Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 106 Making it public
"Fellow Daoist Apu, what level of spiritual beast are those silver-armored ants you just mentioned? How many are there in total? What are their characteristics?"

"I can't say how many there are in total, maybe dozens or even hundreds! Most of the silver-armored ants are first-level spirit beasts, and a few have reached the second level. They are social monsters, and when they encounter an enemy, they rush forward in a swarm. In a head-on confrontation, even a Foundation Establishment cultivator would be unable to resist."

"Silver-armored ants have a strong sense of territory and won't leave their nest easily. Their bodies are as hard as iron and they fly very fast. Ordinary magic weapons and attacks will be greatly reduced against them, making them very difficult to deal with. I need you to lure away all the silver-armored ants inside so that I can go in and take the treasure."

Song Xian's brows furrowed immediately. "Since the silver-armored ants won't easily leave their nest, how can we lure them away?"

A Pu said: "I have made preparations. The silver-armored ants love to eat magnolia trees. I have a few bottles of fragrant oil made from magnolia bark resin. It can emit a strong magnolia scent and can attract the silver-armored ants away."

"Take this and lure them out. Since the silver-armored ants have a strong sense of territory, they always leave some behind to guard the nest when they go out in pursuit, so we need to lure them out in batches."

"After breaking through the magic circle's defenses, I will give each of you a bottle. You will enter their lair one by one and lure them away."

"Of course, this requires more preparation. Everyone needs to prepare an invisibility talisman and a flight talisman to ensure safety."

Seeing that he had thought this through, Song Xian immediately nodded and said, "When do we leave?"

"The sooner the better."

"Okay, I'll gather the men right away. Where are the treasures hidden? How far away is it? How long will it take to get there and back?"

"It's on an isolated island, quite far from here. We'll first go to Far East City and then board a merchant ship. If all goes well, a round trip will take several months."

……

After the two men finished their conversation, Song Xian immediately sent someone to summon Zhong Wenyuan and recounted what Apples had said.

Zhong Wenyuan frowned after hearing this and hesitated, "Could this be a trap?"

"Trap? What do you mean?"

"Now, only a few of us know his identity, which is a huge threat to him. If it were to be revealed one day, he would be hunted down by the authorities in the northern region of the Muhe Grassland. We can't rule out the possibility that he will set a trap to capture us all in one fell swoop to eliminate future troubles. That way, he can rest easy."

"Of course, this is just a hypothesis. I want to remind the headmaster to prepare for the worst and not be blinded by his promises."

Song Xian narrowed his eyes slightly, thought for a while and said, "In my opinion, this possibility is not high. Senior Brother Wenyuan must be worrying too much."

"First, even if we leaked the news, he'd already fled far away. No one knows where he went. Even if the people in the northern region of the Muhe Grassland got the news, they wouldn't be able to find him. Why would he bother coming back here? The safest thing would be for him to have no contact with us from now on."

"Secondly, I'm not the only one who knows his identity. You, me, Junior Brother Qi, and Junior Sister Carissa all know his identity. We wouldn't be stupid enough to go along with him. He should have figured that out. Thinking of catching us all in one fell swoop with just one lie is a bit too presumptuous."

"If the people who went with him haven't returned yet, then those who stayed behind in the sect will definitely know that something has happened and might leak the news."

"If I were him, I would never do such a stupid thing. Everything was fine, why did I have to do this unnecessary thing and add unnecessary trouble?"

Zhong Wenyuan said, "What the Sect Leader said is a high-probability event based on rational analysis, but we can't underestimate the evil in people's hearts. Just because we saved him doesn't mean he'll be grateful. The direct descendants of aristocratic families like them are prone to scheming and are often heartless. We'd better be more cautious with him."

"I understand this, but this opportunity is rare, especially the Soul-Boosting Pill. It's right here, so why not take it? I'm justified in taking a little risk. There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world."

"I wonder which members of the sect the master intends to have accompany him."

"He needs four late-stage Qi Refining cultivators, and we don't have any. We can only use two late-stage Qi Refining cultivators and four mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators to replace them. You and Brother Zixiang are indispensable. As for the four mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators, there will be one for Brother Zhang Yi, one for Brother Zhang Ningyuan, one for Brother Xu Ning, and one for Brother Zhong Yang. Plus me, there will be seven of us going with him."

"Master, are you going too? I suggest that you stay at the mountain gate. Someone has to stay behind to handle the sect's affairs. Besides, this trip is quite risky, and the six of us are more than enough."

"It's precisely because of the risk that I want to go. All the elite members of our sect have gone, so how can I stay behind? If anything really happens, I can still provide some help."

After being together for such a long time, Zhong Wenyuan knew Song Xian's personality. He was very opinionated and would not easily change his mind once he made a decision, so he did not bother to argue with him anymore.

"That mid-grade Soul-Replenishing Pill is just right for the Sect Master's cultivation level, so let the Sect Master use it! Also, I suggest that when you gather all the fellow disciples to discuss matters, don't make the matter of the Soul-Replenishing Pill public, to avoid gossip and negative influence."

Song Xian knew he had good intentions, but he still shook his head: "No, all the sect's income must be completely fair and transparent. This is a matter of principle."

"Besides, you can hide it for a while, but not forever. Using the Soul-Boosting Pill will greatly increase your cultivation progress, so how can you hide this from others? Even if you don't tell them, they will be able to guess it. Who knows how much gossip and rumors will spread behind your back."

"No matter what the issue is, it must be brought to light and resolved. This is the best approach and the right path."

"Being secretive is not a long-term solution. We must handle sect affairs openly and honestly." Hearing this, Zhong Wenyuan felt a little embarrassed and ashamed. He had been handling sect affairs for so many years, but he was not as thorough as Song Xian. "Master, you are right."

"Senior Brother Wenyuan, you are the elder in charge of the sect's government affairs. You have full authority to handle all matters, big or small, of the sect. I hope that no matter what happens, you can be fair and just. Only in this way will the sect's disciples be convinced. If we don't have prestige and influence, how can we rule the sect? Once people's hearts are scattered, it will be difficult to lead the team! How can the sect develop?" Song Xian said meaningfully.

There is no doubt about Zhong Wenyuan's ability and loyalty. He is mature and steady, thinks carefully before doing things, and has many years of experience in handling government affairs. He is the best candidate for the sect's political elder. However, he also has his own problems, that is, the old problems of Qingyun Sect have not been able to be changed.

In the Qingyun Sect, all personnel were divided into different levels, and resources were tilted towards disciples with good qualifications and close relationships. This was a blatant behavior. Because of this, the Qingyun Sect eventually split and internal strife broke out, to the point where the sect elders colluded with outsiders to attack the mountain gate and deal with their own people.

For Elder Chang's faction and Zhang Hunyuan's faction, the hatred between them is even greater than the threat from Yuan Yizong.

The reason for this situation is that the distribution is uneven, which leads to factionalism and confrontation between factions.

If an organization has irreparable internal rifts, it will be destroyed no matter how powerful it is.

Fortresses are often breached from the inside, and Qingyun Sect is a living example.

If the conflict between Elder Chang and Zhang Hunyuan had not become irreconcilable, even if the Qingyun Sect had already declined, it would have no problem gaining a foothold in Changping City with the family fortune left by the founder.

The Qingyun Sect has more than a hundred disciples, occupies a second-level spiritual vein, and has many industries outside. If they can unite, even if the Yuanyi Sect has coveted it for a long time, they will not dare to bully them too harshly.

In the future, as long as there are one or two people in the sect who are lucky enough to establish a foundation, they will be able to restore the sect's prestige.

A good hand of cards was eventually played badly. The reason can be summed up in two words: unfair.

Therefore, Song Xian wanted to abolish the distinction between inner and outer disciples, and always emphasized fairness, justice and equal treatment, just to avoid following the old path of Qingyun Sect.

However, Zhong Wenyuan, an old man of Qingyun Sect, still manages the sect's internal affairs according to the Qingyun Sect's methods, giving better resources and treatment to his close disciples, and favoring them in every way.

He has become completely accustomed to this and he himself doesn't think there is anything wrong with it, but to others, it seems very problematic.

Song Xian also knew that some people in the sect had complaints about Zhong Wenyuan, such as Zhang Ningyuan and Xu Ning. These two had opinions about Zhong Wenyuan. Although they never mentioned it to his face, clues could be seen from their words and actions.

Because he was an elder of the sect with long experience, high cultivation, and always loyal, Song Xian wanted to talk to him about this matter several times, but didn't know where to start.

Now that things have come to this, he might as well take this opportunity to make a comment.

Zhong Wenyuan didn't show any strange expression after hearing this, nor did he respond. With his intelligence, he naturally understood the hidden meaning of this statement.

Seeing that he remained silent, Song Xian didn't know whether he had heard it but was too embarrassed to answer, or he didn't care at all. However, he didn't want to say anything too harsh, so he skipped the topic.

"When the time comes, I will offer to buy these ten first-grade, mid-grade Spiritual Replenishing Pills at the market price, and the spiritual stones I purchased will be deposited in the sect's treasury. This way, I can give an explanation to my fellow disciples without breaking the rules. I believe my fellow disciples will not compete with me for them."

Zhong Wenyuan was impressed: "Master, your handling of this matter is very appropriate."

…………

The next morning, Song Xian summoned everyone from the mountain gate to the meeting hall and recounted the incident truthfully, but he concealed the true identity of Apples and said that he was a friend that Karissa met on the Muhe grassland.

After hearing this, everyone was excited and surprised, and their expressions were different.

Lin Zixiang was the first to ask, "Master, who is this A Pu? Can he be trusted? Anyone who can come up with ten first-grade mid-grade soul-replenishing pills and ten thousand spirit stones at once must be no ordinary person!"

"Senior Brother Wenyuan has also met this person, so he should be trustworthy."

Zhong Wenyuan echoed, "This man is from a noble family that has fallen on hard times. His family was destroyed by hostile forces, and he was the only one who escaped. Therefore, he has quite a bit of talent."

George Lam wasn't interested in these mundane matters to begin with, so after hearing what Zhong Wenyuan said, he naturally had no doubts and immediately stated, "If that's the case, then there's nothing to hesitate about. If you don't give what God has given you, you'll be blamed. There's no reason not to eat the fat meat you've got. Let's take this order!"

Song Xian said, "Although the reward for this mission is generous, it also carries considerable risks. Senior Brother Zixiang, Senior Brother Wenyuan, Senior Brother Xu Ning, and Senior Brother Zhongyang, you will come with me. Senior Brother Lu Yuan will handle the sect affairs."

"Yes." Several people responded without objection.

(End of this chapter)