Chapter 248: The Pusher of the Era (Seventeen)

Regarding the "Green Luster" that flew out from the pill cauldron, Hua Changxi spoke ambiguously; although everyone wished to dig to the root of the matter, Hua Changxi refused to cooperate, so in the end, they could only leave No. 13 Qihuang Hall with sullen faces.

Compared to the displeasure of others, Gu Xing was in a good mood at this moment; looking at the Medicine Bureau, which had expanded several times over, and feeling the dense spiritual energy in the air, his mind was filled with visions of the Sacred Land restoring its ancient glory.

The current Medicine Bureau, with spiritual clouds churning and auspicious qi steaming, had already revealed the rudiments of a sacred land.

Smiles surged in Gu Xing's eyes, yet upon noticing the unmasked calculation and greed in the eyes of the various factions, his smile gradually receded.

The spiritual energy concentration in the current Medicine Bureau was likely even denser than in the secret realms occupied by the imperial family; merely inserting people to cultivate there would yield immense benefits.

Previously, in order to strengthen their own power, the masters of various secret realms had pulled in other factions for their own use, making the already faction-ridden Medicine Bureau even more complicated.

Now that the Medicine Bureau had become the place with the densest spiritual energy in the capital, more and more people would set their sights on it, and the Medicine Bureau would likely become even more chaotic in the future.

The moment Gu Xing thought of Hua Changxi's current attitude of wanting to fight alone and stay out of the affair, his head ached terribly.

Amidst the chaos, someone needed to step forward to lead a group of followers who shared the desire to revive the Pill Saint Hall, working together to propel the revival of the sacred land.

He held Hua Changxi in high regard, but alas, that girl had no such intention.

Gu Xing glanced again at Meng Qingyao, who was following closely behind Xia Zhen; as for Meng Qingyao's talent in pill refining, he absolutely acknowledged it.

It was just that...

Meng Qingyao had been raised by the Meng and Xia families, so she inevitably bore the expectations of both clans, meaning her relationship with the Pill Saint Hall would not be entirely pure.

What Gu Xing feared most was that should some major event arise in the future, Meng Qingyao would likely sacrifice the interests of the sacred land to favor the Meng and Xia families.

"Let us wait and see..."

This was only the initial stage of the spiritual energy revival; the further it progressed, the more geniuses would appear, and perhaps a genius even more suitable for the development of the sacred land than Hua Changxi or Meng Qingyao would emerge in the future.

After comforting himself with this thought, Gu Xing suppressed the worries in his heart.

Not far away, Wei Zhenjie noticed Gu Xing's wavering gaze directed at Meng Qingyao and raised an eyebrow in understanding.

If Hua Changxi had not existed as a point of comparison, he guessed Gu Xing would have chosen to support Meng Qingyao.

But as fate would have it, a Hua Changxi had appeared.

Most of the time, a good family background serves as an asset to a person, but this is not absolute.

Take Meng Qingyao and Hua Changxi, for instance.

Meng Qingyao hailed from the cultivation family Meng and was taught by the guardian family Xia, making her path of cultivation remarkably smooth, with a future that was visibly bright.

However, all this came at a price; once Meng Qingyao matured, she would have to repay the Meng and Xia families, striving for their interests in many matters.

Just this single point made it unfavorable for her to gain the support of Gu Xing, who prioritized the Pill Saint Hall above all else.

As for Hua Changxi, she had no troubles of family background, fewer entanglements, and a simple stance, allowing her to act with greater purity and dedication without needing to consider too much.

If he were Senior Gu, his heart would also lean more toward Hua Changxi.

Wei Zhenjie looked at his disciple, Huo Yunxiao: "Did Hua Changxi not say her secret realm would be recruiting apprentices? Pay close attention to this matter; the Demon-Suppressing Army should also send a batch of people in as apprentices."

Huo Yunxiao pondered for a moment and said, "Master, based on my understanding of Hua Changxi, she is not the type to do the work for others' benefit; I estimate the conditions for recruiting apprentices will be extremely stringent."

Wei Zhenjie smiled: "No matter how stringent the conditions, there will be people who fit them."

He paused.

"Senior Gu and Meng Qingyao control high-grade secret realms into which several batches of people have already entered; judging by the commotion they have caused recently, high-grade secret realms occupy vast areas."

"It can be inferred that the secret realm in Hua Changxi's possession will not be small either."

"If the secret realm is large, the number of people needed will be great."

"Since Hua Changxi needs manpower, we can send people in."

After hearing this, Huo Yunxiao found it reasonable, then sighed: "Hua Changxi is not stupid; it is just that her vision is too narrow."

"Why can she not see clearly? She is currently a piece of fat meat that everyone wants to bite; she thinks that by not cooperating with us, she can prevent others from laying hands on the secret realm. She is truly too naive."

Hearing these words, Wei Zhenjie said nothing; geniuses were all arrogant and unwilling to be controlled by others. Once Hua Changxi had been harshly taught a lesson by reality a few times, she would understand that one must know how to compromise and yield in affairs.

"Keep a close watch on all factions within the Medicine Bureau; if anything happens, send me a message immediately."

After instructing Huo Yunxiao a few more times, Wei Zhenjie returned to the Heaven Division. Upon arriving, he went straight into the underground palace, activated several prohibitions, and flashed into the forbidden ground of the Heaven Division, an independent space distinct from the underground.

Within the forbidden ground floated countless thick golden rune chains.

The rune chains intertwined with one another, weaving a vast golden net that completely sealed the black demonic qi constantly surging up from underground.

With the revival of spiritual energy in the Four Spirit Realms, the seal of the Demon Prison was also loosening.

As the seal loosened and demonic qi overflowed, the Central Sacred Land, serving as the formation's core, and the four sacred lands of Pill, Formation, Talisman, and Artifact, serving as the formation's eyes, bore the brunt, all suffering varying degrees of erosion from the demonic qi.

At this moment, the demonic qi accumulated within the golden net woven by the rune chains had become quite dense.

Wei Zhenjie, at the late stage of the Infant Transformation Realm, dared only stand in the peripheral areas where the demonic qi was slightly thinner; even so, his mind and spirit were still somewhat affected.

Usually able to remain unmoved even if Mount Taishan collapsed before him, he now found his mood unavoidably becoming somewhat irritable due to the influence of the demonic qi.

Wei Zhenjie steadied his mind, forcibly suppressing his restless thoughts, and quickly looked toward the center of the forbidden ground.

In the center of the forbidden ground stood a ritual altar carved with complex formations and runes.

Above the ritual altar hovered a golden demon-suppressing staff.

Golden light radiated in all directions from the body of the demon-suppressing staff.

Within the golden light lingered eight runes.

At this moment, a new rune was condensing into form.

Wei Zhenjie watched the condensation of the new rune with tension.

Time passed bit by bit; after an unknown duration, the new rune finished condensing, and immediately flew to merge with the other eight runes.

The nine runes connected end to end, rapidly constructing a new golden rune chain.

Once the rune chain was formed, it flew toward the golden net, merged into it, and became part of the net.

Witnessing this scene, Wei Zhenjie's tense expression gradually relaxed.

Indeed, the stronger the four sacred lands serving as the formation eyes, the stronger the Central Sacred Land's ability to resist demonic qi.

The last time he entered the forbidden ground, the demon-suppressing staff had only condensed four runes; he had originally thought it would take a very long time for a new rune chain to form, never expecting that the appearance of the Pill Cauldron Altar of the Pill Saint Hall this time would cause the demon-suppressing staff to rapidly condense five runes.

Wei Zhenjie watched the defensive net at the formation's core; with a new rune chain added, its defensive capability had strengthened slightly. While he breathed a sigh of relief, a few more thoughts occupied his mind.

"If only there were a way to accelerate the revival of the other three sacred lands..."

Wei Zhenjie knew this was merely his own wishful delusion; reviving a sacred land was far too difficult. If it were easy, the Dao-protecting families and the imperial court would have long since seized control of the five great sacred lands.

The Alchemy Saint Hall's ability to bring the Alchemy Cauldron Altar into existence so quickly had greatly exceeded his expectations.

As for the other sacred lands, apart from knowing the locations of their ruins, there was absolutely no sign of revival whatsoever.

Of course, the progress of the Central Sacred Land's revival was also extremely slow.

"Is the Alchemy Saint Hall reviving too quickly, or are the other sacred lands reviving too slowly?"