Chapter 284

With the deployment of the Display Spirit Artifact, news that the four great holy lands of Pills, Arrays, Artifacts, and Talismans were jointly recruiting disciples swept through the entire Great Jin like a tornado, sending countless cultivators with no master to turn to into an uproar.

In an instant, cultivators from every corner of the land surged toward the capital.

For ordinary cultivators, the open recruitment by the four great holy lands was undoubtedly good news; but for local magnates and the imperial family, it was anything but.

The local magnates did not want the talented individuals under their jurisdiction to flee.

As for the imperial family, they simply did not want the holy lands to recover and rise too quickly, as this would severely threaten imperial authority.

The Display Spirit Artifacts had already been deployed everywhere; it was too late to stop them, and their grade was so high that they could not be destroyed by human hands.

Since the problem could not be solved, the solution was to eliminate the person who created it!

Thus, before cultivators from various regions could even reach the capital, the Embroidered Uniform Guard had already approached Hua Changxi.

The imperial family was not unwilling to use this opportunity to contact the successors of the other three holy lands; the reality was that among the recruitment announcements of the four great holy lands, only the Pill Saint Hall's notice explicitly pointed to Danyuan Peak.

For the other three holy lands, even the registration locations required cultivators to find on their own; furthermore, aside from the Pill Saint Hall, the other holy lands usually acted with extreme discretion, leaving the imperial family unable to contact any specific person in charge.

Early on the morning of the twentieth day of the eighth month, Xue Xian, the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, personally led a squad of guards to the Medical Bureau.

At that very moment, atop Danyuan Peak, Hua Changxi had just returned via teleportation from the Lingguang Hall, her face still bearing the joy of having cultivated the fourth chapter, "Tempering Tendons," of the *Nine Revolutions Mystic Art* to perfection.

Using the practice of the Floating Light Sword to temper her body yielded results even better than she had imagined.

Because her state of mind could not advance, her cultivation had stagnated at the peak of the Infant Transformation Realm, unable to improve further, which left her feeling very insecure.

Now, since practicing the Floating Light Sword could effectively temper her body, she could proceed to the fifth chapter, "Tempering Blood," of the *Nine Revolutions Mystic Art*; strengthening herself through body refinement was also a way to enhance her overall power.

Before her smile could fade, Hua Changxi saw Yu Fu and the other three rushing over in a panic: "Master, trouble! The Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard has arrived and specifically demands an audience with you."

Hua Changxi's expression tightened, her brows furrowing: "What does the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard want with me?"

Yu Fu shook his head: "I don't know, but the Embroidered Uniform Guard has arrived with such aggressive momentum; I fear this bodes ill."

Hua Changxi fell silent for a moment, then suddenly asked: "I am also a member of the Qihuang Pavilion and the Lingjing Pavilion; now that the Embroidered Uniform Guard has come knocking, have either of them stepped forward?"

Yu Fu and the other three fell silent, then shook their heads.

Hua Changxi was not surprised by this, and asked again: "What about the Medical Bureau? Did Director Gu simply allow the Embroidered Uniform Guard to enter directly?"

Yu Fu replied: "Director Gu did step forward to negotiate with the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but the Guard was so domineering that Director Gu was helpless."

Hua Changxi asked no further questions; she had realized that whether it was the Qihuang Pavilion, the Lingjing Pavilion, or the Medical Bureau, none of them regarded her as one of their own.

She was not surprised by this, and believed herself indifferent to it, yet in her heart, she felt somewhat uncomfortable.

Hua Changxi did not dwell too long on this discomfort; turning to Yu Fu and the others, she said: "Let us go and meet this Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

On the plaza, Xue Xian stood at the eastern edge, hands clasped behind his back, his face devoid of expression as he silently gazed in the direction of Danyuan Peak.

Behind him stood more than twenty members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, their auras terrifying.

Director Gu, as the head of the Medical Bureau, accompanied the Embroidered Uniform Guard throughout, bringing his trusted aides and several disciples.

Originally, his plan had been to arrange for Hua Changxi to meet the Embroidered Uniform Guard in the conference hall of the Medical Bureau building.

In this way, regardless of the Embroidered Uniform Guard's reasons for seeking Hua Changxi, a private discussion would leave room for maneuver in all matters.

However, he had not expected Xue Xian to insist on meeting Hua Changxi openly in the plaza.

Director Gu glanced at Danyuan Peak and sighed inwardly; with the Embroidered Uniform Guard arriving with such aggressive momentum, it seemed this incident would be no small matter.

Others within the Medical Bureau, out of fear of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, wished to gather and watch what was happening, yet none dared to approach too closely.

Inside the Qihuang Pavilion and the Lingjing Pavilion, many people stood by their windows, observing the movements on the plaza.

Xia Zhen smiled and sighed: "The imperial family has finally been forced to act."

This time, he would see just how Hua Changxi would break this deadlock!

"Hua Changxi has arrived!"

Spiritual clouds drifted down, and Hua Changxi, accompanied by Yu Fu and the other three, stepped off the clouds.

As soon as Hua Changxi appeared, Xue Xian's gaze fixed upon her.

Hm...

Unexpectedly young and tender, yet at the same time, unexpectedly unfathomable!

Yes, unfathomable.

Xue Xian was surprised to discover that he could not probe the depth of Hua Changxi's abilities in the slightest.

Indeed, those who dared to cause such an uproar in the capital must possess some foundation of confidence.

Suddenly, Xue Xian's expression shifted; he saw that when Hua Changxi looked at him and the subordinates behind him, a glint of spiritual light flashed in her eyes. Although it vanished quickly, he was certain he had not mistaken it.

Could this be... a Special Eye?!

While Xue Xian was sizing up Hua Changxi, she did not stand on ceremony either; she directly activated the Art of Observation, Listening, Questioning, and Pulse-Taking, scanning Xue Xian and all his subordinates.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard who had arrived this time were very powerful; their leader, Xue Xian, was at the late stage of the Infant Transformation Realm, eight of his subordinates were at the Infant Transformation Realm, and the rest were at the late stage of the Golden Core Realm.

Moreover, their auras were formidable; at a glance, one could tell they had emerged from baths of blood and rain of swords.

Facing these aggressively arriving members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Hua Changxi remained relatively calm.

For no other reason than that she had discovered that the Infant Transformation cultivators among this group, like those she had seen previously in Nanxiang County, possessed significantly less spiritual energy stored within their bodies than she did.

Even if all the Embroidered Uniform Guard present attacked together, they would not be her match.

With no danger to her life, Hua Changxi set her mind at ease and turned her gaze toward Director Gu.

Director Gu was also an Infant Transformation cultivator; she examined the storage of spiritual energy within his body as well.

Hm... just like the other Infant Transformation cultivators.

In other words, the spiritual energy stored within the bodies of other cultivators was inferior to hers.

Hua Changxi could now basically confirm that her body could store more than ten times, or even more, the spiritual energy of other cultivators.

Regarding the cause of this situation, Hua Changxi recalled how, after every breakthrough, even when her cultivation data was maxed out, she continued to cultivate.

[Realm: Infant Transformation Realm 9.999 billion / 1 billion]

Nowadays, she had cultivated to the peak of the Infant Transformation Realm; originally, once her cultivation data reached 1 billion points, she should have been able to break through, yet even after her cultivation rose to 9.999 billion points, she still had not broken through.

Hua Changxi guessed that the reason she could contain more spiritual energy than others was absolutely related to this.

Seeing that after Hua Changxi appeared, she was either observing the Embroidered Uniform Guard or staring blankly, Director Gu felt helplessly amused and stepped forward with a smile to act as an introducer.

"Commander Xue, this is Hua Changxi, the master of Qihuang Hall Number Thirteen, the peak master of Danyuan Peak, and the realm master of the Danyuan Secret Realm."

Hearing Director Gu's long string of titles, Hua Changxi's mouth twitched, while Xue Xian also cast a glance at Director Gu.

Completely oblivious, Director Gu then introduced to Hua Changxi: "Master Hua, this is His Majesty's confidant, the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Xue Xian."

Only then did Hua Changxi and Xue Xian properly meet each other's gaze.