Chapter 214: Gains and Losses

The first-grade incense stick was as thick as a fist; unlike the quick burn of third-grade incense, the first-grade incense took a long time to burn. Now that the incense fragrance had faded, the air was still thick with a rich medicinal aroma.

Bathed in the medicinal fragrance, most people had yet to recover from their shock; they never expected that Hua Changxi could truly light first-grade incense.

Not everyone was surprised by Hua Changxi lighting first-grade incense—Gu Xing wasn't, Gu Jinfan wasn't, and even Meng Qingyao wore an expression of "I knew it all along."

Gu Xing had known early on, back when Hua Changxi pushed open the Dan Sheng Hall's main door and took ten wooden tokens from the Qihuang Hall, that this girl held extraordinary significance to the Dan Sheng Hall. That she could light first-grade incense seemed perfectly normal to him.

Gu Jinfan's expression, however, was rather complicated. Watching Hua Changxi—who, because of her own rebirth, had not died young—light the first-grade incense, and thinking that she, reborn, was still inferior to someone who had died young in her previous life, she found it hard to come to terms with.

On the Guardian Family side, Meng Qingyao's face was especially grave. She had come to the Medical Department carrying her family's mission and hopes, and was meant to take over the Dan Sheng Hall in the future. But now, watching Hua Changxi light the first-grade incense, she had a strong premonition that this person might truly become her greatest rival.

Because of the first-grade incense being lit, everyone's gaze toward Hua Changxi had lost its previous dismissiveness and become serious.

Before this, for the Medical Department's side, even though Hua Changxi could crack the secrets of Qihuang Hall and refine first-grade peak-quality pills, she had no power or influence, so they hadn't really taken her seriously.

Everyone present knew that a lone wanderer, no matter how strong, had limited influence.

But now, Hua Changxi, who had obtained the high-grade Divine Wood Secret Realm, was completely different from before; her importance had instantly risen several levels.

For the Guardian Family side, before this, Hua Changxi was merely one of the eighteen hall masters. Even if she obtained a wooden token, she posed no threat to them.

But Hua Changxi, having obtained the high-grade Divine Wood Secret Realm, had effectively received a high level of recognition from the Divine Wood. Just this alone could affect their plans and schemes for the Dan Sheng Hall.

Amid the varied gazes of the crowd, Hua Changxi withdrew with a taut face. At this moment, contrary to what one might expect, she was not happy; instead, her heart felt somewhat 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 what she had obtained was the eighth-grade Divine Wood Secret Realm.

In the first-grade Divine Wood Secret Realm, herbs and spiritual plants needed by Qi Refining cultivators grew; in the second-grade realm, herbs and spiritual plants needed by both Qi Refining and Qi Sea realms grew; in the third-grade realm, herbs and spiritual plants needed by Qi Refining, Qi Sea, and Core Formation realms grew...

And so on: the eighth-grade Divine Wood Secret Realm contained herbs and spiritual plants needed by cultivators of eight realms: Qi Refining, Qi Sea, Core Formation, Nascent Infant, Spirit Platform, Spirit Condensation, Out of Body, and Unity.

Obtaining an eighth-grade Divine Wood Secret Realm that had never been extinguished meant Hua Changxi had practically gained a massive resource treasury of medicinal materials. She should be happy, but an eighth-grade realm was not so easy to hold.

The key to the secret realm was the Divine Wood Leaf. From the moment she received it, she had become connected to the Divine Wood.

When she had first successfully opened No. 1 Qihuang Hall, she had no connection to the Dan Sheng Hall. But now, precisely because she had taken over the eighth-grade Divine Wood Secret Realm, she had truly become a member of the Dan Sheng Hall.

In the future, should the Dan Sheng Hall encounter any crisis, she would have to show up at a moment's notice to save the situation.

Thinking of the demon race she encountered at the center of the Spirit Vessel Palace's formation, and of Baili Changfeng, who had turned to stone to seal the formation rift, Hua Changxi felt a heavy stone pressing down on her shoulders.

Obtaining the eighth-grade Divine Wood Secret Realm made her happy; but becoming a member of the Dan Sheng Hall gave her a feeling of being trapped.

At this moment, Hua Changxi had never understood so clearly what it meant to "gain some and lose some"—everything comes with a price!

Because Hua Changxi showed no high spirits, the crowd seemed confused. Even Gu Xing gave her many strange looks.

"Although Hua Changxi lit first-grade incense, judging by her appearance, the secret realm grade probably isn't too high."

Mu Qingying, Yuan Tianchou, and Shen Qianfan, who had also obtained Divine Wood Leaves, exchanged silent glances after hearing the discussions around them.

After receiving the Divine Wood Leaf, they had all come to understand the situation of the Divine Wood Secret Realm.

The three grades of incense corresponded to three levels of secret realms. Lighting third-grade incense could grant one of the first, second, or third-grade secret realms; lighting second-grade incense could grant one of the fourth, fifth, or sixth-grade secret realms; lighting first-grade incense could grant one of the seventh, eighth, or ninth-grade secret realms.

Hua Changxi had obtained at least a seventh-grade secret realm. A seventh-grade Divine Wood Secret Realm contained medicinal resources that could supply a cultivator's cultivation up to the Out of Body realm.

Hua Changxi was not unhappy; she was probably already so happy she could fly, but was just refraining from showing it in public.

"Young friend Hua, what grade of secret realm did you obtain?"

This question came from Xia Zhen. As an old-school cultivator, he knew well that prying into another's fortune was taboo, but he couldn't help himself. He couldn't understand why Hua Changxi could light first-grade incense. Could it be that she was the one who lit the Dan Sheng Hall's first street's pill fire?

Hua Changxi looked at Xia Zhen and asked with a smile, "Senior Xia, I heard that the Guardians are searching everywhere for fated people. May I ask, apart from the Medical Department, have you placed people at other sacred site ruins?"

Hearing this question, Xia Zhen's face immediately darkened: "Young friend Hua, the matters of the Guardians are not for you to ask about."

Hua Changxi also withdrew her smile and looked straight at Xia Zhen: "Senior Xia, you are not the master of the sacred site, and what grade of secret realm I obtained is not for you to ask about either."

Xia Zhen really hadn't expected to be repeatedly talked back to by a junior in a single day. He had never encountered anyone who disrespected him so much. He gave a wry smile that wasn't a smile: "Young friend Hua seems to bear a grudge against me?"

Hua Changxi also gave a smile that wasn't a smile: "Senior Xia, before today we didn't even know each other. Why would I bear a grudge against you? Didn't you provoke this hostility? Now you turn around and ask me?"

Xia Zhen said nothing more. He gave Hua Changxi a deep look and was the first to look away.

Before coming to the Medical Department, based on the information his subordinates had gathered, Xia Zhen's impression of Hua Changxi was: a disrespectful, arrogant, and unruly young woman who wasn't close to her family, had no friends, and even if she had some talent in pill refining, was still an unpleasant and unsociable miss.

Similar to those martial artists who liked to act alone in the past, people like this who didn’t know how to cooperate or develop their own influence could never stir up much trouble, and were utterly beneath his notice.

But after meeting and speaking with her in person, Xia Zhen discovered that his judgment of Hua Changxi had been far too one-sided. She was a person unbound by worldly conventions, and the sharpness she displayed made him—a Spiritual Terrace Realm master—feel a deep sense of wariness.

This wariness came inexplicably, striking Xia Zhen as somewhat absurd and laughable. At the moment, he simply shook his head with a smile and dismissed the thought. It wasn’t until the day the Alchemy Saint Hall reappeared, when he saw Hua Changxi receive the Holy Land Alchemy Seal, that he realized it was the destructive nature within her, treating rules as if they were nothing, that had given rise to that wariness.

She was someone who broke the rules!