Chapter 126: The Region Expands
The Capital City, Qintian Tower.
The moment Lingguang Hall appeared, spiritual light flashed on a white jade stone table at the top of Qintian Tower.
Yuan Qi, the Director of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, sensed the disturbance and immediately rushed to the rooftop. Seeing a pattern appear on the stone table, his expression couldn’t help but tremble.
On the white jade stone table, a continent appeared. In the southern part of the continent stood a magnificent red palace—Lingguang Hall.
A phenomenon also occurred in Guangyin Tower, opposite Qintian Tower. The history books of the Four Spirit Realm reappeared, spiritual light converged, and a line of text was written on the paper.
The seventh day of the sixth month of the 4,990th year of Qi Ling, Lingguang Hall appeared.
At the southernmost tip of Great Jin, deep within the vast and magnificent South Sea, the mist dissipated, and a vast, boundless, enormous land slowly emerged.
On the land, mountain ranges of fiery red rock formations were visible everywhere, along with giant mountains constantly spewing flames.
On the other side, outside Lingguang Hall, after the Demon Suppressing Army left, Prince Fu, unwilling to let this ruin fall into others’ hands, wanted to send people to investigate Lingguang Hall.
Officials from the Ministry of Justice wanted to make a good impression in front of Prince Fu, so they dispatched people from the Six Doors to scout ahead.
Upon receiving the order, the faces of the people from the Six Doors became somewhat solemn.
Xie Zhixun, the Chief Constable, looked at his subordinates and said in a low voice, “Be careful when you go in, and don’t touch anything inside.”
Compared to the apprehension of others, Hua Minghe, who was already a cultivator, felt more excitement.
In the past, the Six Doors mostly dealt with matters concerning martial artists in the jianghu. They had never participated in something like investigating a cultivator’s ruin.
Soon, led by Xie Zhixun, the people from the Six Doors passed through the gate tower and walked towards the majestic palace complex.
However, as they stepped onto the ground paved with red jade, most of the Six Doors members jumped up and then quickly turned back.
“Sir, the ground inside is burning hot. Walking on it is like walking on red-hot iron plates.”
Several Six Doors members’ feet were burned to bloody messes, making it difficult for them to walk.
Prince Fu frowned upon seeing this. After a moment of silence, he sent out a few cultivators from behind him.
After passing through the gate tower, the cultivators didn’t go far before they also quickly returned.
“Your Highness, after passing the gate tower, my subordinates and I can no longer use our spiritual power.”
Except for cultivators with a Fire Spiritual Root, other cultivators, although their feet weren’t burned like the martial artists of the Six Doors, found the scorching heat unbearable.
“It seems that only cultivators with a Fire Spiritual Root can enter this Lingguang Hall.”
Hearing his subordinate’s deduction, Prince Fu looked at the officials from the Six Ministries present. “You all wouldn’t want to have come here for nothing, would you?”
The officials exchanged glances and sent out the cultivators with Fire Spiritual Roots they had brought.
After passing through the gate tower, the dozen or so cultivators with Fire Spiritual Roots could no longer use their spiritual power, but the red jade ground caused them no harm. These people walked to the bottom of the red jade steps unharmed and climbed them.
Seeing them successfully reach the steps, Prince Fu and the officials’ expressions improved slightly.
However, when those people reached the first palace and tried to open the palace door, a red light appeared and directly blasted them away.
More than a dozen cultivators fell from the dozens of meters high steps, crashing heavily onto the ground.
Seeing this scene, Prince Fu’s expression darkened considerably.
The royal family had already occupied several ruins, and he had some understanding of the rules of recognition for ruins.
This Lingguang Hall clearly belonged to that black-robed person. Unless that black-robed person was willing to give up Lingguang Hall, the only way for others to have a chance to compete again was to kill him and make Lingguang Hall ownerless.
‘Who sent that black-robed person?’
A dangerous glint flashed in Prince Fu’s eyes. Lingguang Hall was within the Capital City’s territory. To come to the royal family’s domain and slap the royal family in the face, it seemed some people were getting restless with the resurgence of spiritual energy.
“My lords, my Imperial Brother is waiting for our reply. Please accompany me to the palace.”
Unable to investigate Lingguang Hall, staying there was a waste of time. However, the identity of the black-robed person had to be investigated. Prince Fu left a squad of guards to watch the place and then returned to the capital with the officials present.
Originally, the Ministry of Justice officials wanted to leave the Six Doors members to guard the place, but Xie Zhixun disagreed, saying that many people were injured and needed to return to recuperate.
This allowed Hua Minghe and the others to leave.
“Brother He, what kind of medicine did you give us? The medicinal efficacy is really good; my feet don’t hurt much anymore.”
On the way back to the capital, Xie Zhixun found an ox cart to carry his subordinates who had severely injured feet. Although they weren’t walking, the pain was unbearable. It wasn’t until Hua Minghe applied medicine to them that they felt alive again.
Hua Minghe smiled, “This powder was refined by my San Lang. If you think it’s good, I’ll bring some for you later.”
Xie Zhixun looked over, signaling Hua Minghe to show him the medicine. After examining it, he raised an eyebrow, “Minghe, the medicine your San Lang refined is a bit different from ordinary hemostatic powder.”
Hua Minghe trusted his comrades with whom he had faced life and death, especially Xie Zhixun, who always looked out for him. He blurted out, “The prescription was found by my Jiu Niang from a medical book by chance.”
Xie Zhixun glanced at him, “You mean that little girl who was captured and sacrificed by the Demonic Daoist two years ago?”
Hua Minghe nodded, “Yes.”
Xie Zhixun chuckled, “Your little daughter is brave and smart. She knew how to save herself. Of all the people captured by Demonic Monks and Demonic Daoists, she’s the only one I know who survived.”
Hua Minghe still felt a lingering fear when he thought of his daughter being kidnapped and sacrificed. “With Jiu Niang’s personality, sometimes I think her bravery is a good thing, but other times, I feel being too brave isn’t good either.”
“If she were a boy, I would wake up laughing in my dreams. But she’s a Young Woman, and she’s too brave. I’m really afraid she won’t find a husband.”
Xie Zhixun patted Hua Minghe’s shoulder comfortingly. “By the way, you mentioned earlier that she entered the Labor Department of the Medical Affairs Department as a laborer?”
Hua Minghe ‘hmm’ed. “I wanted her to come home, but she refused.”
Xie Zhixun was surprised. “You forbade her from going to the Medical Affairs Department, and she still defied your orders as a Father?”
Hua Minghe gave an embarrassed smile, finding it difficult to say that he couldn’t control his daughter’s decisions. He could only add, “My daughter is grown up, and it’s not appropriate for me to interfere too much in her affairs.”
Xie Zhixun was a bit speechless. “I think you’re spoiling your child too much.” He paused. “Actually, it might be good for your youngest daughter to continue staying in the Labor Department.”
He lowered his voice, “Many nobles and officials in the court now want to place their descendants in the Medical Affairs Department. I heard the Seventh Prince also went to the Medical Affairs Department.”
“Those in power never act without reason. Their eagerness to enter the Medical Affairs Department must mean there’s some benefit within it.”
“Since your daughter is in the Medical Affairs Department, let her stay there and observe how those in power operate. If she follows suit, she’ll surely benefit.”
Hua Minghe nodded after hearing this. “I will tell Jiu Niang.”
At this moment, someone shouted.
“What’s going on? It usually takes a little over an hour to reach the city gate, but we’ve been walking for so long today and still haven’t seen the city gate?”
Xie Zhixun and Hua Minghe’s attention was drawn away. At this moment, they also noticed something was wrong.
Xie Zhixun looked back at the still clearly visible majestic red palace, his expression trembling. “Nanxiang County has grown larger.”
His subordinates were shocked upon hearing this. “How could Nanxiang County become larger?”
Xie Zhixun shook his head. “I don’t know. However, some citizens had reported to the Imperial Court before, saying that some mountains and rivers had grown larger, but these matters were suppressed.”
“This World… is about to change!”
Everyone listened and looked at each other in bewilderment.
Xie Zhixun suddenly looked at Hua Minghe. “Minghe, we are all brothers who have faced life and death together. If it’s not too difficult, could you tell us how to become a cultivator?”
Hua Minghe looked at Xie Zhixun in astonishment.
Xie Zhixun pointed at all his subordinates. “After passing the gate tower, they were all injured. Only you and I were not. I was due to my shoes, but why were you?”
“I observed the people who passed the gate tower later. As long as they were cultivators, they were not injured.”
Hua Minghe knew Xie Zhixun’s keen observation skills. Since his identity as a cultivator had been discovered, he didn’t deny it.
“Boss, are you really a cultivator?”
The constables who worked with Hua Minghe, ignoring the pain in their feet, rushed forward to surround him.
“How did you become a cultivator?”
“When did you become one?”
“Can we become cultivators too?”
Hua Minghe was overwhelmed by their questions. He raised his hand to stop them and looked at Xie Zhixun. “Chief Constable, I couldn’t become a cultivator on my own. I can’t promise everyone anything, but I can help ask for you.”
Xie Zhixun smiled and patted Hua Minghe’s shoulder. “That’s already very good.”
The Six Doors members were excited to learn that they might also become cultivators. However, soon after, they became dejected again.
It was nothing else; the area of Nanxiang County had expanded by dozens of times compared to before.
Hua Minghe and his group traveled for three days and three nights before they saw the city gate of the South City of the Capital City.
“Nanxiang County now is not like a county at all. Its jurisdiction feels larger than an ordinary prefecture.”
Neither Xie Zhixun nor Hua Minghe had expected Nanxiang County to have grown so much.
Looking at his exhausted subordinates, Xie Zhixun directly told them to go home and rest after entering the city.
Meanwhile, a great battle was erupting beneath the ground at Nine Netherworld Genmen Pass.
Half of the Demon Suppressing Army from the Heavenly Department was deployed. After several days of fierce fighting, they captured Genmen Bridge, Nether Dragon Pavilion, and Ox Head Mountain. Just as Wei Zhenjie was about to attack White Bone Mountain, he was informed that White Bone Mountain had already been occupied by the Duke of Xin State’s Mansion.
Upon hearing this news, Wei Zhenjie was so angry he wanted to hit someone. “Why is the Duke of Xin State’s Mansion everywhere?”
Chu Junyi, standing beside him, waited for Wei Zhenjie to vent before speaking. “The reason the Duke of Xin State’s Mansion reacted so quickly was due to Gu Jin Fan’s reminder.”
“Madame White Bone was directly trapped and killed by Gu Jin Fan using the Kunlun Mirror.”
Wei Zhenjie narrowed his eyes upon hearing this. “It’s truly fortunate for the Duke of Xin State’s Mansion to have produced someone like Gu Jin Fan.”
Among the eight great Duke’s Mansions in the Capital City, the Duke of Xin State’s Mansion’s power was actually at the bottom. However, in the past two years, as the Duke of Xin State’s Mansion had seized more and more resources, it had begun to subtly surpass the leading Duke of Ding State’s Mansion.
Chu Junyi also felt that Gu Jin Fan was remarkable. He had witnessed Gu Jin Fan’s courage at Kunlun Mountain before. If not for her charge, the Duke of Xin State’s Mansion would not have returned with such a bounty.
Chu Junyi looked at Wei Zhenjie. “Master, what caused this change in Genmen this time?”
The Heavenly Department had stationed people at all nine gates of the Nine Netherworlds. As soon as Wei Zhenjie arrived at Genmen, he understood the entire situation. He sighed and said, “Master Changmei of Xiangguo Temple is dead.”
“A while ago, I received news that Xiangguo Temple and the Celestial Master’s Mansion wanted their disciples to gain experience in the Nine Netherworlds. Later, Sanqing Palace and Taisu Palace also got involved.”
“Finally, Master Changmei led the team, bringing twenty to thirty disciples from several sects to gain experience in the Nine Netherworlds. With so many of them, there shouldn’t have been any danger, but they happened to enter the Soul Severing Forest.”
Chu Junyi’s expression trembled. “Entering the Soul Severing Forest, were they trying to…”
Wei Zhenjie said calmly, “Gaining experience was a pretense; their objective was likely to seize the Two Forms Talisman Brush.”
Chu Junyi hurriedly asked, “Did they obtain the Two Forms Talisman Brush?”
Wei Zhenjie shook his head. “I don’t know. Master Changmei and his group were captured and brought to Ox Head Mountain, imprisoned in the Soul Devouring Well. Normally, they should have been completely consumed by the Soul Devouring Tree, but their fate was not to die.”
“A female cultivator who drank the Spirit Sealing Soup but could still use spiritual power was also imprisoned in the Soul Devouring Well. It was that female cultivator who rescued them from the Soul Devouring Well.”
Chu Junyi was somewhat surprised. “How did she do it?”
Wei Zhenjie narrowed his eyes. “That female cultivator can condense the Vermilion Bird Flame of the Fén Jì Primordial Spirit. The Nether Dragon was heavily injured by the Vermilion Bird Flame. The reason we could easily capture Nether Dragon Pavilion is because the ghosts in the Underworld River of the Genmen section were all burned to death by the Vermilion Bird Flame.”
“Vermilion Bird Flame…”
Chu Junyi thought of something and immediately told Wei Zhenjie about Lingguang Hall being taken by a black-robed person.
Upon hearing this, Wei Zhenjie slammed the table. “When the Vermilion Bird Emperor of Lingguang Hall walked in the Human World, he called himself Lord Lingguang. How did I not think of this earlier?”
If he had thought of it earlier, he wouldn’t have thought that taking over Lingguang Hall was less urgent than coming to the Nine Netherworlds. He would have definitely led the team himself to take over Lingguang Hall.
“That black-robed person must be the female cultivator who fought the Nether Dragon. To heavily injure the Nether Dragon, her cultivation must be far beyond the Core Formation Realm. The Heavenly Department received no news of a Nascent Soul Realm expert. Where did she come from?”
Chu Junyi looked at him. “Master, I’ve guessed who she is.”
Wei Zhenjie: “Who?”
Chu Junyi: “The Fire Lotus Fairy of Five Finger Mountain.”
Wei Zhenjie stroked his chin and pondered. “Don’t say it, it really could be her. Have you found out the true identity of the Fire Lotus Fairy?”
Chu Junyi shook his head. “The Fire Lotus Fairy only summons the siblings An Ran and An Ze whenever she appears. Everyone who has met her has taken a Heart Demon Oath, making it impossible to uncover her origins.”
“The Mountain Spirit of Five Finger Mountain and the Welcoming Pine should know, but we can’t capture them.”
Wei Zhenjie: “Continue to monitor Five Finger Mountain. We must find out the identity of the Fire Lotus Fairy.”
At this moment, Meng Ziyu and Ye Jingzhou arrived.
“Minister, Commander, look quickly, what is this?”
They each carried a wooden tray, which was filled with storage magic treasures.
Chu Junyi stepped forward to examine them and frowned. “These demons on Ox Head Mountain have killed so many of our human cultivators.”
Wei Zhenjie said nothing, merely instructing Meng Ziyu and Ye Jingzhou to distribute the storage magic treasures on the wooden trays to the soldiers who had performed exceptionally well this time.
After the two left, Wei Zhenjie smiled and said to Chu Junyi, “Let’s go, I’ll take you to see the Soul Devouring Well. There’s a Soul Crystal mine beneath Ox Head Mountain.”
“With Ox Head Mountain occupied, I won’t have to worry about lacking cultivation resources when I advance to the Spiritual Platform Realm in the future. Speaking of which, I really have to thank that Fire Lotus Fairy. If she hadn’t ignited the Underworld River, it would have been difficult for us to attack Genmen.”
