Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 151 On the verge of breaking out

On Guzi Peak, Song Xian sat cross-legged in the room with his eyes closed, his forehead covered with dense beads of sweat, and his face flushed, as if he was fighting a big battle with someone.

After a while, he was sweating profusely, veins on his forehead bulged, and the blood vessels in his arms were clearly visible, as if they were about to burst.

At this moment, he suddenly opened his eyes, and his tense body relaxed like a deflated ball.

Song Xian was breathing heavily. He had just been practicing the martial arts taught by Zhang Shilin, the Xuanyuan Sutra.

This is a method to improve spiritual consciousness. When practicing, you need to release all your spiritual consciousness, then absorb it back, and temper it according to the method until it reaches the limit, and then release it again, and repeat this process.

He had always practiced in this way, but this time, for some reason, he always felt something was not going smoothly, as if something was blocking the flow of his spiritual consciousness, making the process of absorbing it extremely difficult.

After taking a few breaths, he realized that his face was sticky and wet. He reached out to wipe it and found that his palms were covered in sweat. This was obviously not right. It seemed that there was a problem with his cultivation.

After resting for a long time, until his breathing became calm, Song Xian got up and went out.

The Xuanyuan Sutra is the treasure of the Qingyun Sect and a secret that is not passed on. There are only a handful of people in the entire Qingyun Sect who can truly inherit this method. Fortunately, George Lam is one of these few people.

He was just about to ask him for advice when he opened the door of his room when he saw the housekeeper coming up to him and bowing respectfully to him.

"Master, an hour ago, Immortal Master Xu Zhen came to report that the Ding family's elder, Immortal Master Ding Yuan, had arrived. Upon learning that you were cultivating in seclusion, Immortal Master Xu returned."

Song Xian never allowed others to disturb him when he was practicing Xuanyuan Zhenjing, because external interference might cause problems during practice, leading to backlash of spiritual consciousness. Therefore, every time he practiced this technique, he would instruct the housekeeper to close the door and refuse visitors.

"Did he tell me why Ding Yuan came here?"

"No."

Song Xian nodded and then strode out of the mansion. Originally, he was not planning to see any outsiders during this period. Because when they were discussing matters at Lingyun Mountain yesterday, Hu Yingquan asked him to give a reply within seven days. Of course, he would not send anyone to guard Lingyun Mountain, but it was not easy to refuse directly, so he could only choose to avoid meeting them.

But since the person coming was Ding Yuan, he couldn't refuse to see him.

He had a good relationship with Ding Wenxiang, so Ding Yuan's visit this time must have been on Ding Wenxiang's orders.

In the main hall, Xu Zhen was lazily lying on a chair, flipping through a book. Seeing Song Xian coming in, he hurriedly closed the book, stood up to greet him and bowed.

"Master, you're here. Ding Yuan, the elder of the Ding family, came just now. I went to report to you, but the housekeeper said you were practicing in seclusion and couldn't be disturbed. Since Elder Zhong wasn't here, I took the initiative to meet with him."

"Is he gone?"

"No, he's resting in the guest hall. You'd previously instructed that if a Qingyuan Sect monk came looking for me, I should say you weren't there. But this man wasn't a Qingyuan Sect monk, and since I couldn't see you, I didn't know what to say. I told him you had important matters to attend to and couldn't see him. But he refused to leave, insisting he must see you, so I took him to the guest hall."

"What is his purpose here?"

"I asked, but he refused to tell me, saying only that he had something important to discuss with you."

"Go get him. I'll be waiting in the backyard room."

"Yes." Xu Zhen immediately responded and left. Soon he brought an old man with white hair and beard into the room.

"Master Song, excuse me for interrupting you."

"You're welcome, Fellow Daoist Ding. Please take a seat." Song Xian responded with a smile and gave Xu Zhen a look. Xu Zhen understood, closed the door and walked out.

Ding Yuan took his seat as instructed, and without beating around the bush, he went straight to the point, "To be honest, I'm here on the orders of the Patriarch of our house. I have a few things I'd like to discuss with Master Song, and I hope Master Song can tell me the truth."

"Please speak, Fellow Daoist Ding. Due to the close relationship between our two sects, I will tell you everything I know."

Song Xian was a little confused, not knowing what he was doing, but he remained calm and showed great enthusiasm and sincerity.

"Yesterday, during the meeting at Lingyun Mountain, Sect Master Hu of Qingyuan Sect proposed that your sect send people to garrison Lingyun Mountain. I wonder what Sect Master Song thinks?"

"Well, our sect is still considering this."

Song Xian didn't know the other party's purpose, so he naturally wouldn't reveal his cards.

Ding Yuan frowned slightly. "It seems that Sect Leader Song doesn't trust me. Could it be that he suspects that I was sent by Sect Leader Hu to get information?"

Song Xian smiled and said, "How could that be? Fellow Daoist Ding is worrying too much. Our sect is indeed still discussing this matter. It's not easy to make a hasty decision on such a big matter."

"The last time Sect Leader Song came to my house to discuss the alliance with the Patriarch, the Patriarch didn't hold back at all and shared all his thoughts with Sect Leader Song. This was because Sect Leader and Sect Leader Song admired each other as heroes, and Sect Leader Song had always respected Sect Leader Song. Furthermore, since our two sects share the same destiny, we should support each other and advance together. Therefore, he was completely open with his heart."

"Although the four families of the alliance share a common kinship, there are still differences between close brothers. My sect and yours have always been close, but now that the Rising Sun Sect exists in name only, yours and my sect should work together. Does Sect Master Song agree?"

"Fellow Daoist Ding, this is the right thing to do. I also have great respect for Palace Master Ding. To be honest, in this town, your palace is the one I trust the most."

Ding Yuan stared at him with a serious expression, speaking in a resounding voice, "Then, with all due respect, your sect has decided not to send anyone to Lingyun Mountain, right?"

Having said that, Song Xian could no longer be vague and evasive. He already knew the purpose of Ding Yuan's visit. It must be because the Xu Ri Sect was defeated, and only they and the Qing Yuan Sect were left in the coalition. They were also worried that the Loose Cultivator Alliance would attack Lingyun Mountain, so they came to sound out his opinion in order to adjust their response strategy.

The Ding family certainly did not want to accompany the Qingyuan Sect to continue guarding Lingyun Mountain. After all, that was not their territory. It was acceptable for them to have the Xuri Sect join them in guarding it.

Now that the Rising Sun Sect is gone, he naturally feels unbalanced.

Moreover, the Ding family was originally unaware of the Rising Sun Sect's attack on Mount Qixia, and was practically forced into assisting by Hu Yingquan. Fortunately, there was no loss, otherwise the Ding family might have immediately turned against the Qingyuan Sect.

Even so, the Ding family must be dissatisfied with Qingyuan Sect's actions and obviously have plans to withdraw from the alliance.

"Alas! Our sect is indeed in trouble! Right now, there are only five or six people in the entire mountain gate, including me, the headmaster. Headmaster Hu wants our sect to send ten people to Lingyun Mountain. Where can I find so many people? This won't be enough for a day or two. It requires a long-term presence. If we send people there, how will our sect support the mountain gate's finances?"

"I'm afraid there's more than just this reason! Your sect didn't send anyone to Lingyun Mountain, presumably because they didn't want to join the Qingyuan Sect and become enemies of the scattered cultivators in Bianxia Town. I'm right, aren't I?"

Song Xian smiled faintly, noncommittal. "Our sect is small and weak, and we don't want to be enemies with anyone. As long as others don't bully us, we're very lucky. Last time we helped attack the Yunfeng Trading Company, we were already satisfied with a piece of spiritual farm. To want more is like greed. Even if we get it, we won't feel at ease."

"So Luofeng Valley really came to find your clan? And reached a consensus with your clan on non-aggression?"

Song Xian was startled by these words, only to see Ding Yuan's expressionless face and piercing eyes. In an instant, his mind raced with questions. How did the Ding family know this? Were they testing him, or had they already received accurate information?

Does Qingyuan Sect know that if Hu Yingquan knew that they were secretly communicating with him, would he turn around and deal with Hunyuan Sect?

Song Xian couldn't see what his expression was at the moment, but it must have been very ugly. He tried to relax his body and forced a smile: "That's not funny. Where did Fellow Daoist Ding hear this rumor?"

"Luofeng Valley has already contacted my residence. Their second-in-command, Chen Zhongwen, told me personally that Luofeng Valley and your clan have reached an agreement to keep their relationship separate. That's why your clan won't send anyone to join the alliance."

Seeing his expression, Ding Yuan had already concluded that this matter was true, so he did not hide it and directly told him about Chen Zhongwen's visit yesterday.

Song Xian didn't reply, but instead asked, "Chen Zhongwen came to your house? What did he ask for?"

"He bluntly stated that the Loose Cultivator Alliance would soon launch an attack on the Qingyuan Sect, and asked our sect to stand idly by. Now, our Patriarch would like to know your sect's attitude. If the Loose Cultivator Alliance does attack the Qingyuan Sect, will your sect stand idly by?"

Song Xian still didn't answer, and asked again: "What if I say no?"

"If your sect supports us with all its might, then our clan will join forces with the Qingyuan Sect to defeat the enemy. If your sect stands aside and watches, our sect will be unable to withstand the pressure alone and will have no choice but to withdraw our forces from Lingyun Mountain."

Song Xian was silent. He certainly had a definite answer in his heart, but he just couldn't say it clearly. Although Ding Yuan came here on the orders of Ding Wenxiang, what he said was most likely true, but he couldn't rule out the possibility that this was a test, and he must not give anyone an excuse.

Seeing that he was silent, Ding Yuan understood his attitude and stood up and said, "Then I will not disturb Master Song from his meditation. Farewell."

"I'll see you off, Brother Daoist Ding." Song Xian followed him out of the mountain gate.

"Master Song, please stay."

"Please tell Palace Master Ding that no matter what happens in Bianxia Town in the future, I hope to maintain communication with your palace and work together."

"I'll definitely pass on your message. By the way, Sect Leader Song didn't give me a clear answer just now, so I'll take your sect's actual actions as my response. Sect Leader Hu of Qingyuan Sect has asked for a response within seven days. If your sect doesn't send anyone to Lingyun Mountain, I'll take that as Sect Leader Song's response. Is that okay?"

Song Xian didn't say anything, "I'm sorry I can't see you off."

Watching Ding Yuan disappear from his sight, Song Xian stood there in a daze for a long time before turning around and going back.

Although he was a little surprised that Luofeng Valley would come to the Ding family, when he thought about it carefully, it was completely reasonable.

The Alliance of Loose Cultivators can promise to keep their distance from each other, so of course they can also negotiate with the Ding family. After all, the remaining loose cultivator forces have no grudges against the Ding family. They unite mainly for the Qingyuan Sect, so naturally the fewer enemies the better.

After returning to the mountain gate, he immediately found Lin Zixiang and truthfully told him about the strange things he encountered while practicing the Xuanyuan Sutra. After his analysis and explanation, he realized that this was a sign of a bottleneck in the practice, which meant that he had reached the threshold of the second level of the Xuanyuan Sutra.

The two talked about the practice of martial arts for a long time. Based on his own experience, George Lam taught him some tips on practice, which could help him break through the bottleneck of the first level of martial arts more quickly.

A few days passed in the blink of an eye. When the seventh day came, Hu Yingquan indeed sent someone to urge him. It was his sect elder Huang Qing. Song Xian naturally avoided meeting him and only asked the disciples on duty to receive him. He lied that he had gone to Bianxi City to deal with important matters and had not returned yet.

Although Huang Qing was in a bad mood, he had no choice but to say a few threatening words and leave in anger.

.........

At nightfall, dark clouds obscured the moon, and heavy rain poured down. Inside the brightly lit rooms of Lingyun Mountain, the Ding family members stationed there gathered. Ding family elder Zhuang Wenqing glanced at the group, "Everyone is here! Follow me."

Hearing this, everyone looked at each other in confusion. They had all been summoned at short notice and had no idea what was going on. One disciple asked, "Elder Zhuang, where are we going?"

"Where to? Back to the mountain gate, of course."

"Go back to the mountain gate? Aren't we supposed to stay here for a year before rotating others out?"

"The situation has changed. The head of the family has told us to return to the mountain gate immediately. Do you still want to stay here and be ordered around by the Qingyuan Sect, working for them?"

Zhuang Wenqing snorted coldly, still brooding over the fact that the Qingyuan Sect and the Xuri Sect had jointly attacked Qixia Mountain without informing him in advance, and instead forced him to lead the others in their attack.

"Does the Qingyuan Sect know about this? If we leave secretly, it will be difficult to explain!"

"Explain? To whom? We only need to explain to the head of the family. Do we need to explain to the Qingyuan Sect? The last time the Qingyuan Sect and the Xuri Sect attacked Qixia Mountain without telling us, when did they give us an explanation?" Zhuang Wenqing looked solemn.

"The reason I didn't tell you about this in advance is because I was afraid that the news would leak out and be known by the Qingyuan Sect. It would be inconvenient for us to leave then. Now, while the Qingyuan Sect hasn't noticed, leave quietly. Other things are not for you to consider."

After saying that, he led everyone out of the house, and the group quickly disappeared into the pouring rain at night.

It was not until several hours later that the disciples of Qingyuan Sect realized that all the cultivators of the Ding family had left. Huang Qing, the elder of Qingyuan Sect stationed there, was shocked and immediately sent people to search for them. At the same time, he personally went to the Ding family to inquire about the situation.

.........

In the dim training room of Qingyuan Sect, Hu Yingquan was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed in training. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. He opened his eyes and a trace of displeasure flashed across his face. As the stone door opened, he saw that the person standing outside was none other than Huang Qing who had rushed back from Lingyun Mountain.

Hu Yingquan's original displeasure immediately disappeared. As the sect's elder, Huang Qing was in charge of Lingyun Mountain. He actually came back in person and called him out of the training room, which showed that the matter was serious.

"What happened? Why are you here?"

"Reporting to the Sect Master, the Ding family cultivators who were originally stationed at Lingyun Mountain quietly left last night and have now returned to the Ding family's mountain gate."

Hu Yingquan's expression changed, and he immediately asked, "Why did they leave?"

"I've already been to the Ding family and met with Ding Wenxiang. He said he was transferring the people back because the Ding family was in urgent need of manpower. He also accused our sect of violating alliance rules, saying that when we discussed the attack on Qixia Mountain with the Rising Sun Sect, we didn't inform them in advance, leaving their people completely unprepared."

Hu Yingquan's face looked grim. He knew of course that this was an excuse made by the Ding family. In fact, it was because of the defeat of the Xu Ri Sect and the refusal of the Hun Yuan Sect to send anyone, which made Ding Wenxiang feel that he was the only one who sent anyone among the four alliance families, and he seemed to have suffered a loss, so he transferred the people away.

The reason for this is the impact of the defeat of the Rising Sun Sect. On the surface, it seems that the Qingyuan Sect and the Ding family have suffered no losses, but in fact it has caused a huge impact on the confidence of the entire alliance.

This is a big gamble, not only for the Xu Ri Sect, but also for the Qing Yuan Sect. If they can capture Qixia Mountain in one fell swoop and severely damage the strength of the loose cultivator alliance, the Qing Yuan Sect will command the alliance and then be able to gradually erode the loose cultivator forces in Bianxia Town.

But the result was that not only did they fail to capture Qixia Mountain, but they also lost their most important ally, the Xuri Sect.

Now even the Ding family has left Lingyun Mountain, which means the alliance has been disbanded.

(End of this chapter)