Chapter 480: The Old Courtyard

The Zhu Que Army took over Nanxiang County's county seat; on the surface, no ripples were stirred, yet beneath the calm, surging undercurrents were significant and expanding with an unstoppable trend.

The Chu Imperial Dynasty still existed in name, but power had already slipped from its grasp.

Hua Changxi sat cross-legged in the sky above Nanxiang County's county seat for three days; after confirming no one was causing trouble, she transformed into a streak of crimson light and headed straight for the Ghost Fire Well.

After nearly half a year of healing and recuperation, Fang Zhuyue and the entire Zhu Que Army had largely recovered from their injuries; even Jing Sheng had regained consciousness, and the nine blood holes behind him had completely healed.

"Jing Sheng."

Hua Changxi slowly stepped into the bottom layer of the prison tower beside the Ghost Fire Well, raising her eyes to look at the figure hovering in cross-legged meditation above the well mouth.

At this moment, Jing Sheng was no longer the childish boy he once was, but had become a young man with a resolute expression and an upright posture.

Hearing the soft call, Jing Sheng suddenly opened his eyes; upon seeing Hua Changxi, he immediately darted down lightly as a swallow, landed steadily, then bowed deeply to Hua Changxi with a solemn expression, his voice trembling slightly: "Thank you, Elder Sister, for saving my life."

Hua Changxi lightly flicked her fingertips, sending out a gentle surge of spiritual energy to lift Jing Sheng up, then smiled and asked: "How do you feel now? Is there any discomfort left in your body?"

Jing Sheng shook his head: "The injuries have also fully healed."

Not only had they healed, but he had also broken through the five shackles of his physical body, as if reborn.

At this moment, the qi and blood throughout his body flowed like a dragon, endlessly irrigating every inch of his tendons and bones.

The lingering sense of emptiness and frailty that had plagued his past cultivation sessions had completely vanished. In its place was an unprecedented fullness and power—the peak of strength he had never reached since beginning his cultivation.

And all this transformation stemmed from the person before him.

Hua Changxi broke into a smile: "That is good. However, the backlash you suffered this time was too severe; your physical body nearly shattered. Do not rush to cultivate; you must rest and recuperate for some more time."

She paused.

"You probably have not yet fully absorbed and refined the medicinal power of the Xuanhuang Fruits. You should enter the Zhurong Tomb to cultivate for a while longer, continuing to nourish and consolidate your physical body, striving to advance it to the next level."

Jing Sheng nodded earnestly to show he had taken note, then flipped his right hand over, revealing a token with swirling dark light in his palm—the Ghost Fire Token.

"Elder Sister, I am fine now; please take back this Ghost Fire Token."

Hua Changxi looked at the Ghost Fire Token but did not accept it: "I recall you saying you are the Well Keeper?"

Jing Sheng nodded.

Hua Changxi gazed at him: "Will you guard the Ghost Fire Well well, preventing ghost qi and ghost fire from leaking into the human world?"

Jing Sheng's expression suddenly turned solemn, and he nodded heavily again: "Of course; this is my duty."

Hearing this, Hua Changxi smiled: "In that case, you should keep this Ghost Fire Token."

Jing Sheng showed a troubled expression: "Elder Sister, treating me so kindly, how can I possibly repay you?"

Not only regarding the Ghost Fire Token; he had also heard from Battalion Commander Fang that, to save him, Elder Sister had spared no expense to help him refine and absorb a full five precious Xuanhuang Fruits.

This debt of gratitude was too great.

Hua Changxi smiled: "Guarding the Ghost Fire Well well is the best repayment to me."

Jing Sheng bowed deeply to Hua Changxi, his voice ringing with determination: "Rest assured, Elder Sister; I will certainly not fail your trust."

Hua Changxi uttered an "Mm," walked toward the Ghost Fire Well, and leaned forward to peer inside.

Seeing this, Jing Sheng felt somewhat puzzled: "Elder Sister, what are you doing?"

Hua Changxi turned to look at him: "Once your body has fully recovered, I intend to enter the Ghost Realm again through the Ghost Fire Well." Then she smiled, "At that time, if you encounter danger, you must pull me out."

Jing Sheng's expression turned solemn; without asking anything, he simply nodded gravely: "Mm."

Hua Changxi gazed darkly at the bottom of the well, and a black blade appeared in her hand, corroded with pits and rust, its blade broken in half.

This broken black blade was one of the three soul weapons she had obtained from the Artifact Sage Palace using the method of 'Seven-Colored Strange Fire Transforming into Great Sun Divine Flame.'

Tong Yao had told her that this blade had no fixed grade; its grade depended on the strength of the user.

Originally, she had nearly forgotten about this broken blade, yet who could have expected that when she previously entered the forbidden area of the Ghost Realm, this black broken blade had actually vibrated slightly.

Hua Changxi still remembered that the reason she had taken this severely damaged black blade back then was because it seemed capable of stirring black flames.

Since the black blade vibrated within the forbidden area of the Ghost Realm, she absolutely had to go investigate what was happening!

"Let's go; I will escort you to the Zhurong Tomb."

After instructing Fang Zhuyue to guard the Ghost Fire Well, Hua Changxi took Jing Sheng straight to the Zhurong Tomb; subsequently, after watching Jing Sheng enter the Zhurong Tomb, she returned to the Lingguang Hall, and then transferred back to the Danyuan Secret Realm.

Because she had treated Zhu Que Army members, Jing Sheng, Song Weimin, and others, the resources Hua Changxi had previously accumulated were nearly exhausted; among them, what pained her most was that the Soul River Water had been used up.

Although she was currently only a Nascent Soul cultivator, she still had to prepare for breaking through to the Spirit Platform realm.

Once a cultivator steps into the Spirit Platform realm, the focus of cultivation undergoes a fundamental shift—from 'opening the Qi Sea and condensing spiritual energy to strengthen the internal Golden Core and Nascent Soul' to 'opening the Sea of Consciousness and accumulating soul power to condense and strengthen the Primordial Spirit.'

Whether opening the Sea of Consciousness or condensing the Primordial Spirit, both require a massive supply of soul power.

Soul River Water was the only resource she currently knew of that could efficiently replenish soul power; now that it was exhausted, she had to quickly find a way to replenish it, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable.

At that time, let alone what was needed for breakthrough, even if an accident caused damage to her soul body, she would find herself with no resources available.

After leaving the secret realm, Hua Changxi headed straight for the old courtyard in the square where Gu Xing resided, located at the northern end of the Alchemy Cauldron Altar Square.

Previously, the Soul River Water in her possession had been taken from the Fuzang Divine Tree space within the Artifact Sage Palace.

Since the Divine Tree space of the Artifact Sage Palace connected to the Soul River, could one not infer that the Divine Tree space of the Alchemy Sage Hall most likely also connected to the Soul River?

Hua Changxi felt this deduction was highly reasonable.

As an outsider, she could not casually enter the Divine Tree space of the Artifact Sage Palace.

But the Divine Tree space of the Alchemy Sage Hall was different; she was a member of the Alchemy Sage Hall and had made some contributions to it, so entering the Divine Tree space once to take a little Soul River Water should be no problem, right?

Looking across the entire Alchemy Sage Hall, the only place Hua Changxi could think of that connected to the Divine Tree space was the old courtyard where Gu Xing resided.

After all, back then, she had seen the illusory image of a towering giant tree through that old courtyard.

That towering giant tree must surely be the Undying Divine Tree!

As soon as Hua Changxi left Danyuan Peak and appeared in the square, she immediately attracted the attention of various factions within the Alchemy Sage Hall.

"Senior Gu!"

Looking at the handsome middle-aged uncle in the courtyard, Hua Changxi still felt somewhat unaccustomed; she still preferred Gu Xing's former appearance as an old man.

Gu Xing looked at Hua Changxi, his eyes flashing with light.

Only about half a year had passed since that earth-shattering battle in the Ghost Domain forbidden lands, yet this girl's aura was now completely concealed, impossible to detect even a trace, proving her injuries had fully healed.

Knowing she never visited without purpose, Gu Xing asked indifferently, "You have business with this old man?"

Hua Changxi smiled at him. "I wish to tour this old courtyard."

At these words, Gu Xing's eyelid twitched violently; then he watched as Hua Changxi began wandering around the courtyard, occasionally tapping here and stepping there.