Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 466 Face-to-Face Court Dispute
After resting, Song Xian got up and left the secret chamber. As soon as he stepped out of the stone door, the disciples waiting outside came up to him and bowed: "Sect Leader, Uncle Huang Ye requested an audience a few hours ago, but was turned away by the disciples because you were in the secret chamber."

“Summon him.”

"Yes." The disciple responded and left.

Before long, Huang Ye arrived at the waiting room, where Song Xian was already waiting.

"Sect Leader, we have news of Senior Brother Fan Cheng. It has been confirmed that he has been murdered," Huang Ye said solemnly after bowing and taking his seat.

"What happened?" Song Xian frowned slightly. Fan Cheng was the deputy hall master of the Personnel Hall. He was one of the few old men who had come to Qingyun Sect to seek refuge back then. A month ago, he lost contact after leaving the mountain gate.

He is the deputy head of the Personnel Hall, and he is usually very busy. It is impossible for him to disappear without a reason. The key point is that he did not inform Jiang Zichen before going out this time.

Normally, if he had to go out for personal reasons, he would inform Jiang Zichen, since Jiang Zichen was the head of the Personnel Department and his superior.

However, after he disappeared for half a month without any news, Jiang Zichen reported the matter to Song Xian and ordered the sect's investigation team and intelligence team to search for clues about Fan Cheng.

"According to the investigation, Senior Brother Fan went to participate in the auction at Humen City Market. He appeared at the auction venue on May 17th, and after leaving the market, he never returned to the sect."

“We asked the people around Senior Brother Fan. Senior Brother Fan went to Humen City to buy Dragon-Snake Fruit, which can help spirit beasts break through to the Foundation Establishment stage. He had previously inquired about Dragon-Snake Fruit with the intelligence team and asked them to keep an eye out for it and let him know if there was any news.”

"Senior Brother Fan probably thought he was just going to Humen City to attend the auction and would be back in a few days, so he didn't say hello to Senior Brother Jiang."

"And he didn't get the news that there would be Dragon Snake Fruit at the Tiger Gate City auction from the intelligence team, but from a disciple named Xu Xinyu who was in charge of market affairs in the sect."

"Xu Xinyu also disappeared after Senior Brother Fan's accident, so we judged that this was a premeditated ambush."

"The other party lured Senior Brother Fan to the Humen City auction with false information, then followed him out of the market and killed him."

"We have identified the suspects. Zhang Tianda, a disciple of the Mingyue Sect, is the most suspicious. He is in charge of intelligence within the Mingyue Sect, and Xu Xinyu is very likely a spy he recruited or arranged."

"It is understood that Zhang Tianda was not at the Mingyue Sect's mountain gate on June 17th. In addition, around 3:45 PM that day, some cultivators from Humen City saw people fighting while passing through Buzi Valley. They vaguely saw a black demon snake and a silver mantis battling each other."

"That black serpent is Senior Brother Fan's spirit beast, the Black-striped Python. Zhang Tianda also has a Silverback Mantis."

"Based on these clues, we believe that Zhang Tianda of the Mingyue Sect ambushed and killed Senior Brother Fan Cheng."

"As for his purpose, it is very likely that it is for Senior Brother Fan's Foundation Establishment Pill. Previously, Senior Brother Fan had bought a Foundation Establishment Pill in the market, intending to use it for Foundation Establishment, while Zhang Tianda has now reached the Great Perfection of Qi Refining."

After listening to his brief explanation, Song Xian pondered for a moment: "So, everything is still just speculation at the moment, and there is no evidence to prove that Fan Cheng was killed by Zhang Tianda of the Mingyue Sect, is that right?"

"Not yet, we are doing everything we can to find Xu Xinyu."

"I understand." Song Xian didn't say anything more, he just nodded.

"Then I'll take my leave." Seeing that he didn't want to talk anymore, Huang Ye said goodbye and left.

A few days passed in the blink of an eye, and soon it was time for the sect's council meeting.

On this day, all the important core members of the Hunyuan Sect were in the council hall. Song Xian sat in the main seat, followed by the heads of the various halls of the inner cabinet, as well as the two sect elders, Lin Zixiang and Hu Xiaobao.

Although Song Xianxian doesn't interfere much in the sect's specific affairs, whenever he's at the sect, he listens to a report once a month and attends a meeting at least once every three months.

Today is the end of June, the quarterly meeting time.

After the meeting began, each hall briefly reported on the affairs of the past three months.

"Junior Brother Huang, please share the results of Junior Brother Fan Cheng's investigation!" After the official discussions in each hall concluded, Song Xian took the initiative to bring up this matter.

Fan Cheng was an elder of the sect and one of the few remaining cultivators who had not yet reached the Foundation Establishment stage after joining the sect from Qingyun. Apart from him, everyone else was either dead or had already reached the Foundation Establishment stage.

Putting aside his relationship with Lin Zixiang, Jiang Zichen, Yu Lian, and others, just consider that he has followed the sect through thick and thin for so many years, never abandoning it and making many contributions. Moreover, he was the deputy hall master of the Personnel Hall. Now that he has died mysteriously, if we pretend to ignore it and don't mention it at all in such an important meeting, it would be disheartening.

"Yes," Huang Ye replied, and then relayed the information from the investigation.

“The Bright Moon Sect?” Lin Zixiang frowned. “Outrageous! How dare they do this? We must find the Bright Moon Sect and get to the bottom of this, and make them hand over the person.”

Everyone had different expressions. Jiang Zichen remained silent in thought. Yu Lian wanted to speak up and agree, but he glanced at Song Xian out of habit and saw that he did not show any approval. Instead, he looked even more serious, so he swallowed back what he wanted to say.

Shen Fan and Hu Xiaobao both stared at the ground, as if it were none of their business.

Qi Xiaobai and Xiao Ling both looked at Song Xian silently.

Song Xian's gaze swept over everyone: "Everyone, please speak your mind without any reservations. Junior Brother Fan is an elder of the sect, and now he has died under mysterious circumstances. Our sect should seek justice for him, but this also involves the Bright Moon Sect, which makes things more complicated. If things are not handled properly, it may cause conflict and friction between our sect and the Bright Moon Sect. Everyone, please speak freely."

Xiao Ling glanced at everyone and, seeing that they were all silent, spoke up: "Then I'll share my personal opinion. This shouldn't have been authorized by the higher-ups of the Bright Moon Sect. The Bright Moon Sect wouldn't risk its relationship with our sect for the sake of a Qi Refining disciple. If they wanted to deal with our sect, they wouldn't bother a Qi Refining disciple. Even if this was Zhang Tianda's doing, I think it was his personal act and shouldn't be brought up to the Bright Moon Sect level."

After the Battle of Humen City, the Mingyue Sect severed all cooperation with other sects. It was she who risked her life to go to the Humen City market to meet with Ding Mingde, the second elder of the Mingyue Sect, and went to great lengths to persuade the Mingyue Sect to resume cooperation.

This was one of her major achievements after joining the Hunyuan Sect. In addition, most of the cooperation affairs in Humen City were handled by the External Affairs Hall and were managed by her.

Therefore, both personally and publicly, she did not want this matter to affect the relationship between the two parties, hence her statement.

"Does Junior Sister Xiao mean that we should just ignore Junior Brother Fan's death? Just let him die in vain?" Before anyone else could speak, Lin Zixiang immediately retorted. He already didn't get along with Xiao Ling, and he was also close to Fan Cheng. Hearing her say this made him even more angry.

After saying that, he didn't even glance at Xiao Ling, but turned to Song Xian and said, "Sect Leader, Junior Brother Fan has always been loyal to the sect. Over the years, he has followed the sect in battles, and you know his contributions."

“Now that he has been murdered, if we don’t stand up for him and avenge him, how can we face the sect disciples?” He spoke bluntly, his expression naturally unpleasant, staring directly at Song Xian as if he wanted to force him to give an explanation, as if Xiao Ling’s words were at his behest.

"Senior Brother Lin, don't get agitated." Jiang Zichen quickly tried to dissuade him when he heard his aggressive words: "The problem now is that our sect does not have solid evidence. If we ask the Bright Moon Sect for an explanation now, they will definitely not admit it. The Bright Moon Sect is stronger than us, and we cannot force them to hand over the person. We can only deal with this matter slowly."

"Even if we have evidence, will the Bright Moon Sect hand him over? That Zhang Tianda is already at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining, just one step away from Foundation Establishment. He killed Junior Brother Zhang and stole the Foundation Establishment Pill. His next step will definitely be to break through to Foundation Establishment. Would the Bright Moon Sect hand over a disciple who has a chance to reach Foundation Establishment to us for disposal?" Lin Zixiang was dissatisfied with Jiang Zichen's conciliatory attitude and snorted coldly.

Seeing his reaction, Jiang Zichen stopped talking.

Xiao Ling, however, was unconvinced: "Then, according to Senior Brother Lin's opinion, what should we do? Should we rush into the Bright Moon Sect's mountain gate and kill Zhang Tianda?"

Lin Zixiang still didn't glance at her, but looked at Song Xian: "I intend to try diplomacy first, then force. Inform the Mingyue Sect about this matter. If they refuse to hand over the person, we will retaliate. If they can ambush Junior Brother Fan, why can't we ambush the disciples of the Mingyue Sect? In any case, the sect must take action."

Seeing that Lin Zixiang looked down on her so much, not even glancing at her, as if she didn't exist, Xiao Ling felt angry and retorted without holding back.

"Isn't Senior Brother Lin adding fuel to the fire? Informing the Bright Moon Sect first, and then ambushing their disciples, isn't that tantamount to declaring war?"

"What if they retaliate again? Won't things escalate even further? At that point, not only will the industries we cooperate on with the Bright Moon Sect be affected, but it could also escalate into a major war between the two sides."

"Are we really going to drag the entire sect into this mess just for the sake of a Qi Refining disciple?"

"A Qi Refining disciple?" Lin Zixiang suddenly turned his head and glared at her. "Back when we were still on Guzi Peak, Junior Brother Fan was already a disciple of the sect. The sect is where it is today because we fought to the death. In terms of merit, he absolutely deserves to sit here, instead of being the one who enjoys the fruits of others' labor and boasting about it."

Xiao Ling's expression changed drastically instantly, her face turning visibly ashen.

"Alright, stop arguing." Seeing that the two were getting more and more heated, Song Xian finally spoke up: "Junior Brother Jiang, immediately organize the sect disciples to conduct a large-scale search for Xu Xinyu."

"Yes," Jiang Zichen replied.

The atmosphere in the hall was heavy due to the argument between the two. Song Xian waved his hand and said, "Let's end the meeting here today. Everyone, please disperse!"

Everyone got up and left. Xiao Ling was the first to leave the main hall, and the others left one after another. Only Lin Zixiang remained seated.

Jiang Zichen glanced at him and walked straight past him.

"Senior Brother Zixiang, is there anything else you want to say?" After the others left, Song Xian looked at him, his expression still calm.

"How does the sect leader intend to handle Junior Brother Fan's matter?" Lin Zixiang asked solemnly, his gaze fixed on him.

"Right now, everything is just speculation and conjecture, without any concrete evidence. And since the matter involves the Bright Moon Sect, if we make a mistake, it will be difficult to handle. Let's wait until we have solid evidence!"

"There were eyewitnesses who saw two people fighting in the Buzi Valley area, and they also saw Junior Brother Fan's spirit beast and Zhang Tianda's spirit weapon fighting. Isn't that enough evidence?"

Song Xian remained calm: "After all, we only saw the spirit beast, not Zhang Tianda's appearance. Without any evidence, we can't confront the Mingyue Sect. You know, we have many cooperative businesses with the Mingyue Sect, earning hundreds of thousands of spirit stones every year. We must act cautiously."

"So, even if Xu Xinyu is caught, as long as the Bright Moon Sect doesn't admit it and insists it was a conspiracy, there's nothing we can do about it." Lin Zixiang's eyes lowered slightly, seemingly a little sad, and his voice became much lower.

"Sect Leader, Junior Brother Fan has been with the sect since Guzi Peak. He has been murdered without any explanation. Are we just going to ignore this?"

Song Xian remained silent. He knew this was a tricky matter, but he didn't expect Lin Zixiang's attitude to be so firm.

Hearing his words and seeing his sorrowful appearance, I finally understand why he insisted on this and why he lashed out at Xiao Ling in a rage during the meeting, disregarding propriety. It wasn't just because of his personal relationship with Fan Cheng, but probably also because of a sense of shared sorrow.

He was the most senior member of the sect, and Fan Cheng was one of the few elders in the sect. Now, more and more new people are joining the sect, including cultivators from other factions like Xiao Ling, who are gradually gaining a place in the sect and starting to have a voice. The status of these elders is becoming increasingly unstable.

George Lam's persistence stems, at least in part, from his desire to preserve his contributions and value.

“Senior Brother Zixiang, we are no longer standing on the land of Guzi Peak. This boat is no longer carrying just a dozen or so of us. The sect must consider the big picture when making decisions. I have never forgotten Senior Brother Fan’s contributions and know that he has sacrificed a lot for the sect. But this matter concerns the long-term interests and development of the sect, so we cannot make a hasty decision. We need to consider it carefully.”

"I have something I'd like to ask the sect leader." Lin Zixiang raised his eyes and looked at him again, but without the previous aggressive tone.

"Please speak, Senior Brother Zixiang."

"The sect leader's cultivation is becoming more and more profound, and his strength is far beyond our reach. The gap between us and the sect leader is also widening. In the future, when the sect leader advances to the Golden Core stage, for the sake of the sect's interests, will he treat those of us who cannot keep up with the sect's development in the same way he abandoned Junior Brother Fan?"

Song Xian's eyes narrowed, and he was shocked. He never expected that he would say such a thing.

"Why do you say that, Senior Brother Zixiang? Others may not know, but you should know that I have never abandoned anyone in the sect."

"What's the difference between this and abandonment? The sect leader knows perfectly well that Junior Brother Fan was harmed by Zhang Tianda, but in order not to offend the Bright Moon Sect and for the sake of the sect's interests, he turns a blind eye and does nothing." Lin Zixiang's originally calm expression gradually became solemn, his gaze became sharper and sharper as he stared at him, and his tone became heavier and heavier.

"Does the sect leader still remember when we attacked Tianshan? Junior Brother Fan was right behind me. He was seriously injured that time and almost lost his life. A sharp blade pierced through his chest, just inches away from shattering his heart. He was bedridden for more than a year before recovering."

"Where were the people the sect leader is now heavily relying on back then? Where were they when the sect was in peril?"

"Today, here, she, Xiao Ling, is a person who surrendered to the Luoyun Sect."

As George Lam spoke, he became increasingly agitated, his face flushed, and he pounded his fist on the armrest of the seat, almost roaring.

"How dare she?"

"How dare she refer to Qi Refining disciples as such?"

"How dare she address Junior Brother Fan, who has made so many contributions to the sect and has given so much blood and sweat, in such a contemptuous tone?"

(End of this chapter)