Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 137 Understanding
"Master Song, what do you think?" Hu Yingquan saw that he remained silent after the two people expressed their opinions, and looked at him.

"My sect is weak and powerless, and I am grateful that Sect Leader Hu has shown me respect and invited me to discuss matters. I don't know what to say, so I'll just follow your advice!"

At this time, Song Xian naturally could not go against the trend. The Hunyuan Sect was originally weak and had little say. Now that the three sects had reached a consensus, it would be a bit presumptuous for him to sing a different tune, and he might even be suspected of having ulterior motives.

"Master Song is too self-deprecating. Who in the entire Bianxia Town dares to underestimate your sect? Moreover, today we are here to discuss things with your sect. You can speak frankly about anything. Master Song, there is no need to worry."

"I'm not worried, I just want to say something. The two fellow Taoists have already said it, and I don't know what to say for the moment."

The independent cultivator forces in Bianxia Town have united as one. As a participant in the battle of Lingyun Mountain, Hunyuan Sect has offended the independent cultivator forces. Now it can only choose to stand with Qingyuan Sect to protect itself. Therefore, Song Xian could not reveal his true thoughts and could only agree.

"Since the three of you all agree that we should form an alliance to counter the tendency of the independent cultivators in Bianxia Town to band together, our sect fully agrees with this move. However, just shouting slogans won't be enough. We should also establish an alliance headquarters like the Independent Cultivators Alliance. I have already selected the location: Lingyun Mountain."

"My sect will send twenty disciples, the Ding family and the Rising Sun Sect will each send fifteen disciples, and the Hunyuan Sect will send ten disciples to form an alliance. What do you think, fellow Taoists?"

After Hu Yingquan said this, not only Song Xian, but also Mao Jie and Ding Wenxiang fell silent.

Lingyun Mountain has now become the territory of the Qingyuan Sect. Using it as the alliance headquarters and sending their own disciples to guard it is equivalent to working for the Qingyuan Sect for free. They may even have to share the cost of defending Lingyun Mountain.

It's like working for others at your own expense.

The Qingyuan Sect's calculations were too clever. The Lingyun Mountain they occupied was originally the main target of the Loose Cultivator Alliance, but now they intended to use the alliance headquarters as a way to attract disciples from the other three sects to help guard it.

Seeing that the three people were silent, Hu Yingquan obviously disagreed with this move, and continued without waiting for a clear statement.

"There are several advantages to setting up the alliance headquarters in Lingyun Mountain. First, Lingyun Mountain was originally the headquarters of the Yunfeng Trading Company, and its original territorial resources are all nearby. Now that those resources have been divided up by us, if the Loose Cultivator Alliance launches an attack, they won't dare attack our mountain gate and will definitely take those territorial resources first. With our headquarters in Lingyun Mountain, we can provide timely support to all other locations."

"Secondly, if the alliance headquarters is set up elsewhere, a magic array must be constructed and the corresponding expenses must be borne. However, our sect is currently constructing a magic array on Lingyun Mountain. All its consumption and maintenance will be covered by our sect. The three of you don't need to share the additional expenses; you only need to contribute manpower and labor, which will save us a lot of money."

After hearing this, Mao Jie and Ding Wenxiang were slightly moved. Although this move was most beneficial to the Qingyuan Sect, it was also a good choice for both families. If they had to set up the alliance headquarters, there was indeed no place more suitable than Lingyun Mountain.

Seeing that the two men looked more relaxed than before, Song Xian knew that they were already somewhat tempted by the offer. If they both agreed, it would be difficult for him to object. So, taking advantage of the moment when the two men hadn't expressed their opinions, he spoke first, "Master Hu, I'm not sure if I should say something."

This is of course nonsense. In such a situation, Hu Yingquan certainly cannot stop him from speaking. His intention is just to pave the way for the subsequent objections. He has shown his embarrassment and is a sign of weakness.

"I invited a few fellow Taoists here today to discuss this matter. Sect Leader Song, please feel free to speak up if you have anything to say."

Song Xian said, "Then I will speak frankly. If I have offended you, please forgive me. The three of you all know the situation of our sect. We are not as wealthy as you. We only have a few dozen disciples. In order to maintain the sect's expenses, these disciples are arranged to earn income from other matters. This is how we can barely make ends meet."

"Last time, Sect Leader Hu sent someone to invite our sect to attack the Yunfeng Trading Company together. Since Sect Leader Hu thought highly of us, our sect was willing to go through fire and water to help. Therefore, we sent people to recall disciples from all over the place overnight. We have gathered ten people to help Sect Leader Hu capture Lingyun Mountain."

"During the ambush on the fleeing remnants of the Yunfeng Trading Company, one of our disciples was unfortunately killed. This has made the already short supply of manpower in our sect even worse. These days, I have sent disciples everywhere to scout for candidates and invite monks to join our sect."

"Unfortunately, no new members have joined yet. It's not that our sect has strict requirements, but because we are weak. In addition, the situation in Bianxia Town is tense now. When others hear our sect's name, they immediately refuse."

"After the battle at Lingyun Mountain, our disciples went off to various places to earn a meager income. Sect Leader Hu asked us to send ten disciples to guard Lingyun Mountain. We weren't refusing, but we were simply unable to do so."

"There are only a dozen or so people in our sect right now. If we transfer all ten disciples to Lingyun Mountain, there will be no work, no income, and we still have to pay their salaries. Our sect doesn't have the rich foundation that some of you fellow Taoists have, and our finances are very limited. If we continue to live off our resources, we won't be able to support ourselves for more than a year or two."

"Please, Master Hu, understand our difficulties."

After this long speech, Ding Wenxiang and Mao Jie's original expressions of excitement disappeared, and both of them fell into deep thought.

The Xuri Sect and the Ding family have had a very difficult time in the past two years, and their income has not been enough to cover their expenses. They can only survive by opening shops in the market and trading in the Muhe Grassland. Now they have to transfer fifteen disciples to Lingyun Mountain, which is a lot of pressure on them.

Hu Yingquan looked at Song Xian, his face no longer smiling, and seemed a little gloomy.

"Master Song is telling the truth. We all know the situation of the Hunyuan Sect. It would be very difficult for them to mobilize ten disciples to permanently guard Lingyun Mountain," Ding Wenxiang said. Personally, he and Song Xian had a good relationship; they had arrived in Bianxia City on the same ship. Publicly, he didn't want the Qingyuan Sect to dominate the four sects, with the final say.

In particular, Hu Yingquan's face turned gloomy after hearing what Song Xian said. His expression was as if a boss had ordered his subordinates to do something and was rejected. This made him unhappy, so he spoke up for Song Xian.

"Let alone the Hunyuan Sect, even my sect is facing difficulties. I believe the three of you are familiar with my situation. Since arriving at Bianxia Town, my sect has not had much business to run in the past two years, and our income is already meager. Unlike your sect, which has both income from the market and deep cooperation with the Beast Taming Sect, my sect can only rely on trade to earn some income."

"If we transfer all fifteen disciples to Lingyun Mountain at once, our sect will be under considerable pressure. Without fifteen people earning income, and still having to pay their salaries, our sect's finances will be extremely strained."

After Ding Wenxiang finished speaking, he looked at Mao Jie opposite him meaningfully.

Although the two of them didn't interact much, Mao Jie quickly understood the meaning behind Ding Wenxiang's eyes and said, "Fellow Daoist Ding is right. We don't have the rich heritage and wealth of your sect. It's indeed difficult to allocate fifteen disciples to guard Lingyun Mountain and be responsible for their salaries."

The two people's words made their meaning clear: if Qingyuan Sect wanted to send people from both families, it would at least have to be responsible for their salaries.

Hu Yingquan's face looked a little ugly, and he sat in the main seat without saying a word.

In his mind, Qingyuan Sect is already the strongest force in Bianxia Town, and the other three sects should follow its lead.

Forming an alliance is beneficial to both parties, so he has made concessions and does not need the other three companies to share the cost of defending Lingyun Mountain.

But unexpectedly, not only were they not satisfied, they also went further and asked Qingyuan Sect to be responsible for the expenses of their sect's disciples, as if Qingyuan Sect was asking them to form an alliance.

As the largest force in Bianxia Town, Hu Yingquan always regarded himself as the boss, so he was naturally very unhappy.

After Mao Jie finished speaking, the hall fell into a dead silence and the atmosphere became subtle for a moment.

Seeing this, a white-haired elder of the Qingyuan Sect, who was sitting in a lower position, spoke up to ease the tense atmosphere, "Master, there's no need to rush the specific implementation of the alliance; we can consider it over time. Since Master Song, Master Mao, and Palace Master Ding all feel it's difficult, we can discuss it in detail later. Today's main purpose is to celebrate our success, and the banquet is almost ready. Master, why don't you invite everyone to feast!"

Hu Yingquan's gloomy expression eased slightly, and he forced a smile. "Brother Wang is right. We can discuss the alliance later. Let's take our seats! To entertain the three of you, our sect has brought out our treasured spiritual wine and food. We must enjoy a good drink today."

After saying that, he ordered the banquet to begin. Soon, several people came into the hall carrying a table and placed it in front of their seats. Then, a group of graceful women came into the hall holding jade plates and placed them on their tables.

"By the way, Sect Leader Hu, I wonder where Senior Casar is now? He was the one who made the greatest contribution to the attack on Yunfeng Trading Company. Why is he not at your sect's celebration banquet today?" Mao Jie suddenly asked before the banquet began.

Song Xian and Ding Wenxiang also pricked up their ears and looked towards the main seat.

"Senior Casar is used to being alone and doesn't like noisy places like this, so we didn't invite him here."

Hu Yingquan did not respond to the question of where Casar was. This was Qingyuan Sect's greatest reliance, and Qingyuan Sect had always kept its mouth shut about his origins, identity, and movements.

Without knowing the details of this foundation-building cultivator from the Muhe Grassland, others would not dare to take any action against the Qingyuan Sect.

Seeing this, the three of them did not ask any more questions, knowing that they would not get the truth even if they continued.

"Let's have a drink first. On behalf of our entire sect, I would like to thank the three of you for your help when we attacked Lingyun Mountain. I also hope that our alliance can be realized as soon as possible." Hu Yingquan didn't want to dwell too much on the Casar issue, so he passed over it, picked up the wine glass and said to the three of them.

Several people then drank the wine in the cup. Everyone was having a feast here, and naturally other disciples of the Xuri Sect, the Ding Family and the Hunyuan Sect were also entertained, and they all gathered in the side hall.

Hu Yingquan did not mention the alliance again, but just chatted about anecdotes from all over the world.

A few people listened to the music of stringed instruments and watched the graceful beauties dancing, drinking happily. Both the guests and the hosts were very happy and did not leave until night fell.

(End of this chapter)