Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 239 Misfortunes never come singly
"Master, this is bad. The formula of our Yuxiang Pill has been leaked." In the brightly lit hall of Puqing Peak in Tianshan Mountain, Zhong Wenyuan spoke with a serious face as Song Xian just walked into the inner room.

He stopped in his tracks immediately, as if a thunderclap had exploded in his heart, and he froze in place.

The negotiations in Bianxi City failed and he was at a loss as to what to do. Just as he returned to Tianshan, he heard someone in the mansion report that Zhong Wenyuan wanted to see him.

Unexpectedly, the first thing he said was that the formula of Yuxiangdan had been leaked. This was much more troublesome than encountering obstacles in the migration of the market town. If the market town could not be built, there would be no profit at most.

However, Yuxiangdan is one of the sect's pillar industries, with an annual income of nearly 100,000 spirit stones. If there is a problem with it, it will be a huge blow to Hunyuan Sect.

"What happened?" After a brief shock, Song Xian came back to his senses and asked with a serious face.

"The day before yesterday, Junior Brother Ning Yuan reported that a recipe for the Jade Fragrance Pill had appeared in the Fengyuan Town market and was circulating among alchemists. Junior Brother Ning Yuan has already taken people there to investigate."

Fengyuan Town Market, could it be the Yuyuan Sect? Song Xian's mind raced.

If this is true, it means that someone is deliberately targeting Hunyuan Sect.

Even if the formula of Yuxiangdan is leaked, it is unlikely to circulate in the market.

Who would get this recipe and make it public, such a thankless task?
The enemies of Hunyuan Sect are not many, but not few either.

The Yuyuan Sect is one of them. They have been coveting the Yuxiang Pill for a long time and have tried every possible means to get it. Moreover, Fengyuan Town is the territory of the Yuyuan Sect.

But if the Yuyuan Sect had obtained the formula for the Jade Fragrance Pill, they probably wouldn't have spread it around, as it wouldn't have done them any good. Furthermore, there hadn't been any friction or conflict between the sect and the Yuyuan Sect over the years.

Now the Hunyuan Sect is becoming more and more powerful. The Yuyuan Sect didn't do it before, but is doing it now. It is too stupid no matter how you look at it.

Therefore, the Yuyuan Sect is not very suspicious.

If it wasn't the Yuyuan Sect, then who could it be? Could it be the Ding family?
The sect is now planning to relocate the market town of Bianxia to Tianshan. The biggest victim is the Ding family, and they have previously made a harsh statement that they will stop this at all costs.

They were the most motivated to make the Jade Fragrance Pill public, because if they did so, the sect would be too busy to take care of itself and would have no time to plan for the affairs of the market.

In addition to the Ding family, other forces that have been offended may also do this, such as the Wild Wolf Gang.

"How did the formula maker of Yuxiangdan leak it? Is there any investigation?" After a long silence, Song Xian asked.

"Qin Feng, a disciple of the Alchemy Hall, has been missing for several days. I've ordered an investigation. He was last seen at Huichun Pavilion. I suspect he may have been murdered."

In recent years, the sect has developed rapidly, and the Alchemy Hall has also recruited many new disciples. Song Xian has always attached great importance to the refining of Yuxiangdan, so the disciples who join Yuxiangdan are all direct descendants of the sect who have been trained since childhood.

In the entire Alchemy Hall, apart from Qi Xiaobai and Cheng Qian, two alchemists who joined halfway, there were no other independent cultivators joining.

Qin Feng was also trained by the sect since childhood. He was one of the first batch to achieve transcendence. Now he is the sect's official alchemist and knows all the processes of the Jade Fragrance Pill. He suddenly disappeared, and the formula of the Jade Fragrance Pill was revealed at this time. In all likelihood, the formula was leaked by him.

"Where are his parents and relatives?" Song Xian knew very well that if a cultivator had no ties, he would be easily tempted and do things that would be detrimental to the sect. Therefore, for any cultivator who joined the sect, he would order people to bring his immediate family members to the vicinity of the mountain gate to take care of them.

"Qin Feng's parents and relatives all live near Solitary Peak and have not left. They don't know the news yet. I don't think it's likely that Qin Feng will betray the sect." Zhong Wenyuan naturally understood what Song Xian meant.

"Brother Wenyuan, who do you think did this?"

"It's hard to say. The most likely culprit is of course the Ding family. Anyone capable of doing something so self-defeating as to harm others must have a grudge against us. And at this time, the Ding family is naturally the most likely suspect. However, we can't rule out the possibility that someone with ulterior motives is trying to fish in troubled waters and sow discord between us and the Ding family, just like we've been stirring up internal conflict within the Tianshan Sect."

Just as Zhong Wenyuan finished speaking, he heard footsteps outside. The housekeeper came to the hall cautiously and announced, "Master, Immortal Lin Quan has arrived and wants to see you for something."

"Invite him in."

"Yes." The butler responded and left.

Not long after, Lin Quan came in from outside and bowed to him, his expression looking a little solemn: "Master, just now, a female disciple of our sect named Huang Wan committed suicide by cutting her wrists."

"Slashing your wrists to commit suicide? Why?"

"As far as I know, she is trapped in love. I heard that she has a very close relationship with Hu Xiaobao, maybe that's the reason." Lin Quan is now in charge of the defense of Tianshan. When a disciple died in the sect, he must report it truthfully.

Song Xian's face suddenly darkened. He was already overwhelmed enough, and then this kind of thing happened. The key point was that this person was Hu Xiaobao, who was his uncle and nephew.

"Is the person dead?" Song Xian suppressed his anger and spoke in a low voice.

"It was too late when we found out."

"Beast." Song Xian couldn't hold it in any longer and slammed the table: "Where is Hu Xiaobao? Tie up this beast for me."

"Master, calm down." Zhong Wenyuan frowned and looked at Lin Quan: "Junior Brother Lin, you just said that this woman committed suicide by cutting her wrists. Did she leave a suicide note?"

"No."

"Then how can we be sure that Hu Xiaobao is involved and that he is the cause of her suicide?"

"Huang Wan had a good friend in the sect. She said Hu Xiaobao had deceived her with sweet words. He initially promised to marry her, but then went back on his word and threatened to cut ties with her completely. Huang Wan was heartbroken and unable to comprehend the situation, so she committed suicide. There was also a disciple who testified that Huang Wan had found Hu Xiaobao yesterday. The disciple said that Huang Wan looked heartbroken when she left."

"Tie him up, tie this beast up." Song Xian was furious and slammed his fist on the table.

Lin Quan left immediately.

"Master, don't be too angry. No one could have predicted this kind of thing. Young people who are trapped in love can easily go to extremes. I believe this is not what Hu Xiaobao wants to see. It can only be said to be an accident." Zhong Wenyuan sighed.

The reason why he spoke well of Hu Xiaobao was not because of the relationship between Hu Xiaobao and Song Xian, but out of his appreciation for talent. After all, Hu Xiaobao was the only disciple with a single spiritual root in the sect, and he had also awakened his innate magical powers.

With such qualifications, not to mention in Hunyuan Sect, even in Qianqing Sect, he would definitely be trained as a core disciple.

For such a disciple, the sect's resources should be tilted towards him, including some privileges.

Song Xian had a gloomy face and said nothing.

Not long after, Hu Xiaobao was brought here. Of course, he was not tied up as Song Xian said.

Hu Xiaobao is now tall and slender, with regular features, sharp eyebrows and bright eyes. He looks very handsome and has absolutely no resemblance to Old Man Hu.

But Old Man Hu insisted that the child looked like her mother. Song Xian also attached great importance to this gifted uncle and had always personally taught him how to cultivate.

Not only did he teach him the secret method of Xuanyuan Zhenjing, he also copied all the wood-attributed techniques from the Five Elements Techniques he had obtained before and gave them to him to practice.

Originally, Song Xian wanted to teach him the art of talismans, but unfortunately he really had no talent.

As the head of the sect, Song Xian certainly couldn't watch him practice all the time, but he did not neglect his supervision of him. Whenever he had free time, he would review his practice results.

Every year he is assigned corresponding training tasks, requiring him to practice the magic to a certain level.

It has to be said that Hu Xiaobao's talent for cultivation is indeed very high. He mastered those wood-attributed magical skills very quickly, and his path of cultivation has been smooth sailing. Now he has reached the sixth level of Qi Refining.

But his inherent stubbornness was hard to change. With the exception of Song Xian, he was never polite to anyone else. He always acted like he was number one in the world, arrogant and domineering. No one in the sect dared to mess with him.

In addition, he had not caused any trouble in recent years, so Song Xian did not restrict him much. He only asked him to practice the key points of the magical skills he taught him until he was satisfied.

But he didn't expect that he would accidentally harm a female disciple of the sect.

At this time, Hu Xiaobao also knew that he had caused trouble. He no longer had the arrogance he usually had. He lowered his head and followed Lin Quan in.

"Tell me, did Huang Wan die because of you?" Song Xian stared at him with a gloomy face.

"She committed suicide, don't blame me." Hu Xiaobao lowered his head, but his tone was still defiant and unconvinced.

"If you hadn't deceived her, how could she have committed suicide by slitting her wrists? Did you break your promise to marry her?"

"I was just joking, but who knew she took it seriously."

"You beast." Seeing that he was still nonchalant and stubborn, Song Xian became even more angry and slammed the table. "What did I teach you? You deceived a pure and kind girl and caused her to commit suicide, and you still don't know your mistake. Kneel down."

Hu Xiaobao was afraid of him from the bottom of his heart, not only because of Song Xian's identity as the headmaster, but also because his father Hu had always taught him since he was a child to obey Song Xian's orders, which left a deep impression on his young mind.

In addition, he had been under Song Xian's supervision in the past few years, and this was the first time he saw him so angry. He was frightened, his knees went weak, and he knelt down.

"Do you know whether you are in the wrong or not? Do you admit it?" Song Xian said in a stern voice, staring at him with eyes like knives.

Hu Xiaobao also knew that if he insisted on resisting at this moment, he would get no good results, so he muttered quietly, "I know."

"Did you use sweet words to deceive Huang Wan into having sex with you, and then break up with her?"

"It wasn't my initiative. She said she liked me and came to me on her own accord. How could I not want to accept it? Later she proposed marriage, but I didn't want to get married, so I rejected her. Who knew she would commit suicide?" Hu Xiaobao still spoke in an indifferent tone.

"You beast, you're still making excuses. If you don't want to get married, why did you have sex with her? She's a virgin, she gave her body to you, and you're not responsible. How dare you say it's not your fault?"

Hu Xiaobao finally stopped talking because he knew that the more he talked, the more scolding he would get, so he simply stopped talking.

The reason why he dared to talk back and looked fearless was, of course, because he was confident and knew that Song Xian would not do anything to him because of this matter.

"Brother Wenyuan, you are the elder in charge of government affairs. Tell me how we should deal with this person."

"Master, there is no crime of abandoning a woman after having an affair in the sect's rules. Huang Wan's death is indeed a pity and a loss to the sect, but she committed suicide. Hu Xiaobao was neither the mastermind nor an accomplice, and he is not guilty. From ancient times to the present, there have been many women who have committed suicide because of love, both in the cultivation world and among the people, and no one has ever held the other party responsible." Zhong Wenyuan was naturally making excuses for Hu Xiaobao.

"I think it would be enough to fine him three months' salary and give compensation to Huang Wan's relatives."

"No. This punishment is too light. It will only encourage this kind of evil. In addition to a salary deduction, Hu Xiaobao must be imprisoned for three months and confined to Puqing Peak for three years. Senior Brother Lin, take him to the prison."

Hu Xiaobao stood up without saying a word and followed Lin Quan out.

The meeting hall of Puqing Peak is majestic and spacious. All the core members of Hunyuan Sect gathered together. Everyone has a solemn expression and the atmosphere is somewhat heavy.

"Senior Brother Ning Yuan, please tell everyone about the leak of the Yuxiang Pill formula!" Song Xian said in a deep voice while sitting in the main seat.

"According to my investigation, the Jade Fragrance Pill formula was first leaked on August 17th, in Fengyuan Town's market town. Multiple witnesses reported that early that morning, the entrances and exits of the market town were covered with scrolls of paper bearing the Jade Fragrance Pill formula, clearly spelled out with the proportions of the various spiritual herbs. I've collected a few of these scrolls for you to take a look at."

Zhang Ningyuan took out a few rolls of paper and distributed them to the people on both sides.

When everyone took it and looked at it, they saw that it not only had the recipe for the pill written on it, but also had the Yuxiang Pill's promotional slogan copied on it.

"Is this recipe real?" Lin Quan took the paper, took a look at it, and asked.

Qi Xiaobai replied, "The elixir formula is real, but there's a main ingredient in it that we've concealed. The other disciples don't know what it is or where it comes from. From the formula, we can conclude that it was leaked by Qin Feng, because we modified the name of the main ingredient."

In order to prevent the formula of Yuxiangdan from being leaked, Song Xian was not only very cautious in blaming people, and only used the direct descendants trained by the sect, but also changed the name of the main ingredient Panlongxiang, calling it Elkxiang.

This is because the color and shape of elk incense are similar to those of Panlong incense, and the elk incense itself can emit a faint fragrance, which will not arouse suspicion from others.

There are very few people in the sect who know about this, let alone the origin of Panlong incense.

The purchase of Panlong incense has always been handled by Carissa herself, without anyone else doing anything else, so ordinary disciples of the Alchemy Hall have no idea of ​​the real name and origin of Panlong incense.

On this piece of paper, the main ingredient of Yuxiang Dan was changed to Elk Fragrance. Combined with Qin Feng's disappearance, it can be confirmed that he must have leaked it.

Xu Ning asked, "How many paper rolls are there?"

"It's hard to say, but there are at least hundreds of them, and most of them have been picked up. We can't track down who picked them up."

"Is anyone refining the Jade Fragrance Pill in the Yuyuan Sect's alchemy room?"

"As far as I know, not yet."

"What's going on with Qin Feng?"

"He disappeared on August 16th. All we know for sure is that he was last seen at Huichun Pavilion in Bianxia Town. He left Huichun Pavilion around midnight and has been missing ever since."

Everyone was talking, but no one had any clue.

(End of this chapter)