Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 163: Loose Cultivator Team
"Fellow Daoist, do you know anything about Beast Soul Incense?" Song Xian had no objection to these people, but he was afraid that they lacked experience and could not complete the task assigned by the Beast Taming Sect, so he had to find out the situation first.

"To be honest, although I have never come across Beast Soul Incense, I have heard of it. It is an item used on spirit beasts, and it can help them maintain peace."

After Ding Yi said this, he felt that it was inappropriate. He was afraid that Song Xian would think that he was inexperienced and unable to take on this task, so he hurriedly added something.

"I've heard that making Beast Soul Incense isn't complicated. My brothers and I all have long-term experience making cultivation items. If you just tell us the process, we'll definitely master it quickly. I hope Master Song can give us this opportunity. We'll do our best to serve you. If Master Song ever sends us on a mission, we'll be happy to die."

Song Xian nodded, feeling very satisfied with this statement. This attitude was good enough.

"Senior Brother Wenyuan should have told you! Beast Soul Incense is the property of the Beast Taming Sect. We'll be responsible for its production. We need a thousand sticks per year. Can you guys make it?"

"Master Song, please rest assured. I can guarantee that we can complete this task as long as we are given the power. If you are short of manpower, I can always find a few friends to help."

"Well, well, I'll leave this matter to you!"

Upon hearing this, the ingratiating smile on Ding Yi's face finally relaxed, and the other three also showed joy.

"Thank you, Master Song. We will do our best to live up to your trust." Ding Yi immediately stood up and bowed respectfully.

The other three also stood up and saluted.

"Please take a seat, everyone! I hope everything goes smoothly with our future cooperation." Song Xian waved his hand, motioning for them to take a seat. "As you all know, this is the property of the Beastmaster Sect. Senior Yang entrusted it to our sect, and now that it's being handed over to you, there needs to be a name. Otherwise, Senior Yang would be offended if he knew about it."

"If you want to take over this business, you must join our sect and become our disciples. Of course, this is just a nominal title, so that we can explain it to the outside world."

"You claim to be disciples of this sect, but we will not pay you any salaries. We will simply hand over this property to you, and you will be responsible for your own profits and losses. Do you accept this?"

Ding Yi nodded immediately: "Friend Zhong has already discussed this with us, and we have no problem."

Song Xian nodded. "Okay, let's talk about the specific terms! We have to produce one thousand beast soul incense sticks for the Beastmaster Sect every year, and they pay four spirit stones for each stick. One thousand sticks means four thousand spirit stones."

"I don't care how many people you have, or how you manufacture it. I'll take 3,200 spirit stones from it every year. I'll prepare everything, including the materials, channels, transportation, etc. You'll only be responsible for refining. Once you complete the task, I'll pay you 800 spirit stones."

"If you have the energy to spare after completing one thousand Beast Soul Incense sticks, and if there are any leftover materials, you can use them yourself, or you can go out and buy materials to refine them yourself. I won't take a cent of the extra Beast Soul Incense you refine. But I won't be responsible for selling it for you either. If you have the ability, you can sell it yourself. The proceeds will be yours, and it has nothing to do with this sect."

"If we fail to complete the mission, we must also handle it impartially. According to the Beast Taming Sect's punishment for our sect, if we fail to deliver one less spirit stone, we will confiscate one spirit stone."

"For example, if you only complete 800 beast fragrance souls this year, then the Beastmaster Sect will only give us 3,200 spirit stones. In addition, there will be a fine of 800 spirit stones, and you will have to bear this cost."

Ding Yi's expression grew more serious. "We are aware of this matter. If you fail to complete the mission, you will accept the punishment."

"Our sect has paid a deposit of 10,000 spirit stones to the Beast Taming Sect. We were originally planning to collect some from you as a deposit, but Senior Brother Wenyuan said that you're currently struggling financially, so we'll waive that requirement! Since you've all joined our sect, even if it's only in name, we still have a comradeship. I'll do my best to make things easier for you. If you have any difficulties or need help in the future, please let me know."

"Thank you, Master Song. We will definitely work hard to repay Master Song's kindness."

"From now on, you will stay at the mountain gate and only be responsible for refining the beast soul incense. You don't have to worry about anything else. You don't have to worry about food, clothing, housing, and transportation. I will treat you all the same as the sect disciples. The sect may need your help in the future. Of course, you are non-staff members, so you won't be asked to participate in dangerous missions or fight with others. Maybe when the sect is short of manpower, we need someone to run errands."

"This is our duty. Master Song has given us orders, and we will obey them."

"We can skip the initiation ceremony. Tomorrow I'll have someone bring you a few sets of sect uniforms. Our sect doesn't distinguish between inner and outer sects, so just treat you as registered disciples! Senior Brother Wenyuan, take them to rest."

"Master Song, could you please teach us how to make beast soul incense as soon as possible? This way we can be prepared early and have more confidence, so we won't be in a rush next year." Ding Yi stood up and said.

"I will as soon as possible."

"Then I'll take my leave."

Several people got up and left.

Song Xian did not leave. Not long after, Zhong Wenyuan came in with a few strangers.

This is the team of independent cultivators who took over the Xuanbu Spiritual Liquid. There are five people in total. The leader is a fifth-level Qi Refining cultivator named Wang Xiang. The other four are Zhu Gongxuan, Yu Jian, Feng Hua, and Zhang Li.

Song Xian talked with them and repeated the conditions. Since the Xuanbu Spiritual Liquid was expensive, they had to pay 80% of it, which meant they had to pay 5,600 spirit stones every year.

These people had already known about these things from Zhong Wenyuan, so naturally they had no objections.

Since then, personnel for the three industries have been selected.

………………

"Master, the things have been shipped back and are now in the treasury. I asked around, and the prices of the same things are 30% to 40% more expensive than in other shops." Lin Zixiang walked in from outside, bowed, and spoke.

"They told us to go to the Spiritual Materials Pavilion to buy goods. The things there are definitely more expensive than in the market. How can such a monopoly business be cheap?"

Song Xian wasn't surprised by this and just nodded slightly. Even if the price doubled, let alone a 30% or 40% increase, he wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

Of course, if the price really doubled, probably no one would take over this business. Although Yang Jinzhang was greedy for money, he was a shrewd person. He handled many affairs of the Beast Taming Sect in an orderly manner because he knew how to grasp the right measure and knew to leave a certain profit margin for others.

The total revenue from the three industries of black arrowfish, beast soul incense, and Xuanbu spiritual liquid is 14,000 spirit stones. After deducting the 3,000 spirit stones handed over to him as a tribute, and deducting the cost of materials and labor costs, the profit is at most 30% to 40%.

If the materials are sold too expensively and the profits earned by other forces are too low, they will not take over.

"When will the people from the Beast Taming Sect arrive? The materials have arrived, the responsible personnel are all assembled, and we can start work anytime."

"I don't know. Yang Yuling only said that she would send someone over before the New Year." Song Xian had been to Bianxi City a few days ago, paid a deposit of 10,000 spirit stones, and also paid 1,000 spirit stones for the price of black arrowfish eggs. Now everything is ready, and all that is missing is the east wind.

While the two were talking, the butler walked to the door and bowed, saying, "Master, Immortal Master Shen Fan wishes to see you."

"Invite him!"

The butler left in response, and Lin Zixiang immediately stood up: "Master, if there is nothing else, I will take my leave first."

Song Xian nodded, and soon Shen Fan walked in. His face was flushed, he looked very excited, and his eyes were shining.

"Master, the puppet refining has finally succeeded."

"Oh?" Song Xian was also happy when he heard this. If he could completely master the puppet technique, it would significantly improve the sect's combat power.

"Good job, come on, take me to see it." Song Xian patted his shoulder.

Encouraged and affirmed, Shen Fan became even more excited. He was not good at speaking and didn't know what to say for a moment. He just nodded heavily and said "hmm" forcefully.

The two came to the Puppet Hall, pushed the door and entered one of the rooms, and what caught their eyes was a long red snake.

It looks just like any other snake, two or three feet long, with a triangular head, a well-proportioned body, and a long, slender tail. If you don't look closely, you might mistake it for a living snake.

Song Xian took the puppet snake in his hand and stroked it carefully. He felt it was very smooth and not rough at all.

"Okay! Junior Brother Shen, can you command this puppet to attack?" "Yes." Shen Fan had just finished speaking, and without any movement, the snake in Song Xian's hand suddenly twisted, followed by a huge force. The snake-shaped puppet slipped out of his hand and swam on the ground at an extremely fast speed. Then it jumped up and was about one or two feet high, and its tail swung on an iron frame.

There was a crisp sound of metal hitting stone, and the iron frame was instantly deformed by the blow of the snake-shaped puppet. The snake-shaped puppet's tail wrapped around the iron frame, and its body bent and rolled around the iron frame in several circles. There was a crackling sound, and the iron frame became more and more twisted.

Then the snake-shaped puppet became tighter and tighter, and the iron frame made a slight cracking sound, and broke in the middle.

The snake-shaped puppet then let go of the iron frame and slid down from it. Then it came to Song Xian, leaped back into his palm, and curled up into a ball.

"Good, good." Song Xian nodded repeatedly, very satisfied with the performance of the puppet. The combat effectiveness of this puppet was even beyond his expectations. Not only was it tough and had strong striking power, it was also so flexible.

"Junior Brother Shen, with your spiritual power, how many puppets can you control at the same time?"

"Disciple doesn't know either." Shen Fan rubbed his head: "This is the first puppet that has been successfully refined."

"The refining of our sect's puppets is now entirely your responsibility. After the children with spiritual roots recruited by the sect have achieved Transmaturity, you will select one or two talented individuals among them and teach them this art."

"Yes. I will do my best."

"I know you're working hard, but don't neglect your cultivation. Junior Brother Zichen has already broken through to the second level of Qi Refining, so you need to work harder too. Only when your cultivation level is raised can you refine higher-level puppets. Otherwise, with your Qi Refining level of the first level, you can only refine this low-level snake-shaped puppet. If you have any difficulties, just tell me."

Song Xian knew that he was an honest person. Such an introvert needed more encouragement, more affirmation, and more heart-to-heart talks with him.

Song Xian has always admired such honest and upright people, because he can be trusted to employ such people, and even if they become successful in the future, they will not do anything ungrateful.

It was a good choice for Shen Fan to embark on the path of puppet refining. He did not have high spiritual root aptitude and was an honest person, so he was most suitable for the "technical route" of hard work.

If Jiang Zichen went out to venture into the world and take charge of business or other matters, he would definitely not do well. People who can't even say a word for a long time are naturally not as good at socializing as those who are outgoing, cheerful and lively.

On the contrary, if Jiang Zichen were to do puppet refining, he would definitely not be able to do it well, because it is an extremely lonely and boring job. He just repeats the same thing every day. With his active personality, there is no way he can endure it!
Although there are not many disciples in Hunyuan Sect now, each of them has different personalities and ideas. How to give full play to their strengths and let them work in the fields they are good at is the responsibility of Song Xian as the head of the sect, and it is also the key to the development and growth of the sect.

The most important thing in the world is to use people. If you use the right people, the job is basically half done.

.........

The next day, Song Xian was sitting cross-legged in the practice room when there was a knock on the door.

He opened his eyes from his trance, stood up, and opened the stone door. Wang Huan was standing outside and bowed to him. "Master, three disciples of the Beastmaster Sect have arrived and request to see you."

Finally they arrived. Song Xian was shocked and immediately ordered Wang Huan to go and see Ding Yi, Wang Xiang, Zhou Ren and others, while he personally went down the mountain to welcome the people from the Beast Taming Sect.

These people must not be offended, otherwise, if they make any trouble in the process of teaching refining skills, they will be in big trouble. Disciples of large sects are pampered and often arrogant, and pay more attention to form. They must be given enough attention, otherwise they will secretly do something to you, and you won’t even know where you went wrong and have offended them.

"My fellow Taoists, your presence has brought honor to our sect. I am Song Xian, the headmaster of Hunyuan Sect. I am sorry for not coming to greet you in person." Song Xian landed on a magic weapon and saw two Canglan birds lying on the ground. On them sat three disciples wearing the uniforms of the Beast Taming Sect, carrying several large wooden boxes. He hurriedly stepped forward to greet them and bowed to them with a smile on his face.

"We have been ordered to come here to guide you in breeding black arrowfish and making beast soul incense and Xuanbu spiritual liquid." One of the men, who was in his thirties, crossed his arms in front of his chest with no expression on his face.

"No need to waste time talking. Call the disciple in charge of this matter from your sect. We will return after completing our mission."

"My three Daoists have come from afar to help my sect. I am deeply grateful. I have ordered a small banquet to welcome you. Please come into the courtyard and rest."

"Then lead the way!" It was still the man in his thirties who answered, and he seemed to be the leader of the three people.

Song Xian stepped onto the magic weapon, and the three of them followed behind on the Canglan Bird. They arrived at the main hall, where a man was waiting outside. It was Lu Yuan.

Song Xian walked in front and gave Lu Yuan a look. Lu Yuan understood and took out three small cloth bags from his sleeve and handed them to him.

Before going down the mountain, he sent someone to tell Lu Yuan to prepare two hundred spirit stones for each of the three Beast Taming Sect disciples who had arrived as a thank you gift.

"My three fellow Taoists have come from afar to teach our sect the skills. Our sect is deeply grateful and cannot express our gratitude enough. This small gift is just a token of our appreciation. Please do not refuse it." Song Xian turned around and handed the small cloth bag containing spirit stones to the three people with a smile.

"Master Song, you are too polite." The leading man from the Beast Taming Sect took the cloth bag and smiled.

The other two also received Budai respectively.

"Three fellow Taoists, please take your seats."

"The guest should follow the host's wishes. It's Master Song who should treat you!"

The two exchanged pleasantries and finally sat down as host and guest.

"I dare not ask the three of you for your names."

"I'm Wang Jie, in charge of Black Arrowfish affairs. This is Junior Brother Feng Yuan, in charge of Beast Soul Incense affairs. This is Junior Brother Zhang Miao, in charge of Xuanbu Spiritual Liquid affairs."

"To be honest, our sect has no experience in breeding black arrowfish or refining beast soul incense or Xuannu Spiritual Liquid. I would appreciate your guidance, fellow Taoists. We would be grateful."

"No one is born with the ability. Uncle Yang sent us here to pass on this skill to your sect. Master Song, rest assured, we will teach you with all our heart."

At this moment, Wang Huan came in from outside and bowed to him: "Master, they are all here and waiting for orders."

"Send them in!"

Wang Huan responded and left. Soon, the group divided into three teams and entered one after another.

There are twelve people in total, in addition to Ding Yi's team responsible for the Beast Soul Incense, Wang Xiang's team responsible for the Xuanbu Spirit Liquid, and Zhou Ren's team responsible for the Black Arrowfish.

Twelve thousand black swordfish a year was not something he could take care of by himself, so he called two friends who had raised spiritual beasts with him in the past.

Except for Zhou Ren, the other eleven people were all wearing gray Hunyuan Sect uniforms to distinguish them from the formal disciples.

"Master." Everyone bowed and saluted.

Song Xian introduced the identities of both parties. "Three fellow Daoists from the Beast Taming Sect have come here from afar to teach us their skills. This is a rare opportunity, so you must study hard."

"Yes." Everyone responded in unison.

"My disciples have a shallow foundation, so I would like to ask for your guidance. I and my sect would be grateful. It's getting late today, and you three must be exhausted from the journey. How about we rest for a night and start tomorrow?"

Wang Jie said, "The guest should follow the host's wishes. Then let's follow Sect Leader Song's wishes! We'll just try our best to cooperate."

"Master, the banquet is ready." At this time, Lu Yuan walked in and reported.

"Please, fellow Taoists, please condescend to move aside and let's go to the guest house!"

The three of them nodded, and the group stood up and walked out.

(End of this chapter)