Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 540 Visiting Ap
"Apu has been appointed as the head of the East China Sea District?" In the brightly lit waiting room of Luoyun Mountain, Song Xian, who had finished a day of cultivation, returned to his residence and was stunned when he heard Huang Ye's report.

When he learned that Musa, the lord of the eastern region of the Muh Plains, had killed the high priest Nuha, he thought that Ap might return to the Houssien family. After all, it's good to have a powerful backer, and no one would refuse to find a good patron.

While practicing as a solitary cultivator is carefree, cultivation requires financial resources and other resources.

Aside from those who have no hope for their spiritual path or no interest in cultivation and only want to enjoy wealth and status, Apu is definitely not that kind of person; otherwise, he wouldn't have made the move to betray his friend for personal gain.

Moreover, he was a descendant of the Hussein family. Since Musa had already declared his father's death a miscarriage of justice and had eliminated his enemy Nuha, he had no reason not to return.

Song Xian did not expect that after Apu returned, he would be so highly valued and appointed as the head of the East China Sea District.

In terms of population and resources, the eastern region of the Muhe Grassland is comparable to that of the Western Shu Commandery. In terms of the size of its territory, the Donghai District is even larger than that of the Western Xinjiang County.

Apu, the head of the East Sea District, is equivalent to the head of the Western Frontier County stationed by the Xuan Yuan Sect.

Under normal circumstances, only cultivators at the late Golden Core stage can occupy this position.

In the past, the heads of the East China Sea District have all been cultivators in the late Golden Core stage.

Apu, with only the first level of Golden Core cultivation, was able to take on this position, which would have been unimaginable in the past.

"Rumor has it that because his father, Jin Mingle, was murdered and he himself was forced to flee for many years, the Hou Saien family's higher-ups took pity on his plight and admired his perseverance in adversity and his cultivation progress, which was no slower than others. They thought he was a rare talent and therefore promoted him to this position."

"What happened to the former head of the East China Sea District?"

"This person is said to be close to Nuha, so he was dismissed from his post and transferred to a sinecure in another place."

Song Xian remained silent, but his mind was racing.

The reason he risked his life to save Apu was because he felt that Apu had an extraordinary background and thought that he might have a chance to return to the Houssien family in the future and help the Hunyuan Sect.

After the incident in the secret realm, although he felt disheartened by Ap's betrayal, it hadn't reached the point of irreconcilable enmity.

Back then, the Jade Abyss Sect suppressed them so much, yet they haven't retaliated and still keep them in Bianxi City. Moreover, this rare commodity, Apu, has truly become a highly sought-after treasure.

He should make good use of this relationship to benefit himself.

The East Sea District and the Western Frontier County are adjacent. The reason why Tianshan Market was able to thrive is because it has a geographical advantage. The majority of Hunyuan Sect's current fiscal revenue also comes from trade between the East Sea District and the Western Frontier County.

Although many forces in the East China Sea District have settled in Tianshan Market, not all of them have reached cooperation with Hunyuan Sect. The powerful sects in the East China Sea District cooperate more with Beast Taming Sect and Yunxing Merchant Guild. Even those forces that cooperate with Hunyuan Sect do not cooperate with only them.

For example, the Xingquan Chamber of Commerce in Donghai District, although it cooperates with Hunyuan Sect, also cooperates with Yunxing Chamber of Commerce and Yushou Sect, and the majority of its profits come from the other two.

Now that Apu is the head of the East China Sea region, holding a high position and great power, it would be very beneficial for the sect's development if we could establish connections with the major forces in the East China Sea region through him.

He dared not touch the interests of the Beast Taming Sect in the East China Sea region, but if he could take a piece of flesh from the Cloud Travel Merchant Guild, it would be no small matter for the sect.

…………

As night falls, the moon rises high and the stars shine brightly.

The vast plains stretched out before them, the autumn-yellow grass swaying gently in the breeze, like waves of wheat rippling in the wind.

High in the sky, a streak of light shot past at high speed.

In the distance, atop a towering tower, a beam of light appeared and blocked the way for the newcomer, its gaze warily fixed on him: "This is the territory of the Houssien family. Senior has entered the restricted area. We hope you will leave immediately."

"I am Song Xian from the West City, an old friend of your esteemed department's chief, Apules. Please announce my presence."

"Please wait here for a moment, senior." The man responded and left.

Song Xian waited for a while before a late-stage Foundation Establishment man came from deep within the mountains and led him directly inside.

This simple, normal action made Song Xian realize that Apu was no longer the same person he used to be.

He used to be very careful in everything he did, always covering his face wherever he went, afraid of revealing his true identity.

Now, when faced with a visit from a cultivator at the third level of the Golden Core realm, he didn't even need to verify his identity; he simply sent someone to invite him inside. This means that he has absolute confidence in his own safety.

This confidence did not stem from his personal strength, but from the powerful backers behind him, because no one dared to openly attack and kill Hussein's liaison officer in the East China Sea.

"Fellow Daoist Apu, I apologize for disturbing your peace and quiet." Apu stood waiting before the imposing gates of the mansion. After Song Xian's escape light descended, Apu stepped forward with a smile and bowed respectfully. "In just two or three years, I didn't expect Fellow Daoist Song's cultivation to have improved so much." Apu maintained a stern face, showing no emotion whatsoever, and his voice was extremely calm and undisturbed.

"It was just a fluke. I was in the East China Sea District to handle some trivial matters related to my sect. I heard that you have returned to the Hou Saien family and have been entrusted with an important task, being promoted to the position of the head of the East China Sea District. Therefore, I came to pay you a visit."

“I never thought I would be able to return to my family openly and honestly one day. Because my father died unjustly, and because I suffered persecution from Nuha and wandered for many years, the elders of the family gave me this position as compensation.”

"I have already heard about Nuha's execution. Fellow Daoist, you have seized this opportunity to return to your family and are being given such an important position. Your future is limitless. Congratulations!"

“It is truly a joyous occasion to see Fellow Daoist Song again. After our last trip to the spatial secret realm, I was worried that I would never see you again. When I learned that you had safely returned to Bianxi City, I was overjoyed. However, I had important matters to attend to a few days ago and did not have time to visit Bianxi City. I did not expect that Fellow Daoist Song would come to visit me. This is exactly what I wished for.”

Ap's expression remained unchanged, his demeanor indifferent, and his voice showed no emotion whatsoever; it was impossible to discern any joy in him.

Song Xian knew that the trip to the secret realm was an unavoidable topic during their meeting, and that it would be problematic if they avoided talking about it and kept it to themselves.

That means both of them are still bothered by this matter, and if they don't clarify it, any discussion they have will just be a charade and won't have a good outcome.

His real purpose in coming here was to use Ap's position as the leader to ask him to act as a bridge between the sect and the major powers in the East China Sea region in order to secure more benefits.

But he couldn't bring himself to speak up, otherwise he would be seen as interrogating him.

Now that Ap has brought this up himself, his response will be much easier.

As for his explanation, he had already thought it through; it was nothing more than pretending to be confused.

“After losing contact with you during our last trip to the secret spatial realm, I was worried that something might have happened to you. I had no choice but to leave first because I was afraid that the entrance and exit of the spatial passage would be closed.”

"Since we met, we've never had a proper drink together. Today we have plenty of time, and I've prepared some wine. Let's have a good drink. Please."

After some polite greetings, Apu invited him into the inner hall of the mansion, sat him down at a table, picked up a wine cup, and personally poured him a cup of wine. His expression was quite solemn: "This cup of wine is for you, fellow Daoist. If it weren't for your sect's disciples rescuing me from the sea back then, and the care I received from your sect, I might have already lost my life."

"It was just a small favor; there's no need to bring up old grievances again."

The two drank their wine in one gulp, and Song Xian took the initiative to inquire about the events in the secret realm: "What exactly happened during your trip to the South China Sea Secret Realm? And how did you leave in the end?"

Apu slowly recounted, "I don't know what happened either. I was in front of the murals when I suddenly felt dizzy and was then sucked into the mural world, where I appeared next to a group of stone statues. Because I didn't know what was happening, I panicked and groped around for a while, and then inexplicably returned to the temple."

"Since I couldn't find you, I searched around but found nothing, so I left that secret space."

Song Xian nodded and then recounted his departure, omitting the part about his suspicions about him and Aibu. As for finding the secret passage and discovering that the items left behind by Tiantong Shangren had been taken, he naturally didn't mention it.

Both sides knew perfectly well that the other did not believe their words at all, but neither of them would say so to save face.

Sometimes, you just have to turn a blind eye to many things.

Pretending to be ignorant while actually knowing is a way of navigating life.

"Fellow Daoist Song's cultivation has advanced by leaps and bounds, jumping from the first level of the Golden Core Realm to the third level. Could it be that you found a pill to enhance your cultivation in that secret realm?" Apu took a sip of wine and asked him calmly.

Song Xian knew that this was definitely the thing he was most curious about. From his perspective, his rapid advancement in cultivation must have been due to the Spirit Ascension Pill he obtained there. This meant that there were other treasures hidden in that secret realm that he was unaware of, and he must be very unwilling to accept it.

"To be honest, my rapid advancement in cultivation was indeed due to the Spirit Ascension Pill, but it wasn't obtained from that secret realm. Fellow Daoist, you must have heard that a year ago, a cannibalistic Golden Core demonic cultivator appeared in the East Sea region." Song Xian didn't hide anything and briefly recounted Wei Fan's background and their treasure hunt together.

This matter has nothing to do with Apu. He doesn't need to worry about Apu being jealous, because he has already taken the Spirit Ascension Pill, and even if he kills him, he won't be able to spit it out.

The two drank and chatted amiably, enjoying themselves immensely.

That night, Song Xian stayed there. He was in no hurry to ask Song Xian to act as a go-between, because this was not something that could be accomplished in one or two meetings.

Even if Ap agrees, there will still be specific negotiations with those major powers, which cannot be accomplished in a day.

Moreover, Ap has only recently taken this position and hasn't had much contact with the leaders of those major powers, so his relationships with them may not be fully clear yet.

He came today mainly to repair the broken relationship between the two of them regarding the secret realm; as long as that goal is achieved, that's enough.

.

(End of this chapter)