Chapter 267: Elder-Level Figures
“It’s Gu Xing and Meng Qingyao!”
Hua Changxi quickly learned that the two new peaks that appeared were summoned by Gu Xing and Meng Qingyao.
However, the commotion this time was not as significant as the one she had caused earlier.
Not only did the Divine Wood not appear, but even the Divine Wood Branch did not show up, and there was no trace of the Divine Wood bestowing words or naming the peaks.
The two new peaks appeared, one to the northeast of Dan Yuan Peak and the other to the southeast. Besides being shorter than Dan Yuan Peak, their imposing aura was also inferior to Dan Yuan Peak’s.
With the three peaks standing together, Dan Yuan Peak looked like the elder brother, and the two new peaks seemed like younger siblings.
This discovery made Hua Changxi chuckle. Her gloomy mood, which had been caused by other Secret Realm Masters imitating her without compensation, brightened considerably.
While Hua Changxi was happy, Meng Qingyao, Xia Zhen, and others were not in a good mood at the moment.
They had originally thought that the three high-grade Secret Realms bestowed by the Divine Wood would be of the same grade. They never expected that the grade of the Secret Realm Hua Changxi obtained would be superior to the other two.
This exceeded everyone’s expectations!
Xia Zhen’s expression was particularly solemn. He knew some of the rules regarding the grade of Secret Realms bestowed by the Divine Wood, one of which was that it was determined by a person’s talent and potential.
The fact that Hua Changxi’s Secret Realm was of a higher grade than Qing Yao’s meant that her Alchemy talent and growth potential were superior to Qing Yao’s, who possessed the Fire-Wood Spirit Body?
This was difficult for Xia Zhen to believe and accept. He could no longer deny that Hua Changxi would become Meng Qingyao’s most formidable opponent.
As for Meng Qingyao, looking at the stark contrast between the new peaks and Dan Yuan Peak, it was like looking at her and Hua Changxi’s competition, where she was clearly at a disadvantage.
She, who had never thought she would lose, was somewhat broken at this moment.
Gu Xing, on the other hand, was not as emotionally turbulent as Meng Qingyao and naturally accepted everything.
Since the new peak did not have its name carved on the summit like Dan Yuan Peak, he took out a giant stone about two meters tall, carved the words ‘Shenhe Peak’ on it, and then erected it at the foot of the mountain.
After Gu Xing erected the stone tablet, a green light flashed on it.
“What is this?”
Gu Xing quickly took down the green elixir at the top of the stone tablet and soon realized that it was a Saint Pill containing a hundred Protector Saint Tokens.
A storage-type Divine Artifact!
Unfortunately, Gu Xing had not yet opened his Spiritual Platform and could not store the Saint Pill in his Sea of Consciousness. He could only quickly put it into his storage Spiritual Artifact.
“It’s actually a Saint Pill!”
Gu Xing now understood what the green light Hua Changxi received when the Altar of Alchemy appeared was.
Xia Zhen saw Gu Xing obtaining the Saint Pill and immediately signaled Meng Qingyao to do the same.
Because she was refining the Oath Tablet, Meng Qingyao still had quite a few stone tablets. She immediately took one out, carved the words ‘Qingyao Peak’ on it, and erected it at the foot of the new peak.
Soon, a green elixir also appeared at the top of the stone tablet.
Meng Qingyao held the green elixir in her hand. After learning its function, her expression trembled, and she looked at Xia Zhen: “This is a Saint Pill, containing a hundred Protector Saint Tokens.”
Upon hearing this, Xia Zhen’s expression changed drastically: “It’s actually Protector Saint Tokens…”
The Divine Wood connected the Nine Heavens, the Human World, and the Nine Netherworlds. Protector Saint Tokens were the proof of connection between the Sacred Land and the Nine Netherworlds.
Those who held Protector Saint Tokens could freely pass through the Genmen Pass and Zhenmen Pass of the Dan Sheng Hall in the Sacred Land and the Nine Netherworlds.
Xia Zhen looked at Meng Qingyao: “The Holy Guards are specifically responsible for guarding the safety of the Sacred Land. We have our people at the Genmen Pass and Zhenmen Pass in the Nine Netherworlds. You should make good use of these hundred Protector Saint Tokens as soon as possible.”
He paused.
“The Holy Guards are the legitimate security force of the Sacred Land. With this hundred-person Holy Guard, our control over the Medical Affairs Department will definitely increase significantly.”
Meng Qingyao was silent for a moment: “Dan Yuan Peak is the main peak. Hua Changxi definitely has more Protector Saint Tokens than us. Also, when the Altar of Alchemy appeared last time, she should have obtained a Saint Pill as well.”
Hearing this, Xia Zhen smiled: “Even if she has more Protector Saint Tokens, she still needs to recruit people.”
“The Spiritual Energy Revival is not just happening in the Human World; the Nine Netherworlds are also reviving. A long time ago, Spiritual Energy had already begun to slowly revive, even before the founding of Great Jin.”
“Although the Nine Passes that guard the Demon Prison were established by the human race, the Nine Netherworlds began to revive even earlier than the Human World. After so many years, they have long been infiltrated, or even occupied, by the native Demon Race, Ghost Race, and Soul Cultivators of the Nine Netherworlds. The Nine Great Passes are no longer under human control.”
“The current situation at the Nine Great Passes is extremely complex.”
“When the Yellow Springs Road, which connected the Human World and the Nine Netherworlds, was opened, the people from the Guardian Families descended into the Nine Netherworlds and suffered heavy casualties. It took great effort to establish strongholds at the Nine Great Passes.”
“Hua Changxi, a young girl with no power or influence, probably doesn’t even know the true situation of the Nine Great Passes, let alone recruit Demon Suppressing Guards in the fortresses.”
Xia Zhen paused and looked at Meng Qingyao: “Since Protector Saint Tokens have appeared, you must find ways to obtain more Protector Saint Tokens in the future.”
“The Holy Guards maintain the safety and order of the Sacred Land. They are the enforcers and maintainers of order in the Sacred Land. The more they control, the more stable their position and the greater their influence will be.”
Meng Qingyao was somewhat dejected: “The Saint Pill I have was obtained by imitating Hua Changxi. How can I obtain another Saint Pill?”
Xia Zhen’s expression also paused, but he quickly said again: “Hua Changxi’s actions are still traceable. Every time she causes a major commotion, in essence, she is promoting the revival of the Sacred Land.”
“We just need to act in this direction.”
Meng Qingyao listened and seemed to be in deep thought.
At the summit of Dan Yuan Peak, Hua Changxi saw Gu Xing and Meng Qingyao erecting peak tablets at the foot of the mountain, and she also saw that they both obtained a Saint Pill.
However, at this moment, her mind was not on the Saint Pill but on other things.
When Dan Yuan Peak appeared, she not only received the character ‘Yuan’ but also the Divine Wood Branch descended with a green light, integrating the Oath Tablet and the entire mountain into one.
All of this indicated that the name Dan Yuan Peak could not be changed, and she, as the Peak Master, could not be replaced unless the Divine Wood took back the character ‘Yuan’.
However, Gu Xing’s Shenhe Peak and Meng Qingyao’s Qingyao Peak did not receive the ‘green certification’ from the Divine Wood.
Hua Changxi wondered if, by removing the stone tablets with their names and replacing them with other names, those two peaks could be renamed.
In other words, the names of these two peaks could be changed at will.
If the names of the peaks could be changed, could the Peak Master also be replaced by someone else?
If that were the case, then her Dan Yuan Peak, Gu Xing’s Shenhe Peak, and Meng Qingyao’s Qingyao Peak would not be on the same level.
The name of Dan Yuan Peak could not be changed, and she, as the Peak Master of Dan Yuan Peak, could not be casually replaced. When the Sacred Land fully revives in the future, would that mean she would also be considered a veteran figure of the Dan Sheng Hall?
Thinking this, a smile bloomed in Hua Changxi’s eyes, and her mood became exceptionally bright. She no longer paid attention to the two newly appeared peaks and flashed into the Dan Yuan Secret Realm.
There were already nearly a thousand Apprentices now, and she needed to quickly refine the First Rank Spirit Origin Pill.
“Shenhe Peak and Qingyao Peak are actually inferior to Dan Yuan Peak!”
Other Secret Realm Masters, knowing that Gu Xing and Meng Qingyao were going to imitate Hua Changxi today, had already arrived at the Plaza early to watch. They were all observing the outcome.
Upon seeing that Shenhe Peak and Qingyao Peak were not only shorter than Dan Yuan Peak but also less majestic, their hearts sank.
Xia Ziyang’s expression was somewhat unsightly: “Hua Changxi’s Dan Yuan Secret Realm… is an Eighth Rank Secret Realm.”
When the other Secret Realm Masters heard this, their expressions fluctuated.
If ranked by Secret Realm grade, then Hua Changxi should be the foremost among the Secret Realm Masters!
Mu Qingying sighed in her heart, as her Master had said, after reaching a certain height, the things that are compared are not entirely based on personal Strength.
Among the Secret Realm Masters, Hua Changxi’s personal Strength was undoubtedly the strongest, yet she, the foremost among Secret Realm Masters, was excluded from the Spiritual Realm Pavilion.
In the silence, Yan Qianying spoke with a solemn expression: “It seems that the size of the peak is directly proportional to the grade of the Secret Realm.”
Shenhe Peak and Qingyao Peak were one-fifth shorter than Dan Yuan Peak, so the peaks they obtained would only be smaller.
The three high-grade Secret Realm Masters each received a peak, and the others looked at Yan Qianying.
“Fellow Daoist Yan, your Secret Realm is Fifth Rank, superior to ours. Will you summon your peak today?”
Yan Qianying: “Of course.” Even if he obtained a smaller peak, he was still very much looking forward to it.
Hua Changxi spent a considerable amount of time refining the Oath Tablet, thinking of the oath text, and setting the conditions and benefits for recruiting Apprentices.
Other Secret Realm Masters, imitating her and supported by their backing forces, spent two days to create the Oath Tablet and the recruitment process.
Yan Qianying, leading over a hundred direct descendants of Prince Dong’an’s Estate, began to take the Heart Demon Oath before the erected Oath Tablet.
The next moment, Yan Qianying and the over a hundred people behind him were simultaneously moved to a peak even shorter than Shenhe Peak and Qingyao Peak.
Seeing this, the other Secret Realm Masters sighed in unison.
“We hope the peaks we obtain are not too small.”
The other Secret Realm Masters stopped dawdling and also led their direct descendants to take the Heart Demon Oath.
However, an unexpected event occurred.
None of the Secret Realm Masters who obtained Fourth Rank and Third Rank Secret Realms summoned a peak.
“What’s going on?”
“Why didn’t any peaks appear?”
The Secret Realm Masters immediately became anxious.
“Is it because the number of people taking the Heart Demon Oath is insufficient?”
The Secret Realm Masters all had backing forces, so they quickly brought another group of people to swear, but unfortunately, no peaks appeared.
At this point, all the Secret Realm Masters were in a panic!
“What on earth is going on?”
“Where did it go wrong?”
Just as the Secret Realm Masters were extremely anxious, Mu Qingying suddenly said: “Perhaps only Secret Realms of Fifth Rank and above can summon peaks?”
As soon as these words were spoken, all the Secret Realm Masters were dumbfounded.
