Chapter 418: Foundation of Belief

Xia Zhen was rendered speechless by Hua Changxi's retort, making the atmosphere in the议事大厅 even more delicate.

Princess Lingyuan saw that Xia Zhen had backed down against Hua Changxi and suddenly felt somewhat relieved that she hadn't provoked this terrifying person earlier.

Indeed, back when Uncle Prince Shou was in charge of the Medical Department, he also steered clear of Hua Changxi.

Now, she would just follow the old rules as before.

Wen Shouren was also pleased to see Xia Zhen suffer a setback; to keep his smile from showing, he bowed his head and did some expression management, while sighing inwardly: Only Hua Changxi could pull that off!

Relying on their merit of protecting the Dao, the Xia family had already overstepped their bounds in interfering with the Dan Saint Hall.

Their ambition to groom Meng Qingyao into the "Lord of the Holy Land" was almost an open secret.

This move by the Xia family showed that they completely disregarded the other inheritors of the Dan Saint Hall, as if as long as the Xia family gave the final say on Holy Land matters, everyone else had to cooperate and the matter would be settled.

Wen Shouren hid his smile and stepped in at the right moment to smooth things over: "Alright, alright, let's not talk about irrelevant matters. Everyone here is a core member of the Holy Land. Discussion is fine, but let's not harm the harmony..."

Hua Changxi looked over upon hearing this and interrupted him with a somewhat indifferent expression: "Irrelevant matters? Then tell me, Fellow Daoist Wen, what are the important matters?"

Wen Shouren met Hua Changxi's cold gaze, and the smile on his face froze.

Seeing Hua Changxi turn her矛头 toward Wen Shouren, Xia Zhen's earlier frustration vanished, replaced by keen interest.

The others in the议事大厅 also sat up straight; many of them swept their bright eyes back and forth between Hua Changxi and Wen Shouren.

Wen Shouren couldn't understand—he was just trying to mediate, so how did the fire get turned on him?

Was Hua Changxi like a dog?

Biting whoever she caught?

When Hua Changxi saw that he remained silent, she glanced around the room and asked again: "In your heart, Fellow Daoist Wen, what are the important matters?"

Wen Shouren had no choice but to speak up: "Naturally, it's the development and growth of the Holy Land."

Hua Changxi's tone was full of disbelief: "Is that so?"

Feeling that Hua Changxi was questioning his loyalty to the Holy Land, Wen Shouren immediately became displeased and said emphatically, "Of course."

Hua Changxi: "But I haven't felt that way."

Wen Shouren replied bluntly, with anger at the offense: "You haven't felt it because you've never participated in any of the Holy Land's affairs."

Hua Changxi did not dwell on that point with Wen Shouren; she suddenly shifted the topic: "I've been pondering a question lately: How exactly should a person's state of mind be reflected?"

"What do you think, Fellow Daoist Wen?"

Wen Shouren was startled by the abrupt leap in thought, unable to figure out what Hua Changxi was driving at, so he could only say: "Matters of the state of mind vary from person to person—there is no fixed standard."

Hua Changxi shook her head: "No, I think there is something that can, to a certain extent, reflect a person's state of mind—their actions."

"Fellow Daoist Wen says that everything should prioritize the Holy Land's development and growth. But have your actions lived up to that?"

Wen Shouren: "Of course." This time, his two words lacked the earlier confidence.

Hua Changxi laughed scornfully: "I don't need to go anywhere else in the Holy Land; just looking at this议事大厅 alone, I can see that your so-called 'development and growth of the Holy Land' is nothing more than forming cliques."

"You're talking nonsense."

Wen Shouren, like a cat with its fur standing on end, stood up directly and glared at Hua Changxi with indignation.

The entire hall was stunned!

No one expected Hua Changxi to dare lay things out so bluntly.

Hua Changxi ignored him and continued: "I've been in contact with several other Holy Lands. In those places, I could clearly sense that they have convictions—their development is built on those convictions."

"Fellow Daoist Wen, do you think the Dan Saint Hall has convictions?"

Wen Shouren was truly angry: "What makes you say the Dan Saint Hall has no convictions?"

Hua Changxi met his eyes directly: "I'll ask you just one thing: Among the people attending this meeting, how many are sitting in this room solely on their own ability, without relying on power, background, or connections?"

The look of rage on Wen Shouren's face instantly froze.

The eyes of everyone else present also flickered, with undercurrents surging.

Tang Yufeng muttered softly to Gu Jinfan beside him: "Only Hua Changxi has the guts—one opening remark and she's offended everyone in the room."

Gu Jingfan at this moment also felt some admiration for Hua Changxi.

Indeed, nearly ninety percent of the people sitting in this assembly hall had backgrounds and backing, and the remaining ten percent were also appendages of various major powers.

An ordinary person with no foundation didn't even qualify to sit at the table in the Alchemy Saint Hall, where factions were deeply intertwined.

Hua Changxi... is truly brave!

Not everyone could have this courage to dare to challenge an entire system alone.

Hua Changxi looked at Wen Shouren's stiff face, a trace of mockery curling at the corner of her lips: "Don't talk about faith. The Alchemy Saint Hall doesn't even have the most basic fairness and justice, yet you shamelessly say that everything prioritizes the development and growth of the Holy Land—it's simply a joke."

Wan Feng saw Hua Changxi bombarding Wen Shouren like this, and his heart beat fiercely.

He had some understanding of the Peak Master; she generally couldn't be bothered with people who didn't cross her bottom line. Even if Elder Wen's earlier words were inappropriate, he shouldn't be targeted like this by the Peak Master.

He always felt that the Peak Master's words to Elder Wen struck at the heart with every sentence. Could it be...

Wan Feng's eyelids twitched wildly. How did he feel that the Peak Master seemed to know that Elder Wen was an elder of the Alchemy Saint Hall?

That was why her words were so fierce.

Rather than saying the Peak Master was targeting Elder Wen, it was more like she was blaming all the descendants of the Alchemy Saint Hall lineage.

"Peak Master Hua's words are too arbitrary."

Seeing that Xia Zhen and Wen Shouren were successively rendered speechless by Hua Changxi, Meng Qingyao, the Pavilion Master of Spirit Realm Pavilion; Shen Qianfan, the Pavilion Master of Medical Pavilion; and Tong Zhou, the Hall Master of Nine Streets Hall, who had been hiding outside the hall, could no longer hold back and entered together.

The three walked into the hall one after another.

Among them, Meng Qingyao walked at the front.

Everyone looked over, and Hua Changxi's gaze also fell on the three.

After the three took their seats, Meng Qingyao looked at Hua Changxi and spoke first: "The operation of the Holy Land depends entirely on the management and responsibility of the Spirit Realm Pavilion, Medical Pavilion, and Nine Streets Hall. Peak Master Hua hasn't participated in any of these matters, yet you talk loudly and criticize everyone here. Isn't that a bit excessive?"

Hua Changxi looked at Meng Qingyao: "What, has the Alchemy Saint Hall become a one-man show of the three departments? Can't bear to hear other voices?"

Meng Qingyao frowned: "Peak Master Hua seems to enjoy twisting others' words."

Hua Changxi's expression remained unchanged, but her smile didn't reach her eyes: "Am I the one twisting words, or are you being overbearing?"

Meng Qingyao knew Hua Changxi was difficult to deal with, so she simply stopped arguing with her and quickly changed the subject: "Peak Master Hua said that the Alchemy Saint Hall has no fairness or justice. Where does that come from?"

Hua Changxi: "Starting from the participants of the meeting, and from the task assignments of each peak."

Regarding the matter of participants, Meng Qingyao couldn't refute it, so she skipped it directly: "So Peak Master Hua is dissatisfied with the three departments' task assignments for Alchemy Origin Peak."

"Then what kind of tasks does Peak Master Hua think the three departments should assign to Alchemy Origin Peak to be considered fair and just?"

Hua Changxi did not answer immediately; Meng Qingyao was setting a trap for her.

She had clearly spoken about the overall injustice and unfairness of the Alchemy Saint Hall, but Meng Qingyao had directly simplified it into her feeling unfair because she was dissatisfied with the task assignments for Alchemy Origin Peak.

Xia Zhen saw that Meng Qingyao had curbed Hua Changxi's arrogance as soon as she entered, and he was very satisfied in his heart.

Many of the other participants present also showed expressions supporting Meng Qingyao.

Hua Changxi looked at everyone's expressions, especially when she saw that Wen Shouren also showed a look that Meng Qingyao had avenged him, and she immediately felt extremely disgusted.

The mess of the Alchemy Saint Hall... she couldn't be bothered to care much anymore. Let these people do as they pleased; she only needed to take care of Alchemy Origin Peak well enough.

The aura around Hua Changxi changed instantly. The oppressive aura receded like a tide, replaced by a languid and casual posture.

The aggressive intruder from before had now become a bystander standing aloof from the matter.

This shift made many people's expressions change.

Among them, Wen Shouren and the Holy Land descendants in the Nine Streets Hall all frowned.