Chapter 256: The Pusher of the Era (Twenty-Five)

On the morning of the second day of the second lunar month, Hua Minghe went to the Medical Bureau.

He knew clearly that his own family could offer no help or support to his daughter; with the imperial clan and the nobles joining forces against her, the clan itself would not intervene.

Worried about his daughter, he nevertheless decided to follow Old Master Hua's advice and come to persuade Hua Changxi not to oppose the imperial clan and the nobles.

After arriving at the Medical Bureau, Hua Minghe spoke briefly to the gatekeeper and was easily allowed inside.

By regulation, outsiders were not permitted to enter or leave the Medical Bureau; the reason Hua Minghe gained entry so easily was that both the imperial clan and the nobles hoped the Hua family could persuade Hua Changxi to bow her head and yield voluntarily.

Unfortunately, upon reaching Qihuang Hall Number Thirteen, Hua Minghe did not see Hua Changxi at all.

"Pharmacist Xu, do you know where Ninth Lady has gone?"

Pharmacist Xu smiled bitterly: "The Hall Master is always like a divine dragon showing its tail but not its head; unless she appears herself, we have no way to contact her."

He too wished to see Hua Changxi immediately, so he could inform her that their superiors had ordered them to stop recruiting apprentices.

Hua Minghe waited in the hall until noon; seeing that Hua Changxi still had not returned, he could only depart first: "Pharmacist Xu, when Ninth Lady returns, please ask her to come home first."

Pharmacist Xu nodded in agreement; guessing the purpose of Hua Minghe's visit, he sighed as he watched the man's retreating figure.

Zhu Yu walked over to Pharmacist Xu and said with deep worry: "Where has the Hall Master gone? She must not be like before, disappearing for several months at a time."

Pharmacist Xu glanced at him: "She won't; the Hall Master instructed us to recruit apprentices, so she will certainly keep an eye on the progress of the recruitment."

Zhu Yu frowned: "But our superiors do not want us to recruit anyone; what should we do?"

Pharmacist Xu fell silent.

Not far away, Hua Shuran, Hua Wanyue, as well as He Sirong and He Siqi, all wore expressions of deep sorrow.

Hua Shuran looked at the He sisters and asked: "Will you be among the first to swear oaths and enter the Danyuan Secret Realm?"

He Sirong did not answer directly but countered: "Will you?"

Hua Shuran said nothing; the Count's Prefecture had already sent word that unless Hua Changxi was willing to grant the Hua clan treatment far superior to that of ordinary apprentices, the Count's Prefecture would not stick its neck out.

Seeing her silence, He Sirong guessed the decision of the Dingyuan Count's Prefecture; however, she said nothing, for the Wu Yi Marquis's Prefecture held the same view.

As for the Marquis's Prefecture's decision, in her heart she actually did not agree with it.

Based on her understanding of Hua Changxi, it would be very difficult for Hua Changxi to bow her head to the imperial clan and the nobles.

Although Hua Changxi, acting alone against all parties, had almost no chance of winning, what if she did?

Once Hua Changxi won, the Marquis's Prefecture would have missed the best opportunity to draw closer to her.

After Hua Shuran left with Hua Wanyue, He Siqi, seeing He Sirong still frowning, said: "Second Sister, stop worrying; it is not wrong for the Marquis's Prefecture to follow the Dingyuan Count."

He Sirong shook her head: "It is not the same; even if Hua Changxi dislikes the Dingyuan Count's Prefecture all the more, she is still a member of the Hua clan; their ties cannot be severed."

"But between our Marquis's Prefecture and Hua Changxi, there is only Third Aunt connecting us."

"Originally, because of the matter of taking in Third Aunt, Hua Changxi already harbored considerable dissatisfaction toward the Marquis's Prefecture; if we truly follow the Count's Prefecture in everything, we will absolutely never grow close to Hua Changxi."

He Siqi said: "Everything you say is correct, but asking the Marquis's Prefecture to step forward now and support Hua Changxi carries too high a risk."

He Sirong's eyes flashed: "High risk brings high reward."

He Siqi did not quite agree with doing so: "Hua Changxi may be at the height of her prominence now, but she is too flamboyant and does not know how to cooperate with others; how things will turn out in the future remains uncertain, and Grandfather will not gamble the Marquis's Prefecture's future on this."

He Sirong knew this as well, which was why she felt so helpless.

He Siqi added: "I feel Hua Changxi is not very concerned about the secret realm matters either; after handing over the apprentice recruitment to Pharmacist Xu, she vanished; I have never seen a superior like her."

Regarding the fact that they often could not see Hua Changxi, He Sirong did not know what to say.

Where was Hua Changxi at this moment?

In the Lingguang Hall.

Yesterday, after the teleportation array on Mount Wuzhi was set up, it was already late, so she teleported directly back to Lingguang Hall, intending to cultivate for the night and return to the Medical Bureau early the next morning.

Who would have known that once she began cultivating, she discovered her cultivation speed had increased again.

Now, cultivating for one double-hour allowed her to gain five million spirit energy points.

[Realm: Nascent Soul Stage 3.1 billion/1 billion; Divine Sense: (100/100) ten thousand]

Hua Changxi silently observed her cultivation data.

Judging by her previous breakthroughs, to break through the Nascent Soul Stage and advance to the next stage, the Spirit Platform Stage, she needed to cultivate her spirit energy points to 10 billion.

At her current cultivation speed, if she devoted all twelve double-hours of the day to cultivation, she could break through to the Spirit Platform Stage within three or four months!

With her cultivation speed increasing once again and a breakthrough to the next stage possible within a few months, Hua Changxi was extremely delighted; moreover, the fire spirit energy in Lingguang Hall was sufficiently dense, and before she knew it, Hua Changxi became completely immersed in the joy of cultivation.

Because she cultivated so forgetfully, she lost all sense of time passing; by the time she finished cultivating, a full month had elapsed.

[Realm: Nascent Soul Stage 4.9 billion/1 billion; Divine Sense: (100/100) ten thousand]

Hua Changxi enjoyed watching her cultivation base rise bit by bit, but she also knew she could not focus solely on cultivation; many matters awaited her at the secret realm.

Halting her cultivation, Hua Changxi stepped into the teleportation array on the Lingguang Hall side; after a momentary dizziness, she appeared on the fourth layer of the Danyuan Secret Realm.

Due to the existence of the Divine Wood Leaf, the location where Hua Changxi exited the secret realm could be anywhere within the sacred land.

When she silently appeared in Qihuang Hall Number Thirteen, Pharmacist Xu and the others were greatly startled.

"Hall Master, you have finally appeared."

Seeing Hua Changxi, Pharmacist Xu and the others were truly overjoyed.

Hua Changxi called everyone into the main hall and listened to their reports.

Although she had guessed that Pharmacist Xu and the others would not have much success recruiting apprentices, she had not expected that in an entire month, they would not have recruited a single person.

Soon, she learned the reason from Pharmacist Xu and the others: she was being boycotted by all the nobles, led by the imperial clan!

Hua Changxi did not wish for various parties to interfere in the affairs of the Danyuan Secret Realm and had guessed she would face targeting from some nobles; this she had mentally prepared for.

But she had not expected the nobles' reaction to be so intense, that they would actually unite to deal with her.

"I am aware of this matter; you all go about your duties."

Having said this, Hua Changxi left Qihuang Hall Number Thirteen; her appearance immediately drew everyone's attention.

"Hall Master Hua has finally returned."

"Do you think she will bow to Prince Shou?"

"I hope she bows quickly; otherwise, Prince Shou will not permit her to recruit apprentices, and we won't be able to join the Danyuan Secret Realm."

Amidst the crowd's murmurs, Hua Changxi walked into Gu Xing's old courtyard.

Seeing Hua Changxi, Gu Xing looked somewhat surprised: "Why have you come?"

Hua Changxi skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point: "Prince Shou and the others refuse to let me recruit apprentices. Are you just going to ignore this?"

Gu Xing's expression stiffened slightly: "This matter is beyond my control."

Hua Changxi widened her eyes: "You are the gatekeeper of the Sacred Land; you represent it better than anyone. If you won't handle it, who will?"

Gu Xing looked at her: "But the Sacred Land is not yet truly the Sacred Land; the Medicine Bureau falls under the imperial court's jurisdiction."

Hua Changxi was deeply dissatisfied with this answer: "The apprentices I recruit are intended to train alchemists for the Sacred Land. Prince Shou and the others block me from recruiting, and you won't even lift a finger to help."

Gu Xing replied: "How do you expect me to help? Do you think Prince Shou and the others would listen to me?"

Hua Changxi was speechless: "So your meaning is that you intend to let Prince Shou and the others dominate everything?"

Gu Xing fell silent for a moment: "Only the Spirit Realm Pavilion can contend with the imperial family and the powerful nobles."

Hua Changxi frowned: "What do you mean?"

Gu Xing said: "You should go to the Spirit Realm Pavilion and have them negotiate with the imperial family on your behalf."

Hua Changxi pulled a long face: "You know perfectly well that I never joined the Spirit Realm Pavilion."

Gu Xing shook his head: "You are the Secret Realm Master; that makes you a member of the Spirit Realm Pavilion."

Hua Changxi crossed her arms, her attitude resistant: "The Spirit Realm Pavilion was established by the Xia family, the Dao-protecting clan. They deliberately excluded me from the first meeting. If I go to them now, wouldn't that be equivalent to bowing to the Xia family?"

"Even setting that aside, are you sure the Dao-protecting clan would help me? They might all be laughing at my misfortune. Sending me to them would be like walking right into their hands to be humiliated."

Gu Xing's expression turned serious: "As one walks through this world, one must bow when the time calls for it."

Hua Changxi said sharply: "But I do not wish to bow!"

"Everything I have done is for the Sacred Land; I have done nothing wrong. Why should I be the one to compromise and yield?"

Hearing this, Gu Xing sighed: "Such is the way of the world. Now that you are constrained by others, if you wish to succeed, you must abide by their rules."

Hua Changxi retorted: "I will not! The Sacred Land does not belong to me alone, nor is training alchemists solely my responsibility. If they forbid me from recruiting, I simply will not open the Secret Realm."

Having spoken, she left without looking back.

Watching her go, Gu Xing let out a long sigh.

When will this temperament of hers ever be smoothed out?