Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 470 The entrance to the secret realm
After returning to his room, Song Xian sat down cross-legged, gazing absently out the window, his mind racing.

He possesses a single water-attribute spiritual root aptitude, water-based supernatural abilities, and a spiritual sense far superior to that of ordinary people.

If we consider him as an opponent, he would definitely be a formidable foe.

His specialty is fire-attribute magic, while his opponent has a single water-attribute spiritual root, which is a perfect counter.

Fortunately, he had already fused three different flames and had the Taiyin Netherfire as a trump card; otherwise, he really wouldn't have known what to do.

However, this does not mean he can rest easy. With a single spiritual root aptitude and innate supernatural abilities, even in a large sect like Xuan Yuan Sect, such a person would definitely be a core disciple.

The cultivation method he practices must be the top-level technique of the Xuan Yuan Sect, and the spells and supernatural abilities he possesses must also be extraordinary. Perhaps he also has some rare treasures on him.

He had to be very careful from now on. The only good news was that since Wei Fan had found this person, he probably wouldn't look for anyone else. So he didn't have to worry about encountering any ambushes when he went to the Boundless Sea.

The reason is simple: the more people involved, the less influence Wei Fan has, and the less benefit he can get.

He has already found such a powerful cultivator to accompany him, so he won't seek out anyone else to share the spoils.

The more people you approach, the easier it is to squeeze yourself out of the game.

.........

The moonlight was bright, and the Milky Way filled the sky.

In the brightly lit hall of Chunfeng Pavilion in Bianxi City, several men and women dressed in the attire of the Hunyuan Sect gathered, exchanging cups and chatting idly.

"Senior Brother Fang, congratulations on your promotion to the position of Deputy Hall Master of the Personnel Hall. I hope you will take good care of me in the future."

A young man raised his glass to the slender middle-aged man in the main seat. The man's name was Fang Quan. He was originally the head of the Personnel Department, but due to Fan Cheng's death, the position of head of the Personnel Department of the Hunyuan Sect became vacant. Today, during the cabinet meeting, it was finally decided that he would take over the position.

He had spent countless days working tirelessly to secure this position, pulling strings and using all his connections. Now that the dust had settled, he was overjoyed and gathered a large number of guests and friends. Disciples of the Hunyuan Sect, who were on good terms with him, came to celebrate.

"Junior Brother Lin, Junior Brother Jiang, thank you so much this time. Without the strong support of Uncle Lin and Uncle Jiang, I wouldn't have gotten this position. Come, let me toast you again." Three people were sitting at the head of the table. Fang Quan was in the center, and on his left and right were none other than Jiang Yuan, son of Jiang Zichen, and Lin Xingyu, son of Lin Zixiang.

Jiang Yuan didn't speak, but calmly picked up his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.

Lin Xingyu smiled and said, "Within the sect, besides your Senior Brother Fang, who else is qualified for this position? Besides, you are a direct descendant of the sect. If Father and Uncle Jiang don't support you, who else can they support? Are you suggesting that people from the Luoyun Sect take the position? The sect is already in chaos with just one Xiao Ling; if there are a few more, it will be disastrous."

Upon hearing this, everyone present chuckled in tacit agreement.

Those who could attend this banquet were all people with a certain status and position within the sect, and were basically the direct descendants cultivated by the sect from childhood. Naturally, they did not get along well with the people from the Luoyun Sect.

Because of Lin Zixiang, Lin Xingyu, although not the most powerful among the group, was the backbone of the group.

“Junior Brother Lin is right. Those former Luoyun Sect cultivators were homeless stray dogs. Our sect took them in, but now they’re acting like bullies. It’s all because of that Xiao Ling. This time, she really got the short end of the stick. I heard that during the meeting, she spoke disrespectfully to Senior Brother Fan, and Uncle Lin scolded her on the spot. She didn’t even dare to breathe. We’ve finally gotten revenge for you. It feels so good to think about it.”

"That's why she dared not interfere in the selection of the deputy hall master of the Personnel Hall this time. If it weren't for Uncle Lin stepping in, given her personality, she would definitely have pushed that group of people from the Falling Cloud Sect to the position this time."

"With Uncle Lin and Uncle Jiang in the sect, she can't cause much trouble."

After chatting and drinking for a while, the group decided to go to the gambling den for some fun. As they left the room and stepped out of the pavilion, they saw a group of disciples dressed in the same Hunyuan Sect attire coming towards them.

The leader was a tall, broad-shouldered, burly man, and beside him was a handsome young man who looked to be only sixteen or seventeen years old.

"Senior Brother Fang, what a coincidence, I didn't expect to run into you here." As the two groups approached, the burly man nodded to Fang Quan.

"Isn't this Junior Brother Zhao? Long time no see. Weren't you in Tianshan? What brings you here?" Fang Quan replied with a smile, but his gaze fell on the handsome young man beside him, who looked like a young master: "Junior Brother Hu is here too. Long time no see."

The handsome man was none other than Hu Xiaobao's son, Hu Yingqiu. Although he was young, he had the air of an old man. He put his hands behind his back and raised his head slightly: "Why are all my fellow disciples here? Even Senior Brother Lin and Senior Brother Jiang are here."

Lin Xingyu did not reply, but Jiang Yuan replied truthfully: "Today, Senior Brother Fang was promoted to Deputy Director of the Personnel Hall, and everyone is here to congratulate him."

"Oh! Is that so?" Hu Yingqiu nodded with an air of maturity: "I was unaware of this matter, otherwise I would have come to join in the fun and celebrate with Senior Brother Fang."

Fang Quan said with a smile, "If that's what you mean, then it's my fault. I'll ask you to apologize another day."

Hu Yingqiu waved his hand: "Hey! Senior Brother Fang, you flatter me."

"Senior Brother Fang, are you heading back to the sect?" the burly man beside him chimed in.

"Ah! No, we were just planning to check out the gambling den. Why don't you fellow disciples come along and have some fun?"

"No, we have our own things to do." Hu Yingqiu raised her head. "Father's birthday is approaching, and the family is planning a celebration. My sister-in-law, oh! I mean, the sect leader's wife, has agreed to attend the banquet, so I came to the market to buy some things to prepare for the guests!"

"I see. Then we'll be going now. Junior Brother Hu, please give my regards to Uncle Hu." Fang Quan replied with a smile.

"Don't worry! I'll tell Dad."

The two groups passed each other like two distinct rivers, but some of them knew each other, nodding and talking quietly, exchanging greetings, until they parted ways completely and went their separate ways.

Lin Xingyu curled his lip in disdain and snorted coldly: "Senior Brother Fang, Junior Brother Jiang, did you hear that? My sister-in-law, anyone who didn't know better would think she and the sect leader were brothers from the same mother! She's always talking about my brother, my brother, it's utterly ridiculous."

Jiang Yuan didn't respond, and Fang Quan just smiled slightly.

.........

Dark clouds covered the sun, torrential rain poured down, and a fierce wind swept across the sea, with huge waves crashing one after another, like an endless mountain range.

High in the sky, three streaks of light flashed past, heading towards the small island in the distance.

As they drew closer, the outline of the island came into view. The island was an irregular oval shape, with lush, verdant forests that seemed to block out the sun, almost completely enveloping the island.

The island is only a dozen miles in size, and from the air it looks about the size of a palm.

After the three of them landed, Wei Fan led the other two to a mountain completely covered by wild grass.

This mountain is only a few dozen feet high, but it stretches for hundreds of feet in size, with jagged rocks and overgrown with weeds.

The mountain is surrounded by lush vegetation, and the sounds of insects and birds can be heard constantly.

"Fellow Daoist Wei, could the entrance to the secret realm be here?" Cheng Zongyuan asked when he saw him stop, because apart from the desolate mountain in front of him, there was nothing else, and there was no entrance to the mountain.

Song Xian also looked at Wei Yuan curiously. Although he knew the secret realm was on the deserted island, he didn't know its exact location. After all, he learned about it from Wei Yuan himself, rather than by directly searching his memories, so his knowledge wasn't very detailed.

Some things are not very clear when spoken, especially when one is in a state of mental confusion and disorientation.

“Yes, right here.” Wei Yuan strode up the mountain and came to a round, black rock. He flipped his hand and took out a golden, palm-sized, rhomboid stone: “Sect Leader Song, bring yours too!”

Song Xian glanced at him, then handed him the key as instructed. Wei Yuan placed the two stones into the two recesses of the black rock, and a soft click was heard, like the sound of a key unlocking a lock.

Two golden, palm-sized, rhomboid stones were perfectly and seamlessly embedded in the round, black rock.

Song Xian and Cheng Zongyuan stood on either side of Wei Fan. Upon hearing the soft clicking sound, both of them brightened up and then almost simultaneously took a few steps back.

It was as if they were worried that the black rock might suddenly burst open, or that some monster might rush out from inside.

However, nothing changed.

"This is how to open the secret realm. As you can see, nothing will change until the time is right. We must wait for the day when the seven stars align to open the secret realm." Wei Fan's face was expressionless, as if he had expected all of this.

Cheng Zongyuan's eyes flickered slightly: "Secret realms are usually sealed with arrays, but there's nothing here except for scattered rocks. Will the secret realm really open on the day the seven stars align?"

"I don't know, and I've never been to that secret realm. I obtained this clue in a hidden cave. Anyway, that's what it says. As for whether it's effective, we'll find out when the time comes."

"Then let's wait!" Song Xian turned and left, finding a secluded spot to sit cross-legged. All the way, he had been wary of the two of them, constantly watching their movements.

Both Cheng Zongyuan and Wei Fan were well aware of this, as they were also secretly on guard against him.

On the surface, the three traveled together and seemed very close, but in reality, they each had their own thoughts.

However, once they arrived, Song Xian relaxed his guard a little. The two of them hadn't made a move along the way, so it was unlikely that they would turn on each other at this crucial moment.

We've already come this far, and we don't even know if there are any dangers in that secret realm. Every extra person helps.

Even if we were to take action, we would have to wait until we had explored the secret realm and obtained the treasures before turning against each other.

After he sat down to rest, Wei Fan also found a quiet place to sit down. Only Cheng Zongyuan was still studying the black stone. After a while, he also found a place to rest.

The three people occupied a fan-shaped area around the black rock, and an uninformed person would think they were in a standoff.

.........

Under a clear blue sky, in Humen City, at the Mingyue Sect's mountain gate, a vast expanse of spiritual energy surged forth, forming vortexes that rushed towards the figure below.

From midday to dusk, and then to nightfall, the vortexes of spiritual energy in the air dissipated one by one.

At a certain moment, the man in the training ground opened his eyes, and the spiritual pressure unique to Foundation Establishment cultivators soared into the sky.

In the distance, a beam of light shot out, revealing the figure of a burly man.

"Uncle Wu, thank you for protecting me."

"Junior Brother Zhang, congratulations! I've always had high hopes for you. Now that you've successfully established your foundation, you don't need to worry about the Hunyuan Sect anymore. The sect will take care of it for you."

"Without Uncle Wu's guidance, I wouldn't be where I am today. I will never forget your great kindness. If you ever need my help in the future, I will go through fire and water without hesitation."

The burly man revealed a rare smile: "Junior Brother Zhang, you flatter me. It's just a trivial matter, nothing to worry about. Let's go! I'll take you to see Senior Brother Ding. It's time to reach a conclusion about the Hunyuan Sect's affairs."

.........

As night fell, under a bright moon and sparse stars, Huang Ye entered the brightly lit hall. A man inside stood up and bowed, saying, "Uncle-Master Huang, Spider just sent word that Zhang Tianda has successfully established his foundation."

"Understood." Huang Ye nodded calmly.

"There's another matter. The position of head of Huangshi Mountain in the Bright Moon Sect is vacant. Spider wants to take this position and hopes to get our help."

What are his requirements?

"He wants some spirit stones to smooth things over. Also, the headquarters' budget for this year is almost used up. There are still four months left. Uncle, do you think we should apply to the sect for some additional funds?"

Huang Ye frowned slightly: "Your intelligence team needs to receive additional spirit stones every year. This was already mentioned during last year's financial meeting."

The man glanced at his face and continued in a low voice, "You know, there have been a lot of things going on this year. The Qianqing Sect retreated from Nanhan County, and the sect leader ordered us to keep a close eye on the matter and gather information. This is the most important intelligence, and it costs a lot of spirit stones. There's also the matter of Vice Hall Master Fan's assassination attempt. We've spent a lot of spirit stones searching for clues."

"Alright, I'll go talk to them and try to get you some more funding."

"Thank you, Uncle-Master." The man took his leave.

Huang Ye pondered for a while, then got up and left the room, arriving at Jiang Zichen's residence. Soon after, he was invited inside.

Inside, Jiang Zichen was already seated, and Xiao Ling was also present.

"Senior Brother Jiang." Huang Ye bowed.

“Junior Brother Huang has arrived, please sit down.” Jiang Zichen waved for him to sit down: “The Mingyue Sect has already responded to the matter of Junior Brother Fan’s murder, denying any connection with Zhang Tianda.”

Huang Ye noticed a stack of files on the table beside him, which he assumed was the reply from the Bright Moon Sect.

"I've also received news that Zhang Tianda has successfully completed the Foundation Establishment stage."

“No wonder. They’ve been so ambiguous for so long. I was wondering why they suddenly became so tough and completely denied our accusations. In that case, Junior Sister Xiao, you don’t need to argue with them anymore. Zhang Tianda has already established his foundation, so the Bright Moon Sect certainly won’t punish him for this.”

"Okay. Should I give them a final response?"

"Senior Brother Jiang, I suggest giving one, while reserving the sect's opinion," Huang Ye said before Jiang Zichen could answer.

"Alright, let's do as Junior Brother Huang says. Junior Sister Xiao, you should give them an answer!"

Jiang Zichen knew that Huang Ye often plotted things with Song Xian that even he didn't know about, so when he heard Huang Ye say this, he readily agreed.

"If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave." Xiao Ling could tell that Huang Ye seemed to have something else to discuss, so she got up and left.

(End of this chapter)