Chapter 305: Number One Figure of Prominence

Twelve Cave Heavens guard Nanxiangcheng...

Hua Changxi stared unblinkingly at the Zhou Tian Star Chart, wanting to etch the locations and topography of Nanxiangcheng and its Twelve Cave Heavens into her mind.

Alas, just like with the Ten Thousand Great Mountains before, that manifested Zhu Que totem was vanishing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Soon, all the spiritual light within the Zhou Tian Star Chart dissipated.

Hua Changxi let out a long breath; aside from the Five Sacred Lands, the Central Continent also held Four Elephant Cities. If Nanxiangcheng had Twelve Cave Heavens, what of the other Elephant Cities?

How many Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands guarded them?

Hua Changxi retracted her thoughts, shifted her gaze away from the Zhou Tian Star Chart, glanced up at the starry sky once more, then stored the snake demon's corpse and departed the Qintian Tower without a shred of reluctance.

Only while descending did Hua Changxi truly feel how drastically the Qintian Tower had changed; soaring higher was merely the most basic alteration, for the entire structure now seemed crafted from star stone, shimmering with starlight and brilliant with star rays, while the stairs resembled star tracks condensed from nebulae, making one feel as though walking through the starry sky itself.

Although the transformed Qintian Tower was exceedingly splendid and magnificent, Hua Changxi had no mood to admire it.

There was no help for it; too many forces were entrenched in Jingcheng, and without needing to think, one knew that the commotion caused by the Qintian Tower this time would surely attract attention from all quarters.

Hua Changxi had no desire to stand out or encounter the various parties rushing over, so she was descending as quickly as possible.

Along the way, she had considered flying directly out of the Qintian Tower, yet some sort of restriction within the building prevented her from mobilizing her spiritual power.

The result of relying solely on her legs to run down was that just as Hua Changxi was about to step out of the Qintian Tower, she collided head-on with Yuan Qi and Wei Zhenjie, who were approaching from the Heaven Department.

"Young Friend Hua!"

Seeing Hua Changxi hastily brake, Yuan Qi smiled kindly and took the initiative to greet her.

Hua Changxi looked at him: "Was it you transmitting voice to me just now?"

Yuan Qi did not deny it, smiling and nodding.

At this moment, Wei Zhenjie took the initiative to introduce: "Curator Hua, this is Yuan Qi, Master of the Star-Gazing Tower."

Star-Gazing Tower?

Hua Changxi paused for a moment, then realized; the Qintian Tower was likely also called the Star-Gazing Tower.

Yuan Qi smiled at Hua Changxi: "I wonder if Young Friend Hua dropped a drop of essence blood into the Zhou Tian Star Chart, and whether you gained anything?"

Although Hua Changxi did not really wish to converse much with Yuan Qi, she very much wanted to know the operating principles of the Zhou Tian Star Chart: "Master Yuan, why can the Zhou Tian Star Chart absorb essence blood?"

Seeing Hua Changxi evade the question, Yuan Qi did not press further, smiling as he said: "The Zhou Tian Star Chart is a innate spiritual treasure born alongside the Four Spirits Realm, capable of manifesting the trends and situations of the Four Spirits Realm."

"As long as it is a living being of the Four Spirits Realm, once the Zhou Tian Star Chart absorbs that being's essence blood, it has a chance to manifest something related to that being."

"Living beings can use these manifested things to plan their lives, thereby avoiding many detours."

Hua Changxi's eyes flickered with light as she listened, and she tentatively asked: "I dropped the snake demon's essence blood in, and what manifested was the Ten Thousand Great Mountains; does this mean it would be more advantageous for the snake demon to enter the Ten Thousand Great Mountains?"

Upon hearing the four words 'Ten Thousand Great Mountains', both Yuan Qi and Wei Zhenjie's expressions changed drastically.

Wei Zhenjie's face grew grave: "It is actually a demon from the Ten Thousand Great Mountains?"

Yuan Qi's expression was no better: "According to ancient records, over seventy percent of the beast tides erupting on the Central Continent were initiated by the Ten Thousand Great Mountains."

They had assumed the demons infiltrating Jingcheng were merely wild, unorthodox origins, never expecting them to come from the Ten Thousand Great Mountains; this made things very troublesome.

Wei Zhenjie and Yuan Qi exchanged a glance; the snake demon rushing into the Star-Gazing Tower was something they had allowed, and now knowing the demon hailed from the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, the purpose behind the snake demon luring Hua Changxi into the Star-Gazing Tower became highly questionable.

Seeing both Wei Zhenjie and Yuan Qi look so serious, Hua Changxi mentally marked the danger of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains as significant; she intended to continue questioning, but hearing the sounds outside the tower growing denser from far to near, she knew she could not remain here any longer.

"Gentlemen, I have matters to attend to, so I must take my leave first." With that, before Wei Zhenjie and Yuan Qi could react, she quickly stepped out of the Star-Gazing Tower.

The moment Hua Changxi stepped out of the Star-Gazing Tower, she saw Tong Yao, Jing Le, and Yan Zhenzhen: "Why are you three here?"

"How did you..."

Tong Yao looked at the Star-Gazing Tower, then at Hua Changxi emerging from within, and seeing more and more cultivators gathering on Central Street, hurriedly said: "This is no place to talk; let us leave first."

Hua Changxi nodded and quickly followed Tong Yao, Jing Le, and Yan Zhenzhen as they departed.

Although Hua Changxi left in haste, quite a few people saw her emerge from the Star-Gazing Tower.

The first to arrive at the Star-Gazing Tower were Hua Dalang and his Demon-Suppressing Army, followed closely by Xia Ziyang, Meng Yuchuan, and their group.

Hua Dalang looked at the drastically changed Star-Gazing Tower, his expression complex as he glanced in the direction where Hua Changxi had vanished.

After Ninth Lady chased the snake demon into the Qintian Tower, the tower transformed into the current Star-Gazing Tower; what did they do inside?

Xia Ziyang looked at the Star-Gazing Tower, his face somewhat grave; without hesitation, he immediately sent a voice transmission to Xia Zhen.

During this time, other cultivators also arrived one after another.

Inside the Star-Gazing Tower, Yuan Qi paid no heed to the increasing number of cultivators outside and led Wei Zhenjie upstairs.

Wei Zhenjie looked at Yuan Qi: "You seem somewhat different in your attitude toward Hua Changxi."

Whether it was the earlier voice transmission or the subsequent explanation, neither resembled the 'tight-lipped' demeanor Yuan Qi usually displayed.

Yuan Qi sighed inwardly; there was no help for it, the karmic debt owed was too great, so he could only repay a little at a time.

On the other side, Hua Changxi and the trio of Tong Yao had already left Central Street.

Hua Changxi briefly recounted her encounter with four Nascent Soul demons at the East City Gate, how she slew three of them, and her pursuit of the snake demon into the Star-Gazing Tower.

Tong Yao looked at her: "After today, you are likely to become the number one figure of prominence in the cultivator circles."

Hua Changxi: "Is it really that exaggerated?"

Yan Zhenzhen took up the conversation: "It is not exaggerated; the reappearance of the Star-Gazing Tower, stirring the Zhou Tian stars, absolutely qualifies as a major event in the Four Spirits Realm. And you, as a person involved, will definitely enter the sight of many because of this."

Seeing Hua Changxi's brows knitted and her poor expression, Jing Le offered comfort: "Everything has two sides; fortune and misfortune depend on each other. Donor Hua need not worry excessively."

Yan Zhenzhen also nodded, looking at Hua Changxi curiously: "What did you do to cause the Star-Gazing Tower to reappear?"

This was also a question Hua Changxi wanted answered; looking at the trio, she said: "I placed my hand on the Zhou Tian Star Chart atop the Star-Gazing Tower, and then some kind of energy within my body was absorbed, after which the great transformation of the Star-Gazing Tower occurred."

"Do you know what was absorbed from me?"

Hearing this, Tong Yao and the other two looked at each other somewhat blankly.

Hua Changxi thought for a moment, then mentioned how the Zhou Tian Star Chart had absorbed the golden lines condensed by the snake demon: "I feel that I should also have those golden lines within my body; do you know what this is?"

Tong Yao and Yan Zhenzhen remained completely baffled.

But Jing Le seemed thoughtful, looking at Hua Changxi: "If this little monk guesses correctly... what was absorbed from you should be the power of merit."

Hua Changxi let out an "Ah," while Tong Yao and Yan Zhenzhen also wore looks of sheer surprise.