Chapter 210: Third-Grade Incense

The Alchemical Fire can help alchemists clear their minds and improve their alchemy skills; it is the optimal spiritual fire for assisting alchemists in achieving mastery and breaking through bottlenecks.

After the Alchemical Fire of the First Street was ignited, the Medical Bureau quickly cultivated a batch of Grade-One Alchemists; now that the Alchemical Fire of the Second Street has been lit, it means the Medical Bureau will soon produce a batch of Grade-Two Alchemists.

Because of this, even Prince Shou, who harbored hostility and dissatisfaction toward the cultivators from the Guardian Families, looked much more pleased, not to mention the others within the Medical Bureau.

Regardless of the situation, although those who entered the Medical Bureau had various schemes and calculations behind them, the vast majority still hoped in their hearts to improve their alchemy techniques.

Director Gu noticed that the crowd gathering around Ninth Street all looked at Meng Qingyao with admiration; even the Pavilion Masters beside him were no longer as hostile toward the group of cultivators brought by the Guardian Families as before, causing him to sigh internally that the Xia family's arrangement was truly brilliant.

Eh?

Director Gu suddenly realized that unlike the eyes of others filled with astonishment, admiration, or scrutiny directed at Meng Qingyao, the expressions of Gu Jinfan and Hua Changxi were somewhat intriguing, making it difficult for him to understand.

At this moment, Gu Jinfan looked at Meng Qingyao with a complex expression; in her previous life, Meng Qingyao had ignited the Alchemical Fires of the first five streets of the Medical Bureau, and with the aid of these fires, the Four Spirit Realm saw many alchemists below Grade Five emerge, but unfortunately, before she could ignite the Alchemical Fire of the Sixth Street, the Alchemy Saint Hall was completely taken over by external cultivators led by the Jiang family.

In this life, the Alchemical Fire of the First Street was ignited ahead of schedule...

Thinking of the Grade-One Top-Quality Pill that Hua Changxi had submitted to Prince Shou, Gu Jinfan's gaze immediately fell upon Hua Changxi; was it her? Was it she who ignited the Alchemical Fire of the First Street?

Hua Changxi was comparing the methods she and Meng Qingyao used to ignite the Alchemical Fire; clearly, Meng Qingyao's public lighting of the lanterns had earned her a wave of fame, whereas she had been chased as an intruder; feeling she had lost a point, she sensed someone watching her, immediately looked up, and found Gu Jinfan staring at her with an inquisitive gaze, so she promptly glared back in displeasure.

Being glared at, Gu Jinfan decisively withdrew her gaze.

Forget it, it doesn't matter anymore whether it was Hua Changxi who ignited the Alchemical Fire of the First Street; what matters is that the Guardian Families have appeared early, with members from the East, West, South, North, and Central Guardian Families all arriving at the Medical Bureau, so the Alchemy Saint Hall can no longer be controlled by external cultivators as it was in the previous life.

After the Alchemical Fire of the Second Street was ignited, Xia Zhen revealed a gratified smile on his face, looked at Gu Xing beside him, and said softly, "Fellow Daoist Gu, this girl Qingyao possesses a Fire-Wood Spiritual Body; she was born specifically to achieve the Dao of Alchemy."

Upon hearing that Meng Qingyao possessed a Fire-Wood Spiritual Body, Gu Xing's eyes lit up brightly, and he looked at Meng Qingyao with warmth and excitement.

Seeing Gu Xing's reaction, Xia Zhen smiled and continued, "Qingyao is already capable of refining Grade-Four Pills; igniting the Alchemical Fire of the Third Street is only a matter of time."

Hearing this, Gu Xing became even more excited, looking at Xia Zhen as he said, "Thank you for your hard work, Fellow Daoist Xia, for bringing so many alchemy talents to the Alchemy Saint Hall."

Xia Zhen laughed and replied, "It is my duty; everything is for the Sacred Land and for the Four Spirit Realm."

The two walked side by side at the very front, while the others hurried to catch up.

Meng Yuchuan and the brothers Dongfang Hao and Dongfang Xu quickly walked over to Meng Qingyao's side.

Meng Yuchuan felt extremely proud of his sister: "Qingyao, well done; I said long ago that once you make your move, you would be the number one alchemist."

Although Meng Qingyao wore a smile on her face, she did not seem very happy: "Brother, don't say that; what number one alchemist? Someone ignited the Alchemical Fire of the First Street before I did." Speaking thus, she turned to look at the two lanterns at the entrance of the First Street.

"I wonder who ignited the Alchemical Fire of the First Street?"

Upon hearing this, Meng Yuchuan and the Dongfang brothers also couldn't help but look at the Alchemical Fire of the First Street.

Dongfang Xu smiled and said, "No matter who ignited it, since that person did not appear to ignite the Alchemical Fire of the Second Street, it shows they are still unable to refine Grade-Two Top-Quality Pills; in any case, they cannot compare to Sister Qingyao."

Meng Qingyao smiled and shook her head: "That is not necessarily true; I really want to meet that person."

Dongfang Hao said, "We have already come to the Medical Bureau; as long as that person is here, we will definitely meet them."

Meng Yuchuan nodded and said, "Alright, let's not worry about that for now; we are about to worship the Divine Tree; have you decided how many grades of incense to light?"

Meng Qingyao replied, "Senior Xia said that as long as I ignite the Alchemical Fire, I will receive First-Grade Incense."

Dongfang Hao said, "I will try taking Second-Grade Incense first; if I cannot even ignite Second-Grade Incense, then Ah Xu will take Third-Grade Incense."

Dongfang Xu expressed some concern: "The nine Pavilion Masters who received the wooden tokens will consume nine sticks of incense; we ten people still have to compete with those nine Pavilion Masters for the remaining nine sticks; what if it's not our turn by the time all the incense is lit?"

Hearing this, Meng Yuchuan also revealed a worried expression, looked up at Gu Xing's back, and thought, "Senior Gu... ultimately favors the people of the Medical Bureau side; if Senior Xia had made the arrangements, surely we would be the ones to worship the Divine Tree first."

Dongfang Hao, however, shook his head and said, "The blessings of the Divine Tree are not so easily obtained; you shouldn't worry too much, and besides, who says that those who received the wooden tokens are guaranteed to receive the Divine Tree's blessing?"

Meng Qingyao looked surprised: "Receiving a wooden token surely means gaining the recognition of the Sacred Land; how could the Divine Tree not bestow blessings?"

Dongfang Hao smiled and said, "Have you forgotten that humans have greed? The three grades of incense correspond to three grades of secret realms; since we are uncertain how many grades of incense we can ignite, those Pavilion Masters must feel the same; tell me, under the influence of greed, might they make a mistake in their choice?"

Pausing for a moment, he added, "All of us will definitely get a chance to worship the Divine Tree once."

Upon hearing this, Dongfang Xu and Meng Yuchuan nodded in agreement, their faces showing less worry.

Hua Changxi did not walk the Pilgrimage Road with the others but instead took the alleys of the Ninth Street; having taken a detour, she quickened her pace, and upon arriving at the square, she happened to meet the group led by Gu Xing and Xia Zhen face to face.

Gu Xing looked at Hua Changxi, glanced back at the Pilgrimage Road behind him with a thoughtful expression, but said nothing.

Xia Zing, standing nearby, smiled and spoke up: "Why are these young friends not walking the Pilgrimage Road with everyone else?"

Hua Changxi smiled and replied, "The Pilgrimage Road, as the name suggests, is for paying homage to sages; knowing I do not possess the wisdom of a sage, I shall not tread upon this path."

Hearing this, Xia Zhen laughed heartily: "Young friend, you have misunderstood; although there are very few who can become sages in this world, that does not prevent us from having a heart oriented toward sagehood."

Before Hua Changxi could respond, Gu Xing spoke first: "She probably doesn't even have a heart oriented toward sagehood." Glancing dismissively at Hua Changxi, he leaned on his cane and walked toward the stone cauldron in the official courtyard.

Hua Changxi did not expect Gu Xing to speak about her in public, especially with a tone of dissatisfaction; she felt somewhat speechless, wondering if she had offended the old man.

Because of Gu Xing's sudden remark, Xia Zhen looked deeply at Hua Changxi; the cultivators from the Guardian Families, who had not paid much attention to her before, also began to examine her again; even the people from the Medical Bureau side showed increased interest in her.

Seeing the reactions of the crowd, Hua Changxi rolled her eyes.

Gu Xing led everyone to the front of the stone cauldron, then waved his cane, causing an offering table carved with green runes to appear.

Seeing the offering table, Xia Zhen adjusted his attire once more, then respectfully brought out the Divine Tree Cauldron and eighteen sticks of Alchemical Incense.

Gu Xing looked at the nine Pavilion Masters who had received the wooden tokens; originally intending to say nothing and let them choose the Alchemical Incense on their own, his gaze swept over Hua Changxi, and recalling how this girl had neglected the Qihuang Pavilion after becoming a Pavilion Master, he thought for a moment and finally said, "The Alchemical Incense is divided into three grades, each corresponding to a secret realm of the respective grade."

"The Divine Tree Secret Realm is different from the secret realms you discovered in the outside world; remember, there is no concept of Nirvana in the Divine Tree Secret Realm."