Chapter 207: The Immortal Tree Ganmu

When members of the Guardian Clans came to contest the Imperial Court for control of the Medical Bureau, Hua Changxi had maintained an attitude of complete detachment; yet now, learning that the Guardian Clans were setting their sights on the Qihuang Hall, she could no longer stand aside.

The wooden tablets were the keys to unlocking and opening the Qihuang Hall; of the eighteen tablets, she held ten, while the remaining eight each had their own owners, and she was very curious as to how the Guardian Clans intended to seize the Qihuang Hall.

Prince Shou perceived that the white-haired elder desired to lay hands on the Qihuang Hall; not daring to openly tear relations apart with the Guardian Clans, he could only turn to Chu Junhao standing behind him and say, "Junhao, lead the various Hall Masters forward to pay respects to Elder Xia."

Upon hearing the instruction, Chu Junhao immediately stepped forward, bowed with clasped hands to the white-haired elder, and said, "Chu Junhao, Hall Master of Qihuang Hall Number Fourteen, pays respects to Elder Xia." Then, turning to the group on his right, he cupped his fists and added, "Greetings to all fellow Daoists."

Like the group of cultivators brought by the Xia family, he did not announce his own lineage.

The white-haired elder looked at Chu Junhao with a smile and nodded.

Next, the various Hall Masters rose one by one in the order of their Qihuang Halls to offer their greetings.

"Mu Qingying, Hall Master of Hall Number One, pays respects to Elder Xia and greets all fellow Daoists."

"Xie An, Hall Master of Hall Number Two..."

"Huo Yunxiao, Hall Master of Hall Number Three..."

?

"Hua Changxi, Hall Master of Hall Number Thirteen..."

Following behind the other Hall Masters, Hua Changxi mimicked their actions to report her name, then returned to her position behind Huo Yunxiao.

"Duan Yuyan, Hall Master of Hall Number Fifteen..."

?

"Wei Xiao, Hall Master of Hall Number Eighteen..."

Regarding these eighteen Qihuang Hall Masters, the white-haired elder and the cultivators he had brought examined them with extreme seriousness, showing no trace of disdain.

Jingcheng was a place where power converged; those who could emerge victorious from the whirlpool of power were absolutely not incompetent individuals.

Although they had obtained detailed information on the eighteen Hall Masters before arriving at the Medical Bureau, information was static while people were dynamic; a few pages of data could never fully summarize a person, moreover, some information was inaccurate and incomplete.

The white-haired elder, Xia Zhen, was the Sixteenth Elder of the Xia family, a Guardian Clan of the Central Continent; having long since opened his Spirit Platform, he was a Spirit Platform realm cultivator capable of freely releasing and retracting his divine sense to probe, meaning that everyone in the discussion hall could not escape his scrutiny, unless that person wore a magical treasure capable of blocking divine sense investigation.

The magical treasures required to block the divine sense of a Spirit Platform cultivator were entirely different from those needed to block the investigation of Nine Nether Ghost Envoys; to resist the probe of a Spirit Platform cultivator, the grade of the magical treasure had to be at least fifth grade or higher.

On the side of the Medical Bureau, only Prince Shou possessed a magical treasure of such grade; even Director Gu did not have one, let alone the others.

With a single sweep of his divine sense, Xia Zhen saw through everyone's underlying strength, yet, as accidents happen in all things, what surprised him was that he could not fathom the depth of Hua Changxi, the Hall Master of Qihuang Hall Number Thirteen.

When his divine sense swept over her, that girl had dissatisfiedly glared at him; although she quickly withdrew her gaze, he had still captured the moment.

Interesting, this girl could actually detect his divine sense probe; was she naturally sharp, or had she already cultivated divine sense?

Xia Zhen recalled the data on the eighteen Hall Masters; if he remembered correctly, Hua Changxi was one of only two individuals with no background or powerful patrons, yet neither fifth-grade-or-higher magical treasures nor cultivation methods for divine sense were easy to obtain; without a family to lift her up, how had she acquired them?

Initially, Xia Zhen had ranked the importance of the eighteen Hall Masters according to the forces behind them, but now, Hua Changxi's ranking had suddenly surged to the top few.

Those who could grow without anyone backing them were the most impossible to underestimate; such people possessed many opportunities and talents that children of noble families could only envy.

This girl even dared to glare at him; her courage was indeed not small!

Xia Zhen withdrew his attention from Hua Changxi and looked at Prince Shou with a smile: "The Medical Bureau produces talent after talent; from this, one can see that the medical path of the Central Continent is flourishing, which brings this old man great joy." Speaking thus, he looked again at the Hall Masters: "By the way, which Hall Masters obtained the wooden tablets?"

At these words, the nine Hall Masters who had secured their positions solely through identity and background showed somewhat unnatural expressions, while Prince Shou's brows knitted even tighter.

Hearing Xia Zhen ask about the wooden tablets, Director Gu's tense mood suddenly relaxed; yes, how could he have forgotten? Even if the Guardian Clans wished to seize the Qihuang Hall, those possessing the wooden tablets had nothing to fear from seizure; any snatching would be directed at those held by the Imperial Court and the nobility.

Thinking thus, Director Gu smiled at Xia Zhen and said, "Elder Xia, this unworthy junior was fortunate enough to wait out and obtain one wooden tablet." Speaking thus, he pointed to Mu Qingying and Yuan Tianchou standing behind him, adding, "These two disciples of mine also each obtained one."

Seeing that all three master and disciples had obtained wooden tablets, Xia Zhen smiled: "Director Gu has managed the Medical Bureau for these years; your hard work and great merit are evident." Then, looking at the other Hall Masters, he asked, "Which other Hall Masters have obtained wooden tablets?"

Wen Lanzhou, Hall Master of Hall Number Four, bowed with clasped hands to Xia Zhen and said, "Elder Xia, my master, Celestial Master Zhang, was fortunate enough to obtain one."

Gu Jinfan, Hall Master of Hall Number Ten, followed suit: "Elder Xia, my daughter was fortunate enough to obtain one."

Next was Shen Qianfan, Hall Master of Hall Number Eleven: "Elder Xia, this unworthy junior was fortunate enough to obtain one."

Then came Zhu Qinghuan, Hall Master of Hall Number Twelve: "Elder Xia, my daughter was fortunate enough to obtain one."

Huo Yunxiao, Hall Master of Hall Number Three, stood up from his seated position: "Elder Xia, my master, the Minister of the Heaven Department, was fortunate enough to obtain one."

As soon as he finished speaking, Hua Changxi reported like the others: "Elder Xia, I also obtained a wooden tablet."

Xia Zhen looked at Hua Changxi; from her daring to whisper publicly right from the start, one could see that this person was somewhat unruly, and such people liked to highlight their uniqueness and difference in speech and action; therefore, he took Hua Changxi's statement that she "obtained a wooden tablet" rather than "obtained one wooden tablet" simply as her emphasizing her distinctiveness, without thinking deeply into it.

The others were the same, paying it no mind.

Seeing no one else step forward, Xia Zhen looked at Prince Shou and Director Gu, confirming once more: "Only nine people obtained wooden tablets?"

Prince Shou and Director Gu nodded.

Xia Zhen frowned: "Eighteen Qihuang Halls, eighteen wooden tablets; who obtained the remaining nine tablets? Have you not investigated this?"

Director Gu shook his head: "This junior's strength is limited; I truly could not investigate it. Now that a senior like you has arrived, perhaps discoveries can be made."

Xia Zhen did not respond to this; while it was true that the Xia family was a Guardian Clan and knew many things others did not, they also knew little about the internal affairs of the Five Great Sacred Lands; if they knew everything clearly, they would have long ago arranged for family members to come and take over the Sacred Lands.

Seeing Xia Zhen remain silent, Prince Shou smiled and spoke: "Elder Xia, today is New Year's Eve in the mortal world; the palace has prepared a New Year's Eve banquet. I wonder if Elder Xia and the other fellow Daoists would honor us with your presence?"

Xia Zhen shook his head: "As for the New Year's Eve banquet, forget it; today I came to the Medical Bureau carrying a mission from the Guardian Clans."

Having spoken, Xia Zhen stood up and adjusted his robes.

Seeing him do this, everyone felt somewhat bewildered, yet all those who were seated rose to their feet as well, including Prince Shou.

After adjusting his attire, Xia Zhen raised both hands, palms open and facing upward; the next moment, a bronze ding the size of a basketball appeared in his hands.

Carefully placing the bronze ding on the table, Xia Zhen then took out eighteen sticks of green incense, each one meter long: three were as wide as a fist, six were two fingers wide, and nine were as wide as a little finger.

Looking at the bronze ding and the green incense, Prince Shou asked: "Elder Xia, what are these?"

Xia Zhen pointed to the bronze ding: "This is the alchemical ding used by the Alchemy Saint Hall to worship the Divine Tree." Then, pointing to the green incense, he added, "This is the Alchemy Incense guarded generation after generation by the Xia family."

Hearing this, everyone's faces showed surprise.

"Worship the Divine Tree?"

"Alchemy Incense?"

No one knew what Xia Zhen intended to do with these two items, and confusion marked their faces; Hua Changxi directly asked: "Elder Xia, are you taking us to worship the Divine Tree? What is the Divine Tree of the Alchemy Saint Hall?"

Xia Zhen glanced at her, then at the others: "The Divine Tree guarded by the Alchemy Saint Hall is the Immortal Tree, Ganmu."