Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 172 The Secret Records of the Extreme Dao
Song Xian nodded, knowing that what Ding Wenxiang said was from the bottom of his heart, including his private contact with the independent cultivator forces, the attitude of the independent cultivator forces, and the last promise should all be true.

The reason is very simple. The so-called friendship is just an excuse. The real reason is that it needs allies. Now in the sect alliance, the Xu Ri Sect and the Qing Yuan Sect have been abolished.

If the Hunyuan Sect is targeted by the Loose Cultivator Alliance again, the Ding family will be left alone.

"So that's what I thought, too. I believed our sect had no grudges against the Loose Cultivator Alliance, and that they wouldn't attack our sect until they completely eliminated the Qingyuan Sect. But today, the Loose Cultivator Alliance attacked our sect. People from Qixia Mountain attempted to rob our sect of its Jade Fragrance Pills."

"Is that true?" Ding Wenxiang's brows immediately frowned.

"Luofeng Valley, on behalf of the Loose Cultivator Alliance, has twice approached our sect, trying to persuade it not to interfere in the affairs of the Qingyuan Sect and promising to remain separate. Yet, before the Qingyuan Sect is even wiped out, they've already attacked our sect. Fellow Daoist Ding, do you still believe their words? This is merely a delaying tactic. After the Qingyuan Sect, it's our sect, and after that, your mansion."

Ding Wenxiang's frown deepened. "I'll inquire with the Loose Cultivator Alliance about this matter. No matter what, I still say the same thing: if your sect is attacked, our government will not sit idly by."

Song Xian carefully chose his words and said, "I came here today hoping to have a frank and open discussion with Fellow Daoist Ding about this matter. My thoughts are this: we must do our best to protect the Qingyuan Sect, regardless of whether we can save it or not. We must do our best, not to help it, but for ourselves."

"We must set a bottom line for the Loose Cultivator Alliance, otherwise, they will defeat us one by one sooner or later."

"To be honest, fellow Daoist, in a while, more than ten elite disciples from the Qingyun Sect in Pingyuan County, the predecessor of our sect, will defect to us. By then, with the strength of our two families, we will be able to barely compete with the Loose Cultivator Alliance."

"I think it's time to rebuild the alliance. No matter what, we must first show our united stance. It would be best if we could reach an agreement with the Loose Cultivator Alliance and maintain peace. Even if that's not possible, we must let the Loose Cultivator Alliance know that we are of one mind, so that they will be cautious."

Ding Wenxiang's eyes flickered, and after a moment of contemplation, he said, "To be honest, our government has just taken over the affairs of the market town, and we don't want to cause any more trouble. If we anger the Loose Cultivator Alliance and they cause trouble inside and outside the market town, it will cause great trouble for our government."

"Besides, based on my understanding of those independent cultivator forces, they will not let Qingyuan Sect go easily."

"Unless we truly stand up for the Qingyuan Sect and send our disciples to engage in real combat with the independent cultivators, negotiations alone will not resolve the issue."

"Your sect has just taken over the affairs of the Beast Taming Sect, so you probably don't want to start a real dispute with the independent cultivators! No matter what your sect does, our government will never start another war with the independent cultivators for the Qingyuan Sect."

"However, if your sect is willing to reorganize the alliance, our government will support it, but it is limited to your two factions and ours. The Qingyuan Sect cannot be included in it."

Ding Wenxiang's intention was very clear, he wanted to completely abandon the Qingyuan Sect. His attitude was so firm that it was somewhat beyond Song Xian's expectations.

Even after agreeing to form an alliance, they were unwilling to lend a hand to the Qingyuan Sect. Logically speaking, there was no deep hatred between the two, so it wouldn't be like this.

If they say that they hold a grudge against the Qingyuan Sect because they were betrayed during the attack on Mount Qixia, it would be even more unreasonable.

Because later, when the Qingyuan Sect was attacked by the Loose Cultivator Alliance, the Ding family sent people to rescue it.

The time when the Ding family really decided to completely draw a line with the Qingyuan Sect was after the Ding family took over the market.

This was originally the property of the Qingyuan Sect. The Ding family might be worried that if the Qingyuan Sect recovers, they might want to take back the management rights of the market town in the future, thus threatening them.

Of course, it is also possible that they are threatened by the Loose Cultivator Alliance. For example, the Loose Cultivator Alliance threatens that if the Ding family interferes in the affairs of the Qingyuan Sect, they will cause trouble in the market town. This will make the big boss behind the market town doubt the ability of the Ding family and kick the Ding family out like they kicked out the Qingyuan Sect. This is what the Ding family is most worried about and cannot accept.

The Loose Cultivator Alliance had previously threatened the Hunyuan Sect, saying that if they sent people to fight against them, the Yuxiangdan industry would be destroyed, a thing they were perfectly capable of doing.

The reason why the Alliance of Loose Cultivators can threaten them is that both the Hunyuan Sect and the Ding Family have very single industries, while the loose cultivator forces have their own resource territories. They do not need external industries and can support their financial revenue with just the resources in their territories.

Once the Hunyuan Sect and the Ding family lose the financial support of external industries, they will immediately fall into difficulties or even despair.

Having said that, there was no point in Song Xian talking about focusing on the overall situation, so he said goodbye and left.

After returning to the mountain gate, Zhong Wenyuan also came back from Luofeng Valley, bringing the news he had obtained from there.

Xu Quan claimed that he was completely unaware of the matter and that it was not the work of the Loose Cultivator Alliance, but rather Qixia Mountain's willful behavior. They expressed their willingness to continue to maintain a non-interference agreement with the sect and promised to mediate, talk to Qixia Mountain, reconcile the conflict, and try to ensure that such a thing would not happen again.

In addition, the sect was also asked not to interfere in the affairs of the Qingyuan Sect, otherwise the Hunyuan Sect would be regarded as an enemy.

A few days later, the Ding family sent someone to say that they had learned about the matter and that it was Qixia Mountain that was acting on its own. They also sent people to negotiate with Qixia Mountain.

Qixia Mountain certainly did not admit that they were looting goods, and still used the previous excuse to prevaricate, saying that their own goods were stolen, so they sent people to search, and it was not to target Hunyuan Sect.

.........

At the end of May, the weather in Bianxia Town began to get hot.

In the spacious and bright hall, Song Xian held a large vermilion brush in his hand, concentrating on engraving an inscription on white talisman paper.

As the spiritual power surged, the large scarlet brush emitted a faint light, moving like a dragon or snake across the white talisman paper.

Each stroke was extremely slow and powerful. You could hear a pin drop in the room. Apart from the slight sound of the pen tip moving across the talisman paper, there was no other noise.

After a while, the complex patterns on the talisman paper were completed.

Song Xian breathed a sigh of relief, raised his arm to touch the tiny beads of sweat on his forehead, carefully picked up the talisman paper, and blew on it gently.

Next to the desk was an open thick golden book with a talisman pattern on it, which was exactly the same as the one engraved on the talisman paper in his hand.

Song Xian took the talisman paper and carefully compared it with the pattern on the book page for a long time. Finally, he nodded with satisfaction and put it into the bucket filled with dark green spiritual liquid.

This golden book is exactly the secret scroll left in Wang Qingpu’s high-level storage bag in the Water Curtain Cave.

When he first got this book, he didn't care much about it. He thought it was just an ordinary book about refining talismans, but after he came back and flipped through it carefully, he discovered its value.

Although there were many good things left in Wang Qingpu's storage bag, he dared to say that none of them could compare to the value of this book. The spirit stones, magic tools, talismans, pills and the value of this thing were not worth mentioning.

In his opinion, this book is priceless and is almost an encyclopedia of talismans.

It recorded hundreds of talisman-making methods, many of which he had never heard of before. Each step was explained in great detail, along with illustrations and text. Even the methods for producing various spiritual liquids were included. Wang Puqing's rise to fame as a talisman master in Xijiang County was closely tied to this book.

It is certain that this book was definitely not written by Wang Puqing, but was obtained by him by chance. Therefore, the method of refining talismans recorded in it is very advanced. In addition to the first and second low-level talismans, there are also methods for refining high-level scrolls. These are corresponding to cultivators at the Jindan and Yuanying levels. It is impossible for Wang Puqing to understand these with his foundation-building cultivation level.

When Song Xian was in Qingyun Sect, he also studied talisman refining with Zhang Shilin, and Zhang Shilin praised him for his talent.

But after coming to Bianxia Town, he hasn't touched talismans in the past few years. One reason is that he just settled here and is busy with various affairs. He has to practice, study magic, and research puppets, and he has no time to touch talismans.

The second is that no one taught him how to make talismans. He used to have his master Zhang Shilin to guide him, but now there is no one to guide him. If he has to figure it out on his own, not only will he take many detours, but he will also waste a lot of time.

Moreover, the talismans that he had refined before were very basic talismans such as the Cleansing Talisman, the Warming Sun Talisman, and the Cooling Talisman. He had not yet learned the more advanced combat talismans.

Therefore, he never touched it again. He was ready to give up the path of talisman refining, but unexpectedly, he got this secret talisman by chance. The detailed explanations of refining various talismans in it made him feel that he didn't need anyone's guidance at all. He just had to follow the steps and do it step by step.

You know, traditional skills like alchemy, qi refining, talisman making, and array making all rely heavily on the guidance of a master, because these things are too complicated and require too much experience.

It is difficult to achieve anything through personal exploration unless you are a gifted person.

With this secret book of the ultimate way, there is no need for a master's guidance. Even an average person can achieve something by following the steps in the book. It is so detailed.

Song Xian had never seen a book that explained everything in such detail. The original owner of this book was undoubtedly a great master of talismans.

It is very rare for a person of this level to be able to explain everything in such detail as if he were teaching a child.

It's like facing a child who knows nothing. I'm afraid that you don't understand, so I explain everything to you clearly, starting from the most basic preparations such as talisman paper, vermilion brush, and spiritual liquid.

What Song Xian was refining at this time was a talisman called "Tracking Talisman". According to the book, this was a first-grade medium-grade talisman, and its effect was to track the opponent. As long as it was stained with the opponent's blood, the talisman could be used to track the opponent's traces within an hour.

Over the past month, he has tried many times to refine this talisman, but so far, he has not succeeded.

Although the rune veins were carved accurately this time, it is still unknown whether it can withstand the immersion of spiritual liquid. Only after being immersed in the spiritual liquid for a full day, the talisman inscription is still clear, the spiritual power on it does not dissipate, and the talisman paper is neither dry nor wet, can it be considered successful.

Just as Song Xian was about to take a break, there was a knock on the door.

He immediately packed up his things, walked to the front of the room and opened the door. When he was refining the talisman, he had already told the housekeeper to close the door and refuse visitors, because refining the talisman requires concentration and no distraction. If there is even a slight mistake, the entire talisman will be wasted.

Someone is disturbing me at this time, it must be something very urgent.

Standing outside the room was none other than Zhong Wenyuan, a rare expression of joy on his face: "Master, they are here."

"Who's here?" Song Xian didn't react for a moment.

"Junior Brother Zhang Ningyuan has returned from Pingyuan County, along with the former Qingyun Sect disciples. They are now in the main hall."

"Great, you're finally here. How many people are there in total?"

"Fourteen people."

"Okay." Song Xian was overjoyed and immediately came to the main hall. Before he entered the hall, he heard a noisy sound. The people inside were chattering about the environment and climate of the town.

Song Xian and Zhong Wenyuan came in from outside, and the noise suddenly became much quieter. Everyone present looked at him.

"Master." Zhang Ningyuan immediately stood up and walked forward to bow to him.

"Thank you for your hard work, fellow brothers." Song Xian swept his eyes over the crowd. Most of them were familiar faces. He nodded slightly.

Everyone had different expressions. Although they had already heard from Zhang Ningyuan that Song Xian had become the sect's leader, they were still a little surprised when they saw him at this time.

"Junior Brother Song, ah! No, Master." Yu Lian was the first to stand up. He and Song Xian were the most familiar with each other here, not to mention that he was the liaison between everyone and Hunyuan Sect.

"We all wish to submit to the Hunyuan Sect, and hope you will not abandon us and take us in." He bowed as he spoke.

Song Xian stepped forward quickly, holding his arms with both hands: "Brother Yu, why do you have to be like this? We are a family, so there is no question of whether to take you in or not. I have been waiting for the arrival of all the brothers for a long time, just like waiting for rain in a drought. I am eagerly waiting for it.

Yu Lian's face flushed slightly. "I really shouldn't have stayed at the mountain gate back then. If I had known this would happen, I would have come here with you. Fortunately, my fellow disciples didn't abandon us and were willing to take us in. From now on, I will serve you till my death."

"If you want to blame someone, blame the Yuanyi Sect. We were all harmed by them. There's no need to talk about what happened before. Now that you brothers have come here, I believe you are ready to start over. From now on, we will all work together to carry forward the sect. I believe we will have a bright future."

Song Xian's words revealed the past events, which made everyone feel relieved. After all, they had chosen to betray Zhang Hunyuan before. Although the headmaster has been replaced now and Zhang Ningyuan has repeatedly assured that the sect will treat everyone equally, they are still a little worried.

"Master, let me introduce all of you fellow disciples to me!" Zhang Ningyuan continued.

Song Xian nodded and sat down in the main seat.

"This is Senior Brother Lin Quan."

"Master." The middle-aged man who was named stood up and saluted. He was also the one with the highest cultivation among everyone, with the seventh level of Qi Refining.

"This is Senior Brother Zhang Yang."

"This is Junior Brother Gu Jian."

"Who is this…"

Zhang Ningyuan introduced everyone one by one. Among the fourteen cultivators, except Lin Quan and two cultivators at the third level of Qi Refining, the others were all at the middle stage of Qi Refining.

(End of this chapter)