Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 358 Spreading the News
The reason Song Xian ordered Lin Zixiang to go to Tianshan to meet up with the evacuation team was because he was worried that Luoyun Sect would send Foundation Establishment cultivators to lie in ambush near Tianshan, discover their evacuation plan, and directly intercept the spirit ship disguised as a cargo ship heading to Muhe Grassland.

Of course, this possibility is relatively small. Logically speaking, Luoyun Sect would concentrate its forces to attack Luojia Mountain first, because all the Foundation Establishment cultivators of Hunyuan Sect are on Luojia Mountain. As long as Luojia Mountain is taken, Tianshan Mountain can be breached without a fight, and there is no need to send a few Foundation Establishment cultivators to keep an eye on Tianshan Mountain.

After all, the Luoyun Sect only has eleven Foundation Establishment cultivators. Excluding the Foundation Establishment cultivator who led the team to Humen City, the sect only has ten Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Sending two or three more Foundation Establishment cultivators to Tianshan to monitor the situation would result in insufficient forces to attack Luojia Mountain.

He sent George Lam to meet him just in case, and seeing him return safely and calmly, he felt somewhat relieved.

"Rest assured, Master, everything went smoothly. They have all safely evacuated from Tianshan. However..."

"What's wrong? Has something happened?"

"No, that's not the case. It's just that Junior Brother Zhang Ningyuan had some objections. Originally, those disciples didn't know that they were going to evacuate Bianxi City. After boarding the spirit ship and sailing out of Bianxi City, they found out that they had to abandon the Tianshan industry and join the Beast Taming Sect. They were all unwilling and clamored to return to Tianshan. If I hadn't arrived in time, there might have been an internal conflict."

Song Xian remained silent. Most of the disciples in the sect were former Tianshan Sect cultivators and newly recruited rogue cultivators. These people did not have a strong sense of belonging to the Hunyuan Sect to begin with, so they were naturally unwilling to follow the sect through its ups and downs.

They ate and lived well in the Tianshan Mountains. They had spiritual veins, resource-rich areas, gambling dens, markets, checkpoints, and various other sources of income.

Leaving Bianxi City now would mean abandoning all their businesses, so those in mid- to high-level positions certainly wouldn't want to leave.

For many people, there is no difference between following the Hunyuan Sect and the Luoyun Sect. As long as their position remains unchanged and their income does not decrease, they are even happy to join the Luoyun Sect.

However, Song Xian could not allow them to stay or leave as they pleased.

Seeing that he remained silent, Lin Zixiang added, "If we don't return to Bianxi City as soon as possible, a large portion of the sect will abandon us. Right now, we can forcibly drag them away with the sect, but if this goes on for too long, morale will drop, and it won't be so easy to keep them."

Song Xian glanced at him, knowing that Lin Zixiang also wanted to return to Bianxi City as soon as possible, and was using those troublemakers in the sect to put pressure on him.

In truth, he also longed to stay in Bianxi City, but he had more to consider.

"Once we arrive in Xijiang County, I will immediately go to the Beast Taming Sect and ask them to send troops to retake Bianxi City. Like you, I also want to return to Tianshan as soon as possible."

.........

As the sun sets in the west, the sky turns crimson.

Inside the camp in Humen City, several leading cultivators from the Luoyun Sect gathered together. The one sitting at the head of the group was a burly man with broad shoulders and a thick waist, Shen You, a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Luoyun Sect.

"Uncle Shen, what are your orders for summoning us here?" asked a disciple of the Luoyun Sect who was seated at the lower end.

"Listen up, everyone. You will immediately lead your teams away from here and return to the sect." Shen You lowered his voice, his expression unusually solemn.

"leave here?"

"Why is that? We just arrived, why do we have to go back?"

"Shall we leave now? Should we inform Senior Pang Tong?"

The group was all taken aback and looked at each other in surprise.

"This is the sect leader's order. As for why, you don't need to know. If you don't want to die, do as I say. After you leave here, scatter and escape. Remember not to return in groups, lest the Beast Taming Sect send people to pursue you."

Upon hearing this, the group was both shocked and frightened. It seemed that something terrible had happened, and they not only had to leave, but also had to scatter and flee.

"May I ask, Uncle-Master, what exactly happened?" one of them couldn't help but ask.

"No need to ask any more questions, go now!" Shen You waved them away forcefully, not allowing them any room for doubt.

He was certainly aware of the truth. Tao Jinyuan had informed him before he set off, instructing him to return to the sect as soon as possible after camping with Pang Tong at Humen City.

Therefore, as soon as he arrived, he was given a post in charge of stationing troops at the front by Commander Pang, and he led his disciples away from the main force in order to break away from the control of the Beast Taming Sect.

Knowing that the sect might take action against Hunyuan Sect at any time and that the news might leak out at any time, he immediately summoned several trusted disciples as soon as he left the Beast Taming Sect camp.

……

"Uncle-Master, something terrible has happened! The cultivators of the Falling Cloud Sect have betrayed us and abandoned Tianxiang Valley. Their whereabouts are unknown." In a tent in the eastern part of Tiger Gate City, a disciple of the Beast Taming Sect hurriedly entered from outside and bowed to Pang Tong.

"The Falling Cloud Sect has fled?" Pang Tong's eyes flashed with a sharp light. Not long ago, Shen You, the leader of the Falling Cloud Sect, volunteered to lead the vanguard of the team to guard Tianxiang Valley in order to prevent the Windwalking Sect from attacking from here. He did not expect that they would flee without a fight.

"Did the Fengxing Sect send people to launch a large-scale attack on Tianxiang Valley?" He then added a question. In his opinion, the Luoyun Sect would not abandon its defenses and flee without a reason. They must have been frightened by the large-scale invasion of the Fengxing Sect and fled without a fight.

These recruited sect troops were timid and cowardly, always wanting to retreat in the face of battle. They often collapsed in a single battle or even fled at the first sign of trouble. He was already used to this, so when Shen You volunteered, he agreed to be in the vanguard without hesitation. It was rare for someone to be so decisive, so he naturally had no reason not to accept.

"The Fengxing Sect did not send anyone to attack, and I do not know why. The Luoyun Sect suddenly assembled its troops and left. I tried to stop them and demand an explanation, but they ignored me completely. They outnumbered me and I could not stop them."

"How could this happen? Are you sure nothing happened and they just left like that? Tell me honestly, did you or some of you have a conflict with them?"

Pang Tong frowned, suspecting that the Beast Taming Sect disciples he had sent to supervise had abused their status to humiliate the Luo Yun Sect cultivators, which had caused the Luo Yun Sect cultivators to leave in anger.

"I swear on my life that nothing happened. I have no idea why they left so suddenly."

"Where did they go?" Pang Tong couldn't sit still any longer and suddenly stood up.

"After leaving Tianxiang Valley, I saw them heading north, probably returning to Bianxi City."

Pang Tong flashed out of the tent, his escape light rising, and he quickly disappeared from sight.

.........

As night fell, the stars seemed to rain down.

In the brightly lit hall of the Luoyun Sect in Bianxi City, several core figures of the Luoyun Sect gathered in a room, the atmosphere quite solemn.

"The disciples monitoring Tianshan reported that around the time we were preparing to attack Luojia Mountain, several spirit ships from Tianshan began sailing towards the Muhe Grassland. Although they had doubts, they dared not act rashly. It wasn't until they saw a large number of Hunyuan Sect disciples' families living nearby being taken to Tianshan that they realized something was wrong," Duan Quan said in a low voice. Jin Yuanxing's face was gloomy: "Song Xian saw through our plan long ago. I've already searched Lu Kui's soul; he wasn't lying. Song Xian did this on purpose to make us mistakenly believe he had been tricked, thus ignoring the spirit ship sailing west."

"According to the two disciples we captured who were on the spirit ship heading to Black Turtle Island, they were completely unaware of what was going on. After Song Xian and Su Zhirou boarded the spirit ship, they went into their cabins and told the others not to disturb them. Around midnight, a Hunyuan Sect disciple named Qiu Xuan, who was leading the group, summoned them and said that Song Xian had left a jade slip instructing them to abandon ship and escape to meet up with Hu Xiaobao in Humen City. He also told them to scatter and escape."

"What I'm worried about now is the situation with Junior Brother Shen You. Since Song Xian already knew about our plan, he must have sent someone to inform Pang Tong. If Junior Brother Shen You doesn't evacuate in time, the disciples we sent might be surrounded and killed."

Jiang Jian's expression was solemn: "Although we took Luojia Mountain and Tianshan Mountain without shedding a drop of blood, the Hunyuan Sect suffered almost no losses. Now that they have left Bianxi City, they will definitely ask the Beast Taming Sect to send troops."

"At the earliest, within a few days, the Beast Taming Sect will bring a large army to our borders, and their troops supporting Tiger Gate City may turn around and attack us directly."

"We never expected Song Xian to be so cunning; we've all fallen for his trick."

"The Fengxing Sect, leading the sect cultivators from Anyuan City, has already besieged Humen City. I don't think the Beast Taming Sect's reinforcements for Humen City will leave, but in any case, we must be fully prepared to deal with it."

Tao Jinyuan remained silent, his eyes flickering slightly. After they finished speaking, they all looked at him, waiting for him to make a decision.

"Song Xian has not been eliminated, and he remains a hidden danger. Letting a tiger return to the mountain will bring endless troubles in the future." After a long silence, Tao Jinyuan finally spoke, his words seeming to be squeezed out from between his teeth.

.........

"Uncle-Master Pang, you're back." As soon as Pang Tong's escape light faded and he returned to his tent, a disciple of the Beast Taming Sect hurriedly came forward and bowed.

"What happened now?" Pang Tong asked with a gloomy face. He had gone to chase after the cultivators of Luoyun Sect who had abandoned their formation and fled, wanting to find out what had happened. However, a large number of Luoyun Sect cultivators had disappeared without a trace. He searched for a long time before he saw a few lone Luoyun Sect teams, each with only three to five people.

Under interrogation, they learned that after leaving Tianxiang Valley, the cultivators of Luoyun Sect had scattered and fled in different groups. They did not know why they had done so, only that Shen Youyan had been ordered by the sect leader Tao Jinyuan to flee Humen City and return to Luoyun Sect to regroup.

This made him realize that something was wrong; something unusual must be going on.

"Hu Xiaobao of the Hunyuan Sect has urgent business to discuss and has been urging us to come to you. He seems to be in a great hurry, but when I asked him, he remained silent."

Hu Xiaobao? Pang Tong's pupils dilated slightly, as if he understood something, and he immediately strode into the tent.

"Master Pang, something has happened." Hu Xiaobao immediately got up to greet him upon his return, his expression extremely grave.

"What's wrong?" Pang Tong's heart sank when he saw his expression, which further confirmed his suspicions.

"The Luoyun Sect is stabbing us in the back, intending to ambush and kill our sect leader and annex the Hunyuan Sect. Our sect leader suspects that they have already secretly negotiated terms with the Fengxing Sect and the Yunxuan Sect, planning to switch sides with them." Hu Xiaobao flipped his hand and took out a jade slip: "This is what our sect leader asked me to give you."

Pang Tong immediately took the jade slip, probed it with his divine sense, and his face instantly turned ashen.

"When did Fellow Daoist Song give you this jade slip?"

"Just now, our sect leader sent a disciple here. I heard that the people of Luoyun Sect have abandoned Tianxiang Valley and have gone nowhere. This shows that they had planned this all along. Master Pang, this matter must be informed to Senior Zhan immediately. Once Luoyun Sect succeeds and unifies Bianxi City, they will form a pincer movement against us, and we will be attacked from both sides."

Pang Tong nodded and was about to leave when he suddenly stopped: "Come with me. When Uncle Zhan asks questions later, there are many things I need you to answer."

"Okay." Hu Xiaobao replied and left the tent with him. The two of them rose into the air and traveled for an hour or two before arriving at the main camp of the Bright Moon Sect.

Pang Tong entered a large hall first, while Hu Xiaobao waited outside. After a while, a cultivator from the Beast Taming Sect called him inside, and he went in.

Inside, a thin old man with slightly graying temples sat in the main seat; he was Zhan Yuanqiu, a Golden Core cultivator from the Beast Taming Sect.

Below, Pang Tong bowed slightly, showing utmost respect.

"Junior Hu Xiaobao greets Senior Zhan."

"What's the situation in Bianxi City now?" Zhan Yuanqiu was not tall, but his voice was loud and clear, full of energy. He got straight to the point without any small talk.

"This junior is also unaware. Our sect leader only sent someone to deliver the message. That person knew nothing except for bringing the jade slip."

"Does your Hunyuan Sect and Luoyun Sect have any conflicts?"

Hu Xiaobao lowered his head and said, "The wife of our sect's leader is the niece of the wife of the leader of the Luoyun Sect. Our two families have always been on good terms, with no conflicts whatsoever. On the contrary, we often visit each other and have many cooperative businesses. Please forgive my boldness in speaking frankly, but the Luoyun Sect is targeting our sect because our sect is loyal to your sect. It knows that if it does not eliminate our sect, it will be unable to lead the rebellion of Bianxi City against the Yunxuan Sect. Now, the cultivators recruited by the Luoyun Sect have scattered and fled, which is enough to show that the Luoyun Sect has decided to betray your sect."

"When did the person your sect sent depart?"

"He set off from our sect's mountain gate six days ago, traveling day and night without the slightest delay, and finally arrived."

Zhan Yuanqiu waved his hand without changing his expression: "I know about this matter. If Luoyun Sect turns against Yunxuan Sect, our sect will not sit idly by."

“But…” Hu Xiaobao was about to say something, but as soon as he opened his mouth to utter a word, Zhan Yuanqiu’s cold gaze swept over him. He was startled and immediately shut his mouth, said goodbye and left.

After waiting outside for a short while, Pang Tong came out from inside. Hu Xiaobao hurriedly went up to him and asked, "Master Pang, what did Senior Zhan say?"

Pang Tong looked rather unwell, seemingly quite depressed. It was unclear whether he was concerned about Bianxi City or had been reprimanded. As the person in charge of Bianxi City, he had been completely unaware of the Luoyun Sect's betrayal beforehand, leading to this situation. In any case, he was to blame.

"The reinforcements from Fengxing Sect and Yunxuan Sect have joined forces. Now is a critical moment, and we cannot leave Humen City. However, Uncle Zhan has already sent someone to report to the sect, and I believe the sect will send troops to recapture Bianxi City."

Zhan Yuanqiu's decision was not unexpected by Hu Xiaobao, because Song Xian had already explained the plan in the jade slip, and Hunyuanzong decided to preserve his strength and temporarily withdraw from Bianxi City.

Therefore, Zhan Yuanqiu would be even less likely to send troops to support Bianxi City. After all, his mission was to defend Humen City.

"Why didn't Fellow Daoist Song send a Foundation Establishment cultivator to deliver the message? If he had arrived sooner, at least those people from the Falling Cloud Sect wouldn't have been able to escape."

“There are probably spies from the Luoyun Sect monitoring the area around Luojia Mountain and even inside the mountain gate. If they discover that a Foundation Establishment cultivator is leaving, they will definitely be alert. That’s why the sect leader sent an inconspicuous Qi Refining cultivator to take a long detour and make sure no one was following him before daring to come here.”

"There's no point in saying more now that things have come to this. Let's deal with the immediate issues. Now that Luoyun Sect has left, people are bound to be in a state of panic. Fellow Daoist Hu, we can't reveal the situation in Bianxi City for the time being, otherwise, if morale collapses, we might not even be able to hold Humen City."

"Don't worry, Manager Pang, I understand."

(End of this chapter)