70 To Cultivate, One Should... 4 (1/2)

She had boldly declared to herself to not reenter the Sanctum until she had pondered about a few thoughts that had been plaguing her recently.

Here she was, staring down the crystal throne room the next day, and perhaps not even a full twenty-four hours had passed since she had left.

An Fei clutched her head, fierce pulses of searing heat pounding at her body from within. Her body's strength had been completely drained, cold sweat soaking the hem of her green dress.

The pain from falling within the Sanctum had yet to disperse, whilst her body in the Flowing Wind Residence was currently incapacitated and likewise suffering from great torment. Though when she thought of the feeling of her organs set aflame and gnawed at by a mysterious force, the girl was more keen on falling in the Sanctum of Eternity.

Muted groans escaped her teeth as An Fei rolled from side to side on the throne, her countenance devoid of color from the pain. However, her physical torment was far overshadowed by the fear radiating from the pair of scarlet irises.

Fear.

Fear of dying.

The blood-red ginseng had dissolved into liquid the instant it entered her stomach, and the painful torture had begun there.

A vicious cold sensation ripped through her veins, paralyzing her body from within. She could not move, blink, nor breathe as air was expelled from her lungs.

Following was a sensation so painful that the mere thought brought an acute ache to her chest.

Rubbing her chest, the girl could precisely recall just how she had felt her heart torn to shreds, violently reconnected, before utterly decimated the next instant. The blood vessels and meridians soon followed in the rude treatment, soon forcing the girl into a horrifying hell.

All from a single slice of blood-red ginseng that Wei Xuan had involuntarily pressured her to consume. That small portion of blood ginseng that most probably contained an infinitesimal amount of mortal spiritual qi, an amount that most humans would not even notice upon consumption.

Her teeth involuntarily shivered as recollections of the horrifying pain and the menacing and sardonic shadow of death whispered sweet enticement in her ears stormed her mind. The pain she was experiencing from falling down seventeen layers of the Archive of Time quickly faded into a barely noticeable hum, and the girl curled her body into a tight ball.

She had assumed that because of her soul transferring to another world, death wasn't a rather tough fear to overcome. The fear of death back then, had not only saved her from multiple gruesome occasions, it had allowed her to run from an entire world's hunt for over two years.

Only now, did An Fei realize that not only had her fear of death fail to diminish, it had instead worsened.

The worst part was that she couldn't even remember what happened after five minutes had passed since she ate the sliver of ginseng.

The memories that were clear were those of pain and suffering. After that, her vision had completely darkened, and mere snapshots of the following events remained in her mind.

An endless bridge of red bricks, and a clear, tranquil river running underneath.

A sea of lights rushing past her on either side, forming a current of colored streams of ghostly, faded light.

An elderly woman's face, though the facial features were densely blurred and unrecognizable.

Did she die from consuming the ginseng? Or was she still alive unlike the description within the ?

An Fei didn't know.

All she could remember was a blurred scene of fleeing into the palace of sky-blue crystal and passing out on the floor of the throne room. When she finally woke, the girl found herself seated in the ruler's chair.

”…regardless of the result, it wasn't a spiteful joke,” the girl mumbled to herself, her forehead resting on her knees. ”Can't be a joke, can't be a joke…”

If she truly perished, how she was still present in the Sanctum of Eternity was an unsolvable mystery. However, the torment she had suffered was sufficient to cause An Fei to not dare take the slightest risk with the information presented within the .

Once she felt that she could regain her breath without breaking into another fit of uncontrolled shivering, the girl finally raised her head before glancing at her sides.

As per usual, the leather-bound book was present on the right armrest. However, the fabric-bound book, the , was neatly resting on the left armrest, surprising the girl.