Chapter 282: Invincible at the Same Level

As news spread that the four sacred lands were jointly recruiting disciples openly in various regions, Danyuan Peak experienced a surge in registration.

Those registering were precisely internal members of the Medical Administration and cultivators from the vicinity of the capital.

Knowing they could not stop Hua Changxi from recruiting, the imperial family and powerful noble clans relented outright, releasing a batch of cultivators who wished to study medicine and alchemy.

Although once these people joined the Danyuan Secret Realm, they would have to prioritize the interests of the Alchemy Sanctum, since they originated from their own circles, a measure of old ties could still be maintained.

The Dingyuan Marquis Manor.

Lord Bo, the marquis, sighed emotionally: "I never expected Ninth Lady Hua could break through the encirclement of the imperial family and nobles and win this round."

The heir of the marquis also looked conflicted: "The Hua clan did not choose to support Ninth Lady Hua from the very beginning. Now, even if we wish to draw close, we probably won't gain any favor."

Lord Bo, however, did not share this view: "Ninth Lady Hua is, after all, of Hua blood. There are some things she cannot sever just because she wants to." As he spoke, he took out two bottles of pills submitted by his two granddaughters.

These were the monthly allowances Hua Shuran and Hua Wanyue had received: one bottle of first-grade Yuanling Pills to improve cultivation, and one bottle of first-grade healing pills to consolidate the foundation and nourish vitality.

Both bottles contained first-grade supreme pills!

Outsiders believed Hua Changxi to be weak and alone, but if she could hand out so many first-grade supreme pills to apprentices, she must have a large number of alchemists behind her.

Otherwise, she would not be able to supply so many pills.

Lord Bo felt that Hua Changxi was the successor of the Alchemy Sanctum, and moreover, the representative pushed to the front.

Thinking this way, Lord Bo looked at the heir of the marquis: "Previously, the clansmen that Hua Sanlang brought to join the Danyuan Secret Realm did not have very good spiritual roots. This time, anyone in the clan who wishes to study medicine or alchemy should be permitted to register."

Earlier, although the head of the Heavenly Department had taken the lead in sending a batch of retired demon-suppressing soldiers into the Danyuan Secret Realm, he still did not have much confidence in Hua Changxi.

So he only sent some clansmen with poor spiritual roots to join the Danyuan Secret Realm alongside Hua Sanlang as a gesture of support.

But now, since Hua Changxi was the representative of the Alchemy Sanctum's successor, joining the Danyuan Secret Realm was the most orthodox channel to enter the Alchemy Sanctum.

"Also, notify the clan's relatives and friends. If any of them wish to join the Danyuan Secret Realm, call them over to register together with the clan members."

"For this registration, let Hua Silang and Hua Qiniang lead the team."

"Hua Silang and Hua Qiniang, after all, grew up with Ninth Lady Hua. If you can't respect the monk, respect the Buddha. With these two around, I trust Ninth Lady Hua will not treat our people poorly."

The heir of the marquis nodded in agreement.

Lord Bo fell silent for a moment, then added, "When Hua Bin and Hua Minghe arrive later, you must caution them to invite Ninth Lady Hua back to the family more often for gatherings."

"Feelings between people accumulate gradually through interaction."

"The way they only meet Ninth Lady Hua once or twice a year—what feelings can there possibly be?"

He paused.

"Also, after joining Danyuan Peak, let Shuran and Hongrui keep an eye on Hua Sanlang and Hua Silang and frequently advise them."

"Hua Bin's family background is still too humble. Their way of dealing with people and conducting themselves might have worked in the past, but now, their value has risen along with Ninth Lady Hua. If they continue to act as before, they will be devoured down to the bone."

"Our goal is to leverage Ninth Lady Hua's rising tide to strengthen the Hua clan."

"Ninth Lady Hua has little emotional attachment to the clan. Hua Bin's family is the tie that binds the clan to Ninth Lady Hua; only if Hua Bin's family does well can the clan prosper alongside them."

"You must explain this carefully to Shuran and Hongrui. From now on at Danyuan Peak, the clan members must prioritize Hua Sanlang and Hua Silang and their group—they need to adjust their thinking as soon as possible."

The heir of the marquis sighed. Nowadays, even the imperial family's status was gradually declining, let alone the Dingyuan Marquis Manor: "Father, rest assured. I will speak clearly to Shuran and Hongrui."

Lord Bo also hated that his grandchildren had to curry favor with Hua Bin's family, who once could hardly even step through the marquis manor's gate. But circumstances were stronger than people; if bowing one's head and bending one's waist could secure survival and development, then doing so was not shameful.

"Cultivation is cultivation of the heart; this, too, counts as a kind of tempering."

At the Wuyi Marquis Manor, Marquis He was also having a similar conversation with his family.

Marquis He first said to his wife, "From now on, every social engagement of our manor must include Hua Wuniang."

After his wife nodded in agreement, Marquis He turned to the Third Master He: "Hua Wuniang still visits the Hua family too seldom. Let her take Xiaoman to her娘家 more often."

"Xiaoman was delivered by his ninth aunt. She would not possibly watch him, with no spiritual root, live out his life like a mortal."

Because of Hua Wuniang, Third Master He's status in the marquis manor had risen considerably: "The Hua family has a specialized medicinal bath formula for strengthening the constitution. I will instruct Wuniang to secure it for Xiaoman."

He paused.

"If an opportunity arises, I will also have Wuniang obtain a copy of the medicinal bath formula for the marquis manor."

On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, which was originally the Mid-Autumn Festival for family reunions, the personnel department at the foot of Danyuan Peak was bustling with activity.

A steady stream of people came to sign up, leaving Xu Yaoshi, Hua Shuran, and the other five so busy they barely had time to set foot on the ground.

Meanwhile, at Lingguang Hall, after noticing that the Vermillion Bird Army was not very enthusiastic about taking on missions, Hua Changxi issued another mission.

No, not a mission; to be precise, it should be called a recruitment notice.

"Transmission Hall, Training Hall, Logistics Department, and Mission Hall are recruiting stewards. The appointment of stewards will be determined by the number of missions taken and the completion rate of those missions."

Sure enough, as soon as this news was released, several groups immediately took on the mission to "Investigate the Anomaly in Nanxiang County."

After stirring up the Vermillion Bird Army's enthusiasm, Hua Changxi placed a batch of elixirs in the logistics department's elixir warehouse before preparing to return to the Medical Department.

After several days of fermentation, the various factions in the capital had likely already received news of the spirit-device deployments across different regions.

This time, Hua Changxi did not take the teleportation array but instead took a detour, surveying Nanxiang County from above once more before heading back to the capital.

"Hmm?"

During her survey, Hua Changxi detected several distinct spatial fluctuations.

Frequent spatial fluctuations—could this mean some ruins are about to emerge?

Having never encountered ruins before, Hua Changxi was unfamiliar with the signs of their emergence: "Could it be ruins?"

But there were at least eight or nine areas in Nanxiang County with obvious spatial fluctuations.

Could a single Nanxiang County really see so many ruins emerge?

If Nanxiang County truly had that many ruins emerging, then it was safe to say that in ancient times, this county must have been a strategic stronghold.

Thinking of Lingguang Hall, located directly north of Nanxiang County, Hua Changxi's heart stirred: "Could Nanxiang County be related to the Vermillion Bird?"

Committing the areas of spatial fluctuation to memory, Hua Changxi lingered no longer and flew on her cloud toward the capital's city gate.

Along the way, she also spotted quite a few Nascent Soul cultivators.

"Ten... fifteen... twenty!!!"

Throughout the journey, Hua Changxi had seen roughly twenty Nascent Soul cultivators.

Some of these Nascent Soul cultivators were hidden in the mountains, while others were concealed among the crowds—in short, they had blocked all the main entry and exit points of Nanxiang County.

This posture made it clear that they were strictly preventing outside cultivators from stepping into Nanxiang County, discovering the anomalies, and seizing the ruins!

"Such a massive effort..."

Hua Changxi turned her gaze toward the county government office of Nanxiang County; she had heard that since Lingguang Hall emerged, Nanxiang County had been taken over by Prince Fu.

Deploying dozens of Nascent Soul cultivators at once—the royal family's foundation was indeed formidable.

With the aid of the Observation, Auscultation, Inquiry, and Pulse-Taking technique, Hua Changxi could see through the dantians of these Nascent Soul cultivators and "observe" the amount of spiritual energy stored in their bodies.

Upon looking, she immediately noticed a problem.

The spiritual energy stored in these people's bodies was far less than she had expected. If judged purely by the quantity of stored spiritual energy, she alone could take on over a dozen of these Nascent Soul cultivators.

Was this batch of Nascent Soul cultivators simply low in spiritual energy capacity, or were all Nascent Soul cultivators like this?

If other Nascent Soul cultivators were also like this, then in terms of pure spiritual energy, she could be said to be invincible among her peers!

Without alarming these Nascent Soul cultivators, Hua Changxi quietly returned to the capital. The moment she arrived back at Danyuan Peak, she was immediately intercepted by an anxious Xu Yaoshi.

"Academy Master, the number of people coming to sign up is just too many. The eight of us can't keep up. The Personnel Department requests permission to recruit a batch of additional staff."