Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 347 Five levels of foundation building
"Our sect can no longer produce so many spirit stones," Song Xian replied neither humbly nor arrogantly.

Pang Tong's face instantly darkened: "What does this mean? Senior Brother Jiang takes 30% of the gambling city's revenue and 40% of the market's revenue, and you all give him that. I only want half, but you say you can't afford it. Do you think I'm not qualified? Or do you think Senior Brother Jiang can protect you forever?"

Song Xian met his gaze frankly: "That's not how it works. The Stone Ridge Casino and Marketplace don't make much profit to begin with, and our sect has invested so many people in them. Besides Steward Jiang, the Luoyun Sect also takes a cut. If we give half to Steward Pang, what will our sect's many disciples eat and drink? We can't have our sect put spirit stones into running a casino and marketplace."

"I heard that your market town was built without the sect's permission. What will happen if the sect finds out?"

When Pang Tong realized that force wouldn't work, he resorted to threats, which revealed that he wasn't very shrewd or calculating.

“If it is absolutely necessary for Master Pang to do this, our sect can only await your sect’s decision. However, I have another suggestion. Master Pang can discuss with Master Jiang about taking half of what he receives. As long as Master Jiang agrees, I will offer it to him immediately.”

"Of course, if Fellow Daoist Pang feels that Steward Jiang should not take this share and requests that our sect transfer all of this income to you in the future, our sect will comply. However, if you insist that our sect take a cut from the gambling city and the market, please forgive me for being unable to do so."

Pang Tong's face was so gloomy it looked like it was about to drip water: "No wonder people say that you were all promoted by Senior Brother Jiang and only listen to his orders. It seems that what they say is true."

“Master Jiang has indeed done our clan a great favor, and we will always remember it and never forget it. However, our clan does not obey Master Jiang’s orders, but rather obeys your clan’s orders. I have already said that if Master Pang requires our clan to transfer 30% of the gambling city’s revenue and 40% of the market’s revenue to you in the future, I will do so. But if you insist on making things difficult for our clan by taking a separate cut from the gambling city and the market, our clan simply cannot continue to operate.”

Song Xian tried to keep a low profile and didn't want to have a direct conflict with him.

A silence fell over the hall. Pang Tong remained silent, so Song Xian offered a way out: "If it's inconvenient for Steward Pang, how about I send someone to speak to Steward Jiang and have him take half of the revenue? From now on, he'll take 15% of the gambling city's revenue, and you'll take 15%. The market will each take 20%. What do you say?"

"No need," Pang Tong said coldly. "I will handle this matter myself."

"If there are no further instructions from Master Pang, I shall take my leave now."

Song Xian turned and left.

.........

After that, Pang Tong did not summon him to inquire about the matter again. However, more than a month later, Zhang Ningyuan from Xijiang County sent a message saying that the Beast Taming Sect had received Pang Tong's report on the Stone Ridge Market.

Song Xian was not surprised that Pang Tong would make such a choice. First of all, he did not have a deep friendship with Jiang Feng, and he must have had someone supporting him to get to this position.

Although Jiang Feng was promoted to a cabinet member, he was not Jiang Feng's direct superior, and this matter was excessive, which was tantamount to taking food from Jiang Feng's mouth.

Given Pang Tong's upright and unyielding nature, he would most likely choose to retaliate.

If he were to directly seize the revenue from the casino and the market, that would be a form of retaliation, but doing so would create a grudge against Jiang Feng.

Reporting formally to the sect was within his authority and was reasonable, making his counterattack relatively mild.

If the Beast Taming Sect issues an order disapproving of the construction of the market in Tianshan and demanding its closure, Jiang Feng will naturally lose his share of the profits.

If the Beast Taming Sect agrees, then the share of the profits will have to be handed over to the sect.

The final result did not disappoint Song Xian. With Zhang Ningyuan's planning and efforts, the disciples of the Beast Taming Sect in charge of this matter were all bribed. The Beast Taming Sect not only recognized the official status of the market, but also sent shops to settle in Stone Ridge.

.........

Time flies like an arrow, and several years have passed in the blink of an eye.

In a dimly lit cultivation room on Mount Luojia, Song Xian sat upright with his eyes closed. His spiritual energy surged from his Linghai acupoint like a tide, flowing along his meridians. In an instant, an indescribable feeling of comfort and warmth enveloped his entire body.

He opened his eyes, exhaled a breath of stale air, and a hint of joy appeared on his face.

Just now, his cultivation broke through to the fifth level of Foundation Establishment. Under the inner vision of the Eye of True Observation, the spiritual power in his body reached 1300 points.

After one's cultivation enters the Foundation Establishment stage, although one may encounter bottlenecks, most of them occur at the threshold of minor realms, such as from the early to the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.

From the middle stage of foundation building to the later stage of foundation building.

From the late stage of foundation building to the completion of foundation building.

Under normal circumstances, there are usually no bottlenecks. The process of building a foundation from the fourth to the fifth or sixth level is generally a natural one.

A year ago, he had already predicted that he would break through to the fifth level this year, so he wasn't too excited, but he couldn't help feeling happy.

Only when a cultivator encounters a Sighing Tribulation can they possibly encounter a bottleneck in their daily cultivation.

The so-called "sighing calamity" is generally considered by the cultivation community to be a kind of inner demon.

In the long and monotonous practice, cultivators are prone to numbness and growing apathy towards cultivation. These negative emotions accumulate over time and eventually lead to the Sighing Tribulation.

The Sighing Tribulation is a cultivation bottleneck that cultivators fear most, because it appears without warning, its cause is unknown, and there is no cure.

Ordinary cultivation bottlenecks can be overcome with special elixirs, and even life-or-death battles offer a chance of breakthrough.

The Lamentation Tribulation is different; it is a kind of inner demon that can only be overcome by oneself.

The inner demon is always mysterious and profound; no one knows how to resolve it.

Everyone has a different identity and experience, and the trials they go through are different. There is no successful case that can be replicated.

This leaves one at a loss, and the Sighing Tribulation has another characteristic: the higher one's cultivation level, the more likely one is to encounter it, while those with lower cultivation levels are less likely to encounter it.

Cultivators at the Qi Refining stage rarely encounter this bottleneck; on the contrary, those at the Golden Core and Nascent Soul stages are much more likely to encounter it.

Throughout history, countless geniuses have fallen at this hurdle.

There are countless examples of exceptionally talented individuals who have a smooth and successful life of cultivation, advancing to the Golden Core and Nascent Soul stages, only to suffer through hundreds of years of hardship due to the Sighing Tribulation, never making any further progress in their cultivation and dying in despair.

However, these are not things that Song Xian needs to consider right now. At this moment, he is immersed in the joy of his breakthrough in cultivation, enjoying the comfortable feeling of spiritual energy automatically flowing along the meridians in his body, until all the gushing spiritual energy flows back to the Linghai acupoint.

He withdrew his mind, closed his eyes again, entered a state of meditation, and refined the spiritual energy that flowed into his body.

As night fell, Song Xian returned to his residence after a day of cultivation. As soon as he entered the inner room, a disciple came up to him and bowed: "Sect Leader, Senior Brother Yu Lian has arrived. He said that Elder Zhong's old illness has relapsed, and he is bedridden. His condition is very serious, and it is said that he is about to die."

Upon hearing this, Song Xian immediately frowned, feeling somewhat heavy-hearted. In recent years, Zhong Wenyuan's health had been deteriorating, with his old ailments recurring frequently, clearly indicating that his time was near. The fact that Tianshan had specifically sent someone to deliver this message meant that the situation was extremely dire; otherwise, they wouldn't have specifically reported on this matter.

“Summon him here.”

"Yes." The disciple responded and left. Soon, Yu Lian arrived at the main hall of the mansion.

"Meet the Headmaster."

"How is Senior Brother Wen Yuan doing?"

Yu Lian's expression was grave: "Three days ago, Senior Brother Zhong suddenly fell into a coma. He woke up after taking a Heart-Protecting Pill, but then vomited blood repeatedly. His spiritual energy was uncontrollably escaping. I have come to report to the Sect Leader on Senior Brother Lin's orders."

Song Xian nodded silently. His spiritual energy was uncontrollably escaping, a sign that the cultivator was about to pass away. ...

As night fell, the moon shone like a round inkstone. In the dimly lit cultivation room, Lin Zixiang remained seated with his eyes closed, absorbing and refining the spiritual energy within his body.

Although he broke through to the Foundation Establishment Realm, he remained consistent in his cultivation and never slacked off in the slightest, cultivating for at least eight or nine hours a day.

At that moment, a knocking sound came from the outside. He opened his eyes, waved his hand, and the stone door opened.

"Reporting to Elder Lin, Elder Zhong has awakened and says he wants to see you."

Upon hearing this, George Lam immediately got up and went outside. Soon, he arrived at the Zhong Wenyuan residence and entered the house.

Zhong Wenyuan's face was as white as paper. When he saw him arrive, he slowly turned his head.

"Senior Brother Zhong, you're awake." Lin Zixiang walked quickly to him.

"Cough cough." Zhong Wenyuan was about to speak when he suddenly coughed violently, and blood trickled from his mouth.

"Take this first." Lin Zixiang took out a pill from his hand and put it into his mouth.

Zhong Wenyuan waved his hand and took a few deep breaths: "It's no use, I'm going to die soon! No need to deceive yourself, everyone dies, my fate was sealed the moment I failed to build my foundation."

Lin Zixiang remained silent, only looking at him with a heavy expression: "Senior Brother Zhong, is there anything else you want to say?"

Zhong Wenyuan looked at him and said, "When a person is about to die, their words are good. There are some things I didn't want to say before, but if I don't say them now, I won't have the chance later."

"Senior Brother Zhong, go ahead and speak! I'm listening."

“Junior Brother Lin, listen to my advice, don’t argue with the sect leader anymore, it won’t do you any good. I know you…” Zhong Wenyuan hadn’t finished speaking when he suddenly coughed again.

George Lam quickly patted his chest to help him.

After coughing for a while, just as Zhong Wenyuan was about to speak, a disciple from the outer room quickly walked in.

"Elder Zhong, Elder Lin, the sect leader has arrived."

"Junior Brother Lin, please go and greet them for me."

"Okay." Lin Zixiang turned and left. As soon as he stepped out of the room, he saw Song Xian walking towards him.

"Headmaster."

"Senior Brother Zixiang is here too! How is Senior Brother Wenyuan doing? I heard he's not doing well."

George Lam shook his head: "I'm afraid there aren't many days left."

"I'll go see Senior Brother Wen Yuan first." Song Xian walked into the room and looked at Zhong Wen Yuan, who was so thin and frail on the sickbed. He suddenly remembered the first time the two of them met and a wave of sorrow washed over him.

"Sect Leader." Zhong Wenyuan propped himself up with his hands, trying to stand up and bow.

"Brother Wenyuan, you should rest well!" Song Xian came to his side, gently pressed his palm, and gestured for him to lie down: "I heard that your old illness has relapsed, so I came to see you."

"Thank you, Master."

"I should thank you. If it weren't for you managing all the affairs of the sect all these years, I wouldn't be able to enjoy such an easy life."

"Does the sect leader still remember when we left the Qingyun Sect and settled in Guzi Ridge?"

Zhong Wenyuan gazed vaguely outside, his voice carrying a sense of remoteness.

"Of course, how could I forget?"

"Actually, at first, I didn't think the sect leader was capable of leading everyone to stay here for a long time. I thought, what skills could a twenty-year-old kid have? To be honest, when I first arrived at Guzi Mountain, I was quite desperate and thought we were doomed."

Song Xian smiled slightly: "It's only human nature! I didn't know if I could settle down back then either."

Zhong Wenyuan fell silent, his deep eyes fixed on the east window, as if looking back to a distant past. His face showed sorrow, and his voice was low and whispered.

"The sect leader is right. I...I bear responsibility for the destruction of the Qingyun Sect."

Song Xian remained silent.

The destruction of the Qingyun Sect has always been a heavy burden in Zhong Wenyuan's heart. He grew up in the Qingyun Sect and his feelings for it were naturally exceptionally deep.

Especially since he was Zhang Shilin's most trusted person, although he was an inner sect steward, he was actually in charge of most of the sect's affairs. However, in the end, he caused the sect to split, the sect elders colluded with external enemies, and he himself ended up being kicked out of the sect and leaving in a sorry state.

The reason why the Qingyun Sect split was because he failed to ease the relationship with Chang Jinmian, and instead exacerbated the division between the two factions within the sect.

Although he never said it aloud, he always kept it in his heart.

Therefore, his dedication and hard work for the Hunyuan Sect over the years is partly due to his desire to make up for the mistakes of the Qingyun Sect.

"Senior Brother Wenyuan, there's no need to blame yourself. The responsibility for the Qingyun Sect doesn't lie solely with you, and all of that is in the past. Our sect is now even stronger than the Qingyun Sect, all thanks to your dedicated management."

“What a pity…what a pity…Hun Yuan Sect…is ultimately not Qing Yun Sect…” Zhong Wenyuan’s eyes were full of regret, and tears could be faintly seen glistening in them.

"Since Senior Brother Wenyuan has brought this up, I happen to have something to discuss with you. Do you remember, we discussed once before who would succeed you as the chief cabinet secretary after your passing?"

Zhong Wenyuan finally turned his gaze from the east window to Song Xian: "The sect leader should have already made a decision by now!"

Song Xian nodded: "I still think that Senior Brother Lin Zixiang is not suitable for this position."

"Who is the sect leader considering?"

"Senior Brother Ningyuan, what do you think?" Song Xian had actually been considering Zhang Ningyuan and Lu Yuan, but after the incident at the market last time, he had decided on Zhang Ningyuan.

Since taking charge of the sect's external affairs, Zhang Ningyuan has performed exceptionally well, handling numerous tasks with ease. He has accomplished everything assigned to him. More importantly, he is passionate about these matters, which is of utmost importance.

Lin Zixiang's shortcoming lies in this: he is focused on cultivation and pays little attention to worldly affairs. He relies on people who are good at making money for him. Although they are qualified, prestigious, and skilled in cultivation, if he were to become the chief of the cabinet, the sect's atmosphere would inevitably deteriorate.

Zhong Wenyuan looked outside the room and remained silent for a while before slowly saying, "The person the sect leader has chosen will not be wrong."

Song Xian patted his hand and nodded.

The two had never had a harmonious relationship, but in the end, Zhong Wenyuan still accepted Zhang Ningyuan, entirely out of a sense of responsibility to the sect.

(End of this chapter)