Chapter 244: Era's Catalyst (13)

Boom~

A thunderous roar suddenly rang out, startling everyone.

The people in the square had just seen a spiritual light flicker around the stone cauldron when the next moment they felt themselves rapidly moving backward.

No, not moving backward—their seats hadn't moved; the ground was expanding and stretching!

At the same time, the stone cauldron was rising.

In the area where the spiritual light flashed, a nine-story circular mound altar rose abruptly from the ground.

And the stone cauldron was positioned exactly at the center of the highest point of the circular mound altar!

Hua Changxi, along with Yu Gui and the other four who were recording the lecture on either side of the stone cauldron, as well as Pharmacist Xu and the other eight standing behind the stone cauldron, were all within the area covered by the spiritual light.

Amidst the stunned gazes of the crowd, Hua Changxi and her group rose together with the tall altar.

The sudden upheaval seemed to last for a long time, yet also felt like only an instant.

When everyone came to their senses, they were astonished to find that the spiritual energy in the air had become much denser; many Qi Refining and Qi Sea realm cultivators who had been stuck for a long time, now bathed in the rich spiritual energy, felt their bottlenecks loosen and showed signs of advancing.

Moreover, the current square was dozens of times larger than before.

Before the upheaval, although the square was fairly spacious, people walking in it did not feel insignificant. But now, standing in the square, they felt as small as ants.

Apart from that, what shocked everyone the most was the towering nine-story circular mound altar standing in the northern part of the square.

At the very top of the altar was the stone cauldron.

The stone cauldron was no longer the ancient, mottled thing it had been; it was now completely renewed, emitting a faint green luster.

On the cauldron's body, lifelike patterns of spiritual herbs appeared, along with several runes and patterns that seemed to capture the viewer's soul.

Starting from the cauldron, a white jade staircase cascaded down to the very bottom.

Below the cauldron stood Hua Changxi, dumbfounded.

Hua Changxi looked up at the stone cauldron, which had become filled with Dao resonance in the blink of an eye, and a storm arose in her heart.

She hadn't done anything special—just taught a day's lectures—so how had she activated the spirit formation beneath the stone cauldron, causing the high altar to rise from the ground?

Yes, how had the Alchemy Cauldron Altar been activated?

This question not only puzzled Hua Changxi but also greatly intrigued everyone else in the square.

Especially Gu Jinfan, who had been reborn; right now, her face was full of disbelief.

One must know that in her previous life, right up until her death, this Alchemy Cauldron Altar of the Alchemy Sage Hall had never successfully appeared before people.

Gu Jinfan looked up at Hua Changxi on the Alchemy Cauldron Altar, her emotions extremely complex.

She knew Hua Changxi was a variable, but the various changes triggered by her still exceeded her expectations.

The Alchemy Cauldron Altar for worshiping heaven had appeared; surely the Alchemy Sage Hall wouldn't be controlled by outside cultivators like in her previous life?

Compared to Gu Jinfan's disbelief, Gu Xing's mood at the moment was quite excited and thrilled.

The Alchemy Cauldron Altar had appeared!

He had never imagined that the Alchemy Cauldron Altar would appear so quickly; he had thought there would be no movement until the Qihuang Hall appeared, but unexpectedly, the Alchemy Cauldron Altar reappeared in the world even before the Qihuang Hall.

Gu Xing looked at Hua Changxi with blazing eyes, sighing inwardly that he had still underestimated this girl's bearing and magnanimity.

The reason the Alchemy Cauldron Altar was activated was that Hua Changxi's selfless teaching was the cause, and the audience in the square, thirsting for knowledge and responding with gratitude, was the effect.

The relationship between cause and effect seemed simple, but putting it into practice was difficult.

The transmission of the alchemical path is not a simple indoctrination but an inspiration and guidance that evokes resonance.

The resonance is not about the simple impartation and acquisition of skills, but about 'seeing' the person.

Hua Changxi 'saw' the crowd's thirst for alchemy and medicine, and the audience 'saw' Hua Changxi's selflessness.

What is the Dao?

It is to inherit the ceaseless generation of heaven and earth, and to supplement and fill where there is deficiency.

The Five Sacred Lands, upholding the will of heaven and earth, promote the orthodoxy of the human world.

Hua Changxi's "interaction" with the crowd perfectly matched the Alchemy Hall's philosophy of preaching the Dao, and only then did she succeed in activating the Cauldron Platform.

For the Alchemy Hall to be reopened and reappear in the mortal world, the next Saint Lord of the holy land must burn incense and petition the heavens, and the place for that petition is precisely the Cauldron Platform.

Now that the Cauldron Platform has appeared, can the opening of the Alchemy Hall be far behind?

Gu Xing looked at Hua Changxi on the high platform. Though this girl's spiritual root was inferior to Meng Qingyao's, her actions were the most fitting for the requirements of the Saint Lord of the holy land.

However, thinking of Hua Changxi's overly "solitary" personality, he felt a headache coming on.

Managing a holy land requires building alliances, compromises, and concessions—all of which were Hua Changxi's weaknesses.

"Ah..."

Gu Xing sighed and comforted himself inwardly, thinking that Hua Changxi was still young and would surely grow after experiencing more in the future.

Just as Gu Xing's emotions were surging, Xia Zhen, standing at the back of the crowd, was feeling rather unsettled.

If he had known that simply teaching a lesson on the square would activate the Cauldron Platform, he would have had Meng Qingyao come here to teach long ago.

Xia Zhen glanced at Gu Xing, his brows furrowed.

He suspected that Gu Xing had tipped Hua Changxi off about giving a lecture in front of the stone cauldron on the square.

He didn't believe that Hua Changxi would come to the square to hold a class for no reason.

Could it be that compared to Qingyao, Gu Xing favored Hua Changxi more?

Thinking of this, Xia Zhen's mood grew even worse.

Before this, even though Hua Changxi had obtained a high-grade secret realm, he wasn't too worried—simply because Hua Changxi had no one backing her.

But now, if Gu Xing truly chose to support Hua Changxi, the situation would be different.

The Gu family were the gatekeepers of the Alchemy Hall. If Hua Changxi really gained Gu Xing's support, it would definitely be a threat to Qingyao and would certainly hinder Qingyao's entry into the holy land.

"Senior Xia, there's no need to worry too much."

The sudden comfort interrupted Xia Zhen's thoughts. Following the sound, he saw it was a younger member of the Jiang family.

Jiang Nian, noticing Xia Zhen look over, smiled and uttered four simple words: "Too hard, too brittle..."

Hearing this, a flicker passed through Xia Zhen's eyes. Without saying anything, he turned his head back and continued gazing at Hua Changxi on the Cauldron Platform.

Indeed, with Hua Changxi's headstrong, go-her-own-way nature, she couldn't even get along with her own family. There was simply no way she could become the Saint Lord who leads and balances all factions.

Just like when she obtained a high-grade secret realm—while other secret realm masters were already developing and utilizing their realms, she still hadn't made a single move.

She couldn't even manage a single secret realm properly, let alone govern an entire holy land.

On the high platform, Hua Changxi had calmed down from her shock. Finding that staring directly at the runes and patterns on the cauldron made her dizzy, she shifted her gaze downward.

Looking at the square that had become dozens of times larger, she couldn't help but swallow.

The commotion today was a bit too big!

She had just wanted to increase her prestige, as Gu Xing had suggested, so she could secure a position in the Medical Bureau—which would later become the Alchemy Hall—and have a decent title when she walked outside.

But now the problem was that with the high platform appearing like this, her prestige was probably going to be a bit too big.

Standing on the high platform, looking down at the square below, seeing that the people could only look up at her, Hua Changxi felt complicated.

A little bit of excitement, but also a little bit of unease.

First she had ignited the first Alchemy Fire, then successfully obtained nine wooden tokens and unlocked nine Medical Halls, and now she had activated the Cauldron Formation. At this moment, Hua Changxi really wondered if she was the heaven-ordained heir of the Alchemy Hall.

Not only did she think so, but at this moment, everyone who had witnessed the high platform rising from the ground also had the same thought, their moods fluctuating.

Among them, the Prince of Shou and the imperial family had the darkest expressions.

Before this, they, who prided themselves on their noble status, had never taken someone from a small, humble background like Hua Changxi seriously.

Even when Hua Changxi obtained a high-grade secret realm, they saw her as nothing more than a useful tool, someone whose existence was merely to serve them.

But now, they could only stand in the square and look up at Hua Changxi on the high platform.

This was the first time the Prince of Shou and his people so directly felt the royal family's status slipping under the great changes in heaven and earth.

The gap was something they found hard to accept.

Even the Seventh Prince Chu Junhao, who had always wanted to befriend Hua Changxi, was extremely averse to this swapping of positions.