Chapter 281: Promoting the Popularization of Cultivation
“Six thousand eight hundred people.”
Hua Changxi stood outside the main hall of Lingguang Hall, holding the Vermilion Bird Army Roster, and looked down at the buildings shrouded in spiritual mist below.
From afar, outside the gate tower, many cultivators were lingering and hesitating; on the plaza behind the gate tower, dozens of cultivators, burning with desire, were struggling to move forward.
Further ahead, on the steps leading to the Transmission Hall, seven or eight figures were strenuously resisting illusions.
In the Training Hall opposite the Transmission Hall, over three thousand rooms were occupied, and the people inside were cultivating with focus.
Hua Changxi issued the mission ‘Investigate the anomaly in Nanxiang County’ and opened the doors of the Mission Hall.
As soon as the mission was recorded, a gong sounded in the Mission Hall.
Those cultivating in the Training Hall heard the sound and came out of their rooms one after another, following the sound to the newly opened Mission Hall.
Lingguang Hall was a towering five-story complex. The main hall was on the highest level, followed by the Law Enforcement Hall and the Merit Hall on the level below. Further down were the Mission Hall and the Armory; the fourth level housed the Martial Arts Hall and the Logistics Department; and at the very bottom were the Transmission Hall and the Martial Training Hall.
Currently, the opened palaces in Lingguang Hall were the Transmission Hall and the Martial Training Hall on the fifth level; the Logistics Department on the fourth level; and the Mission Hall on the third level.
The remaining palaces were still closed.
“Look quickly, the Hall Master has posted a mission.”
“Investigate the anomaly in Nanxiang County.”
Su Yu looked at the mission posted by the Mission Hall, lost in thought. He had assumed the Hall Master had already detected the anomaly in Nanxiang County: “Only now have you found out?”
If that were the case, wouldn’t the Hall Master’s information channels be very limited?
Su Yu looked up towards the main hall. Although it was shrouded in spiritual mist and nothing could be seen, he could feel someone standing above, watching them.
No need to think, it must be the Hall Master.
Su Yu looked around at the people present. More and more cultivators were joining the Vermilion Bird Army. How could he stand out among them and attract the Hall Master’s attention?
Should he accept the mission to investigate Nanxiang County?
Su Yu frowned slightly. The anomaly in Nanxiang County had actually begun long ago, but it had been covered up by the Royal Family.
Thinking of Prince Fu’s strict guarding of Nanxiang County, investigating Nanxiang County would mean confronting the Royal Family.
The Royal Family was undoubtedly powerful. After the anomaly appeared in Nanxiang County, they had dispatched dozens of Nascent Soul Realm cultivators to guard it.
In such a situation, who would dare to act rashly?
Su Yu’s thoughts were also the thoughts of most people present. Those who could break through various obstacles and join the Vermilion Bird Army in the first place, even without family background, would not be ignorant individuals.
Hua Changxi looked outside the Mission Hall at the crowd murmuring amongst themselves, yet no one stepped forward to accept the mission. Her brow furrowed.
“Everyone’s enthusiasm isn’t high enough!”
At the same time, Hua Changxi realized that despite the Heart Demon Oath before the Transmission Stele and the trials she had set up in the plaza and on the steps, the Vermilion Bird Army recruited in this way would still have uneven quality.
Military orders are like mountains. If one day she needed to command these Vermilion Bird Army soldiers on the battlefield, would they obey?
Could these people truly become qualified Vermilion Bird Army soldiers?
Just as Hua Changxi was worrying about the Vermilion Bird Army, the entire Great Jin, due to the deployment of Display Spiritual Artifacts in various regions, was thrown into an uproar upon learning that the Four Great Sacred Lands were openly recruiting disciples.
In the Medical Affairs Department, various parties also received news of the Four Great Sacred Lands recruiting people.
“No wonder Hua Changxi wasn’t in a hurry before when we jointly boycotted her. It turns out she had a backup plan all along.”
“Hua Changxi knew she couldn’t compete with us, so she didn’t even consider recruiting apprentices from within the Medical Affairs Department or the Capital City. She’s targeting everyone outside the Capital City!”
Upon hearing the news, the nobles of the Capital City felt as if they had been played by Hua Changxi.
They felt like their previous joint boycott was just a monkey show. They thought they were the audience, but unexpectedly, they were the monkeys on stage.
In Qihuang Pavilion, Prince Shou was so angry he wanted to vomit blood. The Royal Family could use their influence to control people within the Medical Affairs Department and the Capital City, preventing them from joining the Dan Yuan Secret Realm, but they couldn’t control everyone in Great Jin from joining the Dan Yuan Secret Realm.
He knew that the Royal Family was no longer able to suppress Hua Changxi.
Once upon a time, the Royal Family was the supreme ruler of Great Jin, but now, they had failed to seize control of a secret realm from a commoner of humble origin!
Prince Shou was unwilling to accept it, unwilling that the Royal Family’s authority had declined so rapidly.
If before, dealing with Hua Changxi was only for the sake of the Dan Yuan Secret Realm, then now, Prince Shou wanted to kill Hua Changxi.
For no other reason than that her existence exposed the decline of the Royal Family!
In Spiritual Realm Pavilion, Xia Zhen sat in silence for a long time after receiving the news.
He found that since coming to the Medical Affairs Department, he had faced more powerlessness than in all his previous experiences.
Meng Qingyao and the other younger generation were also silent.
Dongfang Hao compiled a list of places where Display Spiritual Artifacts had appeared and discovered that densely populated cities throughout Great Jin had been equipped.
Afterward, he re-watched the recruitment announcements broadcast on the spiritual artifacts multiple times.
“Didn’t they say Hua Changxi always worked alone?”
Dongfang Xu immediately chimed in: “Yes, on the Display Spiritual Artifacts, the Four Great Sacred Lands are recruiting simultaneously. Hua Changxi must have had contact with people from the other three Sacred Lands.”
Meng Qingyao: “Perhaps Hua Changxi only appeared to be a loner in the Medical Affairs Department.”
Jiang Nianyi’s mood was heavy, and she said coldly: “Before, I thought Hua Changxi was transparent and had no schemes, but now I realize she hides herself deeper than anyone else.”
Meng Yuchuan and Xia Ziyang nodded in agreement.
Dongfang Hao glanced at Jiang Nianyi, his eyes flickering.
Ever since Hua Changxi guessed the origin of the Jiang Family in Number Two Qihuang Hall last time, Jiang Nianyi had been showing hostility towards Hua Changxi from time to time, even guiding others to be hostile towards Hua Changxi.
Outer realm cultivators?
On the other side, in the Old Plaza Courtyard, Gu Xing was also greatly surprised by Hua Changxi’s act of jointly releasing recruitment announcements with the other three Sacred Lands.
He was both happy that Hua Changxi knew how to cooperate with others and amazed by the scope she displayed.
He truly hadn’t expected Hua Changxi to deploy the Dan Yuan Secret Realm recruitment in various parts of Great Jin.
Such a feat required not only courage but also corresponding resources to support it.
Hua Changxi’s recruitment this time was undoubtedly an unprecedented success!
Gu Xing smiled, looking in the direction of Dan Yuan Peak, thinking that it wouldn’t be long before Dan Yuan Peak welcomed a large batch of apprentices.
In Number Ten Qihuang Hall, Gu Jinfan sighed: “The Four Great Sacred Lands openly recruiting disciples is a grand undertaking.”
The Five Great Sacred Lands were both the stabilizing force and the trendsetters for the Central Continent.
Matters concerning the Sacred Lands affected the whole situation.
The joint recruitment of disciples by the Four Great Sacred Lands was not just promoting the development of alchemy, artifact refining, talismans, and formations; it was directly driving the development and popularization of cultivation on the Central Continent.
Tang Yufeng, sitting opposite Gu Jinfan, also sighed: “We all underestimated Hua Changxi. Her actions are always beyond expectations.”
In the Heavenly Department, Wei Zhenjie was furious upon receiving the news: “This is too much!”
This startled Huo Yunxiao, who had come to report, and Chu Junyi, who had just returned from the Nine Netherworlds.
Wei Zhenjie was still angry: “This is too much! On the Central Continent, the Five Great Sacred Lands are united. The four Sacred Lands of Alchemy, Formations, Talismans, and Artifacts are recruiting together, so why did they leave out our Central Sacred Land?”
Seeing that their Master was concerned about this, Huo Yunxiao and Chu Junyi immediately stopped worrying.
Wei Zhenjie quickly sent out several messages, and then his expression slowly improved.
Seeing this, Huo Yunxiao quietly said to Chu Junyi: “Just wait, soon news of the Central Sacred Land recruiting will also appear on the Display Spiritual Artifacts.”
Chu Junyi smiled and said nothing.
After sending messages to the successors of the Four Great Sacred Lands, Wei Zhenjie had the leisure to look at his two disciples, his mood unusually good: “Truly, a wild punch can defeat a master.”
Everyone wanted the resources in the Dan Yuan Secret Realm, and for that, various schemes and tricks were used. But who would have thought that Hua Changxi would directly counter with an open recruitment of apprentices in various regions?
This could completely be called a confrontation between an open stratagem and a hidden one!
Now, who could stop Hua Changxi from recruiting apprentices?
Chu Junyi’s face showed curiosity: “Hua Changxi?” He had heard this name mentioned by his Master and Senior Brother many times.
Wei Zhenjie nodded: “The Elder of the Formation Saint Sect replied to this Master. The idea of refining Display Spiritual Artifacts and broadcasting recruitment announcements on them was Hua Changxi’s.”
Huo Yunxiao laughed: “I guess even the Royal Family wouldn’t dare to stop Hua Changxi from recruiting now.”
Wei Zhenjie snorted: “If the Royal Family dares to continue, they will only ignite the anger of the masses.”
Huo Yunxiao thought to himself that the Royal Family had already ignited the anger of quite a few people.
The benefits and treatment of the Dan Yuan Secret Realm had indeed made many people within the Medical Affairs Department envious. Even though Shenhe Peak, Qingyao Peak, and Xuanhuang Peak offered cultivation methods, they could not compare to the resources that were actually distributed to the apprentices by Dan Yuan Peak.
If the Royal Family continued to block people from joining the Dan Yuan Secret Realm, it would only cause more and more people to resent the Royal Family’s tyranny. In the long run, they would lose the hearts of the people, and even their accumulated foundation would likely be completely depleted.
