Chapter 238: The Pusher of the Era (7)

"Sigh~"

Inside Qihuang Hall No. 13, Apothecary Xu gazed at the motionless east wing, having lost count of how many times he had sighed.

The other seven medicine apprentices wore expressions of helplessness and complexity; how had they ended up serving a hall master who lacked ambition and vanished at the drop of a hat?

Their hall master had obtained a high-grade secret realm, a windfall from the heavens that had dropped squarely on their heads; even if she disliked them, she would have no choice but to employ them.

Each of them had powerful backers and access to intelligence; they had already gleaned news about the Divine Wood Secret Realm from other realm masters.

Every secret realm, even a low-grade one, contained countless spiritual herbs.

If their hall master merely let a tiny crumb slip through her fingers, it would be enough to meet their cultivation needs.

What was infuriating was...

Their hall master did nothing!

They had never seen anyone like Hua Changxi; while other secret realms were undergoing vigorous development, hers remained completely stagnant.

In the eyes of all the medicine apprentices, this was like guarding a treasure mountain yet being able to look but not touch.

At this very moment, their hearts were undergoing unimaginable torment!

"Steward Xu, the Spirit Realm Pavilion held a meeting a few days ago and elected a Pavilion Master, yet no one came to inform our hall master; surely we must report this to her."

Hua Shuran, considering that Hua Changxi was a member of the Hua clan, felt genuine anger seeing her excluded from the Spirit Realm Pavilion.

Apothecary Xu also felt extremely furious about this.

However, the east wing was protected by restrictions; he worried Hua Changxi might be cultivating, and feared that disturbing her rashly would affect her progress.

For a moment, Apothecary Xu hesitated, unable to move.

Seeing this, He Sirong thought for a moment and spoke up: "Apothecary Xu, today marks the day when the eighteen Qihuang Hall masters begin their rotation of lectures."

"When I first arrived, I saw the masters of other Qihuang Halls heading toward Hall No. 1; clearly, they are going to show support for Master Mu."

"The Qihuang Halls form a single entity; the eighteen hall masters will inevitably have social interactions in the future."

"Currently, the hall masters do not know each other well; since our hall master already missed the Spirit Realm Pavilion meeting, missing the first lecture of the other masters as well would likely harm her future relations."

Hearing this, Apothecary Xu finally made up his mind; he walked to the east wing and triggered the restriction.

Inside the secret realm, Hua Changxi had already constructed two ridges running north-south and east-west across the first layer; she had cut down a batch of bamboo from the fourth layer and built two rows of bamboo huts along the ridges for storing medicinal herbs.

At this moment, she was gathering Yuan Spirit Grass.

Apprentices entering the secret realm for the first year, needing to harvest herbs and reclaim medicinal fields, received a bottle of Grade One Yuan Spirit Pills each month; she needed to refine these pills in advance.

Watching the Yuan Spirit Grass on the first layer of the secret realm being completely harvested, Hua Changxi had just begun to smile when she sensed someone triggering the restriction inside the hut.

The day-night cycle within the Divine Wood Secret Realm matched that of the outside world; realizing she had stayed inside for about ten days, Hua Changxi placed the Yuan Spirit Grass into the bamboo hut and flashed out of the secret realm.

Inside Qihuang Hall No. 13, just as Apothecary Xu was preparing to trigger the east wing's restriction for a second time, the door opened.

Seeing Hua Changxi walk out of the room, Apothecary Xu was nearly moved to tears of joy: "Changxi, you have finally come out."

Speaking rapidly, he informed Hua Changxi one by one about the Spirit Realm Pavilion holding a meeting to elect a Pavilion Master.

While Apothecary Xu reported, Hua Shuran and the others closely monitored Hua Changxi's expression, but alas, she remained expressionless throughout, revealing nothing.

Hua Changxi knew she had been excluded from the Spirit Realm Pavilion, and her heart felt somewhat blocked.

Although she cared little for outsiders' opinions, being so blatantly isolated and ostracized still made her feel extremely uncomfortable.

"Uncle Xu, make preparations; in a while, I will recruit secret realm apprentices, and you will be responsible for the recruitment."

Seeing that Hua Changxi had finally assigned them a task, Apothecary Xu and the others were overjoyed.

However...

Zhu Yu hesitated for a moment before stepping forward: "Hall Master, you have stayed in the secret realm these past few days and may not know that other secret realms have already recruited most of the cultivators in Jingcheng who understand medicine and can refine pills."

With neither connections nor anything but falling behind other realm masters, how could the hall master possibly recruit anyone?

Hua Changxi glanced at him: "Do exactly as I say."

Zhu Yu paused for a second, then quickly replied: "Yes."

Hua Changxi was quite curious about the attainments of the various hall masters in medicine and pill dao; she looked at Apothecary Xu and asked: "Can anyone attend the lectures given by the Qihuang Hall masters?"

Apothecary Xu nodded: "That is how the notification was issued, though the space within the Qihuang Halls is limited after all..."

Hearing this, Hua Changxi said: "Then let us go; we shall also head to Hall No. 1 to listen."

It was not until Hua Changxi had walked out the main gate that Apothecary Xu and the others realized she intended for them to accompany her to the lecture.

This was truly beyond their expectations.

"Everyone, hurry and keep up!"

"Grandmother Sun!"

Traveling from the Qihuang Hall behind the Apprentice Hall to the one behind the Laborer Hall required passing through the Old Courtyard of the Square.

Just as Hua Changxi led Apothecary Xu and the others near the square, they spotted Grandmother Sun leading a group of people into the Old Courtyard from a distance.

Many among them were former members of the Laborer Hall.

Seeing Hua Changxi staring at the Old Courtyard of the Square, Apothecary Xu hurriedly shared what he had learned: "Aunt Sun is the right-hand woman of Senior Gu."

"The grades of the three public secret realms managed by Senior Gu were announced on the sixth day of the first lunar month, the very day the Spirit Realm Pavilion held its first meeting."

"One is a Grade Seven high-grade secret realm, and two are Grade Three secret realms."

"Senior Gu personally manages the high-grade realm; of the two Grade Three realms, one is managed by Aunt Sun, and the other by the Xia family."

Upon hearing this, Hua Changxi's eyes flickered continuously.

Before this, she had thought Gu Xing was a lone wolf, never expecting that Grandmother Sun belonged to him!

"Senior Gu has announced the grades of his secret realms; what about the other realm masters? Have they announced theirs?"

Apothecary Xu nodded: "The day after the Spirit Realm Pavilion elected its Pavilion Master, Pavilion Master Meng ordered all realm masters to report the grades of their secret realms."

Hua Changxi was surprised: "Did all the realm masters comply?"

Apothecary Xu nodded again.

At this moment, Hua Shuran interjected, "The grades of the secret realms can actually be guessed; there is no need to conceal the grades of low-tier secret realms."

After she spoke, the others chimed in one after another, announcing the grades of each secret realm master.

Of the first eighteen secret realms of the Pill Saint Hall, nine were third-grade, five were fourth-grade, one was fifth-grade, and two were seventh-grade.

So far, only Hua Changxi's secret realm grade remained unknown.

However, given that the high-grade secret realms held by Meng Qingyao and Gu Xing were both seventh-grade, various parties speculated that the secret realm in Hua Changxi's possession was also seventh-grade.

Seeing Hua Changxi's surprise at the other secret realm masters announcing their grades, He Sirong seized the opportunity to speak: "The grade of a secret realm signifies the amount of resources under its control."

"Nowadays, more and more people are detected to possess spiritual roots, yet cultivation resources are far from abundant."

"Once the secret realm grades are announced, it will attract many cultivators to come and pledge allegiance."

Hearing this explanation, Hua Changxi finally showed a look of sudden realization. Glancing at Hua Shuran and He Sirong, she had to admit that those from noble backgrounds possessed greater knowledge and a stronger ability to perceive the essence through phenomena.

Crossing the square, the group stood on the street where Qihuang Halls numbered one through nine were located.

"Why are there so many people?"

The closer they walked toward Hall Number One, the more people they encountered; by the time they reached Qihuang Hall Number One, the area outside was already packed with people, three layers deep inside and three layers deep outside.

Apothecary Xu asked, "Hall Master, shall we still go in?"

Hua Changxi looked at the people waiting eagerly outside Hall Number One, seeing the thirst for learning in their eyes. Her expression turned somewhat serious as she recalled the interior of Qihuang Hall Number One after the wooden tablet had opened it.

It was so spacious that it could easily accommodate everyone present!