Chapter 372: Cherish Your Fortune

"Ah~"

He Zhixuan encountered the closest brush with death since he began cultivation.

A giant hand appeared out of thin air and struck; before they could react, they were all seized, their vision shifted, and the rift valley transformed into a cliff.

Immediately after, their bodies plummeted rapidly, and they were thrown onto the ground.

"Crack~"

Accompanied by the sound of breaking bones, He Zhixuan felt his body on the verge of falling apart, yet ignoring the excruciating pain throughout his frame, he strained to look at the person who had attacked them, seeking a chance to survive certain death.

Following the direction where the giant hand retreated, he saw a red figure, which quickly overlapped with a somewhat blurred figure from his memories.

He Zhixuan widened his eyes, his voice trembling: "Hua... Hua Jiuniang!"

Hua Changxi was pondering how to deal with these people when she heard an incredulous soft call; turning her head, she met He Zhixuan's shocked gaze.

Yet, she did not recognize this person.

Seeing a trace of confusion flicker across Hua Changxi's indifferent eyes, He Zhixuan's face turned bitter.

As the most talented junior of the Wu Yi Marquis's residence, he held a place even among the many geniuses of Jingcheng, yet here before Hua Jiuniang, he had left no impression whatsoever.

Enduring the pain, He Zhixuan struggled to sit upright; he wanted to stand, but unfortunately, the impact his body suffered was more severe than he imagined, so he could only sit and look up to speak with Hua Jiuniang.

"Wu Yi Marquis's residence, He Zhixuan."

Hearing this, Hua Changxi was also surprised; she carefully examined He Zhixuan, 'saw' the image of a tiger totem within his bloodline, and then showed an expression of remembrance: "So you are that little tiger."

Back then, when Fifth Lady had a difficult labor, she had caused a scene at the Wu Yi Marquis's residence, successively sparring with a small and a large spiritual tiger summoned by the power of bloodlines.

The corners of He Zhixuan's mouth twitched; Hua Changxi hadn't remembered him as a person, only the He family's bloodline totem.

Nevertheless, he still breathed a sigh of relief.

They were relatives after all; surely his life... would be spared?

The others captured alongside He Zhixuan, upon learning that the person who seized them was Hua Changxi, also began to introduce themselves.

"Hua... Peak Master, my name is Tang Yuyuan; Tang Yufeng is my cousin. Every time my cousin returns to the Tang family, he mentions you, saying that not only are your medical skills superb, but you also possess a broad and benevolent healer's heart."

"You surely don't know how much I admire you; before this, I always regretted never having seen you in person."

"Now Heaven has opened its eyes, and I have finally met the true Buddha; you are even more... even more... perfect than I imagined."

"Peak Master Hua, my current feelings cannot be expressed in words; I only hate that Heaven did not grant me the talent for pill refining and medicine, otherwise, I would definitely join the Danyuan Peak and become your most loyal devotee."

At these words, He Zhixuan and the others all looked simultaneously at Tang Yuyuan.

Tang Yuyuan did not glance back at them, only gazing at Hua Changxi with admiration as if she were a celestial deity.

The corners of Hua Changxi's mouth twitched, and she offered no response.

The other three Nascent Soul cultivators were not as unrestrained as Tang Yuyuan; furthermore, since they were all older than Hua Changxi, they found it difficult to save face, so they only dryly recited some information favorable to their survival.

"Peak Master Hua, I am from the Duke of Xin's residence; my family's Jinfan also frequently mentions you, saying she very much wishes to become friends with you."

"Peak Master Hua, I am from the Duke of Wei's residence; Consort Duan is my cousin, and the Seventh Imperial Prince, who joined your Danyuan Peak, is my nephew."

"Peak Master Hua, I am from the Yuan family; the master of the Stargazing Tower is my younger uncle. Whenever the Yuan family holds a clan meeting, my younger uncle always instructs that if Peak Master Hua has any needs, the Yuan family must do their utmost to assist."

As for the other Golden Core cultivators, they either hailed from these five families or were their vassals.

Hua Changxi looked speechlessly at the people before her; good heavens, after going around the circle, everyone had some connection to her, more or less—how was she supposed to kill them?

There were five Nascent Soul cultivators and thirteen Golden Core cultivators; she certainly would not let these people go, yet killing them outright seemed somewhat a pity.

Glancing at the stone cave behind her, Hua Changxi decided that since they had been captured and brought here, they might as well stay inside and work.

"Do you want to live?"

Upon hearing this, before the others could express their stance, Tang Yuyuan nodded frantically: "Peak Master Hua, the recovery of spiritual energy has just begun; the Four Spirit Realm still needs us."

Looking at this person, Hua Changxi felt that everyone in the Tang family was quite interesting: "If you want to live, hand over everything on your persons; no hiding anything is permitted."

"Remember, I am giving you only one chance."

Hearing this, He Zhixuan and the other four immediately exchanged glances, while the Golden Core cultivators watched the actions of these five.

He Zhixuan glanced at Hua Changxi; recalling how she had effortlessly subdued them all earlier, he sensibly removed his storage ring and placed it on the ground.

Hua Changxi watched him with burning eyes, saying nothing.

Meeting her gaze, He Zhixuan felt a palpitation in his heart; hesitating for a moment, he then took out the sword stored within his dantian.

Seeing this, the others, though reluctant, followed suit.

In the end, only the Nascent Soul cultivator from the Duke of Wei's residence still retained a jade pendant hidden within his dantian.

Seeing that this person was not being honest, a cold light emerged in Hua Changxi's eyes.

After all, he was a Nascent Soul cultivator; even if sent to mine Southern Bright Stones, he could create sufficient value, so she did not wish to kill him.

However, if this person was not severely punished, he might cause trouble for her in the future.

'Looking' at the jade pendant in his dantian, she suddenly felt an impulse to dig it out and throw it into his face.

It was precisely this impulse to dig out the jade pendant that sparked a flash of inspiration in Hua Changxi's mind.

Although the dantian and sea of consciousness reside within the human body, they constitute a kind of 'alternate space'; apart from the cultivator themselves, outsiders can hardly 'enter' these two domains.

Then there are the spiritual roots; although they grow within the physical body, unlike flesh, blood, bones, organs, and meridians, spiritual roots can only be perceived and cannot be physically touched.

Spiritual roots are manageable since they are superficial, allowing for some intervention and contact using spiritual needles, but for the dantian and sea of consciousness located in an 'alternate space,' even she, who prided herself on her acupuncture skills, could not apply needles within them.

She suddenly wondered if there existed some method or technique that could act directly upon spiritual roots, the dantian, and the sea of consciousness?

Ever since unlocking Qihuang Halls number one through nine, Hua Changxi had occasionally wondered what content halls number ten through eighteen would teach.

Halls one to nine had already covered almost all steps and processes of pill refining, making halls ten to eighteen seem unnecessary.

But now, she had a different idea.

Could halls ten to eighteen be dedicated to studying domains such as spiritual roots, the dantian, and the sea of consciousness?

Seeing Hua Changxi staring continuously at Duan Yue from the Duke of Wei's residence, and recalling the earlier palpitation, He Zhixuan couldn't help but signal Duan Yue with his eyes, urging him not to hide anything.

Duan Yue, made numb with fear by Hua Changxi's gaze, hesitated repeatedly before finally taking the jade pendant out of his dantian.

As soon as the jade pendant was taken out, it flew straight into Hua Changxi's hand.

The jade pendant was a mobile cave dwelling containing many stored items, including One-Thought Communication talismans, Message Transmission talismans, and Image-Recording Stones.

Hua Changxi looked at Duan Yue: "You cannot read the situation and are not honest in the least. If I did not think your cultivation was decent, I would never have used someone like you."

"I will keep this jade pendant here. Rest assured, I do not want to steal it from you; whether you can take it back depends on whether you can create enough value."

"In light of your recent act of hiding things, you will go to the bottom of the cliff to mine Southern Brightness Stones from now on."

Hearing this, He Zhixuan and the others were deeply shaken.

Hua Changxi actually had the means to probe their dantians!

Ignoring their reactions, Hua Changxi began to inspect their belongings. After confiscating everything capable of transmitting messages or suspected of doing so, she allowed He Zhixuan and his group to take back all other cultivation resources.

Hua Changxi looked at them: "Were you not searching for this blessed land of a heavenly cave? From now on, you will stay here to practice artifact refinement."

With their lives spared, He Zhixuan and the others secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

A Core Formation cultivator spoke softly: "But we do not know how to refine artifacts."

Hua Changxi said: "If you do not know how, then go to the bottom of the cliff to mine."

The crowd: "......"

He Zhixuan thought for a moment and asked: "How long do you intend to keep us here?"

Hua Changxi pondered and replied: "Until the day I become powerful enough that I no longer need to hide my identity, I will let you leave."

Upon hearing this, He Zhixuan and his group were speechless, all thinking in their hearts: You could stop hiding your identity right now!

Seeing their reluctance and unwillingness, Hua Changxi comforted them: "This is your fate. Having met me, you at least still have your lives and a future; had you met others, you might already be dead. Cherish your blessings."

He Zhixuan and the others: "......"