Chapter 211: One Leaf, One Secret Realm

The Divine Tree Secret Realm has never undergone annihilation!

Hearing this, Hua Changxi's pupils trembled violently; if the Divine Tree Secret Realm had never experienced annihilation, what did that imply? It meant the spiritual medicines and herbs within must have survived since ancient times until now, and furthermore, their number might be incalculable?

Everyone present was shaken by this revelation, not only the cultivators from the Medical Bureau but also those from the Guardian Families, whose faces bore expressions of shock. Clearly, the Guardian Families had not informed them beforehand about this condition of the Divine Tree Secret Realm.

Seeing the fiery eyes of the cultivators present, Xia Zhen felt somewhat irritated and cast a dissatisfied glance at Gu Xing; he did not understand why Gu Xing had revealed that the Divine Tree Secret Realm had never undergone annihilation.

Was it to test people?

Previously, he had deliberately concealed the fact that the Divine Tree Secret Realm had never undergone annihilation, stating only that incenses of different grades corresponded to secret realms of varying qualities, precisely to prevent Meng Qingyao and others from breeding greed, being controlled by such greed, and thus making unrealistic decisions.

But now, Xia Zhen looked at his grandson Xia Ziyang and saw that the calmness had vanished from his eyes, replaced by surging emotions of determination to succeed, causing his brows to knit tightly into a knot.

"Cough, cough~"

Xia Zhen coughed heavily twice, interrupting everyone's reverie, then glanced at Gu Xing and said in a deep voice: "Act according to your ability; do not aim too high. For cultivators, resources are merely auxiliary; you must never forget your roots."

Gu Xing took up the conversation: "Friend Xia speaks truly. Although the Divine Tree Secret Realm is excellent, all good things under heaven require a price to possess; the more one takes, the greater the responsibility one must bear." Saying this, he swept his gaze around the cultivators present.

"Before lighting the incense, you must think this through clearly; if you cannot bear the responsibility, or are unwilling to bear it, then there is no need to step forward to worship the Divine Tree, nor any need to occupy the position of Hall Master."

Upon hearing these words, all the Hall Masters simultaneously turned to look at Hua Changxi, feeling that Gu Xing's remarks were directed at her.

Seeing the Hall Masters act this way, the others also turned their gazes toward Hua Changxi.

Surrounded by everyone's stares, Hua Changxi felt utterly speechless: "Why are you all looking at me? Senior Gu was admonishing everyone, not speaking solely to me."

Huo Yunxiao gave her a look that said 'don't try to shirk responsibility': "After the Hall Master of Qihuang Hall was confirmed, you were the only one who neglected and ignored the hall."

Hua Changxi laughed in anger: "Yes, I did not stay inside Qihuang Hall, but you lot stayed in the hall every day; what did you actually do? You haven't even spent a single day conducting the basic teaching and lecturing for Qihuang Hall, yet you have the audacity to criticize me!"

Huo Yunxiao could not refute Hua Changxi and could only say dryly: "We intended to give lectures; we just haven't had the time yet. We will start after the New Year."

Hua Changxi snorted: "Giving lectures without knowing anything? I'm afraid you would just spout nonsense and mislead the younger generation."

These words made Huo Yunxiao somewhat angry; he rolled up his sleeves, placed one hand on his hip, and pointed at Hua Changxi with the other: "Hua Changxi, let me tell you, arguing is one thing, but do not resort to personal attacks. How could I possibly spout nonsense? You are questioning my character!"

"Slap~"

Hua Changxi slapped down, leaving a red handprint directly on the back of Huo Yunxiao's hand that was pointing at her.

Seeing that one slap had not even knocked Huo Yunxiao's hand down, Hua Changxi intended to strike again, but just then, two heavy thuds of knocking against the ground rang out; following the sound, Hua Changxi saw Gu Xing leaning on his cane, his face elongated and serious as he stared at her.

"Huo Yunxiao pointed at me; I was merely defending myself legitimately."

Huo Yunxiao stared at his stinging hand, still unable to recover from the shock that Hua Changxi had dared to strike him in public.

It was not just Huo Yunxiao who was caught off guard; no one else present had expected Hua Changxi to resort to physical violence in public.

Seeing Hua Changxi take action, Chu Junhao's eyelids twitched several times involuntarily; seeing the unusual expression on his face, Duan Yuyan smiled and said: "Hua Changxi is quite unique; this person will likely be even harder to subdue."

Chu Junhao said nothing.

On the other side, Dongfang Xu clicked his tongue twice: "This female cultivator has a temper fiery enough; she shouldn't have come to learn alchemy but should have gone to learn artifact refining. If she had studied artifact refining, her achievements would surely surpass those in alchemy."

Hearing his words, Meng Qingyao carefully examined Hua Changxi once more; after Senior Gu appeared, he had remained indifferent toward everyone, showing a hint of dissatisfaction only toward this female cultivator. While others might think Senior Gu simply disliked her, she knew that people only display dissatisfaction when they have certain expectations.

Senior Gu highly values Hua Changxi!

Gu Xing knocked his cane against the ground again: "Enough. The nine Hall Masters who obtained the wooden tokens shall lead; begin worshipping the Divine Tree now."

Upon hearing this, Wen Lanzhou, the Hall Master of Hall Number Four, quickly spoke up: "Senior Gu, the wooden token was obtained by my master, Celestial Master Zhang. The junior dare not worship the Divine Tree on behalf of my master. I have already sent a message to him, and he is currently rushing here; please wait a moment longer, Senior."

Huo Yunxiao, forgetting to glare accusingly at Hua Changxi for hitting him, followed suit: "Senior Gu, the junior is in the same situation."

Incenses of different grades corresponded to secret realms of varying qualities, and there were only eighteen sticks of incense available; now that everyone knew that worshipping the Divine Tree first increased the chances of obtaining a high-grade secret realm, naturally, no one was willing to wait any longer.

Seeing that Gu Xing remained silent, Xia Zhen smiled and said: "With so many people, it is not good to simply wait idly; why not worship while waiting? When Minister Wei and Celestial Master Zhang arrive, regardless of whose turn it is, let them worship first."

Gu Xing nodded: "Very well, let us proceed as Friend Xia suggests."

Huo Yunxiao and Wen Lanzhou exchanged a helpless glance; unable to change anything, they could only hope their respective masters would arrive soon.

Subsequently, the people from the Medical Bureau and those brought by the Guardian Families took their positions on either side of the offering table.

At the same time, the square surrounding the area was filled with onlookers; daring not to approach, everyone stretched their necks to peek toward the stone cauldron, creating a very noisy and chaotic atmosphere.

Watching this scene, Xia Zhen showed dissatisfaction and said to Gu Xing: "With no one maintaining order, this is truly unbecoming." Then, his gaze softened as he looked at Meng Qingyao: "I hope the Sacred Land selects a Sacred Lord soon; once the Sacred Lord is chosen, they can command the Sacred Guards to come out and maintain order."

Following his line of sight, Gu Xing also looked at Meng Qingyao, but after glancing at her, his eyes involuntarily shifted to Hua Changxi; seeing that she was still bickering with Huo Yunxiao at this moment, he helplessly withdrew his gaze.

In the crowd, Huo Yunxiao looked at Hua Changxi with full indignation: "Why do you resort to violence at the slightest disagreement?"

Hua Changxi's tone was icy: "If you dare point your claw at me again, I won't just hit you; I'll chop your claw off."

Huo Yunxiao wanted to point at Hua Changxi and curse again, but after extending his hand and meeting Hua Changxi's dangerous gaze, he silently withdrew it: "No man would ever like a woman like you."

Hua Changxi scanned Huo Yunxiao contemptuously from head to toe: "I wouldn't want a man like you even if he were given to me for free."

Huo Yunxiao was so angry he didn't want to speak, yet feeling that staying silent meant admitting defeat, he was racked his brain for a counterattack when Gu Xing spoke again, addressing the nine Hall Masters who had obtained the wooden tokens: "Step forward to worship according to your respective Qihuang Hall numbers."

Mu Qingying, the Hall Master of Qihuang Hall Number One, worshipped first; feeling somewhat nervous and at a loss, she couldn't help but glance at Director Gu and her two senior brothers.

Director Gu then looked at Gu Xing: "Senior Gu, are there any precautions we need to take when worshipping the Divine Tree?"

Gu Xing replied: "Follow your heart."

This answer was equivalent to saying nothing at all.

Director Gu felt somewhat helpless; looking at the three types of incense on the offering table, he guessed that the conditions for lighting the incense might be related to contributions made to the Alchemy Saint Hall, but being uncertain, he could only say to Mu Qingying: "Choose however you wish; follow your own instincts."

Mu Qingying walked to the offering table, looked at the three types of incense, swiftly brushed her fingers past the First-Grade Incense, hesitated for a moment between the Second-Grade and Third-Grade Incense, and finally picked up a stick of Third-Grade Incense; walking to the Divine Tree Cauldron, she respectfully performed three kowtows and nine bows, after which she did not know what to do next.

"Senior Gu, how should I ignite the incense?"

Gu Xing replied: "Insert it directly into the Divine Tree Cauldron; if you receive the Divine Tree's blessing, the incense will ignite spontaneously."

Hearing this, Mu Qingying bowed three more times to the Divine Tree Cauldron with the incense in hand, then anxiously inserted the incense into the cauldron.

As soon as the incense entered the cauldron, it quickly ignited without any flame.

Green smoke continuously billowed out, rapidly gathering before Mu Qingying, and in the blink of an eye, condensed into a green leaf about half the size of a palm.

The incense burned out at a speed visible to the naked eye; the green smoke ceased, the green leaf fully formed, and drifted down into Mu Qingying's hand.

As soon as the leaf entered her hand, Mu Qingying felt a stir in her heart, and the green leaf vanished into her body, disappearing without a trace.

Looking at Mu Qingying whose eyes burned with intensity, Xia Zhen happily explained to everyone: "That green leaf is the key to the Divine Tree Secret Realm; following the key's guidance will allow one to find the entrance to the secret realm and enter it."

Hearing this, Hua Changxi's eyes flickered. A single green leaf could open a secret realm—was this the legendary "one leaf, one world"?