Chapter 63: Return to the Herb Garden

Thunder rolled and dark clouds swirled as the combined attacks of the Heavenly Demon Army ceased. The disciples of Tianxuan Sect stared blankly at the sky, unable to comprehend what was happening.
“It must be our senior elders coming to rescue us—they’re defeating the Heavenly Demons!”
Yu Qing and Hua Lu were the first to react.
“Great! We’re saved!” The other inner sect disciples cheered joyfully, while some who had collapsed on the ground, still covered in blood, laughed foolishly.
Yu Qing observed the pattern of the lightning within the clouds and guessed, “It seems like there’s only one person. I wonder which ancestor it is?”
Inside the teleportation array, Su Che noticed that the teleportation crystal was glowing faintly again, no longer as dim and lifeless as before.
“Could it be that the teleportation function has been restored?”
Just as he was thinking this, the crystal suddenly brightened, and another person appeared in the array.
This time, it was a middle-aged man in simple clothes. He gave Su Che a silent smile first, then turned his gaze to Yu Qing and Linglong outside the array.
Linglong, who had been looking up at the sky, sensed something and turned to look over. She immediately exclaimed, “The old man has arrived!”
Yu Qing, standing beside her, also turned to look and whispered, “Uncle.”
The siblings rushed over immediately. The middle-aged man chuckled and said, “You must have gained a lot from this trip, right?”
“You almost killed me,” Linglong glared at him fiercely. If not for their father’s clear instructions, her cousin wouldn’t have brought her into the Demon Sealing Realm.
It was then that Su Che realized the middle-aged man was actually the elder in charge of the herb garden at Xuanji Peak…
At that moment, Hua Lu and the others also noticed the man. They stepped forward and paid him respect as a senior disciple, addressing him as “uncle.”
The man nodded with a smile and said to everyone, “Step aside. I need to adjust the teleportation array. For now, it will function in reverse—only entry, no exit.”
Reverse teleportation meant that the array was originally an exit from the Demon Sealing Realm, allowing only exit, not entry. Today, due to some anomaly in the realm, the array had been sealed by the external Heavenly Demons using some force. However, the senior elders of Tianxuan Sect had altered it from the outside to function in reverse, turning it into an entrance.
Everyone stepped aside quickly, and soon the array was adjusted back to its original state as an exit.
“You may leave now. Those who are injured should go first,” the man instructed. “After exiting, don’t rush to leave. Wait for a while on Dangmo Peak.”

“Yes, Uncle/Master.” Everyone responded in unison.
Thunder and lightning still filled the sky, but the cloud cover formed by the Heavenly Demon Army had dispersed. Those with sharp eyes could see a dark cloud composed of 108 demon generals fleeing toward the core area of the Sealing Domain, pursued by another cloud of lightning.
Each teleportation array could transport over twenty people. In just a dozen breaths, more than a hundred apprentices left, leaving only the middle-aged man gazing at the brightly shining Sealing Star on the horizon, lost in thought.
On Demon Subduing Peak, the apprentices who had escaped gathered in an open area, unable to leave yet. The injured meditated to heal, while those unharmed talked in small groups, relieved that their elders had arrived in time to save their lives…
Yu Qing and Ling Long were healing Mu Yun, who had borne the greatest pressure at the center of the array and suffered the most injuries. Su Che also stood nearby, paying close attention. He had a high opinion of this righteous senior sister Mu Yun and certainly didn’t want her to suffer because of him.
Thanks to the healing pills and the infusion of true energy, Mu Yun slowly regained consciousness, appearing unharmed.
“It’s fine now,” Su Che sighed in relief—only to have his nerves tighten again at what Old Black said.
“Master, I sense a powerful divine consciousness surrounding you all, as if it’s examining each of you apprentices one by one. It’s likely some ancient being at the Nascent Soul stage from the Tianxuan Sect,” Old Black warned. “Your turn will come soon. From now on, I dare not communicate with you, lest it detect us.”
“Understood,” Su Che replied inwardly, guessing, “With such a major event happening in the Sealing Domain, the upper echelons of the Tianxuan Sect can’t possibly remain indifferent. It’s only natural for them to investigate those of us who managed to escape… I just wonder if the secrets of the Immortal Prison in my mind can be kept safe…”
Though worried, Su Che didn’t show any signs of concern. He quietly adjusted his breathing and emotions, striving to act like the other apprentices.
About half an hour later, Mu Yun temporarily suppressed her injuries, ended her meditation, and stood up. Still shaken, she said to Yu Qing and the others, “I never expected the combined attack of the Heavenly Demons to be so powerful. The Tianji Rock Formation turned out to be so fragile. It was thanks to Junior Brother Su’s top-grade spirit talismans; otherwise, we would have all been…”
Yu Qing nodded. “Indeed. With the enemy outnumbering us, it was hard to resist.”

Hua Lu from Tianlu Peak said in a solemn voice to Su Che, “Su Che, is that you? I’ll remember this favor you’ve done me.”
“Senior brother, you’re too kind,” Su Che replied with a bow, showing great humility. Yet in his heart he thought, “In five years, I’ll surely compete with you for the position of true disciple. By then, you’ll see me as a mortal enemy—who will still care about any favors?”
After a while, the middle-aged man (the Elder of the Herb Garden) appeared before everyone and said, “Alright, you may leave now. Return to the main peak and report this incident to your masters, and you’ll all receive some reward. Just now, the Supreme Elder Zixiao said that your performance was quite good this time, and you deserve praise.”
“The Supreme Elder Zixiao?”
“It’s actually the Patriarch Zixiao!”
Only then did Yu Qing and the others realize that it was the Patriarch Zixiao himself who had come to save them all.
There were five Patriarchs at the level of Yuan Ying in the Tianxuan Sect—four of them were Supreme Elders, and the fifth was the sect’s supreme leader.
Su Che was even more astonished: “Is that man in white the Supreme Elder Zixiao? He seems so young…”
Next, the disciples from various main peaks said their goodbyes and left one after another. Only the Elder of the Herb Garden, Yu Qing, Linglong, and Su Che remained on the top of Damo Peak.
“Let’s go too.”
The Elder of the Herb Garden casually took out a small flower pot, shook it in the wind, and it transformed into a huge flower disc several zhang in diameter.
Yu Qing and Linglong saw nothing strange and jumped into the flower disc. Su Che hurriedly followed, thinking to himself, “True to his reputation as the Elder of the Herb Garden—his flying magic weapon is even in the form of a flower disc.”
This Elder of the Herb Garden must be at least at the early stage of the Golden Dan realm, as his flying magic weapon could travel at an incredible speed. When coming to Damo Peak, Yu Qing and Linglong had flown for an entire morning, while the Elder of the Herb Garden brought three people back to the Spirit Herb Garden on Xuanji Peak in less than fifteen minutes.
Su Che thought this wasn’t even his fastest speed—it was just a leisurely pace for traveling.
At the entrance of the Spirit Herb Garden, the Elder of the Herb Garden spoke calmly to Su Che, “Starting today, you’ll be appointed as a Spirit Herb Physician. You’ll be able to move freely between the lower and middle levels of the herb garden. If needed, Linglong will take you to the upper levels to treat the spirit herbs.”
“Thank you, Elder, for this grace,” Su Che said quickly, bowing in gratitude. He was naturally delighted—having the title of Spirit Herb Physician as cover would make it much easier for him to visit the secret herb gardens in the future.
The Elder of the Herb Garden smiled faintly and left with Yu Qing and Linglong.

Watching their backs, Su Che felt uneasy, for the last glance and final smile from the Elder of the Medicine Garden carried deep meaning, and he couldn’t figure out what secrets lay behind it…
“Lao Hei, can you talk now?”
“I’ve been able to for a while,” Lao Hei replied. “That Elder of the Medicine Garden isn’t an ordinary person. With him around, I didn’t even dare make a sound.”
“Make what sound? You’re not a mouse.”
“Aren’t I?” Lao Hei pulled at his tail and wrapped it around his waist again.
Su Che laughed inwardly, no longer troubled by the mystery posed by the Elder of the Medicine Garden. Whether it was good or bad, if it was bad, it was inevitable. He had done his best; if anything else happened, it would be beyond his control, so there was no need to worry in advance.
Since he had managed to escape alive from the Demon Sealing Realm, that was already a great fortune. The over a thousand low-level heavenly demons captured in the Immortal Prison would be enough for him and Lao Hei to deal with for a long time.
Oh, and there was another gain—Luo Lianqiao from Tianlu Peak, who claimed to have exceptional talent in alchemy. Next, he needed to find an opportunity to test that claim…