Chapter 276: Situation of the Nine Passes

Hua Changxi stepped out of Qihuang Hall No. 2 and happened to see a squad of ten Guardian Saints passing by, so she walked up and said, "Squad Leader, please hold."

The organizational structure of the Guardian Saints was very easy to remember.

Each Sacred Land could recruit ten thousand Guardian Saints; therefore, the highest commander was the Commander of Ten Thousand, below whom served the Battalion Commander, then the Company Commander, and beneath them the Squad Leader, who commanded nine guardsmen.

Hearing someone call out, the Squad Leader raised his hand to halt his guardsmen and looked at Hua Changxi in surprise.

After all, apart from the three Peak Lords who had recruited them, almost no one would actively approach them.

For no other reason than that they were soul cultivators, specializing in cultivating soul power.

Even the weakest among them, first-rank soul cultivators capable only of condensing a soul body, could project their divine sense and soul power, inflicting certain damage upon the soul bodies of Nascent Soul realm cultivators and those below.

As for this batch of Guardian Saints, even those with the lowest cultivation had opened their Soul Seas, making them Soul Sea realm cultivators; not even the several Spirit Platform realm cultivators from the Dao-Protecting families dared to confront them lightly.

This was also why, upon their arrival at the Pill Saint Hall, they had smoothly taken over the authority to maintain order within the Sacred Land, without even the Imperial Court raising any objection.

All ten Guardian Saints watched the approaching female cultivator with great curiosity, astonished by her boldness.

Before a cultivator opened their Spirit Platform and condensed their Sea of Consciousness, their soul body was extremely frail; even if the Guardian Saints did nothing, the soul pressure radiating from them would exert a certain oppression on such soul bodies.

While the Guardian Saints were surprised, Hua Changxi was equally astonished.

She was surprised that these Guardian Saints were all soul cultivators without physical bodies, and equally surprised by their immense power; from afar, she had already sensed the powerful soul force they emitted.

Although Hua Changxi could project her divine sense, her soul body was certainly not as strong as those of the Guardian Saints, so she dared not clash with them directly; instead, she flipped her wrist and produced the Saint Pill she had obtained from the Pill Origin Peak.

With the Saint Pill in hand, the soul pressure acting upon Hua Changxi instantly dispersed.

Finally, Hua Changxi stopped about one meter away from the Squad Leader.

"Soldiers, I am Hua Changxi, Peak Lord of the Pill Origin Peak."

Seeing Hua Changxi stand before them without changing expression, the ten Guardian Saints were initially very puzzled, but upon hearing her self-introduction and noticing the emerald-green Saint Pill in her hand, they instantly understood.

The curiosity on the faces of the ten Guardian Saints turned into seriousness and caution.

For no other reason than that she was a Peak Lord authorized to command the Guardian Saints!

"Peak Lord Hua, we offer our greetings here."

The Squad Leader cupped his fists and asked, "May I ask what matter has caused Peak Lord Hua to stop us?"

Hua Changxi smiled and said, "I am unfamiliar with the Nine Netherworlds and know even less about the nine great passes suppressing the Demon Prison, so I wished to inquire about the situation from you all."

"This..."

The Squad Leader showed hesitation and glanced toward Qihuang Hall No. 2.

Hua Changxi turned to look and saw Xia Zhen, Gu Xing, and their group emerging one after another from Qihuang Hall No. 2; upon seeing her standing before the Guardian Saints, their expressions shifted uncertainly.

Xia Zhen looked at Gu Xing and said urgently, "Fellow Daoist Gu, those are your Guardian Saints."

His implied meaning was for Gu Xing to stop the Guardian Saints from contacting Hua Changxi.

There was no help for it; Hua Changxi held the most Guardian Saint Tokens, and if she also recruited Guardian Saints, she would inevitably compete with them for control of the Medical Bureau.

Gu Xing looked at Xia Zhen with a faint smile and said, "Fellow Daoist Xia, the Guardian Saints belong only to the Sacred Land, not to individuals; we are merely temporarily managing them for now."

Xia Zhen felt a blockage in his chest; he had been muddled just now to even suggest that Gu Xing stop the Guardian Saints.

Of course, Gu Xing would not prevent Hua Changxi from contacting the Guardian Saints; he only hoped she would learn more about the Nine Netherworlds and the Nine Passes so she could recruit more Guardian Saints sooner.

Xia Zhen said nothing more and quickly looked back toward Hua Changxi and the Guardian Saints.

Recalling the conditions those Guardian Saints had proposed when he previously sought to exchange for cultivation techniques regarding soul power and divine sense, Xia Zhen soon regained his composure.

No matter what Hua Changxi intended to do, the Guardian Saints would not agree easily.

Indeed, the Squad Leader cupped his fists apologetically toward Hua Changxi and said, "Peak Lord Hua, we take orders only from Peak Lord Gu and are responsible solely for maintaining order within the Sacred Land; we concern ourselves with nothing else."

Hua Changxi detected the refusal in the Squad Leader's words, hesitated for a moment, then flipped her wrist, causing a divine wood leaf glowing with crystalline green light to appear in her palm.

This divine wood leaf had been plucked by her from a branch of the Firewood Tree.

Gu Xing, Meng Qingyao, and Yan Qianying, who had received Guardian Saint Tokens, had all already recruited Guardian Saints; even though she was not in a hurry to recruit people herself, she still wanted to clarify the situation regarding the Nine Passes first.

The Nine Netherworlds were dangerous, and the conditions of the Nine Passes were complex; rather than stumbling around blindly in the dark, it was better to inquire with the Guardian Saints.

However, the Guardian Saints she had originally imagined were not soul cultivators without physical bodies; after all, the vitality within the divine wood leaf only affected physical flesh.

She wondered whether soul cultivators who had lost their physical bodies still needed the divine wood leaf?

"I wonder if offering this divine wood leaf would allow me to inquire about the situation of the Nine Netherworlds and the Nine Passes from the Squad Leader?"

Looking at the divine wood leaf, the Squad Leader's eyes immediately burned with intensity, and his gaze involuntarily drifted toward Gu Xing.

Regardless of anything, they had been recruited by Gu Xing, and according to the rules, they were obliged to obey his orders.

Hua Changxi followed his line of sight, smiled, and said, "I am merely asking the Squad Leader for some information; Senior Gu will not mind."

Seeing that Gu Xing indeed showed no intention of obstructing them, the Squad Leader nodded and asked, "What does Peak Lord Hua wish to inquire about?"

Seeing his agreement, Hua Changxi's face lit up with joy: "Let us talk at Qihuang Hall No. 13." With that, she took the lead and walked toward Qihuang Hall No. 13.

Upon seeing this, the Squad Leader quickly followed; upon arriving at Hall No. 13, he ordered his subordinates to continue their patrol while he stepped inside the hall.

"Squad Leader, please sit!"

Once the Squad Leader was seated, Hua Changxi did not beat around the bush; she handed him the divine wood leaf directly before asking, "Please tell me about the Nine Passes that suppress the Demon Prison."

The Squad Leader took the divine wood leaf, his expression somewhat excited; after quickly storing it away, he did not hesitate either.

"The Nine Passes are respectively the Qian Gate, Kunmen, Zhen Gate, Gen Gate, Li Gate, Kan Gate, Dui Gate, Xunmen, and the Central Gate."

"Each pass has a fortress established, and each fortress is permanently stationed with one hundred thousand Demon-Suppressing Guards, specifically tasked with blocking invasions by the Demon Clan and Ghost Clan against the Demon Prison."

Hua Changxi showed surprise: "One hundred thousand Demon-Suppressing Guards per fortress? Are so many people needed for defense?"

The Squad Leader shook his head: "It is not many; when the Demon Clan launches a large-scale invasion of the Demon Prison, they always initiate a Beast Tide, with each Beast Tide deploying anywhere from several million to over ten million demons."

Hua Changxi heard news she had never encountered before: a Beast Tide!

"When does the Demon Clan usually launch a Beast Tide?"

The Squad Leader shook his head: "This humble officer does not know."

Hua Changxi made a note of the Beast Tide matter and began asking further questions: "If I wish to recruit Guardian Saints, can I freely go to any of the nine fortresses to recruit them?"

Squad Leader: "Of course not. The Nine Passes guard the nearby array nodes based on their stationed positions."

"For instance, Genmen Pass and Zhenmen Pass guard the array nodes beneath the Hall of the Pill Saint; therefore, the Hall of the Pill Saint can only recruit Saint-Guarding Guards from Genmen Pass and Zhenmen Pass."

"As for the Palace of the Artifact Saint, it can only recruit Saint-Guarding Guards from Xunmen Pass and Limen Pass;"

"The Pavilion of the Talisman Saint can only recruit Saint-Guarding Guards from Kunmen Pass and Duimen Pass;"

"The Sect of the Array Saint can only recruit Saint-Guarding Guards from Qianmen Pass and Kanmen Pass."

"The Central Sacred Land recruits Saint-Guarding Guards solely from Zhongmen Pass."

"Zhongmen Pass faces directly opposite Guimen Pass, which leads straight into the heart of the Nine Netherworlds; simultaneously, Zhongmen Pass also provides direct access to the core of the Demon Prison Array."

"Among the nine passes, Zhongmen Pass is the most critical, bearing the heaviest defense duties, with a permanent garrison of up to five hundred thousand Demon-Suppressing Guards."

"Although the Nine Great Passes are independent of one another, they are also interdependent; if any pass faces disaster, neighboring passes bear the responsibility to provide support. Thus, there are connections between all the passes."