Chapter 211: One Leaf, One Secret Realm

The Divine Wood Secret Realm has never undergone a cycle of extinction!

Hearing this, Hua Changxi’s pupils sharply contracted. If the Divine Wood Secret Realm had never experienced extinction, it meant that the spiritual medicines and herbs inside had been alive since ancient times—and there might be countless of them?

Everyone present was shaken as well. Not only the cultivators from the Medical Department, but even those from the Guardian Clan looked stunned. Clearly, the Guardian Clan had not informed them in advance about this aspect of the Divine Wood Secret Realm.

Xia Zhen noticed the fervent glint in the eyes of the cultivators present and grew somewhat annoyed. He cast a displeased look at Gu Xing, unable to understand why Gu Xing had revealed that the Divine Wood Secret Realm had never undergone extinction.

Was it to test people?

Earlier, he had deliberately concealed the fact that the Divine Wood Secret Realm had never experienced extinction, only mentioning that different grades of incense corresponded to different tiers of secret realms, precisely to prevent Meng Qingyao and the others from being consumed by greed and making unrealistic decisions.

But now, Xia Zhen glanced at his grandson Xia Ziyang, saw that even his eyes were no longer calm but churning with determination, and furrowed his brow into a tight knot.

"Ahem, ahem—"

Xia Zhen coughed heavily twice, interrupting everyone’s reverie. He shot a look at Gu Xing and said in a deep voice, "You must act within your means and not reach beyond your grasp. For cultivators, resources are merely aids; do not forget what is fundamental."

Gu Xing took over: "Brother Xia speaks rightly. Though the Divine Wood Secret Realm is wonderful, every good thing in the world comes at a price. The more you take, the greater the responsibility you must bear." As he spoke, he swept his gaze across the assembled cultivators.

"Before you light the incense, you must think this through clearly. If you cannot or are unwilling to bear that responsibility, there is no need to come forward and pay homage to the Divine Wood, nor any need to hold the position of hall master."

As soon as these words were spoken, the hall masters all turned their heads toward Hua Changxi, as if feeling that Gu Xing’s words were directed at her.

Seeing the hall masters’ reaction, the others also turned to look at Hua Changxi.

Surrounded by so many gazes, Hua Changxi felt extremely exasperated. "What are you all looking at me for? Senior Gu was warning everyone, not speaking to me alone."

Huo Yunxiao gave her a knowing look that said "Don’t try to weasel out of it." "After you were confirmed as the Qihuang Hall master, you were the only one who never bothered with the hall."

Hua Changxi laughed in spite of her anger. "Fine, I wasn’t staying in Qihuang Hall. But you people were in the hall all day long — what did you actually do? You didn’t even handle the most basic teaching duties for a single day, and you still have the nerve to talk about me!"

Huo Yunxiao had no rebuttal, so he lamely said, "We do plan to teach; we just haven’t had the chance yet. We’ll start after the new year."

Hua Changxi scoffed. "Teaching without knowing anything? I worry you’ll just spout nonsense and mislead the students."

This remark angered Huo Yunxiao. He rolled up his sleeves, put one hand on his hip, and pointed at Hua Changxi with the other. "Hua Changxi, let me tell you, arguing is one thing, but don’t make it personal. How could I spout nonsense? You’re questioning my integrity!"

"Smack—"

Hua Changxi slapped his hand away, leaving a red handprint on the back of Huo Yunxiao’s pointing hand.

Seeing that one slap hadn’t forced his hand down, Hua Changxi was about to strike again when two heavy thuds sounded. She looked over and saw Gu Xing leaning on his staff, his face long and stern as he stared at her.

"Huo Yunxiao pointed at me; I was just defending myself."

Huo Yunxiao stared at the stinging back of his hand, still not over the fact that Hua Changxi had dared to hit him in public.

It wasn’t just Huo Yunxiao who hadn’t reacted; everyone else present hadn’t expected Hua Changxi to resort to violence in front of everyone, either.

Chu Junhao’s eyelids twitched when he saw Hua Changxi act. Duan Yuyan noticed his expression and smiled. "Hua Changxi is quite something. This one might be even harder to tame."

Chu Junhao did not speak.

On the other side, Dongfang Xu also clicked his tongue twice. "That female cultivator has a fiery temper. She shouldn’t have studied alchemy—she should have gone into artifact forging. If she forged artifacts, she’d definitely achieve more than in alchemy."

Meng Qingyao, hearing his words, sized up Hua Changxi once more. Ever since Senior Gu appeared, he had been indifferent toward everyone, but toward this female cultivator, he had shown a hint of dissatisfaction. Others might think Senior Gu simply disliked her, but Meng Qingyao knew that people only show dissatisfaction when they have expectations.

Senior Gu thought highly of Hua Changxi!

Gu Xing tapped the ground with his staff again. "Alright, the nine hall masters who obtained the wooden tokens will lead the way. Now begin the homage to the Divine Wood."

Upon hearing this, the No. 4 Hall Master Wen Lanzhou immediately said, "Senior Gu, the wooden token was obtained by my master, Celestial Master Zhang. I dare not perform the homage in his stead. I have already sent a transmission to my master, and he is on his way. Please wait a moment, Senior."

Huo Yunxiao also set aside his grievance about Hua Changxi hitting him and chimed in, "Senior Gu, it’s the same for me."

Different grades of incense corresponded to different tiers of secret realms, and there were only eighteen sticks of incense. By now, everyone knew that the earlier one paid homage to the Divine Wood, the greater the chance of obtaining a high-grade secret realm. Naturally, they did not want to wait.

Seeing that Gu Xing remained silent, Xia Zhen smiled and said, "It wouldn’t be good for so many people to just wait idly. How about we start the homage while we wait? When Minister Wei and Celestial Master Zhang arrive, no matter whose turn it is, we’ll let them go first."

Gu Xing nodded. "Alright, let’s do as Brother Xia suggests."

Huo Yunxiao and Wen Lanzhou exchanged helpless glances. Unable to change anything, they could only hope their masters would arrive soon.

Subsequently, the people from the Medical Department and the Guardian Clan each stood on either side of the offering table.

Meanwhile, the square was packed with onlookers. No one dared approach; they all craned their necks toward the stone cauldron, their clamor filling the air.

Xia Zhen frowned at the scene and said to Gu Xing, "No one is maintaining order; this is truly indecorous." His gaze softened as he looked toward Meng Qingyao. "I hope the Sacred Land will soon select a Sacred Lord. Once a Sacred Lord is chosen, the guardian guards can be commanded to keep order."

Gu Xing followed his gaze and also looked at Meng Qingyao. After glancing at her, his eyes involuntarily turned to Hua Changxi, who was still bickering with Huo Yunxiao even at this moment. He could only retract his gaze helplessly.

Amid the crowd, Huo Yunxiao glared at Hua Changxi angrily: "Why do you start a fight at the slightest disagreement?"

Hua Changxi's tone was icy: "If you dare point your paw at me again, never mind hitting you—I'll chop it right off."

Huo Yunxiao wanted to point at Hua Changxi and curse again, but when his hand stretched out and met her dangerous gaze, he silently pulled it back. "A woman like you—no man would ever like you."

Hua Changxi gave Huo Yunxiao a contemptuous once-over: "A man like you—I wouldn't take you even if you were given to me for free."

Huo Yunxiao was so angry he didn't want to speak, but if he didn't say something, he'd feel like he lost. Just as he was racking his brains for a counterattack, Gu Xing spoke again to the nine hall masters who had received wooden tokens: "Step forward and pay homage in the order of your Qihuang Hall numbers."

The master of the No. 1 Qihuang Hall was Mu Qingying. As the first to pay homage, she felt a bit nervous and lost, and couldn't help looking at Director Gu and her two senior brothers.

Director Gu turned to Gu Xing again: "Senior Gu, are there any precautions to take when paying homage to the Divine Tree?"

Gu Xing: "Follow your heart."

That was essentially saying nothing at all.

Director Gu looked somewhat resigned. Seeing the three kinds of incense on the offering table, he guessed that the condition for lighting them might be related to one's contributions to the Hall of Alchemy, but unsure, he could only say to Mu Qingying: "Choose however you wish—follow your own thoughts."

Mu Qingying walked to the offering table and looked at the three types of incense. Her finger brushed hastily over the first-grade incense, hesitated for a while between the second- and third-grade, and finally picked up a stick of third-grade incense. She approached the Divine Tree Cauldron with a respectful expression, performed three kowtows and nine prostrations, and then didn't know what to do next.

"Senior Gu, how do I light the incense?"

Gu Xing: "Simply insert it into the Divine Tree Cauldron. If you receive the blessing of the Divine Tree, the incense will ignite on its own."

Upon hearing this, Mu Qingying bowed again to the Divine Tree Cauldron three times with the incense in hand, then nervously inserted the incense into the cauldron.

As soon as the incense entered the cauldron, it began to burn without fire.

Green smoke surged out continuously, rapidly gathering in front of Mu Qingying, and in the blink of an eye coalesced into a green leaf half a palm in size.

The incense burned to its end at a visible speed. The green smoke ceased, the leaf took shape, and fluttered down into Mu Qingying's hand.

The moment the leaf entered her hand, Mu Qingying's heart stirred. The green leaf merged into her body and disappeared.

Seeing Mu Qingying with shining eyes, Xia Zhen happily explained to everyone: "That green leaf is the key to the Divine Tree Secret Realm. Follow the guidance of the key to find the entrance to the secret realm and enter it."

Upon hearing this, Hua Changxi's gaze flickered. A single leaf could open a secret realm—was this the legendary "one leaf, one world"?