Chapter 316: Seizing a Chance for Survival

With the aid of the Great Sun Divine Flame, the disciples of the Artifact Saint Palace greatly accelerated their speed in repairing the spatial rifts.

At the same time, led by the Central Saint Land and assisted by the Talisman Saint Pavilion and the Formation Saint Sect, they jointly erected a massive spiritual energy barrier, sealing off the area permeated by spatial rifts as well as the regions filled with fire spiritual energy and demon-ghost qi, preventing the 'calamity' from spreading elsewhere.

Meanwhile, the Medical Bureau was not idle; the Spirit Realm Pavilion and the Qihuang Pavilion dispatched physicians and alchemists to the scene, bringing large quantities of spiritual pills and medicines to rescue the injured.

All five great saint lands mobilized, and supplemented by the various major sects and noble families permanently stationed in the capital offering aid, by the time Hua Changxi emerged from the spatial realm of the Artifact Saint Palace ruins, the situation had been initially brought under control.

The fact that the situation had not continued to deteriorate allowed Hua Changxi to breathe a sigh of relief.

The location where she emerged was precisely the area with the densest concentration of spatial rifts, where vast amounts of fire spiritual energy and demon-ghost qi were still constantly spilling out.

Demon-ghost qi disrupts the human mind; absorbing too much causes one to lose reason and go berserk, so Hua Changxi did not linger, quickly flying toward the edge of the spiritual energy barrier.

Due to the overflow of fire spiritual energy, many places had been incinerated into pitch-black scorched earth, devoid of any vitality, resembling the arrival of an apocalypse.

Watching this with a heavy heart, Hua Changxi reflected that for the common people living around the Artifact Refinement Workshop, this sudden accident was indeed an apocalyptic catastrophe.

Along her path, she saw numerous Demon-Suppressing Army soldiers moving through the area within the spiritual energy barrier, constantly searching for the injured; as soon as a survivor was found, they were immediately sent to a flying boat, and once enough people were gathered, they were transported out of the barrier.

"Ah~"

"Careful~"

Outside a burned and collapsed house, just as a Demon-Suppressing Army soldier prepared to pick up a little girl huddled in a corner, a spatial rift suddenly appeared, cleanly severing both his arms.

Hearing the commotion, Hua Changxi acted just as the spatial rift expanded and was about to swallow the soldier; she swung her spiritual energy, condensing it into a long whip to pull him away from the danger zone.

Then, with a flash of movement, she appeared beside the little girl, holding her and moving her away from the spatial rift.

"Thank you, fellow Daoist, for saving us!"

Yue Yuan, the Company Commander of this Demon-Suppressing Army squad, stepped forward, expressing his gratitude to Hua Changxi with a face full of thankfulness.

Hua Changxi pressed several acupoints on the armless soldier to stop the bleeding, then quickly scanned the squad; their highest cultivation was only at the mid-stage of Golden Core formation, and more than half were injured, causing her to sigh inwardly: "I will join you in the search and rescue efforts afterward."

Upon hearing this, the Demon-Suppressing Army soldiers present all revealed expressions of joy.

An extra person meant extra strength; they could also see that this female cultivator before them possessed power superior to theirs, and with her presence, they could not only save more people but also gain greater safety.

Yue Yuan ordered his men to send the armless soldier and the little girl to the flying boat behind them: "We have already rescued nearly a hundred people; let's send this batch out first."

Seeing this, Hua Changxi asked: "Are there people outside providing medical treatment to them?"

Yue Yuan nodded: "The Medical Bureau has dispatched a large number of physicians and alchemists to treat the injured."

Hua Changxi nodded, asked no further questions, and subsequently followed this group of Demon-Suppressing Army soldiers to search everywhere.

With Hua Changxi's assistance from the side, the speed of the search and rescue improved significantly; they searched area by area until the entire region covered by the spiritual energy barrier had been swept, only then parting ways with the squad.

Outside the spiritual energy barrier, various major powers had set up encampment tents.

Yue Yuan led his subordinates back to the Demon-Suppressing Army camp to report; this time, their squad's search and rescue mission had been executed remarkably well, saving tens of thousands of people, a number more than ten times that of other squads, and their appearance immediately attracted considerable attention.

"Fourth Brother!"

Yue Heng approached with a smile, draping an arm over Yue Yuan's shoulder: "You have truly brought great honor to our Xiping Prince's Manor this time."

Yue Yuan was the fourth son of the Prince of Xiping, and Yue Heng, the master of the Qihuang Hall No. 16 under the Medical Bureau, was his half-brother sharing the same father.

With the revival of spiritual energy and the restructuring of the situation, the children of noble families and powerful clans understood clearly that this was an opportune moment to expand their families outward; without internal strife and united against external threats, brothers working together could cut through metal.

Yue Heng was extremely satisfied with Yue Yuan's outstanding performance this time.

The turmoil and disaster that erupted at the Artifact Saint Palace saw various major powers offering support and displaying immense enthusiasm; why? Was it not because this was a rare opportunity to gain fame?

Anyone with even a slight ambition knew the importance of winning the hearts of the people.

Looking at his fifth brother Yue Heng, who wore an expression of shared pride, Yue Yuan's face appeared somewhat unnatural; saving so many people this time was not his achievement alone.

"Brother Yue, quickly tell us how you conducted the search and rescue; how did you manage to find so many people?"

People from the Prince of Beizhen's Manor, the Prince of Nanding's Manor, the Prince of Dong'an's Manor, as well as various major noble families and sects, all crowded around, appearing eager to learn from Yue Yuan.

Knowing these people were there to test him, Yue Yuan did not claim the credit, stating directly: "The reason we were able to save so many people is that we received assistance from a fellow Daoist surnamed Hua from the Pill Saint Hall."

Upon these words, the scene instantly fell silent.

Yue Heng paused for a moment, then said with a blank expression: "That Fellow Daoist Hua wouldn't happen to be a woman, would she?"

Yue Yuan looked over, asking in surprise: "How do you know?"

Yue Heng's facial muscles twitched: "She wouldn't happen to be named Hua Changxi, would she?"

Yue Yuan shook his head: "She only said her surname was Hua; I do not know her given name."

The crowd: "......."

Not far away, Chu Junling, the Right General of the Demon-Suppressing Army who was in overall command of the search and rescue mission, also showed fluctuations in his expression.

Hua Changxi was a famous figure in the Pill Saint Hall; when the disaster struck, all the renowned masters of Qihuang Halls and realm masters from the Medical Bureau had arrived, except for her.

Regarding this, all parties had engaged in much discussion, with many slanderous remarks circulating about her; unexpectedly, she had actually gone to perform search and rescue.

On the other side, after parting ways with Yue Yuan and the others, Hua Changxi did not leave directly but went to check on the place where the injured were being sheltered.

"Ah~"

Painful screams disturbed everyone's peace of mind, and the gruesome scenes of severed arms and legs were difficult to bear looking at.

The injuries of the patients mainly fell into three categories: one was severe physical trauma caused by being cut by spatial rifts; another was burns from fire spiritual energy, resulting in fire poison infiltration; and the third was the absorption of demon-ghost qi, leading to confusion of the mind and symptoms of madness and uncontrollable behavior.

The main force responsible for treating the injured consisted of personnel from the Medical Bureau.

Almost everyone from the Spirit Realm Pavilion and the Qihuang Pavilion had been mobilized, yet even so, compared to the vast number of injured, their efforts were like trying to fill a cartload of firewood with a cup of water.

Most of the injured suffered wounds too severe; they passed away directly before they could even receive treatment.

Witnessing this scene, Hua Changxi heavily exhaled a mouthful of turbid air; there were simply too few physicians and alchemists!

At present, all she could do was to buy more time for these injured people.

Without hesitation, Hua Changxi flipped her wrist, and a verdant, dew-laden branch of the Undying Divine Wood appeared in her hand.

As soon as the branch of the Undying Divine Wood appeared, the vitality in the air instantly became dense, causing countless cultivators to feel revitalized.

Immediately after, Hua Changxi began moving quickly through the crowd of injured; every few steps, she would wave the branch of the Undying Divine Wood.

Green light rained down, enveloping the injured; some who were on their last breaths and seemed ready to die at any moment suddenly saw their dim eyes brighten in this instant.

Bathed in the rich power of vitality, the wounded saw their injuries partially healed, while the drain on their life forces slowed.

"Whoosh~"

"Whoosh~"

"Whoosh~"

After several consecutive swings, the once emerald-green, dew-laden branch of the Undying Divine Wood grew dim, and the vitality it released diminished with each strike.

By the eighth swing, every wounded person had been nourished by the power of vitality; at this moment, the branch of the Undying Divine Wood in Hua Changxi's hand completely lost its luster, resembling a withered twig.

Gazing at the withered branch of the Undying Divine Wood in her hand, Hua Changxi felt her heart bleeding, yet she harbored no regrets.

Most of the wounded suffered injuries too severe; with medical personnel critically short, she could only expend the vitality of the Undying Divine Wood branch to secure a sliver of hope for these people.