Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 479 Everyone has their own agenda
"What do you think?" After disappearing into the distance, Thor glanced back at the cave and asked meaningfully.

"This person is a bit strange; he might not be easy to deal with." Taylor's eyes flickered slightly.

Thor narrowed his eyes slightly: "That's why I want you to come and see for yourself. This is the first time I've encountered someone who actually possesses this Crimson Sun Golden Flame, and has even absorbed it into their body."

"It is obvious that this person has mastered some kind of secret technique that can absorb the Crimson Sun Golden Flame, but it is unknown whether he can absorb other strange flames."

Thor glanced at him: "I don't care about the Crimson Sun Golden Flame, I already have it anyway, you must really want it!"

Taylor snorted coldly: "Don't pretend you're not tempted at all. Don't you want to know the secret method of absorbing strange fire? Besides, since this person absorbed the Crimson Sun Golden Flame, he might have absorbed other strange fires as well, but just hasn't used them yet."

Thor frowned slightly. "That's what I'm worried about too. This person probably has a backup plan."

"Don't rush into action. We'll act according to the circumstances. This person is not someone to be trifled with; we must be extra careful."

"After all these years, you still don't trust me. When have I ever been reckless?"

…………

In the blink of an eye, several months have passed.

Inside the cave dwelling, Song Xian sat upright with his eyes closed, a green gourd lying quietly beside him. A steady stream of yin energy was surging from the yin veins underground and being drawn into the gourd.

For more than four months, the gourd kept absorbing yin energy, like a child who was never full.

This far exceeded Song Xian's expectations. He never imagined that the gourd would have such a large capacity to absorb so much Yin energy. No wonder the Yin energy remaining in the Yin Soul Pearl couldn't satisfy it back then.

Now that things have come to this, he has no choice but to continue waiting for things to change.

Anyway, he was going to wait for Taylor's news here, so he wasn't in a hurry to leave.

After an unknown amount of time, he slowly opened his eyes as if sensing something, and turned to look at the gourd beside him. He saw that dense yin energy was swirling and circling above it, but it did not flow into the gourd as before.

Song Xian increasingly felt that the gourd was like a sentient being.

It was like an infant, greedily absorbing the yin energy for nourishment. During this time, Song Xian did not make any move; everything was done by the infant itself. The surrounding yin energy was absorbed into the gourd by the infant, rather than Song Xian actively drawing it in.

Now it is like a baby that has suckled its fill of milk, with the sucked-in yin energy swirling at the mouth of the gourd, waiting for it to swallow it.

Seeing that the gourd was no longer absorbing yin energy, Song Xian was both surprised and curious, and quickly took the gourd to examine it.

After his divine sense entered the inner room, he discovered that the large amount of yin energy that had been absorbed was gathered in the lower half of the gourd, condensing into a ball that completely filled the lower half of the gourd.

It's truly amazing that the gourd absorbed months of yin energy and it all gathered within a tiny space the size of a palm.

This cloud of yin energy had clearly been purified and compressed, but from the outside, the gourd's surface showed no change.

Song Xian tried to infuse spiritual energy but there was no response, so he had to give up for the time being. Now, he could only wait and see what would happen next in the gourd.

Just then, he sensed someone approaching with his divine sense, so he put away the gourd and went outside.

When he reached the outside of the cave, he saw three people already standing there.

Two of them were Taylor and Saul, whom they had met before.

The other person was a short, dark-skinned man with a Foundation Establishment level nine cultivation.

"Fellow Daoist Su, let me introduce you. This is Fellow Daoist Huang Jie, also from your Qin Kingdom. Fellow Daoist Huang, this is Fellow Daoist Su Xian." Taylor introduced the two parties with a smile.

Huang Jie remained expressionless, only nodding slightly.

Song Xian had no interest in chatting with the other party about everyday matters. Since they were all working together temporarily, their backgrounds were not important. He wasn't the organizer, so there was no need to ask so clearly. Even if he did ask, he might not get the truthful information.

He was more interested in whether the other party had mastered a different kind of fire, so he probed indirectly, "I've heard Fellow Daoist Taylor mention Fellow Daoist Huang before, saying that you have a powerful fire attribute secret technique. It would be great if Fellow Daoist Huang would join us."

Huang Jie did not respond, remaining expressionless as if he had not heard anything.

Taylor chuckled and replied, "Everyone's here, let's get going!"

Song Xian naturally had no objections. He had already seized this cave dwelling, so there was nothing to pack up. He and the three of them immediately took off in a burst of light and headed southwest.

.........

Dark clouds covered the moon and it rained heavily.

Inside the brightly lit room at the Beast Taming Sect's mountain gate, Wang Xuan sat at the bottom, respectfully presenting a stack of documents to Hong Haoran, who sat at the head of the table.

“According to reliable intelligence, Qi Yunxuan has secretly infiltrated Xijiang County and has met with Murong Teng in secret talks more than once. Although we do not know what they discussed, based on the recent actions of the rebels in Nanhan County and news from all sides, we can conclude that he returned this time to persuade the Murong family to start an uprising. Moreover, there are rumors that they have reached an agreement.”

Hong Haoran flipped through the files expressionlessly. After a while, he closed them and put them aside: "When did Qi Yunxuan return to Xijiang County?"

"It is speculated that he secretly infiltrated Xijiang County about half a year ago. On June 14th, the Murong family mountain gate received a late-stage Golden Core cultivator. Now it seems that it was Qi Yunxuan in disguise."

"Besides Murong Teng, who else has Qi Yunxuan been in contact with?"

"The only confirmed information is about Murong Teng. As for whether he has secretly contacted others, it is currently unknown."

"What about the Yunxing Chamber of Commerce? Any activity from them?"

"Not at the moment. I estimate that the Nanhan County government has probably sent people to contact them as well."

Hong Haoran didn't ask any more questions, his gaze drifting towards the outside of the hall, lost in thought.

“This concerns the rebels in Nanhan County. Xuan Yuan Sect knows about this and will certainly no longer protect the Murong family. Our sect can take this opportunity to wipe them out in one fell swoop.” Seeing that he remained silent, Wang Xuan made a suggestion.

Hong Haoran shook his head: "What can these things prove? I'm afraid the Xuan Yuan Sect won't believe it."

Wang Xuan's eyes were firm: "I believe that whether Xuan Yuan Sect believes it or not is not important. What is important is that our sect can give them an explanation."

Hong Haoran glanced at him, then remained silent in thought.

...The sky was clear and the sun was shining brightly, with not a cloud in sight.

Before the desolate mountains, several beams of light shot down, revealing four figures—Song Xian and his group.

Looking around, the surroundings were desolate, with sparse trees, lush weeds, and the sounds of insects and birds. This place was located at the junction of the eastern and northern regions of the Muhe Grassland, and was called the Tiancong Mountain Range.

The four traveled from the southeast of the Ten Thousand Mountains. Along the way, Taylor remained silent about his destination until he arrived here, at which point he vanished in a flash.

Song Xian followed behind the three, his face showing no unusual expression, but he was constantly observing the three of them with vigilance.

"Fellow Daoist Taylor, could this be the location of the forbidden treasure you mentioned?" Huang Jie finally asked.

He had asked the same question once along the way, but the other party only gave a perfunctory reply, "You'll know when you get there," thus silencing him.

Taylor did not answer him and walked straight ahead.

Thor took the lead, followed closely by Huang Jie, while Song Xian remained at the back, keeping pace with the three at a leisurely pace.

The group arrived at a dark cave. Taylor reached out and slapped the stone wall next to him. With a soft sound, the ground split open to the sides, revealing a wide stone staircase passage.

The group entered the inner room, where dark stone steps led downwards, and there was no sound except for the clatter of their footsteps.

After descending several hundred stone steps, the view suddenly opened up before us. Inside the spacious underground palace, a semi-transparent light curtain, faintly visible, enveloped an area of ​​several hundred feet in radius, its surroundings obscured by a large expanse of clouds and mist.

“I have studied this restriction carefully. It is formed by the condensation of fire-attribute spiritual energy, so it needs to be broken with fire-attribute magic. However, ordinary fire-attribute attacks are no match for it, so I have brought the three of you here.” Taylor walked at the front without turning his head, speaking as he walked, his voice calm and even.

Thor immediately chimed in, "Just tell me! How can we break this restriction?"

“I have found three relatively weak points in this restriction. You just need to follow my instructions and use your strongest fire-attribute divine abilities to attack them at the same time. That should be enough to break the restriction.” Taylor turned around, his face solemn.

"Let's confirm one last time: if there's any treasure inside, I'll take double. Does everyone agree?"

“Of course, this was something we agreed on beforehand,” Thor agreed, then glanced back at the two of them.

Song Xian and Huang Jie both nodded silently in agreement.

The three then landed at the designated locations as Taylor instructed: Song Xian was in the southwest of the barrier, Huang Jie in the northeast, and Thor in the east.

At his command, the three of them each unleashed a fire-attribute secret technique.

Song Xian had been secretly watching Huang Jie, eager to know if the other party was using some kind of strange fire.

Until he saw the man form hand seals, his body blazing with black flames that then detached from his body and condensed into a massive black fireball, his gaze dimmed almost imperceptibly.

The black flames were not strange fires at all, but rather a supernatural power attached to some kind of cultivation technique.

In his True Eye of Insight, the black flames, though powerful, were far less potent than the Crimson Sun Golden Flame he and Thor had unleashed.

The black flames only have an attack power of 1500 points. But then again, it's quite remarkable that a Foundation Establishment cultivator could unleash such a powerful fire-attribute spell.

The flames pierced through the clouds and mist surrounding the barrier, instantly evaporating them without a sound of impact. The Crimson Sun Golden Flame and the black fireball struck the translucent light screen, where large, crimson talismans emerged, emitting dazzling light. These talismans intertwined with the fire magic released by the three individuals, appearing from a distance as if two flames were entwining with each other.

As time passed, the crimson runes on the faintly visible transparent light screen melted one by one. After a period of distortion, the entire light screen shattered, revealing a huge palace with green bricks and blue tiles inside.

The three of them withdrew their released fire spells and looked at the vast palace before them with different expressions.

Taylor and Saul were clearly excited. Song Xian calmly observed the three of them. When his gaze swept over Huang Jie, Huang Jie was also looking at him. Their eyes met, and then immediately looked away.

Song Xian also saw the wariness in his eyes, but he didn't take it too seriously. The two were not familiar with each other, and it was even possible that he was like him, not familiar with Taylor and Saul, and had been brought in temporarily. Under such circumstances, it was only natural to be wary.

“Let’s go in! Let’s see what treasures are inside.” Thor strode forward, pushed open the heavy stone door, and a spacious courtyard came into view.

The interior floor, paved with blue bricks, was very smooth, but covered with a layer of dust, indicating that no one had lived there for many years.

The courtyard was empty and spacious, with only a few stone statues holding axes standing on both sides. Apart from that, there was nothing else. At the end of the courtyard was a similarly heavy stone door.

Song Xian followed behind the three of them. Just as Taylor reached out to push the heavy stone door, a rustling sound suddenly came from all sides.

But then, red light emanated from the eyes of the stone statues on both sides of the courtyard. The next moment, the stone statues seemed to come alive, taking heavy steps and moving forward in unison.

The expressions on their faces changed slightly.

"Something's strange. Let's get out of here." Taylor's expression was solemn. Before he finished speaking, the stone statues holding stone axes rushed towards the four of them.

The twelve stone statues on both sides of the courtyard have now come to life, their eyes glowing red as they wield axes and strike at the four people.

With a loud bang, Thor launched the first counterattack. He clasped his hands together, and a black greatsword materialized in his palms. He slashed at a stone statue that was attacking from the left.

The stone statue struck the stone axe in its hand. The stone axe shattered into stone chips and broke apart inch by inch. The large knife struck the stone statue's head, cutting the stone statue in two.

However, the next moment, the stone statue that had been cut in two emitted a red light again and automatically glued itself back together. Even the broken stone axe fragments reassembled into the shape of a battle axe and returned to the stone statue's hand.

Before Thor could retract his condensed greatsword, two more stone statues wielding large axes swung at him, striking the golden circular shield that had formed around him, causing the shield to shake violently.

As Thor made his move, the other three also engaged in combat with several other stone statues in the courtyard.

Song Xian unleashed the Flame Meteor Technique, condensing a massive ball of fire that crashed into a stone statue. The flames immediately engulfed it, and the statue's body shattered and melted under the raging fire. However, its fragmented body still flickered with red light, and the shattered body slowly reformed.

He narrowed his eyes slightly. These stone statues had no spiritual energy around them, so he didn't know their specific cultivation level, but under his True Eye of Observation, their strength was still obvious.

Each strike from the stone statue has a power of approximately two hundred points, which, based on that, is roughly equivalent to the level of a cultivator in the early stages of Foundation Establishment.

They have no means of defense and will only mindlessly swing their great axes to attack the nearest target. Their bodies are also relatively fragile, unlike the toughness of demonic beasts.

The problem is that they seem impossible to kill. No matter what attack they are subjected to, even if their bodies are shattered into a pile of stone chips, they can reassemble. In addition, there are a large number of them, a total of twelve, so they are quite difficult to deal with.

(End of this chapter)