Chapter 229

Hua Changxi sent a message to Tong Yao, and unexpectedly, she received his response immediately. Thus, she left the Medicine Department and went to the office of the Embroidered Uniform Guard in Nancheng.

Just as she stepped into the street where the Embroidered Uniform Guard's Nancheng office was located, Hua Changxi saw Tong Yao waiting at the entrance of the street.

"Fellow Daoist Tong."

Tong Yao looked at the red-clothed female cultivator walking towards him with a complex expression. Before this, he had always thought that Hua Changxi's age was older than his, but he didn't expect that she had just passed her coming-of-age ceremony not long ago.

"Should I call you Fellow Daoist Hua now, or should I call you Pavilion Master Hua?"

Obviously, Tong Yao had already figured out Hua Changxi's true identity.

Hua Changxi smiled: "It's just a title, you can do as you please."

Tong Yao also smiled: "Then let's stick with Fellow Daoist Hua." As he spoke, he led Hua Changxi into the restaurant next door.

The two sat down in a private room facing the street on the second floor of the restaurant.

Tong Yao took out a tea set from his storage bag, controlled the spiritual fire with his right hand, and in the blink of an eye, brewed a pot of spiritual tea and poured a cup for Hua Changxi.

"The spiritual tea in my hand certainly cannot compare to that of the Dan Saint Hall. Fellow Daoist Hua, please make do with it."

Hua Changxi picked up the tea and took a sip: "Hmm..."

Just when Tong Yao thought she was going to comment on the spiritual tea, Hua Changxi said, "I don't know how to appreciate tea."

Tong Yao: "..."

Hua Changxi saw the astonishment on his face: "Is it strange not to know how to appreciate tea?"

Tong Yao shook his head with a smile: "I forgot, Fellow Daoist Hua is still young."

Hua Changxi was even more puzzled: "What does that have to do with my age?"

Tong Yao was very patient: "Fellow Daoist Hua is young and is in the stage of daring to venture and strive. At this time, you care about conquering the world. As for the taste for life, you might have neglected it a bit."

Hua Changxi: "What does the taste for life have to do with drinking tea?"

Tong Yao smiled: "The eight elegant arts of life: zither, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, wine, flowers, and tea. Even if we ordinary people aren't proficient in all of them, we should learn one or two, so as not to waste this life."

Hua Changxi chuckled: "If I don't know the eight elegant arts you mentioned, have I lived this life in vain?"

Tong Yao laughed: "That's not what I meant. I mean, setting aside fame and fortune, life should always have some other pursuits; otherwise, how boring and uninteresting this life would be."

"..."

Hua Changxi looked at Tong Yao with a probing gaze, thinking to herself: Is this guy implying that she is boring and uninteresting?

But thinking carefully, besides cultivation and alchemy, she really doesn't have any other hobbies, and her life is indeed a bit boring and uninteresting.

Hua Changxi looked at Tong Yao: "Can you find the joy of life by drinking tea?"

Tong Yao smiled: "Everyone's taste for life is different. I drink tea every day, aiming to cultivate my character and constantly maintain my own virtues. The joy in it is hard to describe in words."

"When one day, Fellow Daoist Hua also finds a practice that you can persist in every day, and has something to rely on for your body and mind, then we can sit down and discuss our insights and experiences."

Hua Changxi understood the implication of Tong Yao's words. He was looking down on her, afraid that she wouldn't understand his life insights from drinking tea, afraid of casting pearls before swine.

Tong Yao didn't continue talking about drinking tea and changed the subject: "It's the New Year, and Fellow Daoist Hua is in such a hurry to find me. Is there any urgent matter?"

Hua Changxi looked at him: "Have you heard about what happened at the Medicine Department on New Year's Eve?"

Tong Yao nodded: "The Guardian appeared. Such a big event spread throughout the capital on New Year's Eve. How could I not know?" As he spoke, he looked at Hua Changxi.

"I haven't congratulated Fellow Daoist Hua yet. I heard that you are one of the two people who obtained a high-grade Divine Wood Secret Realm."

Hua Changxi: "Yes, I obtained a secret realm and want to cooperate with you."

Tong Yao raised his eyebrows: "Cooperate? How to cooperate?"

Hua Changxi: "You are good at artifact refining, and I am good at alchemy. We can share what we have."

Tong Yao had already witnessed Hua Changxi's alchemy skills. Xia Yang and Xia Xue were able to be safe and sound now, thanks to the healing pills she took out in time.

Furthermore, the five great holy lands have always had a relationship of mutual assistance. Fellow Daoist Hua obtained the Divine Wood Secret Realm, so she is a member of the Dan Saint Hall. Cooperating with her is beneficial and harmless to the Artifact Saint Palace.

"It is my honor to be able to cooperate with Fellow Daoist Hua."

Seeing that he agreed to cooperate, Hua Changxi smiled and said: "We will discuss the specific details of the cooperation. Fellow Daoist Tong, has the array master friend you mentioned to me before returned to the capital?"

Tong Yao nodded: "Returned. Even if Fellow Daoist Hua didn't come to me, I would have notified you after the New Year."

Hua Changxi quickly said: "Can you call them out now? I also want to cooperate with them."

Tong Yao didn't hesitate much, took out a communication talisman, and started to contact them. Soon, he said to Hua Changxi: "My friend happens to be free, and she will be here in a while."

Hua Changxi's face showed joy. Watching the communication talisman in Tong Yao's hand burn away, her eyes flashed: "Communication talismans are useful, but they are consumed too quickly."

Each communication talisman can generally only be used five times and is also limited by distance.

Hua Changxi thought of the mobile phones from her previous life and looked at Tong Yao: "Fellow Daoist Tong, I have conceived a type of spiritual tool specifically for communication. It can not only send messages but also allow voice calls and face-to-face communication..."

Hua Changxi explained the composition and function of the mobile phone to Tong Yao in detail.

"Fellow Daoist Tong, how is it? My conception is not bad, right?"

"Can you refine such a spiritual tool?"

"With this kind of spiritual tool, it would be much more convenient for us to contact each other."

Tong Yao actually thought about it seriously. Although the spiritual tool Fellow Daoist Hua mentioned requires the use of sound-recording stones and image stones, if it could really be refined, it would indeed be much more useful than communication talismans.

"I'll go back and try."

Hua Changxi: "If you really refine it, you can give me some."

Tong Yao smiled: "Don't worry, if I really refine it, I will definitely give you some."

The two talked for a while, and the door was knocked.

Tong Yao got up to open the door: "Jing Le, why did you come with Yan Jin?"

Hua Changxi looked up and saw Jing Le and a female cultivator in purple walking into the room together.

"I was just at Yan Jin's place, and hearing that you were looking for her, I followed along."

Jing Le smiled and explained to Tong Yao, then looked at Hua Changxi: "Fellow Daoist Hua, Happy New Year."

Hua Changxi stood up: "Happy New Year."

Tong Yao closed the door and introduced with a smile: "Fellow Daoist Hua, this is the array master I told you about, Fellow Daoist Yan Jin."

Hua Changxi smiled and nodded to the purple-clothed female cultivator: "Fellow Daoist Yan."

Tong Yao wanted to introduce Hua Changxi to Yan Jin again, but Yan Jin interrupted him directly.

"No need for you to introduce. Nowadays, in the entire capital, which cultivator doesn't know Fellow Daoist Hua who obtained the high-grade Divine Wood Secret Realm?" Yan Jin looked at Hua Changxi with a smile, her eyes full of curiosity and inquiry.

Hua Changxi's eyes flashed, and she smiled: "So I'm that famous now."

Yan Jin looked at her and nodded seriously: "You surpassed the alchemy genius chosen by the Guardian. Do you think you wouldn't be famous?"

"On New Year's Eve, the Guardian appeared at the Medicine Department and opened the Divine Wood Secret Realm. This matter has already gone crazy among the cultivators."

"Do you know who people talk about the most?"

"It's not Meng Qingyao who lit the alchemy fire on the Second Street, nor the descendants of the five great Guardian families. It's you."

Hua Changxi was puzzled: "What's there to talk about me?"

Yan Jin: "You are a commoner. A commoner's counterattack, what a great topic of conversation. Do you know? Your appearance has given hope to many commoner cultivators, and they all take you as an example."

"Moreover, you are also a young lady. You have broken many people's inherent perceptions."

Hua Changxi: "..."