Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 519 The Choice Between Staying and Leaving
“That bastard Hong Haoran, I curse his ancestors for eighteen generations. When our sect was in Yongning City, we paid them every penny of the taxes we were owed. He just watched the Mingyue Sect attack our sect and did nothing, but now he wants to wipe us out.”

Late at night, in the brightly lit hall, after hearing Huo Youming's words, Xu Yuanshun's expression changed, he slammed his hand on the armrest and began to curse loudly.

Liu Yu frowned slightly: "Could this be Song Xian's scheme? The timing is too coincidental. He just broke through to the Golden Core stage, and the Beast Taming Sect has already made their statement?"

Huo Youming's face was so gloomy it looked like it was about to drip water: "I have already sent people to Xijiang County to inquire, but even if we find out whether the matter is true or false, there is not enough time. Song Xian only gave us seven days to make a decision."

Liu Yu pondered for a moment and said, "I don't doubt that this is fake. If Song Xian really wanted to drive us away, he would have many ways to do so. There's no need for him to risk offending Hong Haoran by using Hong Haoran's words. If Hong Haoran finds out, they'll be in big trouble. I suspect that this might be a scheme orchestrated by the Hunyuan Sect and the Beast Taming Sect?"

Huo Youming looked doubtful: "Junior Brother Liu, do you mean that the Hunyuan Sect and the Beast Taming Sect have joined forces just to drive us away from Bianxi City? That can't be true!"

"It's not about driving us out of Bianxi City, it's about annexing us. After Song Xian forms his core, his status in the Beast Taming Sect will definitely rise. If he makes this suggestion to Hong Haoran, Hong Haoran might agree."

"Really?" Huo Youming asked doubtfully. "But the choice is still in our hands. If we don't want to, wouldn't he have wasted an opportunity to make a request to Hong Haoran?"

"I just have a suspicion, after all, the timing is too coincidental. Of course, it is more likely that things are as Song Xian said, that Xu Zhuoxuan was worried that his advancement to the Golden Core stage would be detrimental to his occupation of Yongning City, so he said these words to Hong Haoran."

Xu Shunyuan was getting impatient.

"What's the use of thinking about this now? We only have seven days left. It's not even enough time to make a round trip to Xijiang County. How can we know what exactly happened here? Besides, even if we find out the truth, what then? Whether it's Song Xian's suggestion to Hong Haoran or Xu Zhuoxuan's, we only have two choices: either leave or stay."

Both of them remained silent.

The room fell silent.

Xu Yuanshun was an impatient man, and seeing that neither of them spoke, he couldn't help but urge them: "Whether you go or stay, just say it!"

Liu Yu glanced at him and said, "Junior Brother Xu, don't rush. This matter is of great importance and needs to be discussed carefully."

"Let's discuss this further. We only have seven days left. Senior Brother Huo, you are the sect leader, you decide whether we stay or leave."

Huo Youming hesitated, frowning and remaining silent for a while before finally saying, "I haven't decided yet."

Liu Yu continued, "Whether we stay or leave, we need to think about our next step. If we stay, we should think about how to deal with the Hunyuan Sect and not let them divide and weaken us. If we leave, we should also consider where we can settle down."

Huo Youming looked at the two of them: "What are your opinions, junior brothers?"

Xu Yuanshun immediately chimed in without much thought: "I think we should stay. Didn't Song Xian say that we should remain independent? It's just that we're publicly claiming to be disciples of the Hunyuan Sect. Where can we go if we leave now? If the Hunyuan Sect really has ill intentions, we can leave then, it won't be too late!"

"Junior Brother Liu, what do you think?"

Liu Yu shook her head: "I haven't decided what to do yet. Let me think about it some more."

Silence fell again in the room. The three of them had been discussing it all night, but still couldn't decide whether to stay or leave.

.........

The next day, around noon.

While Xu Yuanshun was discussing this matter with two of his trusted confidants in the main hall of his residence, a disciple came to the outer room and reported to him: "Uncle Xu, Senior Xia of the Hunyuan Sect has arrived and says he has important matters to discuss with you."

"Please invite him over." Xu Yuanshun waved his hand, signaling his two trusted men to leave.

The disciple responded and left. Before long, Xia Yu was led here.

"Brother Xu, I hope I haven't disturbed you!" Xia Yu entered with a gentle smile and, without any ceremony, sat down directly below.

Both being weapon refiners, they naturally had much in common. At Song Xian's request, they worked together to refine the Yin Soul Pearl for him. In addition, they were kindred spirits, so they have become quite close over the years.

"Brother Xia, did you come here on the orders of your sect's leader, Song, to persuade me to stay? If so, then there's no need for you to ask. If your sect decides to stay, I will naturally stay; if it decides to leave, then I will naturally leave with it. I will not stay here alone."

Although Xu Yuanshun was a bit straightforward and sometimes spoke in a hurried and anxious manner, he was not stupid.

Yesterday, Song Xiancai and Huo Youming discussed their future plans, and today he came here, which must be about this matter.

Although he didn't know why Song Xian refined so many Yin Soul Pearls every year or where they went, he knew that Song Xian needed him and certainly didn't want him to leave.

Currently, there are only two people in the Hunyuan Sect who are capable of refining this item. If it were him, he would definitely try to persuade them to stay.

Xia Yu smiled slightly: "You're always in such a hurry. I think you've said everything before I've even finished speaking."

With that, he flipped his hand and took out a golden scroll of paper, tossing it over: "This is the secret recipe for refining the Wind Essence Pearl that you requested. I only received it a month ago. Since I've been cultivating in the cultivation room recently and haven't seen you go to the weapon-refining room at our sect's mountain gate, I haven't had a chance to give it to you yet." "I heard about your situation last night and knew that you might be leaving in the next few days, so I brought it to you."

Xu Yuanshun took the scroll, opened it, and saw that it was indeed the method for refining the Wind Essence Pearl. He looked embarrassed and said, "Thank you, Brother Xia."

"Brother Xu, are you really leaving? I'll really miss you. After you leave, I'll be the only one left in the sect refining Yin Soul Pearls, and I won't even have anyone to talk to."

Xu Yuanshun, having initially misunderstood him and now grateful for his help in finding the secret formula and even bringing it over, decided not to hide anything: "To tell you the truth, we discussed it all night yesterday, and we still haven't decided whether to stay or leave. I'm in favor of staying, but the sect leader and Junior Brother Liu haven't made a decision yet, so we don't know whether to stay or leave at the moment."

Xia Yu said, "If you ask me, what's there to consider? Hong Haoran has already said that there's nowhere for you to stay in Xijiang County. If you go to other counties and join other sects, do you think they'll allow you to maintain your independence like our sect has?"

"You all have witnessed how our sect leader has treated you all over the years. If it weren't for Hong Haoran's intervention, the sect leader wouldn't have forced you to make a choice."

"Right now, all we're doing is letting you publicly declare that you've joined the Hunyuan Sect, so we can give you an explanation to the Beast Taming Sect. Internally, you're still allowed to manage things independently. This is the limit of what the sect leader can do."

"Besides, even if you wanted to leave Xijiang County now, it wouldn't be easy. Xu Zhuoxuan is petty and narrow-minded; he can't even tolerate you staying in Bianxi City, so how could he let you leave safely? If he wanted to eliminate you completely and ambushed you along the way, how would you resist?"

"Staying in our sect is much better than living under someone else's roof. The sect leader values ​​talent the most. I used to be a rogue cultivator, but after joining the sect, the sect leader not only gave me a private cultivation room, but also lent me spirit stones so I could buy Foundation Establishment Pills."

"Over the years, the sect has fought many battles. No matter how difficult the battles were, the sect leader never let us disciples who have the skills of alchemy and weapon crafting participate."

Xu Yuanshun remained silent.

Xia Yu, observing the situation, knew that saying more would only make things worse, so he stopped talking, stood up and said, "The things have been delivered, so I won't bother Brother Xu any longer. Farewell."

"I'll see Brother Xia off."

After the two left the mansion, Xia Yu rose into the air and left the place.

.........

As night fell, the moon shone brightly and the stars were few, casting shadows over the mountains.

After finishing his day of cultivation, Song Xian returned to his residence and immediately received a report from his disciple that Xia Yu had something to report and had been waiting for him in the hall for a long time, so he went there.

"Sect Leader." Xia Yu stood up and bowed as he entered.

"How is the situation?" Song Xian waved his hand, gesturing for him to sit down.

“They haven’t made a decision yet. According to Xu Yuanshun, he wants to stay, but Huo Youming and Liu Yu are still hesitant. But he also said that he would never stay alone.”

"Okay, I understand. Thank you for your hard work." Song Xian nodded. Apart from Xia Yu, he did not send anyone else to inquire or persuade.

The reason only Xia Yu was sent was twofold: firstly, he had a close personal relationship with Xu Yuanshun and the two got along well; secondly, among the three Foundation Establishment cultivators currently in Huayuan Sect, Xu Yuanshun was relatively straightforward and less cunning.

Liu Yu is the strategist among the three, and he is quite shrewd and calculating.

Such people have their own ideas about what they want to do, and they also think clearly about the pros and cons, making it difficult for others to persuade them.

Saying too much can easily cause resentment.

Needless to say, Huo Youming was the backbone of the Ming people. If he didn't have his own ideas and decisions, he wouldn't have led so many people away from the Mingyue Sect.

.........

Several days passed in the blink of an eye. During these days, Song Xian did not send anyone to inquire about the news, but privately, he instructed Huang Ye to keep a close eye on Hua Yuanzong's every move.

If Hua Yuanzong were to leave, firstly, he would need to gather his people, and then he would need to take a large number of items with him, all of which would be easily noticed.

Less than seven days later, just five days later, Huo Youming arrived.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, he expressed his decision to stay.

Song Xian comforted him with kind words and assured him that he would not interfere in their internal affairs. However, he also made it clear that they would be needed in the future.

Satisfied with the promise, Huo Youming left.

Since then, several hundred former Mingyue Sect disciples have stayed in Bianxi City under the identity of Hunyuan Sect.

(End of this chapter)