Chapter 223: The Luck Has Run Out

Fifteen years after coming to the Great Jin, Hua Changxi had the most peaceful New Year's Eve reunion dinner at the Hua family.

There was no preaching, no comparison, and no various demands at the dinner table.

But looking at the chatting and laughing Hua family, Hua Changxi still felt that something was missing in such an atmosphere.

She wasn't very happy, and she always felt that there was a barrier between her and her family.

Hua Changxi looked at the food her parents put in her bowl, smiled at them, and while eating, asked herself in her heart if she was being too picky?

Perhaps, as long as it wasn't like before, ending in unhappiness, and just living on like this without arguing or making noise, it would be quite good?

After dinner, everyone gathered in the main hall to watch the New Year in and chat.

Old Master Hua talked about the clan's care for the family over the past year, and others chimed in and supplemented.

Old Madam Hua and her daughters-in-law talked about their interactions with the women of the clan, Hua Minghe and his three brothers interspersed with talking about their social interactions with friends and relatives, and the juniors, led by Seeing Hua Dalang, talked about cultivation in their respective families.

Over the past year, everyone had lived a very fulfilling life.

While everyone was chatting enthusiastically, Hua Shiniang suddenly asked Hua Changxi: "Ninth Sister, we don't see you even if we miss you on weekdays. Are you especially busy at the Medicine Department?"

Her question caused a moment of silence in the main hall, although everyone quickly started chatting and laughing again, they all pricked up their ears to pay attention to this side.

Hua Changxi: "I'm not especially busy at the Medicine Department."

Hua Shiniang asked again: "Then when you are not busy, are you cultivating?"

Hua Changxi: "I also go out to train."

Hua Shiniang's eyes lit up: "Ninth Sister, tell us quickly, where have you been to train? Although the Count's Mansion also takes us out to train, the number of times is very few. We want to go out to train by ourselves, but except for Mount Wuzhi in Qingzhou, we don't know where to go to train."

The ruins and secret realms available for training in the Great Jin territory were mostly occupied by power-holders, and cultivators without background really couldn't find places to train.

Hua Changxi didn't really want to tell her family about the Nine Netherworld. She had walked on the edge of life and death twice when she went down to the Nine Netherworld: "The places I go to are a bit dangerous."

Seeing Hua Liulang asked in seconds: "How dangerous?"

Hua Changxi: "If your strength is insufficient, it is very likely that you will go and not return."

Seeing Hua Liulang's eyes widened immediately.

Hua Shiniang was even more curious: "Ninth Sister, what exactly is that place?"

Hua Changxi was silent for a moment, thinking that her family members were all cultivators and would definitely go out to train. Instead of letting them know some half-truth news from outsiders, it was better for her to say it.

"Nine Netherworld."

Hua Changxi looked at Seeing Hua Dalang: "Big Brother, you know the Nine Netherworld, right?"

Seeing Hua Dalang nodded: "I've heard of it." The Demon Suppression Army occupied a checkpoint in the Nine Netherworld. Although he hadn't been there, he often heard his colleagues talk about it.

Old Master Hua gasped: "Does the Nine Netherworld really exist in this world?"

Old Madam Hua also asked curiously: "There is a Nine Netherworld, so is there a Nine Heavens?"

Hua Changxi looked at the old couple: "Grandfather, Grandmother, how do you know about the Nine Netherworld and the Nine Heavens?"

Old Madam Hua: "Temples and Daoist temples all spread it like this. There are gods above the Nine Heavens, and there is an underworld below the Nine Netherworld." She paused, "Are these legends true?"

Hua Changxi nodded: "I haven't been to the Nine Heavens, but the Nine Netherworld really exists. But the Nine Netherworld I have stepped into is limited to the two checkpoints guarding the Demon Prison. Whether there is an underworld in the Nine Netherworld, I don't know either."

Seeing Hua Dalang immediately became energetic: "Ninth Sister, can you tell me in detail about the Demon Prison in the Nine Netherworld?"

Since he joined the Demon Suppression Army, he did know many messages he hadn't come into contact with before, but these messages were very one-sided and shallow, just like the Nine Netherworld, he only knew about a Demon Prison.

Hua Changxi saw that her family members were all curious, so she said what she knew.

"The interface we are in is called the Four Spirit Realms. The Four Spirit Realms were initially ruled by the demon race. Later, the human race flourished. In order to suppress the extremely vicious demon race, the Demon Prison was built in the Nine Netherworld."

"There are five great Sacred Grounds in the Central Continent, and the Central Sacred Ground is the array center of the Demon Prison."

Hua Changxi looked at Seeing Hua Dalang: "The ruins of the Central Sacred Ground are in the Heaven Department."

Seeing Hua Dalang's expression shook, showing a look of realization. He now somewhat understood the undercurrents in the Heaven Department.

Seeing Hua Liulang: "Ninth Sister, don't stop, what about the other four Sacred Grounds?"

Hua Changxi continued: "The other four Sacred Grounds are the four array eyes of the Demon Prison. The Pill Saint Hall is one of them, and the Medicine Department is the ruins of the Pill Saint Hall."

"One of the responsibilities of the four Sacred Grounds is to guard the stability of the array eyes."

Yao Shi said urgently: "Ninth Sister, you obtained the Divine Tree secret realm, so are you a person of the Pill Saint Hall? Do you have to shoulder the responsibility of guarding the stability of the array eyes?"

Hua Changxi nodded: "Yes."

Yao Shi was anxious: "Then isn't it very dangerous?"

Hua Changxi's eyes softened, and she smiled: "Mother, don't worry, I have a sense of proportion. Since I took the Divine Tree secret realm, it is only right for me to do something for the Pill Saint Hall."

The Hua family heard this and were all silent.

Yes, there is no free lunch in the world. They only cared about being happy that Ninth Sister obtained the secret realm, but forgot that she had to pay a price for it.

Hua Changxi looked at Hua Minghe and Seeing Hua Dalang: "Father, Big Brother, the alchemy workshop you were responsible for sealing off is the ruins of the Instrument Saint Palace."

Hua Minghe and Seeing Hua Dalang quickly looked at each other.

"So that's it, no wonder the power-holders who can be ranked in the capital are all staring at the alchemy workshop."

"The craftsmen in the alchemy workshop were all taken away, and the blacksmith shops in the workshop were all occupied by power-holders."

Hua Changxi listened to the current situation of the alchemy workshop, frowned, and looked at her father and brother: "After the New Year, does the imperial court still want to continue sealing off the alchemy workshop?"

Hua Minghe nodded: "Yes, after the second day of the New Year, Big Brother and I will change shifts with people to continue guarding the alchemy workshop."

Hua Changxi: "Then you must be careful, don't rush to the front when encountering things. The Instrument Saint Palace is a place specializing in refining instruments, and there are many spiritual instruments and magic treasures. If they are forced into a corner, the people of the Instrument Saint Palace will definitely fight back."

Seeing Hua Dalang heard this and hurriedly asked: "Does the Instrument Saint Palace have successors?"

"Of course."

Hua Changxi didn't say much about Seeing Tong Yao and the others, but she looked at Seeing Hua Liulang beside her.

Sixth Brother wants to learn refining, but unfortunately no one teaches him. Perhaps he can be sent to Seeing Tong Yao?

Seeing Hua Dalang frowned: "It's not a thing to keep the alchemy workshop sealed off. Since the Instrument Saint Palace has successors, why don't they appear and talk to the imperial court?"

Hua Changxi looked at him: "Talk about what?"

Seeing Hua Dalang was stunned by the question: "... Talk about the development of the Instrument Saint Palace. With the alchemy workshop being sealed off by the imperial court like this, it is very difficult for the Instrument Saint Palace to recruit disciples."

Hua Changxi: "But to talk to the imperial court, you have to cede power, just like the Medicine Department. Now, there are all kinds of monsters and ghosts."

Seeing Hua Dalang: "A Sacred Ground cannot have only one faction. Even if other forces participate, it is better than being dead and silent."

Hua Changxi looked at him: "Big Brother, after the recovery of spiritual energy, the four array eyes have all appeared unstable, and the demon race is eyeing them covetously. In order to guard the stability of the array eyes, the people of the four Sacred Grounds have paid a great price."

"The Imperial Family and power-holders have done nothing, but want to come and share a piece of the pie. Where is there such a good thing in the world."

She could understand Seeing Tong Yao's decision. If she were a successor of a Sacred Ground, she wouldn't want the Imperial Family and power-holders to touch the Sacred Ground either.

Seeing Hua Dalang stopped talking.

Seeing Hua Liulang asked: "Ninth Sister, what changes will occur if the array eyes are unstable?"

Hua Changxi: "Demon energy overflows, polluting the human world. Those who cannot resist will be demonized, and then they will cause chaos everywhere and harm living beings. At that time, the human world will become hell."

The Hua family heard this and their expressions changed drastically, and they had a deeper understanding of the dangers of the cultivator world.

Old Master Hua spoke: "You must work hard to cultivate. Only when you are strong can you not fear danger."

Seeing Hua Dalang nodded: "Yes, this world has actually never changed. It is all the law of the jungle. Only strong people can live better."

Old Madam Hua: "But ordinary people in the past only needed to keep their duty, and they could still have a peaceful life, but now... I heard that many places have become chaotic, and people are dying everywhere."

"If this situation cannot be suppressed, the life of the common people will be difficult in the future."

Hua Changxi looked at the old madam in surprise. She didn't expect the old madam to pay attention to this point.

Old Madam Hua noticed Hua Changxi's surprised gaze and felt uncomfortable: "Why, am I wrong?"

Hua Changxi smiled: "No, Grandmother is very right, I just didn't expect you to pay attention to such things."

Old Madam Hua "hi"-ed: "We were also small common people before. I often thought, if there were no cultivators in our family, how would we live in such chaotic times?"

Hua Changxi lowered her eyes. Nowadays, the Imperial Family and power-holders are all focused on snatching resources, and maintaining basic social order is no longer their focus.

The chaos in some places might be led by them.

For some people, the more chaotic the world, the more beneficial it is for them to seek profit.

As a constable of the Six Doors, Hua Minghe knew more about the situation in various places and frowned: "With the increase of cultivators, the chaos in various places is indeed becoming more and more serious, and the imperial court's governance of various places is already somewhat stretched."

The biggest problem is that the officials and power-holders in various places no longer listen to the orders of the Imperial Family.

Hua Minghe sighed. The luck of the Chu Imperial Dynasty, which had been established for a thousand years, might have come to an end. ===== CHAPTER 224 =====