Chapter 352: Taking Over Nanxiang County

Should she press on and continue exploring the other nine blessed lands and grotto-heavens?

Hua Changxi indeed still wished to occupy more blessed lands and grotto-heavens; judging by the benefits revealed by the Karma Fire Platform and the Nine Heavens Fire Spring, the others surely each possessed their own advantages, all beneficial for a cultivator's training.

However, after much deliberation, she abandoned this notion.

Becoming the master of a blessed land or grotto-heaven was certainly good, but managing one was no easy task.

Currently, managing just Mount Wuzhi, Lingguang Hall, and Danyuan Peak already left her flustered; acquiring more territories would truly exceed her capacity to govern.

Furthermore, becoming the master of the Karma Fire Platform could be attributed to her own control over the 'Karma' law, allowing her to seize it; yet becoming the Palace Master of the Fire Spring Palace was entirely due to the lingering protection of Zhu Que, an external force.

She reasoned that seizing the other blessed lands and grotto-heavens would likely not be an easy matter either.

For now, she should first calm her mind and temper herself.

Moreover, she had spent considerable time breaking through to the Fire Spring Palace recently; she did not know how much time had passed in the outside world, and it was time to return to Lingguang Hall and Danyuan Peak to check on things.

Hua Changxi toured the twelve islands, scattering the fire-attribute spiritual herbs and spirit fruit seeds she carried across them, then scavenged every last fragment of fire marrow stone and fire marrow jade from the islands before flying away from the Fire Spring Palace.

A barrier formed jointly by clouds, mist, and fire spiritual energy stretched between the Fire Spring Palace and the fire spring waterfall below, existing for the purpose of motivating cultivators.

Previously, she had felt that charging upward against the fire spring resembled a fish leaping over the dragon gate, and she had not been mistaken.

A fish leaping over the dragon gate could change its bloodline and transform into a dragon; similarly, if a cultivator could truly charge upward against the fire spring to reach the Fire Spring Palace, their physical body would undergo a qualitative leap.

Relying on repeated counter-current ascents, she had directly cultivated the sixth chapter, the Viscera Chapter, of the 'Nine Transformations Mysterious Art' to perfection; her current physical strength was equivalent to that of a Dharma cultivator at the Soul Emergence Realm.

As she flew downward from the Fire Spring Palace, Hua Changxi truly felt a subtle sensation akin to an immortal descending to the mortal world.

After landing, she gathered fire spirit ganoderma of various grades from both banks of the fire spring waterfall, then prepared to depart.

Now that she was the Palace Master of the Fire Spring Palace, she no longer needed to search for spatial rifts to freely enter and exit this Nine Heavens Fire Spring subspace.

Upon exiting the Fire Spring Palace, Hua Changxi flew straight toward Lingguang Hall.

Along the way, she pondered that although she did not intend to occupy other blessed lands and grotto-heavens herself, she still needed to investigate them thoroughly for the future training of the Zhu Que Army, so as to understand what effects each location had on cultivators.

Additionally, she was considering whether to arrange for her 'own people' to take over the other blessed lands and grotto-heavens.

Having learned the locations of the twelve blessed lands and grotto-heavens in advance, she felt it would be a loss not to utilize this information to make some early arrangements.

The problem was, she seemed to have no 'own people'.

The twelve blessed lands and grotto-heavens were ultimately training grounds and supply points for the Zhu Que Army; her 'own people' should ideally come from within the Zhu Que Army. Hua Changxi first thought of the siblings An Ran and An Ze, but if she transferred them here, what would become of Mount Wuzhi?

"Help!"

A sudden scream interrupted Hua Changxi's thoughts; looking down, she saw two Nascent Soul cultivators engaged in fierce combat, and their battleground happened to be above a village town.

In just a short while, over a hundred villagers lay dead or injured, and countless houses were destroyed.

Hua Changxi frowned, waved her hand, and the two Nascent Soul cultivators who had been fighting fiercely above the town plummeted from the sky, crashing heavily onto the ground.

The two sensed something was wrong and tried to flee, only to be engulfed by flames that followed immediately.

Hua Changxi landed; the villagers in the town huddled fearfully in corners, daring not to approach, their faces showing no joy at being rescued, but rather a lifeless gloom.

Finally, an elderly man with white hair trembled as he stepped forward, bowing in gratitude: "Thank you, Immortal, for saving our lives!"

Before the old man could bend his waist, Hua Changxi used spiritual energy to lift him back up.

Sensing Hua Changxi's kindness and seeing her gaze upon the villagers hiding everywhere, the old man hastily explained: "Immortal, please do not blame them; it is not that they lack gratitude, but truly..."

"This time, thanks to the Immortal's intervention, we narrowly survived."

"But nowadays in Nanxiang County, cultivators are everywhere; our town sees cultivators passing through constantly. Whenever two or more factions of cultivators meet, fierce battles inevitably erupt."

"Our town originally had tens of thousands of people; now, fewer than ten thousand remain."

"Hundreds died today alone; for those of us left, we do not know how much longer we can survive."

Hua Changxi's brows knitted tightly into a knot: "With cultivators fighting chaotically, does the government of Nanxiang County not intervene?"

The old man shook his head and sighed: "Ever since Lord Song was removed from office, Nanxiang County has had no official to stand up for the common people."

Hearing the old man's words, Hua Changxi recalled some distant memories: "Lord Song? Song Weimin?"

The old man's eyes brightened: "The Immortal knows Lord Song?"

Hua Changxi: "...We met once." Song Weimin was Cao Jun's junior brother, and since she had killed Cao Jun, Song Weimin had previously approached her while investigating Cao Jun's disappearance.

The old man's face showed a look of reminiscence: "Lord Song was a good official. While he was in charge, every part of Nanxiang County was governed in an orderly fashion; he was willing to speak for the people and work for their welfare. Alas..."

"Ever since Lingguang Hall appeared in the world, Lord Song was removed from office; no one knows where he is serving now."

"However, wherever Lord Song has gone, it must surely be a blessing for the people of that region."

Hua Changxi had not expected that the current chaos in Nanxiang County stemmed from the appearance of Lingguang Hall, which made her mood even more irritable.

"Elder, is this kind of cultivator infighting also frequent in other parts of Nanxiang County?"

The old man's face filled with sorrow, and speaking with a tearful voice, he said: "Very frequent. To be honest with the Immortal, our town is relatively lucky; we have not been slaughtered to extinction. Some villages and towns... were left with neither chicken nor dog alive."

Looking at the old man silently bowing his head to wipe away tears, Hua Changxi felt a heavy blockage in her heart: "Elder, rest assured. If the imperial court does not manage the chaos in Nanxiang County, Lingguang Hall will. Henceforth, if any cultivators harm the common people, the Zhu Que Army will be responsible for suppressing and killing them."

Hearing this, the old man's heart jolted; he hurriedly raised his head, wanting to see if the Immortal was serious, but the red-robed Immortal had already vanished without a trace.

"Lingguang Hall..."

"Zhu Que Army..."

"Will anyone truly step forward to manage this chaotic world?"

Hua Changxi returned to Lingguang Hall with a highly unsettled mind; the moment she landed on the plaza outside the main hall, she sensed the extraordinary liveliness of the entire complex. Sweeping her divine consciousness across, she found every palace bustling with activity.

The Martial Training Hall was the most lively of all, where over ten thousand Zhu Que Army soldiers were drilling in military formations and tactics.

Watching this scene, Hua Changxi's mood improved slightly; once her emotions settled, she began contemplating the missions she would issue next.

Half an hour later, in the Martial Training Hall.

Steward Duan Jishan was discussing troop training with various Battalion Commanders based on the military formation diagrams depicted on the hall's murals; just as everyone was arguing endlessly over the sequencing, Yun You, the steward of the Logistics Department, arrived.

Duan Jishan found this somewhat strange; Yun You was the earliest appointed steward of Lingguang Hall and controlled the allocation of supplies, so normally all other stewards treated him with great respect.

"Steward Yun has come in person; is there some instruction to give?"

Yun You smiled at Duan Jishan, flipped his wrist, and ten fourth-grade fire spirit ganoderma appeared in his hand: "The Hall Master has just issued an order to me, stating that Steward Duan manages troop training effectively, and specially rewards you with these ten fourth-grade fire spirit ganoderma, hoping you will continue to strive for greater success."

Yun You's words, along with the Fire Spirit Ganoderma in her hand, left Duan Jishan and the Battalion Commanders present utterly astonished.

Yun You extended the Fire Spirit Ganoderma toward Duan Jishan: "Grade-four Fire Spirit Ganoderma is most suitable for body-refining by Core Formation cultivators; the Hall Master values Steward Duan greatly."

The Fire Spirit Ganoderma emitted an alluring fragrance and dense fire spiritual energy, making it obvious at a glance that this was an extraordinary spirit herb.

Duan Jishan accepted the Fire Spirit Ganoderma, his expression somewhat agitated: "Does the Hall Master know about my troop training efforts during this period?"

Yun You smiled and nodded: "Of course; the Hall Master has simply not appeared publicly, yet she closely monitors everything concerning Lingguang Hall." Having said this, she turned her gaze to the more than twenty Battalion Commanders present and produced another sixty-plus Grade-four Spirit Ganoderma.

"The Hall Master says that all you Battalion Commanders have worked hard; each of you is rewarded with three Grade-four Spirit Ganoderma. She hopes everyone will strive to enhance their strength."

Seeing that they too would receive a share, all the Battalion Commanders' faces lit up with joy.

Although, with the resurgence of spiritual energy, one could still find some spirit plants and spirit fruits by searching deep mountains and old forests rich in spiritual energy.

Yet the grade of such spirit plants and spirit fruits would never exceed Grade-three; Grade-four and above spirit plants and fruits are found almost exclusively within secret realms and ancient ruins.

And those secret realms and ancient ruins are basically controlled by the powerful and noble; ordinary cultivators like them simply cannot enter.

After the Battalion Commanders had all stored away their Fire Spirit Ganoderma, Yun You continued: "By order of the Hall Master, effective immediately, the Zhu Que Army will take over public security in Nanxiang County, responsible for maintaining order there. Upon discovering any cultivator harming the common people, suppress and arrest them on the spot; those who have taken lives may be killed outright."

"This decree will soon be posted in the Mission Hall. The reward for this mission is that members of the Zhu Que Army, ranked by their contribution points, will gain opportunities to enter secret realms for cultivation."

"Battalion Commanders, upon returning, convey the Hall Master's orders clearly to the Zhu Que soldiers under your command."

"The Hall Master has stated that Nanxiangchengcheng is the garrison of the Zhu Que Army and brooks no disruption by anyone."