Yasenia sighed softly to herself. 'I didn't expect the formation to actually take two [Formation Shattering Stone] hits. No wonder these people couldn't unravel it.'
When she arrived at the garden location and saw so many people, her heart dropped for a second. Thankfully, the person in charge of the garden entrance seemed to have taken a liking to her. So, using that, she managed to convince them to try tackling the formation.
Naturally, a formation that could resist the attacks of hundreds of cultivators would not even flinch if Yasenia punched it with all her strength. Still, she kept a [Formation Shattering Stone] hidden within her fist and acted as if she were punching with a lot of strength.
Since her strength was far above the norm, she was able to perfectly hide the fact that she used items. 'Now, they won't bother me. After all, who would want to mess with the person who broke through the powerful formation with brute strength?'
She didn't doubt that there would be people who doubted her feat. After all, once you understand formations, even believable deception couldn't pass through them. It didn't matter how much you tried to appeal that you could change stone to spiritual crystals when that conversion was impossible in the first place. Anyone who wasn't gullible would understand that there was some kind of trick involved.
'Thankfully, Feng Shaotian didn't seem to be part of that group… Outwardly, at least.'
"Um… Lady Katherine. Do you know where to explore within the garden?"
Yasenia didn't answer straight away. Inside her mind, Sui Xing spoke to her.
"Yasenia, the garden is divided into layers, each layer hiding exponentially older herbs. You are currently in the outer region, where 1,000-year-old herbs grow and die cyclically. Beyond this outer layer, there are five more. The next one, approaching the center of the garden, is for 10,000-year-old herbs, then for 50,000-year-old herbs, followed by those of 100,000, next 500,000, and at the very heart, the million-year-old herbs."
Yasenia paused for a second when she heard that. 'One million? This garden cultivates herbs of that age?'
Sui Xing chuckled. "Naturally. Otherwise, it wouldn't be considered an inheritance-worthy terrain." He warned. "However, don't think of going there with your current strength. As you may know, herbs that are over 100,000 years old possess intelligence and strength. If there are any million-year-old ones, you will get killed."
Hearing his words, Yasenia couldn't help but speak against it. "But… They are limited by the Secret Realm as well, right? Aren't you looking down on me a bit too much?"
Sui Xing scolded gently, his voice pleasant and deep. "Would I look down on you after becoming your particular training space? I know your ins and outs quite clearly, so trust me when I say this."
Yasenia felt a bit guilty for doubting. Still, she was not that stubborn. So, she nodded. "Alright. I'll trust you."
After conversing with Sui Xing and getting his permission to get guided, Yasenia spoke to Feng Shaotian. "While I don't know the exact direction, I am aware that the deeper you go, the better quality herbs you will find. So, I am going to move in that direction."
"Great!" Feng Shaotian clapped happily, looking at her with excited eyes. "Then, Lady Katherine, please guide us, and we will make sure that you get your own fair share."
Yasenia was not in a position to explore alone. Therefore, she nodded faintly with a smile. "Alright, let's go ahead and try to get enough treasures. We don't know if the garden's formation can repair itself after a while, so we have to avoid being greedy."
Feng Shaotian and her group nodded, accepting Yasenia's words.
As their group traveled, they covered a lot of distance in a short amount of time. Yet, it was at this time that Yasenia and the others came to a realization. "...There are spatial modifications within the glass structure."
Initially, the glass structure holding the garden was already enormous. It covered almost half of the continent. Nevertheless, Yasenia was sure that she could cross that distance in a few minutes at their current speed.
Feng Shaotian's eyes shone with curiosity. "It is true. We've been flying for almost five hours, but we can barely see the end of the 1,000-year-old herb zone."
Another person on Lady Feng's side spoke, his voice full of wonder. "How is it possible to keep a garden of this size so pristine even when there are no administrators? If it were left truly unattended, wouldn't this have become a jungle?"
Everyone could agree with his words. Some followed his reasoning. "If that's the case… Isn't that a sign that there are some people alive here maintaining the garden? We need to be careful in case they are hostile."
Yasenia looked at them once and then ignored them. 'They are not giving the crystal structure enough credit.' Stealthily looking up, Yasenia could discern complex energy moving through the massive crystal panels that seemed to cover the sky. 'Those panels are probably dangerous; I have to keep an eye on them.'
While flying, Yasenia's nose suddenly twitched, and she stopped. Everyone else stopped with her, looking at the woman covered in the dark mantle with curiosity.
Ignoring their eyes, she flew down and approached a large pinkish-yellow flower. "[10,000-year-old Golden Allure Carnation]."
"Oh?" Feng Shaotian's eyebrow rose gently. "We've arrived at another layer. Should we continue forward, Lady Katherine?"
Yasenia looked at them and asked lightly. "Does anyone here struggle when fighting these levels of plants?"
Someone who was a bit ignorant got offended and retorted sharply. "Lady Katherine, there is no need for insults when we are asking things politely."
Yasenia internally sighed. 'Always so prickly. I am really getting a bit tired of these people.'
Feng Shaotian looked over with a glare when she saw Yasenia sigh. "Lady Katherine must've had her reasons to ask. Is it your turn to jump to conclusions? Or do you want to get humiliated like Uncle Feng?"
Speaking of the middle-aged man, once Yasenia burst open the formation, he became so embarrassed that he was forced to leave on his own, accompanied by the other formation masters who supported him. Therefore, the group Feng Shaotian usually carried with her was reduced by almost half.
Hearing her words, the man was somewhat embarrassed before asking. "Sister Feng, why are you so protective of that woman? Isn't she just a rogue cultivator?"
"You still…" Feng Shaotian sighed, her eyes flashing with disappointment. "Whatever. Just stay silent."
Yasenia observed their interaction silently. It was not her place to interact or get involved. Instead, she focused on her surroundings and searched for plants that she didn't have in her garden. 'Oh… There are a few new species. Should I take them with me? You don't know when you will need them as an auxiliary herb during alchemy.'
Flying over, her hands deftly harvested the plants that caught her eye. It wasn't until Feng Shaotian and that man stopped bickering that they noticed Yasenia's actions.
"So… Lady Katherine, would you like to stop here?"
"Hm? No." Yasenia shook her head lightly. "I was waiting for both of you to stop fighting before we could move onward."
The two cultivators became a bit embarrassed again, but soon, everyone recovered their mood and decided to continue ahead.
With Yasenia at the lead, they didn't take that long to pass the 50,000-year-old terrain and reach the 100,000-year-old one. 'While this place is large, it is not so enormous that it takes several days to fly around. Only, from here on, there will be hostile spiritual plants. I need to be careful and not be trapped.'
One woman from Feng's group stepped forward and spoke to Yasenia. "Lady Katherine, would you mind if I take the lead from here on? Plants of this age can be a bit aggressive, and I specialize in alchemy. Therefore, I am familiar with them."
Yasenia didn't spare her a glance and answered lightly. "No, I will move on my own. You can accompany me if you want. If you want to lead, we can separate and each go our own ways."
Inside, she was thinking. 'Either way, if I want to gain control of this garden, I need to be alone and explore according to Sui Xing's direction. There is no haste, but getting over the complicated matters as fast as possible is not something I dislike.'
The woman who approached politely was somewhat embarrassed when Yasenia flatly refused her help. This time, even Feng Shaotian felt a bit uncomfortable. "Um… Lady Katherine, I understand that you are strong. However, wouldn't it be better to have help from a specialist? Sister Hua is someone with thousands of years of experience."
Yasenia spoke lightly again. "I understand. However, I have my own ideas. Naturally, I won't be rude enough to call myself knowledgeable. Still, I am quite confident in my ability to navigate dangers. As I said, if you are not confident, you can always separate."
Feng Shaotian chewed her lips a bit. "You are really a difficult person, Lady Katherine. If I weren't quite fond of you, I would've been quite embarrassed and angry by now."
Yasenia chuckled. "Yes. You are right. Thankfully, that's not the case." She paused for a second and sighed softly. "Still, I can let Lady Hua lead the way until I feel like going in a different direction. How about it? That way, there won't be anyone who is dissatisfied."
The woman surnamed Hua still felt like she was being looked down upon. Nevertheless, the Beast Human named Katherine was someone whom their leader took a fancy to. So, she could only swallow the insult. At the end of the day, she had thousands of years behind her back, so acting impulsively was not something she liked.
In the end, the Hua woman decided to guide them. Their current terrain was full of tall plants. Even when this was the zone of 100,000-year-old herbs, that didn't mean that all herbs were of that age. For plants to grow for so long, they needed very specific surroundings and environments. These environments were made out of forests, snowy mountains, and much more.
So, from this location forward, the garden had become somewhat wild. Tall trees were common to see, and environmental effects like lighting, rain, strong winds, and many other effects could be discerned separately within very close distances. There was an unnaturalness that showed how most of the effects were man-made.
Yasenia marveled at the rich environment within the crystal structure, following Lady Hua's guidance from behind. Feng Shaotian approached and kept her company, making small conversation.