Chapter 313: Shifting the Burden

"Hua Changxi's classes teach nothing but the genuine article."

Hearing Hua Changxi lecture for the first time, Ye Lingxuan, Jiang Henian, and the other heirs of the Dan Sheng Hall felt their hearts tremble.

It was not because Hua Changxi's teachings were profoundly abstruse, but because she was imparting and sharing medical knowledge with absolutely no reservations.

Ye Lingxuan recited: "Qihuang Hall Number One identifies spiritual herbs, Number Two processes them, Number Three cultivates and breeds them, Number Four dissects and decomposes... medicinal materials, Number Five extracts the 'useful' components of medicinal materials, and Number Six refines pills..."

"Of Qihuang Halls One through Nine, only the content taught in Halls Seven, Eight, and Nine remains unknown to us now."

Jiang Henian shook his head: "Among Qihuang Halls Seven, Eight, and Nine, one teaches how to refine the body."

Ye Lingxuan nodded: "I had actually forgotten that point."

Nangong Yingyue said with a strange expression: "The medical and pill dao inheritance Hua Changxi received is even more complete than ours; why does she feel more like an heir of the Dan Sheng Hall than we do?"

Hearing this, Ye Lingxuan and the others exchanged glances.

Jiang Henian smiled: "Enough; regardless of whether she is an heir of the Sacred Land, as long as we are working to promote and accelerate the Sacred Land's revival and reappearance, we are comrades on the same path."

"Moreover, Hua Changxi has gained the Divine Tree's approval; even if she is not an heir, she is as good as one."

Ye Lingxuan showed agreement: "Senior Brother Jiang is right; just as Wan Feng said, Hua Changxi truly possesses magnanimity and is willing to give others a chance."

"The Dan Sheng Hall has nine main peaks, and the Dan Yuan Peak is one of them; since we have joined, let us each employ our strengths and do our utmost to assist Hua Changxi in developing and strengthening the Dan Yuan Peak."

Hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement.

Just then, an administrator from the Lecture Hall approached.

"Senior Sister Ye, Senior Brother Jiang, Senior Sister Nangong, Senior Sister Hua, Senior Brother Xie, the Peak Master wishes to see you; please follow me to the Lecture Hall immediately."

Upon hearing this, Ye Lingxuan and the others froze with surprise.

Jiang Henian hurriedly asked the administrator: "May I ask what matter the Peak Master wishes to discuss with us?"

The administrator shook his head: "I do not know that either; let us go, and not keep the Peak Master waiting too long."

The five who had been named exchanged a glance and could only follow the apprentice to the Lecture Hall.

Soon, they arrived at the Lecture Hall.

Inside the main hall, Hua Changxi was carefully reviewing the mission records of the Mission Hall; whenever she spotted an excellent apprentice, she would pull out their resume to study it in detail.

Ye Lingxuan and the other five did not know why Hua Changxi had suddenly summoned them, and all felt somewhat guilty.

There was no help for it; although they had sincerely joined the Dan Yuan Peak, they had ultimately concealed their identities and cultivation levels.

"Greetings, Peak Master."

Seeing the five arrive, Hua Changxi set down the mission record book and the apprentice resume register, then got straight to the point: "All five of you are third-rank pill refiners; are you willing to teach the apprentices on the Dan Yuan Peak how to refine pills?"

Ye Lingxuan and the other five exchanged a glance, then nodded in unison: "We are willing."

Having received the answer she wanted, Hua Changxi smiled: "Starting in November, which is tomorrow, I plan to lecture on pill refining in Hall Number Six; originally, I only intended to train two hundred people, but with the addition of you five, I intend to increase the first batch of pill-refining apprentices to five hundred."

As she spoke, she gave each of the five a list, with one hundred apprentices named on each list.

"Each of you five will be responsible for one hundred pill-refining apprentices; these apprentices already have experience in pill refining, and some are even first-rank pill refiners."

"Your duty is to help them improve their pill-refining skills."

"The Mission Hall has three major departments: the Cultivation Department, the Processing Department, and the Pill Refining Department."

"Among you five, whoever cultivates the most pill refiners with the highest level of skill shall become the Chief Steward of the Pill Refining Department."

Hua Changxi looked at the five with a smile: "I have finished speaking; do any of you have anything to say?"

Ye Lingxuan and the other five exchanged glances, and finally, Jiang Henian could not help but ask: "Peak Master, do you trust us so completely as to entrust such an important task to us?"

Hua Changxi smiled: "You have all sworn Heart Demon Oaths never to betray the Dan Yuan Peak, have you not?"

Ye Lingxuan and the other five fell silent: "..." Hua Changxi was far too quick to trust others!!!

Seeing the five remained silent, Hua Changxi said: "If you have no objections, then it is settled; now, go attend to your duties."

Holding the lists of apprentices they were responsible for, Ye Lingxuan and the other five walked out of the Lecture Hall in a daze.

They had not concealed their pill-refining abilities, indeed hoping to be entrusted with heavy responsibilities, yet this responsibility had come too easily, making them feel it was somewhat unreal.

Nangong Yingyue looked at the others in confusion: "Doesn't the Peak Master intend to test us first?"

Ye Lingxuan and the other four fell silent; encountering a Peak Master who trusted her subordinates so implicitly, they too felt somewhat... at a loss.

After assigning tasks to Ye Lingxuan and the other five, Hua Changxi returned directly to her bamboo hut and eagerly took out the "Twelve Styles of Soul Control" to study in detail.

Once November passed, she planned to venture into the Nine Netherworlds for training.

Her goals were twofold: first, to witness the so-called auction, and second, to obtain some soul crystals to enhance her divine sense.

She had previously descended into the Nine Netherworlds twice, and both times she had encountered life-and-death crises; this time, going down again, she absolutely needed to learn more life-saving techniques.

"The Soul-Transforming Palm is not bad..."

"The Soul-Slaying Blade also has great killing power, but the blade used must be a soul weapon (divine artifact); I wonder if Tong Yao sells them; if not, I will first need to acquire materials to forge a soul blade."

"The Soul-Seizing Melody allows for area attacks but must be played on a bone flute, which is also a soul weapon..."

Of the twelve methods of soul control, Hua Changxi first chose to learn the Soul-Summoning Curse, the Soul-Chasing Seal, and the Soul-Transforming Palm; the other methods either required soul weapons or auxiliary materials such as soul plants.

A day and a night passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was the first day of November.

Early in the morning, the Dan Yuan Peak became lively; fifty selected pill-refining apprentices collected their pill furnaces from the Logistics Department and followed Ye Lingxuan to Qihuang Hall Number Six.

Seeing this, the other apprentices wore expressions of pure envy.

"Stop looking; the Peak Master said everyone will have a chance to learn pill refining; let us hurry and complete our missions, then return to our cave dwellings to review; do not forget the year-end assessment, as only those who pass can ascend to the second layer of the Secret Realm."

When the Dan Yuan Peak apprentices arrived at Qihuang Hall Number Six, fifty cultivators were already seated inside; these cultivators were undoubtedly those who interacted most frequently with Director Gu and Yuan Tianchou.

To expand the learning space, the Hall Master Yuan Tianchou had directly demolished the building, leaving only the stone walls and partitions that could not be torn down.

When Hua Changxi arrived and saw the bare stone walls and partitions, she paused for a moment in surprise.

"From today onward, I will teach everyone how to refine pills."

"The first step in pill refining is preparing spiritual herbs, pill formulas, and pill furnaces; beyond that, one must also be familiar with controlling flames, as the level of heat is crucial to pill refining."

"Medicinal materials, pill furnaces, and the level of heat—these three factors directly determine the quality of the refined pills."

"Today we are refining Grade One pills. I have already explained the identification and preparation of Grade One spiritual herbs, so I will not dwell on that now."

"As for the pill furnaces, everyone should purchase one according to their own financial means; I will not elaborate on that either."

"Now, let us focus on the control of fire."

"Is anyone willing to come up and demonstrate their mastery over fire..."