Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 402 A Net Spreads Everywhere
Song Xian hadn't expected that this was the reason for his visit. He had originally intended to pass on the Desolate Heaven Expansion Technique to Lin Zixiang, but Lin Zixiang refused because he had been cultivating the Profound Origin True Scripture for many years and was unwilling to change his cultivation method midway. However, today he had come to ask for the technique for his son.

This technique is not actually a low-grade Heavenly Rank technique, but a peerless technique that surpasses the Heavenly Rank. It has five levels and can be cultivated all the way to the Divine Transformation Realm.

He decided to bestow the skill upon Lin Zixiang because of his hard work and great contributions. Lin Xingyu, on the other hand, had no merits and his character and reliability were unknown. If he were to pass on this skill to others, it would be troublesome.

But since George Lam personally asked for it, it would be difficult to refuse, since it was originally intended to be passed on to him.

Fine, let's just assume it was already passed on to him, and that he secretly passed it on to Lin Xingyu without telling him.

Song Xian did not want this matter to exacerbate the already strained relationship between the two.

"This is the only low-grade Heaven-rank cultivation technique in our sect. I don't need to elaborate on its value. It was originally intended to be passed on to someone who would make great contributions to the sect. However, since Senior Brother Zixiang has spoken, we will make an exception and pass it on to Lin Xingyu!"

"Thank you, Master."

Song Xian said solemnly, "I have a few more conditions. First, I will not pass on the complete cultivation technique to him. I will first pass on the first stage of the technique, which will be enough for him to reach the Great Perfection of Qi Refining. After he reaches the Foundation Establishment Realm, I will pass on the subsequent techniques to him. This is to prevent leakage."

"Secondly, he must not tell outsiders that he has learned this technique, because he has not contributed anything to the sect. This is an exception, and if it gets out, it will have a bad influence."

"Third, he must not pass on this technique to others. Otherwise, not only will he not be taught any further techniques, but he will also be severely punished."

"If Senior Brother Zixiang agrees, bring him here in a few days. After he makes his own promise, I will then pass on the teachings to him."

Upon hearing that only the first stage of the cultivation method was taught, and that one could only cultivate to the Great Perfection of Qi Refining, Lin Zixiang was somewhat disappointed: "May I ask, Sect Leader, how many people in the sect know this cultivation method?"

Song Xian smiled slightly: "Senior Brother Zixiang, are you worried that if I die one day, the cultivation technique that Lin Xingyu is practicing will be cut off? Don't worry! Zhirou has a copy of this cultivation technique. Unless we both die at the same time, the inheritance of the cultivation technique will not be cut off."

George Lam quickly explained, "Master, you've misunderstood. That's not what I meant."

"Senior Brother Zixiang, you don't need to answer now. You can go back and think about it. If you are willing to learn this technique, bring Lin Xingyu to see me. If you find it troublesome, then don't bother."

Lin Zixiang had no choice but to stand up awkwardly: "Then I won't disturb the sect leader any longer, I'll take my leave now."

After saying this, he left and went straight back to his residence on Luojia Mountain. It was already late at night.

Lin Huairou and Lin Xingyu were both waiting for his news. When he turned around, they went up to him and asked how things were going.

Lin Zixiang repeated Song Xian's conditions, and Lin Huairou frowned upon hearing them: "If he only teaches the first stage of the technique, then when Yu'er breaks through to the Foundation Establishment Realm, won't he have to grovel and beg him again? What if he gets upset and finds an excuse not to teach him anymore?"

“I’m not worried about that. He’s not that kind of person.” Lin Zixiang shook his head and looked at Lin Xingyu: “The Desolate Heaven Expansion Technique is a low-grade Heaven-rank technique, while the Profound Origin True Scripture is a high-grade Earth-rank technique. Both are techniques that focus on cultivating divine sense. Although they are only one level apart on the surface, that one level is an insurmountable gap. You can decide which technique to cultivate yourself.”

As Lin Xingyu frowned in thought, Lin Huairou spoke up: "I think we should just cultivate the Profound Origin True Scripture. This technique can be cultivated to the late Golden Core stage, which is enough. How many cultivators in the world can reach the late Golden Core stage? The Desolate Heaven Expansion Technique only reaches the early Nascent Soul stage, which is not much stronger. It also depends on other people's opinions and is subject to their control."

"No, Mother, I want the best. I want to cultivate the Desolate Heaven Expansion Technique." Lin Xingyu made up his mind, a determined look appearing in his eyes.

"Alright." Lin Zixiang rarely showed a relieved smile: "Tomorrow, I will take you to see the sect leader."

.........

Time flies, and several months have passed in the blink of an eye.

That day, Song Xian returned to his residence from his cultivation room. As soon as the light from his escape ended, he heard someone report that Huang Ye was requesting an audience.

He strode into the waiting room, where Huang Ye was already waiting. Upon his arrival, Huang Ye quickly stepped forward to greet him.

"How's the investigation going? Have any ghosts been spotted in the towns near Mo Xinghai?" Song Xian waved his hand, gesturing for him to sit down. After taking his seat at the head of the table, he got straight to the point.

"I visited several cities around Mo Xinghai and asked many independent cultivators in the area, but I haven't heard of any ghosts appearing."

Upon hearing this, Song Xian felt somewhat relieved, thinking it was good that it didn't happen.

He was genuinely worried that if the owner of the bead was still alive and searching for it extensively, it could be dangerous.

Once the owner discovers that the bead is in their possession, they will certainly not let them off the hook.

He believed in Huang Ye's abilities. Huang Ye was cautious and quick-witted, and had been in charge of intelligence affairs for a long time. Without such abilities, he wouldn't have been able to manage the intelligence field.

They conducted a thorough investigation for several months but did not hear any reports of ghosts appearing, which shows that there really are none.

"Thank you for your hard work. Let's leave it at that and keep it absolutely confidential."

"Yes." Huang Ye nodded, then added, "When I was visiting towns around Mo Xinghai to inquire about ghosts, I also received another piece of information that is also somewhat related to the appearance of ghosts."

"what news?"

“In recent years, ghost crystal cores have appeared at auctions in towns around Mo Xing Hai from time to time. Especially in Tianxing City, which borders Mo Xing Hai, this item has appeared at market auctions for several years.”

Song Xian's expression changed: "A ghost crystal core? Are you sure?"

"Confirmed." Seeing the sudden change in his expression, Huang Ye knew it was a serious matter and his own expression also became solemn.

Song Xian remained silent, his mind racing. The ghostly crystal core was exactly what the bead needed, and its appearance in a town near the Ink Star Sea was no coincidence.

This item is already rare in the Mukh Grassland region, so how could it have appeared at the Tianxing City Market auction for several years?

He had initially thought the owner of the bead might use a ghost to lure him, but to his surprise, the other party directly produced a ghost crystal core. He was almost certain that this was a trap.

Fortunately, he was cautious and meticulous. If it were someone carefree and less thoughtful, like Su Zhirou, they would have really fallen for it.

"Do you know who is behind the sale of ghost crystal cores?"

"I don't know." Huang Ye shook his head: "Should the sect leader ask me to investigate the origin of this ghostly crystal core?"

"No, from now on, you are no longer involved in this matter." Song Xian's expression was solemn: "How much more do you know about the ghost crystal core?"

"I visited several cities and markets bordering the Mo Xing Hai and heard news of auctions of ghost crystal cores, with Tian Xing City having the most auctions. As for who is behind them and who bought them, I have no idea."

"When is the Tianxing City Market Auction held each year? Will there be any Ghost Cores up for auction this year?" "The Tianxing City Market Auction is held on October 15th every year. I don't know if there will be any Ghost Cores up for auction this year. I've also heard that Ghost Cores not only appear in auctions in towns around Moxinghai, but have even appeared in the East Sea District Market Auction in the past two years."

"Alright, you can go now! Remember, don't tell anyone about this."

"Yes." Huang Ye responded and withdrew.

Song Xian remained seated in the main seat, gazing absently out of the hall. After a while, he rose and returned to his room in the inner courtyard, where he discussed the matter with Su Zhirou.

“Even the Donghai District Market Auction has seen ghost crystal cores appear, which means the owner of the bead is expanding the search area step by step. I hope they won’t trace it back to us!” Su Zhirou’s face immediately filled with worry upon hearing this.

“There’s no need to worry for now. We’re far enough away from Mo Xinghai, and we haven’t been investigating ghosts or seeking ghost cores anywhere else in recent years. They shouldn’t be able to find us.” Song Xian narrowed his eyes slightly. “I plan to go to the Donghai District Market to participate in the auction and meet these people.”

"They set up this scheme to lure the husband out. If the husband comes to their door willingly, wouldn't he be walking right into their trap?"

"As long as I don't buy that ghostly crystal core, the owner of the bead won't suspect me. Rather than passively waiting for someone to investigate, it's better to take the initiative. If we can find out the owner's identity, we can then devise a countermeasure."

“Then I will go with my husband.”

"No, you don't need to go. It's convenient for me to do anything by myself. Even if I'm suspected, I can handle it."

“It’s been ten years, and the owner of that bead hasn’t been able to trace it back to us. Husband, you don’t need to worry about it. Why would you walk into his trap? It’s too dangerous.”

“It’s not that we can get away with nothing. Don’t forget, when we went to Mo Xinghai Island, it wasn’t just the two of us. Cheng Yu, Jiang Quan, and Senior Brother Zixiang also went, and Senior Brother Ning Yuan also knew about it.”

“But Cheng Yu, Jiang Quan, and Zhang Ningyuan are already dead. The only person who knows the truth now is Senior Brother Lin Zixiang. Husband, why don’t you just say hello to him?”

“Just because someone is dead doesn’t mean the news hasn’t leaked out. It’s possible they talked about it with their relatives and friends. The owner of the bead hasn’t investigated here yet, but if they do, they might find out about it from someone else. We need to take the initiative.”

.........

The next day, Song Xian sent someone to summon Lin Zixiang here.

In the spacious and brightly lit hall, Lin Zixiang entered from outside and bowed: "Master, what brings you here?"

"Senior Brother Zixiang, do you still remember when we went to the isolated island of Moxinghai and encountered the ghost baby?" Song Xian went straight to the point. He originally didn't want to tell Lin Zixiang about this, since the fewer people who knew, the better.

But when he learned that the owner of the beads was searching for clues everywhere, he had no choice but to summon him. Otherwise, if George Lam accidentally revealed the matter one day, it might bring him utter disaster.

"I remember, what's wrong?" Lin Zixiang was puzzled when he saw him bring up the matter with a solemn expression. It was something that happened so many years ago, and he didn't know why it was being brought up again.

"I have received information that someone on the Mukh Steppe is investigating this matter."

"Investigate this matter?" Lin Zixiang was both surprised and puzzled. "Investigate what? Who is the other party?"

"It's not clear yet. All I know is that someone is secretly investigating, trying to find the person who went to the island and entered that cave back then. I suspect it might be related to that ghost baby. That ghost baby is very strange, its origin is unknown, and perhaps it has some secrets." Song Xian would never tell him the secret of the bead. Of course, the fewer people who know the truth, the better.

“We didn’t get any treasures from that time! The ghost baby has already been eliminated. Besides, ten years have passed. Is it still worth investigating secretly?” Lin Zixiang frowned and pondered, then suddenly realized.

"I remember that the sect leader took a purple bead from the cave that sealed the ghost infant back then. Could it be related to this?"

Although he wasn't particularly cunning, he wasn't stupid. After a simple deduction, he immediately thought of the bead.

"It's not certain yet. To be honest, I also suspect it might be the bead that's the problem." Song Xian didn't try to hide it, and with a flick of his wrist, he took out the translucent, emerald-green bead.

"I had a feeling this thing might be something special back then, but it's been sitting in my storage bag for ten years, covered in dust, and I haven't noticed anything special about it. If I hadn't heard this news, I would have almost forgotten about it."

"Sect Leader, could you let me take a look? Perhaps there's some hidden door we haven't discovered yet?"

Song Xian then handed the bead to him.

Lin Zixiang held it in his hand and examined it carefully for a while. Finding no flaws, he returned it.

"If it's not this bead, could it be that there's some hidden thing in that cave that we haven't discovered?"

"We can't rule out that possibility. But in any case, this matter must be kept absolutely secret. The other party must be at least a Golden Core cultivator to be able to create something as powerful as a ghost infant. If they find out that we killed the ghost infant and took some unknown treasure inside, they definitely won't let us go. Senior Brother Zixiang, have you mentioned this to anyone else?"

George Lam shook his head: "No."

"That's good. This matter must not be mentioned to anyone, otherwise it may bring great disaster to the sect."

"I understand, Sect Leader, please rest assured!" Lin Zixiang nodded solemnly.

The two chatted for a while longer before George Lam left. By the time he returned to Luojia Mountain, it was already late at night.

When Lin Huairou saw him return, she went up to him and helped him take off his coat: "What happened? Why did he suddenly summon you?"

"It's nothing. They said someone is secretly investigating the trip to Mo Xinghai Island back then, and told me not to tell anyone."

"Mo Xinghai?" Lin Huairou looked puzzled.

"It's about that encounter with the ghost baby. By the way, you haven't told anyone about this, have you?"

"No, I had completely forgotten about it if you hadn't mentioned it. Who is investigating? Is it a serious matter?"

"It's still unclear who's behind this. But this matter must be very important. I know him; I can tell from his expression and tone that this is no simple matter. Have you mentioned it to Yu'er?"

“He was so young then, how could I have told him these things?”

"Not telling him is for his own good. If something really happens, he won't know and won't get involved."

"I remember you said that you took a bead from there back then. Could this be related?"

"Probably not. I've seen the bead; there's nothing special about it. Anyway, we shouldn't let this get out of the loop."

(End of this chapter)