Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 344: Like a duck in water
In the spacious and bright hall of Bianxi City, Luojia Mountain, Song Xian sat with his eyes closed in front of a humanoid puppet. His split divine consciousness surged into it, and the puppet, which was originally lifeless, seemed to come alive after the divine consciousness entered. Although its appearance did not change, it had a kind of indescribable charm.

After a long while, he opened his eyes, took a deep breath, and a hint of joy flashed in his eyes.

After returning from Xijiang County, he immersed himself in puppet making. After failing to make several puppets in succession, his skills became more and more refined, and he finally succeeded in making a complete puppet body that could receive divine consciousness.

Next, all you need to do is condense your consciousness into Qi every day until the puppet develops a special connection with you. Then, use your own essence and blood to fuse a little bit of the puppet's body to create an even closer connection with you, until your divine sense can control its actions. At that point, the puppet's creation is complete.

At that time, he will be able to truly control the puppet's actions. A second-tier low-grade puppet, its combat power is barely enough to deal with a Foundation Establishment early stage cultivator, which is equivalent to the sect gaining a Foundation Establishment combatant. This is no small matter.

The key is that others don't know this secret, which gives him multiple trump cards.

"Husband, how is it? Is it alright?" Su Zhirou asked expectantly from the side.

"It's done. My split divine consciousness has circulated several times inside this puppet and merged with it." Song Xian smiled slightly. Su Zhirou also deserves credit for his successful creation of this puppet.

She provided him with a lot of help in some key steps. It has to be said that Su Zhirou is indeed very talented in the art of puppetry. His previous failures were due to mistakes in some key steps.

Su Zhirou, however, pinpointed the problem and offered a solution, saving him from many detours.

Before Su Zhirou reached the Foundation Establishment stage, Song Xian was worried that it would distract her from her cultivation, so he did not let her participate in puppet making and only told her to focus on cultivation in preparation for Foundation Establishment.

Only after successfully establishing their foundations did the two begin to study second-tier puppets together. Song Xian also told Dong Chenxuan the essential techniques of her daily cultivation, allowing her to start from scratch.

If Su Zhirou possessed Dong Chenxuan's memory fragments, she would undoubtedly be more suitable than him, and it wouldn't be impossible for her to become a puppet master in the future. Although Song Xian taught Dong Chenxuan all his techniques without reservation, there was still a gap between them, so he was a little lacking.

This puppet was created by the two of them together. Although Song Xian was the one who did the work, Su Zhirou also put in a lot of effort.

Knowing that the puppet had finally successfully sealed its body and entered the stage of condensing consciousness into qi, she was naturally very happy.

After this one is successfully made, she can use the same method to refine other second-tier puppets in the future, and the remaining materials will be enough for her.

As the two walked out of the puppet-making hall, the disciples waiting outside immediately came forward, bowed, and said, "Reporting to the sect leader, Senior Brother Zhang Ningyuan requests an audience and has been waiting for a long time."

Song Xian nodded and went to the waiting room of the mansion. In the inner room, Zhang Ningyuan was already seated. Upon seeing him arrive, he immediately stepped forward to greet him.

"What is it, Senior Brother Ningyuan?"

"Sect Leader, the Huayuan Sect of Yongning City sent people here the day before yesterday, wanting to buy cultivation items from the Muhe Grassland from us. These are their conditions." Zhang Ningyuan flipped his hand and took out a stack of documents, handing them to him.

"Oh! Is that so?" Song Xian took it, glanced at it, and smiled slightly: "They've got a good plan."

Hua Yuanzong was a local bigwig in Yongning City. Song Xian was a little surprised that he took the initiative to come to Song Xianyuan to discuss cooperation, but he immediately understood when he saw the terms.

Since the Hunyuan Sect and the Mingyue Sect began their cooperation, both sides have gained considerable benefits, which has naturally attracted the attention of other sects and forces.

Hua Yuanzong finally couldn't sit still any longer and wanted to get involved, but the price they offered was really outrageous. Including transportation costs, it almost swallowed up all of Hunyuanzong's profits.

"How about I go to Huayuan Sect and talk to them? Huayuan Sect's conditions are just a test. If we really want to cooperate, we should be able to negotiate a lot of profit margin. If we can reach a cooperation agreement with Huayuan Sect, it will be very beneficial to both the sect's reputation and its future development."

"No need to rush. They're the ones who've taken the initiative to seek cooperation; they're the ones who should be anxious. Let's wait until they show some sincerity!"

"it is good."

"By the way, I heard that Junior Brother Zichen had a child with spiritual roots?"

Zhang Ningyuan laughed and said, "That's right, this is Junior Brother Zichen's first child. I didn't expect that his first child would have spiritual root aptitude. He's very happy and wants to hold a big banquet on the fifteenth of next month."

"This is a good thing! The sect also needs the next generation of successors! Someone, come here."

"What are your orders, Sect Leader?" The disciple who had been waiting outside entered and bowed respectfully.

"On the fifteenth of next month, go to Tianshan and give this gift to Junior Brother Zichen on my behalf." Song Xian took out a cloth bag and handed it to him.

"it is good."

"I heard that Senior Brother Wenyuan hasn't been feeling well lately."

"It's still because of the injury I suffered before; it's recurring more frequently now."

"Senior Brother Ningyuan, after you return to Tianshan, send a message to Senior Brother Wenyuan and ask him to come to me."

"Alright. If the sect leader has no further instructions, I'll take my leave now."

Song Xian nodded, and Zhang Ningyuan left in response.

…………

In the spacious and brightly lit hall of Tianshan, a slender man handed a stack of files back to the woman in front of him: "Senior Sister Mu Hong, this won't do."

“Not again.” Upon hearing this, Mu Hong immediately became angry: “We’ve already come several times. Today you have to tell me clearly what’s wrong with it.”

"Senior Sister Mu, please don't make things difficult for us. We're just following the rules."

"What regulations? Tell me, which expense cannot be approved? Where is Senior Brother Lu Yuan? Where is Senior Brother Lu Yuan? I want to see him, I want to ask him face to face why he is always targeting our Zicai Peak. I have personally made three trips for this matter alone. If you don't give me an explanation, I will ask Senior Sister Feng Yan and Senior Brother Zhang Ningyuan to go to the Sect Leader for a hearing."

"Senior Sister Mu, calm down, don't be angry!" The man put on a fawning smile: "To tell you the truth, getting angry with me won't help. The higher-ups mean that your recent expenses have been too high, and they need to cut the budget. Your budget requires more spirit stones than you need, and I think it needs to be cut in at least half."

Mu Hong retorted angrily, "Above? Which above? Is it Senior Brother Lu Yuan, or Senior Brother Zhong Wenyuan?" Mu Hong continued angrily, "Aren't all these expenses necessary? We can't expect you to pay for them with your own spirit stones!"

"In terms of expenditure, we don't even have a fraction of what the Imperial Household Department spends, so why do you never restrict their budgets? But when it comes to us, you keep saying no and no."

"How much do those people in the Personnel Department get for each mission? It's almost two or three times what we get, why don't you mention that?"

The man continued in a gentle tone, "Hey! Senior Sister Mu, don't take it out on me! If I could make the decision, I would definitely approve it. How about this: when Hall Master Lu has time, I'll show him your expenses again."

"I'll go find him myself." Mu Hong grabbed the file and stormed off. A short while later, she arrived at the magnificent and imposing Foreign Affairs Hall, strode to a room on the third floor of the pavilion, and pushed open the door to enter.

Inside, Feng Yan was reviewing the case files when she saw her angry expression and asked in surprise, "What's wrong?"

"This is outrageous!" Mu Hong slammed the case file on her desk. "The Finance Department won't approve it. I've already run around three times for this."

"If you don't want to approve it, then don't! It's not the first time, why are you so angry?"

“I’ve already made the announcement, and my men are all eagerly waiting for me to distribute spirit stone rewards to them. A while ago, the Economic and Trade Peak transported a batch of supplies to Humen City, and each person received a subsidy of 150 spirit stones. The task we completed this time was much harder than theirs. We’ve been busy for so long, and we only need 1,000 spirit stones in total, but the Finance Department just won’t approve it. How am I supposed to explain this to my men?”

Feng Yan smiled slightly: "Is it worth getting so angry over such a small matter? You're not a newcomer to the sect. What kind of relationship does Junior Brother Jiang have with them? Can you compare?"

"I'm just furious. They're so blatant. Just because we're newcomers, they target us and make things difficult for us at every turn. What's so great about them? They were so poor back then. If we hadn't gone out and tried so hard to sell so many Jade Fragrance Pills, would they be living such a good life now?"

Feng Yan immediately interrupted, "Don't say these things. If someone hears you, you'll just be asking for trouble."

Mu Hong snorted coldly: "Sister Yan'er, you should just transfer me to an outside shop! Any shop will do, I don't want to put up with this anymore."

"Alright, stop complaining. Wasn't it you who insisted on being transferred back to the sect? Keep this here! I'll take it to the Finance Department and have them sign it when I have the chance."

"I don't think Lu Yuan will necessarily give you face. They are..."

Before Mu Hong could finish speaking, footsteps sounded from outside, and she stopped talking.

Soon, there was a knock on the door.

Feng Yan called out "Come in!" and a man walked in; it was Jiang Zichen.

"Senior Sister Feng, this is the account book of the Stone Workshop for the past three months. Please take a look." Jiang Zichen handed the account book to Feng Yan with a harmless and warm smile, then turned to Mu Hong: "Junior Sister Mu is here too. My son's wedding banquet is next month. I would like to ask Junior Sister Mu to grace us with your presence. I was originally planning to personally deliver the invitation to Junior Sister Mu's residence this evening, but since we have met here, I will not go to your home."

"Senior Brother Jiang is truly blessed. Not only is he thriving in the sect, but he has also married a beautiful and virtuous wife and given birth to a son with spiritual roots. No wonder he always has a smiling face."

"Junior Sister Mu, what's wrong? You seem unhappy. Who upset you?"

"Ignore her, she was just turned away at the Finance Hall and is in a bad mood," Feng Yan interjected.

"If it's a matter concerning the sect, do it if you can, and let it go if you can't. Why get angry and hurt yourself? It's not worth it."

"If I had the same influence as Junior Brother Jiang, I could just ask for anything and get it without getting angry."

Jiang Zichen still smiled and asked, "What's the matter?"

Feng Yan handed him the files on the desk: "It's nothing serious. Zi Caifeng went to the Muhe Grassland to buy a batch of goods a while ago, right? She promised her subordinates that they would all be rewarded after the matter was completed. But the Finance Department refused to approve the application for 1,000 spirit stones, no matter how many times she went back and forth."

"So that's what it is." Jiang Zichen saw Feng Yan hand him the file and immediately understood her meaning: "I'm going to send an invitation to Senior Brother Lu tonight to invite him to the banquet. I'll take this opportunity to talk to him and see if he can make an exception."

"Then I'll have to trouble you. Your intervention will be much more effective than mine." Feng Yan looked at Mu Hong: "Junior Brother Jiang is speaking up for you, so you should be able to rest assured!"

"Thank you very much, Senior Brother Jiang."

"Junior Sister Mu, you're being too polite. It's nothing, no need for thanks. If there's nothing else, I'll be going now." Jiang Zichen turned and left the room, returning to the Jingmao Peak Hall. After finishing his business, it was already night. He left the main hall and went straight to Lin Zixiang's residence. After waiting for a short while, he was invited into the inner room.

Inside the brightly lit hall, Jiang Zichen entered from outside and saw Lin Zixiang sitting in the main seat, with another person below him, namely Lu Yuan.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Lin."

"No need for formalities, please sit down! Junior Brother Jiang, what brings you here today? Is there anything I can help you with?"

Jiang Zichen pulled out a red invitation card and handed it to Lin Zixiang with both hands: "My wife has given birth to a son, and I plan to hold a celebratory banquet at my residence. I hope that Senior Brother Lin will do me the honor of attending."

“I had forgotten about that,” Lin Zixiang said with a smile. “Back then, Junior Brother Jiang was the youngest among us, and now he is married with children. Thinking back to when we left Qingyun Sect for Bianxia Town, it feels like a lifetime ago.”

"Thank you for your care over the years, Senior Brother Lin. If you are free on the 15th of next month, please come again."

"Okay, if I'm free, I'll go and support you."

“Since Senior Brother Lu is here as well, I won’t make a special trip to your residence to visit you and disturb your peace.” Jiang Zichen then pulled out another invitation.

Lu Yuan reached out and took it: "Junior Brother Zichen, have you sent this invitation to the sect leader?"

"Not yet! The sect leader is far away in Bianxi City. I haven't decided whether to bother him. I was just about to ask my two senior brothers whether we should send it to the sect leader. Logically speaking, it's not appropriate to bother the sect leader with such a small matter from so far away."

Whether the sect leader is willing to come or not is his business; whether you invite him or not is your business.

"Brother Lin is right, I know what to do."

The three chatted for a while longer before Jiang Zichen got up to take his leave. After leaving the main hall, he waited outside. After a while, he saw Lu Yuan come out from inside and went to greet him.

"Why hasn't Junior Brother Zichen left yet?"

"There's something I'd like to ask Senior Brother Lu for a favor, but it's not appropriate to say it in front of Senior Brother Lin."

"what's up?"

Jiang Zichen then recounted the events: "Junior Sister Mu Hong was so angry she was almost crying, so Senior Sister Feng asked me to ask Senior Brother Lu for leniency. Senior Brother Lu knows that we used to be together a lot when we were in Qingfeng Workshop. Now we both work in the External Affairs Hall, so we see each other all the time. I couldn't refuse, so I had no choice but to shamelessly come to Senior Brother Lu."

"You!" Lu Yuan shook his head. "Never mind, I'll talk to them later!"

"Thank you, Senior Brother Lu."

(End of this chapter)