Chapter 212

"Mu Qingying, what kind of secret realm did you get?"

The three grades of incense correspond to different grades of Divine Wood Secret Realms, but what specific grades the Divine Wood Secret Realms have, no one knows—even the people from the Guardian families are unclear. Therefore, when Mu Qingying obtained the Divine Wood leaf, everyone looked at her eagerly, and Prince Shou even spoke up directly to inquire about the situation of the secret realm she had obtained.

Mu Qingying naturally did not want to tell outsiders the grade of the Divine Wood Secret Realm she had obtained. Just as she was about to ask Department Head Gu for help, Gu Xing stepped in to resolve the situation for her.

"The Divine Wood Secret Realm is bestowed by the Divine Wood; no one is allowed to inquire about it, except for the Lord of the Holy Land."

Upon hearing this, Prince Shou's expression turned somewhat ugly. He knew that this old man Gu Xing was warning him not to let him or the royal family meddle with the Divine Wood Secret Realm.

Regarding this, he felt disdain in his heart; there was nothing the royal family wanted that they could not obtain.

Prince Shou saw that after Mu Qingying heard Gu Xing's words, she quickly returned behind Gu Qiming without any intention of answering him. Although full of dissatisfaction, he didn't say anything more.

He noticed that the people on the Guardian family side also wanted to know the grade of the Divine Wood Secret Realm. He had been too eager just now; he shouldn't have asked on such an occasion.

Gu Xing turned a blind eye to the people with their varied expressions. All things have two sides; obtaining a Divine Wood Secret Realm is indeed a significant opportunity, but without the corresponding ability to guard it, a good thing can also turn into a bad thing.

If one cannot even guard the secret realm, for the development of the Holy Land, it would be better to replace such a person sooner rather than later.

"Continue."

With Mu Qingying leading the way, everyone had an understanding of the process of worshipping the Divine Wood.

The Second Qihuang Pavilion was managed by Department Head Gu's eldest disciple, Xie An, but the wooden plaque was obtained by Department Head Gu, so it was Department Head Gu who personally stepped forward to worship the Divine Wood.

Looking at the three types of incense on the offering table, Department Head Gu's expression was very hesitant. He was no stranger to secret realms; because he was a confidant of the Heaven Department Minister, he had explored several secret realms with the Demon-Suppressing Army.

Secret realms are also worlds apart; some have thin spiritual energy and few even first-grade spiritual herbs, while others are covered in spiritual herbs and fruits.

The higher the grade of the Divine Wood Secret Realm, the richer the resources inside—this is beyond doubt.

Department Head Gu certainly wanted a higher-grade secret realm. If it were true as he guessed, that the conditions for lighting the incense were related to contributions to the Holy Land, then his diligent and conscientious management of the Medicine Department over these years should count as a contribution to the Holy Land, right?

Could he light the first-grade incense?

Department Head Gu's hand hovered between the first-grade and second-grade incense. Although he wanted to be safe and choose the second-grade incense, in the end, he steeled his heart and picked up the first-grade incense.

Seeing him pick up the first-grade incense, a flash of contemptuous laughter crossed Xia Zhen's eyes. Gu Xing's expression changed slightly, but he sighed silently in his heart.

Greed, anger, and ignorance—the three poisons of the human heart!

If one cannot pass these three hurdles, one will not go far.

After performing three kowtows and nine bows to the Divine Wood tripod, Department Head Gu nervously and anxiously inserted the incense into the Divine Wood tripod, then eagerly hoped for the incense to ignite.

Unfortunately, there was no sign of the incense igniting for a long time.

Looking at the unresponsive incense, Department Head Gu was full of disappointment and looked anxiously at Gu Xing: "Senior Gu, my heart was not sincere just now; let me kowtow again." As he spoke, he reached out to pull the incense out of the Divine Wood tripod.

At this moment, Xia Zhen stood out and pressed down on Gu Qiming's hand: "Department Head Gu, one only has one chance to worship the Divine Wood."

Gu Qiming could not break free from Xia Zhen's grip and looked at Gu Xing for help.

Gu Xing looked at him and sighed: "You are obsessed. Step back."

"Master."

Xie An, Mu Qingying, and Yuan Tianchou all stepped forward with worried expressions, standing on either side of Gu Qiming.

Looking at his three disciples, Gu Qiming showed a bitter smile, forcibly suppressing the unwillingness in his heart with reason: "Forgive me, everyone; I lost my composure just now." After finishing, he took his three disciples and stood to the side.

Gu Qiming failing to light the incense meant one extra stick of incense for those worshipping the Divine Wood afterward. While the crowd was secretly happy, they were also somewhat worried, fearing that they too would be unable to light the incense.

Next were the Third and Fourth Pavilions, but since Zhang Tianshi and the Heaven Department Minister had not arrived, it went directly to Yuan Tianchou of the Sixth Pavilion.

Having learned from his master's lesson, Yuan Tianchou, like Mu Qingying, chose the third-grade incense directly. Whether it was because he had obtained the wooden plaque, the third-grade incense ignited as soon as it was inserted into the Divine Wood tripod. The green smoke that rose gathered into a green leaf and fell into his hand.

"Those who obtained wooden plaques seem to be able to light the incense as long as they choose the third-grade incense," someone muttered in a low voice.

Huo Yunxiao thought the same. He looked at Hua Changxi, who was lost in thought beside him, and asked in a low voice: "What do you think lighting the incense depends on? Could it be that everyone who obtained a wooden plaque can only choose the third-grade incense?"

Hua Changxi did not respond, only glancing at Meng Qingyao opposite them.

Previously, she thought the Guardian families arranged for Meng Qingyao to light the second-street alchemy fire to gain prestige, but now... she felt that letting Meng Qingyao light the second-street alchemy fire was to enable her to light higher-grade incense.

Divine Wood blessing—how is the amount of blessing bestowed determined?

If she were the Lord of the Holy Land, she would certainly base it on everyone's contribution to the Holy Land.

Thinking this way, Hua Changxi suddenly felt she had figured out the conditions for lighting the incense.

"No way, Gu Jinfan is actually choosing the first-grade incense too? Isn't she afraid of ending up like Department Head Gu and getting nothing?"

Huo Yunxiao's exclamation pulled Hua Changxi's thoughts back. She looked closely and saw Gu Jinfan holding a stick of first-grade incense, hesitating.

No one expected that, with Department Head Gu's cautionary tale, someone would still choose the first-grade incense.

Some cultivators from the Medicine Department, thinking of Gu Jinfan's mysterious predictive ability, had serious expressions.

The cultivators on the Guardian family side were full of anticipation and mockery. What they anticipated was Gu Jinfan choosing the first-grade incense so there would be another stick for them to worship the Divine Wood with; what they mocked was her overestimating her own abilities.

Gu Jinfan struggled for a while holding the first-grade incense, thinking that since she had returned through rebirth, she was a person of great destiny. If she could obtain a high-grade Divine Wood Secret Realm, it would certainly have an immeasurable effect on the reappearance of the Alchemy Saint Hall, and the Divine Wood would surely be able to perceive this.

Thinking this, Gu Jinfan firmly walked toward the Divine Wood tripod with the first-grade incense.

Seeing her like this, just as a contemptuous smile appeared in Xia Zhen's eyes, he noticed Gu Xing's solemn gaze. His heart tightened, and he began to size up Gu Jinfan again. To be valued by the guardian of the Holy Land—could this female cultivator be very unusual?

In his expectation, only Meng Qingyao should be able to light the first-grade incense. If someone on the Medicine Department side also lit the first-grade incense, it would be very unfavorable for Meng Qingyao to take over the Alchemy Saint Hall in the future.

Xia Zhen's expression became serious. He watched as Gu Jinfan performed three kowtows and nine bows, then nervously inserted the first-grade incense into the Divine Wood tripod.

After several breaths, seeing no sign of the incense igniting on its own, Xia Zhen smiled.

He said so—unless one has made a great contribution to the Holy Land, it is impossible to light the first-grade incense.

Looking at the unresponsive incense, Gu Jinfan was stunned, her eyes filled with disbelief. How could this be? Why didn't the incense ignite? She was a person who had returned through rebirth and had a profound influence on the trajectory of the entire Four Spirits Realm!

Seeing that Gu Jinfan did not light the first-grade incense, Gu Xing felt somewhat disappointed.

This female cultivator gave him a very complex feeling. She seemed to know many things, and in her words, she was mostly acting for the good of the Alchemy Saint Hall. He had some expectations that she could inject some vitality into the revival of the Alchemy Saint Hall.

Unfortunately, she did not receive the recognition of the Holy Land's Divine Wood.