Chapter 366

After returning to Danyuan Peak, Hua Changxi, accompanied by Yu Fu and the others, walked from the foot of the peak to the summit, learning about the changes in various parts of the mountain over the past three years.

After Yu Fu and the others took their leave, she entered the Danyuan Secret Realm and inspected the first and second levels.

The herb fields on the first and second levels had been fully cultivated and planted with corresponding spiritual plants, presenting a scene full of vitality.

Confirming that Yu Fu and the others had managed Danyuan Peak and the Danyuan Secret Realm very well while she was away, Hua Changxi was quite satisfied. The first thing she did after exiting the secret realm was to have Zhou Shou issue a task in the Task Hall to develop the third level of the secret realm.

Participants had to be at the Golden Core Realm or be third-grade or higher spiritual plant masters or alchemists who had passed the Danyuan Peak assessment.

With the issuance of the task, the people on Danyuan Peak no longer had the heart to pay attention to various gossip from the outside world; they all focused their minds, actively studying medicine and alchemy, and improving their cultivation.

The Peak Master's return and the development task for the third level of the secret realm once again sent a clear signal: if you want to stay at Danyuan Peak and not fall behind, you must work hard to improve your cultivation, alchemy, and medical skills.

After the task for developing the third level of the secret realm was issued, Hua Changxi sent a message to Yu Fu, asking him to make a trip to the Artisan Saint Palace to purchase a thousand "One-Thought Connections."

Since the immortal version of a mobile phone had come out, it certainly had to be equipped.

After receiving the message, Yu Fu came to the bamboo house again: "Master, the 'One-Thought Connections' refined by the Artisan Saint Palace cost 8,888 low-grade spiritual stones each."

Hua Changxi heard this: "That is a bit expensive."

Yu Fu: It's not just a bit expensive; it's very expensive.

Disciples of Danyuan Peak had herb fields and spiritual fields; working hard for a year, they could only save a few thousand spiritual stones. Purchasing one "One-Thought Connection" would wipe out an entire year's income.

And for cultivators in other places, the opportunities to obtain spiritual stones were even fewer, making it even harder to save them.

Cultivators who could use "One-Thought Connections" either had strong personal strength or came from noble families. Ordinary cultivators couldn't afford them at all and could only use ordinary communication talismans.

Hua Changxi: "I have an agreement with the Artisan Saint Palace to exchange goods, and besides, there will be a certain discount for purchasing in large quantities."

As she spoke, she took out a batch of third-grade top-quality pills she had previously refined and handed them to Yu Fu.

"Put some of these pills in the warehouse for backup, and take the rest to exchange for 'One-Thought Connections'."

"After the 'One-Thought Connections' are purchased, distribute one to each department head, and take out a hundred to reward the disciples who have performed excellently in all aspects during the three years I was away."

"Leave the rest in the Logistics Department and let the disciples of Danyuan Peak exchange for them with contribution points. Set the contribution points at... one thousand points. This can be considered a benefit from Danyuan Peak to the disciples."

Hearing these words, Yu Fu couldn't say anything else and smiled: "Then I will thank the Peak Master on behalf of the disciples."

Hua Changxi: "You have managed Danyuan Peak very well; this is a reward." She paused and added, "When you go to the Artisan Saint Palace, take Dugu Lie with you. From now on, whenever you go out, take him with you. He is a Nascent Soul cultivator and can protect you."

Seeing Yu Fu stunned, Hua Changxi thought of the fact that Dugu Lie only displayed Golden Core Realm cultivation to the outside world, so she reminded him: "Just keep this to yourself."

Yu Fu nodded and asked cautiously: "Master, Dugu Lie is hiding his cultivation, so what about Ye Lingxuan and the others who are close to him..."

Hua Changxi looked at him: "I know their situation. You just act like you don't know anything and treat them like ordinary disciples."

Yu Fu didn't ask any further and agreed with a serious expression.

Hua Changxi: "When you go find Dugu Lie, call Ye Lingxuan, Jiang Henian, and the other eight up to see me."

After Yu Fu nodded and agreed, he left with the pills.

To hide their identities, Ye Lingxuan and the others didn't usually gather together.

Dugu Lie received the task of accompanying Yu Fu on an outing, and Ye Lingxuan and the others knew Hua Changxi wanted to see them; they were all a bit surprised.

Due to the tight schedule, they didn't even have a chance to inform each other.

"The Peak Master wants to see us as soon as she returns. Do you think she has discovered our identities?"

"That shouldn't be; we haven't shown any flaws."

"Besides, the Peak Master is quite solitary and isolated from news; maybe she doesn't even know we exist."

Ye Lingxuan, Jiang Henian, and the other eight arrived at the bamboo house on the summit with some trepidation. As soon as they arrived, they saw a large pile of black bamboo stacked outside the house.

"They're here!"

Hua Changxi examined the eight successors of the Alchemy Saint Hall in front of her. Three years later, their cultivation had improved significantly, and their foundations were very solid.

"Greetings, Peak Master."

Ye Lingxuan and Jiang Henian both lowered their heads. The Peak Master's gaze was too penetrating; it felt like they were being seen through from inside out.

Ye Lingxuan spoke first: "I wonder if the Peak Master has summoned us because there is a task to be assigned?"

Hua Changxi smiled and said: "I heard from several managers that you are all very capable in your work. It just so happens that I have some Ink Yin Bamboo here that needs processing, and I thought of you."

Hearing this, Ye Lingxuan and the others looked at the pile of pitch-black bamboo on the ground.

Jiang Henian hesitated and spoke: "The Peak Master values us, and we are very happy, but this Ink Yin Bamboo is a fifth-grade soul plant. Our cultivation is not enough, and I'm afraid... we won't be able to process it well."

Hua Changxi looked at him: "You have a wide range of knowledge to be able to recognize fifth-grade Ink Yin Bamboo." She stopped there and changed the subject. "Don't worry, I won't let you handle tasks you aren't capable of."

As she spoke, she handed a processed, foot-long piece of Ink Yin Bamboo to Jiang Henian.

"The method for processing Ink Yin Bamboo is on it. I need you to make these Ink Yin Bamboos into bamboo slips."

Jiang Henian took the bamboo piece, hesitated, and placed it on his forehead. Soon, the method for processing Ink Yin Bamboo, imprinted with divine sense, was transmitted into his mind.

Then, Jiang Henian handed the bamboo piece to Ye Lingxuan. After Ye Lingxuan read it, she handed it to the others.

Soon, all eight knew how to process Ink Yin Bamboo.

The processing method was not difficult, but the process was complex and required absolute patience, consuming a lot of mental energy and effort.

Hua Changxi looked at the eight of them: "You can process them in the courtyard." After speaking, she entered the bamboo house.

As soon as she left, Ye Lingxuan and the other eight began to exchange glances.

Why did Jiang Henian recognize Ink Yin Bamboo?

For no other reason than that the forbidden area of the Alchemy Saint Hall stored many bamboo slips made of Ink Yin Bamboo. The alchemy and medical knowledge they, as successors of the holy land, possessed was all learned from those bamboo slips.

'The Peak Master is making bamboo slips; it should be for the purpose of imprinting, right?'

'Nine times out of ten.'

'To imprint on bamboo slips, one can only use divine sense. Is the Peak Master already a Spirit Platform Realm cultivator?'

'The Peak Master's cultivation has always been a mystery; even the elders haven't figured it out.'

'The "Complete Collection of First-Grade Spiritual Plants" and "Complete Collection of Second-Grade Spiritual Plants" were copied before. Now with Ink Yin Bamboo slips, medical and alchemy knowledge can be taught through bamboo slips in the future.'

The Peak Master's cultivation was unknown, and Ye Lingxuan and the others couldn't communicate verbally in the courtyard, so they could only use sound transmission.

Although Hua Changxi was in the house, she had been paying attention to the movements in the courtyard and immediately sensed the spiritual power fluctuations caused by the sound transmission.

However, she ignored it and just observed Ye Lingxuan, Jiang Henian, and the others.

With the chaos in Nanxiang County, she had sent the Zhu Que Army to maintain order, which would certainly infringe on some people's interests. She was worried that this would lead to more conflicts due to conflicts of interest.

If this caused greater harm to ordinary people, then she would have done a bad deed with good intentions.

She was worried about the situation in Nanxiang County and wanted to keep an eye on it, so she had to make arrangements for Danyuan Peak quickly.

Ye Lingxuan and the others were successors of the Alchemy Saint Hall. Regardless of their hidden thoughts, they were at least oriented toward the Alchemy Saint Hall. If their character was good, she wouldn't mind entrusting them with important tasks.

Just as Hua Changxi was worrying about Nanxiang County and thinking about how to improve the various systems of Danyuan Peak and the personnel arrangements of each department, other things were still being discussed everywhere in the Medicine Department.

The old square courtyard.

Wen Shouren looked at Gu Xing: "You say, how will Hua Changxi treat the Liang Duke tomorrow?"

Gu Xing sighed: "That girl is intolerant of evil; she will likely return tooth for tooth and eye for eye."

Wen Shouren looked over: "Judging by your tone, you seem to think she shouldn't?"

Gu Xing shook his head: "Relying solely on force to solve problems will not lead to great things. Moreover, once the habit of using force to pave the way is formed, it is very difficult to change later."

Wen Shouren thought for a moment: "The world is chaotic; perhaps a domineering approach is more effective."

Spirit Realm Pavilion.

Xia Zhen said to the Xia family cultivators: "You must find out the reason why the five Xuanyuan generals accepted the Hua family."

Qihuang Pavilion.

Prince Shou said to Chu Junhao: "As soon as he heard that the Hua family had joined the Xuanyuan Prefecture, the Liang Duke panicked. Tomorrow, you accompany him to Danyuan Peak to see Hua Changxi."

Chu Junhao: "... May I ask for your guidance, Imperial Uncle? What result does the Liang Duke want to get from seeing Hua Changxi?"

Prince Shou glanced at Chu Junhao: "You are just an escort; what to do is the Liang Duke's own business."

Hearing this, Chu Junhao immediately understood that tomorrow's trip to Danyuan Peak by the Liang Duke was to publicly apologize.