Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 180 Celebration Banquet
There was a drizzle in the sky. Amidst the wailing and heart-wrenching cries, three coffins were slowly lowered into the tomb.

After the battle in Rhino Horn Valley, everyone stayed there for a few days and were then sent back to Bianxi City by Luoyun Sect's spirit ship. With the help of Luoyun Sect, Mingyue Sect captured the Xinyue Sect's mountain gate in one fell swoop and wiped out Xinyue Sect and its affiliated forces. From then on, Mingyue Sect became the only dominant force in Humen City.

After returning from Humen City, Song Xian immediately presided over the funeral of the three sacrificed disciples.

In Gu Jian, Zhang Mingren and Yu Hua's family members knelt in front of the tomb and cried bitterly. Song Xian led a group of disciples of the sect, including Wei Tufan and those registered disciples, to stand in front of the tomb to mourn, and successively piled up graves for the tomb.

Song Xian set rules for the family members of the three people. In addition to the compensation of one thousand spirit stones, the monthly salary must not be less than one spirit stone. Various materials must be distributed with priority. If there are any conditions and requirements, the relevant responsible personnel of the sect must try their best to meet them.

After the funeral, Song Xian went to the three injured disciples to express his condolences.

The next day, the sect held a meeting and first summarized all aspects of the war. Although thirteen enemy monks were killed this time, the spoils were not much. These monks were all poor and destitute, and they only had a medium or low-grade magic weapon and some spirit stones they carried with them.

After discussing the war, the rewards were distributed. Since Luoyun Sect had not yet clearly stated the amount of compensation, and no payment had been made, only rewards for participating in the war and additional rewards for killing hostile cultivators were being distributed for the time being.

Each participant in the battle will receive 100 spirit stones. Killing an enemy cultivator will be rewarded according to their cultivation level. In the early stage of Qi Refining, 100 spirit stones; in the middle stage of Qi Refining, 200 spirit stones; and in the late stage of Qi Refining, 300 spirit stones.

Fifty percent of the value of the seized items will go to the sect, and the other fifty percent will go to the seizure owner.

.........

In Luoyun Sect, in a spacious and bright room, Xiao Ling led a beautiful woman in from outside and bowed to Wen Yiren inside: "Auntie, Sister Zhirou is back."

The beautiful woman's eyes were filled with sorrow. She pinched the corner of her clothes with her left hand, looking a little embarrassed. She bowed to Wen Yiren and said softly, "Aunt."

Wen Yiren nodded: "I'm glad you're back, sit down!"

"Thank you, aunt." The beautiful woman looked timid.

"Sister Zhirou, please sit down." Xiao Ling pulled her to sit aside.

"Dong Jianchang is dead, and the Crescent Moon Sect has been destroyed. From now on, don't think about what happened over there anymore. Forget it."

"Yes."

"I've been so busy that I haven't been able to visit you in all these years. I hope you're doing okay over there!"

"I'm fine." The beautiful woman replied softly, her voice choked with sobs, tears welling up in her eyes. "Thank you for your concern, aunt."

Seeing that she was still so weak, Wen Yiren frowned immediately and felt a little annoyed. She had been competitive all her life and never wanted to fall behind others. She hated to see a woman crying the most. She was going to scold her, but when she thought of her life experience, she felt a little pity.

"Now that we're back at the sect, everything is fine. You must be tired from the journey, Ling'er, take her to rest!"

"Yes, Sister Zhirou, let's go!" Xiao Ling responded immediately.

The beautiful woman stood up and bowed to Wen Yiren again, then went out with her.

After a while, Xiao Lingfu came to Wen Yiren's room and asked, "Auntie, what arrangements should be made for Sister Zhirou? What matters should she be in charge of?"

Wen Yiren was silent for a while: "Don't let her manage the affairs of the sect, let's find her a husband!"

"Ah?" Xiao Ling was a little surprised: "But she just came from Dong Jianchang..."

"It's because she's Dong Jianchang's subordinate that we can't stay in the sect. This will affect our relationship with the Mingyue Sect. She's a remnant of the New Moon Sect, and right now the sect is negotiating with the Mingyue Sect on how to divide up the New Moon Sect's resources and territory. The Mingyue Sect might take advantage of this situation. If we demand her handing her over, we'll be in a passive position. Besides, her personality isn't suitable for being in charge."

"Yes." A wave of sadness rose in Xiao Ling's heart. This was the fate of a woman who was used as a political bargaining chip. No matter when or where, she was just a pawn.

Wen Yiren glanced at her coldly, her voice as sharp as a knife: "The path of cultivation is like thousands of people walking on a single-plank bridge. If you want to cross it, you must be ruthless."

"That's what my aunt taught me."

"I brought her back and saved her life. I've already fulfilled my responsibility. How can we let the sect's great cause be ruined because of one person? I'll leave this matter to you. Hurry and find a suitable person."

.........

In the dim training room at Guzi Peak, Song Xian was practicing with his eyes closed when a knock on the door came from outside.

He opened his eyes, stood up, and opened the stone door. He saw Zhang He standing outside. He saluted and said, "Master, Luoyun Sect has sent someone again. They want to see you about something important."

It's finally here. Song Xian's expression brightened. It has been more than half a month since he came back from Humen City, and there has been no news from Luoyun Sect, nor any explanation.

During this period, he also heard some news about Luoyun Sect. It was rumored that many disciples of Luoyun Sect had moved into Humen City and occupied many resource territories that originally belonged to Xinyue Sect. Many of Xinyue Sect's industries were also taken away by Luoyun Sect.

Obviously, Luoyun Sect made a lot of money this time, and the people they sent this time must be for this matter.

No matter what, Luoyun Sect must give something to these sects that help. Even if the benefits are not huge, you must at least give some labor fees!

"Invite the person here immediately."

"Yes." Zhang He replied and left. Song Xian arrived at the main hall and sat down to wait. A short while later, a disciple dressed in Luoyun Sect attire entered. It was the man surnamed Wei who had previously conveyed the order from Luoyun Sect Master Tao Jinyuan: "Master Song, I am here on the orders of our Master to invite all disciples of your sect who participated in the battle of Humen City to come to our mountain gate for a celebration banquet."

"Fellow Daoist Wei, please take a seat. May I ask if all the sects and forces participating in Humen City have received an invitation?"

"Yes. Our sect is holding a celebration banquet to entertain all those who have made contributions in the war."

"Then when shall we set off?"

"Our sect has sent a spirit ship to pick you up. We will all take the spirit ship together when the time comes."

"Thank you so much, Your Majesty. Fellow Daoist Wei, I heard that Your Majesty has acquired a lot of resources and territory from the former New Moon Sect and its affiliated sects in Humen City. I wonder if this is true?"

"I have no knowledge of what Sect Leader Song said. Please gather your disciples as soon as possible, and once the spirit ship arrives, we will set off together."

Seeing that he had a cold face and obviously had no intention of discussing other things, Song Xian did not ask any more questions and immediately sent someone to summon the disciples who participated in the battle of Humen City.

After about two hours, the Luoyun Sect's spirit ship arrived at Guzi Peak. Everyone boarded the spirit ship, where monks from several sects and forces were already occupying different areas.

Song Xian greeted Wang Qian, the leader of Qingyuan Sect, and Ding Wenxiang, the head of the Ding family, and chatted for a while. Then the spirit boat carried everyone to Luoyun Sect.

.........

At night, the moon is as bright as day and the sky is full of stars.

The Luoyun Sect's mountain gate was decorated with flowers, brightly lit, with loud gongs, drums and firecrackers, creating a festive and lively atmosphere.

Song Xian and others followed a disciple of Luoyun Sect to the courtyard, where many monks from various sects were already sitting.

"Master Song, please sit here." The Luoyun Sect disciple led them to a guest table.

This location is relatively close to the main seat, with only six or seven guest tables in between.

At such large banquets, the seats of the guests are very particular and are basically arranged according to their status. The closer to the main seat, the higher the status. It can be said that it was completely beyond Song Xian's expectations that Hunyuanzong could be arranged so close to the main seat given his status.

"Why are we ranked so far behind? Aren't we better than those sects?" Just as they sat down, they heard a commotion coming from behind. Turning around, they saw that the disciples of Yuyuan Sect were dissatisfied with their low ranking and were venting their dissatisfaction to the disciples of Luoyun Sect.

"I'm just following orders. The seating arrangements were decided by Elder Jin. If you have any objections, you can raise them directly with Elder Jin when he arrives." The Luoyun Sect disciple said coldly, not wanting to be lenient with him. The Yuyuan Sect disciple's face flushed instantly.

"That's enough, stop messing around and sit down." Wang Xuan, the head of the Yuyuan Sect, had an ugly look on his face and reprimanded the disciple. Only then did the disciple sit down indignantly.

As more and more sectarian forces arrived, soon all the seats in the courtyard were filled.

The noise of gossip and chattering from the crowd filled the air. After a while, Tao Jinyuan led a group of Luoyun Sect disciples in from outside. They walked to the main seat with their heads held high and without looking around. In an instant, the noisy sounds in the courtyard quieted down.

Tao Jinyuan turned around and faced the crowd, still with a solemn expression on his face. "Thank you all for helping our sect. Today's celebration banquet is specially prepared for you. I hope you will drink to your heart's content and not leave until you are drunk."

"Before that, our sect has one more thing to announce. I have said that our sect will reward you according to your achievements and will not treat you unfairly. Now, Elder Jin will announce the rewards."

Tao Jinyuan maintains his usual straightforward style, getting straight to the point without any delay.

He sat down after he finished speaking, and the others followed suit. Only Elder Jin Yuanxing remained standing. He flipped his hand, pulled out a file, and read from it, "Is Sect Leader Yuan Xuanzong here?"

"I'm here," a little old man in his fifties sitting at the first table at the bottom stood up and responded immediately.

"According to our sect's statistics, your sect sent a total of thirty disciples this time, seven of whom died in battle, and fifteen of the enemy were killed. Is that correct?"

"Yes."

"Based on merit, your sect's contribution is undoubtedly the greatest. We have decided to reward you with 30,000 spirit stones. We will also give you a first-grade, top-grade Congshan Forest."

"Thank you, senior."

"Where is the headmaster of Xunyang Sect?"

"The junior is here." Another person stood up and responded.

"According to statistics from the Script Sect, your sect sent a total of twenty-five disciples this time, eight of whom died in battle, while twelve of the enemy were killed. Based on merit, your sect ranks second. We have decided to reward you with twenty-five thousand spirit stones. We will also give you a mine of first-grade, high-quality obsidian."

"Thank you, senior."

"Where is the head of Tianyuan Mountain?"

"Junior is here."

"According to statistics from the Script Sect, your sect sent a total of 25 disciples this time, 6 of whom died in battle, while 10 of them were killed. In terms of merit, your sect ranks third. We have decided to reward you with 20,000 spirit stones. We will also give you a first-level red flame mine."

.........

Jin Yuanxing named the names one by one according to the records in the files, and ranked all the participants according to the number of people sent by each family, as well as deaths and gains. The top three were respectively given 30,000 spirit stones, 25,000 spirit stones, and 20,000 spirit stones and a first-class high-quality resource territory.

The fourth and fifth place winners also received 20,000 spirit stones and a mid-level high-quality resource territory.

The sixth to tenth place winners will receive 20,000 spirit stones, but no resource jurisdiction.

Except for the tenth place, all participating forces will only receive a subsidy of 10,000 spirit stones.

When everyone knew what they had gained, their expressions varied.

Some were content, while others were unhappy, but no one dared to raise any objection.

Jin Yuanxing put away the file and continued, "In addition to the rewards just now, our sect will also give out ten resource territories to everyone. Among them, there is one first-class upper-grade resource territories, three first-class mid-grade resource territories, and six first-class lower-grade resource territories. However, you will need to fight for them yourself."

"In a month, our sect will hold a competition. The top ten will be eligible to select these territories. The winner will receive a first-class high-quality resource territory."

"The second place winner can choose any one of the other three first-grade medium-quality resource areas."

"The third place winner can choose from the remaining first-tier mid-quality resource territories, and so on."

"The competition will be held at the end of next month at the main gate of our sect. Each family can only send one person to participate."

Jin Yuanxing sat down after he finished speaking, and these words caused everyone to whisper to each other again.

To be honest, the reward from Luoyun Sect was not that generous. It only cost about 400,000 spirit stones in total, plus 15 resource territories.

For a small sect like Hunyuan Sect, this is of course an astronomical figure, but for a large sect like Luoyun Sect, it is nothing.

You must know that when Qingyuan Sect asked Hunyuan Sect to attack the headquarters of Yunfeng Trading Company, it spent 10,000 spirit stones and a piece of resource territory!

There are fifteen resource territories, and most of them are first-level low-grade resource territories. These are the resources controlled by a slightly larger sect in Bianxi City.

This time, Luoyun Sect helped Mingyue Sect to defeat Xinyue Sect in one fell swoop and infiltrate its power into Humen City. The benefits they gained were more than hundreds of thousands of spirit stones and more than a dozen resource territories.

What he paid was probably less than 20% of what he received, let alone half.

"Master, our sect can send Junior Brother Zixiang to fight. With his ability, he will definitely gain something. I can't say anything else, but he should be relatively certain to be in the top ten." Zhong Wenyuan said softly.

"Yeah." Song Xian nodded: "We'll talk about it when the time comes!"

"The Luoyun Sect is so stingy. We risked our lives to serve them, but they only gave us 20,000 spirit stones and sent us away. They treat us like beggars." Zhang Ningyuan curled his lips and whispered in dissatisfaction.

Hunyuan Sect ranked eighth among all the sects and forces, so it only received a reward of 20,000 spirit stones.

After hearing this, Song Xian quickly glanced around and whispered, "Senior Brother Ning Yuan, please be careful with your words."

At this time, a burst of brilliant fireworks bloomed in the sky, and white cranes were seen circling and dancing, and the celebration banquet officially began.

A group of maids came to the courtyard carrying jade plates and placed the plates filled with delicacies and spiritual wine on the table. Luoyun Sect's headmaster Tao Jinyuan personally stood up and toasted everyone with a glass of wine, and everyone stood up and returned the toast.

"This is Hunyuan Sect, and this is the Sect Master Song Xian." Several Luoyun Sect disciples brought Jin Yuanxing to the front of the crowd, and one of them introduced him.

Seeing him coming, Song Xian and others had already stood up and were waiting.

Jin Yuanxing has white hair and beard, and looks kind. At this moment, he is smiling, and he really has some immortal air.

"Your Excellency has made a great contribution this time. On behalf of our sect, I would like to offer a toast to you all and thank you for your help."

Song Xian picked up the wine in his cup and drank it all in one gulp: "It is all thanks to Senior Jin's wise command. I, the younger generation, can only follow orders and do not dare to claim any credit."

"Everyone, enjoy your drinks. Please forgive me for the poor hospitality. I'll be leaving now."

"Please do as you please, senior."

Surrounded by a group of disciples, Jin Yuanxing walked to the next table.

Not long after, another disciple of Hunyuan Sect came up to the crowd and urged them to drink. Song Xian also found an opportunity to go to the main seat and toast Tao Jinyuan, Jin Yuanxing and other senior leaders.

(End of this chapter)