Chapter 216: The Five Guardian Families

Before Wei Zhenjie paid homage to the Divine Tree, Director Gu quickly informed him in detail about the information she had learned from her two disciples: what grade of secret realm corresponded to each of the three levels of incense fragrance.

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhenjie quickly glanced at Hua Changxi.

Igniting a first-grade incense stick would yield a secret realm of at least seventh grade.

A seventh-grade secret realm could supply the spiritual herbs and plants needed before reaching the Soul-Exit Realm.

Hua Changxi had essentially acquired a renewable treasure trove of medicinal ingredients!

Needless to say, upon learning that igniting first-grade incense could grant a secret realm above seventh grade, Wei Zhenjie's heart also began to stir with excitement.

He managed the Heaven Department; with so many people under his command, the resources consumed daily were calculated in vast quantities. In his position, cultivation resources were never too plentiful.

Wei Zhenjie walked to the offering table, his gaze wavering between the first-grade and second-grade incense sticks.

The Demon-Suppressing Army had now almost completely taken over Kunmen Pass, which held many resources for cultivating spiritual sense and soul power. This meant he lacked nothing for the Spirit Platform, Spirit Concentration, or Soul-Exit Realms; what he needed were cultivation resources for the Dao-Integration Realm and above.

Although he still had a long way to go before reaching the Dao-Integration Realm, he could prepare the necessary cultivation resources in advance.

Moreover, based on what he understood, cultivation resources for the Dao-Integration Realm and above were extremely rare and hard to come by. The Divine Tree secret realm of the Pill Saint Hall was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for any cultivator seeking to forge their own Great Dao.

Even if the probability of successfully igniting first-grade incense was slim, he had to try.

Wei Zhenjie chose the first-grade incense.

Seeing this, Gu Xing sighed inwardly yet could understand. Unlike Director Gu, Little Wei possessed both talent and mindset; it was genuinely possible for him to cultivate his own Great Dao. Now that a secret realm offering resources for the Dao-Integration Realm had been discovered, he would certainly never give up.

This time, Xia Zhen showed no disdain either. This was his acknowledgment of the Heaven Department Minister. When others chose first-grade incense, he viewed it as a lack of self-awareness, but when the Heaven Department Minister chose it, it was a struggle for his own destiny.

Unfortunately, Wei Zhenjie failed; he could not ignite the first-grade incense.

Regarding this result, although Wei Zhenjie felt some disappointment, he could still accept it. He smiled indifferently and stepped back.

"It's your turn."

Celestial Master Zhang nodded to Wei Zhenjie without offering any words of comfort. He walked straight to the offering table and, with decisive swiftness and no hesitation, chose a stick of second-grade incense.

The moment the pill incense was inserted into the Divine Tree, curling green smoke began to rise.

The third-grade incense burned too quickly; before one could observe closely, it was already consumed. Celestial Master Zhang was the first to ignite second-grade incense. Since the second-grade incense burned for quite some time, Hua Changxi watched carefully as the incense smoke coalesced into green leaves.

"One, two, three, four..."

Before the pill incense burned out, Hua Changxi saw four distinct flashes of green light within the green smoke.

Combining this with the eight leaf-vein patterns on the Divine Tree leaf she had received herself, Hua Changxi guessed that Celestial Master Zhang had obtained a Divine Tree leaf with four patterns.

Eight patterns on a Divine Tree leaf represented an eighth-grade secret realm; thus, four patterns represented a fourth-grade secret realm.

"A fourth-grade secret realm?"

Hua Changxi frowned slightly. Celestial Master Zhang clearly had made no contributions to the Pill Saint Hall, so why was he able to ignite second-grade incense?

Apart from gaining the Sacred Land's recognition and making contributions to it, could it also be related to the cultivator's realm?

"Alright, the nine people who received the wooden tokens have all paid homage to the Divine Tree. Now it is time for the others to approach and pay their respects."

Xia Zhen looked at Gu Xing: "The remaining nine Qihuang Hall Masters and the ten young people I brought will take turns approaching to pay homage in sequence."

Just as Gu Xing was about to nod, Prince Shou spoke up first: "Senior Xia, your side has ten people, while ours has only nine. I wish to add one more person."

Hearing this, Xia Zhen's face immediately darkened: "Prince Shou, paying homage to the Divine Tree is not a child's game, nor can just anyone pay homage. Those nine hall masters you selected through influence originally had no qualification to pay homage to the Divine Tree."

"Allowing them to pay homage now is already a concession I am making out of respect for Fellow Daoist Gu."

Gu Xing also looked at Prince Shou with a darkened expression: "Your Highness, you must understand clearly: we are currently paying homage to the Sacred Land's Divine Tree. The Divine Tree belongs to the Pill Saint Hall, not the Medical Bureau."

Seeing that both Xia Zhen and Gu Xing had become angry, Prince Shou suppressed his inner irritation and compromised: "Very well, I will not add anyone. However, the hall masters must begin the homage first."

"On what grounds?"

The cultivators from the Guardian Families immediately objected. Accepting that the nine hall masters who had received wooden tokens went first was one thing, but why should they now have to wait for other hall masters as well?

Xia Zhen gave them a look signaling them to calm down, then looked at Prince Shou: "Fine, let your side begin first."

Seeing him agree so readily, the people from the Medical Bureau did not feel the joy of achieving their goal; instead, their hearts felt somewhat heavy.

Hua Changxi looked at the remaining nine hall masters, then at the ten young cultivators with Wood Spiritual Bodies that Xia Zhen had brought, her eyes flashing.

Could it be that receiving the Divine Tree's blessing also depended on one's aptitude?

The nine hall masters approached to pay homage in order of their hall numbers.

The first to pay homage was the Third Young Master of the Dong'an Prince's Manor, Yan Qianying.

Yan Qianying did not even glance at the first-grade incense. After hesitating for a moment between the second-grade and third-grade incense, he chose the second-grade.

"Hmm?"

The second-grade incense ignited!

Not to mention the surprise on others' faces, even Yan Qianying himself was somewhat taken aback.

'One, two, three, four, five!'

Hua Changxi saw that the Divine Tree leaf before Yan Qianying actually had five patterns, leaving her both surprised and puzzled.

Could the Divine Tree's blessing be related to other factors as well?

Xia Zhen looked at Yan Qianying, who had received the Divine Tree leaf, and asked with a smile: "Is Yan Xiaoyang yours?"

Yan Qianying was somewhat surprised that Xia Zhen mentioned Yan Xiaoyang, but he quickly replied: "Xiaoyang is my younger brother. Does Senior Xia know Xiaoyang?"

Hearing this, Xia Zhen's face showed a look of realization. He smiled and said, "We have met once," before gesturing for the cultivators on his side to approach and pay homage.

The first from the Guardian Families to approach and pay homage was Xia Ziyang.

As Xia Ziyang bowed, Hua Changxi quietly asked Huo Yunxiao beside her: "Is Yan Xiaoyang very formidable?"

Huo Yunxiao shook his head with a wry smile: "You truly are like the reclusive figures of legend, knowing nothing and recognizing no one." He then nudged Wen Lanzhou, saying, "You are more familiar with Yan Xiaoyang; you tell her."

Seeing Hua Changxi's gaze shift to him, Wen Lanzhou could only say: "Yan Xiaoyang is the sixth disciple of the Taosu Sect Master. He is a fellow disciple of Senior Sister Changxin. Naturally, the sect master's direct disciples are all geniuses."

Hearing this answer, Hua Changxi suddenly realized that her family's Tenth Lady seemed to have a very powerful background, knowing people of such stature: "So Yan Xiaoyang is Tenth Lady's senior brother." She paused, then continued asking, "Surely Senior Xia would not ask about Yan Xiaoyang without reason. Does he have some special quality?"

Wen Lanzhou actually pondered seriously for a moment: "Junior Brother Xiaoyang is indeed a very special person."

Hua Changxi asked: "How is he special?"

Wen Lanzhou: "He is exceptionally kind; I have never seen him lose his temper with anyone."

Hua Changxi let out an "Ah," somewhat speechless: "How does that count as exceptional?"

Huo Yunxiao also nodded in agreement: "Yes, how is that exceptional? At most, he's just a nice old man."

Wen Lanzhou shook his head: "You haven't met Junior Brother Xiaoyang. His gentleness comes from within; it is not the kind of niceness you imagine."

Hua Changxi did not think being kind was exceptional. Just as she was about to continue questioning, she saw Xia Ziyang light a second-grade incense stick, forcing her to shift her gaze to the rising smoke.

"One, two, three, four."

The divine wood leaf Xia Ziyang received bore four veins, meaning he had obtained a fourth-grade secret realm.

Next came the turn of the Medical Bureau. Master Jie Xian from Xiangguo Temple also chose a second-grade pill incense, but alas, the pill incense failed to ignite.

Afterward, it was Bai Zhixin from the Guardian Families' side who lit a second-grade pill incense, ultimately obtaining a fourth-grade secret realm.

Then it returned to the Medical Bureau's turn. Tang Yufeng, from the foremost noble family in Jingcheng, stepped forward to worship the divine tree. Being rather conservative, Tang Yufeng directly chose a third-grade incense, but unfortunately, the third-grade incense also failed to ignite.

Next was Wu Lingyue from the Guardian Families' side, who successfully lit a second-grade incense and obtained a fourth-grade secret realm.

Afterward came Lin Ruohong, a disciple of the Three Pure Ones Palace from the Medical Bureau. Lin Ruohong also did not act rashly, choosing a third-grade incense; regrettably, the third-grade incense failed to ignite as well.

Then it was Zhu Jinglan from the Guardian Families' side. Like Xia Ziyang, Bai Zhixin, and Wu Lingyue before him, he unhesitatingly chose a second-grade incense, successfully lit it, and obtained a fourth-grade secret realm.

By this point, all six second-grade incense sticks had been completely lit.

This meant the remaining twelve people could only choose between first-grade and third-grade incense.

Two first-grade incense sticks remained, along with six third-grade ones.

Hua Changxi looked at Huo Yunxiao and Wen Lanzhou: "Xia Ziyang, Bai Zhixin, Wu Lingyue, and Zhu Jinglan—these four seem to have known they could light second-grade incense. Do you know their backgrounds?"

Huo Yunxiao's expression was not pleasant: "Their surnames are their backgrounds." Seeing Hua Changxi's bewildered look, he realized she did not understand these matters and explained, "Do you know which families constitute the Guardian Families?"

Hua Changxi shook her head.

Huo Yunxiao: "The Xia family of the Central Continent, the Long family of the Eastern Continent, also known as the Azure Dragon Continent, the Zhu family of the Southern Continent, also known as the Vermilion Bird Continent, the Bai family of the Western Continent, also known as the White Tiger Continent, and the Wu family of the Northern Continent, also known as the Black Tortoise Continent."

Hearing this, Hua Changxi vaguely understood why Xia Ziyang and the other three could light second-grade incense. The Guardians had rendered meritorious service to the Four Spirit Realms; furthermore, since Xia Ziyang and the others possessed Wood Spirit Bodies, they met the talent selection criteria of the Pill Saint Hall, thus earning the blessing of the divine tree.

Hua Changxi glanced at Yan Qianying, then looked at Long Chenyi and his sister Long Jin, whose faces were filled with indignation. She guessed that if Yan Qianying had not lit that second-grade incense, it would have gone to the Long family.

Afterward, apart from Meng Qingyao, no one else chose first-grade incense; the remaining people all fixed their eyes on the final six third-grade incense sticks.

Everyone had expected the contest for the sixth-grade incense to be fierce, yet unexpectedly, after one full round, only Yue Heng from Xiping Prince's Manor, Feng Che from Beizhen Prince's Manor, and Wei Xiao from Nanding Prince's Manor on the Medical Bureau side, along with Long Chenyi from the Guardian Families, managed to light third-grade incense; none of the others succeeded in igniting even a third-grade stick.

In the end, two third-grade incense sticks actually remained unlit.