Chapter 264: Not Enough Time

After Hua Changxi had given all her instructions, she returned to the alchemy room, then activated the divine wood leaf within her dantian and flashed into the Danyuan Secret Realm.

Leading people to swear oaths and join the Danyuan Secret Realm this time had truly filled her with both shock and joy.

What shocked her was the sudden appearance of the Undying Divine Wood.

What delighted her was that she had not only become the peak master of Danyuan Peak but had also received a Saint Pill and a new branch sprouted from the Undying Divine Wood.

Feeling the wood branch in her dantian and the Saint Pill in her sea of consciousness, Hua Changxi felt exceedingly pleased.

Beyond these unexpected gains, the commotion caused today was sufficient to shatter the boycott against her jointly initiated by Prince Shou and others.

By now, many within the Medical Bureau must be eager to join the Danyuan Secret Realm.

Time flowed the same inside the secret realm as it did outside; seeing that night had fallen and recalling that she still needed to recruit several hundred retired Demon-Suppression Army soldiers tomorrow, Hua Changxi decided not to return to Lingguang Hall for cultivation tonight.

Hua Changxi quickly took out the remaining nine thousand-plus identity tokens and began imprinting the character 'Yuan' onto each one.

Two hours later, all the identity tokens had been fully imprinted.

With more than three hours remaining until dawn, Hua Changxi pondered for a moment and decided to refine pills.

[Grade-3 Alchemist (Top-Quality Pills): Pills Refined 1508 Furnaces 1508/]

Looking at her alchemy grade, which had not improved, Hua Changxi felt somewhat helpless; since the beginning of the year, she had been constantly busy and simply had no time to refine pills.

"Once the recruitment of apprentices stabilizes, I must hurry to raise my alchemy grade."

For now, she needed to seize the time to refine a batch of Grade-1 Spirit Pills that she had promised to distribute to the apprentices.

Since the first layer of the secret realm contained many mature Grade-1 spiritual herbs, Hua Changxi began harvesting the Yuanling Grass required to refine Grade-1 Yuanling Pills.

She did not harvest them by hand but controlled her spiritual energy to do so; being at the Infant Transformation stage, she harvested with great speed, and by dawn, she had gathered tens of thousands of Grade-1 Yuanling Grass plants.

Each layer of the Danyuan Secret Realm possessed two spiritual rivers, one running north to south and the other east to west.

Gazing at the mountain-like pile of spiritual herbs before her, Hua Changxi felt a headache coming on; there simply wasn't enough time.

Although she had recruited several dozen apprentices yesterday, they were tasked today with clearing paths on Danyuan Peak, meaning these spiritual herbs could only be cleaned and processed by her alone.

"I must quickly train a batch of apprentices."

Otherwise, if she had to handle everything herself, she would be worked to death.

Seeing that daylight had fully broken, Hua Changxi flashed out of the secret realm; the moment she exited the alchemy room, she found Physician Xu and others already waiting inside the Qihuang Hall.

"Have the resumes of all the retired Demon-Suppression Army soldiers been filled out?"

Physician Xu stepped forward and replied, "They have all been completed."

Hua Changxi nodded. "Very well, shortly everyone will ascend Danyuan Peak together." She paused. "What about Eunuch Yu and the others?"

Physician Xu said, "Steward Yu has already taken the apprentices recruited yesterday up to Danyuan Peak to begin work."

Hearing this, Hua Changxi was quite satisfied with Steward Yu's diligence; looking at Physician Xu, she said, "Steward Xu, from now on, you will be the steward responsible for recruiting apprentices for the secret realm."

Upon hearing this, Physician Xu's face lit up with joy. "Ninth Lady, you... Don't worry, Hall Master, I will certainly work hard."

Seeing Hua Shuran and the others watching her eagerly, Hua Changxi continued, "From now on, the seven of you will assist Steward Xu and follow his orders."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of Hua Shuran and the other six immediately darkened.

Hua Changxi paid them no mind and led the several hundred retired Demon-Suppression Army soldiers out of Qihuang Hall Number Thirteen.

Watching their retreating figures, Hua Shuran, Hua Wanyue, He Siqi, and He Sirong exchanged helpless glances, regret shining in all four of their eyes.

They had never expected Hua Changxi to turn the tables so quickly.

Just yesterday, everyone had avoided her like the plague; now, they wished to curry favor, but they were no longer worthy of Hua Changxi's attention.

Zhu Yu, looking at Physician Xu whose face overflowed with joy, suddenly remarked, "Steward Xu, the Hall Master did not ask the eight of us to ascend Danyuan Peak to swear oaths, so does that mean we are not part of the Danyuan Secret Realm?"

Physician Xu paused, and the smile on his face gradually faded.

Zhou Bin said, "Qihuang Hall is Qihuang Hall, and the secret realm is the secret realm; perhaps in the Hall Master's heart, we are merely medicine apprentices of Qihuang Hall Number Thirteen."

Zhu Yu looked at Physician Xu. "Steward Xu, since the Hall Master values you, could you ask her about this?"

Physician Xu knew that Hua Changxi held reservations about these medicine apprentices, knew that Zhu Yu and the others had been planted by other factions, and knew even more that Hua Changxi had appointed him as steward only in consideration of their past bond.

Unwilling to expend the goodwill between himself and Hua Changxi for the sake of Zhu Yu and the others, he smiled vaguely and said, "If there is an opportunity, I will ask the Hall Master."

Seeing everyone's dejected spirits, Physician Xu added, "If we perform well in the tasks the Hall Master has assigned, I believe she will recognize us. But if we cannot even complete the duties entrusted to us, then we truly will have no chance to remain by the Hall Master's side."

Just then, the communication talisman at Hua Shuran's waist stirred; soon, she walked over to Physician Xu and said, "Steward Xu, members of the Hua clan are coming to register, including the Hall Master's older brother."

Physician Xu immediately smiled and said, "The Hall Master instructed that anyone may come to register; go and welcome them."

Hua Shuran expressed her thanks and then left Qihuang Hall Number Thirteen with Hua Wanyue.

Watching the backs of the two departing women, Physician Xu shook his head; since the Hua clansmen had not stepped forward to support Hua Changxi immediately, he estimated they would not fare well.

On the other side, Hua Changxi did not directly ride clouds to fly the several hundred retired Demon-Suppression Army soldiers up to Danyuan Peak; instead, she led them on foot across the square before riding clouds to ascend to the summit of Danyuan Peak.

After others noticed this scene, they all turned to watch respectfully.

On the second floor of the Spirit Realm Pavilion, Meng Yuchuan watched Hua Changxi and her group striding boldly across the square and immediately snorted coldly, "This Hua Changxi truly misses no opportunity to show off."

In the room, besides Meng Qingyao, were the brothers Dongfang Hao and Dongfang Xu.

Dongfang Hao said, "Perhaps she is not trying to show off."

Hearing this, Meng Yuchuan immediately became displeased. "Brother Hao, why do you always speak up for Hua Changxi?"

Dongfang Hao showed no reaction to Meng Yuchuan's words. "I am merely stating the facts."

Meng Qingyao spoke up. "Brother Hao, have you discovered something?"

Dongfang Hao said, "I once read in an ancient tome that squares equipped with sacrificial altars prohibit flight."

Meng Yuchuan's face stiffened, then he said coldly, "This Hua Changxi is too sinister; since she knew flight was prohibited in the square, why didn't she tell everyone?"

Seeing Meng Yuchuan's attitude, Dongfang Hao could not help but raise his hand to rub his brow.

Dongfang Xu could not hold back and let out a scoffing laugh. "Even if Hua Changxi had said it, would you have listened? I suspect that by then, you would have just concocted other accusations against Hua Changxi."

Meng Yuchuan's face turned ugly. "You..."

Seeing they were about to argue, Meng Qingyao quickly intervened, then looked at Dongfang Hao and said, "I intend to emulate Hua Changxi and erect a vow stele to recruit apprentices."

Dongfang Hao heard this and expressed his agreement; seeing that Meng Qingyao looked somewhat despondent, he comforted her, saying, "In the matter of cultivation, what one pursues is longevity and far-reaching progress; occasional gains and losses amount to nothing."