Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 153 Tit for tat
Song Xian pretended to be embarrassed and said, "Since Fellow Daoist Wu has come personally, then fine! I am willing to do my best to provide more financial support to the alliance."

Wu Xuan said sternly, "Master Song, what our sect needs is not financial support, but manpower."

"To be honest, this is the only person our sect cannot mobilize. Please forgive me. Our sect only has five or six people in total right now. Where can we find them to send to the alliance headquarters?"

"As far as I know, your sect has been recruiting independent cultivators recently and should have already recruited several! A mere five people is no problem for your sect. If Sect Master Song is unwilling to contribute more because he has already contributed spirit stones to the alliance, our sect is willing to return the spirit stones. Furthermore, our sect is willing to cover the salaries of your personnel and allocate a training room on Lingyun Mountain for your disciples to use."

This concession was quite significant. Previously, the Qingyuan Sect had not been able to reach an agreement with the Ding family because they were unwilling to be responsible for the salaries of their disciples stationed at Lingyun Mountain.

Now, Qingyuan Sect is not only willing to pay the salary, but also return the surrendered spirit stones, and is already asking Hunyuan Sect to send people for support.

Logically speaking, even if Lingyun Mountain was short of manpower, it would not be short of five people. There was no need to be so servile, even letting Wu Xuan lose face and act like a rogue.

I think it was the Ding family who raised an objection, thinking it was unfair that only their family sent people to garrison the alliance headquarters. In order to win over the Ding family and persuade them to return to the coalition headquarters, the Qingyuan Sect treated the Hunyuan Sect so well and offered generous conditions, just to show off to the Ding family.

In addition, if the Hunyuan Sect is willing to send people there, it can also show the outside world that the alliance is still united and in solidarity, which can make the loose cultivator alliance feel wary and dare not rashly attack the Qingyuan Sect.

However, Song Xian had already made up his mind not to get involved in this vortex, so he would not send anyone there for such a small profit.

"Fellow Daoist Wu, do you think this would work? Originally, our sect provided a monthly subsidy of ten spirit stones to each of the Ding family and the Rising Sun Sect cultivators stationed on Lingyun Mountain. Now that the Rising Sun Sect has suffered heavy casualties and is unable to support the alliance, our sect will naturally no longer provide them with subsidies."

"Our sect will still pay for this amount. Please send five more people, and we will pay for the spirit stones."

"For fifteen people in the Rising Sun Sect, one hundred and fifty spirit stones per month will be distributed among your five disciples, so each person will receive thirty spirit stones."

This is like begging for food. Wu Xuan, as an elder of the Qingyuan Sect, is responsible for the management of the market. Everyone in Bianxia Town is polite to him when they see him. But now he is like a tiger in a plain being bullied by a dog. Anger is rising in his heart and a furious look appears on his face: "Master Song, forgive me for being blunt, but our sect is not here to beg for food. Who cares about a few spirit stones? What we need is your sect to clearly stand with the alliance."

Song Xian also said seriously, "This point has never changed for our sect. We have always been a staunch supporter and advocate of the alliance."

"In that case, please have your sect send disciples to the alliance headquarters."

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that. My sect is short on manpower and can't afford to send anyone. Your sect has so many disciples, why don't you send more? A mere five people would be a piece of cake for your sect, wouldn't it?"

Wu Xuan's eyes suddenly became sharp: "Could it be that your clan is playing both sides and secretly colluding with the Loose Cultivator Alliance?"

Song Xian's heart trembled. "How could this be possible? Who is spreading rumors about our clan? They deserve death."

"Our sect has received news that the Loose Cultivator Alliance is likely to attack Lingyun Mountain in the near future. At this time, your sect has stood by and watched, and the Ding family has withdrawn from Lingyun Mountain. It makes people wonder, could it be that you have discussed this and want to sell our sect to the Loose Cultivator Alliance in exchange for your own safety?" Wu Xuan's face was grim, and his voice was like a cold wind, with a hint of threat.

Song Xian was not afraid at all. He met his gaze and sneered, "Fellow Daoist Wu, are you planning to pin a false accusation on our sect?"

"Fellow Daoist, you should remember that when the alliance was first established, our sect proposed a financial contribution, not a manpower contribution, and Sect Leader Hu approved of it."

"As for why the Ding family suddenly withdrew from Lingyun Mountain, I don't know. However, Fellow Daoist Ding once complained to me that when your sect and the Rising Sun Sect attacked Qixia Mountain, they had clearly already arranged everything without consulting him, and directly forced the cultivators of his palace to assist."

"Shouldn't your Majesty think about whether you have done anything wrong instead of blindly blaming others?"

"If your sect insists on pinning the charge of colluding with the Loose Cultivator Alliance on my sect, I have nothing to say."

"Master Hu previously requested at the alliance meeting that our sect send ten disciples to support Lingyun Mountain, and that he provide a clear response within seven days. However, I was recently in Bianxi City and was unable to respond in time."

"Now I can tell your Majesty."

"I'm sorry to have to obey."

Wu Xuan's expression turned extremely grim, and the muscles at the corners of his eyes trembled slightly. He had not expected that Song Xian, who had always been submissive in front of the Qingyuan Sect, would dare to confront him so sharply. "So, the Hunyuan Sect is determined to draw a clear line between itself and the alliance?"

Song Xian stopped pretending after hearing what he had said. He had long disliked Wu Xuan. He thought a mere Qingyuan Sect elder was some important figure, putting on airs in front of him. "Not sending people to Lingyun Mountain is betraying the alliance? Not obeying your sect's wishes means you're severing ties with the alliance? Elder Wu, since you can represent the alliance, what do we need from you then?"

Wu Xuan's face flushed instantly, and he stood up suddenly, glaring at him, and said in a trembling voice, "Okay, okay."

Song Xian didn't want to listen to his nonsense anymore, so he shouted, "Someone come here."

"Master, what are your instructions?" Xu Zhen responded.

"see a visitor out."

"Yes, Fellow Daoist Wu, please."

"Even if the mountains don't turn, the water will turn. Master Song, we'll meet again in the future. Humph!"

Wu Xuan said something harsh, snorted coldly, and walked away.

"Idiot." Song Xian muttered softly as he watched his departing back. He did not take the threat seriously at all. The Qingyuan Sect was currently in a difficult situation and could not possibly turn around to deal with the Hunyuan Sect.

What's more, Wu Xuan is just one of the elders of Qingyuan Sect. Qingyuan Sect has three elders, so it is not his turn to have the final say.

Originally, Song Xian was planning to fool around with some words, respond nicely, and let the matter go in a friendly manner, but Wu Xuan was so aggressive that he clearly wanted something from him, but he acted like he was giving orders.

No matter how good-tempered he is, he can't help getting angry.

"Master, he has left." Soon, Xu Zhen came back and reported to him.

Song Xian just nodded without saying anything else, turned around and went to the training room in the backyard to start his day's practice.

When he felt hungry and walked out of the training room, he saw Zhong Wenyuan waiting in the main hall.

"Master." Seeing him coming, Zhong Wenyuan stood up and greeted him with a salute.

"Why are you here, Senior Brother Wenyuan? What's the matter?"

"I heard Wu Xuan left in anger. What happened? Didn't they reach an agreement?"

"It's about this! Wu Xuan insisted we send people to Lingyun Mountain and pressed us, and I didn't respond well, so the talks fell through." Zhong Wenyuan frowned. "What did he say?"

Song Xian then repeated the conversation between the two: "Don't worry, it's the Qingyuan Sect that's in trouble now. Wu Xuan is just a facade, weak inside. Otherwise, he wouldn't have stayed here all night throwing a tantrum to force me to show up. I'm sure he's incapable of doing anything. Besides, Hu Yingquan wouldn't turn against our sect just because of a disagreement in a conversation."

"Then I'll go down the mountain and try to recruit a few more independent cultivators as soon as possible."

"It would be best to recruit some people with higher cultivation and who are willing to become fighters. Even if their backgrounds are not so clean, as long as they are not in big trouble, it's fine. Now is an extraordinary period, and we have to act according to the circumstances. The most urgent task is to enhance the sect's combat effectiveness." Song Xian instructed.

The independent cultivator recruited this time, Zheng Xuan, is a non-combatant. Now the sect already has many people in charge of affairs, and there is nowhere to send them. What is in short supply are disciples who have combat effectiveness, are willing to obey orders, and fight with the enemy.

"I'm just afraid it won't be that easy! I've heard recently that many forces in Bianxia Town are recruiting people, including the Qingyuan Sect, which is also secretly recruiting independent cultivators."

.........

The sun was bright and the sky was clear. The climate in Bianxia Town in July was very hot, and heat waves were visible in the air.

In the sacred field of Xuanming Mountain, a pot-bellied man dressed in Qingyuan Sect clothing was lying on a rocking chair in the room, and two shirtless men behind him were waving feather fans vigorously.

The man half-closed his eyes and yawned. Suddenly, a loud roar came from outside the house: "Brother Lin, run! People from the Loose Cultivator Alliance are coming this way."

Upon hearing this, the obese man suddenly jumped up from his rocking chair and ran out of the house as swift as a rabbit, cursing: "Damn it, I knew they would come sooner or later."

Inside the walls of Lingtian, everyone was in chaos, screaming and fleeing in all directions.

By the time several monks from the Loose Cultivator Alliance arrived on flying magic tools, the two guarding disciples of the Qingyuan Sect had already run away, leaving only some mortal slaves who were unaware of the situation and had no time to escape.

After the leading man from the Loose Cultivator Alliance entered the inner chamber, he found no Qingyuan Sect disciples, so he called out to a slave who hadn't had time to escape, "Where is the Qingyuan Sect cultivator in charge here?"

"Master, they just left in a hurry." The slave answered tremblingly.

"They escaped pretty quickly." The man looked towards a lookout tower several dozen feet high in the spiritual field. "What's that for?"

"It was built by the two immortal masters. I don't know what it was used for. But after it was built, I saw the two immortal masters taking turns guarding it day and night, probably to observe the surrounding situation. Just now, one of the immortal masters came down from it and left in a hurry."

In the dim training room on Lingyun Mountain, Huang Qing was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, practicing. Although the situation was very unfavorable for Qingyuan Sect, he still practiced without stopping, and never relaxed for a moment because of worry.

At this moment, there was a knock on the door outside.

"Elder Huang, Elder Huang, something terrible has happened."

Panic sounds came from outside. Huang Qing immediately stopped circulating his spiritual energy, opened his eyes as if in a trance, stood up suddenly, opened the stone door, and asked solemnly, "What's wrong? What happened?"

"The Loose Cultivator Alliance has taken action. Several teams have been dispatched simultaneously to seize our external resource areas. They may launch an attack on Lingyun Mountain at any time."

Huang Qing's face suddenly turned gloomy. Ever since the Ding family evacuated, he had expected this day to come, but he didn't expect it to come so soon.

Hu Yingquan went to Bianxi City to seek help from the Beast Taming Sect. He has not returned yet and does not know whether he can ask Yang Zhang for help. Even if Yang Jinzhang is willing to come forward, distant water cannot quench immediate thirst.

"Order everyone to assemble in the council hall immediately."

"Yes."

Huang Qing hurried to the meeting hall, where several people were already sitting, all with serious expressions, talking.

"Senior Brother Huang, Elder Huang." When he arrived, several people stood up and saluted.

"How many people did the Loose Cultivator Alliance send out?" Huang Qing walked straight to the main seat and sat down, then asked.

These people were all disciples stationed in the external resource jurisdiction. Hu Yingquan had already issued an order that if they encountered an attack from the Loose Cultivator Alliance, they should gather at Lingyun Mountain, so they all ran here.

"Teams from the Loose Cultivator Alliance have appeared in several of our resource areas. I don't know the exact number, but I estimate the total number to be at least forty or fifty."

Huang Qing glanced over and asked, "Where are Junior Brother Zhang Yue stationed at Fengqi Valley and Junior Brother Zhu Yan at Huangshigang? Why aren't they there?"

"I don't know. They might not have arrived yet, or they might have been killed. If we hadn't been alert and discovered the Loose Cultivator Alliance in time, they would have been killed by now."

"I did see clearly that the monks from the Loose Cultivator Alliance who were heading towards me were riding on the Canglan Bird. There were five of them in total. After I spotted them, I immediately changed into the same clothes as ordinary servants and made them flee in all directions to distract them. That's how I escaped."

"Now that the Loose Cultivator Alliance has taken over the resource territories we're stationed in, their next step will be to gather and attack Lingyun Mountain. Senior Brother Huang, we should quickly send someone to report to the sect and request support."

.........

Just as everyone was panicking, a heated discussion was taking place at the headquarters of the Loose Cultivator Alliance.

After all, Lingyun Mountain is a place heavily defended by the Qingyuan Sect, and a second-level formation is arranged there. It is definitely a tough nut to crack. No matter who tries to chew it, at least a few front teeth will be broken. Everyone wants others to be the vanguard while they pick up the slack from behind. The manpower of the alliance headquarters alone may not be able to take it down, and each family needs to send more personnel.

As a result, disputes arose. Among each family, there were strong ones and weak ones.

Those who are strong hope that everyone will contribute equally, while those who are weak hope that the strong will contribute more.

In addition, after taking Lingyun Mountain, how to distribute the resources and territory obtained is another big problem.

"Lingyun Mountain is guarded by a second-level formation. Although the Ding family has withdrawn from the area, the Qingyuan Sect has increased its manpower, and the total number of people is about thirty. If we want to capture this place, we need at least sixty or seventy cultivators. If we want to wipe out their tribe, it will take at least a hundred people. Now there are only fifty people in our alliance. If everyone shirks their responsibilities and refuses to contribute, the resource territories we have captured will soon be taken away by the Qingyuan Sect's counterattack." Xu Quan, the leader of Luofeng Valley, said in a deep voice.

The leader of the Snow Mountain Sect immediately retorted, "According to Fellow Daoist Xu, each of us should send twenty people. But we only have a total of twenty or so. If we kill them all in this battle, what good will it do to capture Lingyun Mountain? You, the Luofeng Valley, are a wealthy family, so of course it doesn't matter. I cannot accept Fellow Daoist Xu's proposal."

The leader of Qixia Mountain echoed, "Nearly half of us were killed or wounded in the last battle. Now, there are less than twenty of us who can participate in the battle. Even if we send all of them, it will only be the number requested by Fellow Daoist Xu."

Xu Quan angrily said, "According to what you're saying, Luofeng Valley will have to send twice as many people, and we'll have to split the benefits of Lingyun Mountain equally with you. This is outrageous. If that's the case, why not just return those resource territories we just seized to Qingyuan Sect, and let's just keep our distance from each other from now on."

(End of this chapter)