Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 256 Bear the humiliation and bear the burden
In Tianshan, in the spacious and bright hall, George Lam strode in from outside, and the two men inside hurriedly stood up and saluted.

"Senior Brother Lin."

"Elder Lin."

“No need to be so polite, just sit down!” George Lam went straight to the main seat and sat down, waving his hand.

One of the men flipped his hands and took out a bag: "Elder Lin, thank you for your care. This is a small token of our appreciation. Please don't despise it."

Lin Zixiang didn't reach out to take the bag. He glanced at the two of them and asked, "What are you doing with the new batch of ore that the Chiyan Mine has recently produced?"

"Brother Lin, don't worry, we've handled everything as usual."

"Don't go too far. A few days ago, Senior Brother Wenyuan came to me to discuss this matter, and he seemed to have some hidden agenda."

When the two men heard this, their expressions changed slightly. They looked at each other, and one of the men asked nervously, "Could it be that the sect discovered something?"

"Even if we haven't discovered anything, we at least have suspicions. I recommended you all, so Senior Brother Wenyuan didn't conduct a high-profile investigation. But since he's mentioned this, you should be careful. Hold back for now and don't let anyone catch you. If they report it to the Sect Master, I won't be able to protect you either."

"Yes, we know what to do."

"Even Junior Brother Xu Ning was punished so severely. If you fall into the hands of the Sect Master, you should know what the end will be."

"Don't worry, Elder Lin. If anything does happen, we will handle it ourselves and will never involve you. We have already made preparations. If something happens one day, the most we will suffer is imprisonment."

Lin Zixiang looked displeased: "How can you involve me?"

The man immediately admitted his mistake: "I said the wrong thing. What I meant was that you promoted us all. If something goes wrong, it will damage your prestige and reputation."

Another man tried to lighten the mood, saying, "If it weren't for Senior Brother Lin's promotion, we wouldn't be where we are today. As long as Senior Brother Lin is here, we can rest easy. Even if we end up in jail, it's no big deal; we'll get out sooner or later."

"Don't worry, even if you end up in jail, I'm here and I won't let you suffer. You just need to do your job well."

"Brother Lin, I heard at the beginning of the year that the sect was planning to build a gambling house in Bianxia Town. Why is there no news now? Junior Brother Wang Qian has been thinking about this matter. If the sect opens a gambling house, he wants to be transferred there to take charge."

"The Sect Master only mentioned this casually at the time. It's too early to set your sights on this position before anything has even been decided. The sect is currently preoccupied with Hu Xiaobao's situation, so how could they possibly have the energy to run a gambling house? That's why I'm asking you all to behave yourself for now. The Sect Master is extremely angry about this matter, so don't put yourself in the wrong place."

While the few of them were discussing secretly, Song Xian, who was far away in Qiyuan Mountain in Bianxi City, also met Jiang Feng as he wished.

He was led in by Xu Hao from outside into the dim room, where Jiang Feng was reviewing a stack of files.

"Junior pays his respects to Senior Jiang." Song Xian bowed respectfully.

Jiang Feng glanced at him with his eagle-like sharp eyes, his tone flat and indifferent: "Tell me! What's the matter?"

"My disciple Hu Xiaobao is currently being held captive at the Kong family. I would like to ask you to speak with Kong Dexing, the head of the Kong family, and ask them to release Hu Xiaobao. We will do our best to meet any request. If you are willing to help, we will be deeply grateful."

Song Xian directly stated his purpose and demands. Considering Jiang Feng's cultivation level and status, it was a great honor for him to take the time to meet him. If he continued to ramble on, it would surely cause disgust.

Besides, Xu Hao must have mentioned this matter to him before.

"I've settled this matter for you. What are you going to do to thank me?" Jiang Feng made his request concisely without any nonsense.

"Senior, please take whatever you like. I and my clan are where we are today thanks to your support. No matter what you want, I will offer it to you."

Song Xian didn't know what conditions to propose, so he simply gave the initiative to Jiang Feng.

He was surprised that Jiang Feng agreed to resolve the matter so readily.

Of course, this is not a big deal for him. He just needs to do a favor with just one sentence.

But favors are something that are given and taken back. If he asks the Kong family to do him a favor today, the Kong family may ask for it back through other means tomorrow.

There is no such thing as a free lunch in the world; everything has a price.

Therefore, asking for compensation is completely reasonable.

"From now on, all trade taxes between Muhe Grassland and Bianxi City will increase by 10%." Jiang Feng had no expression on his face and spoke in a flat voice.

Considering the current income of the inspection area, paying an additional 10% is equivalent to about 30,000 spirit stones per year.

"I will follow your orders, senior." Song Xian responded without any hesitation.

To be honest, this condition is not excessive. The Hunyuan Sect can occupy Tianshan and set up inspection areas on the roads, which is due to the support of Jiang Feng. Even if there is no Hu Xiaobao incident, he has no bargaining chip to refuse Jiang Feng's request. After all, he himself makes a living under Jiang Feng.

Before this, Song Xian had even prepared to give out 20% of the profits from Yuxiang Dan in exchange for Hu Xiaobao.

In comparison, raising the commercial tax by 10% is already a good condition.

"Go ahead! After I finish the matters at hand, you can go to the Confucius Mansion with me." Jiang Feng showed his decisive and swift style of action. Once the conditions were agreed upon, he would never procrastinate and would start to act immediately.

"Yes, I will go back and wait." Song Xian responded and left the room.

Jiang Feng looked at his departing back with an expressionless face, and then continued to deal with the matters at hand.

The reason why he chose to help was not just because he was greedy for the 10% tax revenue.

More importantly, Song Xian won the first place during this foundation-building selection competition and was qualified to go to the mountain gate to build the foundation. This made him look at him with higher regard, thinking that this person had great potential. Not only did he have the talent and ability to handle affairs, but he also had exquisite magical powers.

Judging from his performance during the foundation-building selection competition, there is a high possibility that he will succeed in building a foundation in the future.

A person with potential is always worth helping, and it’s not a big deal, just a piece of cake.

.........

At night, at the gate of the Kong family mountain, the inner courtyard of the majestic mansion.

A man entered the dimly lit room and bowed to Kong Dexing, who was sitting inside. "Master, Jiang Feng, the head of the Beast Taming Sect, has arrived with the headmaster of the Hunyuan Sect. They have an important matter to discuss."

Kong Dexing raised his drooping eyelids slightly and said in an old voice, "I understand."

.........

"I'm sorry for not welcoming you in person, Brother Jiang." Outside the mountain gate, Song Xian followed Jiang Feng. Not long after, he saw a beam of light shooting out, revealing a middle-aged man with a pale and chubby face like a baby, who bowed and saluted.

This person is Kong Zhenxuan, a foundation-building cultivator of the Kong family, and a descendant of the eldest branch of the Kong family.

"Where is Fellow Daoist Kong Dexing? I came here specifically to discuss something with him." Jiang Feng returned the greeting and said calmly without any hesitation.

Although the Kong family is the dominant family in Bianxi City, given his status, position and cultivation, he naturally doesn't need to take them too seriously.

"The Patriarch is waiting in the main hall and has specially sent me to greet Fellow Daoist Jiang."

"Then please lead the way!"

Several people then came to the main hall of the Kong family. Kong Dexing was already waiting outside the hall. Seeing Jiang Feng coming, he greeted him with a smile: "Friend Jiang, it is an honor to have such a distinguished guest here! Our humble home is honored!" "It's so late, I hope I didn't disturb Friend Kong's rest!"

The two exchanged a few pleasantries before entering the hall together.

"I am here today for no reason. This is Song Xian, the headmaster of Hunyuan Sect. He had some friction with your family before, so I brought him here today to apologize." After Jiang Feng sat down at the guest seat, he stated his purpose straight away.

At his signal, Song Xian walked out from behind him and bowed respectfully to Kong Dexing.

"My disciple Hu Xiaobao was ignorant of his own limitations and offended a cultivator from your sect. I apologize here and hope that Senior Kong will forgive him this time. I and my sect are deeply grateful."

"Young friend Song, there's no need to be so rude. Let's talk things over. Fellow Daoist Jiang, I really don't know the details of this matter. What exactly is going on?"

"Song Xian, please talk to Fellow Daoist Kong about this!"

"Yes." Song Xian then recounted in detail the whole process of Hu Xiaobao's arrest.

"Is this true?" Kong Dexing looked at Kong Zhenxuan.

"Yes, a few days ago, a cultivator named Hu Xiaobao was captured and brought to the mansion. He injured one of our cultivators, so he was detained and is being prepared for conviction."

As Kong Zhenxuan finished speaking, Jiang Feng, expressionless, continued, "The Hunyuan Sect is currently working for our sect. Song Xian and I have a bit of a relationship. He came to me and said that Hu Xiaobao is not only a disciple of their sect, but also his uncle. I thought it's better to resolve a feud than to create one, so I came to bother you. Could you please, for my sake, release Hu Xiaobao?"

"I've troubled Daoist Jiang to come in person to handle Xiaoke's affairs." Kong Dexing looked at Kong Zhenxuan and said, "Bring the person here."

Kong Zhenxuan responded and then called someone to bring Hu Xiaobao from the cell.

Not long after, two Kong family monks came into the room carrying a figure, who was Hu Xiaobao.

At this moment, he looked listless, with disheveled hair and scars all over his body. There were two bloody holes on his scapula, which were obviously caused by being pierced by chains.

Seeing him being beaten like this, Song Xian couldn't help but feel filled with rage, but he tried his best to keep a calm expression on his face.

At this time, Hu Xiaobao also raised his head and saw Song Xian. His turbid eyes suddenly brightened, as if a drowning man saw a life-saving straw.

"Master, save me." His voice was weak, but his eyes were as hot as the sun, full of begging and expectation.

Although Hu Xiaobao is a bit rough on his own, he is a disciple of the sect after all. Now he has suffered this unexpected disaster and is being abused.

Song Xian saw this and felt sad and angry.

"Since Brother Jiang has spoken, let Brother Song take this man back! If he does it again next time, don't blame me for being ruthless." Kong Dexing glanced at Song Xian and said lightly.

"Thank you, senior. I will definitely discipline my disciples well in the future." Song Xian suppressed his anger, bowed to Chao Qi, took out a storage bag in his hand, and handed it over with both hands.

"This is a small compensation for your injured disciple. Thank you for your generosity."

Kong Dexing didn't even glance at it: "Today, I am doing this for the sake of Brother Jiang Daoist's kindness. How could this old man be greedy for such a small amount of money?"

"Then I won't disturb Fellow Daoist Kong. I'll take my leave first." Jiang Feng stood up.

"I'll see you off, Brother Jiang."

Song Xian helped Hu Xiaobao up and left the hall. He was wrapped in the light transformed by Jiang Feng's spiritual power and left the Kong Mansion directly.

Looking at the three people leaving, Kong Dexing narrowed his eyes slightly.

"I didn't expect that Song Xian could actually ask Jiang Feng to come forward. I said long ago that we shouldn't do this. What's the point of arresting a mere disciple of Hunyuan Sect? Now we have not gained any benefits, and we have offended the Hunyuan Sect, which is on the rise, for no reason. Why bother?" Kong Zhenxuan said with a forced smile.

Kong Dexing did not respond. He knew that Kong Zhenxuan and Kong Zhenqing did not get along well and were fighting openly and secretly for the position of head of the family. These words were obviously accusing Kong Zhenqing of incompetence and reckless behavior.

…………

After leaving the Kong family, Song Xian sent Hu Xiaobao to the market to recuperate, and then quietly returned to Tianshan.

Time flies, and several years have passed in the blink of an eye.

After this incident, Song Xian became more cautious. He never left Tianshan in these years and practiced hard every day. The spiritual power in his body also increased, and he finally reached the state of great perfection in Qi Refining.

In the dim room, several core members of the Hunyuan Sect gathered together. Song Xian sat in the main seat, glanced at everyone, and spoke with a serious face.

"During my absence, Senior Brother Wenyuan will be in charge of all sect affairs. If anything unfortunate happens, I have left a will regarding the selection of the next sect leader. Senior Brother Wenyuan and Senior Brother Zixiang each have a copy. In short, no matter what the outcome of this trip, the sect must not be plunged into internal strife. Anyone who disobeys this will will no longer be a disciple of this sect and can be punished by anyone."

He has decided to go to the Beast Taming Sect's mountain gate to build his foundation. Before leaving, he must arrange all matters properly to avoid any accidents.

The internal composition of Hunyuan Sect is now very complex. There are cultivators who defected from Qingyun Sect, disciples trained by themselves, and those from Tianshan Sect and absorbed independent cultivators.

It's like a big, mixed family with many factions, but the backbone is Song Xian. All parties are headed by him. Once he is gone, internal unrest is likely to occur.

Apart from anything else, the struggle for interests between the Tianshan Sect monks and the Hunyuan Sect disciples is enough to make things difficult.

Song Xian, the leader of the Tianshan Sect, was appointed by Jiang Feng. The Tianshan Sect did not dare to resist. In addition, he had used both kindness and power over the years and had also gained the recognition of many Tianshan Sect monks.

The killing of Modzhenhan frightened those monks within the Tianshan Sect who were ready to make moves.

The establishment of inspection areas and the reform of the distribution system greatly increased the financial income of the Tianshan Sect and won the respect of many Tianshan monks.

But this does not mean that they agree that they are a member of the Hunyuan Sect, especially towards Zhong Wenyuan. Many people in the Tianshan Sect have opinions about him.

This is because Zhong Wenyuan is very biased towards the direct line of Hunyuan Sect in handling some government affairs, which makes the original Tianshan Sect monks and the monks within Hunyuan Sect dissatisfied with him.

Song Xian went to the Beast Taming Sect's mountain gate to build his foundation. If something happened to him, no one knew whether the Tianshan Sect cultivators would cause trouble.

Of course, he had talked with several core members of the Tianshan Sect, but verbal guarantees on such matters were not binding.

Building the foundation is extremely risky. No one has ever dared to say that he can succeed 100%. Even the most talented cultivator may fail at this stage. At the very least, his cultivation will regress, and at worst, he will die.

Therefore, he must first determine the successor to the Hunyuan Sect and ensure internal unity.

Otherwise, the sect that has been developed with great effort over the years may become a mess in an instant.

He designated George Lam as the next successor to the sect.

There are two reasons why he was chosen as the next headmaster. The first is that he has dual spiritual roots. Although he failed to build his foundation, with his lifespan, he still has a great chance of building his foundation in the future.

Secondly, George Lam is older and has prestige within the sect and is able to win the support of the people. He can't choose a young man with no prestige at all.

In terms of candidates, there are actually only two people, George Lam and Benjamin Chung.

Zhong Wenyuan is not an ideal candidate because he does not get along with the monks of Tianshan Sect, so the only candidate is Alan Tam.

Song Xian did not tell anyone else that George Lam was the next headmaster. He only left two wills, one to Zhong Wenyuan and one to George Lam.

(End of this chapter)