Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 383 Residual Resources
As Song Xian's escape light faded in front of the Tianshan Hall, Lu Yuan came to greet him.

It turned out that Ding Wenxiang of the Ding family and Liu Yong, the head of the Jiangliu Sect in the neighboring town, had arrived. They had been waiting for him for several hours. Lu Yuan advised them to come back tomorrow, but they insisted on waiting for him to return.

Song Xian naturally knew why the two had come. When he left Xijiang County, he had visited Jiang Feng and learned from him that the Beast Taming Sect planned to eliminate a group of rebellious sects as a warning to others.

The two men rushed to see him on the very first day of his return, their purpose self-evident. Even if they didn't know about this matter, they must have guessed that the Beast Taming Sect might be planning a purge, and they had come to beg for mercy.

Inside the spacious and bright hall, Ding Wenxiang and Liu Yongzheng waited listlessly, having already drunk cup after cup of tea. Their eyes occasionally met, but they quickly looked away, both remaining silent.

They had been waiting there for several hours, and had already discussed everything that needed to be discussed.

The two did not come together as planned, but rather they came to pay their respects on their own initiative after hearing that Song Xian had returned to Tianshan.

Ding Wenxiang arrived a little earlier, intending to see Song Xian first to plead for leniency, but Song Xian went to the market. Ding waited for half a day until Liu Yong arrived. The two met there and knew each other's purpose, so they only chatted about trivial matters and had nothing to say until now.

At this moment, footsteps sounded outside, and Lu Yuan strode in. The two men dared not be presumptuous and stood up to greet him.

The Hunyuan Sect of today is not what it used to be. Even when facing Lu Yuan, they appear somewhat reserved, let alone displaying the imposing presence of a sect leader.

"The sect leader has returned from the market and requests that you come to see him."

The two men's expressions brightened, they exchanged a glance, and followed him into the main hall, where Song Xian was already seated in the main seat, waiting.

"Greetings, Senior Song."

"I apologize for disturbing Senior Song's peaceful cultivation."

The two walked into the hall and bowed in greeting.

“You two are old friends, no need for formalities. Please have a seat!” Song Xian replied with a smile. He knew why the two had come, but he had no grudges against either of them, so he greeted them.

Although he had a slight disagreement with the Ding family before, there had been no conflict, and that was all a long time ago.

"The Falling Cloud Sect fled in panic, and we are all overjoyed that your sect has returned to Bianxi City. Our sect has been oppressed by the Falling Cloud Sect for a long time, and we have been looking forward to this day. This is a small token of our sect's appreciation to congratulate your sect and Sect Leader Song on your return. We hope you will not find it offensive." Liu Yong smiled obsequiously, flipped his hand, took out a storage bag, and handed it over with both hands.

Ding Wenxiang, who had already sat down, immediately stood up when he saw Liu Yong present the gift. He also pulled out a storage bag and presented the prepared gift.

There's no such thing as asking for a favor without giving a gift. Ding Wenxiang originally intended to present the gift during their private meeting, but seeing that Liu Yong had directly presented the gift, he felt that if he didn't make a gesture, it would be difficult to ask for a favor later, so he also took it out.

At the same time, he was worried that Liu Yong's gift would be more valuable than his own, since they were both there for the same purpose. If one side gave more and the other less, Song Xian might feel slighted.

This is a matter of life and death for the sect, and cannot be taken lightly.

With a feeling of worry and unease, he sat back down in his seat.

Song Xian took the storage bags from the two men, did not examine them, and put them directly into his sleeve: "You two have arrived so late, you must have something important to say, please speak!"

The two exchanged a glance, and Ding Wenxiang stood up and respectfully bowed deeply: "To be honest, Senior Song, I am disturbing you today because of the matter of the survival of my family. There are rumors that the Beast Taming Sect has made a comeback and is going to wipe out some sects. As you know, my family and the Falling Cloud Sect have never had any dealings."

"The reason I joined the Bianxi City Defense Alliance led by Luoyun Sect was only because I was forced to."

"We hope that, considering our past relationship, you can put in a good word for our family with the Beast Taming Sect. From now on, whatever your sect commands, our family will go through fire and water without hesitation."

Song Xian did not express his opinion, but looked at Liu Yong.

Seeing his gaze fall upon him, Liu Yong quickly bowed and said, "If Senior Song can help my clan overcome this calamity, my clan will certainly serve your clan faithfully from now on, following your lead without question."

"Who told you this news?" Song Xian asked calmly.

Without the slightest hesitation, Ding Wenxiang immediately betrayed the Jade Abyss Sect: "It was the Jade Abyss Sect's Sect Leader Wang Xuan who informed us that a few days ago, the Jade Abyss Sect's Sect Leader invited us, the Thousand Wind Sect, and the Hua Xuan Sect to a meeting."

"He said he got the information from a disciple inside the Beast Taming Sect, and that each of our families should contribute 60,000 spirit stones to raise a total of 300,000 spirit stones, which he planned to hand over to the newly appointed head of the Beast Taming Sect..."

Song Xian simply nodded slightly after hearing this: "Which sects the Beast Taming Sect decides to exterminate is entirely up to them. Our sect cannot make that decision, and we are afraid we are powerless to do anything about it. It is already late, so we will not keep you two any longer. Please leave!"

The two exchanged a glance. Although they were somewhat unwilling, there was nothing they could do, so they got up and said goodbye.

After leaving the main hall, Ding Wenxiang was filled with disappointment and sorrow.

Back then, he and Song Xian were completely equals, but now the other party is high above him, to the point that he has to be careful when he speaks, for fear of saying the wrong thing and causing the other party's dissatisfaction. All of this stems from his failure to establish his foundation.

"Patriarch, how is the situation?" Outside Tianshan, three Ding family cultivators were waiting for him. Looking at their expectant eyes, Ding Wenxiang opened his mouth, but finally shook his head helplessly.

.........

In the following days, sects from Bianxi City came to pay their respects every day, including Cao Xun, the leader of the Qianfeng Sect in Xuanhuan Town, and Guan Yong, the leader of the Huaxuan Sect in Jiangting Town, who traveled thousands of miles to come in person.

During this period, the Hunyuan Sect seemed to have become the king of Bianxi City, holding the power of life and death over various sects and forces.

The leaders of each sect went to great lengths to flatter Song Xian, begging him to say a few good words for the Beast Taming Sect.

They knew in their hearts that even if they were so humble, Song Xian might not be willing to plead for them, but if they didn't even make that gesture, their situation would be even more dangerous.

The Hunyuan Sect may not be able to protect any sect, but given its relationship with the Beast Taming Sect, they can't afford to hear a few bad things said about them.

Since it concerned the life and death of their own sect, no one cared about saving face, so they all came to plead for mercy.

Everyone else is coming to see you and bring gifts; if you don't come, wouldn't you offend them?

Of all the sects in Bianxi City, only the Yuyuan Sect hadn't sent anyone. Aside from the previous feud between the two sects, the main reason was that the Hunyuan Sect's arrival resulted in the killing of many Yuyuan Sect cultivators stationed at Luoyun Mountain. In the Yuyuan Sect's view, this was undoubtedly at Song Xian's behest. Given the current situation, it was impossible for them to plead for mercy anymore.

.........

On Mount Luojia, in a spacious and bright hall, several core members of the Hunyuan Sect gathered together, all with joyful expressions.

After spending several days in Tianshan and handling a series of matters, Song Xian returned to Bianxi City.

Although Tianshan is the main base of the Hunyuan Sect, it is the center of Bianxi City. Any news can be obtained in time and adjustments can be made accordingly. After all, Tianshan is located in a remote area, and many messages cannot be transmitted in time. Moreover, there is no suitable cultivation room for him to cultivate there, so he cannot stay there indefinitely.

"The resources and territory of the Luoyun Sect in the city were originally occupied by the Yuyuan Sect. After we took Luoyun Mountain, they all withdrew." Lin Zixiang had a smug and happy look on his face.

"I have inventoried all the resource territories under the jurisdiction of Luoyun Sect, including key locations in Zhuxi Town and Huatian Town. In addition to Luoyun Mountain and Luojia Mountain, there is currently one second-grade low-level spiritual vein, four first-grade high-level spiritual veins, five first-grade mid-level spiritual veins, and eight first-grade low-level spiritual veins."

"There is also one second-grade mid-level spirit field and two second-grade low-level spirit fields. There are five first-grade high-level spirit fields, seven first-grade mid-level spirit fields, and nine first-grade low-level spirit fields."

"There is one more second-tier mid-grade spirit garden, one second-tier low-grade spirit garden, four first-tier high-grade spirit gardens, six first-tier mid-grade spirit gardens, and eight first-tier low-grade spirit gardens."

"There is one more second-grade low-level spirit pool, three first-grade high-level spirit pools, four first-grade mid-level spirit pools, and seven fifth-grade low-level spirit pools."

"There are a total of 22 mineral industries, including four second-order mineral production areas and eighteen first-order mineral production areas."

“There is another small spirit mine.”

“I have already sent people to seize the important second-tier spirit veins, spirit fields, spirit gardens, spirit pools, and that small spirit mine.”

"The resources of Zhuxi Town and Huatian Town were originally occupied by Qianfeng Sect and Huaxuan Sect. They came to me and said that they were just guarding them for us, but they have now withdrawn."

"Our only problem right now is a shortage of manpower. I suggest we recruit more cultivators."

Song Xian nodded calmly. The area of ​​Bianxi City spans a thousand miles, roughly the same size as the Tianshan Mountains, but its resources are far richer.

The denser the spiritual energy, the higher the likelihood of high-level spiritual veins, spiritual fields, and spiritual gardens being formed.

There are about fifty or sixty key resource sites in the entire city area, and their quality is much higher than that of Tianshan. Originally, the Kong family occupied more than a dozen key resource sites, but they were all swallowed up by the Luoyun Sect. In addition, Zhuxi Town and Huatian Town are also under the control of the Luoyun Sect, and now they are all vacant.

At its peak, Luoyun Sect supported nearly two thousand disciples. Without that foundation, it wouldn't even be able to pay their salaries.

Although these resource-rich areas are currently unclaimed, it does not mean that everything belongs to us. How to allocate them is up to the Beast Taming Sect.

Even if they have already occupied all these places, they will still have to be redistributed once the new leader of the Beast Taming Sect arrives.

Ultimately, they only benefited from the Beast Taming Sect's influence; the decision-making power rested with the Beast Taming Sect.

"Who occupies those resource territories of the Beast Taming Sect in Bianxi City now?" Song Xian was not as excited as the others, and remained calm.

Hu Xiaobao replied, "Originally, the Jade Abyss Sect sent people to watch over it, but now they have all withdrawn to their mountain gate. I have already had people guarding the outer room, and we will hand it over to them after the Beast Taming Sect arrives."

"Besides Qiyuan Mountain, the Beast Taming Sect also has a second-grade high-quality spirit field and a second-grade mid-quality spirit field in Bianxi City."

“One mid-grade second-tier spirit garden, one mid-grade second-tier spirit pool, two second-tier ore deposits, and one spirit mine.”

The Beast Taming Sect has resource territories in various cities of the Western Frontier County. Basically, they control the best resource locations in each city, which is why they send teams to each city to guard and manage these resource locations.

They occupied one of the only two spirit mines in Bianxi City, and also one of the only two second-tier high-grade spirit veins.

They also took the only second-grade superior spirit field.

They prioritize quality over quantity, and they basically don't even look at the first-tier resource territories of each city.

The Luoyun Sect's abandonment of the city and escape left behind a large number of vacant resource territories. The Beast Taming Sect certainly wouldn't be so generous as to hand over all those second-tier spirit fields, spirit pools, spirit gardens, and mineral deposits to the Hunyuan Sect. They would definitely seize the opportunity to take them for themselves. This is why Song Xian wasn't as excited as the others.

It's still unknown how much of this stuff the Hunyuan Sect will be able to acquire, but if the Beast Taming Sect is a little greedy, it's not impossible that they might take it all back.

Song Xian glanced at the group, most of whom had happy expressions on their faces. Not wanting to dampen their spirits at this moment, he said, "This time, when we return to Bianxi City, we will not only reclaim the resource territories we lost, but many of the resource territories of Luoyun Sect will also come into our hands in the future."

"The most urgent task is to increase manpower. I intend to recruit three to five hundred cultivators so that we can demonstrate the strength of our sect as the number one sect in Bianxi City. Senior Brother Lu, I entrust this matter to you."

"Yes." Lu Yuan remained relatively calm. He was always composed and rarely showed any emotion on his face.

Lin Zixiang continued, "Sect Leader, currently there is only one Foundation Establishment cultivator in Bianxi City, Wang Xuan of the Jade Abyss Sect, and his attitude towards us is clearly hostile. Other sects have come to visit us, but the Jade Abyss Sect has closed its doors and refused to pay any respects. I suggest we take this opportunity to seize the Jade Abyss Sect in one fell swoop. They are traitors, and if our sect wipes them out, the Beast Taming Sect will not be offended."

"Besides, they already have a grudge against us, and keeping them around may cause trouble in the future."

Song Xian shook his head: "The mere Yuyuan Sect is not worth worrying about. Our sect needs to get through this period smoothly. Now is the time when the sect is weak, and it is not advisable to start another war. As long as we successfully take over the resources of Luoyun Sect's territory and develop slowly, in time, the gap between us and Yuyuan Sect will only widen."

Lin Zixiang, however, didn't take it seriously: "Those resources of the Luoyun Sect aren't ours, so how could they be taken away by others? Which sect in Bianxi City would dare to compete with us for them?"

“No sect in Bianxi City would dare to compete with us, but don’t forget, the Beast Taming Sect is still around. Whether they’re willing to hand over the resources of the Falling Cloud Sect to us is another matter.” Song Xian didn’t want to say this, but seeing that Lin Zixiang was already getting a little carried away with his pride, he had to give him a heads-up.

Lin Zixiang was clearly surprised by this and paused for a moment: "If the Beast Taming Sect doesn't hand over the resources and territory of Bianxi City to our sect, who else can it give it to? Our sect has devoted itself to the Beast Taming Sect, and even if we haven't made any great contributions, we have certainly put in a lot of hard work! If they don't give it to us, are they going to give it to a rebellious sect like the Jade Abyss Sect?"

"Can't we take over the Beast Taming Sect?"

Inside the main hall, the people who had initially looked happy slowly began to frown. Only then did they realize that they had been too optimistic and had underestimated the situation.

(End of this chapter)