Chapter 470: Has the Cultivation World Changed?

The Ghost Fire Token, as the emblem of the Ghost Fire Well's master, connects the "Vermillion Bird Prison-Suppressing Grand Array" and the eighth-rank Dao weapon "Nine-Story Prison Tower."

The Vermillion Bird Prison-Suppressing Grand Array has a finger bone of the Vermillion Bird Emperor as its core, abundant in energy; the Nine-Story Prison Tower is a Dao- attesting weapon, rich in Dao resonance.

Jing Sheng, whose life force was on the verge of extinction, after being acknowledged by the Ghost Fire Token as its master, received simultaneous nourishment from the Vermillion Bird bone and the eighth-rank Dao weapon, which thus bought him a glimmer of life.

This was also what shocked Gongshu Xingyan—whether it was the emperor's skeletal remains or the eighth-rank Dao weapon, both were rare and invaluable treasures that cultivators could only hope to encounter.

As a weapon refiner and a cultivator who had trained for centuries, he was all too clear on what these two things meant.

The skeletal remains of an emperor—that was a legendary existence; not to mention obtaining it, even sensing a trace of its aura from afar would be enough to excite any great power.

An eighth-rank Dao weapon was a thing of Dao attestation; how many cultivators could spend their entire lives without ever finding even one?

Yet Hua Changxi… just gave it away without any hesitation.

No hesitation, not a moment's delay!

To be honest, Hua Changxi's action shook him more than her breaking into Ghost Mother Mountain alone to rescue the Vermillion Bird Army.

Rescuing the Vermillion Bird Army could be explained as her duty as the Lord of Lingguang Hall, but how should he evaluate this "irrational behavior" of hers now, forcibly saving Jing Sheng who was on the verge of death?

Gongshu Xingyan's thoughts involuntarily drifted back to the hard years when he first embarked on the path of cultivation.

At that time, the world's spiritual energy was thin, and cultivation resources were very scarce.

For a single spirit stone, he could lurk deep in the mountains for months; for a single cultivation manual, he would dare to charge into a death zone and risk his life. Countless times he had hovered at the gates of the underworld, and countless times he had snatched food from the mouths of fierce beasts drenched in blood.

Even when he later became a renowned weapon refining master thanks to his talent, cultivation resources seemed like an unfillable bottomless pit.

Breaking through required resources, refining weapons required resources, expanding his influence required resources… Thinking back on that time, he was either on the way to find resources or on the road to fight for them.

Even being trapped in the Ghost Domain for a hundred years, in the final analysis, was only for finding a few weapon refining materials.

Having set foot on the path of cultivation, he had long become accustomed to putting resources first. Precisely because he understood how important cultivation resources were, he understood all the more how "extraordinary" Hua Changxi's choice was.

That was an emperor's skeletal remains, an eighth-rank Dao weapon—the supreme treasures that countless cultivators dreamt of and would die for. Yet she didn't even frown, but gave them away, just to buy a dying man a chance at life!

Gongshu Xingyan's heart at this moment could not help but ripple with waves. He found it absurd and laughable—that in the cruel world of cultivation, there was actually someone who would unhesitatingly put human life above resources!

"That's great!"

Hearing Song Weimin's excited voice, Gongshu Xingyan turned his head to look, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes.

Had he been imprisoned in the Ghost Domain for too long?

So long that he had missed the rapid development period of the revival of spiritual energy in the human world?

If the cultivation environment in the human world hadn't improved so well, how could he have encountered, in such a short time, first Song Weimin who sacrificed himself to save others, and then the Lord of Lingguang Hall who regarded an emperor's skeletal remains and an eighth-rank Dao weapon as ordinary things?

This was far too different from the cultivation world he knew.

In his impression, cultivators would kill fellow disciples and turn against friends and relatives for a little resource, let alone give away a supreme treasure that was within easy reach.

But now, the existence of these two people was telling him through their actions that his thoughts and perceptions were wrong.

Had the cultivation environment in the human world really changed so much?

Hua Changxi was unaware of the waves stirring in Gongshu Xingyan's heart. After using the Ghost Fire Token to temporarily protect Jing Sheng's life force, she slowly stood up and faced everyone around the Ghost Fire Well.

In the Ghost Domain, the damage the Ghost King could do to her was limited; most of her injuries came from the Heavenly Punishment.

Fortunately, she had cultivated the Vermillion Bird Spiritual Body ahead of time, successfully dispersing the imprint of the Heavenly Punishment's power within her body.

After the electric dragon in her dantian was dispersed and refined, her injuries were brought under control.

At this moment, she had the spare energy to deal with the aftermath of the Ghost Fire Well.

Hua Changxi's gaze swept over the crowd and finally settled on the Ghost Fire Well that had returned to calm. She said to Fang Zhuyue and the other Vermillion Bird Army members:

"The Ghost Fire Well is the Vermillion Bird Army's prison location. After opening it, someone needs to guard it."

Upon hearing this, Fang Zhuyue and the other Vermillion Bird Army members changed color, thinking Hua Changxi planned to leave them behind as jailers.

Song Weimin, Gongshu Xingyan, and the several hundred other human cultivators listened silently, not daring to make a sound, afraid that Hua Changxi would leave them behind too.

Hua Changxi saw the color change among the Vermillion Bird Army and then said, "This is not a mandatory order, but I suggest you consider staying to guard the Ghost Fire Well."

"The Vermillion Bird Army guarding the Ghost Fire Well will be taught the 'Crimson Abyss Flame Prison' divine ability. Cultivating this divine ability requires tempering the body with ghost fire."

"And your physical bodies are almost completely corroded by ghostly qi and ghostfire."

After that, Hua Changxi gave a general explanation of the 'Crimson Flame Prison' divine ability.

Upon learning that the 'Crimson Flame Prison' divine ability was the bloodline chain technique Jing Sheng had used, not only did the Vermilion Bird Army become interested, even the other human cultivators were tempted.

They had to remember—when they were trapped in the Ghostfire Well, they had personally seen Jing Sheng use that divine ability to heavily wound the imperial clan cultivators.

Otherwise, in the Ghost Prison of Ghost Mother Mountain, Chu Tianye wouldn't have had only a few subordinates.

Among the crowd, Gongshu Xingyan looked at Hua Changxi with renewed astonishment—could a divine ability of this level really be passed on so casually?

"Squad Leader Fang, you and the Vermilion Bird Army think it over first. Once you've decided, collect everyone's intentions."

Hua Changxi instructed Fang Zhuyue, then looked at Song Weimin, Gongshu Xingyan, and the other human cultivators.

"Also collect and summarize the information and backgrounds of these people."

"No one is allowed to leave before I return."

Fang Zhuyue cupped his fists in acknowledgment.

After giving his orders, Hua Changxi said no more. With a flicker of his form, he turned into a fire bird, flew up from the bottom of the pagoda, and quickly vanished from everyone's sight.

"Squad Leader Fang, what does the master of Lingguang Hall mean by not letting us leave?"

Looking at the restless and anxious cultivators, Fang Zhuyue was speechless: "What are you afraid of? Our hall master went through great trouble to rescue you from the ghost domain—hardly likely to turn around and kill you, right?"

Hearing this, the cultivators' emotions were well calmed.

Gongshu Xingyan, however, frowned. He was a renowned artifact-refining master—others might leave easily, but he himself was not so certain.

"Do you think the master of Lingguang Hall will let us go?"

Gongshu Xingyan nudged Song Weimin.

Song Weimin saw how tense he looked and found it a bit amusing: "You know, cultivators outside have no idea who the master of Lingguang Hall really is."

"The reason she won't let us leave is probably because she's worried we'll leak her information once we get out."

"Besides, even if she let us go now, we couldn't leave. Our injuries are only under control. If we really went out, we might run into other dangers. Better to stay here."

"Also, the master of Lingguang Hall has another identity—she's a peak master of Dan Sheng Hall, and her medical skill is exceptional."

"Staying here, we might even receive proper treatment."

As he spoke, Song Weimin sized up Gongshu Xingyan: "Didn't you say you had ghost nails planted in you by the ghost clan? Maybe she can pull them out for you."

Gongshu Xingyan was surprised: "The master of Lingguang Hall doesn't look very old to me. She commands the Vermilion Bird Army, practices alchemy, and studies medicine—can she really manage all that?"

Song Weimin shrugged: "Who knows? Maybe geniuses are just this formidable."