Chapter 134: Two Zhu Que Soldiers

After moving the spirit ore, Hua Changxi gathered another batch of second- and third-tier spirit plants, spirit herbs, and spirit fruits within Mount Wuzhi and placed them into the Shennong Cauldron; she had originally intended to collect fourth-tier spirit herbs as well, but alas, fourth-tier spirit herbs in Mount Wuzhi were pitifully scarce.

"Fourth-tier spirit herbs grow far too slowly."

Upon hearing this, the Mountain Spirit said, "The higher the tier of a spirit herb, the longer its natural growth period; since the spiritual qi recovery in the Four Spirit Realm has only just begun, there naturally will not be many high-tier spirit herbs yet."

Hua Changxi was not truly concerned about this; to advance her alchemist rank to fourth grade, she still needed to refine over twenty thousand batches of pills, which would take her a considerable amount of time.

By the time she actually needed to refine fourth-grade pills, perhaps the fourth-tier spirit herbs would have matured.

After gathering the medicinal ingredients, Hua Changxi went to inspect the spirit grain and spirit rice cultivated by An Ze and An Ran; the fields near Mount Wuzhi possessed dense spiritual qi, and a batch of spirit rice and spirit grain had already ripened.

Hua Changxi took out spirit stones, purchased a batch of the spirit rice and spirit grain, and then instructed An Ze and An Ran that once the harvest was complete, they should take the goods directly to the shop for sale.

Upon hearing this, An Ze hastily said, "Immortal, many people have already placed pre-orders for this batch of spirit rice and spirit grain we cultivated; if we sell to them, there will be no need to sell at the shop at all."

Hua Changxi frowned: "Ordinary people can also consume spirit rice and spirit grain; eating them strengthens the body and enhances health, so we cannot sell everything to them."

An Ze hesitated, seeming reluctant to speak fully: "Those people... are all powerful figures from Qingzhou; if we do not sell to them, I fear they will cause trouble."

Hua Changxi fell silent; suddenly, she thought of someone: "I previously saved the Prince of Dong'an in Mount Wuzhi, and Qingzhou falls under the Prince of Dong'an's jurisdiction; go seek his assistance."

An Ze's expression brightened; in all his life, the highest official he had ever seen was the County Magistrate, which explained why the village elders always said that following the right person could lift even chickens and dogs to heaven; he, a commoner who made his living farming, could now actually go meet a Prince.

After settling the details regarding the sale of spirit grain and spirit rice with An Ze and An Ran, Hua Changxi prepared to depart; just as she was leaving, she suddenly stopped, turning to look at An Ze and An Ran.

"Both of you possess fire spiritual roots; the cultivation technique I previously gave you was decent, but not top-tier; now I have a top-tier fire-attribute cultivation technique here."

"Cultivating this technique will accelerate your cultivation speed, but it requires you to dissipate your current cultivation base and start anew."

"Furthermore, since this technique originates from a great figure, those who cultivate it must uphold that great figure's aspirations: to guard the peace of the four directions and protect the well-being of all living beings."

"I cultivate this very technique; you may consider it."

Upon hearing this, An Ze and An Ran felt somewhat at a loss.

An Ran, being bolder and more willing to express her thoughts proactively, said: "Immortal, regarding matters of cultivation, my brother and I do not know much, nor are we clear on how to choose; but we trust you, Immortal—if you believe it is better for us to switch techniques, then we will switch."

Hearing these words, Hua Changxi felt the trust the siblings placed in her, yet this trust felt somewhat heavy, intertwined with a responsibility she was unwilling to bear.

"An Ran, I am delighted that you trust me so much, but I must clarify this in advance: your decision must be based solely on yourselves; what I deem good may not necessarily suit you."

"Here is the plan: accompany me to Jingcheng; once there, you yourselves will decide whether to change your cultivation technique; I am merely offering a suggestion."

"You are the ones making the choice, and you are the ones who must bear the consequences; this point, you must remember clearly."

After hearing this, An Ran and An Ze exchanged a glance, then nodded solemnly: "Thank you, Immortal, for your guidance; we have noted it."

The Fire Lotus Immortal did not make decisions on their behalf; although they felt slightly uneasy, following such a person made them feel more at ease.

Subsequently, Hua Changxi condensed a cloud, took An Ran and An Ze along, and headed straight for the Lingguang Hall in Nanxiang County.

Along the way, An Ze suddenly remembered something and hastily said: "Immortal, lately, increasingly many people have come to Mount Wuzhi, and some are secretly investigating news about you."

As for outsiders investigating her, Hua Changxi was neither surprised nor particularly worried.

Everyone who had seen her had sworn heart-demon oaths, and even the Mountain Spirit and the Welcoming Pine were unaware of her identity in Jingcheng.

"Let them be; just instruct your subordinates to maintain order in Mount Wuzhi and manage the shop properly; the rest is to focus on cultivation."

"If you truly encounter trouble, do not be afraid; notify me as soon as possible, and I will come to handle it."

Hearing these words, the siblings An Ze and An Ran quickly exchanged glances, their eyes filled with relief, grateful that they had encountered the Fire Lotus Immortal.

After entering the Nascent Soul realm, Hua Changxi's control over spiritual qi became increasingly effortless; since the Somersault Cloud served purposes such as escape and transportation, she had devoted great effort to studying it, and now she had mastered it to perfection; in less than half an incense period, Lingguang Hall came into the sight of the three.

Hua Changxi cast a faint glance at the army blocking the road, then, bringing the siblings An Ze and An Ran with her, flew like a meteor straight to the outside of the Lecture Hall within Lingguang Hall.

Gazing at the palace before them, which resembled an immortal palace, both An Ran and An Ze wore faces full of shock.

"Follow me."

Hua Changxi led An Ran and An Ze to the underground lecture plaza, stopping before the Zhu Que Lecture Stele: "The cultivation technique I mentioned to you is called the 'Zhu Que Divine Art'."

Saying this, she looked at the siblings, who were still immersed in their shock.

"Do you know what this realm of ours is called?"

The siblings shook their heads in unison.

Hua Changxi said: "Our realm is called the Four Spirit Realm; surely you know what the 'Four Spirits' are?"

An Ze nodded: "Zhu Que, Xuan Wu, Qing Long, and Bai Hu are the Four Spirits."

Before knowing that cultivators capable of flying through the sky and burrowing into the earth truly existed, common people had worshipped the Four Spirits as deities.

An Ran looked at Hua Changxi with burning eyes: "Immortal, I wish to cultivate the 'Zhu Que Divine Art'."

An Ze glanced at An Ran, then added: "Me too."

Hua Changxi asked: "Have you read and understood the content on the stele clearly?"

An Ze and An Ran nodded together: "We have read it clearly."

Hua Changxi asked again: "Are you certain you have thought this through? You could actually take some time to consider it."

An Ran replied: "Immortal, there is no need to consider; being able to cultivate the 'Zhu Que Divine Art' is absolutely a fortune spanning three lifetimes for my brother and me; if Father and Mother knew that one day my brother and I could become Zhu Que soldiers guarding the peace of a region, they would be proud of us."

Although An Ze did not speak, his expression revealed that he thought the same.

Seeing this, Hua Changxi said no more: "Then swear your oaths."

"Before the Zhu Que Spirit, I solemnly swear... should I break this oath, may spirits and gods jointly punish me; let the sacred might of Zhu Que witness my original intent."

Hua Changxi watched the siblings swear their oaths; observing their solemn expressions, a sense of solemnity and sanctity surged within her heart, while simultaneously, a warm current flowed across the back of her right hand.

Hua Changxi lowered her head to look at the back of her hand, but there was nothing there, and that warm current vanished quickly.

Hua Changxi felt somewhat puzzled; just then, An Ran and An Ze finished swearing their oaths.

'Boom~'

The stone door opened, revealing the lecture platform inside.

Seeing this, Hua Changxi told An Ran and An Ze: "Go in; place your hands on that red stone, and you will receive the technique."

"After receiving the technique, first dissipate your original cultivation base and switch to cultivating the 'Zhu Que Divine Art'; once you re-enter the Qi Condensation realm, I will come back to take you to Mount Wuzhi."

Subsequently, Hua Changxi watched as An Ran and An Ze stepped onto the lecture platform, watched as they received the technique, and watched as the two dissipated their cultivation bases to devote themselves to cultivation once more.

During this period, she stayed with them at the Transmission of Arts Square; after her classes at the Medical Bureau ended, she simply remained there, refining pills while observing the two of them.

In the blink of an eye, the date reached the first day of the seventh month.

An Ran and An Ze, who already possessed cultivation experience, dispersed their previous cultivation and trained for ten days in the underground square where Fire Qi was dense, reaching the early stage of Qi Refining.

"Fairy, cultivating the Zhu Que Divine Art truly makes the speed of cultivation several times faster than before."

Both An Ran and An Ze were utterly astonished by the cultivation speed of the Zhu Que Divine Art.

Hua Changxi smiled and said, "As I mentioned, this is the top-tier Fire-element cultivation technique in the Four Spirits Realm."

Over these ten days, she had been continuously refining pills, elevating the quality of the Grade Two pills she produced to the supreme grade.

[Grade Two Alchemist (Supreme Grade Pills): Pills Refined 1618 Furnaces 1618/]