Chapter 266: Main Peak, Secondary Peaks

After washing the tens of thousands of first-grade Yuan Spirit Grasses she had picked the previous night, Hua Changxi did not immediately leave the secret realm; instead, she harvested all the Yuan Spirit Grasses in the entire southeastern region, washed them clean, and only then departed the secret realm.

By this time, it was nearing dusk, and all the retired Demon-Suppressing Army soldiers she had brought up today had already sworn the Heart Demon Oath.

Of the one thousand retired Demon-Suppressing Army soldiers dispatched by Wei Zhenjie, only seven hundred and twenty passed the inspection of the Oath Stele and became apprentices of the Danyuan Secret Realm.

As soon as Hua Changxi exited the secret realm, Eunuch Zhao handed her the remaining identity tokens.

"Master, those who failed have already been led away from Danyuan Peak by Eunuch Yu; the apprentices who passed have now joined the team carving out the mountain path."

Hua Changxi stored the tokens, mounted a cloud, and flew with Eunuch Zhao toward the foot of Danyuan Peak.

There were several hundred people, all cultivators; although most were merely at the Qi Refining stage and some were disabled, their speed in carving the mountain path was still quite fast.

Seeing that darkness was approaching, Hua Changxi told Eunuch Zhao, "Let them knock off work."

After Eunuch Zhao departed, Hua Changxi began to patrol the foot of the mountain.

She only had a rough idea of Danyuan Peak's overall appearance; to gain a more intuitive understanding of its specific details, she needed to investigate it personally.

Standing at the mountain's base, Hua Changxi gazed up at the plaza over a thousand meters above, her eyes flashing.

The terrain of Danyuan Peak was actually so much lower than the plaza!

Hua Changxi circled the foot of the mountain and discovered that whether heading north or south, she was blocked by an invisible force.

Ever since mastering the spatial law power of the character 'Split,' she had become increasingly sensitive to spatial fluctuations; she could perceive spatial barriers to the north, south, and east of Danyuan Peak.

In the places where she encountered these spatial barriers, she also detected traces of formations.

If her guess was correct, there should be other peaks surrounding Danyuan Peak, and these peaks were currently concealed and isolated by formations.

This discovery caused Hua Changxi's mood to fluctuate slightly.

She could make Danyuan Peak appear by establishing the Oath Stele and recruiting apprentices for the Dan Saint Hall; could the masters of other secret realms not do the same, imitating her to reveal their own peaks?

Hua Changxi had established the Oath Stele and recruited apprentices only under immense external threat and coercion; now, thinking that other secret realm masters could gain a peak simply by imitating her without doing anything or bearing any burden, she felt somewhat stifled with anger.

Yet she also knew this was the grand trend of the Sacred Land's revival, something humans could not alter.

After fuming for a while, Hua Changxi cast the matter aside; she always adhered to one principle in her actions: control what you can control, and let go of what you cannot.

Hua Changxi explored southward from Danyuan Peak and found that the terrain sloped downward as she moved south.

The plaza was already so much higher than the mountain's base, yet the terrain continued to drop; she found it somewhat confusing to discern the actual topographical layout of the Dan Saint Hall.

On the western side of the mountain's base, Hua Changxi also discovered a massive pit.

Judging by its shape and the condition of the surrounding mountain body, it must have been carved out by water cascading down from a higher elevation.

This deep pit must originally have been a water pool.

After finishing her investigation of the mountain's base, Hua Changxi ascended Danyuan Peak, inspecting the entire mountain from bottom to top.

Apart from a few spring eyes at the mid-mountain and summit that were slowly condensing spirit springs, most of Danyuan Peak was desolate.

Perhaps because too much time had passed, aside from some obvious signs of battle, Hua Changxi found no valuable information.

During her investigation, Hua Changxi marked several flat areas, planning to construct palaces and pavilions there for the Personnel Department, Logistics Department, Lecture Hall, Mission Hall, Merit Hall, and Law Enforcement Hall.

By the time she finished inspecting the entire peak, night had completely fallen; Hua Changxi did not return to Qihuang Hall No. 13 but instead flashed into the fourth layer of the secret realm and took the teleportation array to Lingguang Hall.

Although she was eager to quickly resolve matters concerning Danyuan Peak and the Danyuan Secret Realm, she knew it could not be accomplished immediately, and she could not allow this to delay her cultivation.

One night passed.

With the sun high in the sky, Hua Changxi ended her cultivation and teleported back to the Danyuan Secret Realm.

At the summit of Danyuan Peak, Eunuch Zhao, accompanied by several dozen members of the Hua clan, had long been waiting before the Oath Stele.

Hua Changxi had originally thought that once Danyuan Peak appeared, many people would come to register and join the Danyuan Secret Realm; unexpectedly, apart from the Hua clan members, no one else had arrived.

"Ninth Sister."

Seeing his sister arrive, Hua Sanlang's face lit up with joy, and he quickly stepped forward: "We came to register yesterday, but who would have known you weren't here."

Hua Changxi first looked at the Hua clan members before the Oath Stele, then shifted her gaze to Hua Sanlang: "Third Brother, are you clear on the conditions and requirements for entering the Danyuan Secret Realm?"

Hua Sanlang nodded: "Clear; Apothecary Xu explained them to us in great detail."

Seeing Hua Changxi's businesslike demeanor, even though Hua Sanlang was her elder brother, he felt somewhat uneasy in his heart.

Ninth Sister held grudges; previously, when recruiting apprentices, Prince Shou and others had boycotted the effort, and the Hua clan had not stepped forward to support her immediately; she must certainly be unhappy about this.

Hua Changxi took out several dozen identity tokens, handed them to Eunuch Zhao, and said, "Do today exactly as we did yesterday, and the same shall apply in the future."

Eunuch Zhao, who had been unsure how to treat the Hua clan members, felt his heart settle immediately upon hearing this.

The Master saying this indicated that no special favors should be given to the Hua clan members.

Moreover, in the future, no matter who came, as long as they followed the rules, that would be sufficient.

Hua Changxi did not linger long at the summit; with Eunuch Zhao supervising the Hua clan members as they swore the Heart Demon Oath, she descended the mountain to find Eunuch Yu.

Seeing Hua Changxi leave just like that without leaving a single word, Hua Sanlang felt both disappointed and stifled with anger.

He had thought that as a blood relative, he should naturally earn his sister's trust the most; never did he expect that she would prefer a eunuch to supervise them rather than him.

Hua Changxi was unaware of Hua Sanlang's resentment, and even if she had known, she would not have cared.

Although she personally disliked being constrained, she also knew that any organization must have rules and regulations; otherwise, let alone development, even basic stability could not be guaranteed.

She did not wish to entrust important responsibilities to her family because she worried they might use familial bonds to place themselves above the rules and regulations, hindering management.

At the foot of the mountain, after finding Eunuch Yu, Hua Changxi picked up a tree branch, drew a rough map of Danyuan Peak on the ground, and then pointed to various spots while speaking to him.

"I have marked these locations."

"Now, in addition to carving the mountain path, you must also arrange for a group of people to begin constructing palaces and pavilions."

Qihuang Hall No. 13 was located too close to the other Qihuang Halls; the slightest incident would quickly spread everywhere; Hua Changxi did not want to be watched, so she decided to establish the recruitment site directly at the foot of Danyuan Peak.

"First, build a courtyard at the mountain's base specifically for recruiting apprentices."

"Once that is completed, construct the Logistics Department."

"For the Logistics Department, besides areas for storing supplies, a canteen must also be built."

"After that, construct the Lecture Hall, Mission Hall, Merit Hall, and Law Enforcement Hall, in that order."

The Personnel Department, Logistics Department, Lecture Hall, Mission Hall, Merit Hall, and Law Enforcement Hall were arranged in ascending order on Danyuan Peak; the Personnel Department stood at the foot of the mountain, while the Law Enforcement Hall was already positioned above the mid-slope.

"Furthermore, apprentices may only establish their cave dwellings below the mid-slope. To open a cave dwelling in the spirit-rich region above the mid-slope, one must first become an Alchemist or a Physician."

After committing this to memory, Eunuch Yu hurriedly said, "Rest assured, My Lord. The Logistics Department oversees clothing, food, shelter, and travel; I will lead my men to complete the construction of these palaces and pavilions as soon as possible."

Hua Changxi was about to speak further when, suddenly, to the southeast of Danyuan Peak, a mountain one-fifth shorter than Danyuan Peak materialized out of thin air.

"What is this..."

Hua Changxi's expression brightened, and she immediately flew to the summit of Danyuan Peak. Before she could determine which Secret Realm Master had created the newly appeared mountain, yet another peak manifested.

"How is this possible?!"

On the square of the Danding Altar, Meng Qingyao wore an expression of utter disbelief, while Gu Xing appeared lost in thought.

Indeed, the two mountains that had suddenly appeared were activated by Meng Qingyao and Gu Xing.

Meng Qingyao looked anxiously at Gu Xing. "Senior Gu, why are our peaks so much shorter than Danyuan Peak?"

Gu Xing looked at her. "Because ours are subsidiary peaks, while Danyuan Peak is the main peak."

Meng Qingyao found it somewhat difficult to accept. "Why is it like this?"

Gu Xing glanced at her but offered no response.

What other reason could there be? It was certain that the grade of the Secret Realm Hua Changxi obtained surpassed theirs.

Gu Xing could now confirm that the Danyuan Secret Realm in Hua Changxi's possession was an eighth-grade Secret Realm.