Chapter 477: Struck Senseless by a Falling Pie

Hua Changxi employed the 'Buddha's Hand' technique to transport Song Weimin and his party to the Lingguang Hall; along the way, she neither deliberately concealed their tracks nor restrained her aura, so all factions in Nanxiang County received the news immediately.

Inside the main hall of the Nanxiang County government office, the atmosphere was so heavy it seemed ready to drip water.

Cultivators filed in one after another, their spiritual pressure subtle yet powerful—the lowest cultivation base among those present was at the Infant Transformation realm, with several Spirit Platform realm cultivators seated among them.

Prince Fu sat high in the seat of honor, his expression gloomy as still water, his gaze sweeping over his subordinates before finally landing on the secret imperial decree that had just arrived in his palm.

The cinnabar characters were glaringly conspicuous, containing only five words: Withdraw from Nanxiang County.

Ever since the Lingguang Hall emerged, Prince Fu had taken control of Nanxiang County; after painstakingly managing it for so many years, being ordered to withdraw now filled him with extreme reluctance.

Yet, he dared not refuse to withdraw.

For no other reason than that he did not wish to follow in the footsteps of Prince Shou.

Prince Shou had been burned alive by the Hall Master of the Lingguang Hall!

"I have gathered everyone today for no major matter."

Prince Fu was loath to announce the imperial command, but he also knew clearly that this batch of cultivators under his command had been raised by the imperial family at great cost; if they were truly lost in Nanxiang County, the loss to the imperial family would be far too great.

"Now that the Zhu Que Army grows increasingly dominant, everyone must prepare to withdraw from Nanxiang County at any moment." Despite his unwillingness, Prince Fu gritted his teeth and spoke these words.

Upon hearing this, the cultivators showed surprisingly little reaction.

Regarding the situation in Nanxiang County, this group of undercover personnel actually understood it best.

The Hall Master of the Lingguang Hall was too dominant and would not allow their kind to frolic right under his nose.

The fact that they had not been driven out before was perhaps simply because he had no free hand to do so.

Upon hearing the order to withdraw from Nanxiang County, the several Spirit Platform realm cultivators present all secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Ever since the illusion of a nine-story prison tower flashed in the southeast direction of Nanxiang County some time ago, many cultivators sensitive to crisis had felt a surge of fearful apprehension in their hearts.

A clear voice told them that the days of acting recklessly in Nanxiang County were over.

If they continued to act arbitrarily relying on their high cultivation bases, perhaps spending the rest of their lives inside the prison tower would be their final fate.

"Your Highness."

An Infant Transformation cultivator spoke up: "Should we continue searching for traces of the blessed lands and grotto-heavens?"

Hearing this, the gloom in Prince Fu's eyes deepened further.

The Wutong Forest, the Ghost Fire Well, the Zhurong Tomb...

The imperial family had discovered these three blessed lands and grotto-heavens long ago and had secretly made many arrangements regarding them.

But what was the outcome?

The imperial family had not secured a single blessed land or grotto-heaven!

"Continue the search, however, shift from overt actions to covert ones, and reduce the number of personnel accordingly."

While Nanxiang County remained in the hands of the imperial family, even if they openly and brazenly searched everywhere for blessed lands and grotto-heavens, others could say nothing about it.

But once the Zhu Que Army fully took over Nanxiang County, continuing in such a manner would be tantamount to provoking the Zhu Que Army.

After announcing the decision to withdraw from Nanxiang County, Prince Fu dismissed the assembly, but afterward, he separately summoned batches of people.

The first person Prince Fu met was the current County Magistrate of Nanxiang County, Ji Huaice.

"This king will be leaving the county seat in a few days; now that the Hall Master of the Lingguang Hall has seized the Ghost Fire Well, the many things the imperial family did there will surely not remain hidden..."

Prince Fu looked at Ji Huaice; this man was his wife's younger brother, so he had hidden nothing from him: "Although the imperial family has voluntarily abandoned Nanxiang County, we cannot simply hand it over to the Zhu Que Army for nothing; arrange for a group of people to lie low and stay behind."

Ji Huaice understood Prince Fu's intent: "Rest assured, Your Highness; this official knows what to do."

Prince Fu patted Ji Huaice on the shoulder: "You are learned and govern with skill; originally, when I selected you to serve as the County Magistrate of Nanxiang County, I intended to accomplish great things alongside you, never expecting that now we must leave with our tails between our legs in disgrace."

Regarding this, Ji Huaice also felt deep regret: "Brother-in-law... worldly affairs are ever-changing; today's defeat does not mean there is no opportunity to rise again tomorrow."

Prince Fu did not respond to this, merely saying: "The Zhu Que Army has developed too rapidly; in terms of management, they often patch things up only when issues arise. When they take over Nanxiang County, there will surely be countless loopholes; this is our opportunity."

Ji Huaice nodded; the officials in the county office and the common people in the county town were all gaps they had inserted.

After meeting Ji Huaice, Prince Fu then met with all the Spirit Platform realm cultivators.

Toward the Spirit Platform realm cultivators, Prince Fu was much more polite: "Gentlemen, the search for the City Lord Token must not be interrupted."

The Spirit Platform realm cultivator with the highest cultivation base frowned: "If we continue searching, once the Hall Master of the Lingguang Hall discovers us, I fear our lives will be forfeit."

Prince Fu looked over: "Both the Retired Emperor and the Emperor are aware of the danger posed by the Hall Master of the Lingguang Hall, so they have specifically instructed that if any of you sense danger during the search for the City Lord Token, you may withdraw immediately."

Seeing that no one spoke, Prince Fu sighed: "Are you gentlemen truly willing to return empty-handed? The land beneath our feet belongs to Nanxiang City, one of the top ten powers on the Central Continent!"

Indeed, upon hearing these words, the expressions of several Spirit Platform realm cultivators changed.

Prince Fu continued: "The imperial family's promise remains unchanged; as long as any of you discover traces of the City Lord Token, once the imperial family takes control of Nanxiang City, you may choose any blessed land or grotto-heaven within Nanxiang City's jurisdiction to serve as your cultivation ground."

It was the same Spirit Platform realm cultivator as before who spoke: "We understand Your Highness's meaning; we will exert our utmost effort."

Hearing this, Prince Fu forced a smile: "In the struggle for the grand trend, everyone must compete; this king hereby wishes in advance that all of you may obtain your desired cultivation grounds."

After watching the Spirit Platform realm cultivators depart, Prince Fu exhaled a long breath.

The imperial family's ambition toward Nanxiang City has a failure rate as high as ninety percent; the remaining ten percent chance of success depends on whether Heaven shows mercy.

Since the imperial family, the greatest power of all, is preparing to withdraw, other factions need not be mentioned.

Thus, within the county town, many places where cultivators gathered gradually became deserted.

Lihuo Cliff.

Out of respect for the master of artifact crafting, and in view of the favor bestowed through the gift of the 'dharma robes and masks', Hua Changxi took Gongshu Xingyan on a tour of Lihuo Cliff.

After touring Lihuo Cliff, Gongshu Xingyan no longer harbored the slightest reservation about crafting artifacts for the Zhu Que Army; he even felt a dizzying sensation as if struck by a pie falling from the sky.

"Hall Master Hua, can I subdue the Nanming Ancient Flame within the sea of fire at the bottom of the cliff?"

Besides possessing an unparalleled talent for artifact crafting, Gongshu Xingyan's cultivation aptitude was also exceptionally high—not only did he have a single-fire spiritual root, but he also possessed a Fire Spiritual Body.

For a cultivator with a fire spiritual root, the Nanming Li Fire was absolutely a fatal temptation.

Hua Changxi smiled at him: "As long as it does not affect artifact crafting, you may give it a try."

She was able to subdue the Nanming Li Fire because she had refined the essence blood of the Zhu Que; she did not know if this was a necessary condition, but she could affirm that the Nanming Li Fire, being the Zhu Que's innate spiritual fire, was definitely not something just anyone could control.

Seeing her agree, Gongshu Xingyan immediately grinned.

Even though he knew taming the Nanming Li Fire would not be easy, at least he now possessed the opportunity to tame it.

Even if he ultimately failed to tame the Nanming Li Fire, the Zhu Que Army's complete heritage of artifact forging would still be a supreme opportunity for any artifact forger.

"From now on, you will be responsible for forging the Zhu Que Armor; I will assign a batch of artifact forgers to take orders from you."

"One hundred thousand sets of Zhu Que Armor; I hope you and your people can forge them as soon as possible."

"Let's go; I will take you to meet the few persons in charge of managing Li Fire Cliff."

When the Zhu Que Army's artifact forgers and Yuan Xing, Duan Yue, Tang Yuyuan, and the others learned that the person standing beside Hua Changxi was the legendary master forger Gongshu Xingyan, their eyes nearly popped out of their heads.

Among them, Yuan Xing reacted the most strongly.

Back when he had been captured and brought to Li Fire Cliff, Yuan Xing had mentioned Gongshu Xingyan's name before Hua Changxi only to win her favor; he never expected that Hua Changxi would actually rescue the man from the Jiuyou Ghost Realm Fortress.

Seeing the admiration in everyone's eyes, Gongshu Xingyan lifted his chin with great self-satisfaction.

However, thinking that Song Weimin had started with over three hundred subordinates while Hua Changxi showed no intention of making him the head of Li Fire Cliff, he felt somewhat displeased.

"This old man's skill in artifact forging is far superior to theirs."

"All these people ought to obey this old man's commands completely."

Hua Changxi looked at him and said, "Superior artifact forging skills do not mean you possess the ability to lead people; if you want everyone to obey you, it depends on whether you have the ability to make them submit willingly."

Was she letting him act on his own?

Having heard what he wanted to hear, Gongshu Xingyan immediately fell silent.

Regarding Hua Changxi, whether it was yielding the Ghost Fire Token to Jing Sheng or directly delegating authority to let Song Weimin govern Nanxiang County, it was clear she was not someone who clung to power.

If he truly had the ability to make the people of Li Fire Cliff submit willingly, Hua Changxi would have no reason not to let him govern Li Fire Cliff.

The moment he thought of this, Gongshu Xingyan became excited; furthermore, since Hua Changxi had readily yielded the Ghost Fire Well, perhaps, maybe, just possibly, one day he could even become the master of Li Fire Cliff?

One hundred thousand sets of Zhu Que Armor, was it?

He must show off his skills and let Hua Changxi see what a genius master forger truly is!