Chapter 330: Primordial Qi

After patrolling the expanded southern outskirts of the capital, Tong Yao parted ways with Hua Changxi, Jing Liao, and Yan Zhenzhen.

The reason he had stayed in the capital before was that the Ruins of the Artifact Saint Palace were there; now that the Artifact Saint Palace had "broken away" from the capital, there was no need for him to return to the city.

Watching Tong Yao's light and cheerful figure receding into the distance, Jing Liao couldn't help but say, "Speaking of which, this time the Artifact Saint Palace has really turned misfortune into blessing."

Yan Zhenzhen nodded in agreement: "Although the Artifact Saint Palace has not yet reappeared in the mortal world, the disciples of the Artifact Saint Palace who possess the holy land tokens can now freely cross the barrier and enter the interior of the Artifact Saint Palace."

Hua Changxi understood what the two of them meant.

To put it this way, because of the plane seal, the five holy lands had been compressed within a sealed space.

For the holy lands to reappear in the world, the sealed space had to be broken open.

However, breaking open the sealed space required certain conditions; the first was that the spiritual energy outside had to be sufficiently dense; otherwise, forcing the holy land to reappear would cause spatial tears, or even spatial collapse.

Moreover, since the five holy lands suppressed the Demon Prison, any mishap could cause demonic aura to leak out, leading to a more critical and unmanageable situation.

The sealed space could not be broken open directly, but it could be unlocked region by region, just like the revival of the Dan Saint Hall.

Currently, the areas of the Dan Saint Hall that have reappeared include the Alchemy Cauldron Altar, the Dan Yuan Peak, the Shenhe Peak, the Qingyao Peak, and the Xuanhuang Peak. Although the revival speed is a bit slow, it has the advantage of being steady and stable, emerging into the world smoothly.

As for the Artifact Saint Palace, it directly shattered the sealed space, which essentially unlocked all the sealed regions at once, but the consequences were spatial tearing, dispersion of demonic aura, and countless casualties among living beings.

Of course, this was just the negative side; everything has both disadvantages and advantages.

On the positive side, all sealed regions of the Artifact Saint Palace were fully unlocked; although it did not reappear in the mortal world, it was hidden in the spatial gaps by the holy land's own barrier.

For the disciples of the Artifact Saint Palace, the Artifact Saint Palace could be considered completely "revived"—they could "use" everything in the Artifact Saint Palace.

In other words, while many resources in the other holy lands remained locked, the Artifact Saint Palace was fully open.

It could be foreseen that a thriving period of rapid development belonging to the Artifact Saint Palace was about to arrive!

Yan Zhenzhen said with a sigh, "I never thought that among the five holy lands, the Artifact Saint Palace would be the first to revive." Then she looked at Jing Liao and Hua Changxi, "We need to speed up too."

The three of them flew toward the capital at a brisk pace.

"Hmm?"

"Stop for a moment."

When they were still some distance from the capital, Hua Changxi suddenly called out to Jing Liao and Yan Zhenzhen.

Yan Zhenzhen looked over: "What's wrong?"

Hua Changxi did not answer. There was a noticeable spatial fluctuation in the area below, but when she looked closely, she saw nothing unusual. She could only say to Jing Liao and Yan Zhenzhen, "Something seems to be going on down below. Let's go down and take a look."

With that, she took the lead and flew toward the ground.

Jing Liao and Yan Zhenzhen exchanged a glance, then followed her down.

After landing, Hua Changxi felt the spatial fluctuation even more clearly. She looked at Jing Liao and Yan Zhenzhen: "Do you sense anything unusual?"

At first, neither of them noticed anything until Jing Liao activated his talisman eye.

"That is..."

After activating his talisman eye, several wisps of elusive Xuanhuang-colored gas appeared in his vision. As soon as he guessed what that gas was, a look of astonishment immediately spread across his face.

Seeing this, Hua Changxi hurriedly asked, "What do you see?"

Unfortunately, her Truth-Seeing Eye could only penetrate the "flesh of living beings" and could not see through other forms of existence in heaven and earth.

Jing Liao's breathing grew a little rapid: "I think I see... the Xuanhuang Qi recorded in ancient texts."

Upon hearing this, Hua Changxi reacted calmly. Although Xuanhuang Qi sounded very lofty, she knew nothing about its functions, so she could only remain silent.

But Yan Zhenzhen, who was learned and knowledgeable, suddenly widened her eyes: "Are you sure you're not mistaken? Is it definitely Xuanhuang Qi?"

Jing Liao was also uncertain: "It seems... it should be." This was his first encounter with Xuanhuang Qi too!

Yan Zhenzhen was a bit tongue-tied. She looked at the land before them and swallowed: "If you really saw Xuanhuang Qi, then this land we are standing on is something extraordinary."

Hua Changxi's eyes were full of curiosity: "How extraordinary?"

Yan Zhenzhen looked at her: "Only the Xuanhuang Tree can produce Xuanhuang Qi. Do you know where the Xuanhuang Tree grows?"

Every time she was asked like this, Hua Changxi, who knew nothing, felt a bit frustrated. At such moments, the only thing she could do was shake her head.

Jingliao's somewhat ethereal voice sounded: "The Xuanhuang Tree grows on the heart of the continent, and the heart of the Central Continent... is Xuanyuan City. According to ancient records, a Xuanhuang Tree is planted within the City Lord's Mansion of Xuanyuan City."

Yan Zhenzhen took over: "That is to say, the place we are standing right now is... the territory where the Xuanyuan City Lord's Mansion is located!"

As soon as the words faded, Jingliao and Yan Zhenzhen simultaneously looked at Hua Changxi with gleaming eyes.

"Changxi, how did you sense something unusual about this place?"

Hua Changxi looked at the two: "Didn't you two sense the spatial fluctuations?"

Jingliao and Yan Zhenzhen shook their heads together.

Then, Jingliao was heard saying: "The appearance of spatial fluctuations and Xuanhuang Qi indicates that the Xuanyuan City Lord's Mansion should be about to emerge."

Hua Changxi: "What effect does Xuanhuang Qi have on cultivators?"

Yan Zhenzhen: "Xuanhuang Qi is the best heavenly material and earthly treasure for nourishing and strengthening the physical body. For body-refining cultivators, Xuanhuang Qi is an irreplaceable supreme treasure."

Upon hearing that Xuanhuang Qi was a supreme treasure for body refinement, Hua Changxi's heart began to race. Stroking her chin, she said: "Since Xuanhuang Qi is so useful, is there any way to get some?"

Yan Zhenzhen: "Don't even think about it. Only the City Lord of Xuanyuan City can enter and leave the City Lord's Mansion."

Hua Changxi's eyes rolled around: "Not necessarily."

Hearing this, Jingliao first appeared thoughtful, then his gaze suddenly lit up.

When he first met Changxi, he had used his talisman eye to investigate her. He remembered that Changxi seemed to have mastered the 'Split' spatial law.

Yan Zhenzhen was also somewhat excited: "You have a way to get in?"

Hua Changxi, who already had experience entering and exiting spatial rifts several times: "Where there are spatial fluctuations, there must be spatial rifts. Theoretically speaking, as long as we can pry open a spatial rift, we can enter this territory."

Yan Zhenzhen looked at her, her gaze flickering: "But tearing space, without the aid of a high-grade magical artifact, requires at least a cultivator above the He Dao realm to accomplish."

Hua Changxi didn't take up that topic: "I need to go to the Artifact Saint Palace again." The 'Split' law could only be manipulated by the Great Sun Divine Flame.

Yan Zhenzhen still wanted to say something, but Jingliao spoke first: "We'll accompany you on the trip."

Upon hearing this, Yan Zhenzhen glanced at Jingliao, thought for a moment, and chose not to say more.

Then, the three of them flew together toward the Artifact Saint Palace.

On the other side, Tong Yao, who had just returned to the Artifact Saint Palace and was planning to check the stability of the spiritual energy barrier, saw the three friends returning. He immediately quickened his pace to greet them.

"Why are you back again?"

Hua Changxi looked at him: "Tong Yao, I want to go to the Tang Valley again."

Tong Yao's expression changed. After a moment of silence, he asked: "You want to go to the Tang Valley to subdue the Seven-Colored Spirit Flame?"

Hua Changxi: "Yes."

Tong Yao: "May I ask why you are so eager to subdue the spirit flame?"

The matter of discovering spatial fluctuations and Xuanhuang Qi on the road was not something she couldn't tell Tong Yao, but Hua Changxi didn't want to say it at this time.

Whether they could enter the Tang Valley was decided by the Artifact Saint Palace. They were in a passive position. To break the passivity, they needed to have enough bargaining chips in hand.

News of the level that 'the Xuanyuan City Lord's Mansion is about to emerge' was definitely a good bargaining chip.

Before Hua Changxi could figure out how to respond, Yan Zhenzhen spoke up.

"Tong Yao, during this great upheaval at the Artifact Saint Palace, the three of us put in no small effort. We don't ask for any other thanks, we just want to enter the Tang Valley once."

Tong Yao looked searchingly at Hua Changxi and the other two. After a moment of silence, he said: "I don't have the authority to let outsiders enter the Tang Valley. How about this: I'll take you to see the Great Elder."

The implication was that the three of them should negotiate with the Great Elder of the Artifact Saint Palace.

Hua Changxi saw that Yan Zhenzhen and Jingliao had no objections, so she nodded.

Tong Yao looked at the three: "Wait here for a moment. I'll go inform the Great Elder first."

After Tong Yao left, Hua Changxi looked at Yan Zhenzhen: "I thought you would tell Tong Yao about the Xuanyuan City Lord's Mansion."

She had always thought that Tong Yao, Jingliao, and Yan Zhenzhen were bosom friends.

Hearing this, Yan Zhenzhen smiled: "After the spiritual energy revival, do you know what the most valuable thing is?" Without waiting for Hua Changxi to respond, "It's intelligence on various ruins and secret realms."

"Whoever can obtain first-hand news of the ruins, on a small scale, can seize the initiative and control the situation; on a large scale, can monopolize the ruins and achieve total victory."

"Although we have a deep connection with Tong Yao, friendship is friendship. When interests are involved, if you want a share in the distribution, you have to offer something in return."

Hua Changxi listened and said, "That's good. Very good."

"Friendship is friendship, interests are interests. The most taboo thing is to mix them together, only to end up losing both the friendship and the benefits."