Chapter 232: Era's Driving Force (1)

After Hua Changxi left Feng'an Alley, she first went to see Tong Yao and gave him three copies of the finalized wholesale list of spirit pills. Two of those copies she asked him to pass on to Jing Liao and Yan Zhenzhen, after which she returned directly to the Medical Administration.

Tong Yao's eyes flickered slightly after reading the spirit pill price list, and he immediately sent a message transmission to Jing Liao and Yan Zhenzhen.

Soon, the three of them gathered at a prearranged tavern.

Yan Zhenzhen and Jing Liao were both somewhat surprised after seeing the spirit pill prices.

No other reason—Hua Changxi's spirit pill prices were far lower than market rates.

Yan Zhenzhen: "Daoist Hua is giving us such a low price; won't she lose out?"

Tong Yao smiled: "She won't lose out, but it's true that she won't make much profit."

Jing Liao nodded: "Daoist Hua is showing such sincerity that we can't take advantage of her."

After hearing this, Yan Zhenzhen put away the price list she had drawn up for formation plates, formation chess, and the like: "I need to go back and revise my price list."

Jing Liao indicated that he would also revise his own spirit talisman price list.

Seeing that both of them had voluntarily offered to revise their price lists, Tong Yao felt a relief inside.

Their original price lists had been set according to market rates, and market rates were artificially inflated!

Nowadays, most of the cultivation resources circulating on the market come from the hands of the powerful and wealthy, and the selling prices far exceed the cost.

With high prices, fewer cultivators can afford to purchase with spirit stones. In the long run, this is actually very detrimental to expanding the market for pills, talismans, artifacts, and formations.

This runs contrary to the responsibility that the Four Holy Lands bear—to promote the paths of pill refinement, artifact crafting, talisman arts, and formation arrays.

In the past, when cooperating with others, he had also offered some price reductions, but never too far below market rates.

First, his partners did not reduce prices the way Daoist Hua did.

Second, his partners did not require such large quantities as Daoist Hua did, so he couldn't achieve small profits with high sales volume. He had to consider the development of the Artifact Saint Palace and support its disciples; reality did not allow him to set prices too low.

Now, cooperating with Daoist Hua, buying and selling, the purchase price of elixirs is low, so the prices at which he sells spirit artifacts don't need to be too high either.

The same applies to the trade of spirit talismans and formation plates held by Jing Liao and Daoist Yan.

Even though they may not make much profit, as long as costs break even, he is willing.

No other reason—the Four Holy Lands, as the benchmarks of the hundred arts of cultivation, also bear the responsibility of maintaining market order.

Now that spiritual energy has fully entered the public eye only after its resurgence, the market for buying and selling cultivation resources is very chaotic. Someone must step forward to set market standards and regulate market behavior, which will benefit the positive development of the Four Spirit Worlds.

This was the reason Tong Yao immediately called Jing Liao and Yan Zhenzhen over as soon as he received the spirit pill price list from Hua Changxi.

Constrained by practical pressures, the Five Holy Lands are still in a dormant phase, but as their heirs, they cannot do nothing.

In Tong Yao's view, Hua Changxi seeking cooperation with them presented an excellent opportunity.

The four of them represent the Four Holy Lands. If the Four Holy Lands join hands, one day they will standardize the market for buying and selling cultivation resources and genuinely contribute to the development and prosperity of the Four Spirit Worlds.

After confirming that they would revise the price lists, Tong Yao, Jing Liao, and Yan Zhenzhen moved on to other topics.

Yan Zhenzhen: "I heard that the Pill Saint Hall is about to open three public secret realms, and any cultivator who wants to study medicine or the path of alchemy can enter and exit."

Tong Yao: "How could I not have heard about it? These days, all the cultivators in the capital know about this matter. In recent days, the area around the Medical Administration has been filled with cultivators inquiring about the secret realm news."

Yan Zhenzhen: "I also heard that opening the public secret realms was proposed by Meng Qingyao of the Meng family, with strong support from Daoist Hua. Because of this matter, many cultivators without connections or background are sincerely grateful to them."

"I'm not surprised that Daoist Hua would do this—after all, the Hua family is not of high standing, so Daoist Hua must know the difficulties ordinary cultivators face in obtaining resources."

"But that Meng Qingyao could also think of ordinary cultivators and speak up for them—that caught me a bit off guard."

Tong Yao nodded along: "Not all children of the powerful and wealthy are only concerned with themselves."

Jing Liao looked at the two of them: "The news you've heard has been misdirected."

"Hmm?"

Tong Yao and Yan Zhenzhen both turned to look at him.

Because the Diziu Temple had close ties with the Xiangguo Temple, and someone from the Xiangguo Temple had been present during the New Year's Eve competition for the Divine Wood Secret Realm at the Medical Administration, Jing Liao knew the real situation of that day.

"The public secret realm was proposed by Daoist Hua. Though the final approval involved various factions' bargaining, if no one had raised it, the matter would never have gone through."

"These current rumors attributing the credit for the public secret realms solely to Meng Qingyao—one reason is that some people don't want Daoist Hua to stand out, and another is the pushing from the Xia and Meng families."

"The Xia family, along with other guardian families and seclusive cultivation families like the Meng family, made a high-profile appearance to secure a place in the future great contention."

"To establish a foothold among the tangled web of various forces, the fastest way is to push forward a single person and let them gain fame."

"Meng Qingyao is exactly the person pushed forward by the guardian families led by the Xia family!"

After learning the truth, Yan Zhenzhen frowned and sneered, "I never thought the guardian families would step on others to climb up and play such devious schemes!"

Jing was silent for a moment, then said, "Guardians are human too."

Tong Yao sighed, "I hope Fellow Daoist Hua won't be affected."

"So there are that many cultivators in the capital!"

On her way back to the Medical Department, Hua Changxi saw many cultivators on the streets.

In the past, when she wanted to befriend cultivators, she couldn't meet a single one; now, she found cultivators everywhere.

The closer she got to the Medical Department, the more cultivators there were, as if all the cultivators in the capital had suddenly emerged.

Hua Changxi arrived at the Medical Department but did not enter immediately. Instead, she stood at the intersection, watching countless cultivators coming and going.

Most of these cultivators wore uniforms, making it clear at a glance which faction they belonged to.

Among the cultivators entering and leaving the Medical Department, the largest groups came from the five great guardian families: Xia, Bai, Wu, Zhu, and Long.

Next were the Meng family, the four princely households of the East, South, West, and North, followed by disciples of the Taisu Palace.

Other cultivators wearing no faction insignia mostly lingered around the Medical Department, observing.

Seeing this scene, Hua Changxi’s brows furrowed directly.

Clearly, the secret realm masters who had obtained the Divine Wood Secret Realm were managing their realms by mobilizing their own family members.

"Hey, which handsome young man is our Grand Hall Master staring at so intently that she's lost in thought?"

Huo Yunxiao appeared in Hua Changxi's sight with a cheeky grin.

Hua Changxi shot him a sidelong glance. "None of your business." With that, she walked straight into the Medical Department.

Huo Yunxiao was not offended and followed her with a smile. "So much fire—could it be that you're jealous of the other secret realm masters?"

Hua Changxi stopped. "Jealous of other secret realm masters? What about them is worth my envy?"

Huo Yunxiao clicked his tongue twice. "Grand Hall Master Hua, your tone is really something else."

"Most of the other secret realm masters come from prominent families with deep foundations. Not to mention anything else, the cultivators they can mobilize can get the Divine Wood Secret Realm on track within a month or two."

"But you—you're all alone. Have you figured out how to manage your secret realm?"

Seeing that he was talking about this, Hua Changxi let out a dismissive snort and turned to leave.

This reaction was somewhat unexpected for Huo Yunxiao. He chased after her again. "What are you laughing at?"

Hua Changxi ignored him until she reached the square and saw many people moving things in and out of Ninth Street. Only then did she stop.

"What are they doing?"

Seeing this, Huo Yunxiao laughed. "Obviously, they're moving." Knowing that Hua Changxi was poorly informed, he explained further.

"The Xia family brought so many people; they need a place to settle them."

"And those hall masters who were forced to give up the Qihuang Hall also need new arrangements."

"Prince Shou and the director discussed it and decided to clear out Ninth Street."

"The medicine halls on the left side of Pilgrimage Road are used to house those brought by the Xia family; the halls on the right side—the former Qihuang Hall masters each got a courtyard."

Listening to Huo Yunxiao's words and watching the comings and goings on Ninth Street, a flicker of light passed through Hua Changxi's eyes.

It seemed everyone now knew that Ninth Street was the most prestigious among the nine streets.

Otherwise, why not make First Street or Second Street vacate?

After all, First Street and Second Street had ignited the alchemy fire, making them more suitable for training alchemists.

"What about the original people on Ninth Street? Where were they sent?"

Huo Yunxiao was taken aback by the question, then laughed. "Those with connections have their own places; those without… people trained by the Medical Department have real skills, so they won’t go hungry."

Hua Changxi: "Before it was the Miscellaneous Services Hall, now it's Ninth Street. Where will it be next time?"

Huo Yunxiao glanced at Hua Changxi, a gloom passing through his eyes as well, but soon he lifted a smile again: "This isn't something that small fries like us should be thinking about."

Hua Changxi didn't say more and walked toward the No. 13 Qihuang Hall. Seeing that Huo Yunxiao was following him, after a moment's thought, he asked: "Which hall masters have been replaced?"

Huo Yunxiao: "Those hall masters who neither had a wooden token nor obtained the Divine Wood Secret Realm were all replaced."

"By the way, Zhu Qinghuan voluntarily gave up the No. 12 Qihuang Hall."

Hua Changxi looked surprised: "Are you sure that Zhu Qinghuan voluntarily gave it up herself?"

Huo Yunxiao smiled and said nothing.

Zhu Qinghuan's No. 12 Qihuang Hall is now taken over by the Wu family as hall master. Whether there were any private deals behind it, he didn't know either.

"Actually, Zhu Qinghuan voluntarily giving up the position of hall master is a good thing for her."

"She voluntarily gave it up, and the higher-ups, to save face, also arranged a courtyard for her on Ninth Street."

As they spoke, the two arrived at the No. 13 Qihuang Hall, and happened to see a group of Wu family members carrying various items and moving into the adjacent No. 14 Qihuang Hall.

Hua Changxi looked at the conspicuous family attire on the Wu family members and frowned: "Huo Yunxiao, tell me, do those Wu family members actually count as people of the Alchemy Saint Hall or not?"

Huo Yunxiao was taken aback: "What do you think?"

Hua Changxi did not answer and stepped into the No. 13 Qihuang Hall.

Just as Huo Yunxiao was about to follow, he heard a cold snort drift into his ear.

"Guardians of the Dao are nothing but a bunch of thieves who raid their own posts!"