Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 238 Drawing fire from the bottom of the cauldron
In the early morning, warm sunlight poured into the house. Song Xian slowly opened his eyes, yawned, hugged the person in his arms tighter, pulled the quilt over them, and wrapped them tightly.

After a long time, Su Zhirou also woke up from her deep sleep. Before opening her eyes, she habitually squeezed into his arms, mumbling incoherent words, and her expression was like a little girl.

After a period of rest, her injuries have recovered.

Song Xian has been indulging himself these days, tossing and turning every night until he is exhausted and is willing to rest.

The couple hugged each other tightly, saying words that were unknown to others.

After getting up, the maid brought him food and reported to him that Zhong Wenyuan came to ask for a meeting.

After breakfast, Song Xian came to the waiting room. Zhong Wenyuan was waiting in the inner room. When he saw him coming, he stood up and bowed, and told him about Ding Yuan's visit last night.

"According to Ding Yuan, if we insist on attacking the market, the Ding family is ready to become our enemy at all costs."

"Master, I think this step is too hasty."

"Although our sect has grown in power, there are still many people outside who are watching us. In the past, there was even an incident where the Tianshan sect colluded with the Muhe grassland forces in an attempt to seize power."

"Everything is peaceful and stable now, and the sect's income is also growing steadily. We just need to take it slow and there's no need to cause a big stir."

"This matter is inherently risky. Even Jiang Feng has said that building a market in Tianshan to attract businesses from the Muhe Grassland might attract the attention of the larger forces in Qin. If a certain important figure gets upset, a single word could bring disaster to our sect."

"Even if the market is successfully established, once the interests are formed, more people will be watching. If things go wrong, the Luoyun Sect and the Kong family may intervene, and the situation will become even more difficult to control."

"With our current strength, it's good enough to hold on to Tianshan. Taking too big a step is not a good thing."

Zhong Wenyuan frowned, full of worry. He was a cautious person and had always maintained a conservative attitude towards this matter.

Song Xian said nothing, his thoughts racing in his mind.

He was not surprised that the Ding family found out about this. After all, truth will come out sooner or later. Such a big thing cannot be kept secret. Sooner or later, the Ding family will hear rumors about it.

The key is how to deal with it next. Jiang Feng has been persuaded and agreed to move the market town to Tianshan, but it is not enough for the three forces in the market town to have only the Beastmaster Sect nod.

At least we have to convince the Luoyun Sect.

During this period, he has visited Wen Yiren three times about this matter, but the other party has not given in.

People outside say that he has a close relationship with Wen Yiren because he married Wen Yiren's niece.

But he knew in his heart that his relationship with Wen Yiren was maintained by the profits from the cooperation on Yuxiangdan.

Wen Yiren herself is a rather cold-blooded person, and Su Zhirou's affection alone cannot move her heart at all, not to mention that this matter is not something Wen Yiren can have the final say.

Without profit motivation, Luoyun Sect will definitely not support it.
Since the Ding family has already heard the news, they must speed up.

But what conditions should be offered to convince Luoyun Sect to agree to relocate the market?

It is definitely not enough to just talk big, you have to show actual benefits.

.........

In the spacious and bright room of the Ding family mansion, Ding Yuan was also reporting the results of the Hunyuan Sect's delegation to Ding Wenxiang.

"Zhong Wenyuan flatly denied the incident, saying he knew nothing about it. I've already made my position clear to them. Did the Patriarch gain anything from his trip to Bianxi City?"

Ding Wenxiang's face was solemn. "We can now confirm that the Hunyuan Sect is behind this, and they've already secured Jiang Feng's support. Kong Jiayan and the others are unaware of this, but they learned the news from the Luoyun Sect. Song Xian must have contacted them."

"It seems that the Hunyuan Sect is determined to take over our market. Even when I asked Zhong Wenyuan in person, he denied it, which shows that they are fully prepared. We must hurry and disrupt their plan, otherwise it will be too late."

"Hmph!" Ding Wenxiang snorted coldly, a cold light flashing in his eyes: "If the Hunyuan Sect is so deceiving, then it's not my fault."

"What good plan does the head of the family have?" Ding Yuan saw that he looked like he had everything planned out.

"I've thought of a way to get rid of this problem."

…………

In the brightly lit attic with a bright moon and stars, a young man held a charming beauty in his arms, drinking and touching her all over. The two talked and laughed, and soon, they went to bed hugging each other.

It was not until midnight that the man left the attic, boarded the flying magic weapon, and headed west.

As he was passing through a remote and uninhabited mountain area, several mysterious men in robes and armed with swords suddenly appeared from all directions and chased after him.

Seeing this, the man immediately realized that something was wrong and tried his best to drive the flying magic weapon to escape. However, the flying magic weapon he was riding was only a low-grade one, and he was soon surrounded by those mysterious men in robes and fighting spirits.

"I am Qin Feng from Hunyuan Sect. Why are you fellow Taoists trying to stop me?" The other party had many people and high cultivation level, so the man could only ask anxiously.

However, what answered him was the shining sharp blade of a magic weapon, shining coldly under the moonlight.

.........

In Bianxi City, Luoyun Sect, in a spacious and bright house, Song Xian and Su Zhirou walked in hand in hand and bowed respectfully to Wen Yiren who was sitting inside.

"You guys sit down!"

"Thank you, Senior Wen." The two of them sat down below as instructed.

Ever since Hunyuan Sect annexed Tianshan, Song Xian's status has risen rapidly. No matter where he goes in recent years, no one dares to underestimate him.

Even Wen Yiren's attitude towards him was much more polite than before.

"I am sorry to bother you while you are meditating, but the reason is because of the relocation of the market town in Bianxia. May I ask what you think?" Song Xian went straight to the point. This was the fourth time he had come to see Wen Yiren about this matter.

"I heard that Jiang Feng has agreed to move the market to Tianshan. You must have promised him a lot of benefits! I want to hear how you convinced him." Wen Yiren asked instead of answering.

The meaning of this statement is very clear. If Luoyun Sect agrees to relocate the market, it will also need more benefits.

"Since you asked, I dare not hide it. The reason why Senior Jiang agreed to the relocation was not because I offered any benefits. Given Senior Jiang's cultivation level and status, what conditions could I offer that would impress him? I simply explained the pros and cons of the relocation to Senior Jiang. He felt that setting up the market in Tianshan would be more prosperous. Therefore, he agreed to this move."

"Of course, there are some benefits. Setting up the market in Tianshan will attract merchants from the Muhe Grassland to settle in. This will increase the number of caravans that come and go, and the amount of tax revenue that the inspection area can collect will also increase accordingly."

Wen Yiren glanced at him with an indescribable look in her eyes. After a while, she said in a light tone, "Why did I hear that you were going to collect taxes from the shops in the market?" Song Xian was slightly surprised. He didn't expect Wen Yiren to have even found out about this. He had only told Jiang Feng about this, and even Zhong Wenyuan didn't know about it. It must be the Beastmaster Sect that leaked the news. His expression did not change, but his mind raced as he had already thought of an excuse.

"This is just a preliminary plan, and it may not be implemented. I'm thinking that if the forces from the Muhe Grassland can also be attracted to the Tianshan Market, then we can collect some appropriate taxes from them."

"How much is this appropriate?" Wen Yiren was obviously quite interested in this and did not easily skip over the topic.

What he meant was probably that he wanted to get a share of the extra tax revenue, otherwise he wouldn't have been holding on to this matter.

Song Xian then told the plan truthfully. This was originally a pretext he used to fool Jiang Feng, but he certainly couldn't say it in front of Wen Yiren.

There is no impenetrable wall in the world. Wen Yiren was able to find out the plan he and Jiang Feng discussed in private.

Then it is reasonable for Jiang Feng to know about his conversation with Wen Yiren.

"I've already mentioned this to the Sect Master, and he can't make the decision on his own. He needs to discuss it with the sect elders. The Nanyuan Valley Market has been open for so many years and has always been doing well. If we suddenly move to Tianshan, many people will disagree. If you want to convince the sect elders, you need to offer more tangible benefits."

Wen Yiren finally made a clear statement, which was to get a share of the tax revenue.

Song Xian was unequivocal and responded immediately, "If we agree to relocate the market in Bianxia Town to Tianshan, in addition to the 35% profit from the market itself, there will certainly be other benefits. If we can truly implement my plan and collect a 10% tax from all shops that move in, Luoyun Sect, as the owner, can at least get 20% of that."

He had already thought of the conditions when he came, which was nothing more than making more concessions in terms of interests.

He originally wanted to pay an extra 50% of the rental income from the shops in the market town, but he didn't expect that Wen Yiren already knew about his conversation with Jiang Feng and was going to collect taxes.

Since Luoyun Sect already knows about it, they will definitely ask for a share, otherwise they will never agree to move the market.

"If we take 20%, how much will the Beast Taming Sect take?"

"I haven't discussed the specific profit sharing with Senior Jiang. In short, everything will be decided after the project is completed. Collecting taxes from the shops is just an idea and it may not be implemented smoothly."

"How can we handle this kind of thing without discussing it first?" Before Song Xian could reply, she continued, "You've come here several times regarding this matter. Don't say I didn't help you. How about this! I'll ask the Sect Leader if he has time so he can talk to you in person."

"Thank you, Senior Wen." Song Xiao knew that this condition had already initially met her requirements.

"Ling'er, go see if the headmaster has returned. If he's alright, ask him to come over."

"Yes." Xiao Ling responded and left.

After a while, a middle-aged man with a broad waist and shoulders, a serious expression and a solemn face walked into the inner room. It was Tao Jinyuan, the head of Luoyun Sect.

Song Xian has been to Luoyun Sect so many times, but this is the first time he has met him privately.

"This is Song Xian from the Hunyuan Sect. He is here today to discuss the relocation of the market town to Tianshan." Wen Yiren stood up to greet him and introduced him to Tao Jinyuan.

"Junior pays homage to Senior Tao."

Tao Jinyuan glanced at him and nodded in a low voice: "Young and promising, the younger generation is formidable."

"Senior Tao, your praise is unbelievable. I am truly humbled and unworthy of it."

"Please sit down! We are all family here, no need to be so formal."

"Thank you, senior."

"Official business is official business, and we can skip the small talk. Madam has already explained the relocation of the market to me. There's no need to beat around the bush. Tell me, what benefits can our sect gain?"

Song Xian then repeated what he had just said to Wen Yiren.

Tao Jinyuan's face remained expressionless, his voice low, "In terms of the distribution of profits in Bianxi City, our sect and the Beast Taming Sect have always been evenly matched. What percentage does the Beast Taming Sect get?"

"I haven't discussed this matter with Senior Jiang yet. If you agree to move the market to Tianshan, and if you agree to collect taxes from the shops, everything will go smoothly. I suggest that Senior Jiang take 40%, you take 20%, and the Kong family take 10%."

Seeing that he went straight to the point as soon as he spoke, Song Xian did not respond with empty words and answered truthfully.

It was basically impossible for him to deceive Tao Jinyuan, and there was no point in talking those empty words.

"I don't care about others, I just want 30%." Tao Jinyuan said concisely and directly made his request.

"Senior Tao, the tax revenue for shops comes from the 10% tax paid by the traveling caravans. If we want to collect 10% tax from shops, we have to exempt the shops from tolls. Otherwise, the caravans will not make any profit and the market will find it difficult to expand. And the caravans..." Song Xian was about to appeal to reason.

Tao Jinyuan waved his hand, interrupting him. "How you run the market is your business. My principle is this: no matter how much the Beastmaster Sect takes, our sect can't fall too far behind. 30% is already our acceptable bottom line. Think about it carefully! I have other things to do."

After saying that, he just stood up and left.

"You can go and discuss this matter with fellow Daoist Jiang Feng. The Sect Master is a man of his word. If you agree, then there will be no problem with relocating the market town. If you disagree, then don't mention it anymore. Ling'er, you stay with them." Wen Yiren also stood up and left.

The two of them had made up their minds, and there was no turning back.

After leaving Luoyun Sect, Song Xian immediately went to Qiyuan Mountain again. This time he did not see Jiang Feng, and was only received by Xu Hao.

He informed Xu Hao of the conversation with Luo Yun Sect. Of course, Xu Hao couldn't make a decision, so he just said he would find a chance to tell Jiang Feng.

The next day, he received a message from Xu Hao, informing him of Jiang Feng's attitude. He wanted to take 50% of the shop tax, not a penny less.

Song Xian was somewhat disheartened. He had not expected that this negotiation in Bianxi City would result in such an outcome.

Both the Luoyun Sect and the Beast Taming Sect refused to back down, one wanted 30% and the other wanted 50%.

The Kong family cannot be left out either. If that happens, there will be no place for the Hunyuan Sect, and that will be a big deal.

His original initial idea was that the Beast Taming Sect would take 40%, the Luoyun Sect would take 20%, the Kong family would take 10%, and he would take 30%.

This way everyone can make money. Although he took 20% less, if the market can be established, the tax collected from the items entering the shops will definitely be much higher than the 10% toll for the caravan.

In this way, although the share is less, the income is only more.

But if Jiang Feng and Tao Jinyuan had their way, he could only get 10% at most.

The situation was at a stalemate, and Song Xian had no good solution at the moment, so he could only think of another strategy and take a long-term view.

(End of this chapter)