Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 336: Taking advantage of others
The sun was shining brightly, the sky clear and cloudless. In the spacious and bright hall of Yuyuan Pavilion in Tianshan Market, a handsome young man was flipping through pages of paper. A short, stout middle-aged man walked in with a smile on his face. "Junior Brother Wang, the banquet is ready. Let's look at these account books later!"

"No need to spend money, Senior Brother Huang, I have other things to do and will leave right away." The young man closed the book.

"Junior Brother Wang, it's not easy for you to come here once. No matter what, let me do my best to be a good host."

"Next time! There are plenty of opportunities. Time is tight this time. I have to rush to the Bianxi City Market to check the shop accounts, so I won't stay long."

"Well then! Since Junior Brother Wang has a mission to complete, I won't try to keep you." The short and fat middle-aged man pulled out a cloth bag and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Junior Brother Wang. This is just a small token of my appreciation. Please don't refuse."

The young man did not pretend and directly took the cloth bag and put it in his pocket.

"Junior Brother Wang, after we return to the sect, I hope you can say a few good words for me in front of the Sect Master."

"Brother Huang, don't worry. Your Tianshanfang shop has seen a steady increase in revenue in recent years. The sect is very pleased with this and plans to transfer more of the sect's trade to Tianshanfang Market in the future. You'll have to work even harder in the future."

"I dare not talk about hardship. Serving the sect is my duty. I am grateful that the master has not abandoned me and appointed me to be the head of this market shop. I will do my best and devote myself to it."

"I'll take my leave first." The young man stood up and walked out. The middle-aged man hurriedly escorted him and the other two disciples out of the shop.

The three of them walked along the bluestone streets of the market, looking at the bustling crowds of cultivators coming and going. One of them said, "This Tianshan Market is getting more and more lively. The last time we came here, there weren't so many people. Now more and more people are coming here because of its reputation. If it continues to develop like this, it will definitely surpass the Bianxi City Market in a few years."

Another person continued, "This is a very obvious trend. We have everything here. We can buy all kinds of materials from the Muhe Grassland and even the flesh and blood of monsters directly. The prices are much cheaper than the market in Bianxi City, and it's more convenient. Otherwise, the sect wouldn't shift its trade focus here."

"Unless the Bianxi City Market relaxes its restrictions and allows Muhe Grassland shops to move in, otherwise, if this continues, we will definitely not be able to compete with the Tianshan Market."

"The Tianshan Mountains originally served as a barrier between the Qin State and the Muhe Grassland, a shared territory. It was because of this advantage that the Hunyuan Sect dared to invite forces from the Muhe Grassland to settle there. Bianxi City is undisputed Qin territory, so how could they dare to allow forces from the Muhe Grassland to settle there? This violates the rules of the Qianqing Sect. If the Qianqing Sect learns of this, not only the Luoyun Sect, but also the Beastmaster Sect will be in trouble."

"I think even if Bianxi City allowed the Muhe Grassland forces to settle in the shops, it might not be comparable to Tianshan. This place has natural advantages. Look, almost half of the people here are Muhe Grassland monks. They won't travel all the way to Bianxi City Market. Unless Dongluo City in Muhe Grassland also opens to Qin State and allows Qin forces to settle in the shops."

The three were chatting when suddenly a burly man with a flushed face came towards them. He was obviously a drunk. He staggered from side to side and bumped into the leading man named Wang.

"You bastard, don't you have eyes?" the drunk shouted.

"What did you say?" The man surnamed Wang was furious after being insulted by him.

"You bastard, don't you have eyes? When you see me, get out of the way." The drunk grabbed him by the collar and yelled at him.

"You are looking for death." The man surnamed Wang has always lived a life of luxury and had never been insulted like this. His face immediately turned red, and the spiritual power in his body surged and gathered on his palms. His palms immediately turned red, and he punched the drunk man in the chest.

With a loud bang, the drunk man flew out and fell to the ground several feet away. He immediately vomited blood, his eyes went black, and he fainted.

Not far away, a patrol team responsible for the security of the market town was heading towards this place.

"Not good, Senior Brother Wang, let's go quickly." The person next to the man surnamed Wang's face changed slightly. As soon as he finished speaking, the patrol team seemed to have discovered the drunk lying unconscious and came straight towards the three of them.

…………

In the dimly lit room of Yuyuan Sect, an old man with slightly white hair was sitting with his eyes closed, practicing. It was Wang Xuan, the head of Yuyuan Sect.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. He opened his eyes, opened the stone door, and saw a thin man standing outside.

"Master, this is bad. Junior Brother Wang Qian has been detained in Tianshan Market."

"What's going on?" Wang Xuan frowned immediately.

"According to Huang Ziming, the shop owner at Tianshan Market, Junior Brother Wang Qian got into a fight with a drunk from the Muhe Grassland and severely injured him. He was apprehended on the spot by the market security team. He was also detained by Tianshan Market along with Jiang Xu and Xu Yuan."

"Where is Huang Ziming?"

"He has returned to the sect and is waiting in the meeting hall."

Wang Xuan immediately came to the sect's meeting hall. When the short and fat middle-aged man inside saw him coming in from outside, he hurriedly went up to greet him.

"What happened? Tell me in detail from the beginning."

"Yes. After Junior Brother Wang Qian arrived at the shop, I..." The short, fat middle-aged man recounted the incident truthfully: "Now the Hunyuan Sect is beating on me and refusing to let me go, saying they want to convict me according to the regulations of the market."

Wang Xuan's eyes flashed. When he first heard about this, he knew that the matter was not simple. It was very likely that the Hunyuan Sect came specifically for him. After all, the two sides had a feud in the past. He just didn't know what the other party's purpose was this time.

If it was purely for revenge, there seemed to be no need to do such unnecessary things. With the current strength of Hunyuan Sect, even if they openly suppressed and retaliated, Yuyuan Sect would not dare to resist excessively. Moreover, so many years have passed and Hunyuan Sect has not taken any action. Now that they suddenly do this, it should not be just for revenge.

"What do you think about this?" After a moment of silence, Wang Xuan asked.

"Disciple...disciple thinks this might be a trap. The drunkard was most likely deliberately provoking trouble. If this was an accident, the Hunyuan Sect wouldn't have been so difficult. When I went to see the person in charge of the market, his attitude was very tough, unlike his usual style. I suspect he may have received orders from the higher-ups in the Hunyuan Sect."

"Did the Hunyuan Sect make any requests?"

"No."

"It seems they are waiting for me to come."

"Master, you can't go there lightly. Let me go talk to the Hunyuan Sect." The man next to him said immediately, "The Kong family was destroyed because the four Kong family foundation-building cultivators were lured out of Luojia Mountain. This gave the Hunyuan Sect an opportunity to join forces with the Beastmaster Sect to capture Luojia Mountain."

"I'm just a Qi Refining cultivator. How can I compare to the four Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Kong family? You think too highly of me. If the Hunyuan Sect really wanted to attack our sect, there would be no need for this. Besides, having me in the sect or not doesn't make much difference. They captured Qian'er just to force me to come forward."

"Even so, the Sect Master shouldn't be so anxious to negotiate with them. This will only expose our weakness. Let me test the Hunyuan Sect's intentions first. If that doesn't work, the Sect Master can step in. We can ask the Luoyun Sect to take charge. This will not only ensure the Sect Master's safety, but also help rescue Junior Brother Wang."

"Luoyun Sect? That's a good idea." Wang Xuan thought for a moment and nodded slowly. "But the Hunyuan Sect is no longer what it used to be. Most people probably don't have that much face. Unless we can find a foundation-building cultivator from Luoyun Sect, these people are not easy to invite and may not be willing to intervene."

"Luoyun Sect is one of the owners of Tianshan Market. Now that Tianshan Market has detained Junior Brother Wang, it makes sense for them to step in. Besides, we don't need to look for a Foundation Establishment cultivator from Luoyun Sect. I have a very suitable candidate."

"Who?"

"Whoever Hunyuan Sect was looking for back then, that's who we'll look for."

"You mean Xiao Ling?"

"Indeed, this person is perfect. She and Madam Song Xian are related, and she helped Song Xian resolve a conflict in the past. As long as we can convince her, I believe we can save Junior Brother Wang."

"Good idea. Junior Brother Luo, you can go to Tianshan on behalf of the sect and find out what their purpose is."

Under a bright moon and sparse stars, Song Xian landed in front of the towering mansion on Luojia Mountain. As he entered the inner room, a disciple came forward to greet him and saluted, "Master, Fellow Daoist Xiao Ling from the Luoyun Sect has arrived. Senior Sister Su is currently receiving him. I've asked you to come over when you return."

Song Xian nodded and went straight to the living room in the inner courtyard of the mansion. In the inner room, Xiao Ling was chatting and laughing with Su Zhirou.

Seeing him enter, Xiao Ling stood up and saluted with a smile: "Master Song, I apologize for disturbing you."

"Fellow Daoist Xiao, why are you so formal? Please take a seat!" Song Xian smiled and invited her to take a seat. Xiao Ling had failed in building her foundation a few years ago and her realm had fallen. Fortunately, her Linghai acupoint was not damaged. However, her face looked haggard and she looked like a forty-year-old woman.

In comparison, Su Zhirou looks only in her early thirties because of the anti-aging beads she took.

"It's been a long time since we last met. Fellow Daoist Xiao is still as charming as ever!"

"Master Song is still as good at coaxing people as ever. No wonder Sister Zhirou is becoming more and more beautiful. I am so envious. If I had known this, I would not have introduced Sister Zhirou to you. I would have recommended myself directly. I was just talking about this with Sister Zhirou."

Su Zhirou smiled and continued, "If you're willing, it's not too late now!"

"Really? Sister Zhirou is really willing to do this. If you are willing to let Sect Leader Song take a concubine, then I will marry you."

"You're so sharp-tongued." Su Zhirou rolled her eyes at her.

"Even if Sister Zhirou is really willing to give it up, Master Song has you, so how can he look down on me?"

"How is Senior Wen now? I haven't visited her for a long time. Last time I had something important to do and didn't attend her banquet. I hope she won't be angry with me!"

"How could that be? Auntie is not such a petty person."

The three chatted about trivial matters for a while, and then Xiao Ling changed the subject: "Master Song, to be honest, I came here today for something."

"Oh! Fellow Daoist Xiao, please speak."

Xiao Ling said, "I heard that your sect has detained three disciples of the Yuyuan Sect, including the nephew of Wang Xuan, the Yuyuan Sect's headmaster. Wang Xuan knew that Sister Zhirou and I were acquainted, so he came to me."

"I believe it's better to resolve a feud than to create one. Although the Yuyuan Sect offended your disciples in the past, it's been so many years since then, and it was my aunt who stepped in to resolve the feud. So today I'm brave enough to visit Sect Master Song. I wonder if you can do me a favor and let him go."

"Of course, my face is not worth mentioning. The main thing is that your sect and Yuyuan Sect are both formal sects in Bianxi City. Yuyuan Sect and our sect also have many cooperative industries. When will this cycle of revenge end? It is better to turn hostility into friendship. If Sect Leader Song is willing to let Wang Qian go, Yuyuan Sect will surely be grateful."

In fact, Song Xian had already vaguely guessed that she came for the Yuyuan Sect's affairs, but he was not so sure. It must be said that the Yuyuan Sect found a good middleman.

It was difficult for him to refuse Xiao Ling's offer to mediate, because Song Xian had received her love in the past, and the couple became a couple because of her.

The detention and arrest of Wang Qian was certainly not a coincidence. It was arranged by him for the purpose of Wang Xuan's hundred-year-old white sandalwood.

In fact, with the sect's current strength and his current cultivation level, there are plenty of ways to snatch the hundred-year-old white sandalwood from Wang Xuan.

If he proposed to buy it from Wang Xuan, Wang Xuan would probably agree because he would not dare to offend him.

The reason why they went to so much trouble to capture Wang Qian was not because they were reluctant to part with a few spirit stones, but because they had a feud with the Yuyuan Sect in the past and suffered a great loss, so they wanted to take the opportunity to avenge the past.

Wang Qian is Wang Xuan's nephew. Wang Xuan has no children, so he has only this one direct relative with spiritual roots. He has always treated him as his own son. If he is caught, Wang Xuan will definitely surrender.

He originally just wanted to find an excuse to create friction and capture Wang Qian, but he didn't expect that this guy was so ruthless and almost took the life of the Muhe grassland monk. This gave him more reason.

"Fellow Daoist Xiao, this is serious. I've already told you that you've done us a favor, and we've never been able to repay you. Now that you've asked, I'll do my best, no matter what. It's just that I'm truly unaware of this matter. I'm currently cultivating in Luojia Mountain, and the sect's affairs have been handed over to the disciples in charge at Tianshan. They haven't reported this to me yet. So, I'll give you an answer once I understand the situation."

"Okay, thank you, Master Song."

"Fellow Daoist Xiao, if you have anything else to say, I still have things to attend to, so I'll excuse myself first."

"Master Song, please do as you please."

.........

The moon was at its zenith, and in the inner courtyard of the mansion, under the quilt, Su Zhirou undid her underwear and crawled naked into Song Xian's arms. She rested her head on his shoulder, twisted her body slightly, and whispered softly, "Husband, Sister Ling'er has rarely spoken for once, so please let Wang Qian go!"

"If you have something to say, talk it over nicely. Be honest and don't seduce me."

"Can you still seduce your husband now?" Su Zhirou ignored him and squeezed into his arms, her eyes rippling like autumn water.

"What do you say?"

"It should be possible!"

.........

In the blink of an eye, a few days passed.

On Luojia Mountain, in the meeting hall, Song Xian strode in from outside and glanced at Xiao Ling and Wang Xuan who were sitting inside.

When the two saw him coming, they quickly stood up to greet him.

"Meet Master Song."

Wang Xuan had a complicated look in his eyes. He glanced at Queen Song Xian, then lowered his head and bowed respectfully, feeling mixed emotions.

Back then, when the two met for the first time, Song Xian was just a young cultivator at the fourth level of Qi Refining, and he spoke very cautiously.

But now the situation has reversed. Song Xian is already a cultivator in the middle stage of foundation building, but he is still in the Qi refining stage.

If I had been able to successfully build the foundation at the beginning, the scene would not have been like this.

He felt more and more bitter in his heart as he wanted to be here, but he could only pretend to be indifferent and lower his posture.

(End of this chapter)