Chapter 353: Three Years Have Passed

With the announcement that the Zhu Que Army would take over public security in Nanxiang County, every corner of Lingguang Hall erupted in excitement.

After most cultivators joined the Zhu Que Army, they basically just practiced their arts; with pitifully few missions issued by the Mission Hall, those accomplishing nothing felt they were simply 'wasting their days'.

They were the Zhu Que Army, after all.

The Zhu Que Army, one of the four most orthodox great armies in the Four Spirit Realm, should have long ago gone out to seize territory.

Uh, not seize territory—the Hall Master had said that Nanxiangcheng was the Zhu Que Army's garrison, and they were going legitimately to take over Nanxiang County.

Every part of Lingguang Hall responded actively, everyone striking a posture of eager anticipation.

In contrast to the Zhu Que soldiers who couldn't wait to 'achieve glory and establish merit', Hua Changxi inside the main hall was nursing a headache.

She discovered that maintaining an army was truly difficult.

The current Zhu Que Army lacked unified armor, lacked unified weapons, possessed no token like the 'Xuanyuan Token' that could instantly prove one's identity upon display, and furthermore had no logistical support...

Hua Changxi didn't want to think any further; the more she thought, the poorer the Zhu Que Army seemed.

"Hoo~"

Hua Changxi exhaled a breath; originally she had planned to explore other blessed grotto-heavens after some time, but now, since the Zhu Que Army was about to begin maintaining public order and stability in Nanxiang County, they absolutely had to ensure sufficient logistical supply.

After returning to Danyuan Peak to check, she would continue exploring other blessed grotto-heavens.

"Hmm?"

Hua Changxi suddenly sensed the surging, boiling morale of the Zhu Que Army; sweeping her divine consciousness across, she found all the Zhu Que soldiers looking as though they were resting with weapons ready, awaiting battle.

High morale was normally a good thing, yet for no reason, Hua Changxi felt somewhat worried.

She suddenly realized that the Zhu Que Army must have strict discipline.

Once an army is deployed outward, it is like a fierce tiger descending the mountain; without powerful disciplinary constraints, it might even trigger greater turmoil.

Hua Changxi pondered for a while, then took out a fragment of a lotus petal she had collected at the Ye Fire Platform.

The Ye Fire Platform was huge, and each lotus petal was also extremely large.

Therefore, even a fragment of a lotus petal stretched dozens of meters long.

For the next period, Hua Changxi polished the lotus petal into a red stone stele ten meters high and five meters wide, then began using her divine consciousness to carve characters onto the stele.

The first line contained only eight conspicuous characters: Zhu Que as the Soul, Forging Iron Discipline.

"The Zhu Que governs the virtue of fire, presiding over loyalty, courage, clear discipline, and the execution of evil."

"The Zhu Que Army establishes itself in the world taking 'Zhu Que as the Soul, Forging Iron Discipline' as its creed: All who enter the military gates must first carve the four characters 'Loyalty, Courage, Strictness, Trust' into their bones, then learn the arts of battle formations and killing."

"Military discipline is like crimson flames; touch it and you burn. Orders move like star orbits; violators shall be executed."

"This discipline is not the command of one person, but the lifeline of the entire army—those who keep discipline gain the Zhu Que's protection to safeguard family and nation; those who break discipline fall into the Avici Hell, their souls finding no peace."

"Zhu Que Army Discipline: Chapter of Loyalty and Righteousness—Execute evil spirits and protect the state, unchanging through life and death; comrades are as limbs, advancing and retreating together in life and death; do not fawn upon the powerful, do not bully the common people."

"Chapter of Battle Formations—Advance at the drum, retreat at the gong; weapons and armor never leave one's side day or night; scouts go first, intelligence is life; grain and fodder are the foundation, unauthorized movement forbidden; defeat without collapse, remnants return to formation."

"Chapter of Camp Regulations—Camp gates are strict, entry and exit registered; military bearing neat, no negligence allowed; gambling, heavy drinking, and brawling strictly prohibited; the wounded and sick receive care, the dead receive honorable compensation."

"Chapter of Punishments—Those who flee in battle; those who leak military secrets; those who embezzle military pay; those who insult superiors or oppress subordinates; those who violate camp regulations; those who disgrace the image of the Zhu Que Army shall, depending on the situation, face punishments such as corporal punishment or expulsion from Lingguang Hall."

"Chapter of Rewards—..."

"The Zhu Que Army shall defend the land and stabilize the nation, fighting to the death without retreating; comrades aid each other, military discipline is as unmovable as a mountain; seal discipline with the soul, clarify the heart with blood."

Very quickly, a red stone military discipline stele appeared on the right side of the sect building in Lingguang Hall.

As the stele was erected, the Zhu Que Army's discipline rapidly spread.

Once the military discipline decrees were issued, the soaring morale gradually cooled down.

All the managers and all the Battalion Commanders stood beneath the military discipline stele for quite a while.

Yang Zhao, the hall master of the Precepts Hall, was the last to leave the military discipline stele; when he returned to the Precepts Hall, he saw a line of red characters floating in the main hall: The Precepts Hall is responsible for the execution and supervision of military discipline; Manager Yang, please treat this with utmost caution.

Yang Zhao came from an ordinary family and knew all too clearly what impact an army governing public security could have on the lives of the common people; immediately he bowed to the characters and declared loudly, "Yang Zhao will certainly fulfill his duties and live up to the Hall Master's trust."

Missions had been issued, military discipline had been announced, and as for the Zhu Que Army's logistical supply, Hua Changxi planned to return to Danyuan Peak to check before making further arrangements.

Before returning to Danyuan Peak, Hua Changxi thought that since Qisheng Palace lay between Lingguang Hall and Jingcheng, she might as well go to Qisheng Palace first to find Tong Yao and have the Karma Box forged.

She could not stay in Lingguang Hall forever; she had to rely on mutual supervision among the managers, the Battalion Commanders, and the ordinary soldiers to ensure the Zhu Que Army's discipline remained strict.

"The earthly realm has grown larger again!"

Riding the Somersault Cloud, Hua Changxi flew for nearly an hour before reaching Qisheng Palace.

Qisheng Palace was no longer hiding; although the sacred land itself could not yet manifest in the outside world due to limited spiritual qi, disciples of Qisheng Palace had already constructed a small architectural complex resembling a village on the sacred land's periphery and had begun openly recruiting disciples.

The common people who had become homeless due to the explosion of Qisheng Palace's mountain-protecting formation had also been resettled here.

What surprised her most was that the spiritual qi barrier isolating the leakage of demonic energy was gone.

"How short a time it has been, yet Qisheng Palace has already repaired the formation eye; the speed is quite fast."

Hua Changxi walked into the village and was just about to look for Tong Yao when she bumped into Yan Zhenzhen.

Yan Zhenzhen looked at Hua Changxi with delight and walked quickly forward: "Changxi."

Hua Changxi broke into a smile: "Zhenzhen, what are you doing here?"

Yan Zhenzhen did not answer; upon reaching Hua Changxi, she carefully examined her from head to toe: "It seems you have largely recovered; you have no idea how worried we were during these three years while you did not appear."

"I came to Qisheng Palace because the Array Saint Sect wants to forge..."

Hua Changxi cut her off: "Wait, what did you just say? How long have I not appeared?"

Yan Zhenzhen stared at her for a moment: "Do you still remember when we broke into the Xuanyuan Mansion?"

Hua Changxi: "The seventh day of the first lunar month." Then, looking up at the sun in the sky and observing the obvious signs of spring around her, she added, "It should be around the end of March or early April now."

Yan Zhenzhen took a deep breath: "Yes, today is March twentieth, but it has been over three years since we broke into the Xuanyuan Mansion."

"How long has passed?"

Hua Changxi froze; had she really stayed in the Nine Heavens Fire Spring for over three years?!

"Changxi!"

Tong Yao arrived, and seeing Hua Changxi standing alongside Yan Zhenzhen, his face lit up with delight; he hurried over and quickly asked, "Have your injuries healed?"

Hua Changxi shifted her slightly dazed gaze toward him: "My injuries?"

Yan Zhenzhen looked at her: "We all thought you had been severely wounded by the Duke of Liang; otherwise, you wouldn't have vanished for three years, neglecting even your own family."

Hua Changxi said, "So the Spirit Platform realm cultivator who attacked me was the Duke of Liang." She paused, then suddenly whipped her head to stare fiercely at Yan Zhenzhen: "What did you just say about my family?"

Yan Zhenzhen and Tong Yao exchanged a glance.

Tong Yao said, "Don't panic; your family is safe. It's just that the Duke of Liang has issued a proclamation: unless you hand over the Xuanhuang Fruit to help him restore his physical body, he will pursue your family to the death."

"For the sake of your family's safety, Count Dingyuan has moved your entire household to reside within the Count's Manor. During these three years, aside from being restricted from leaving at will, nothing else has happened."

Hearing this, Hua Changxi laughed in anger: "The Duke of Liang tried to kill me and got injured in return due to his own inadequacy; what face does he have to demand compensation from me?" With that, she prepared to return to the capital.

Before departing, Hua Changxi handed Tong Yao a storage bag containing fragments of petals from the Karma Fire Platform Lotus and informed him of the requirements and functions of the 'Suggestion Box'.

Watching Hua Changxi's figure rapidly recede into the distance, Yan Zhenzhen turned to Tong Yao: "Have you noticed? Changxi seems to have grown stronger again."

Just now, when her family was mentioned, Changxi's aura fluctuated slightly, yet it made the hair on Yan Zhenzhen's entire body stand on end.

Tong Yao nodded; as a body-refining cultivator himself, he felt it even more acutely. The surging blood qi emanating from Changxi just now, like a raging flood, had nearly pressed the breath out of him.

Yan Zhenzhen sighed: "Everyone thought Changxi was severely injured and recuperating, but looking at her now, she must have entered some ruin where the flow of time cannot be perceived."

Tong Yao thought the same; looking at the storage bag in his hand, he opened it to peek inside: "What material is this?"

Unable to identify the material of the Karma Fire Platform Lotus fragments, Tong Yao was about to close the storage bag when Elder Yi Ming suddenly appeared before him and Yan Zhenzhen with a 'whoosh'.

"What were you just looking at? Let me see it quickly!"

Facing the anxious Elder Yi Ming, Tong Yao was somewhat baffled but still handed over the storage bag, explaining that Hua Changxi had given it to him and asked him to forge four 'boxes'.

Sensing the karma force dissipating from the storage bag, Elder Yi Ming gasped sharply: "Using this to forge boxes? Hua Changxi is wasting such a treasure!"

"......"

Tong Yao and Yan Zhenzhen exchanged a bewildered glance.

Elder Yi Ming snatched the storage bag away; when Tong Yao objected and was about to speak, he was cut off: "You are not yet capable of refining such material. I, myself, will personally forge the boxes Hua Changxi requested."

Yan Zhenzhen hurriedly asked, "Elder, is this some extraordinary material?"

Elder Yi Ming glanced at the two of them: "This substance is smelted from karma force." With that, he flashed away and vanished.

"Karma force?"

Yan Zhenzhen and Tong Yao stared at each other.

"It seems the ruin Changxi visited was quite extraordinary."

Cultivators fear bearing karma force above all else.

Flying over five thousand li away from the Artifact Sage Palace, Hua Changxi noticed people continuously constructing houses along the route; it was not haphazard building scattered here and there, but organized, planned construction.

Moreover, more than half of those participating in the construction were cultivators.

Only when she sensed spatial fluctuations and the aura of Xuanhuang qi in the air did she realize: they had arrived at the Xuan Yuan Prefecture.

The Xuan Yuan Prefecture had not yet manifested, but its location had already been determined.

Since the Xuan Yuan Prefecture was the center of power on the Central Continent, naturally, the closer one got to it, the closer one was to power.

"Are they beginning to construct Xuan Yuan City?"

As she flew over the Xuan Yuan Prefecture, Hua Changxi also discovered that outside its barrier, the Demon-Suppressing Army was stationed, adopting a posture that strictly forbade anyone from approaching.

Passing the Xuan Yuan Prefecture and continuing toward the capital, scenes of fervent house construction were visible everywhere, with members of the Heaven Division responsible for maintaining order.

By the time Hua Changxi reached the former location of the Southern City Gate of the capital, not a trace of the gate remained; only the stone tablet forbidding cultivators from flying or fighting there still stood.

"Who goes there? Flying is strictly prohibited in the urban district ahead."

At the site of the stone tablet, a squad of five Demon-Suppressing Army soldiers stood guard.

Hua Changxi descended directly, landing before the stone tablet; she examined the five soldiers before her, her eyes flashing with light.

Has the Demon-Suppressing Army already begun taking over the capital's defense?

It seems that after three years, some things have quietly changed.

Hua Changxi took a deep breath and walked briskly into what was once the 'Southern District' of the capital.

"That is... Hua Changxi!"

"Hua Changxi has finally appeared; the Nascent Soul cultivators from the Duke of Liang's Manor can stop standing like statues outside Count Dingyuan's Manor."

"Do you think Hua Changxi will bow her head to the Duke of Liang?"