Chapter 216: The Five Guardian Families
Before Wei Zhenjie worshipped the Divine Wood, Department Head Gu, as his confidant, quickly and thoroughly informed him of the situation he learned from his two disciples: ‘the three different grades of Incense of Pills correspond to which rank of Secret Realm’.
After Wei Zhenjie learned this, he quickly glanced at Hua Changxi.
Lighting a First-grade Incense would yield at least a Seventh Rank Secret Realm.
A Seventh Rank Secret Realm could supply the Spiritual Medicine and Spiritual Plants needed before the Out-of-Body Realm. Hua Changxi had obtained a renewable treasure trove of Medicinal Herbs!
To be honest, after knowing that lighting a First-grade Incense would result in a Seventh Rank or higher Secret Realm, Wei Zhenjie’s heart also began to stir.
He was in charge of the Heavenly Department, with so many people under him, and the Resources consumed daily were in the trillions. For him, Cultivation Resources were never too much.
Wei Zhenjie walked to the offering table, his gaze lingering between the First-grade Incense and the Second-grade Incense.
The Demon Suppressing Army had now almost completely taken over Nine Netherworlds Kunmen Pass. Kunmen Pass had many Resources for cultivating Spiritual Sense and Soul Power, meaning he didn’t lack Resources for the Spiritual Platform Realm, Spirit Condensation Realm, and Out-of-Body Realm. What he needed were Cultivation Resources for the Dao Integration Realm and above.
Although he still had a long way to go to reach the Dao Integration Realm, he could prepare Cultivation Resources in advance.
Moreover, from what he understood, Cultivation Resources for the Dao Integration Realm and above were extremely rare and difficult to find. The high-grade Divine Wood Secret Realm of the Dan Sheng Hall was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for all cultivators who wished to forge their own Great Dao.
Even if the chance of lighting a First-grade Incense was slim, he had to try.
Thus, Wei Zhenjie chose the First-grade Incense.
Seeing this, Gu Xing sighed inwardly but also understood. Unlike Department Head Gu, Young Wei had good talent and disposition; he truly had a chance to cultivate his own Great Dao. Now that he had discovered a Secret Realm that could provide Cultivation Resources for the Dao Integration Realm, he would certainly not give up.
This time, Xia Zhen did not show any contempt. This was his recognition of the Heavenly Department Minister. Others choosing the First-grade Incense, in his opinion, lacked self-awareness. The Heavenly Department Minister choosing it was him striving for his own opportunity.
Unfortunately, Wei Zhenjie failed; he did not manage to light the First-grade Incense.
Although Wei Zhenjie was somewhat disappointed with the result, he could still accept it. He smiled indifferently and retreated.
“It’s up to you now.”
Master Zhang nodded at Wei Zhenjie, saying no words of comfort. He walked directly to the offering table. He was decisive and did not hesitate, choosing a Second-grade Incense.
As soon as the Incense of Pills was inserted into the Divine Wood, wisps of smoke rose.
The Third-grade Incense burned too quickly, and before one could even look closely, it was extinguished. Master Zhang was the first person to light a Second-grade Incense. The Second-grade Incense burned for a duration that was neither too short nor too long, enough for Hua Changxi to carefully observe the process of the smoke condensing into green leaves.
“One, two, three, four…”
Before the Incense of Pills burned out, Hua Changxi saw four distinct flashes of green light appear in the smoke.
Combining this with the eight vein patterns on the Divine Wood Leaf she had obtained, Hua Changxi guessed that Master Zhang had received a Divine Wood Leaf with four patterns.
Eight patterns on a Divine Wood Leaf represented a Eighth Rank Secret Realm, so four patterns represented a Fourth Rank Secret Realm.
“A Fourth Rank Secret Realm?”
Hua Changxi frowned slightly. Master Zhang clearly had no contribution to the Dan Sheng Hall, yet he could light a Second-grade Incense. Why was that?
Besides gaining recognition from the Sacred Land and contributing to it, was it also related to the cultivator’s Realm?
“Alright, the nine people who received Wooden Tokens have all worshipped the Divine Wood. Now it’s time for others to come forward and worship.”
Xia Zhen looked at Gu Xing: “The remaining nine Qihuang Hall Masters and these ten young people I brought will take turns worshipping.”
Gu Xing was about to nod when Prince Shou preempted him: “Senior Xia, you have ten people on your side, and we only have nine. I want to add one more person.”
Hearing this, Xia Zhen’s face darkened: “Your Highness Prince Shou, worshipping the Divine Wood is not child’s play, nor is it something just anyone can do. Your nine Hall Masters, who were chosen through influence, were originally not qualified to worship the Divine Wood.”
“For me to let them worship now is already me taking a step back out of respect for Fellow Daoist Gu.”
Gu Xing also looked at Prince Shou with a darkened face: “Your Highness, you need to understand that we are currently worshipping the Sacred Land’s Divine Wood. The Divine Wood belongs to the Dan Sheng Hall, not the Medical Affairs Department.”
Seeing that both Xia Zhen and Gu Xing were angered, Prince Shou could only suppress his anger and compromise: “Fine, no more people will be added, but the Hall Masters must begin the worship first.”
“Why?”
The cultivators from the Guardian Family’s side immediately objected. It was one thing to wait for the nine Hall Masters who had received Wooden Tokens, but why should they now wait for other Hall Masters who had gained their positions through influence?
Xia Zhen gave them a look to calm down and said to Prince Shou: “Alright, you may begin first.”
The people from the Medical Affairs Department saw him agree so readily, but instead of feeling happy about achieving their goal, their mood was rather heavy.
Hua Changxi looked at the remaining nine Hall Masters, then at the ten young cultivators brought by Xia Zhen, all of whom were Spirit Bodies. Her eyes flickered.
Could receiving the Divine Wood Blessing also depend on one’s aptitude?
The nine Hall Masters would worship in the order of their Hall numbers.
The first to worship was the third young master of Prince Dong’an’s Estate, Yan Qianying.
Yan Qianying didn’t even look at the First-grade Incense. After hesitating between the Second-grade Incense and the Third-grade Incense, he chose the Second-grade Incense.
“Huh?”
The Second-grade Incense lit up!
Not to mention the astonishment on the faces of others, even Yan Qianying himself was somewhat surprised.
‘One, two, three, four, five!’
Hua Changxi saw that the Divine Wood Leaf in front of Yan Qianying had five patterns, and she was both surprised and confused.
Could the Divine Wood Blessing also be related to other factors?
Xia Zhen looked at Yan Qianying, who had received the Divine Wood Leaf. First, his brow furrowed, then he smiled and asked, “Is Yan Xiaoyang yours?”
Yan Qianying was a little surprised that Xia Zhen mentioned Yan Xiaoyang, but he quickly replied, “Xiaoyang is my Younger Brother. Senior Xia, do you know Xiaoyang?”
Upon hearing this, Xia Zhen showed a look of realization and smiled, “We’ve met once.” After that, he didn’t say anything more and gestured for the cultivators on their side to come forward and worship.
The first to come forward from the Guardian Family’s side was Xia Ziyang.
While Xia Ziyang was kowtowing, Hua Changxi quietly asked Huo Yunxiao beside her, “Is Yan Xiaoyang very powerful?”
Huo Yunxiao shook his head and chuckled, “You’re truly like the legendary reclusive immortal, knowing nothing and no one.” Saying this, he nudged Wen Lanzhou, “You’re more familiar with Yan Xiaoyang, you tell her.”
Wen Lanzhou saw Hua Changxi’s gaze turn to him and could only say, “Yan Xiaoyang is the sixth disciple of the Taisu Palace Sect Leader. He is a Senior Brother to Junior Sister Changxin. The Sect Leader’s direct disciples are all heavenly prodigies.”
Hearing this answer, Hua Changxi suddenly realized that her Shi Niang’s background seemed very powerful, and the people she knew were all so prominent. “So Yan Xiaoyang is Shi Niang’s Senior Brother.” She paused and continued to ask, “Senior Xia wouldn’t have asked about Yan Xiaoyang for no reason. Is there something special about him?”
Wen Lanzhou actually thought about it seriously. “Junior Brother Xiaoyang is indeed a very special person.”
Hua Changxi: “How is he special?”
Wen Lanzhou: “He’s exceptionally kind. I’ve never seen him lose his temper with anyone.”
Hua Changxi exclaimed, “Ah,” and was somewhat speechless. “What’s special about that?”
Huo Yunxiao also nodded in agreement. “Yeah, what’s special about that? At most, he’s just a good-natured person.”
Wen Lanzhou shook his head. “You haven’t met Junior Brother Xiaoyang. His gentleness comes from within, not the kind of good-natured person you think.”
Hua Changxi didn’t think being kind was special. Just as she was about to continue questioning, she saw Xia Ziyang light a Second-grade Incense and had to shift her attention to the smoke.
“One, two, three, four.”
The Divine Wood Leaf Xia Ziyang received had four patterns, meaning he obtained a Fourth Rank Secret Realm.
Next was the Medical Affairs Department’s turn. Master Jie Xian from Xiangguo Temple also chose a Second-grade Incense of Pills, but unfortunately, the Incense of Pills did not light up.
Following that was Bai Zhixin from the Guardian Family. She lit a Second-grade Incense of Pills and finally obtained a Fourth Rank Secret Realm.
Then it was the Medical Affairs Department’s turn again. This time, Tang Yufeng, from the Capital City’s foremost Noble Family, stepped forward to worship the Divine Wood. Tang Yufeng was more conservative and directly chose a Third-grade Incense.
Unfortunately, the Third-grade Incense did not light up either.
It was then the Guardian Family’s Wu Lingyue’s turn. He successfully lit a Second-grade Incense and obtained a Fourth Rank Secret Realm.
After that was Lin Ruohong, a disciple of Sanqing Palace from the Medical Affairs Department. Lin Ruohong did not rush and chose a Third-grade Incense. Regrettably, the Third-grade Incense did not light up.
Then it was Zhu Jinglan’s turn from the Guardian Family. Like Xia Ziyang, Bai Zhixin, and Wu Lingyue before him, he unhesitatingly chose a Second-grade Incense and lit it, obtaining a Fourth Rank Secret Realm.
By this point, all six Second-grade Incense sticks had been lit.
This meant that the remaining twelve people could only choose between First-grade Incense and Third-grade Incense.
There were two First-grade Incense sticks left, and six Third-grade Incense sticks left.
Hua Changxi looked at Huo Yunxiao and Wen Lanzhou. “Xia Ziyang, Bai Zhixin, Wu Lingyue, Zhu Jinglan – these four people seemed to know they could light a Second-grade Incense. Do you know their origins?”
Huo Yunxiao’s expression was not good. “Their surnames are their origins.” Seeing Hua Changxi’s confused look, he knew she didn’t understand and could only explain, “Do you know which are the Guardian Families?”
Hua Changxi shook her head.
Huo Yunxiao: “The Xia Family of the Central Continent, the Long Family of the Eastern Continent, also known as the Vermilion Bird Continent, the Zhu Family of the Southern Continent, also known as the Vermilion Bird Continent, the Bai Family of the Western Continent, also known as the White Tiger Continent, and the Wu Family of the Northern Continent, also known as the Black Tortoise Continent.”
After hearing this, Hua Changxi vaguely began to understand why Xia Ziyang and the other three could light a Second-grade Incense.
The Guardians had made contributions to the Four Spirit Realm, and moreover, Xia Ziyang and the other three were Spirit Bodies, fitting the talent selection criteria of the Dan Sheng Hall, thus they received the Divine Wood’s blessing.
Hua Changxi looked at Yan Qianying, then at the angry Long Chenyi and Long Jin siblings. She guessed that if Yan Qianying hadn’t lit the Second-grade Incense, that Second-grade Incense would have gone to the Long Family.
Afterward, except for Meng Qingyao, no one else chose the First-grade Incense. The remaining people were all eyeing the last six Third-grade Incense sticks.
They had originally thought the competition for the six Third-grade Incense sticks would be fierce, but unexpectedly, after a round, there were still some left.
On the Medical Affairs Department’s side, Yue Heng of Prince Xiping’s Mansion, Feng Che of Prince Beizhen’s Mansion, and Wei Xiao of Prince Nanding’s Mansion lit Third-grade Incense. On the Guardian Family’s side, only Long Chenyi lit a Third-grade Incense; the others all failed.
In the end, there were still two Third-grade Incense sticks remaining.
