Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 453 Intricate Roots
"Who can represent our sect to go to Bianxi City to inquire about information from the Hunyuan Sect?" Su Yuan, who had been silent all along, finally spoke.

“I’m willing to make the trip.” The man surnamed Huang volunteered: “I think the Hunyuan Sect can be won over. As far as I know, the second elder of the Mingyue Sect, Ding Mingde, has visited the Hunyuan Sect several times before, and so far, the Hunyuan Sect has remained neutral. It can be seen that they, like our sect, do not want to see the Mingyue Sect’s power expand.”

"Although I don't know what conditions the Bright Moon Sect will offer them, I believe that as long as we can offer the same conditions as the Bright Moon Sect, and persuade them with reason and emotion, we can definitely convince the Hunyuan Sect to continue to remain neutral."

"As long as the Hunyuan Sect remains neutral, the Fang family alone cannot cause any trouble. Our sect can at least stabilize the current situation."

Su Yuan nodded: "Then I'll have to trouble you, Junior Brother Huang. Please be careful on this trip."

"To avoid any unforeseen complications, I'll go immediately," the man surnamed Huang said, then got up and left the main hall.

"We've been discussing this all night, fellow disciples, go and rest! We'll discuss a solution when Junior Brother Huang returns."

The group got up and left.

"Junior Brother Jia, wait a moment." Seeing that Jia Yun was also getting up to leave, Su Yuan called out to him.

Jia Yun glanced at him, then sat back down. After the others left, Su Yuan spoke up: "There are no outsiders here. I want to have a heart-to-heart talk with Junior Brother Jia."

Jia Yun didn't speak, but just looked at him with obvious wariness in his eyes.

“I know that Junior Brother Jia has some opinions about me, but now the sect is on the verge of life and death. If we cannot unite, the sect’s foundation of hundreds of years will be destroyed in an instant. I believe that the sect leader’s spirit in heaven would not want to see us still holding our own opinions and distrusting each other at this time.”

"That's right. I was very unwilling to accept my failure to win the position of sect leader back then. I also admit that there are sometimes disagreements between me and the sect leader, and there is some distance between us."

"But I will never join forces with foreign enemies and put our sect in danger because of this. My parents are both disciples of the sect, and I grew up in the sect since I was a child. How could I do such a thing as betraying my master and ancestors?"

"I swear to my parents in heaven that the death of the sect leader has nothing to do with me."

"I wouldn't stoop to such extremes to satisfy my personal desires and sit in the position of sect leader, especially in such a chaotic situation. How could I possibly cooperate with the Bright Moon Sect to plot the assassination of the sect leader? Do you think I'm such a person who disregards the bigger picture?"

Jia Yun stared intently at him, never leaving his face for a moment, as if trying to discern some clue from his expression. After a while, he withdrew his gaze, got up, and walked outside.

"Until the Fang family turmoil is resolved, sect affairs will be handled according to Senior Brother Su's wishes. However, the selection of a new sect leader will have to wait until I have thoroughly investigated the details of the sect leader's death." Upon reaching the hall entrance, Jia Yun paused for a moment, then strode away.

.........

Under a bright moon and sparse stars, in Bianxi City, at Luoyun Mountain, Song Xian, having finished a day of cultivation, returned to his residence. As soon as the light faded, a disciple came forward to greet him, reporting that Huang Ye requested an audience.

Huang Ye had been waiting in the waiting room for a long time. When he arrived, he bowed.

"Sect Leader, there is news about the murder of Gu Xuntao, the Sect Leader of Xuanyang Sect. He was killed in the Yufengling area of ​​Xijiang County. It is said that he went to participate in the market auction. Xu Zhuoxuan has admitted to the crime."

Upon hearing this, Song Xian immediately deduced that there was a traitor within the Xuan Yang Sect; otherwise, Xu Zhuoxuan would not have traveled all the way to Xijiang County to ambush Gu Xuntao.

"There's a traitor within the Xuan Yang Sect? Do you know who it is?"

"We don't know for now, but according to the latest news, the Fang family can't hold back any longer. After Gu Xuntao's death, Fang Mingxuan convened a meeting of the leaders of various factions in Tianshui City and openly declared that he wanted to sever ties with the Xuanyang Sect."

Song Xian remained silent. At the time, Ding Mingde said that he had reached an agreement with the Fang family, but he was still half-believing and half-doubting. Now it seems that what he said was true.

With the Fang family openly rebelling and the Xuan Yang Sect leaderless, this is a serious problem. It's very likely that the Xuan Yang Sect will recall those who supported the Hua Yuan Sect. If that happens, the Hua Yuan Sect's mountain gate might fall.

"Order the intelligence team to closely monitor the situation in Tianshui City and report any new information immediately."

"Yes." As soon as Huang Ye finished speaking, a disciple came to the outer room to report: "Sect Leader, Huang Ziquan, a Foundation Establishment cultivator from Xuan Yang Sect, requests an audience. He has arrived outside the mountain gate."

As expected, Song Xian was just looking for information about the situation in Tianshui City when Xuan Yangzong sent someone.

"Junior Brother Huang, take the person to the council hall."

"Okay." Huang Ye replied and left.

.........

When Song Xian entered the council hall, Huang Ziquan was already waiting inside: "Master Song, I apologize for disturbing you."

"Fellow Daoist Huang, please don't stand on ceremony, please have a seat." Song Xian glanced at him, and after a few pleasantries, the two took their seats as host and guest. "May I ask what brings you here, Fellow Daoist Huang?"

Huang Ziquan sat upright, his face expressionless: "I dare not accept such praise. I would not come to your esteemed sect without a reason. I have come here on the orders of my sect's elders to request assistance from your sect. Sect Leader Song may have already heard that our sect leader was assassinated by Xu Zhuoxuan. Now, the Fang family has been bewitched by the Mingyue Sect and is pressing our sect step by step."

"Our sect hopes that your sect can lend a helping hand. If you can help our sect settle the Ping family, our sect will be extremely grateful. As long as Sect Leader Song is willing to help, you can name any conditions you have, and our sect will try its best to meet them."

"Oh? From what you're saying, fellow Daoist, does that mean the Fang family has already launched an attack on your sect?" Song Xian glanced at Huang Ye beside him. When the two were discussing the situation in Tianshui City, Huang Ye hadn't reported this matter. However, this wasn't surprising; it was perfectly normal for intelligence to lag behind.

"Not yet. However, before I came, I received news that the Fang family was attacking the Qingjiang Sect in this city, and they may have already taken it by now. The Fang family's move is undoubtedly a serious provocation to our sect. They know that the Qingjiang Sect and our sect are very close, so they are using it to test us. After that, they will definitely press on step by step and take advantage of our weakness."

"With your sect's strength, dealing with the Fang family shouldn't be difficult, right? Why do you need our sect's assistance?"

"The reason why the Fang family dares to do this is because they have the support of the Bright Moon Sect. This is because some of our sect's manpower was used to support the Hua Yuan Sect. In addition, the sect leader was killed, and everyone in the sect is uneasy. With our current manpower, even if we send out all our forces, if the Fang family hides in their mountain gate, we will have no way to deal with them."

"Furthermore, we are also worried that this is a plan to lure the snake out of its hole. There may be elites from the Bright Moon Sect or even Xu Zhuoxuan lying in ambush behind us, just waiting for us to leave the mountain gate and fight them before launching a surprise attack."

Song Xian nodded: "If that's the case, why doesn't your sect recall the personnel that were supporting Huayuan Sect?"

Huang Ziquan's expression gradually turned solemn: "The reason why the Bright Moon Sect ambushed and killed our sect leader and instigated the Fang family to cause trouble was to force our sect to withdraw its disciples who were assisting the Hua Yuan Sect. If we recall them, it will play right into the Bright Moon Sect's hands. Xu Zhuoxuan resorted to any means necessary to assassinate our sect leader. Our sect is irreconcilably opposed to them, so how can we allow them to have their way?"

"Our sect is determined to fight the Bright Moon Sect to the end, even if it means fighting to the last man, we will never compromise."

"If our sect recalls disciples to assist the Huayuan Sect, then the Huayuan Sect will be in danger. If the Huayuan Sect's mountain gate is captured, our sect will be unable to hold on alone."

"Master Song has transformed a weak and unknown sect into a powerful force that dominates the western border region. No one can deny his ability and vision."

"With Master Song's abilities, he must know what the Bright Moon Sect will do next if it takes over Yongning City and eliminates our sect. At that time, your sect will also be in grave danger." "The Beast Taming Sect is completely untrustworthy, as the Hua Yuan Sect's situation has already proven. We can only rely on ourselves to protect ourselves."

"If your sect remains neutral at this time, and if our sect and Huayuan Sect fall in the future, and if Mingyue Sect invades Bianxi City, your sect will be unable to withstand the attack alone."

"On the contrary, if your clan lends a helping hand, our three families can help each other and then rest easy."

Song Xian gently stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and asked, "What benefits would it bring if my sect helped your sect deal with the Fang family?"

"What does Sect Leader Song hope to gain?"

"To be honest, the Bright Moon Sect once approached me, saying that if I helped them, my sect could take half of all of your sect's resources and territory."

"I understand. If the price is right, your sect is willing to assist our sect. Is that a correct interpretation?"

“Helping your sect will inevitably offend the Bright Moon Sect. Our sect has many collaborations with the Bright Moon Sect, and this is not a small business of tens of thousands of spirit stones per year. If your sect wants our sect to help, you must at least see your sincerity.”

"I will go back immediately and inform my fellow disciples about this matter. I will definitely give Sect Leader Song a satisfactory answer." Huang Ziquan got up to take his leave.

"Does the sect leader really intend to lend a helping hand to the Xuan Yang Sect?" Huang Ye asked with a frown after the leader left.

"Let's take another look!" Song Xian's gaze drifted aimlessly towards the outside of the hall.

Tianshui City is located north of Bianxi City, and Humen City is located south of Bianxi City. Both cities border Bianxi City.

However, Humen City is the territory of the Mingyue Sect, and with the current strength of the Mingyue Sect, it will never tolerate the encroachment of external forces.

If a sect wants to expand its territory, Tianshui City is the best choice.

When Ding Mingde proposed to him a collaboration with the Fang family to jointly acquire the resources and territory of Tianshui City, he was somewhat tempted.

However, he knew very well that this was just a pie in the sky drawn by the Bright Moon Sect, and it would be very difficult to achieve. Although the Xuan Yang Sect was currently leaderless, its foundation was much deeper than that of the Fang family, and it would not be easy to completely destroy it.

With the combined strength of the Hunyuan Sect and the Fang family, they simply couldn't take down the Xuanyang Sect's mountain gate.

Even with the help of the Bright Moon Sect, taking Xuan Yang Sect by surprise would not be in the sect's long-term interests.

Once the Huayuan Sect and Xuanyang Sect fall, if the Mingyue Sect covets Bianxi City, who can stop them?

Song Xian did not agree to Ding Mingde's request for cooperation because he did not want the Mingyue Sect to seize Yongning City's territory.

Now that the Xuan Yang Sect has come to us for assistance, things are different.

First of all, the Fang family is much weaker than the Xuan Yang Sect in terms of both strength and foundation, making them much easier to deal with than the Xuan Yang Sect.

Secondly, helping Xuanyang Sect resolve its internal troubles indirectly helped Huayuan Sect, thus preventing Mingyue Sect from expanding its power.

If we can seize this opportunity to extend our sect's influence to Tianshui City, it will greatly benefit the sect's future development.

However, doing so would offend the Bright Moon Sect.

Therefore, he was cautious and did not agree immediately, intending to wait and see how the situation changed. In any case, the initiative was in his hands, so he didn't need to rush and could wait for the right price.

.........

In the bright and spacious room of the Bright Moon Sect's main camp in Yongning City, Ding Mingde entered from outside and bowed to Xu Zhuoxuan: "Sect Leader, what are your orders?"

"Have any cultivators from Tianshui City left the Huayuan Sect's mountain gate?"

"No, apart from some of the Fang family disciples who fled a few days ago, so far, we haven't seen any Xuan Yang Sect cultivators leaving."

"What's happening in Tianshui City?"

"The Fang family is testing the Xuan Yang Sect's reaction. They attacked a sect closely related to the Xuan Yang Sect, but the Xuan Yang Sect did not retaliate."

Xu Zhuoxuan stared at him intently: "We don't have much time left. Urge the Fang family to go all out and find a way to force Xuan Yang Sect to recall the cultivators stationed at Hua Yuan Sect."

Ding Mingde pondered for a moment: "With the Fang family's strength, they are not enough to pose a threat to the Xuan Yang Sect's mountain gate. The Hun Yuan Sect is determined not to intervene. The only way now is to add fuel to the fire to force the Xuan Yang Sect to recall those disciples."

"Add fuel to the fire?"

"By releasing information about the ambush on Gu Xuntao, Xuan Yang Sect is still unaware that the Fang family is behind it all, and they only believe that the Fang family is taking advantage of the situation to cause trouble. If they knew that Fang Mingxuan was the mastermind behind Gu Xuntao's death, they would all be furious. In addition, if the Xuan Yang Sect's higher-ups knew that the Golden Yuan Pill was in Fang Mingxuan's hands, they would definitely want it. And the manpower they currently have guarding Tianshui City is simply not enough. Only by transferring the Hua Yuan Sect cultivators stationed there back can they have the ability to attack the Fang family's mountain gate."

"Go and make the arrangements!"

Xu Zhuoxuan agreed without hesitation. The reason he was trying to win over the Fang family was to make them a threat to the Xuan Yang Sect and to disperse the Hua Yuan Sect's forces. He didn't care about the life or death of the Fang family.

.........

As night fell, under a bright moon and sparse stars, Huang Ye entered the brightly lit hall of Luoyun Mountain, bowing respectfully: "Sect Leader, I have just received important news. It turns out that the Fang family had already secretly reached an agreement with the Mingyue Sect long ago, and their decision to betray them was not made after Gu Xuntao's murder. The reason Gu Xuntao was murdered was because a disciple named Jiang Yue, who was by his side, conspired with the Mingyue Sect to set a trap."

"This person was originally a spy planted in Xuanyang Sect by Fang Mingxuan. Fang Mingxuan was the mastermind behind Gu Xuntao's murder."

"The Fang family's goal is to replace the Xuan Yang Sect. In addition, Fang Mingxuan knows that the Hua Yun Sect gave Gu Xuntao a Golden Yuan Pill in order to win the Xuan Yang Sect's help. In order to seize it, he joined forces with Xu Zhuoxuan to plot and kill Gu Xuntao. Afterwards, Xu Zhuoxuan handed over the entire storage bag, including the Golden Yuan Pill, to Fang Mingxuan."

Song Xian was taken aback upon hearing this: "Is the news confirmed?"

"It's confirmed. Xu Zhuoxuan said it himself. Xu Zhuoxuan is currently at the Yongning City camp. He brought up this matter when he convened the leaders of various sects and forces in Humen City to discuss attacking the Huayuan Sect's mountain gate. Jiang Yue also made an appearance, and she is now a disciple of the Mingyue Sect."

(End of this chapter)