Chapter 217: Popular Sentiment

Six sticks of third-grade incense had been lit, leaving two remaining — something no one had expected.

Chu Junhao, as an imperial prince, found it hard to accept that the people from the Dong'an Prince Manor, Xiping Prince Manor, Nanding Prince Manor, and Beizhen Prince Manor had all obtained secret realms, while he couldn't even ignite a third-grade incense.

Wasn't this telling the world that the imperial family was inferior to the four princely manors of different surnames?

Prince Shou, seeing that the imperial family had gained nothing, also wore a terrifyingly dark expression; his face had rarely been cheerful since the arrival of the guardian family members.

Hua Changxi was also somewhat surprised that Chu Junhao hadn't lit a third-grade incense. After seeing that the four princely manors of the southeast, southwest, northeast, and northwest had ignited their incense, she deduced that maintaining social order also counted as merit, so the Divine Tree would bestow blessings accordingly.

But the Chu imperial clan was still the most orthodox ruler of Great Jin; their merit shouldn't have been less than that of the four princely manors of different surnames.

Was it that the imperial family's fortune was declining, or was Chu Junhao himself lacking, that he couldn't ignite the incense?

It wasn't just Hua Changxi who thought so; Gu Xing and Xia Zhen also had similar ideas rising in their minds, and Wei Zhenjie and Zhang Tianshi also appeared thoughtful.

As for the guardian family side, it also surprised Hua Changxi. She had originally thought that the ten Wood Spirit Bodies brought by Xia Zhen could all receive the Divine Tree's blessing with enough incense, but unexpectedly, four of them gained nothing.

Only one of the Long siblings obtained a secret realm; it seemed that only one person per family could succeed, which was understandable. What surprised her was that Dongfang Hao, whose constitution she couldn't see through, and his brother Dongfang Xu, neither received the Divine Tree's favor.

Hua Changxi's attention was on the Long siblings and the Dongfang brothers, while Gu Jinfan focused on Jiang Nianyi.

Seeing that Jiang Nianyi hadn't lit a third-grade incense and obtained a Divine Tree secret realm, Gu Jinfan's worried heart finally settled back into his stomach.

In her previous life, the Alchemy Saint Hall was controlled by outside cultivators led by the Jiang family. In this life, the guardian families had appeared early, and the juniors of the five great guardian families had all come to the Alchemy Saint Hall. With these people, the outside cultivators like the Jiang family could no longer stir up trouble like they had in the previous life.

"Qingyao, it's your turn to worship the Divine Tree."

The person Xia Zhen valued most was Mu Qingyao. As the guardian responsible for the Alchemy Saint Hall, he naturally hoped that the future master of the sacred land would be his own choice. Since Long Jin, the Dongfang brothers, and the Jiang girl had all failed to receive the Divine Tree's blessing, his heart was also beginning to tighten.

Mu Qingyao took a deep breath and walked toward the offering table. Only two sticks of first-grade incense and two sticks of third-grade incense remained. Without hesitation, she picked up a stick of first-grade incense, performed three kneels and nine prostrations, and then, with slight nervousness, inserted the incense into the Divine Tree Cauldron.

"It's lit! The incense is lit!"

As wisps of blue smoke rose, Meng Yuchuan shouted excitedly, and the others perked up as well.

Hua Changxi stared intently at the rising incense smoke, silently counting the flashes of green light: "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven!"

After the seventh flash of green light, the incense in the Divine Tree Cauldron burned out quickly.

Meng Qingyao had obtained a seventh-grade secret realm!

The corners of Hua Changxi's mouth involuntarily curled upward. Even the peerless genius chosen by the guardian wasn't as good as her, and she couldn't help feeling a bit proud.

However, when she noticed Gu Xing looking at her, she quickly pressed her lips down.

"What does that old Gu mean?"

Hua Changxi saw Gu Xing glance at her, then look at Meng Qingyao, his gaze shifting back and forth between them several times, filled with scrutiny and weighing. This attitude directly made her frown.

Xia Zhen was very gratified that Meng Qingyao had successfully lit a first-grade incense. Seeing Gu Xing, the Heavenly Ministry Minister, and Zhang Tianshi all sizing up Meng Qingyao, he immediately began telling them in detail about Meng Qingyao's outstanding talent in alchemy.

Having gained nothing, Prince Shou had long grown impatient. Looking at the remaining one stick of first-grade incense and two sticks of third-grade incense on the offering table, he interrupted directly, ignoring that Xia Zhen was chatting enthusiastically with Gu Xing and the others: "Senior Xia, how will the remaining three sticks of incense be handled?"

A harsh gleam flashed in Xia Zhen's eyes, and he said crossly, "Since no one is going to light these three sticks of incense, naturally, I will take them back."

Prince Shou: "Senior Xia, since you've already brought the incense to the Medical Department, taking them back would be too troublesome. How about this: I select some more outstanding alchemy talents to come and worship the Divine Tree?"

Xia Zhen knew Prince Shou was coveting the Divine Tree secret realm. He looked at the cultivators who had come with him. Apart from the ten Wood Spirit Bodies, there were many single Wood Spirit Root cultivators. These people were certainly more talented in alchemy than those Prince Shou would choose.

"Alright. I also have many cultivators here who haven't yet worshipped the Divine Tree."

Prince Shou didn't want to compete with the cultivators selected by the guardian. He wanted to directly obtain those three sticks of incense: "Senior Xia, this is the capital of Great Jin. This time, you've brought so many people to the Medical Department and even competed for the position of hall master with the candidates appointed by the court. Out of respect for the guardian family, I have agreed."

"However, the court appointed nine hall masters, and your people directly took six of them — without giving a prior notice to the court. Your actions are a bit too overbearing."

"If word of this gets out, I'm afraid it will harm the reputation of the guardian, making people think you are using your status to arbitrarily place your own people in the court. That will surely cause widespread dissatisfaction..."

Prince Shou didn't finish his words, but everyone present understood.

He was threatening Xia Zhen: if the court was to recognize the hall master positions of people like Meng Qingyao and the other five, then the remaining three sticks of incense had to be lit by people Prince Shou selected.

Xia Zhen was extremely furious at this, and even considered teaching Prince Shou a lesson, but he held back.

The reason was simple: while the imperial family feared the guardian's foundation, the guardian families also feared the orthodox ruler status of the imperial family. The imperial family could legitimately issue decrees and influence public opinion, directly affecting where the people's hearts leaned.

For cultivators themselves, whether they had the people's support didn't matter. However, if one wanted to establish a sect in the world of cultivator strife, or become the master of the Alchemy Saint Hall, the people's support was very important.

The guardian families, due to the merit of guardianship, could indeed gain a certain advantage in the early stages of spiritual energy revival. But as time went on, more and more heavenly talents who stirred the times would emerge, and the role of the guardian families would gradually weaken. Where the guardian families would end up in the future, no one could say for sure.

Xia Zhen did not want the Guardian Clan to directly tear apart their relationship with the imperial family as soon as they appeared in the world, but he also was unwilling to let Prince Shou allocate the three sticks of incense: "Prince Shou, for the remaining three sticks of incense, you select a few people, and I will also send a few people from my side, then we will take turns worshiping the divine tree. This is the greatest concession I can make."

But to Prince Shou, this was not a step back at all, so naturally he was unwilling. Yet he also did not dare to actually do anything to Xia Zhen. For a moment, the atmosphere at the scene became tense and stagnated.

"Cough, cough—"

Heavy coughing broke the stagnant atmosphere. Everyone followed the sound and saw that it was Hua Changxi coughing.

When Gu Xing looked over, Hua Changxi looked at him and said, "Senior Gu, the Guardian Clan has ensured the unbroken inheritance of the sacred land, which is of immeasurable merit. But the Gu family, who have guarded the sacred land for generations, have also labored with great merit. Regarding the handling of the remaining three sticks of incense, do you not have an opinion?"