Chapter 256: Era's Catalyst (25)

At dawn on February 2nd, Hua Minghe went to the Medical Department.

He knew clearly that his family could not provide any help or support to his daughter; with the imperial family and nobles joining forces against her, the clan would not step in either.

Worried for his daughter, he still decided to follow Old Master Hua’s advice and come to persuade Hua Changxi not to oppose the imperial family and nobles.

After arriving at the Medical Department, Hua Minghe spoke with the gatekeeper and was easily let in.

By regulation, outsiders were not allowed in the Medical Department; Hua Minghe got in so easily mainly because the imperial family and nobles hoped the Huas could persuade Hua Changxi to voluntarily bow her head and back down.

Unfortunately, after reaching the No. 13 Qihuang Hall, Hua Minghe never saw Hua Changxi at all.

“Pharmacist Xu, do you know where Jiuniang went?”

Pharmacist Xu smiled wryly: “The Hall Master is always elusive; unless she shows herself, we can’t contact her either.”

He also wanted to see Hua Changxi as soon as possible to tell her that the higher-ups had stopped them from recruiting apprentices.

Hua Minghe waited in the hall until noon, and when Hua Changxi still hadn’t returned, he could only leave first: “Pharmacist Xu, after Jiuniang comes back, please ask her to go home first.”

Pharmacist Xu nodded in agreement; he guessed the purpose of Hua Minghe’s visit to Hua Changxi and sighed as he watched his retreating figure.

Zhu Yu walked up to Pharmacist Xu and said anxiously: “Where did the Hall Master go? I hope she doesn’t disappear for months again like before.”

Pharmacist Xu glanced at him: “No, the Hall Master told us to recruit apprentices; she will definitely keep an eye on the progress.”

Zhu Yu frowned: “But the higher-ups won’t let us recruit people. What should we do?”

Pharmacist Xu fell silent.

Not far away, Hua Shuran, Hua Wanyue, and He Sirong and He Siqi were all wearing troubled expressions.

Hua Shuran looked at the He sisters and asked: “Will you be the first group to swear into the Danyuan Secret Realm?”

He Sirong replied with a question instead: “Will you?”

Hua Shuran said nothing; the Earl’s Manor had already sent word that unless Hua Changxi was willing to give the Hua clan far greater preferential treatment than ordinary apprentices, the manor would not take the lead.

When He Sirong saw she didn’t answer, she guessed the Dingyuan Earl Manor’s decision. But she said nothing—the Wuyi Marquis Manor had the same intention.

In her heart, she actually disagreed with the manor’s decision.

From what she knew of Hua Changxi, it would be very difficult for Hua Changxi to bow to the imperial family and nobles.

Although Hua Changxi was taking on all sides by herself and had almost no chance of winning, what if?

If Hua Changxi won, the manor would have missed the best opportunity to build a closer relationship with her.

After Hua Shuran left with Hua Wanyue, He Siqi saw that He Sirong was still frowning and said: “Second Sister, don’t worry anymore. It’s right for the manor to follow the Dingyuan Earl.”

He Sirong shook her head: “It’s different. Even if Hua Changxi dislikes the Dingyuan Earl Manor, she is still a member of the Hua clan; their connection can’t be cut off.”

“But the only link between our manor and Hua Changxi is Third Aunt.”

“Originally, because of marrying Third Aunt, Hua Changxi was already dissatisfied with the manor. If we really do everything exactly as the Earl Manor does, we will definitely never get close to Hua Changxi.”

He Siqi: “Everything you say is right, but having the manor stand up and support Hua Changxi right now is too risky.”

He Sirong’s eyes flickered: “High risk brings high reward.”

He Siqi didn’t quite agree with doing this: “Hua Changxi is riding a wave of popularity now, but she is too flamboyant and doesn’t know how to cooperate with others. Who knows what the future holds? Grandfather won’t gamble with the manor’s future.”

He Sirong knew this too, so she felt very helpless.

He Siqi: “I think Hua Changxi isn’t very serious about the secret realm either. She throws the apprentice recruitment to Pharmacist Xu and then disappears. I’ve never seen a boss like her.”

He Sirong didn’t know what to say about their frequent inability to see Hua Changxi.

Where was Hua Changxi at the moment?

At Lingguang Hall.

Yesterday, after the teleportation formation on Wuzhi Mountain was set up, it was already late, so she teleported directly back to Lingguang Hall, planning to cultivate for one night and return to the Medical Department in the morning.

Who would have thought that once she started cultivating, she discovered her cultivation speed had increased again.

Now, cultivating for one hour could raise her spiritual qi points by five million.

[Realm: Nascent Infant 3.1 billion/1 billion; Divine Sense: (100,100) ten thousand]

Hua Changxi silently stared at her cultivation data.

Based on her previous breakthrough patterns, to break through the Nascent Soul stage and advance to the next stage, the Spiritual Platform stage, her spiritual qi points needed to reach 10 billion.

At her current cultivation speed, if she cultivated all twelve hours of the day, she could break through to the Spiritual Platform stage in three or four months!

Her cultivation speed had increased again, and she could break through to the next stage in just a few months. This delighted Hua Changxi. Moreover, the fire spiritual qi in the Mausoleum Light Hall was rich enough that, without realizing it, she became completely immersed in the joy of cultivation.

Because she was so absorbed in cultivation that she lost track of time, when she finally stopped, a month had already passed.

[Realm: Nascent Soul Stage 4.9 billion / 1 billion; Spiritual Sense: (1,001,000) 10,000]

Hua Changxi enjoyed watching her cultivation base improve bit by bit, but she also knew she couldn't focus solely on cultivation—there were still many matters waiting for her in the secret realm.

Stopping her cultivation, Hua Changxi stepped into the teleportation formation at the Mausoleum Light Hall. After a brief moment of dizziness, she appeared on the fourth floor of the Elixir Origin Secret Realm.

Thanks to the Divine Wood Leaf, Hua Changxi could exit the secret realm at any location within the holy land.

When she appeared silently at No. 13 Qihuang Hall, Master Xu and the others were all startled.

"Hall Master, you've finally shown up."

Seeing Hua Changxi, Master Xu and the others were overjoyed.

Hua Changxi called them into the hall and listened to their reports.

Although she had guessed that Master Xu and the others would have trouble recruiting apprentices, she hadn't expected that after an entire month, they hadn't recruited a single person.

Soon, she learned the reason from Master Xu and the others—she was being boycotted by all the powerful figures, led by the royal family!

Hua Changxi had anticipated that refusing outside interference in the affairs of the Elixir Origin Secret Realm would provoke some opposition from the powerful, and she was mentally prepared for that.

But she hadn't expected their reaction to be so extreme—they had actually united to deal with her.

"I understand. You all go back to your work."

After saying this, Hua Changxi left No. 13 Qihuang Hall. As soon as she appeared, she immediately drew everyone's attention.

"Hall Master Hua is finally back."

"Do you think she will bow to Prince Shou?"

"I hope she bows soon; otherwise, Prince Shou won't allow her to recruit apprentices, and we won't be able to join the Elixir Origin Secret Realm."

Amid the crowd's murmurs, Hua Changxi walked into Gu Xing's old courtyard.

Seeing Hua Changxi, Gu Xing was somewhat surprised: "What brings you here?"

Without any pleasantries, Hua Changxi got straight to the point: "Prince Shou and the others won't let me recruit apprentices. Aren't you going to do something about this?"

Gu Xing paused for a moment: "This matter, I cannot intervene."

Hua Changxi glared at him: "You are the gatekeeper of the holy land—you are the one who best represents it. If you don't act, who will?"

Gu Xing looked at her: "But right now, the holy land is not yet the holy land. The Medical Bureau is under the control of the imperial court."

Hua Changxi was very dissatisfied with this answer: "The purpose of my recruiting apprentices is to train alchemists for the holy land. Prince Shou and the others won't let me recruit, and you won't even help me."

Gu Xing: "How do you want me to help? Do you think Prince Shou and the others will listen to me?"

Hua Changxi was at a loss for words: "So what you're saying is, you're just going to let Prince Shou and his lot have their way and dominate everything?"

Gu Xing was silent for a moment: "The only ones who can contend with the royal family and the powerful are the Spirit Realm Pavilion."

Hua Changxi frowned: "What do you mean?"

Gu Xing: "You should go to the Spirit Realm Pavilion and have them negotiate with the royal family on your behalf."

Hua Changxi pulled a long face: "You know perfectly well that I never joined the Spirit Realm Pavilion."

Gu Xing shook his head: "You are the master of the secret realm, which makes you a member of the Spirit Realm Pavilion."

Hua Changxi crossed her arms, her attitude resistant: "The Spirit Realm Pavilion was established under the leadership of the Guardian Family, the Xia family. They deliberately excluded me from the first meeting. If I go to the Spirit Realm Pavilion now, wouldn't that be like bowing to the Xia family?"

"Even if that weren't the case, are you sure the Guardian Family will help me? More likely, they're all laughing at me. If I go to them, wouldn't I be delivering myself to be humiliated?"

Gu Xing said seriously: "When one walks in the world, one must bow when it's time to bow."

Hua Changxi said sternly: "But I don't want to bow!"

"Everything I do is for the Sacred Land. I haven't done anything wrong, so why should I be the one to compromise and back down?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Xing sighed: "That's just how the world works. Now that you're under someone else's control, if you want to get things done, you have to follow their rules."

Hua Changxi: "I won't! The Sacred Land isn't mine, and training alchemists isn't my sole responsibility. If they won't let me recruit people, then I won't open the secret realm."

After saying this, she left without looking back.

Seeing this, Gu Xing let out a long sigh.

When will that temperament of hers ever be tempered?