyao, only just regaining consciousness, looked left and right in a daze. She was watching her once-venerable father in a state of utter pathetic ruin. For a moment, she refused to accept it, wanting desperately to believe it was all a dream.
"Please... please spare my life... Take whatever you want. My treasures, my entire sect, I'll hand it all over!"
Watching him grovel, even Sage White-Beard felt compelled to say something.
"Alchemy Empress... I think that's enough."
The Virtue Sword Sect had now lost every one of its elders. Only its junior disciples and Huang Zhailong himself remained. The sect's strength and standing were bound to be shaken to their core. Even with a Sage-level cultivator still among them, there was no longer any chance it would be called the city's second most powerful sect again.
"...Out of respect for your mercy, then..."
"Thank you... Thank you so much! I will repay this kindness, without fail!"
When Luo Qingyan seemed to relent, the Virtue Sword Sect disciples and Huang Zhailong himself saw hope. He quickly lifted his head and made firm promises, a cunning glint beginning to show in his eyes. As long as he survived this, the chance to wash away this humiliation would surely come.
But—
"Between your daughter and these disciples versus yourself...Choose one."
Luo Qingyan's next words left everyone stunned!
Even Huang Zhailong, lost in sweet dreams of revenge, froze in place. He turned to stare at Luo Qingyan as though he could not believe what his own ears had just heard.
"Y-You must be joking. I'll..."
"Choose."
As the words left her mouth, Ancient Sage-level pressure spread out in silence. The venomous vines answered her Intent at once, surging out to bind the Virtue Sword Sect's disciples, Chen Jingyi and Huang Yaoyao among them, and hoist them into midair. Their faces went bloodless, mouths shouting for help without pause.
"Sect head, help us!"
"Please... we only ever did as you commanded."
"Father! Father!"
Watching his disciples and his own daughter, all Huang Zhailong could do was clench his teeth. Luo Qingyan's eyes made it clear beyond doubt that she meant every word. Sage White-Beard knew it too. He let out a regretful sigh. Moondrift City was about to lose one more of its finest today.
...But he was about to be proven wrong.
"Yaoyao... forgive your father."
Huang Zhailong closed his eyes and turned his face away, unable to meet his own daughter's gaze, before a twisted smile began to spread across his face.
He had made his choice...
...his own life!
In the end, his own selfishness had won out over the bond of blood!
"...!?"
"...I'll take that as your answer."
"Gah! No! Sect head!"
"Father! Why are you doing this to me! Father!"
The Virtue Sword Sect disciples never expected the sect head they had once revered to abandon their lives so callously. The venomous vines drained their qi one by one, their bodies withering away. Chen Jingyi watched his own final moment draw near, his eyes locked on Mu Xia's.
If I hadn't abandoned her that day...
Would my end have looked like this?
His thoughts winked out along with his crumbling body. Su Lin turned to check on her junior sister, worried she might be distressed. But instead, Mu Xia stood watching it all unfold with perfect calm.
"Senior Sister. I've seen a lot of truths today. I'm not some naive little girl who'll go soft over something like this anymore..."
"...Is that so."
"Father! You can't do this to me! Help me! Didn't you love me most of all!?"
The last one losing her life force was Huang Yaoyao. She struggled and clawed her way toward her father, her final hope.
"Yaoyao... Father's sorry."
Huang Zhailong watched his daughter's outstretched hand with eyes that trembled uncontrollably.
"...Father will avenge you. I will avenge this humiliation, no matter what."
He watched his daughter's body slowly dissolve, his chest tight with feeling. Not once did it occur to him that this entire catastrophe had begun with his own greed.
He blamed everything on Luo Qingyan!
*If she had never shown up. If she weren't an Ancient Sage! Today's outcome would have been completely reversed!*
"I've made my choice... Now let me go."
Huang Zhailong turned to meet the young woman's eyes with hatred. He was demanding she honor the promise she had made.
"..."
But—
"...When did I ever say I'd let you go?"
"...W-What did you say?"
"I only had you choose who would die first..."
"...!?"
"Now it's your turn."
"W-Wait, stop!"
"Gah!?"
The moment her words ended, every root and venomous vine surged forward at once, binding Huang Zhailong's entire body. They devoured his power ravenously. Because this man was a Sage-level cultivator, the process took far longer than usual, which meant the "agony" lasted just as much longer, too.
"Gah!..."
"Alchemy Empress... Isn't this a bit much?"
Sage White-Beard could not help but speak up. The Virtue Sword Sect was guilty, true, but slaughtering every last elder and disciple like this seemed excessive.
"Grand Marshal... What do you think would have happened today if I hadn't reached Ancient Sage?"
Luo Qingyan did not answer. Instead, she chose to ask a question of her own.
"That's..."
"My four disciples here would have ended up dead or worse. They'd have demanded a fortune my Palace couldn't afford, and in the end, my Palace would have collapsed. Disciples with nowhere left to go would have been bullied without any way to fight back."
"..."
"All I've done is answer them eye for eye, tooth for tooth, to let anyone circling for advantage know that the Goddess Alchemy Palace of today is not what it once was."
Her words left Sage White-Beard speechless. Luo Qingyan swept her hand once, and her Domain of Three Seasons Flora slowly began to dissolve. Every root and vine sank back into the ground without a trace. The remains of the Virtue Sword Sect had all been absorbed by her flora as fertilizer, leaving not a single one behind.
"...You've changed a great deal."
The old man finally let out a sigh. He watched the young woman lead her disciples away to finish what needed doing. Hearing him, Luo Qingyan stopped in her tracks and turned back with a faint smile.
"I suppose I just don't have to worry about anything anymore..."
"...?"
"Because now..."
"...the 'Alchemy Empress' has returned to the Goddess Alchemy Palace at last."
With that, she left, leaving only the old man behind, thoroughly puzzled by her final words.
Fwoosh!
And Yang Fujiu, silent the entire time, kept his eyes fixed on Luo Qingyan's back until she vanished from sight...