Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 456 As expected

Lin Zixiang didn't tolerate him. He immediately put away his smile and put on a serious face: "I don't understand what Fellow Daoist Su is saying. It's as if our sect is begging you. If I remember correctly, it was your sect that sent people to our sect to ask for help. The conditions were already agreed upon at the time. Is it meaningful to bring this up now?"

"Fellow Daoist Su said that all the benefits went to our sect, but why don't you mention the risks our sect took? By helping your sect this time, we will inevitably offend the Bright Moon Sect."

"Our sect and the Bright Moon Sect have always had a close relationship, and the annual transaction volume of our cooperative industries is as high as one million spirit stones. All of this will be reduced to nothing."

"The Bright Moon Sect is powerful, and Xu Zhuoxuan is ruthless. This time, his great plans have been ruined. Who knows how he will retaliate against our sect? He was able to plot to ambush and kill your sect leader. In the future, he may very well ambush and kill our sect leader as well."

"And all of this is to help your sect eliminate the Fang family. Fellow Daoist Su may not know, but the Bright Moon Sect has come to our sect time and again to ask for our assistance, promising to do so with great promises. They even offered half of your sect's resources and territory in exchange for our assistance to the Fang family, but our sect leader refused them all."

"Our sect has mobilized almost its entire force to help your sect take revenge, but in Fellow Daoist Su's words, it has become as if our sect is taking advantage of your sect's weakness."

"If your sect truly believes that our sect is taking advantage of our misfortune, then I will immediately lead my men back to the mountain gate and pretend that this matter never happened."

These words instantly strained the previously harmonious relationship between the two sides. Su Yuan frowned, and the Foundation Establishment cultivators of Xuan Yang Sect remained silent.

Seeing the conversation stall, Huang Ziquan, who was in charge of contacting the Hunyuan Sect, stepped in to smooth things over: "Fellow Daoist Lin, and many other fellow Daoists of the Hunyuan Sect, please don't misunderstand. Senior Brother Su didn't mean that. Of course, Senior Brother Su knows that your sect has taken a great risk in helping you this time, and we are very grateful."

"Senior Brother Su is worried that if the Bright Moon Sect gets the news, they might come to support you. Our disciples are guarding outside, which can help block the reinforcements for your sect."

"Secondly, Fang Mingxuan conspired with Xu Zhuoxuan to murder our sect leader, making them our irreconcilable enemies. Our sect's attack on the Fang family's mountain gate this time is precisely to personally kill that old dog Fang Mingxuan and avenge our sect leader."

“If we all enter the great formation, Fang Mingxuan will surely abandon the formation and flee when he sees that the situation is not good. If our sect does not guard outside and he escapes, not only will our sect not be able to avenge its great grudge, but it will also be a major hidden danger in the future.”

Lin Zixiang, of course, couldn't actually lead his men back. Hearing this, he went along with it: "Then how about this! Our sect will send seven hundred disciples plus seven Foundation Establishment cultivators, and your sect will send three hundred disciples plus three Foundation Establishment cultivators, making a total of one thousand disciples and ten Foundation Establishment cultivators to attack this formation together. The others will serve as reserves to provide support at any time. If the Fang family cultivators abandon the formation and flee, we will pursue them and annihilate them."

Since things had come to this point, Su Yuan could not give up halfway because of a fight of pride. He could only agree, but he made a condition: "Fang Mingxuan is an enemy of our sect. This person must be handed over to our sect so that we can kill him by hand."

Lin Zixiang knew that the reason why Xuan Yang Sect made such a big concession and agreed to hand over all the resources and territory of the Fang family to Hun Yuan Sect was that they were indeed under pressure from the Fang family and were worried that the Fang family and Ming Yue Sect would cooperate from the inside to deal with them, so they had to wipe out the Fang family first.

On the other hand, it was also for the sake of their own reputation. If the sect leader was killed and they did not launch a fierce counterattack and revenge, they would not be able to explain themselves to the sect disciples, and they would inevitably be laughed at and become a laughing stock.

Although Xu Zhuoxuan was the culprit, he was a Golden Core cultivator, and the Bright Moon Sect was powerful, so they had no way to retaliate.

However, the Fang family actually participated in this matter right under the nose of the Xuan Yang Sect, and even acted as the masterminds behind it. If they can pretend not to see this, not only will outsiders laugh at them, but the sect itself will be in complete chaos.

Besides these two points of justice, Su Yuan also had his own selfish motives.

As everyone knows now, in order to gain the assistance of Xuan Yang Sect, Hua Yuan Sect gave Gu Xuntao a Golden Yuan Pill. This Golden Yuan Pill has now fallen into the hands of Fang Mingxuan. This item is indispensable for breaking through to the Golden Core Realm. Every Foundation Establishment cultivator wants to obtain it. Su Yuan is also a late Foundation Establishment cultivator, so naturally he longs for this item.

Furthermore, the Xuan Yang Sect has not yet elected a new leader. If Su Yuan can personally kill Fang Mingxuan and avenge Gu Xuntao, then his position as leader will be practically guaranteed.

"Fang Mingxuan will naturally be dealt with by your sect, and we will not interfere. Of course, if your sect needs assistance, we will not stand idly by."

Su Yuan nodded in satisfaction. After the two sides reached an agreement, they soon selected one thousand disciples and ten Foundation Establishment cultivators from the two sects and entered the great formation together.

As golden auspicious clouds surged high in the sky, a thunderous roar resounded, and countless golden feathered arrows shot down from the sky.

Lin Zixiang directed the crowd to form a defensive formation, and everyone used their magic and supernatural powers to clash with the array and restrictions, creating a dazzling display of various colors of light.

……

Inside the Fang family's mountain gate, on the majestic and imposing array altar, large golden runes swam like a school of fish. Around the array altar, more than a hundred Fang family cultivators sat cross-legged, their spiritual energy continuously flowing into the altar to maintain its operation.

Meanwhile, at the array flags on the side, the three Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Fang family also sat cross-legged with their eyes closed, channeling their spiritual energy into them.

As the altar continued to operate, the spiritual energy within everyone's bodies gradually became insufficient, and many people's foreheads were covered with a dense layer of fine sweat.

Fang Mingxuan stood in the center of the array altar, controlling the overall situation. Seeing that the disciples around the array altar were running out of spiritual energy, he gave an order and sent the second team of substitute cultivators to take over.

After the two teams switched positions, the cultivators of the first team quickly retreated to the rear, took out pills, and hurriedly recovered their spiritual energy.

After the second team members took over the positions of the first team, the large runes on the altar began to move again as spiritual energy surged in.

Inside the great formation, the cultivators who had finally found an opening and were advancing were once again attacked by the formation's restrictions.

……

"Elder Su, our fellow disciples inside the formation have been fiercely attacked by the formation's restrictions, suffering heavy casualties. Most of them are almost out of spiritual energy. Uncle Huang requests that you send reinforcements." A pale-faced disciple fled from the formation in a panic and came to Su Yuan for help.

Su Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly: "How far are you from the defensive light barrier?"

"When the disciple retreated, he was less than five hundred feet away from the defensive light barrier."

"Did you fight with the Fang family cultivators?"

"No. No one from the Fang family was seen entering from beginning to end."

"Fellow Daoist Hu, you heard everything. What do you think?" Su Yuan turned to look at Hu Xiaobao.

"Since the attacking force is encountering difficulties, we should help them."

“I fear that once all our forces are inside the formation, the Fang family cultivators will abandon it and flee. In any case, someone needs to guard the outside to prevent Fang Mingxuan from escaping. Fellow Daoist Lin has already agreed that Fang Mingxuan will be handled by our sect. I will lead a few of my junior brothers and some disciples to guard the outer area to prevent his escape. I will also send two hundred disciples to join you in entering the formation to provide support. Is that acceptable?”

Hu Xiaobao glanced at Shen Su and Zhang Yanqing. Of the ten Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Hunyuan Sect, only the three of them were guarding outside the formation.

The three exchanged glances. Shen Su and Zhang Yanqing did not raise any objections, so Hu Xiaobao nodded: "Alright, let's do as Fellow Daoist Fang says."

After Hu Xiaobao led five hundred cultivators into the formation, they found that a fierce battle had already broken out inside. It turned out that after the disciple who had requested help left, a large number of Fang family cultivators had rushed out of the formation.

Seeing the Hunyuan Sect's reinforcements pouring in, the Fang family cultivators fled back into the great formation. After reporting to Hu Xiaobao and Lin Zixiang, and enduring another round of attacks from the formation's restrictions, they finally reached the defensive light barrier and launched a fierce attack on it.

.........

Two spirit ships sailed out from the south side of the mountain gate. Su Yuan hurriedly led everyone forward to intercept them, but saw several streaks of light leave the spirit ships and scatter and escape.

Because of the distance, Su Yuan couldn't see which one was Fang Mingxuan, so he chased after the Foundation Establishment cultivator who was the fastest to escape, while the others went to chase after the other streaks of light.

……

Within the grand formation, with a loud bang, the massive cyan defensive light barrier distorted and shattered like a water curtain, disappearing into the air. Inside, the Fang family cultivators had already fled.

"Fellow Daoist Lin, we must eradicate evil completely. We cannot let those Fang family cultivators who fled go, otherwise they may make a comeback with the support of the Bright Moon Sect." Seeing that the place was deserted, Jia Yun, the second elder of the Xuan Yang Sect, was unwilling to let the Fang family cultivators go.

"Disciples, listen to my command! Pursue the remnants of the Fang family and kill all those who refuse to surrender!" Lin Zixiang gave the order without hesitation.

Now, the Hunyuan Sect has also become mortal enemies with the Fang family. If the Fang family makes a comeback, their first step will be to reclaim their own sect and property, which will belong to the Hunyuan Sect in the future. They will be the first to be affected. From the perspective of the Hunyuan Sect, they cannot let these people escape.

The group then chased after the scattered Fang family cultivators.

At the same time, Su Yuan was also chasing a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Fang family. As the two got closer, he realized that the person was not Fang Mingxuan, but Jiang Han, which made him very disappointed.

But now that he had caught up, he couldn't just let the other party go. Besides, he didn't know where Fang Mingxuan had run off to, and it was too late to turn around and chase after him. He had no choice but to deal with this person first.

He clasped his hands together, and the giant logs crisscrossed to form a huge wooden cage, trapping Jiang Han inside.

The next moment, golden light shot into the sky, giant trees snapped one after another, and Jiang Han's figure leaped out from inside, only to see a golden palm pressing down from the sky, attacking him.

With a loud bang, Jiang Han's body burst into golden light, transforming into a giant golden sword to meet the golden palm.

“Fellow Daoist Su, I have no grudge against you, so why must we fight to the death? I know nothing about the murder of your sect leader. The Golden Core Pill is in Fang Mingxuan's hands, and he has already fled to the southwest. If you go after him now, you might be able to catch up and seize the Golden Core Pill, which could help you advance to the Golden Core realm. If you are too late, you will miss your chance.”

Jiang Han only had the fifth level of Foundation Establishment cultivation, so he was no match for Su Yuan, an eighth level Foundation Establishment cultivator. In order to save his life, he quickly told him about Fang Mingxuan's background.

Su Yuan ignored him. With a soft shout, his golden giant palm shone brightly, and with a series of cracking sounds, the golden giant sword shattered inch by inch.

The golden giant palm, its momentum undiminished, pressed down towards Jiang Han.

.........

In September, Tianshui City is bathed in clear autumn skies and crisp air. The warm sunshine shines on the lake, making it seem as if it is coated with a layer of gold.

A gentle breeze rippled across the shimmering water.

On the lake, fish leaped about, and everything appeared peaceful and serene.

The next moment, as if a volcano had erupted, swirling water eddies formed one after another. The frolicking fish, completely unaware of the danger, had been playing happily just moments before, but in the blink of an eye, they had turned into a pool of blood.

On the lake, a man's figure slowly emerged. It was none other than Fang Mingxuan. At this moment, he clasped his hands together, his face solemn, and his gaze was fixed on the distant void.

The huge water columns rising from the bottom of the lake kept changing, forming the shape of giant dragons, shaking their heads and wagging their tails as they headed away into the distance.

Fang Mingxuan focused his gaze on the spot where flames rose up and transformed into huge fireballs in mid-air, crashing down on him like meteors.

As the flames soared into the sky, Song Xian's figure emerged from hiding.

In fact, he had already arrived near the Fang family mountain gate and was lying in ambush. The Xuan Yang Sect's troops were gathered in the north of the Fang family mountain gate, while he was hiding in the south of the formation, more than ten miles away from everyone. Naturally, the Xuan Yang Sect members did not notice him.

The reason Song Xian readily agreed to Xuan Yang Sect's request for assistance was not only because he coveted the Fang family's resources and territory and wanted to expand his sect's influence beyond Tianshui City, but more importantly, because he wanted to take advantage of the chaos to seize the Golden Yuan Pill from Fang Mingxuan.

He has now reached the eighth level of Foundation Establishment. If nothing unexpected happens, he will be able to reach the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment after several more decades of arduous cultivation.

The Golden Elixir was something he was determined to obtain, and he naturally wouldn't let this opportunity slip by.

He had already sent Jiang Zichen to Xijiang County to inquire with Jiang Feng about the views of the higher-ups of the Beast Taming Sect on this battle. Based on his speculation, the reason why Xu Zhuoxuan was so impatient to force the Xuan Yang Sect and the Fang family to engage in a life-or-death struggle by selling out the family was most likely because he was under pressure from the Beast Taming Sect.

If there are many people within the Beast Taming Sect who do not support the Bright Moon Sect, he can intervene in the internal struggles of Tianshui City without any worries.

His original plan was to wait for Jiang Zichen to return and ascertain the attitude of the Beast Taming Sect before deciding whether to help the Xuan Yang Sect deal with the Fang family.

However, plans are subject to change. Xuan Yang Sect came knocking again. Judging from Huang Ziquan's urgent attitude, if Hun Yuan Sect continues to stand idly by, they might very well send Hua Yuan Sect's forces back to attack the Fang family.

In that case, not only would he lose the chance to take advantage of the chaos to obtain the Golden Yuan Pill, but if the Bright Moon Sect were to breach the Hua Yuan Sect's gate as a result, it would also be bad news for the Hun Yuan Sect. Therefore, he decisively decided to help the Xuan Yang Sect.

Before the Hunyuan Sect members arrived, Song Xian had already secretly sneaked to the south of the Fang family's mountain gate. Since the Xuanyang Sect members were all in the north, he was certain that Fang Mingxuan and the others would flee south.

As he expected, after everyone entered the formation, the Fang family cultivators fled from the south. The reason he was able to locate Fang Mingxuan was because he saw a hidden figure taking off into the air towards the southwest.

He immediately determined that the person was Fang Mingxuan, because the other three had not concealed their figures and had scattered and fled in different directions.

Clearly, this was a smokescreen by Fang Mingxuan. He deliberately sent the three away in different directions to distract Xuan Yang Sect, while he himself concealed himself and quietly left.

If Song Xian hadn't possessed truly discerning eyes and vaguely seen Fang Mingxuan in his concealed state, he wouldn't have been able to discover him.

He ignored the other three who scattered and fled, and only chased after Fang Mingxuan. For him, this was the perfect opportunity, as he could avoid fighting against many opponents and also avoid arguing with the other members of Xuan Yang Sect over the Golden Yuan Pill.

Both of them remained hidden, evading the eyes and ears of others. One chased the other until they reached this lake, where Fang Mingxuan's divine sense finally detected his pursuit. He then revealed himself and launched an attack.

(End of this chapter)