Chapter 487: Blood

As soon as she stepped out of the Divine Wood Space, she ran straight into Gu Xing. Hua Changxi was taken aback for a moment, but when her gaze swept over the tightly closed courtyard gate, she suddenly understood. Then she smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I hope I didn't keep you trapped in the yard for too long, Senior?"

Gu Xing wore a wooden expression and said indifferently, "It wasn't long—barely a single year."

As he spoke, his gaze sharpened slightly, and he keenly noticed the change in Hua Changxi.

In the past, perhaps because she practiced a fire-type cultivation method, Hua Changxi's entire temperament had always exuded a murderous, aggressive intent, like a drawn sword.

But now, that aggressive, piercing aura had been somewhat diminished, and her brows and eyes held a trace of roundedness and gentleness.

"A year?!"

Hua Changxi exclaimed in surprise. She hadn't really felt the passage of time; she never imagined a whole year had gone by.

But after a moment's thought, she accepted it.

Her leap through the Divine Wood Leaf Barrier earlier must have consumed a fair amount of time; afterward, when she was at the bottom of the Dan Spring comprehending the law of 'Life,' her mind was completely immersed, and she couldn't perceive time at all.

Hua Changxi gave Gu Xing an apologetic smile, then strode quickly toward the courtyard gate. She grabbed the door with both hands, applied a little force, and with a creak, the tightly shut gate swung open.

Outside the old courtyard, the few people who had been reporting to Gu Xing were startled when they saw Hua Changxi suddenly open the door.

Hua Changxi nodded to them, then turned back to Gu Xing and said, "Senior Gu, you all go ahead with your business. I won't disturb you." With that, she stepped out of the old courtyard, preparing to return to Danyuan Peak.

After taking a few steps, Hua Changxi suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked at Gu Xing. "Senior Gu, I might come in and out of the old courtyard from time to time in the future, and it's not good to keep you locked inside all the time. How about finding another place..."

Gu Xing looked at her. "Unless the Hall Master orders it, this old man will keep guarding this courtyard. I'm not going anywhere."

Hua Changxi shrugged and said, "Suit yourself." Then she strode away without looking back.

On her way back to Danyuan Peak after leaving the old courtyard, Hua Changxi noticed that Dansheng Hall had become much quieter.

Before, whenever she appeared, she would receive all kinds of overt and covert stares. This time, those habitual prying gazes were few and far between.

"Jiuniang."

As soon as Hua Changxi reached the foot of Danyuan Peak, she ran into Xu Yaoshi. She immediately broke into a smile. "Uncle Xu."

Xu Yaoshi hurried forward and said with a smile, "You came out of seclusion quite quickly this time."

Hua Changxi was taken aback. "Seclusion?"

Seeing her completely confused, Xu Yaoshi quickly explained, "Old Gu said that by closing the old courtyard gate, you were going into seclusion there to cultivate. Wasn't that the case?"

Hua Changxi suddenly understood and made an "oh" sound. "Something like that, I suppose."

Xu Yaoshi looked at Hua Changxi and said with a smile, "You've been busy. It's been a long time since we've sat down and talked. Would you like to stop by the Personnel Department?"

Hua Changxi 'looked' at the surging, boiling qi and blood inside Xu Yaoshi's body, and noticed a white serpent lurking in his bloodline. She raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Sure."

Seeing her agree, Xu Yaoshi happily ushered her into the Personnel Department.

"Peak Master."

"Manager Xu."

The surrounding disciples, seeing Xu Yaoshi chatting and laughing with Hua Changxi in such a familiar manner, looked at him with slightly changed expressions.

The Personnel Department had two managers: one was Xu Yaoshi, the other was Wan Feng.

Wan Feng was in charge of various reception matters. He had a wide circle of friends, was smooth and slick, and moreover had good talent and was younger, so the people in the Personnel Department tended to trust Wan Feng more.

As a result, Xu Yaoshi's words carried less weight than Wan Feng's in the Personnel Department.

Xu Yaoshi noticed the change in the disciples' eyes, and his smile grew even deeper.

Hua Changxi paid no attention to all this. After entering Xu Yaoshi's office, she asked with a smile, "Uncle Xu, is Xu Ling doing well?"

Xu Yaoshi chuckled. "She's doing great. She's quite valued in the Ladies' Army. She received a generous reward for her merit before, and I got a bit of the glory too."

He paused, looked around, and lowered his voice. "Lingling got a Bloodline Atavism Fruit. She gave it to me. After I took it, my bloodline also reverted to its ancestral form, and I even obtained the atavistic divine ability."

Hua Changxi's face lit up with joy after hearing this. "Bloodline Atavism Fruits aren't easy to come by. Congratulations, Uncle Xu."

Xu Yaoshi grinned, his manner as casual and familiar as ever.

Hua Changxi's eyes shifted, and she said with a smile, "Bloodline atavism is a good thing, but to unleash the full power of the divine ability, you need a strong physical body to match. Uncle Xu, you should spend more time on body refinement."

Xu Yaoshi nodded hurriedly. "I've been training all along."

Hua Changxi estimated that Master Xu had already cultivated to the late stage of the fourth level of Body Refinement, with combat power comparable to a late Nascent Soul cultivator; if he used his bloodline divine ability, he could even fight a Spirit Platform cultivator.

However, Master Xu's talent in cultivation was not particularly outstanding, making his cultivation speed somewhat too fast.

"What kind of tea is this?"

Master Xu presented a cup of tea. The fragrance was rich and sweet, making one's mouth water, but the liquor was as bright red as blood.

Hua Changxi's eyes flickered slightly. Curiously, she picked up the teacup, first sniffing it lightly, then bringing it close for a careful look. Immediately, her brows furrowed slightly—this type of tea was something she had never even heard of.

When it came to other cultivation secrets, she might have many blind spots; but in the art of spirit plants, she had absolute confidence.

After all, the inheritance of the Shennong Ding encompassed all things and was considered the ancestor of all plants. She believed that no ancient text or inheritance could possibly record things more thoroughly and comprehensively than it.

Something not even recorded in the Shennong Ding forced her to think more carefully.

Master Xu smiled and said, "This is the Blood Tea that Lingling gave me. Don't be put off by the color; drinking this Blood Tea can speed up the progress of Body Refinement. The effect is very good."

Hua Changxi: "Blood Tea? I've never heard of this kind of tea leaf."

Master Xu explained, "Blood Tea is not ordinary tea. It is refined by the Wu family using a secret method."

Hua Changxi put down the teacup. Though she hadn't detected anything unusual, she had no intention of drinking it: "Uncle Xu, could I take a look at what the Blood Tea looks like?"

Master Xu observed Hua Changxi's reaction, didn't hesitate, and took out a bamboo tube about the height of a palm from his storage pouch, handing it to Hua Changxi.

Hua Changxi took it, opened the bamboo lid, and saw what the Blood Tea looked like inside. She was momentarily stunned—they were actually blood-red granules the size of grains of rice.

"This looks a bit like... insect eggs."

Master Xu: "They are the eggs of Blood Ants."

"Blood Ants, is it?"

Hua Changxi knew about Blood Ants too, but Blood Ants didn't contain that much qi and blood. In theory, they couldn't be used to refine Blood Tea that held a large amount of blood and qi power.

"The Wu family... has deep foundations."

The secret technique of refining Blood Ant eggs into Blood Tea was definitely extraordinary.

Hua Changxi returned the tea container to Master Xu, and there was a trace of scrutiny in her eyes as she looked at him.

She still remembered that quite some time ago, Master Xu had offered her a very rare Mengpo Tea as a treat. Now, he had brought out this Blood Tea again—a somewhat eerie thing.

She had always trusted her instincts. Although the Blood Tea showed no sign of anything unusual, she still felt instinctively uncomfortable.

However, the resources used by cultivators were inherently complex and varied. Just because she felt uncomfortable, she couldn't make too much of a fuss about the Blood Tea.

"Master!"

Before they appeared, the voices of Yu Fu and Jia Lu came through.

Soon, the two stepped into the room.

Master Xu rose and exchanged greetings with them.

Yu Fu looked at Hua Changxi happily: "Master, you've come out of seclusion."

Hua Changxi smiled and nodded to the two, then chatted with Master Xu for a while before leaving with them.

After walking out of the Personnel Department, Hua Changxi asked Yu Fu and Jia Lu: "Do you have a lot of dealings with Steward Xu?"

The two exchanged a glance. Yu Fu said, "Quite a lot. Steward Xu is in charge of the disciples' assessments. When we assign tasks, we always consult his opinion."

Hua Changxi asked further: "Who does he usually interact with most closely?"

Yu Fu: "Steward Xu rarely leaves Danyuan Peak. His interactions with others in the Holy Land are limited to official matters. We haven't noticed anyone he is particularly close to."

Jia Lu added: "Steward Xu's daughter, Xu Ling, comes almost every month to bring him things."

Hua Changxi's eyes flickered: "Has Xu Ling shown anything unusual?"

Yu Fu and Jia Lu shook their heads simultaneously.

Jia Lu: "Xu Ling doesn't stay long. She leaves after handing over the items and sitting for a little while."

Yu Fu, seeing Hua Changxi silent, immediately asked: "Master, is there something wrong with Steward Xu?"

Hua Changxi shook her head: "Not really. It's just that I feel the people Steward Xu associates with are somewhat... mixed."

However, thinking about how Pharmacist Xu had hidden nothing from her and always spoke his mind, Hua Changxi shook her head again: "Maybe I'm overthinking it."

"By the way, why does the Holy Land feel so deserted?"

Yu Fu quickly said: "The Nine Passes of the Demon Prison are jointly hosting an auction, and Pavilion Master Meng has taken quite a few people to attend."

Hua Changxi paused mid-step: "An auction?"

Jia Lu: "I've heard this joint Nine Passes auction has a long history—it's only held once every fifty years, and even all the major powers in the Nine Netherworld attend."

Yu Fu continued: "This auction has been held over a dozen times already, which means the spiritual energy revival actually began silently several hundred years ago, or even earlier."

"It's just that ordinary people never knew."

"In the past, only those aristocratic families and powerful figures who had long known about the spiritual energy revival attended the auction."

"Pavilion Master Meng has even taken the Secret Realm Master along, saying it's to broaden everyone's horizons."

Hua Changxi continued walking up the mountain: "Has anyone from our side gone?"

Yu Fu nodded: "Zhou Shou and Zhao Xi went, along with ten disciples including Ye Lingxuan."

He paused briefly as he spoke.

"Master, Sanlang came to Jia Lu and me on his own, saying he also wanted to go down to the Nine Netherworld to broaden his horizons, so we added him and Zhu Qinghuan to the team."

Seeing that Yu Fu and Jia Lu were both looking at her cautiously, Hua Changxi smiled: "You don't need to be like that. He is my third brother, but he's also an adult, with his own judgment and choices."

"From now on, regarding my third brother, as long as it's his own decision and it complies with the rules and regulations of Danyuan Peak and Danding Peak, just handle things according to the rules—you don't need to consider me."

"People have to take responsibility for themselves."

Hearing this, Yu Fu and Jia Lu immediately breathed a sigh of relief.