The old man said nothing more. His calm, unwavering eyes swept across the desolate land one last time. Then, with a gentle lift of his hand, a subtle energy enveloped Zhou Luochen's nearly unconscious body. He retrieved a certain pill, tossed it into the Hidden Tomb, and immediately soared away from that place, leaving behind a single parting message.
"The Zhou Clan shall always welcome Elder Duan Lingchen. If you ever find yourself with time to spare, you are most welcome to visit our clan for tea."
In the void, the old man flew with Zhou Luochen in tow, traveling at his highest possible speed. He had originally planned something regarding the Hidden Tomb and the Divine Herb Deity, but the moment he sensed the nearing presence of the Dao of the Cosmos, he made the swift decision to retreat.
The scene returned to the Hidden Tomb. What was once filled with the clamor of battle had now become a ruin of destruction. Everything had fallen silent, as if the entire world had ceased to breathe.
But in that silence… a voice rang out, hoarse, labored, laced with pain and resentment.
"Tch... That old bastard definitely spared me and you on purpose…"
The man in golden robes spoke through gritted teeth. One side of his body was completely severed, golden blood streaming from the torn flesh. Yet the pain from the wound itself was not what tormented him most it was the poison.
"Aaargh… It burns… the poison is eating me alive!" he cried out, voice trembling. "A so-called noble god... and he dares to use poison? I can't believe this!"
He tilted his head back, cursing as he let out a furious laugh, then slowly turned to look at the man in black lying nearby. His younger brother had remained unusually silent, not responding to a single word. He couldn't help but smile faintly.
"I thought you were still mad at me… that's why you weren't talking. But it seems… I was mistaken."
The man in golden robes let out a low chuckle when he saw that another figure in black had used the Blade of Light to strike down his younger brother. Then he spoke.
"When it comes to exploiting a situation for personal gain… or using someone else's blade to stab your enemies… you're no less skilled than my master, are you, God of Light?"
He took a deep breath, gritting his teeth with the last of his strength.
"Who would have thought… that a being at the level of a true god would fall at the hands of a mere Heavenly Immortal? What a laugh that would be if the outside world ever heard of it."
Han Ming raised one corner of his mouth slightly and slowly walked toward the man in gold.
"God of Light, you say? Sounds like you've mistaken me for someone else."
The man in gold smiled faintly and replied in a soft voice.
"No… I haven't…"
His words had yet to finish when the sound of shuk echoed softly through the air.
A golden beam pierced through his skull. His body trembled faintly, then slowly collapsed to the ground. The final emotion that lingered in his heart was a trace of bitterness.
Han Ming stood still, unmoving as he looked down at the corpse. Though he could have searched its memory, he ultimately chose not to. These enemies were anything but ordinary, and he feared they may have hidden some sort of trap within their bodies. From their final words, it was clear they had recognized him.
"Trouble, again..." he muttered to himself quietly.
Then he raised his hand. A massive circular formation appeared in the air above him, spinning violently as it began absorbing all the blood that had spilled during the battle, pulling it toward the heart of the tomb. At the same time, he retrieved the pill that the Zhou clan's elder had left behind.
His expression remained calm. With a light step, Han Ming rose into the sky, soaring higher and higher until he disappeared beyond the clouds. In that instant, a radiant golden aura erupted from his body and surged outward with overwhelming force.
That aura surged upward like the blaze of a sunfire, casting its brilliance across the sky. It spread throughout the entire domain of the hidden tomb, causing the dimensional rifts scattered across the land to begin closing one by one.
This power was not only used to repair the tomb but also to seal everything inside, preventing anything from escaping and barring any outsider from entering ever again.
At the same time, there were still survivors left within the hidden tomb. Among them was Wu Wen.
Wu Wen, who had been searching for a rare herb to save his son, came to a halt the moment he sensed an overwhelming force that could not be resisted.
Bang!!
A deafening explosion echoed without warning. Blood and flesh were flung apart by an invisible force. Wu Wen's body burst into a cloud of blood mist before he could even comprehend what was happening to him. And he was not the only one.
Across the entire tomb, in every direction, in every crack and corner, that unseen pressure came crashing down upon all living things.
There was no sound, no warning, only the crushing sensation forcing their heads to the ground, and then… their bodies exploded into blood mist.
Cultivators across the secret realm were reduced to red vapor, one after another, group by group.
At first, faint screams echoed in the air… but soon, even those vanished without a trace.
Fragments of soul, blood, flesh, bone, life force everything was absorbed into the center of the tomb.
Whether it was elite warriors from Great Emperor Clans, prodigies from the upper realm, members of the Wu Clan Alliance, treasure hunters, or ordinary cultivators… none of them even had the chance to realize what was happening. They all met the same fate.
While the interior of the Tomb of the God of Herbs was flooded with the stench of blood and the drifting mist of countless fallen souls, the outside world remained completely unaware of what had transpired.
Han Ming observed the scene before him with a calm gaze. Suddenly, tens of thousands of puppets emerged from the shadows around him. Each puppet moved in eerie silence across the ground, cliffs, and dense forests surrounding the hidden tomb. Their objective was simple: to collect every remaining herb that could be salvaged.
Though Han Ming had already initiated the tomb's repairs, it was merely a brief delay. The tomb's collapse was inevitable. Fine cracks in the fabric of space had already begun to appear once more.
He paid them no mind and did not wait for the puppets to return. His body rose above the mist and shot toward the very heart of the tomb. Along the way, Han Ming thought about everything that had just occurred.
Even though many things had gone beyond his control and some events had strayed so far off course that last-minute adjustments were necessary, the overall outcome was still worth it. In the beginning, Han Ming had planned to ascend to the upper realm alongside the others from the Holy Land of the Immortal River, but upon foreseeing his own death, he decided against it and chose instead to observe how the situation unfolded.
It was then that Mu Nansi invited him to explore the hidden tomb of the God of Herbs. At first, he had intended to decline, but after secretly divining the fate ahead, a certain thought arose in his mind, and he ultimately accepted her offer.
Ever since making the decision to enter the hidden tomb, Han Ming had been searching for traces of the God of Herbs' tomb constantly. In the end, with the aid of this world's Heavenly Tao, which he had coerced into submission, he finally found it two days ago.
Of course, not just anyone could open the entrance to this place. The Heavenly Tao of this world, having been threatened by Han Ming, not only opened the path for him but also relaxed the seals upon him, allowing him to access his true cultivation. Because of this, Han Ming had been able to enter the hidden tomb with ease.
Although countless precious herbs lined the path he walked, he did not so much as touch a single leaf. He had a plan of his own, and he knew very well that something far more important awaited in the depths of this place, just as his divination had foretold.
He searched for longer than expected, until at last he stood before a pale green dimensional gate hidden deep within an ancient forest. Its form was so old that it had almost faded from existence, yet it still lingered faintly, just enough to be opened.
Upon stepping through the gate, he was met with a sight that even he had to pause and take in.
A simple wooden hut stood in the middle of an endless field of herbs, stretching as far as the eye could see. The scent of medicinal plants filled the air, mingled with such dense life force that it nearly condensed into visible mist. Han Ming walked cautiously into the hut. There were no traps, no protective enchantments, not even the faintest resistance.
At the center of the small hut, he saw what had been waiting. Duan Lingchen or more accurately, a fragment of the soul of the God of Herbs wavered unsteadily, on the verge of dissipating completely. It looked as though a gentle breeze would be enough to scatter it into nothingness.
Han Ming said nothing. He simply lowered his head slightly, then extended a hand and embedded something into that fragile soul.
What he implanted was a golden cell a mysterious entity that served as both a control seal and a means of governing life and death. It was a secret weapon of his own creation, designed to prevent betrayal by those he trusted.
It was a technique he had developed himself since fleeing his family. In this world or the last, he could never discern the true meaning behind anyone's smile. So he chose to trust only himself and devised a way to prevent problems before they could arise. The golden cell did not control the target's mind, but it could govern their life and death at all times. Moreover, it enhanced their comprehension and improved their various capabilities.
To receive a golden cell, one had to pass a test from his golden formation used to select disciples unless Han Ming personally granted it himself.
Up to now, Han Ming had given a golden cell to only two people who were not his disciples.
The first was Ye Lin, the Son of Destiny, whose life had been ruined after Wu Zhao manipulated his mind.
The second was this fragile soul fragment of the God of Herbs, now so weak it could dissipate at any moment.
Han Ming was quite intrigued by Ye Lin's development, though he sensed something was still missing. So, he planned to continue watching for a while longer. There were also a few things he wanted to test.