Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 245: Mountains Standing in a Forest
The days were very peaceful. Song Xian continued to practice every day, and he also did not neglect the cultivation of magic and the development of talismans.

On this day, as usual, after finishing his training in the training room, he came to the open space behind the mansion to practice magic.

As the spiritual power in his body surged, the fire-attributed spiritual power between heaven and earth quickly gathered together, forming a huge wave of fire. In an instant, the surrounding heaven and earth were filled with heat waves, and the surging waves seemed to burn through the heaven and earth.

As soon as he thought of it, huge waves surged forward like a tidal wave, like a giant beast waiting to devour its prey.

The waves of fire rolled forward, leaving no grass behind wherever they passed, until the end, when the spiritual power was exhausted and the flames went out.

Seeing this, Song Xian nodded with satisfaction.

This is a low-level second-grade fire spell called Fire Waves, and is one of the second-grade fire spells recorded in the Five Elements Essentials.

He has only mastered the technique at a preliminary level and has not yet unleashed its maximum power. Even so, as a second-grade technique, even if it is only at a low-level primary stage, its power exceeds that of a first-grade high-level technique.

Since practicing the Xuantian Ronghuo Jue, Song Xian discovered that his mastery of fire techniques had become extremely proficient. He could feel that his connection with the fire-attributed spiritual energy had become closer, and this subtle feeling was indescribable.

If I have to say, it's like a pipe that was originally blocked suddenly became unblocked.

The previously complicated techniques are now easy to use and can be used with great ease. His progress has been rapid.

The Xuantian Ronghuo Jue not only helped him strengthen his connection with the fire-attributed spiritual energy, enabling him to master fire-based techniques more skillfully, but also greatly enhanced the power of his fire-attributed magical skills.

Especially after he was lucky enough to merge with the Netherworld Cold Flame, the power of his fire-attribute spells was further enhanced.

Under his observation with the Eye of Truth, it used fire-attribute magic, and its power was 60% stronger than that of an ordinary person.

For example, when other people use the master level fireball technique, the attack power is only ten points, but when he uses it, the attack power can reach sixteen points.

This is only the second level of Xuantian Fire Fusion Technique, which has fused a kind of strange fire. As the practice continues to deepen, the more strange fires are fused, the more powerful the fire magic will be.

Judging from the current situation, every time you advance in the practice of Xuantian Ronghuo Jue, the power of your fire-attributed magic will be enhanced by 30%.

This was because when he reached the second level of cultivation, the power of his great fireball technique had reached thirteen points, and he had not yet absorbed the Netherworld Cold Flame.

After absorbing the strange fire, the power of fire magic is greatly improved again, and the attack power of fireball magic is directly increased to sixteen points.

It can be seen that absorbing the Netherworld Cold Flame has increased the power of fire magic by another 30%. However, it is not known whether the power of fire magic can be increased by 30% every time a different kind of fire is absorbed.

He practiced the magic several more times until his spiritual energy was almost exhausted, and then he returned to the mansion.

As soon as he entered the inner room, the housekeeper came to greet him: "Master, Elder Zhong, along with Immortal Master Lu Yuan and Immortal Master Zhang Yi, have come to visit and request an audience. They are currently waiting in the waiting room."

Hearing that three people came together, Song Xian felt a little surprised. Zhang Yi was in charge of the review of Yuxiang Pills in the Alchemy Hall, Lu Yuan was in charge of the sect's finances, and Zhong Wenyuan was the political elder. How did they get involved together?

I think there must be something important, so they came to visit together.

When he hurried into the waiting room, the three of them stood up to greet him and saluted him.

"Senior Brother Zhang, Senior Brother Lu, Senior Brother Wenyuan, why are you here together today? What's the matter?" Song Xian asked after he sat down in the main seat.

The three of them exchanged glances, and Zhong Wenyuan said, "Junior Brother Zhang, you should be the one to handle this!"

"It's like this, Master. I found that the quantity of raw materials for the Jade Fragrance Pill in our Alchemy Hall was incorrect, so I found Senior Brother Lu Yuan to check and found a lot of shortages. We suspected that someone was secretly refining the Jade Fragrance Pill and selling it privately, so we informed Senior Brother Wenyuan about this." Zhang Yi said.

"The quantity is wrong. What's going on?" Upon hearing this, Song Xian also frowned.

"Over the past year or so, the Alchemy Hall's losses have clearly increased significantly. When I inquired, I learned that many disciples were allocated fewer Jade Fragrance Pill raw materials than before. So, I contacted Senior Brother Lu Yuan, and after comparing them, I discovered that the amount of Jade Fragrance Pill raw materials distributed each period was several hundred units less than what the disciples received."

"Also, the Alchemy Hall didn't report the losses to Senior Brother Lu, so we suspect someone was secretly refining the Jade Fragrance Pill."

Song Xian pondered for a moment without saying a word. The raw materials for the Jade Fragrance Pill were all purchased by the Finance Hall led by Lu Yuan, who then distributed them in batches to the Alchemy Hall, and then Qi Xiaobai distributed them to the disciples of the Alchemy Hall.

Now the amount received by each disciple does not match the amount distributed by the Finance Hall. There must be a problem with Qi Xiaobai.

The raw materials for alchemy are distributed every three months. Zhang Yi said that this has been the case for many years, and there are hundreds of pieces missing from each batch. This is not a small number!
If it is used in other places, the Alchemy Hall should also explain the situation to the Finance Hall.

Could it be that Qi Xiaobai had embezzled these raw materials? Why did he do that?
He is an elder in the sect, and he has made an indispensable contribution to the development of the sect. He can also get a lot of spirit stones from dividends every year.

But apart from him, no one else in the Alchemy Hall has this authority.

"Have you found anyone in the Alchemy Hall selling Yuxiang Pills privately?" Song Xian asked after a moment of silence. He still didn't want to believe that Qi Xiaobai would do such a thing, but he couldn't guarantee it 100%, after all, people can change.

Zhang Yi shook his head: "Not yet."

"Has there been any illegal sale of Yuxiangdan in the Bianxi City market?"

Lu Yuan responded: "There is no news on this matter yet."

"Brother Wenyuan, what do you think?"

"I don't quite believe that Junior Brother Qi Xiaobai seized the raw materials of Yuxiang Pill for his own selfish reasons and sold it privately for profit. There might be some misunderstanding. But since we have the facts, I suggest we get to the bottom of it." Zhong Wenyuan said.

He knew that Song Xian trusted Qi Xiaobai quite a bit, so he brought Zhang Yi and Lu Yuan over to report the matter together.

He should first obtain Song Xian's consent and then conduct a thorough investigation. This way, he would be justified and no one would think that he was targeting dissidents.

He has always been resentful about the Yuxiangdan industry. He has always been worried about the fact that such an important financial income of the sect fell into the hands of outsiders.

Qi Xiaobai is in charge of the affairs of the Alchemy Hall, and Feng Yan is in charge of sales. Neither of them is from the direct line of the sect, but they are deeply trusted by Song Xian, and he has no choice.

If he could take this opportunity to pull Qi Xiaobai down and replace Zhang Yi with the one in charge of the Alchemy Hall affairs, he would be very happy to see it happen.

"I'll leave this matter to you! Don't investigate it in a high-profile manner. First, find out the situation secretly, and then report to me if you have any clues." Now that the incident has happened, Song Xian has to make a statement.

In recent years, he could clearly feel that the atmosphere of the sect was a little different, more complicated and subtle, and even a bit of intrigue.

Although on the surface they still appeared to be harmonious and united, in reality there were already signs of fragmentation. For example, the Tianshan Sect and the Hunyuan Sect were at odds with each other, and in recent years Zhong Wenyuan had already placed several people in the territory formerly controlled by the Tianshan Sect.

The resource areas in Tianshan were originally controlled by the monks of Tianshan Sect. Zhong Wenyuan used various means to replace the people in charge of several important resource areas.

Almost every time it would lead to a quarrel. Most of the old monks of Tianshan Sect were now led by Huang He. In the meeting hall, Huang He had argued with Zhong Wenyuan face to face more than once.

There is no doubt that Zhong Wenyuan is loyal to the sect, but he has a clear preference for the sect's direct descendants, believing that only these people are reliable, which leads to dissatisfaction among other disciples who are not from the direct lineage.

Song Xian was also wary of the former cultivators of the Tianshan Sect, but his feelings were not as strong and obvious as Zhong Wenyuan's.

From his point of view, it is definitely not possible for the Tianshan Sect to remain relatively independent. Therefore, when Zhong Wenyuan wanted to replace the monks of the Tianshan Sect, he often supported them silently. However, in order to appease the monks of the Tianshan Sect, he also found some lucrative but less important positions for them.

Not to mention the Tianshan Sect's dissatisfaction with him, even within the Hunyuan Sect, there is now a sense of factional confrontation.

For example, regarding the shop team led by Feng Yan, Zhong Wenyuan proposed more than once to replace the shop personnel, but was suppressed by Song Xian.

Now, in the entire Yuxiangdan sales team, except for Qingfengfang in Bianxi City who is in charge of Xu Ning, all other major shops in the city are managed by people brought by Feng Yan.

Feng Yan had already returned to the sect from Xijiang County. She was now the chief commerce officer for the entire sect. She was not only responsible for the sale of Yuxiang Dan, but also other items such as Doukudan, robes, spiritual wine, magic tools, and talismans.

Since occupying Tianshan, Hunyuan Sect has expanded several industries. Now it not only has an alchemy hall, but also a weapon refining hall, a talisman hall, a spirit wine hall, and a formation hall.

Yuxiangdan is still the sect’s main industry, but it is no longer the sect’s only industry.

Although the profits from industries such as robes, spiritual wine, magic tools, and talismans are far less than those from Yuxiangdan, their scale is also expanding step by step.

Jiang Zichen served as Feng Yan's deputy, assisting her in managing the sect's business affairs. Three years ago, he was transferred back to the sect, and Qingfengfang was then taken over by Xu Ning.

Because Zhong Wenyuan often interfered in the sect's business affairs, Feng Yan also had some conflicts with him, but they did not quarrel as much as Huang He.

In addition to his position as the elder of political affairs, Zhong Wenyuan also has the support of the direct line of Hunyuan Sect. Most of the original Qingyun Sect cultivators, including the mortal disciples trained by the sect in recent years, follow him as their leader.

But there are exceptions. Not everyone follows his instructions. For example, Zhang Ningyuan doesn't really buy into his ideas. Instead, he is closer to Feng Yan and Qi Xiaobai.

When Feng Yan and Zhong Wenyuan had a disagreement about the replacement of the shop owner, he tended to stand on Feng Yan's side and speak for her.

Song Xian was well aware of the situation where the sect's mountain was gradually shrinking, but he could do nothing about it.

The most difficult things to manage in this world are people. Everyone has their own ideas, different opinions, and their own demands.

Once the team expands, the phenomenon of small circles will form, which is inevitable.

If you want hundreds of people to unite as one, with their minds working as if they were arms and fingers, even gods cannot do it.

Today, the Hunyuan Sect and the Tianshan Sect have more than two hundred people. It is impossible for everyone to work together, and it is extremely difficult to expect everyone to serve the country.

Song Xian could only try his best to be fair and just and treat everyone equally.

He turned a blind eye to the intrigues among the small circles within the sect, as long as he could stabilize the overall situation and not cross the bottom line.

He had tried to mediate and smooth things over at first, but ultimately found it was all in vain.

Every time he gave a heartfelt and meaningful advice, the quarrel would return soon after.

Take Zhang Ningyuan and Zhong Wenyuan for example. Since the two of them settled in Guzi Mountain, they have had countless disagreements. Song Xian has advised and even reprimanded them more than once, but they are still the same.

Therefore, Song Xian has become a little numb to this. He secretly set a red line in his heart that no matter what, the interests of the sect must not be harmed.

Whether it's a disagreement or a pursuit of fame and fortune, he can turn a blind eye. However, if it damages the interests of the sect, he will deal with it severely.

…………

After the matter was handed over to the three people to investigate, it didn't take long to find out the truth, but the result was beyond Song Xian's expectations.

This matter not only involved the Alchemy Hall, but also the shops, and the people involved were people he had never imagined.

According to the investigation of the three people, the raw materials of Yuxiang Pill that were embezzled were indeed secretly refined into Yuxiang Pill by the monks of the Alchemy Hall and sold, but it was not Qi Xiaobai who did it, but Cheng Qian.

It turned out that since the Alchemy Hall was on the right track, Qi Xiaobai rarely worried about specific affairs, and basically handed them over to Cheng Qian, while he concentrated on researching other elixirs.

Especially after the sect moved from Solitary Peak to Tianshan, Cheng Qian was basically the only one responsible for the daily affairs of the Alchemy Hall.

Previously at Solitary Peak, the fire veins laid by the Alchemy Hall were ordinary rock fires, which could not be used to refine elixirs. However, the fire veins laid by the Tianshan Alchemy Hall were first-grade superior heart flame fires, which were sufficient to refine first-grade superior elixirs.

Qi Xiaobai is an alchemist with extraordinary skills and a great talent in alchemy. However, due to limited conditions, he did not have a suitable alchemy room, and he was responsible for refining the Yuxiang Pill, so he gave up his job of alchemy.

Now that they had moved to Tianshan, there was an alchemy room available and the alchemy hall had enough staff, so he handed all the affairs over to Cheng Qian, because the two were good friends.

It was he who recruited Cheng Qian into the sect, so he naturally trusted him.

Speaking of Cheng Qian, he can be considered an elder in the sect.

Compared to the Hunyuan Sect, which now has more than 200 people, he is definitely a veteran. He has participated in several tough battles with the sect before and has been through the sect's most difficult days together. Song Xian has always had a good impression of him and never expected him to do such a thing.

Faced with the irrefutable evidence produced by Zhong Wenyuan, Lu Yuan and Zhang Yi, Cheng Qian was speechless. With Qi Xiaobai's intervention and persuasion, he confessed everything.

According to him, he did this in preparation for building his foundation and wanted to save up enough money for building his foundation as soon as possible, so he secretly withheld some of the raw materials for the Jade Fragrance Pill, refined it into Jade Fragrance Pill and sold it in exchange for spirit stones.

Because his cultivation had reached the seventh level of Qi Refining, he calculated that if he reached the great perfection of Qi Refining in the future, it might not be enough to cover the cost of building the foundation, so he thought of using his power to earn a foundation-building pill.

He has been doing this secretly for two years. At first he was a little afraid and hesitant, but later he found that no one cared, so he became bolder and bolder, and made more and more money.

The other person he confessed made Song Xian feel even more depressed. This person was actually Xu Ning.

(End of this chapter)