Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 324 Preemptive Strike
The days were peaceful and several months passed in the blink of an eye.

That day, the sky was clear and cloudless.

In the Shitouling market, a group of people were walking in the middle of the marble road. The monks on the road consciously made way for them, looking at them sideways, and the noisy chattering and talking to each other was endless.

Song Xian was walking in the middle of the road, surrounded by a group of people. Today was the third anniversary of the establishment of the Stone City Market. The market had prepared a ceremony, and as the head of the sect, he came to watch.

There were rows of attics on both sides, and the disciples of the sect on the side were introducing the origins of these attics to him.

"This is the Spark Pie shop."

"This is the Luoyuan Sect's shop..."

Song Xian walked forward without saying a word, just looking at the monks entering and leaving the shops.

The market has been open for three years. Not only have almost all the sects in Bianxi City opened shops, but it has also attracted many Muhe grassland forces to settle in.

This place has become the largest trading market for both sides, but its reputation is not loud enough, and because it is located in a remote area, the flow of people is not as much as that of Qingfengfang in Bianxi City. However, thanks to the cheap goods, there are still many cultivators who come here.

Here, the unique items in the Muhe grassland area are at least 10% cheaper than those in the Bianxi City market. Similarly, the unique cultivation items in Xijiang County are also 10% cheaper than those in Dongluo City.

Next to the market town is the casino, which is only a few miles apart. Since the establishment of the market town, the business of the casino has improved a lot, and many monks who come here to trade will also go to the casino to have fun.

The market ceremony was held at noon. Song Xian only attended symbolically and gave some high-sounding speeches. There was another auction in the evening, but he did not attend. After the ceremony, he returned to the sect.

.........

At night, dark clouds covered the moon and heavy rain poured down.

In the brightly lit room, Jiang Feng sat upright in the main seat, listening to the reports of his disciples below, his eyes slightly narrowed, gazing out of the hall.

"Is the person who delivered the message reliable?"

"He should be reliable. He's been lurking there since the time of Master Yang Jinzhang. Furthermore, the sect's intelligence center has also received news that the Murong family sent someone here, and the timing matches the information he sent."

Jiang Feng stood up and slowly walked to the window. Looking at the heavy rain, a fierce look flashed in his eyes: "You go back to the mountain gate immediately."

"Yes." The disciple stood up and responded.

.........

The sky was clear and cloudless. Outside Qiyuan Mountain, a beam of light shot out and revealed Song Xian's figure.

Soon, a disciple led him to a room, and after a while, Jiang Feng came in from outside.

Song Xian stood up and bowed: "Greetings, Chief Jiang."

Jiang Feng waved his hand and motioned him to sit down.

"Has the disciple of Lin Zixiang in your sect established his foundation? Where is he now?" Jiang Feng walked to the main seat and sat down, his expression as calm as usual.

Song Xian was a little confused, wondering why he asked about Alan Tam. He had received a message from a disciple of the Beast Taming Sect yesterday, asking him to go to Qiyuan Mountain immediately, saying that there was something important to discuss, so he came here.

"Thanks to you, he has successfully established his foundation and has now returned to serve in your clan's coalition forces."

"During this period, have Emperor Yunxuan and the Murong family sent anyone to contact you?"

"No, they have never sent anyone to our sect."

Jiang Feng's eyes were deep: "I received news that Yun Xuanzong has been frequently sending people to contact Luoyun Sect recently, and the Murong family has also sent people to contact the Kong family."

Seeing his serious look, Song Xian was shocked. He had guessed Jiang Feng's intention in calling him here. He probably wanted to take the initiative and attack Luoyun Sect and the Kong Family.

That's why he asked where Alan Tam was, because if he wanted to take action, it would be more secure with an additional Foundation Establishment cultivator.

His mind raced. With the strength of the Hunyuan Sect, there was no chance of winning against the Luoyun Sect and the Kong Family, unless the Beastmaster Sect sent a large group here. Even then, they might not be able to defeat the Luoyun Sect and the Kong Family.

If they have secretly negotiated terms with Yun Xuanzong and the Murong family, and the Beastmaster Sect sends people to encircle and suppress them, Yun Xuanzong and the Murong family will definitely provide support, just like they did when they attacked Anyuan City before.

Today, the prestige of the Beast Taming Sect in Xijiang County has greatly declined, and two of the five cities under Xijiang County have rebelled and declared independence.

When attacking Anyuan City, the Beast Taming Sect was able to recruit the sects from the other four cities. Under the current circumstances, I am afraid that no one will obey the Beast Taming Sect's orders and send troops to help it attack Bianxi City.

The Beast Taming Sect had to deal with Yun Xuanzong and the Murong family on the front line in Xijiang County, so it was impossible for them to send so many people.

Even if the Beast Taming Sect made up its mind and sent a large force, the Luoyun Sect and the Kong family would have received the news long beforehand and would have taken the initiative to eliminate the Beast Taming Sect's influence in Bianxi City. Jiang Feng would be the first to be hit, followed by the Hunyuan Sect.

Song Xian felt that the situation was in great trouble. At this point, the situation was extremely critical. If he made a wrong move, he would lose everything.

For Hunyuan Sect, this will be a matter of life and death, and the chances of winning are slim, as the disparity in paper strength between the two sides is too great.

The room suddenly fell into silence. Jiang Feng stared at him with eagle-like eyes. The atmosphere was subtle and solemn.

He knew that Song Xian had vaguely guessed his intention and was waiting to see his attitude.

"I wonder what you need our sect to do?" After a moment of silence, Song Xian finally spoke.

Jiang Feng's face was expressionless, and his words remained calm, as if he were simply discussing a trivial matter like eating and drinking. "According to the information I've received, they're almost at an agreement and could declare Bianxi City independent at any moment. We must strike first before they make up their minds. Once they convene a meeting of all the Bianxi City sects, we'll be powerless to reverse the situation."

"At most, I'll be driven out of Bianxi City, but you might not. Even if Luoyun Sect and the Kong family declare Bianxi City independent, they won't kill me. They want to gain control of Bianxi City and don't want to become mortal enemies with our sect. So they won't go to extremes. They'll most likely just drive their own cultivators away, just like they did when Anyuan City and Yongning City declared independence."

"But they don't have these concerns with you."

"You know full well that both the Luoyun Sect and the Kong Family have been eyeing the Tianshan territory for a long time. Especially since you occupied Tianshan, you've set up inspection areas, built casinos, and established markets. Business has been booming, bringing in tons of spirit stones every year. It's been incredibly lucrative, and they've been coveting it for a long time. Not to mention the vast resources Tianshan possesses."

"If our sect hadn't been suppressing them and preventing them from extending their influence to Bianshang Town and Bianxia Town, Tianshan would have been swallowed up by Luoyun Sect long ago. If they declare Bianxi City independent and drive our sect out of Bianxi City, they will definitely take action against you."

"That's why I asked you to come here. We need to strike first before they make up their minds. This is our only chance to turn the tide."

Song Xian remained silent. Every word Jiang Feng said made sense, and he had no way to refute it. The reason why Hunyuan Sect was able to annex Tianshan was because of Jiang Feng's support.

The reason why the Hunyuan Sect was able to occupy Tianshan for a long time was because it had the support of the Beast Taming Sect.

Once the Beast Taming Sect withdraws from Bianxi City, the Hunyuan Sect will not be able to defend Tianshan with its own strength.

Neither the Luoyun Sect nor the Kong Family were kindhearted people. Without the Beast Taming Sect suppressing them, they would have taken over Tianshan long ago.

If Bianxi City declares independence, it is conceivable that Luoyun Sect will find ways to annex Hunyuan Sect. No one can resist eating the fat meat at their fingertips.

Even if the Luoyun Sect does not take action against the Hunyuan Sect for the time being in order to unite the sects in Bianxi City, and even if the Hunyuan Sect gives the profits given to the Beastmaster Sect to the Luoyun Sect in order to seek protection, there is no guarantee that they will not extend their hands to Tianshan in the future.

"What are you going to do?" Song Xian knew that since Jiang Feng had asked him to come, he must have a plan. He had no choice but to take a gamble.

Even if he betrayed Jiang Feng and informed Luoyun Sect and the Kong family about this, he would still be in trouble.

Luoyun Sect and the Kong Family will seize Tianshan as they should. It’s a simple truth: a cat cannot lie down and not eat fish.

What's more, the Beast Taming Sect is still powerful. If the war subsides in the future and the Beast Taming Sect makes a comeback, it will be even more doomed.

"I have reported this matter to the sect and requested that they send someone to support me."

"Will your clan send a large army to Bianxi City?"

"That's definitely not the case, so I need your help."

Song Xian frowned, "With our sect's strength, it's like an egg hitting a stone to deal with the Luoyun Sect and the Kong family."

"If the Luoyun Sect and the Kong Family join forces, we will be no match for them. Even if our sect sends a large force of reinforcements, we may not be able to defeat them. Therefore, we must first divide them. Only then will we have a chance."

“How to divide them?”

"You don't have to worry about that. I'll find a way. To deal with them, we have to adopt a one-on-one attack strategy. Only in this way can we resolve the crisis. The Luoyun Sect is much stronger than the Kong family and will be difficult to deal with. We need to win them over. The Kong family is relatively weak, so they are our target."

Jiang Feng spoke eloquently, his tone was calm and his words were fluent. It was obvious that he had thought the entire plan through carefully.

"I will find a way to stabilize the Luoyun Sect and take this opportunity to wipe out the Kong family with lightning speed. This will not only intimidate the Luoyun Sect, preventing them from making any rash moves, but also weaken their power, making it difficult for the Luoyun Sect to stand alone and prevent them from pushing for the independence of the Bianxi City sect."

"I have reported this matter to the sect and requested that they secretly dispatch several elite foundation-building cultivators to assist us so as not to alert the enemy."

"Although we haven't received a response from the sect yet, I believe they will agree. Sending a few reinforcements from the disciples stationed at the mountain gate shouldn't be a problem."

"The Kong family currently has four foundation-building cultivators. We need to capture the leader first. As long as we kill these four, the situation will be much easier. Since the Kong family is leaderless, we should gather our own disciples and the cultivators of your sect to attack their mountain gate together."

"After we occupy the Kong family's mountain gate, the Kong family's monks stationed outside will become a mess, and it will be easy to deal with them."

After hearing this, Song Xian felt a little relieved. As for dealing with the Kong family, there was still a chance.

All the cultivators of the Kong family add up to only about 600 people, and the four foundation-building cultivators are Kong Zhenqing, Kong Zhenxuan, Jiang Yuhuan, and Kong Xiangyuan.

The former head of the Kong family, Kong Dexing, passed away several years ago, and the current head of the family is Kong Zhenqing.

Song Xian was extremely disgusted with Kong Zhenqing. The two had dealt with each other long before he had established his foundation.

When he participated in the foundation-building selection competition, he won and broke one of Kong Xiangyuan's arms, which angered Kong Zhenqing, causing Hu Xiaobao to be framed, imprisoned and abused by the Kong family. This was ordered by Kong Zhenqing.

If he had not found Jiang Feng to come forward, Hu Xiaobao, the sect's talented disciple with a single spiritual root and extraordinary talent and supernatural powers, would probably still be imprisoned in the Kong family, or even killed.

Unlike Kong Dexing, Kong Zhenqing is overbearing and ambitious. Although he has not been the head of the Kong family for long, he has been very aggressive and the various sects in Bianxi City have criticized him a lot.

Given his personality, Song Xian was not surprised that he would secretly reach an agreement with the Murong family to promote the independence of Bianxi City in exchange for benefits.

Jiang Feng wants to win over the Luoyun Sect, and Lei Ting attacks the Kong family. I'm afraid it's not just out of consideration of strength.

Tao Jinyuan is a shrewd and cautious person who doesn't act until he sees the rabbit. Song Xian speculated that the Luoyun Sect and Yun Xuanzong may not have reached a complete agreement yet.

Kong Zhenqing may have already negotiated terms with the Murong family, so he should prioritize dealing with the Kong family.

"If the Kong family has secretly reached a deal with the Murong family and plans to push Bianxi City away from your clan's control and establish an independent alliance, then they must be on guard. How can we lure them out of the mountain gate?" After thinking for a while, Song Xian raised the key question.

This is the most difficult part. Although Kong Zhenqing acts in a domineering manner, he is not a fool. At such a sensitive time, they will not easily leave the mountain gate.

In the past, they would have attended any invitation Jiang Feng issued, but now, they would definitely not easily attend any banquet or meeting related to the Beastmaster Sect.

"I've thought of a way. Our sect has arranged an insider in the Kong family. We can use him to lure out the Kong family's foundation-building cultivators."

"Is this person highly regarded by Kong Zhenqing? Is there any way to lure Kong Zhenqing out?"

It's not surprising that the Beastmaster Sect has planted spies in the Kong family.

The Beastmaster Sect sent disciples to garrison in various cities for two main purposes: one was to protect the Beastmaster Sect's interests in the city, and the other was to monitor the movements of the various sects in the city.

Local tyrants like the Luoyun Sect and the Kong Family are the Beast Taming Sect's key targets of surveillance. They will not take the initiative to tell the Beast Taming Sect's monks about their intentions and plans.

Forget about the Luoyun Sect and the Kong Family. Is there no Beastmaster Sect insider within the Hunyuan Sect? Of course there is.

After all, the Beast Taming Sect has ruled Xijiang County for so many years. With their power and means, wouldn't it be easy for them to plant one or two informants in various sects?

The key point is, if this insider is a close confidant of Kong Zhenqing and is used properly, he may really be able to lure out the Kong family's foundation-building cultivators.

But if he was just an ordinary cultivator from the Kong family, let alone luring Kong Zhenqing out, he wouldn't even have the chance to meet Kong Zhenqing.

"This insider is someone close to Jiang Yuhuan. I have set up a trap on the Muhe Grassland and am waiting for the Kong family to fall into it."

Jiang Feng did not hide anything. He needed Song Xian's help. Since they wanted to work together to deal with the Kong family, there was naturally no need to conceal his insider identity.

(End of this chapter)