Chapter 221: Spirit Realm Pavilion

Hua Changxi left without looking back, leaving a group of people with awkward expressions.

Because of her disruption, Xia Zhen not only saw his plans come to nothing but also lost face in public. If not for his years of cultivation in composure, he would have almost been unable to resist teaching Hua Changxi a lesson.

Gu Xing also found Hua Changxi's willful behavior very troublesome. Looking at Xia Zhen's icy gaze, he sighed inwardly and said, "Daoist Xia, that girl Hua has always been like this. Even on ordinary days, she never shows me a good attitude."

Hearing this, Xia Zhen withdrew his coldness and smiled. "Heavenly prodigies all have some temper. As guardians of the Holy Land, you and I naturally must be more tolerant." As he spoke, he looked at the other secret realm masters.

"Friend Hua is proud and strong-willed, unwilling to discuss with everyone. What about you all?"

Gu Xing frowned when he heard Xia Zhen characterize Hua Changxi like that, but he also felt that Hua Changxi's temperament was indeed too self-centered.

People always need to go through experiences before they learn to restrain their sharp edges.

That girl needs to learn how to conduct herself.

Seeing that Gu Xing didn't speak up for Hua Changxi and that the others also acted indifferent, Xia Zhen breathed a sigh of relief.

That's right. Someone like Hua Changxi, who doesn't follow rules, is a nuisance and a threat to the powerful noble families. No one would truly want to be close to her.

Dongfang Hao glanced at the silent Mu Qingying and others, then smiled and said, "Managing and operating secret realms is no easy task. We have just arrived at the Medical Department and know nothing yet; we must rely on all of you for guidance. Fellow cultivators, please do not hesitate to offer your advice."

His humble words and sincere demeanor instantly broke the stagnant atmosphere.

Director Gu saw that a junior from the Dao-protecting families had stepped forward, so he also gave his disciple Yuan Tianchou a meaningful look.

After receiving his master's signal, Yuan Tianchou smiled and said, "Daoist Dongfang is too polite. In the future, we will all work together for the Holy Land. Naturally, we should help each other and promote mutual progress."

With Dongfang Hao and Yuan Tianchou taking the lead, the others, under the signals of Xia Zhen and Director Gu, one by one entered and joined in the pleasantries and laughter.

For a moment, the two sides that had been hostile were all smiling and chatting cheerfully, no longer appearing as if they belonged to two separate camps.

Even Prince Shou set aside his discontent and began to interact amiably with Xia Zhen and the middle-aged cultivators he had brought.

Amid the laughter, Xia Zhen looked at Dongfang Hao with satisfaction. This was an outstanding prodigy raised by a family with good traditions; this was the proper attitude for cooperation and exchange. Unlike Hua Changxi, who was just a spoil-sport like a rat dropping in the soup.

"Since we will all be gathering together to discuss and negotiate in the future, why not establish a department specifically to handle secret realm affairs?"

"How about calling it the Spirit Realm Pavilion?"

"Spirit Realm Pavilion, that's a good name. Let's call it the Spirit Realm Pavilion."

Under Dongfang Hao's deliberate guidance and the intentional cooperation of others, the Medical Department gained a Spirit Realm Pavilion, located in the first medicine clinic on the left side of Ninth Street, near the Pilgrimage Road.

Gu Xing did not object either. Since the Holy Land had not yet reappeared, they indeed needed an office to coordinate and plan the direction of the Holy Land's development.

After the Spirit Realm Pavilion was confirmed, Gu Xing did not stay long and returned to the old courtyard at the square.

As soon as he left, Prince Shou invited Xia Zhen and the others to attend the New Year's Eve banquet at the palace.

Xia Zhen did not refuse. In the future, they would all be staying in the capital for a long time, and to establish themselves in the capital, they had to interact with the imperial family.

At the same time, the palace banquet was a perfect occasion to announce their arrival to the powerful noble families of the capital.

Prince Shou also invited the others. Among the people Xia Zhen brought, six had obtained the Divine Wood Secret Realm, meaning six people would have to give up their positions as hall masters. These people still needed to be properly placated.

A large group of people headed toward the imperial palace in a grand procession.

Wei Zhenjie and Heavenly Master Zhang walked side by side, followed by Huo Yunxiao and Wen Lanzhou.

Wei Zhenjie said, "Eighteen secret realms, but the people Xia brought only obtained six. I didn't expect that." As he spoke, he chuckled.

"As for those three public secret realms, if Hua Changxi hadn't interfered, given Senior Gu's nature, he probably wouldn't have stepped forward to contend for them."

Heavenly Master Zhang nodded, thinking of the relationship between Hua Changxi and Hua Changxin. "Hua Changxi has thoroughly offended Senior Xia today. I'm afraid she will be excluded from the Spirit Realm Pavilion."

Wei Zhenjie laughed heartily. "I think that girl probably doesn't care to join the Spirit Realm Pavilion anyway."

Heavenly Master Zhang said, "It's not good for a person to be too solitary. In a place like the Alchemy Saint Hall, just knowing how to refine pills won't do."

Wei Zhenjie agreed with this. "I hope she can go a bit further." After saying that, he changed the subject. "Six people have to give up their hall master positions. Many people will have a bad New Year."

Heavenly Master Zhang smiled. "No secret realm, no resource supply, just guarding an empty hall. It doesn't matter if one doesn't hold that hall master position."

Wei Zhenjie: "That's true."

Behind the two, Huo Yunxiao and Wen Lanzhou were also talking.

Huo Yunxiao: "Hua Changxi left too early. Otherwise, she could have attended the palace's New Year's Eve banquet as well."

Wen Lanzhou looked disapproving: "It's better if she doesn't attend. Otherwise, with her temperament, I'm really afraid she'll openly defy the imperial relatives in public." Just thinking about that scene was thrilling.

Huo Yunxiao considered the image and also shuddered: "You're right. Hua Changxi really isn't suited for palace banquets."

Meanwhile, Hua Changxi, who had left the square, did not return directly to the Hua family but went back to Qihuang Hall No. 13.

She wanted to enter the secret realm to explore first!

"Hall Master!"

The news about the Shenmu Secret Realm had already spread throughout the Medical Department. When they saw Hua Changxi return, Xu Yaoshi and the other eight medicine boys looked at her with even more fervent eyes.

Previously, following Hua Changxi had mainly been to uncover the secrets of Qihuang Hall and, incidentally, learn some alchemy.

But now, with the Shenmu Secret Realm, Hua Changxi held real cultivation resources in her hands. Even a tiny bit leaked to them would make their cultivation path much smoother.

Before, following the absentee hall master Hua Changxi, the eight of them had felt somewhat discontent. But now, even if they were to continue sitting on the bench, they wouldn't want to leave Hua Changxi.

Hua Changxi nodded at Xu Yaoshi and the others, then went straight into the eastern alchemy room, where only she could enter.

Once inside the alchemy room, she set up restrictions, closed her eyes, and sent her consciousness into her dantian. Gazing at the Eight-Vein Divine Wood Leaf suspended within, she thought the word 'enter,' and in an instant, her body vanished from the alchemy room.

The next moment, she appeared in a vast, boundless field of spiritual herbs, where the wood spiritual energy was dense and the scent of herbs wafted everywhere.

"Shh~"

Hua Changxi drew in a sharp breath. The fertile land stretched for thousands of miles; as far as the eye could see, there were all kinds of first-grade spiritual herbs. Even she, who possessed the Five Finger Mountain, was shocked by the countless first-grade spiritual herbs before her.

The spiritual herb field was perfectly flat, giving Hua Changxi the illusion of being on a grassland.

"How big is this secret realm?"

As soon as this thought arose, a three-dimensional image of a green pyramid appeared in Hua Changxi's mind.

Her secret realm was not a single layer but had eight layers.

The bottom layer, the one she was standing on now, had one hundred million mu of herb fields and countless mountains of flowers and fruits, all planted with first-grade spiritual herbs, fruits, and plants.

Because the first-grade spiritual herbs, plants, and fruits had low growth years and were unattended, most of them ripened, fell to the ground, and rotted. But since their roots or stems remained, or seeds sprouted, they grew again, cyclically repeating without end.

The spiritual herb field where Hua Changxi now stood contained both vibrant, thriving spiritual herbs and plants and those that had rotted and gone bad.

Seeing the spoiled herbs pained Hua Changxi. She summoned her somersault cloud and, at top speed, surveyed the first layer, then soared upward, heading straight for the second layer.

The second layer had fifty million mu of herb fields, all planted with second-grade spiritual herbs, plants, and fruits, with the herbs growing in much the same condition as the first layer.

The third layer had ten million mu of spiritual herb fields, all planted with third-grade spiritual herbs, plants, and fruits. Because the third-grade herbs had longer growth years, there were fewer that had spoiled or rotted.

The fourth layer had five million mu of spiritual herb fields, all planted with fourth-grade spiritual herbs, plants, and fruits, with even less spoilage.

The fifth layer had one million mu of spiritual herb fields. As soon as she arrived, Hua Changxi sensed the pure soul power in the air. As far as the eye could see, there were only soul herbs and soul fruits that enhanced divine sense and soul power, with almost none that had rotted or gone bad.

On the fifth layer of the secret realm, Hua Changxi found her movements restricted. She could not hover—there was a suppressive force in the air—and as she moved toward the center, she felt her head swelling and dizziness.

Each layer of the secret realm corresponded to a specific cultivation realm. The fifth layer corresponded to the Lingtai realm. Since she was still a Huaying realm cultivator, she could not withstand the suppressive force here, so she quickly descended to the fourth layer.