Chapter 247: The Pusher of the Era (16)

Crossing the square, Hua Changxi led Yu Gui and the others back to No. 13 Qihuang Hall.

Upon entering the hall, Hua Changxi immediately instructed Yu Gui, Zhou Qiuyu, Wang Yunchu, and Guo Cheng to organize the content of today's lesson without delay.

Afterwards, Hua Changxi turned her gaze to Apothecary Xu and the other seven, saying to Apothecary Xu, "The Danyuan Secret Realm will begin recruiting apprentices in a few days."

"Uncle Xu, you will lead Hua Shuran and the others to take full charge of the apprentice recruitment."

Seeing Hua Changxi assigning them tasks again, Apothecary Xu and the other seven all brightened with joy.

What people fear most is having no opportunity to prove their worth.

As long as they remained useful to the Hall Master, the Hall Master would continue to need them, allowing them to stay by her side indefinitely.

After witnessing today's grand spectacle of the Danding Altar's emergence, a sense of crisis spontaneously arose in the hearts of Apothecary Xu and the other seven.

After today, anyone with an ounce of sense could recognize Hua Changxi's value; it went without saying that countless people would seek to draw close and join No. 13 Qihuang Hall.

They could not allow themselves to be squeezed out!

"Hall Master, rest assured, we will certainly handle the apprentice recruitment flawlessly."

Apothecary Xu and the other seven all pledged their utmost dedication.

Hua Changxi continued, "I have only one requirement: treat all cultivating cultivators who apply equally; as long as they meet the criteria, recruit them."

"If I discover that you have deliberately refused to recruit someone due to your personal preferences or other trivial reasons, or that you have opened convenient gates for certain individuals, you will leave No. 13 Qihuang Hall immediately."

She paused briefly.

Hua Changxi's gaze swept over the eight medicine apprentices: "I know that all of you have your hearts in the Han camp while your bodies remain in the Cao camp."

Upon hearing this, Hua Shuran and the others immediately wished to explain and declare their determination to follow Hua Changxi.

Hua Changxi did not trust empty words and gave them no chance to speak.

"Currently, I need personnel and am too bothered to dwell on this matter."

"However, remember this: I may not require your loyalty, but you must execute my orders meticulously and without deviation."

"If you cannot even achieve this, then staying by my side would truly render you useless."

"I do not keep useless people here."

Hearing these words, including Apothecary Xu, the eight medicine apprentices all adopted serious and solemn expressions.

He Sirong stepped forward quickly: "Thank you, Hall Master, for giving us this opportunity to prove ourselves. It is true that we all have families behind us to consider, but from now on, we will absolutely prioritize the Hall Master above all."

"If the Hall Master does not believe us, please observe our future actions."

Seeing the He family woman take the lead, Hua Shuran hurriedly followed suit to declare her stance: "Please judge us by our future actions, Hall Master."

"If we truly commit any act of betrayal against the Hall Master, we will accept whatever punishment the Hall Master imposes without the slightest complaint."

The others also followed suit, making their declarations one after another.

After listening to the eight of them, Hua Changxi said nothing; shifting her gaze, she spotted a group of people arriving outside the main gate.

Leading them were none other than Gu Xing and Xia Zhen.

Prince Shou, Director Gu, and the other Qihuang Hall Masters had all arrived; even Tang Yufeng and those who had lost their positions as Hall Masters trailed behind them.

Looking at these people, Hua Changxi was momentarily stunned, but she soon understood their intentions.

Eager to inquire about the green radiance the Danding Altar had bestowed upon Hua Changxi, Xia Zhen set aside his status as a Dao Protector and spoke first to express goodwill.

"Congratulations, Young Friend Hua; today's lecture was highly successful."

Hua Changxi smiled in reply, "Thank you for your encouragement, Senior Xia; I will continue to strive for improvement in the future."

Hearing this, a trace of awkwardness crossed Xia Zhen's face; after composing himself, he got straight to the point: "With the reappearance of the Danding Altar, Young Friend Hua, your contribution is indispensable; may I ask what the Danding Altar bestowed upon you?"

As soon as this question was asked, everyone pricked up their ears.

Hua Changxi glanced at Gu Xing; seeing him also looking at her with intense eagerness, she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

Gu Xing's reaction suggested he too was unaware that the green radiance emitted by the flying Danding Altar would transform into a Saint Pill.

The moment the Saint Pill coalesced within her sea of consciousness, Hua Changxi instantly comprehended everything concerning the Saint Pill and the thousand Saint Guardian Tokens hidden within it.

Although named a pill, the Saint Pill was actually a divine artifact that could only be manipulated using soul power.

The Saint Guardian Tokens hidden within could command the Saint Guard.

However, not just anyone could serve as a member of the Saint Guard.

In ancient times, to reward the Demon-Suppressing Guards who protected the stability of the Demon Prison across the nine major checkpoints of the Nine Netherworlds, the Saint Guard of the Sacred Lands were generally selected from among the Demon-Suppressing Guards.

The Demon-Suppressing Guards were stationed long-term in the Nine Netherworlds, an environment unfavorable for flesh-and-blood bodies to remain for extended periods; over time, their physical forms would suffer erosion, damaging their foundations.

Even demons with incredibly robust physical bodies found staying in the Nine Netherworlds extremely agonizing.

Worse still, some Demon-Suppressing Guards with insufficient strength or those who had suffered heavy injuries were likely to lose their physical bodies entirely, leaving only their primordial spirits to exist in the world.

The Saint Guardian Tokens were refined from the leaves of the Undying Divine Wood; their dense vitality could both repair damaged physical bodies and protect and strengthen primordial spirits.

For the Demon-Suppressing Guards stationed long-term in the Nine Netherworlds, the Saint Guardian Tokens were rare and precious protective treasures.

After learning this information, Hua Changxi realized that the Saint Guard could only be selected from the Demon-Suppressing Guards.

Selecting the Saint Guard required descending into the Nine Netherworlds and negotiating with the nine major checkpoints guarding the Demon Prison.

She was still very unfamiliar with the Nine Netherworlds, and her knowledge of the nine major checkpoints guarding the Demon Prison was equally limited.

The matter of the Saint Guard could not be resolved in the short term.

Therefore, Hua Changxi did not wish to reveal the truth about the Saint Pill and invite unnecessary complications; smiling at Xia Zhen, she said, "It was merely some routine operational scenes of the Dansheng Hall."

Although this statement was vague, she had not lied.

The reason the Danding Altar bestowed one thousand Saint Guardian Tokens upon her was that, in ancient times, the defense of the Danding Altar and the square's order had been maintained by exactly one thousand Saint Guards.

Hearing this, Xia Zhen clearly did not believe her: "Young Friend Hua, it seems you do not trust us."

Hua Changxi smiled faintly: "Senior Xia, have you considered that perhaps you distinguish too sharply between insiders and outsiders?"

"You view me as an outsider, not one of your so-called own people; therefore, no matter what I say, you will harbor doubts in your heart."

These words left Xia Zhen momentarily stunned.

Gu Xing glanced at Hua Changxi, did not press further, and simply said, "Whatever the Alchemy Cauldron bestowed upon you represents its recognition of you; just do not betray that recognition."

Hua Changxi smiled. "Elder Gu, in my view, since I caused the Alchemy Cauldron Altar to reappear, whatever I received is what I deserve."

As she spoke, she looked at Gu Xing.

"As for this so-called betrayal you speak of, on what grounds do you base it?"

That old man was utterly wicked; with a single 'Green Radiance' flying from the Alchemy Cauldron, he already presumed to bind her to the Alchemy Saint Hall for life.

Her intended role within the Alchemy Saint Hall had long been planned: she would be an instructor spreading the teachings of alchemical Dao and medical arts.

Anyone attempting to burden her with heavy responsibilities for the Alchemy Saint Hall harbored ill intentions.

Seeing that Hua Changxi refused to take the bait, Gu Xing felt somewhat helpless.

Though this girl was somewhat sharp-tongued and stubborn, she truly possessed little ambition.