Chapter 251: The Hand of the Era (Twenty)

Unlike the Pill Saint Hall, which was seized by the imperial family early on and infiltrated by various nobles, the Artifact Saint Palace, Talisman Saint Pavilion, and Formation Saint Sect have been developing quietly in the shadows, recruiting no small number of disciples.

On this visit to the Artifact Saint Palace, Hua Changxi obtained not only the Oath Stele but also ten thousand identity tokens for entering and exiting the secret realm, ten thousand sets of first-grade legal robes (cyan), ten thousand sets of spiritual tools such as hoes and sickles for tending medicinal fields, and ten thousand pill bottles for storing first-grade elixirs.

At the same time, Yan Zhenzhen had already refined the six transmission array foundations she required; once installed, the transmission arrays would be ready for activation.

From this, one could glimpse that both the Artifact Saint Palace and the Formation Saint Sect possessed considerable production capabilities.

As Hua Changxi inspected the identity tokens and other items refined by the Artifact Saint Palace, Tong Yao approached.

Tong Yao looked at Hua Changxi and said, "We are hastening to refine the remaining ninety thousand identity tokens and other supporting equipment, which we will deliver to you in batches later."

Hua Changxi nodded and asked, "By the way, how is the refinement of the display spiritual devices progressing?"

The focus of her apprentice recruitment lay not within Jingcheng but outside it.

To let cultivators outside Jingcheng know that the Danyuan Secret Realm was recruiting apprentices, display spiritual devices were indispensable.

Tong Yao replied, "Display spiritual devices are of high grade; only I and the members of the Elder Hall can refine them. We have already refined several dozen."

"Deploying these display spiritual devices across various regions will surely alarm all parties. To avoid unforeseen complications, I believe we should wait until all one hundred display spiritual devices are completed before deploying them uniformly."

Hua Changxi showed agreement and asked, "Then how much longer will the refinement take?"

Tong Yao estimated, "It will take another three or four months. As soon as all the display spiritual devices are finished, I will notify you immediately."

Hua Changxi was not in a hurry, nodded, and said, "Very well."

Afterwards, Hua Changxi chatted briefly with Jingliao and Yan Zhenzhen about recent events in Jingcheng, then asked Tong Yao about Hua Liulang's situation at the Artifact Saint Palace. Upon learning that her sixth brother was safe and sound and possessed great talent in artifact refinement, she departed with peace of mind.

After leaving the Artifact Saint Palace, Hua Changxi returned to the Medical Bureau.

Transmission could be divided into fixed-point transmission and random transmission; all the transmission arrays Hua Changxi had asked Yan Zhenzhen to refine were of the fixed-point type.

Fixed-point transmission arrays included single fixed-point arrays, paired point-to-point fixed-point arrays, and one-to-many fixed-point arrays.

For the transmission arrays placed at the secret realm entrance and those connecting the first layer to the second layer of the secret realm, Hua Changxi required single fixed-point arrays, allowing anyone stepping onto them to be transmitted directly to the designated location.

For the remaining four transmission arrays, she desired mutual point-to-point transmission, meaning the arrays could transmit between each other.

Once these four transmission arrays were installed at Lingguang Hall, the Medical Bureau, Mount Wuzhi, and the Shennong Hall Pharmacy, these four locations would be able to transmit to one another.

According to Hua Changxi's original plan, she had intended to place the transmission array within the Medical Bureau inside Qihuang Hall Number Thirteen.

But upon further thought, since she did not have complete control over Qihuang Hall Number Thirteen and could not prevent outsiders from entering or exiting, placing the transmission array inside the hall was not entirely secure.

The Danyuan Secret Realm, however, was different; within the secret realm, she held absolute control over everything.

Therefore, she decided directly to install the transmission arrays within the secret realm.

When Hua Changxi arrived at Qihuang Hall Number Thirteen, Pharmacist Xu and several medicine boys were helping Yu Gui, Zhou Qiuyu, and two others organize records of first-grade spiritual plants.

Hua Changxi did not disturb them; she entered the pill refinement room, summoned the Divine Wood Leaf, and flashed into the secret realm.

Upon entering the secret realm, Hua Changxi installed the transmission array leading from the center of the first layer to the second layer.

As soon as the transmission array was set up, Hua Changxi stepped onto it to test it; in the blink of an eye, she was transmitted to the second layer.

"Transmission arrays are indeed convenient and fast!"

Previously, she had flown from the first layer to the second layer of the secret realm; now, relying directly on transmission, she reached the second layer in an instant.

Afterwards, Hua Changxi went to the fourth layer of the secret realm and installed transmission arrays leading to Lingguang Hall, Mount Wuzhi, and the Shennong Hall Pharmacy in the southeast corner of the fourth layer.

This time, she could not test the transmission effect; the other three subsidiary arrays had to be installed first.

With both transmission arrays installed, Hua Changxi did not linger long in the secret realm before departing; upon exiting, she headed straight for the square.

She had been pondering where to place the entrance and exit of the secret realm; setting it inside Qihuang Hall was unsuitable, not only because the hall was not large enough, but also because once Qihuang Hall revealed its true form in the future, it would be inappropriate to locate the secret realm entrance there.

Yesterday, after the Pill Cauldron Altar appeared and the square became completely flat and open, Hua Changxi immediately decided to place the secret realm entrance and exit on the square.

There was no other reason; the square was simply spacious enough!

Due to the emergence of the Pill Cauldron Altar, Hua Changxi had become a figure of widespread attention and discussion over the past two days; the moment she appeared on the square, gazes from all sides converged upon her.

Watching Hua Changxi walk in circles around the square, everyone felt bewildered.

"What is this Hua Changxi up to now?"

Even Gu Xing stood at the entrance of the Old Courtyard, staring at Hua Changxi as she walked and stopped repeatedly on the square.

The current layout of the square was as follows: the Old Courtyard guarded by Gu Xing stood at the exact northern center of the square; directly opposite the Old Courtyard's entrance, slightly north of the square's exact center, rose the towering Pill Cauldron Altar piercing the clouds.

Hua Changxi reasoned that the east corresponded to the element of Wood, and since her secret realm was named after 'Yuan' (Origin), after circling the square several times, she decided to place the secret realm entrance and exit on the eastern edge of the square, directly east of the Pill Cauldron Altar.

Having selected the location, Hua Changxi began installing the transmission array for entering and exiting the secret realm.

Once the transmission array was completed, she erected the Oath Stele beside it.

Hua Changxi employed methods of the Infant Transformation Realm to ensure that no one could shake or destroy the Oath Stele; satisfied, she departed.

Now, all that remained was to wait for the display spiritual devices to be refined; once the news of the Danyuan Secret Realm recruiting apprentices spread, a steady stream of cultivators would come to register.

The moment she left, all parties immediately sent people to investigate.

Upon clearly reading the content inscribed on the Oath Stele, a tsunami-like shockwave erupted once again within the Medical Bureau, spreading outward with lightning speed.

"I take my three souls and six poxes as the guide, and my innate essence blood as the contract; I kneel before the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, invoking all spirits of the myriad heavens."

"From this day forth, I voluntarily bow to become an apprentice under the Danyuan Secret Realm, subordinate to the Pill Saint Hall, taking 'refining the spiritual medicines of heaven and earth, cultivating the supreme pill heart, assisting cultivators in breaking through realms and surviving tribulations, and saving all living beings from illness and suffering' as my lifelong pursuit."

"Even if the path of pills is perilous, I shall not covet delusions of immortality; even if cultivation methods are profound, I shall not seize the opportunities of others. Cultivating the mind comes first, refining pills serves as proof; rather than shatter the pill furnace, I will not defile the source of the Pill Dao."

"As long as the pill fire does not extinguish, I vow never to give up; as long as the pill formulas remain undestroyed, I vow to guard their secrets. For as long as I do not leave the Pill Saint Hall, the interests of the Pill Saint Hall shall forever supersede all worldly bonds."

"I shall strictly abide by the rules of the Sacred Land, never betraying the Sacred Land, never violating its precepts, never crossing the forbidden line; should the Sacred Land face calamity, I will protect it with my life, shunning neither life nor death."

"Let Heaven and Earth bear witness, let the Sun and Moon be our allies; once this oath is sworn, it shall not be destroyed through ten thousand tribulations! Should I break this vow, my soul shall scatter and my spirit vanish, forever falling into the Relentless Hell!"