Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 385 Killing the chicken to scare the monkey

Inside the spacious and brightly lit hall of the Jade Abyss Sect, Wang Xuan strode in. A middle-aged man inside stood up and bowed: "Sect Leader, the people from the Beast Taming Sect have arrived. The newly appointed head is named Xu Yaoming. It is said that Song Xian met with him this afternoon."

Wang Xuan paused, his face darkening, his expression tense: "Do you know what we talked about?"

"do not know."

"What is Xu Yaoming's background?"

"It's not clear yet. All we know is that he participated in the attack on the Kong family and broke through the Kong family's mountain gate together with Song Xian."

"With Song Xian?" Wang Xuan's expression changed, his eyes showing unease. He slowly sat down and remained silent for a while. "No matter how many spirit stones it costs, we must find out his background."

"Yes, I understand."

"Do you know how long Song Xian talked with him?"

"do not know."

A brief silence fell over the room. Wang Xuan's brows were furrowed, and his eyes kept flickering, clearly indicating that he was not paying attention.

The fact that the newly appointed head of Bianxi City of the Beast Taming Sect was an old acquaintance of Song Xian was undoubtedly a double blow to the Jade Abyss Sect.

Moreover, as soon as Xu Yaoming arrived, the two met. What could they possibly talk about at that moment?

It's highly likely that the discussion about how to deal with the sects in Bianxi City will be unavoidable.

Wang Xuan felt a chill run down his spine as he thought about it, as if a sharp sword was hanging over his head, getting closer and closer. This feeling of having his life and death in someone else's hands was truly awful.

Feeling anxious and fearful, Wang Xuan could no longer sit still. He stood up with his hands behind his back and paced back and forth in the hall.

"No, I have to go see Xu Yaoming in person." After a while, he stopped in his tracks, as if he had made a decision.

"The sect leader will go in person? That's too dangerous! What if Song Xian has already persuaded Xu Yaoming to deal with our sect? Wouldn't the sect leader be walking into a trap if he went?"

Wang Xuan pondered for a moment and slowly shook his head: "I don't think so. Xu Yaoming has just taken office, and the Beast Taming Sect hasn't even taken back all of its territory in Bianxi City yet. It's unlikely that they would make a decision so quickly about which sects to eliminate and which to keep."

“Even if he had a relationship with Song Xian and Song Xian whispered in his ear, it wouldn’t be enough for him to decide to wipe out our sect in just one day, unless the Beast Taming Sect had already ordered the extermination of our sect before he set off.”

"Even if he really has decided to eliminate our sect, he won't choose to attack me at Qiyuan Mountain. Instead, he will try to appease me first, or simply disappear."

"The Qiyuan Mountain Grand Formation has not yet been built, and he is the only Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Beast Taming Sect who has come here. He will not risk fighting me."

"The longer we wait like this, the worse it will be for us. If we want to get through this ordeal, we must take the initiative into our own hands."

The middle-aged man was still uneasy: "Why don't I go and pay him a visit first, and test his attitude?"

"You're not important enough; you might not even get to see him."

.........

Several days passed in the blink of an eye. Due to the arrival of Xu Yaoming, the new head of the Beast Taming Sect, the western city was particularly lively these days. The leaders of various sects and forces frequently came and went, wanting to see Xu Yaoming, but they were all turned away.

Those who had nowhere else to turn turned to Song Xian. They all knew that Song Xian could see Xu Yaoming and speak on his behalf, so they hoped that Song Xian could put in a good word for them.

This annoyed Song Xian, so he had no interest in the fate of those sects and forces. Therefore, he announced that he would not see any outsiders. For him, the most important thing was to take over the territory and resources left by the Luoyun Sect.

He hadn't been idle these past few days; he had sent Lin Zixiang to Xijiang County for two purposes: first, to investigate Xu Yaoming's background, and second, to ask Jiang Feng for leniency and help.

In addition, he personally invited Xu Yaoming to a banquet twice, but Xu politely declined both times.

On this day, as Song Xian had finished his day of cultivation and left the cultivation room, the disciples waiting outside came up to him and bowed: "Sect Leader, Senior Brother Lu Yuan said he has something to report and asked me to inform you."

"Summon him to the mansion." Song Xian didn't think much of it and immediately returned to his residence.

Before long, someone reported to him that Lu Yuan was already waiting in the waiting room.

"Sect Leader, Wang Siwen has arrived at Luojia Mountain. He says that he and more than ten others have left the Luoyun Sect and wish to return to the sect. They beg for your forgiveness. I do not know how to handle this, so I have come to ask for your instructions." In the spacious and bright hall, upon seeing Song Xian enter from outside, Lu Yuan stood up, bowed, and explained the situation.

"Wang Siwen?" Upon hearing the name, Song Xian's face immediately darkened.

This person was originally a cultivator from the Tianshan Sect and a confidant of Huang He. He later served as the head of the Zicha Peak of the sect's supervisory hall. When he was in Humen City, he betrayed the sect with Huang He and came to join the Luoyun Sect. Now he still has the nerve to come back.

“Bring him here.” After a moment of silence, Song Xian said coldly.

Lu Yuan responded and left. Not long after, a short, middle-aged man was led to the place.

He kept his head down, like a child who had done something wrong. Only after entering the room did he secretly glance at Song Xian, who was sitting in the main seat. Seeing that Song Xian was expressionless, he felt uneasy. He walked down to the bottom of the room, knelt down on both knees with a thud, and kowtowed heavily.

"Disciple Wang Siwen greets the Sect Leader."

"Didn't you say there were more than a dozen people? How come only you came back? Where are the others?" Song Xian's voice was as still as a well, as if he were an emotionless machine.

"They dare not return to see the sect leader; I am here on their behalf. ...I was confused for a moment and did something wrong. I know I have let down the sect leader and the sect. I beg the sect leader for forgiveness and to give me a chance to atone for my sins. I will go through fire and water, even if it means my death." After saying this, the man kowtowed heavily again, making his head thud loudly.

"Tell me! What opportunities are there for you to redeem yourself?"

The man, his head pressed against the ground, was overjoyed upon hearing this, thinking that Song Xian had accepted him: "Whatever the sect leader needs me to do, I will do it immediately."

"Hmph!" Song Xian snorted coldly, and the man felt a tremendous force strike him. He flew backward and crashed heavily into the beam behind him. His body felt like it had been broken apart. Just as he was about to speak, a spurt of blood gushed out.

He looked up in astonishment, only to see Song Xian walking towards him expressionlessly. He was horrified, never expecting Song Xian to take action directly. The reason he dared to come back and beg for forgiveness was because Song Xian usually presented a kind and magnanimous image and rarely showed his ruthless side. Therefore, he thought that even if he could not return to Hunyuan Sect, he would only be humiliated.

"Sect Leader, this disciple knows his mistake, this disciple will never dare to do it again. Please, Sect Leader, spare my life." The man's eyes were filled with fear, and his voice trembled as he repeatedly kowtowed and begged for mercy.

The next moment, the man's voice stopped abruptly, and he collapsed limply, blood gushing from his body.

Song Xian withdrew his hand expressionlessly, and without pausing, walked outside, his calm voice carrying on the breeze.

"Have someone clean this up, hang his body high up at the mountain gate, and post a notice to warn everyone in the sect that this is the fate of a traitor."

"Yes, Sect Leader." Lu Yuan replied with his head down. Only after Song Xian had gone far away did he raise his eyes and look at his burly back, his expression becoming complicated.

Song Xian killed this man not out of spite, nor did he have any grudge against Wang Siwen. His only concern was the inability to tolerate such betrayal. If he didn't kill this man, everyone in the sect would follow suit, and that would be disastrous. He wasn't surprised by their departure; everyone has their own ambitions, and parting ways is a personal choice. The problem was that these people had actually joined the Luoyun Sect, siding with the sect's enemy—that was something he couldn't tolerate.

If Wang Siwen had simply left the sect to become a free-spirited cultivator, and had returned today to beg for forgiveness, he would have refused to see him and driven him away.

But he betrayed us to the enemy and dared to come back. This shows that they don't take us seriously at all. Do they think we're still made of clay and have no temper?

Song Xian originally thought that this person would have some bargaining chips on him when he returned, such as important intelligence about the Luoyun Sect or information about a secret treasure, and wanted to redeem himself, which is why he personally received him.

Unexpectedly, this person had no bargaining chips on him, and he couldn't understand what gave this person his confidence.

.........

The night rain poured down, the heavy rain pounding against the trees, making a pattering sound.

In the distance, a figure descended on a flying magical artifact, arrived at the entrance of a cave, and hurriedly walked inside with a flustered expression.

"How is the situation? Will the Hunyuan Sect accept us?" A group of people inside rushed to surround him upon his arrival. The leader of them was Huang He.

"Alas! Not only did Hunyuan Sect not accept it, but they also killed Wang Siwen, and his body was hung on Luojia Mountain."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed drastically.

Huang He's face turned pale and then red, feeling both uneasy and somewhat relieved.

He never expected that the usually mild-mannered Song Xian would be so ruthless to someone who was pleading guilty, and he was also relieved that it wasn't him who went.

"The Hunyuan Sect hates us so much, what should we do now?"

"We definitely can't stay in Bianxi City any longer, let's leave quickly! If the Hunyuan Sect finds out that we've settled here, they might retaliate."

Where can we go?

Everyone was at a loss for words and actions.

……

Inside the brightly lit hall of Qiyuan Mountain, Wang Xuan sat upright, his expression a mixture of tension and anticipation. Even though he had been waiting for several hours, he showed no impatience.

This was his third visit to the sect. The first two times, he was dismissed by the disciples of the Beast Taming Sect with a few words, but this time he was finally led into the mountain gate.

These past few days have been the most agonizing time of his life. He has hardly had a moment of peace. The only good news is that Xu Yaoming did not refuse him entry alone; he did not see any of the people who sought to see him.

Today he finally got the opportunity to meet with the person, which is undoubtedly good news.

After a while, finally, a disciple of the Beast Taming Sect appeared: "Senior Wang, Uncle Xu may see you now, please follow me!"

"Okay, okay." Wang Xuan hurriedly got up and followed him to the main hall. Inside, Xu Yaoming sat high above him in the main seat, looking down at him with his head held high.

"My name is Wang Xuan. I have come to apologize to your sect on behalf of our sect. Previously, due to our lack of firmness in our stance, our sect was coerced by the Luoyun Sect into joining the Bianxi City Independent Alliance, which was a foolish act. We hope that your sect will not hold our mistake against us and will give our sect another chance." Wang Xuan adopted a very humble posture, stating his purpose directly without any ambiguity, and bowed deeply.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, do you know why I want to see you?" Xu Yaoming asked expressionlessly, his voice devoid of any emotion.

"I am unaware of the matter. Please enlighten me, Master Xu." Wang Xuan maintained his bowing and saluting posture.

"I heard you had some conflict with the Hunyuan Sect before? And that the Hunyuan Sect killed several of your disciples after they arrived? Is that true?"

Upon hearing him mention this matter, Wang Xuan was startled and became even more nervous. He knew that Song Xian had visited Qiyuan Mountain several times in the past few days, but he didn't know what the two had discussed. Presumably, it must involve the sects of Bianxi City.

Song Xian certainly didn't have anything good to say about Yu Yuan Sect, and Xu Yaoming brought it up to his face at this moment.

There are only two possibilities: first, a warning or reprimand.

Secondly, just as expected, Xu Yaoming wanted to use him to restrain the Hunyuan Sect.

"Our sect does indeed have a minor grudge against the Hunyuan sect. Therefore, after the Hunyuan sect arrived at Bianxi City first, fearing that the Hunyuan sect would take revenge, our sect withdrew all its disciples and guarded the mountain gate."

"You can go back now." Xu Yaoming nodded and didn't say anything more.

Wang Xuan never expected that after finally meeting Xu Yaoming, he would only ask one question before being told to go back.

He wanted to try and test the waters further, but dared not go against his wishes. So he flipped his hand and took out a storage bag, which he presented with both hands: "Our sect is deeply ashamed of what happened before. We hope that Master Xu can be lenient with our sect. From now on, our sect will follow your lead. No matter what dangers we face, we will do anything for you. This is just a small token of our sect's appreciation. We hope that Fellow Daoist Xu will not find it offensive."

With a wave of his hand, Xu Yaoming sent the storage bag floating to Wang Xuan's side. Wang Xuan was overjoyed to see that Xu Yaoming was willing to accept the gift.

Xu Yaoming glanced at the contents of the storage bag, made no comment, and simply waved his hand. Wang Xuan then tactfully took his leave.

.........

As night falls, the Milky Way shines brightly, and the moon hangs high in the sky.

Inside and outside Luojia Mountain, lights shone brightly, flowers bloomed in profusion, and a festive and peaceful atmosphere prevailed.

Song Xian waited outside, with Su Zhirou standing beside him, followed by several disciples.

In the distance, dazzling fireworks burst forth, their vibrant colors enveloping the entire Luojia Mountain and forming the words "Welcome to Director Xu's esteemed presence."

As the firework characters formed, a beam of light shot out from the southeast and quickly arrived in front of everyone. The person who came was Xu Yaoming.

"Master Xu, your presence is an honor to our humble abode." Song Xian stepped forward with a smile and bowed.

"Sect Leader Song is too kind. I was unable to come earlier because I had many important matters to attend to at headquarters. I am so sorry to have troubled you to come three times. If I hadn't come, people would have said that I was out of touch with reality."

"Not at all. It is an honor for our sect to have Master Xu here. I am the one who has disturbed your cultivation time several times, and I feel very bad about it."

Xu Yaoming smiled slightly and looked at Su Zhirou: "This must be your wife! She is indeed a beauty of unparalleled grace. I have long heard that your wife is the most beautiful woman in Bianxi City. Seeing her today, I can see that reputation is indeed better than reality."

"Master Xu is too kind; I am unworthy of such praise."

"Master Xu, let me introduce you. This is my wife, Su Zhirou, and this is Elder Hu Xiaobao of our sect." Song Xian introduced several key members and led Xu Yaoming inside.

(End of this chapter)