Chapter 306: The Hundred Thousand Great Mountains

"The power of merit?"

Tong Yao and Yan Zhenzhen both looked at Hua Changxi.

"Merit power is extremely difficult to accumulate; restoring the Stargazing Pavilion would certainly require a vast amount. How did you gather so much?"

Even Jingliao, who had purified himself completely, wore a face full of curiosity; after all, it had taken the combined efforts of several generations of abbots at Xiangguo Temple to nurture a single Golden Lotus of Merit.

Hua Changxi: "...By doing many good deeds?"

This answer left Tong Yao and the other two exchanging bewildered glances.

If doing good deeds could accumulate merit, they certainly believed it; yet among the four of them, the one who had performed the most good deeds should undoubtedly be Jingliao, the compassionate monk.

Could Jingliao restore the Stargazing Pavilion?

Both Tong Yao and Yan Zhenzhen expressed doubt about this, and even Jingliao himself lacked such confidence.

Therefore, simply performing good deeds should not be enough to accumulate a large quantity of merit.

Although Tong Yao and the other two remained deeply puzzled about accumulating merit, they did not press Hua Changxi further.

As for Hua Changxi, she actually had some suspicions regarding her possession of merit; perhaps it was because she had done things that promoted the development of the Four Spirit Realm?

Because she had acted in accordance with the trends of the era, allowing everyone to benefit, she had thus reaped a massive wave of merit?

Seeing that Tong Yao and the others had stopped questioning, Hua Changxi did not elaborate further: "By the way, do you know who the master of the Time Pavilion is?"

Yan Zhenzhen: "Why the sudden interest in this?"

Hua Changxi: "I just saw three people atop the Stargazing Pavilion; two of them were the Minister of the Heaven Division and Master Yuan, while the third person was most likely the master of the Time Pavilion, yet I do not know his name."

Yan Zhenzhen: "The Time Pavilion has another name, the Pavilion of Time; every person in charge throughout its history has come from the Shi family, and the current master is named Shi Yishi."

Tong Yao added: "Among the noble families of Jingcheng, there are a few that even the imperial clan would not easily provoke; the Yuan family and the Shi family are among them."

"The Yuan and Shi families have never suffered a break in their lineage; the head of the Yuan family always serves as the Director of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, while the Shi family has always been responsible for compiling historical records."

Hua Changxi nodded in sudden understanding; no wonder Master Yuan and the Minister of the Heaven Division were so familiar with each other, as both had such formidable backgrounds: "You truly know so much."

Yan Zhenzhen smiled: "It is not that we know much, but that you know little."

Hua Changxi offered an embarrassed smile; her sources of information were indeed somewhat blocked.

Yan Zhenzhen looked at Hua Changxi with a smile: "Actually, you have already had dealings with the Yuan family long ago."

Hua Changxi was completely baffled: "How could I not know that?"

Yan Zhenzhen: "Yuan Tianchou of the Medical Bureau is the legitimate son of Yuan Qi."

Hua Changxi's face showed surprise: "So Yuan Tianchou comes from the Yuan family."

Yan Zhenzhen: "The web of relationships in Jingcheng is incredibly complex; not only are there many imperial nobles, but the number of descendants from powerful noble families is countless; you should pay more attention to these matters in the future."

Hua Changxi nodded, chatted with Tong Yao and the others for a while longer, and then the four of them parted ways.

On the way back to the Medical Bureau, Hua Changxi remembered the three Demon Beasts at the Infant Transformation stage she had slain at the East City Gate; since she was about to begin cultivating the fifth chapter, the Blood Refining Chapter, of the Nine Cycles Mysterious Art, she would need demon beast blood.

Hua Changxi returned to the East City Gate intending to retrieve the corpses of the three demon beasts, but unfortunately, the bodies were gone; upon asking, she learned they had been taken away by the Demon-Suppressing Army.

Upon learning this, Hua Changxi did not go directly to the Demon-Suppressing Army; instead, she turned back to the Medical Bureau, planning to ask Huo Yunxiao for help in retrieving the demon beast corpses.

Hua Changxi found Huo Yunxiao at Qihuang Hall Number Three; after stating her purpose, Huo Yunxiao agreed without a second word.

"Just go back and wait; tomorrow morning I will deliver the demon beast corpses to you at Danyuan Peak."

Hua Changxi looked at him suspiciously: "Why are you being so agreeable this time?"

Huo Yunxiao smiled helplessly: "I have always been very agreeable."

Hua Changxi: "Then I'll trouble you to make the trip; I'll give you some demon beast blood when the time comes."

Huo Yunxiao chuckled: "Forget the demon beast blood; could you tell me what you did inside the Stargazing Pavilion tonight?"

Hua Changxi let out a cold "Hmph," turned around, and walked away.

Seeing this, Huo Yunxiao stretched his neck out and shouted: "Let's just chat casually!"

At the same time, deep within the hinterlands of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, a white-scaled demon beast with a dragon's head and a lion's body lay prostrate on the ground, crimson blood trickling from the corners of its mouth, its fluctuating and unstable aura causing the surrounding earth to shake and mountains to tremble, sending birds and beasts scattering in all directions.

It was quite some time before the deep mountains fell silent again.

"Great Demon Master..."

The clan leaders of the Dragon, Phoenix, Qilin, Tiger, Tortoise, Snake, Bird, and Fox clans all looked at the white demon beast with faces full of worry.

A brilliant white light surged, and the dragon-headed, lion-bodied demon beast transformed into a handsome man with white hair dressed in white robes.

Bai Li wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth: "Clan leaders need not worry; just now, the Snake clansman sent to infiltrate Jingcheng activated a forbidden technique, drawing out some of the demon race's merit power, which caused me to suffer some backlash."

Hearing this, the expressions of all the demon clan leaders present changed instantly.

Long Teng, the Dragon Clan leader, looked displeasedly at the Snake Clan leader: "How did your Snake Clan handle this matter? If you were going to activate a forbidden technique, why did you not inform us in advance?"

Teng Liu, the Snake Clan leader, glanced sideways at Long Teng and sneered: "Your Dragon Clan is certainly powerful, yet I have never seen any of you dare to infiltrate Jingcheng."

Fire blazed in Long Teng's eyes; indeed, the Dragon Clan was unwilling to send members to infiltrate human gathering places.

There was no helping it; for humans, every part of a dragon was a great tonic, and whenever humans encountered a dragon, they went mad with desire to rush forward and take a bite.

The Dragon Clan had attempted infiltration before, but unfortunately, every attempt was like throwing a meat bun to a dog—gone forever with no return.

Just as the two were about to start arguing, Bai Li spoke up.

"It seems some catastrophe has occurred in Jingcheng; the Green Snake we sent must have been driven to a desperate situation, forcing him to activate the forbidden technique."

Although Bai Li originated from the Lion Clan, he possessed the bloodline of the Bai Ze, and with an extremely high degree of ancestral bloodline return, he had inherited the Bai Ze's divine abilities to understand Yin and Yang and divine all things, granting him a very high status within the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.

Once he spoke, both Long Teng and Teng Liu immediately fell silent.

Bai Li looked at the Snake Clan leader: "We still need Clan Leader Teng to investigate carefully exactly what happened in Jingcheng and why the Green Snake activated the forbidden technique prematurely."

Teng Liu agreed readily: "Rest assured, Great Demon Master; I will definitely send someone to investigate the matter thoroughly."

Bai Li nodded, then looked at the eight great demon clan leaders: "Since the great rise of the human race in ancient times, the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains have served as the best training ground for humans."

"With the establishment of the Demon Prison, the human race has even trampled the demon race directly underfoot."

"After the Great Extinction, spiritual energy has revived, and everything begins anew."

"At present, the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains remain within a sealed space; this is both protection and restriction. Once unsealed, the Demon Race will have to face the Human Race directly."

"Between the Demon Race and the Human Race, either the demons overwhelm the humans, or the humans overwhelm the demons."

"Conflict between the Demon Race and the Human Race is unavoidable. Clan Leaders, do not slacken in drilling your demon soldiers and generals. Whether the Demon Race can recreate the glory of Primordial Times depends on this occasion."

Hearing these words, the eight most powerful Demon Race clan leaders of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains all grew solemn.

Bai Li said, "Nanxiangcheng is about to emerge. Whether the Demon Race can surpass the Human Race and become masters of the Four Spirit Realms hinges critically on who claims Nanxiangcheng."

"I have no further matters here. Clan Leaders, return to attend to your respective clan affairs."

After the eight clan leaders departed, Bai Li gazed up at the starry sky, an inescapable sorrow surfacing upon his face.

To divide the Human Race, he had not hesitated to draw upon the Demon Race's merit power, yet his scheme went awry halfway through.

Tonight the stars of the celestial sphere are visible, yet the one capable of invoking them is not of the Demon Race. Could it be that in this era, the Human Race is still destined to rise?