Chapter 109: Self-Conceited

"Senior Gu, we must let the local cultivators take charge of the Pill Saint Hall before the outside cultivators invade in full force. Only then will the Pill Saint Hall not fall into the hands of those outsiders."

Gu Xing stared at the anxious-looking Gu Jinfan for a moment before withdrawing his gaze. "This old man does not believe that outside cultivators can steal the fortune of the Four Spirit World, nor do I believe that the cultivators of the Four Spirit World are so incompetent that they cannot even protect their own things."

Hearing this, Gu Jinfan was frantic. The local cultivators of the Four Spirit World were suppressed by the outsiders to the point where they couldn't turn things around; this was something she had personally experienced in her past life.

She could not speak of her rebirth. Gu Jinfan took a deep breath. "Senior, although the spiritual energy of the Four Spirit World has recovered, the growth of local cultivators takes time. The outside cultivators have never had their inheritance broken. Are you sure we can really withstand the invasion of the outside cultivators?"

Gu Xing's eyes flickered, but he did not speak.

Gu Jinfan continued, "Senior, besides promoting medicine and spreading the Dao, have you forgotten another duty of the Pill Saint Hall?"

Gu Xing's gaze shot sharply toward Gu Jinfan. "What is your background, and how do you know so much?"

Gu Jinfan replied, "Senior, there is no need to be wary. I am just a bit lucky; I encountered a few ruins and read some books detailing the events of the Four Spirit World's ancient times."

Gu Xing stared fixedly at Gu Jinfan, remaining silent.

Gu Jinfan continued, "The Four Spirit World is not just home to the human race, but also the demon race. The recovery of spiritual energy is an opportunity for the human race, but it is also an opportunity for the demon race, is it not?"

"The cultivators of the Four Spirit World must not only defend against the invasion of outside cultivators but also guard against the resurgence of the demon race. In this situation of internal and external troubles, are you sure the local cultivators can hold on?"

Gu Xing's chest heaved slightly as he stared at Gu Jinfan. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

Gu Jinfan said, "Senior, since we can foresee the terrible situation the Four Spirit World will face in the future, why not plan ahead?"

Gu Xing narrowed his eyes. "Is this 'planning ahead' you speak of just a way to make yourself the master of the Pill Saint Hall?"

Gu Jinfan shook her head. "The responsibility of being the master of the Pill Saint Hall is too great; I cannot bear it."

Gu Xing was somewhat surprised by this answer.

Gu Jinfan looked at Gu Xing. "I cannot bear it, but there are those who can."

Hearing this, Gu Xing understood what Gu Jinfan meant and laughed in spite of himself. "You have someone in mind and want to assist that person in becoming the master of the Pill Saint Hall?"

Gu Jinfan nodded. "That person is..."

Gu Xing raised his hand to interrupt her. "Girl, you think too highly of this old man, and you think too highly of yourself. The next master of the Pill Saint Hall is not for me to choose, nor is it for you to choose."

Gu Jinfan grew anxious. "Senior, why don't you understand? Relying on the local cultivators to grow spontaneously and take charge of the Pill Saint Hall—there is simply not enough time."

Gu Xing shook his head and looked at her. "This old man does not know what exactly you know, but I must remind you of one thing: do not become obsessed."

"The Pill Saint Hall bears the responsibility of stabilizing the Four Spirit World. It has its own criteria for choosing a master, which is absolutely not something you or I can manipulate."

Seeing Gu Xing so stubborn and set in his ways, Gu Jinfan was filled with helplessness. She wanted to say something more, but Gu Xing began to shoo her away.

"You should go. This old man needs to rest."

Seeing this, Gu Jinfan felt a bit angry. She was planning wholeheartedly for the Pill Saint Hall, not wanting it to fall into the hands of outside cultivators, yet Gu Xing was so uncooperative.

"Eighteen wooden plaques have fallen into the hands of eighteen people. Does Senior really intend to select the master of the Pill Saint Hall from these eighteen people, one by one?"

Gu Xing frowned at her. "Who told you that those who obtained the wooden plaques would become the master of the Pill Saint Hall?"

Gu Jinfan was stunned. "Is that not the case?"

Gu Xing sighed. "I said that the Pill Saint Hall will choose its own master. As for the wooden plaques..." He shook his head at Gu Jinfan. "You haven't even figured out the true purpose of the wooden plaques; where does your confidence come from to select the next master for the Pill Saint Hall?"

Gu Jinfan was truly dumbfounded. In her past life, she had heard the Jiang family say with her own ears that the wooden plaques were the tokens to control the Pill Saint Hall.

Gu Xing did not want to say anything more to Gu Jinfan and closed his eyes. "You may return."

The knowledge from her past life was actually wrong. This left Gu Jinfan's mind in turmoil, and she no longer had the heart to continue persuading him. She turned to leave, but after a few steps, she suddenly turned back to look at Gu Xing.

With the lighting of the pill fires on the First Street and the successive opening of the Qihuang Halls from one to nine, the life force Gu Xing absorbed increased, his body improved significantly, and his senses became much sharper.

Sensing that Gu Jinfan's gaze remained fixed on him, Gu Xing had no choice but to open his eyes. "Do you still have something to say?"

Gu Jinfan looked at him. "The twilight aura on Senior seems to have weakened a lot, and your complexion is much better than when I last came."

Gu Xing raised an eyebrow. This girl had some ability; she was the second person after Wei Zhenjie to notice that his twilight aura had faded.

Gu Jinfan turned to look at the open courtyard gate. Gu Xing's entire fortune and longevity were tied to the Pill Saint Hall. If his body was improving, what did that mean?

It meant that the Pill Saint Hall had already quietly revived in a place she did not know about.

"Senior, you actually already have a candidate for the next master of the Pill Saint Hall, don't you?"

Seeing that Gu Jinfan was still obsessing over this question and hadn't taken his previous words to heart at all, Gu Xing was truly too lazy to say anything more to her and simply closed his eyes to pretend he was asleep.

Seeing him like this, Gu Jinfan remained silent for a moment before striding away.

After Hua Changxi took the tenth wooden plaque from the old courtyard in the square, she returned to the Menial Hall and went to the No. 6 Qihuang Hall.

She had already occupied nine Qihuang Halls. For the next period of time, she planned to attend classes in the morning, refine pills in the afternoon, and cultivate at night.

【First-Grade Pill Refiner (Top-Grade Pill): Pill Refining 7521/7521】

Hua Changxi checked her pill refining data and decided to focus her energy on raising her pill refiner grade.

After refining several thousand furnaces of first-grade pills, she had long since memorized the techniques and processes of pill refining, forming muscle memory. In just one afternoon, she refined dozens of furnaces of top-grade pills.

After putting away the pills, Hua Changxi saw that it was getting dark and prepared to go eat. As soon as she stepped out of the courtyard, she saw Eunuch Jia and Eunuch Zhou waiting outside.

"Why are you here? Do you have something to find me for?"

Eunuch Jia quickly replied, "Master, the Department Head has issued an order to register everyone who has been to the old courtyard in the square in the last two months."

Eunuch Zhou looked cautiously at Hua Changxi and reminded her, "Master, on the 29th of the third month, didn't I follow orders to make Old Man Gu leave the old courtyard? You entered the old courtyard that day, and many people saw it. We had no choice but to report you."

Hua Changxi frowned. "Do you know why the Department Head wants to register this?"

Both Eunuch Jia and Eunuch Zhou shook their heads.

Hua Changxi fell silent, guessing it might be related to the wooden plaques.

Eunuch Zhou looked at Hua Changxi. "Master, in these coming days, the Department Head might question everyone who has been to the old courtyard one by one."

"I know about this matter."

Hua Changxi dismissed the two, pondered for a moment, and turned to go to the old courtyard in the square.

Every time she went to the old courtyard, she avoided people. Now, the only person who knew she had taken ten wooden plaques was Gu Xing. She was not sure if Gu Xing would tell others about this.

Soon, she arrived at the square.

Hua Changxi stood at the corner of the wall without approaching the old courtyard. There was no other reason than that she sensed several groups of people hidden around the square, all watching the old courtyard.

She heard that the fighting on the First Street had already ended; was it now the turn of the old courtyard in the square?

Hua Changxi frowned and returned to her own courtyard. Thinking of how that person was always in a state of knowing nothing whenever she saw Gu Xing, her expression relaxed slightly.

Since he didn't tell her anything, he probably wouldn't say much to others either.

Hua Changxi thought the Department Head's speed wouldn't be that fast, and even if he wanted to question people, it would take a few days. Who would have thought that the next morning, Eunuch Jia would come to notify her to go to the First Street Medicine Department building to see the Department Head.

Seeing the Department Head summoning people so quickly, Hua Changxi felt the importance he placed on the old courtyard, so she went to the First Street fully prepared.

This time, when going to the First Street, she walked directly along the Pilgrimage Road in the center of the Jiujie.

Along the way, every time she passed an intersection where a street met the Pilgrimage Road, she would slow her pace.

She had made the storage prayer beads of the white-robed monk into a bracelet that young ladies liked and wore it on her wrist. All ten wooden plaques were placed inside the prayer beads. Every time she passed an intersection, she could sense that the ten wooden plaques would flash with a white glow.

Hua Changxi's eyes flickered. The wooden plaques would react and flash with a white glow when passing the intersections of the Jiujie. This point was very easy to be discovered; one just needed to walk along the Pilgrimage Road once.

However, the Qihuang Halls were all behind the Menial Hall and the Apprentice Hall. The people who entered and exited the courtyards the most were either menials or apprentices. If she were not from the Menial Hall, she might not have noticed these dilapidated courtyards.

As for the other eight people who obtained the wooden plaques, if they were not from the Menial Hall or the Apprentice Hall, their eyes would mostly only stay on the Jiujie.

This discovery made Hua Changxi's mood relax slightly. She did not want the Qihuang Halls to be targeted by all parties; fighting for power and profit consumed too much energy, and she did not have that spare time.

The further she walked toward the First Street, the more people there were on the road.

When passing the intersection of the Second Street, Hua Changxi stopped her pace. Looking at the two pill fires on both sides of the First Street intersection, she turned her feet and walked into the small alley of the pharmacy on the right to get to the First Street.

There was no other reason; she felt that if she passed under the two pill fires, the pill fires would become more vigorous, which would definitely attract others' attention.

Hua Changxi came out of the pharmacy alley and arrived at the First Street.

At this moment, people were coming and going on the First Street, especially in front of the Medicine Department building, where several hundred people were already standing.

So many people had actually been to the old courtyard in the square!

Looking at this scene, Hua Changxi's expression was somewhat serious. If she could notice the old courtyard in the square, others naturally could too; there were too many smart people in this world.

After a rough glance, there were about twenty people from the Menial Hall who had been to the old courtyard, about fifty from the Apprentice Hall, nearly a hundred from the Disciple Hall, and as for the Jiujie, there were several hundred people.

Looking at the changes in the number of people from the Jiujie, Disciple Hall, Apprentice Hall, and Menial Hall who had been to the old courtyard, Hua Changxi felt a bit emotional.

The Menial Hall had the largest number of people and was also adjacent to the square, yet the fewest people noticed the old courtyard. Although the people from the Jiujie rarely went to the square behind, they were the ones who had been there the most.

What did this explain? It explained that their information was truly well-informed.

With several hundred people summoned at the same time and gathered together, their status and rank were immediately revealed.

The people from the Jiujie gathered into nine groups according to their streets outside the Medicine Department building, talking and laughing, and the nine groups would even walk around and chat with each other.

The people from the Disciple Hall gathered in a place relatively close to the Jiujie, and a few people could still talk to the people from the Jiujie, their expressions and demeanor still considered calm.

As for the people from the Apprentice Hall and the Menial Hall, they stood in the corner outside the Medicine Department building, one on the left and one on the right, with no one making a sound, perfectly acting as background boards. If someone else came, they would have to quickly avoid them.

Just as Hua Changxi was walking toward the people from the Menial Hall, Gu Qiming walked out of the main hall on the third floor of the Medicine Department building with a few people, preparing to go downstairs.

"Manager Hua, we are here."

Hearing someone shouting loudly downstairs, the few people looked down together.

The next moment, Gu Jinfan, who was standing behind Gu Qiming, disregarded etiquette, pushed Gu Qiming aside, rushed to the railing, and looked at Hua Changxi, who was walking quickly toward the menials, with a shocked expression.

"Gu Jinfan, you are too arrogant, actually being so disrespectful to the Department Head."

Mu Qingying respected Gu Qiming very much and couldn't stand Gu Jinfan's rudeness, so she couldn't help but speak up to rebuke her.

Who knew that Gu Jinfan ignored her completely and just stared straight at the person below.

Mu Qingying wanted to say something more, but was stopped by Gu Qiming.

Gu Qiming followed Gu Jinfan's gaze and looked down, also seeing Hua Changxi. He raised his eyebrows. Looking at Gu Jinfan's appearance, it seemed she didn't know that Hua Changxin had an older sister?

"Hua Changxin... has she returned to the capital?"

No, that wasn't right. When she returned from Kunlun, the people from the Taisu Palace were clearly still trapped in the Yaochi Secret Realm and couldn't get out.

If it wasn't Hua Changxin, then who was the person below?

The people from the Menial Hall shouted loudly for Hua Changxi, which didn't attract too much attention. Those who heard it just took a faint look and withdrew their gaze, and everyone continued to talk and laugh as they should.

However, the next moment, someone flew down from the Medicine Department building, and the people downstairs avoided them one after another, and then they heard another urgent shout.

"Hua Changxin!"

Hua Changxi had just walked to the front of the team gathered by the menials when she heard a shout from behind, the voice carrying undisguised shock and inquiry. Thinking of something, her body couldn't help but pause.

At this moment, everyone's attention was attracted, and they all looked at Gu Jinfan and Hua Changxi.

Hua Changxi remained silent for a moment, forced a smile on her face, turned around, looked at Gu Jinfan standing a few meters away, and said with a smile, "Young Lady Gu Seven, long time no see. I am very happy to see you again."

Gu Jinfan stared blankly at Hua Changxi, her eyes widening more and more. "You are not Hua Changxin, you are... Hua Jiuniang."

Hua Changxi's smile remained unchanged. "Young Lady Gu Seven, are you very familiar with my family's Tenth Lady?"

Gu Jinfan shook her head in disbelief. "How could this be?"

In her past life, Hua Jiuniang clearly died on the Zhu Que Transmission Platform. In this life, she also saw her jump off the transmission platform with her own eyes...

Gu Jinfan recalled the scene at that time; she had been filled with despair after falling into the magma river due to the Zhu Que power-transfer stone, and she simply had not gone to investigate whether Hua Jiuniang had truly fallen into the magma river.

Hua Jiuniang had been bloodied by the demonic Daoist and indeed had no possibility of survival, but she had been reborn, which had untied her bonds and given her the ability to save herself.

Gu Jinfan smiled; so, it was because of her rebirth that Hua Jiuniang's fate of an early death had been changed.

Her return was useful; since she could change a person's fate, she would certainly be able to change the outcome of the Four Spirit Realms being occupied by outside cultivators.

"Hua Jiuniang, I am very happy to see you again, extremely happy."

Hua Changxi looked at her shifting expression, frowned, and smiled: "Me too."