Chapter 214: Gains and Losses
The first-grade incense was as thick as a fist. Unlike the third-grade incense, which burned out quickly, the first-grade incense could burn for a long time. Now that the incense of pills had burned out, the air was still filled with a rich aroma of pills.
Bathed in the aroma of pills, most people had not yet recovered from their shock. They had never expected Hua Changxi to actually be able to light the first-grade incense.
Not everyone was surprised that Hua Changxi lit the first-grade incense. Gu Xing wasn’t, Gu Jinfan wasn’t, and even Meng Qingyao had a look of “she knew it would happen.”
Gu Xing knew from the moment Hua Changxi pushed open the doors of the Dan Sheng Hall and took ten wooden tokens from the Qihuang Hall that this girl held extraordinary significance for the Dan Sheng Hall. It was something he had long anticipated that she could light the first-grade incense.
Gu Jinfan’s expression was a little complicated. She wasn’t surprised that Hua Changxi could light the first-grade incense either. After learning that Hua Changxi was behind the events that greatly differed from the trajectory of her past life, she knew that this person was an anomaly.
However, seeing Hua Changxi, who would have died early in her past life if not for her own rebirth, light the first-grade incense, and thinking that she, who had been reborn, was actually inferior to someone who had died early in her past life, she found it difficult to accept.
On the side of the Guardian Families, Meng Qingyao’s expression was exceptionally solemn. She had come to the Medical Affairs Department with her family’s mission and expectations, aiming to take over the Dan Sheng Hall. But at this moment, looking at Hua Changxi, who had lit the first-grade incense, she had a strong premonition that this person might truly be her greatest opponent.
Because the first-grade incense was lit, everyone’s gaze towards Hua Changxi was no longer dismissive but had become solemn.
Before this, for the people of the Medical Affairs Department, even if Hua Changxi could decipher the secrets of the Qihuang Hall, even if she could refine supreme-grade pills, they hadn’t really taken her seriously due to her lack of power and influence.
Everyone present knew that even if a lone warrior was strong, their influence was limited.
But now, with Hua Changxi obtaining the high-grade Divine Wood Secret Realm, she was completely incomparable to before, and her importance had instantly increased by several levels.
For the people of the Guardian Families, before this, Hua Changxi was just one of the eighteen Hall Masters. Even if she obtained a wooden token, she posed no threat to them.
But with Hua Changxi obtaining the high-grade Divine Wood Secret Realm, it was equivalent to receiving high recognition from the Divine Wood. This alone could affect their plans for the Dan Sheng Hall.
Under the gazes of everyone, each with their own thoughts, Hua Changxi retreated with a straight face. At this moment, she wasn’t as happy as one might expect; instead, her mood felt rather heavy.
As soon as the Divine Wood Leaf entered her Dantian, she received all the information about the Divine Wood Secret Realm.
The Divine Wood Secret Realm of the Dan Sheng Hall had a total of nine grades, and she had obtained the eighth-grade Divine Wood Secret Realm.
In the first-grade Divine Wood Secret Realm, only spiritual medicines and spiritual plants needed by cultivators in the Qi Refining Realm grew. The second-grade Secret Realm grew spiritual medicines and spiritual plants needed for the Qi Refining and Qi Sea realms. The third-grade Secret Realm contained spiritual medicines and spiritual plants for the Qi Refining, Qi Sea, and Core Formation realms.
And so on, the eighth-grade Divine Wood Secret Realm grew spiritual medicines and spiritual plants needed for the Qi Refining, Qi Sea, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Spiritual Platform, Spirit Condensation, Out-of-Body, and Dao Integration realms.
Obtaining an eighth-grade Divine Wood Secret Realm that had never gone into nirvana was equivalent to Hua Changxi waiting for a huge medicinal herb resource bank. She should have been happy, but the eighth-grade Secret Realm was not easy to obtain.
The key to the Secret Realm was the Divine Wood Leaf. From the moment she took the Divine Wood Leaf, she had a connection with the Divine Wood.
When she successfully opened the Number One Qihuang Hall before, she and the Dan Sheng Hall had no sense of connection. But now, just by taking over the eighth-grade Divine Wood Secret Realm, she had truly become a member of the Dan Sheng Hall.
In the future, if the Dan Sheng Hall encountered any crisis, she would have to appear and save the day immediately.
Thinking of the Demon Race she encountered at the Formation Eye of the Artifact Saint Palace, and thinking of Baili Changfeng, who sacrificed himself to petrify to block the rift of the Formation Eye, Hua Changxi felt a heavy stone pressing on her shoulders.
She was happy to obtain the eighth-grade Divine Wood Secret Realm, but becoming a member of the Dan Sheng Hall made her feel trapped.
At this moment, Hua Changxi had never so clearly understood what it meant to “gain and lose.” Everything had a price!
Because Hua Changxi did not show much enthusiasm, everyone found it a bit incomprehensible. Even Gu Xing looked at her strangely several times.
“Although Hua Changxi lit the first-grade incense, judging by her appearance, the grade of the Secret Realm should not be too high.”
Mu Qingying, Yuan Tianchou, and Shen Qianfan, who had received the Divine Wood Leaf, exchanged silent glances after hearing the surrounding discussions.
After receiving the Divine Wood Leaf, they had a general understanding of the situation of the Divine Wood Secret Realm.
Three grades of incense corresponded to three grades of Secret Realms. Lighting the third-grade incense could grant one of the first, second, or third-grade Secret Realms. Lighting the second-grade incense could grant one of the fourth, fifth, or sixth-grade Secret Realms. Lighting the first-grade incense could grant one of the seventh, eighth, or ninth-grade Secret Realms.
Hua Changxi lit the first-grade incense, meaning she obtained at least a seventh-grade Secret Realm. The seventh-grade Divine Wood Secret Realm contained spiritual medicine resources that could supply cultivators up to the Out-of-Body Realm.
With such abundant resources, Hua Changxi was not unhappy. She was probably already overjoyed in her heart, but she couldn’t show it in front of others.
“Little Friend Hua, what grade of Secret Realm did you get?”
Xia Zhen asked this question. As an old-school cultivator, Xia Zhen knew that inquiring about others’ fortunes was taboo, but he couldn’t help himself. He couldn’t understand why Hua Changxi could light the first-grade incense. Could it be that she lit the Pill Fire on First Street of the Dan Sheng Hall?
Hua Changxi looked at Xia Zhen and asked with a smile, “Senior Xia, I heard that the Guardians are searching for fated individuals everywhere. May I ask, besides the Medical Affairs Department, have you also placed people in other Sacred Land ruins?”
Upon hearing this question, Xia Zhen’s expression immediately darkened. “Little Friend Hua, the matters of the Guardians are not for you to ask.”
Hua Changxi also put away her smile and looked directly at Xia Zhen. “Senior Xia, you are not the Holy Land Master, and the grade of the Secret Realm I obtained is also not for you to ask.”
Xia Zhen truly did not expect to be repeatedly contradicted by a junior within a single day. He had never encountered someone who showed him such disrespect before. He said with a forced smile, “Little Friend Hua seems to have a lot of hostility towards this old man?”
Hua Changxi also replied with a forced smile, “Senior Xia, before today, neither of us knew each other. Why would I have hostility towards you? Didn’t you provoke this hostility? Why are you asking me in return?”
Xia Zhen fell silent, gave Hua Changxi a deep look, and was the first to avert his gaze.
Before coming to the Medical Affairs Department, based on the information collected by his subordinates, Hua Changxi’s impression on him was: disobedient to elders, arrogant and unruly, not close to her family, and without many friends. Even with some talent in alchemy, she was an unlikable and unsociable young woman.
People like her were similar to the martial artists who preferred to fight alone in the past. They didn’t understand cooperation or developing their own influence, so they couldn’t make any big waves and didn’t catch his eye at all.
After meeting and speaking with her in person, Xia Zhen realized that his judgment of Hua Changxi was too one-sided. This was a person who was not bound by worldly rules. The sharpness she displayed made him, a cultivator of the Spiritual Platform Realm, feel a deep sense of apprehension.
This apprehension came inexplicably, making Xia Zhen feel it was absurd and laughable. At this moment, he simply smiled and shook his head, dismissing the thought.
It wasn’t until much later that Xia Zhen understood that this apprehension stemmed from the destructive nature of Hua Changxi, who treated rules as if they didn’t exist.
