Chapter 223: Fortune Exhausted

After arriving in Great Jin for fifteen years, Hua Changxi ate the most uneventful New Year's Eve reunion dinner at the Hua family.

At the dinner table, there were no lectures, no comparisons, and no demands.

But watching the Hua family chatting and laughing, Hua Changxi still felt something was missing in this atmosphere.

She wasn't all that happy; she always felt there was a barrier between her and her family.

Hua Changxi looked at the dishes her parents had put in her bowl, smiled at them, and then asked herself while eating—was she being too picky?

Maybe, as long as it didn't end in a quarrel like before, just getting by without conflict might be good enough?

After dinner, everyone gathered in the main hall to stay up and chat.

Old Master Hua talked about how the clan had looked after the family this past year, while the others chimed in to add comments.

Old Madam Hua and the other daughters-in-law discussed their interactions with the women of the clan; the three Hua Ming brothers talked about social engagements with friends and relatives; the younger generation, led by Hua Dalang, discussed cultivation matters of various families.

Over the past year, everyone had been very fulfilled.

When everyone was deep in conversation, Hua Shier Niang suddenly asked Hua Changxi, "Ninth Sister, we can never see you when we miss you on ordinary days. Are you really busy at the Medical Department?"

At her question, there was a brief silence in the hall; although everyone quickly resumed laughing and chatting, they all pricked up their ears to listen.

Hua Changxi: "I'm not particularly busy at the Medical Department."

Hua Shier Niang asked again, "Then when you're not busy, are you cultivating?"

Hua Changxi: "I also go out for training."

Hua Shier Niang's eyes lit up: "Ninth Sister, tell us quickly—where have you been training? Although the Earl's Manor does take us out for training, it's very rare. We want to go out on our own, but except for the Five Finger Mountain in Qingzhou, we don't know where to go."

Most of the relic secret realms within Great Jin that allow for training are monopolized by the powerful and noble; cultivators without backgrounds indeed can't find places to train.

Hua Changxi didn't really want to talk to her family about the Nine Nether. She had descended into the Nine Nether twice, both times walking on the edge of life and death. "The places I go are somewhat dangerous."

Hua Liulang instantly asked, "How dangerous?"

Hua Changxi: "If your strength isn't up to par, you might go and never come back."

Hua Liulang's eyes went wide.

Hua Shier Niang was even more curious: "Ninth Sister, what place is it exactly?"

Hua Changxi was silent for a moment, thinking that since her family members were all cultivators and would definitely need to go out for training, it was better for her to tell them herself than to have them hear half-truths from outsiders.

"The Nine Nether."

Hua Changxi looked at Hua Dalang: "Big Brother, you know about the Nine Nether, right?"

Hua Dalang nodded: "I've heard of it." The Demon Suppression Army occupied one of the Nine Nether passes. Although he had never been there, he often heard his colleagues talk about it.

Old Master Hua clicked his tongue: "So the Nine Nether really exists in this world?"

Old Madam Hua also asked curiously: "If there's a Nine Nether, is there also a Nine Heavens?"

Hua Changxi looked at the old couple: "Grandfather, Grandmother, how do you know about the Nine Nether and the Nine Heavens?"

Old Madam Hua: "That's what they say in Taoist temples and Buddhist monasteries—above the Nine Heavens are immortals, below the Nine Nether is the underworld." She paused, "So these legends are real?"

Hua Changxi nodded: "I've never been up to the Nine Heavens, but the Nine Nether really exists. However, the part of the Nine Nether I've set foot on is only limited to two passes guarding the Demon Prison. As for whether there's an underworld in the Nine Nether, I don't know."

Hua Dalang immediately became animated: "Jiuniang, can you tell us more about the Demon Prison in the Nine Nether?"

After joining the Demon Suppression Army, he did learn a lot of information he had never encountered before, but it was all very one-sided and shallow—like with the Nine Nether, all he knew was the Demon Prison.

Seeing that her family was very curious, Hua Changxi went ahead and told them what she knew.

"Our realm is called the Four Spirits Realm. At first, the Four Spirits Realm was ruled by the demon race. Later, when the human race flourished, in order to suppress the most vicious demons, the Demon Prison was built in the Nine Nether."

"The Central Continent has five sacred lands, with the Central Sacred Land being the array core of the Demon Prison."

Hua Changxi looked at Hua Dalang: "The ruins of the Central Sacred Land are in the Heavenly Department."

Hua Dalang's expression shifted, showing a dawning realization; he now had some understanding of the undercurrents stirring within the Heavenly Department.

Hua Liulang: "Jiuniang, don't stop. What about the other four sacred lands?"

Hua Changxi continued: "The other four sacred lands are the four array eyes of the Demon Prison. The Dan Sacred Hall is one of them, and the Medical Department is the ruins of the Dan Sacred Hall."

"One of the duties of the Four Sacred Lands is to guard the stability of the array eyes."

Yao shi said urgently, "Jiuniang, now that you've obtained the Divine Wood Secret Realm, does that mean you're a member of the Dan Saint Hall? Does that mean you have to take on the responsibility of maintaining the array eyes' stability?"

Hua Changxi nodded. "Yes."

Yao shi grew anxious. "Then isn't that very dangerous?"

Hua Changxi's gaze softened, and she smiled. "Mother, don't worry. I know what I'm doing. Since I've taken the Divine Wood Secret Realm, it's only right that I do something for the Dan Saint Hall."

The Hua family fell silent upon hearing this.

Indeed, there was no such thing as a free lunch. When they learned that Jiuniang had obtained the secret realm, they were only happy and forgot that she would have to pay a price for it.

Hua Changxi looked at Hua Minghe and Hua Dalang. "Father, Big Brother, the smithy you were previously tasked with sealing off is the site of the Artifact Saint Palace."

Hua Minghe and Hua Dalang quickly exchanged a glance.

"So that's it. No wonder all the influential nobles in the capital are eyeing that smithy."

"The craftsmen inside the smithy have all been taken away, and the forges within have been occupied by the nobles."

Hearing about the current situation at the smithy, Hua Changxi frowned and looked at her father and brother. "After the new year, will the court continue to seal off the smithy?"

Hua Minghe nodded. "Yes. After the second day of the new year, Dalang and I will have to switch shifts with others and continue to guard the smithy."

Hua Changxi said, "Then you must be careful. Don't rush to the front if anything happens. The Artifact Saint Palace is a place dedicated to artifact forging—there are countless spirit tools and magical treasures. If pushed too far, the people of the Artifact Saint Palace will certainly fight back."

Hua Dalang quickly asked, "Does the Artifact Saint Palace have a successor?"

"Of course."

Hua Changxi did not elaborate on Tong Yao and the others, but she glanced at Hua Liulang beside her.

Sixth Brother wanted to learn artifact forging, but had no teacher. Perhaps she could send him to Tong Yao?

Hua Dalang frowned. "Keeping the smithy sealed off forever isn't a solution. Since the Artifact Saint Palace has a successor, why don't they come forward and negotiate with the court?"

Hua Changxi looked at him. "Negotiate what?"

Hua Dalang was taken aback. "...Negotiate the development of the Artifact Saint Palace. With the court sealing off the smithy like this, it must be hard for the Artifact Saint Palace to recruit disciples."

Hua Changxi said, "But negotiating with the court means ceding power. Look at the Medical Directorate—now it's filled with all sorts of riffraff."

Hua Dalang said, "A sacred land can't have just one faction. Even if other forces get involved, it's better than being lifeless and stagnant."

Hua Changxi looked at him. "Big Brother, ever since spiritual energy revived, the four array eyes have all experienced instability. And the demon beasts are watching covetously. To guard the array eyes' stability, the people of the Four Sacred Lands have paid a heavy price."

"The imperial family and the nobles have done nothing, yet they want to come and take a share. There's no such good thing in this world."

She could understand Tong Yao's decision. If she were the successor of a sacred land, she wouldn't want the imperial family and nobles to meddle in the sacred land either.

Hua Dalang fell silent.

Hua Liulang asked, "Jiuniang, what kind of calamity would occur if the array eyes became unstable?"

Hua Changxi said, "Demonic energy would leak out and pollute the human world. Those who couldn't resist would become demonized, causing chaos and harming living beings. The human world would turn into hell."

Upon hearing this, the Hua family's expressions changed drastically, gaining a deeper understanding of the dangers of the cultivator world.

Hua Laoyezi spoke up, "You must all cultivate diligently. Only with great strength can you face danger without fear."

Hua Dalang nodded. "Yes. This world has never changed—it's always been survival of the fittest. Only the strong can live a better life."

Hua Laotaitai said, "But before, ordinary people could still live in peace as long as they kept to their place. But now... I hear many places have fallen into chaos, with people dying everywhere."

"If this situation isn't brought under control, the common people's lives will become very difficult in the future."

Hua Changxi looked at her grandmother in surprise; she hadn't expected the old lady to have noticed this.

Hua Laotaitai noticed Hua Changxi's astonished gaze and felt a little uneasy. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

Hua Changxi smiled. "No, Grandmother is absolutely right. I just didn't expect you to pay attention to such matters."

Hua Laotaitai sighed. "We were once common folk ourselves. I often think—if our family had no cultivators, how would we survive in such chaotic times?"

Hua Changxi's eyes dropped. Nowadays, the imperial family and the nobles were focused entirely on seizing resources; maintaining basic social order was no longer their priority.

In some places, the chaos might very well be orchestrated by them.

For some people, the more chaotic the world, the more it benefits their schemes for profit.

As a constable of the Six Fan Gate, Hua Minghe knew more about the local situation. He frowned and said, "With the increase in cultivators, the chaos everywhere is indeed getting more severe. The imperial court's governance of the various regions is already stretched thin."

Among them, the biggest problem is that officials and nobles in various regions no longer obey the orders of the royal family.

Hua Minghe sighed. The fate of the Chu dynasty, which had been established for a thousand years, might have already come to an end.