Hunyuan Immortal Sect

Chapter 542 Undercurrent
With Apu's help, Song Xian met with the leaders of various major forces in the East China Sea region. Sects that had no prior dealings with the Hunyuan Sect expressed their willingness to cooperate, such as the Longteng Sect, through his mediation.

Some existing partners, such as the Xingquan Chamber of Commerce, also expressed their intention to strengthen cooperation with the Hunyuan Sect.

He wouldn't be the one to handle the specifics; the disciples in charge of external affairs from both sides would be responsible for the negotiations.

The final result was naturally gratifying; in just one year, Hunyuanzong's trading profits more than doubled.

.........

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

The past few years have not been peaceful in Xishu County. The war in Ningye County has reached a fever pitch, and there are also undercurrents in other counties, especially in Huayang and Anfeng counties, which border Ningye County. All sorts of rumors and gossip are rampant.

One moment it's said that the leading sects in Huayang County and Anfeng County are secretly contacting the rebels in Nanhan County, and the next it's said that other forces in the two counties are plotting to surrender to the rebels, wanting to emulate the Yuntian Chamber of Commerce in Ningye County and take over their county's leading sect.

Although these are just rumors circulating in the streets and have not been confirmed, the sheer volume of information, even if they are baseless, reveals the unease in people's hearts and the various power struggles hidden beneath the surface.

The reason why this news spread so widely was essentially due to the pessimistic sentiment among the cultivators of Xishu County regarding the future, all stemming from the unfavorable situation on the battlefield of Ningye County.

In recent years, the allied forces of Xishu Commandery have been fighting against the rebels of Nanhan Commandery in Ningye County, suffering heavy losses and the situation is very bad.

Meanwhile, the burden of war on the other counties of Xishu Commandery had reached a point where it was almost unbearable.

Putting aside other matters, take Bianxi City for example. Apart from the leading sect, Hunyuan Sect, which is not greatly affected, other sects have been overwhelmed by frequent conscriptions. For example, Qianfeng Sect and Huaxuan Sect have had almost 70% of their disciples conscripted to Ningye County.

If 30% of the people remain, they won't be able to achieve anything, and they'll even have a hard time maintaining the sect.

Furthermore, due to the turbulent situation, various sects were unable to recruit any independent cultivators and could only rely on absorbing un-transformed children to replenish their fresh blood, but this was a drop in the ocean compared to the number of recruits.

Besides the unfavorable situation in Xishu Commandery, the situation in Xianyang Commandery, the main base of Emperor Qianqing, was not much better. The rebel army of Nanhan Commandery, which was supported by the State of Chu, was also very strong after it entered Xianyang Commandery. It has now completely occupied Nanming County of Xianyang Commandery.

Dongchuan and Beian counties have not provided any support so far. Even a fool would know that they are trying to distance themselves from the Qianqing Emperor and are determined to sit back and watch the tigers fight.

This is also a major reason why people are pessimistic about the future of Xishu County.

.........

Dark clouds obscured the moon, and a fierce wind howled.

Inside a brightly lit room on Luoyun Mountain, Xiao Ling handed Song Xian a stack of documents with both hands: "Sect Leader, these are the cooperation agreements we discussed with those forces in the East China Sea region this year. Please take a look."

"I remember this purple clay stone and golden feather wood are joint ventures between the Beast Taming Sect and the Soaring Dragon Sect, right?" Song Xian frowned slightly when he saw the contents of the first page of the dossier.

Purple clay is an essential material for crafting top-grade defensive magical artifacts shaped like bells, while golden feather wood is an excellent material for making high-level magical robes that provide warmth and protection from the cold.

Neither of these items are available in Xijiang County; they must be purchased from elsewhere.

Both of these industries are basically monopolized by the Beast Taming Sect. At least 70% of all the top-grade defensive magic artifacts in Bianxi City are made by the Beast Taming Sect, and half of the high-grade magic robes that keep out the cold and warm also come from the Beast Taming Sect.

Previously, with Apu's help, he established trade partnerships with various forces in the East China Sea region, but the contracts were only for five years. This was because those forces agreed only because of Apu's influence, and they were unsure whether the cooperation would be profitable enough, so they set up short-term contracts to see how it would go.

Although the Hunyuan Sect has gained some fame, its strength is still somewhat lacking compared to the Yunxing Merchant Guild and the Yushou Sect, with whom they have long-term cooperation.

However, a few years later, Hunyuan Sect not only completely took over the market share they had given them, but also made more profit than Yunxing Merchant Guild and Yushou Sect, about 20% higher.

The reason for the much higher price is twofold: first, Song Xian voluntarily reduced his profit margin and offered a higher price; second, he assumed responsibility for the collection and transportation of the goods and related costs.

This year marks the sixth year of cooperation between the two parties. Therefore, Song Xian sent Xiao Ling to the East China Sea region to discuss the renewal of the contract with the disciples in charge of external affairs of those major forces, and instructed them to try to secure more cooperation.

This newly signed cooperation document shows that they are quite efficient in their work, not only continuing the previous cooperative industries but also adding many new cooperative items.

Of course, the reason things went so smoothly was that both parties had made enough profit from their cooperation over the past few years. With money to be made, naturally no one would refuse to continue the cooperation.

“Yes, the Tenglong Sect owns the largest purple clay stone mine and golden feather wood forest in the East China Sea. Previously, they sold their goods directly to the Beast Taming Sect, but because we offered a higher price, they are willing to supply us with 10% of their goods,” Xiao Ling replied.

“This is not good.” Song Xian shook his head: “Cross this out. Whether it’s the Tenglong Sect or other forces in the East China Sea, we should not touch any of the Beast Taming Sect’s businesses. We shouldn’t let the Beast Taming Sect think that we’ve grown too powerful and are starting to compete with them for things.”

"Yes, then I'll go to Donghai District again and renegotiate with them."

Song Xian continued to review the preliminary draft of the contract and offered some suggestions on its general direction.

.........

Just as the two were discussing, a secret plot was also taking place in a remote mountain forest in Bianxi City. "It's been several years already. A few days ago, Uncle Song summoned me again to inquire about the progress and asked us to close the net as soon as possible. How are your preparations going?" The elderly man with slightly graying temples and a thin figure looked at the still charming middle-aged woman with a solemn expression.

"The risk of closing the net now is still very high, and I don't have absolute certainty."

"You don't need to worry about anything else. You only need to do one thing: tell Lin Xingyu that the Hunyuan Sect's Surveillance Hall has discovered his embezzlement of a large amount of the sect's military equipment inventory, and tell him to flee immediately."

“Even if he wanted to escape, he would definitely meet with George Lam first and discuss it with him before making a decision. Wouldn’t that expose the whole thing?”

"Therefore, you can't let him see George Lam before he escapes. Find a day when George Lam is not around, then invite him out, and then suddenly tell him about it. In the rush, he won't have time to think, and you will have the opportunity to persuade him to escape."

"Okay! I'll give it a try."

……

……

The bright moon hangs high in the sky, and the starlight falls like rain.

The spirit ship, fluttering the banner of the Hunyuan Sect, sped through the air, with rows of huge wooden crates neatly arranged on its deck.

Beside the ship's side, two men dressed in the attire of the Hunyuan Sect were chatting idly when suddenly, two enormous crimson beams of light rose from the forest below and struck the light screen of the spirit ship.

With a loud 'bang', the defensive light barrier on the spirit ship twisted and deformed under the attack of the light pillar, and the golden runes on it were annihilated one by one.

"What's going on?" A middle-aged man with thick eyebrows and big eyes emerged from inside the cabin of the spirit ship.

"Uncle-Master, the spirit ship has been attacked by an unknown force."

As soon as the disciple beside him finished speaking, several streaks of light rose from below, revealing the figures of three cultivators in robes and armor. Without saying a word, they each unleashed their spells to strike the spirit ship.

The man with thick eyebrows and big eyes suddenly changed color, because the spiritual energy aura of the three of them had all reached the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

The next moment, the spirit ship shook violently, and the defensive light barrier shattered after a short while under the attack of the three.

The residual power of the three people's magic affected the spirit ship, and immediately, amidst flying debris, the spirit ship capsized.

"Go!" the middle-aged man shouted, his figure transforming into a streak of light as he fled north, towards the gap left by the three men's encirclement.

The other disciples also jumped off the spirit ship and fled north.

Seeing him disappear into the distance, the three robed and armed cultivators did not pursue him. The leader extended a finger and shot out a black water column, which struck a Hunyuan Sect disciple who was fleeing on a magical artifact.

The disciple was enveloped in a circular, earthen-yellow shield formed from a low-grade second-tier talisman, but it shattered like tofu before the black water column. The black water column continued its momentum, piercing through his abdomen. With a scream, the disciple plummeted to the ground.

"I'll spare your life, but go and tell them: don't be too greedy, and don't touch things that aren't yours."

……

……

"How are you? Are you injured?" In the spacious and bright hall, after listening to Yang Shen's report, Song Xian remained silent for a while before speaking. He did not ask whether the escorted goods had been saved, nor did he ask about the identity and background of the attackers. Instead, he was concerned about the physical condition of the person in front of him.

This moved Yang Shen, but also made him feel ashamed. He quickly explained, "I was not injured. There were three of them, all of whom were mid-Foundation Establishment cultivators. I knew I was outnumbered and no match for them, so I fled the spirit ship. I failed in my duty, please punish me, Sect Leader."

"It's not your fault. The best news is that you're back safely. Losing the cargo is just a financial loss, and we can just buy another funeral ship. People are the most important thing."

Song Xian comforted him, saying that Yang Shen was originally his disciple and a reliable and honest person. Besides, this was not Yang Shen's fault, so he would not blame him.

"Who do you think those three Foundation Establishment cultivators in robes and carrying swords are?"

Without hesitation, Yang Shen replied, "We were ambushed in Far East Town. After I escaped, they completely ignored me, which means they weren't after people. Unless we use a spirit ship, those goods can't be transported away."

"Besides, that thing is only worth less than 200,000 spirit stones. It's not worth three Foundation Establishment cultivators risking offending our sect to rob it. So I'm certain they must be disciples of some sect or force."

"Within Xijiang County, there are only three forces that can send out three mid-Foundation Establishment cultivators at once: Mingyue Sect, Yunxing Merchant Guild, and Beast Taming Sect."

“We haven’t offended the Beast Taming Sect, and they don’t need to resort to such methods. Apart from them, there are only the Bright Moon Sect and the Cloud Travel Merchant Guild.”

"Given that this batch of goods was originally intended for the Yunxing Chamber of Commerce, I think it's highly likely to be them, but we can't rule out the possibility that someone is trying to stir up trouble and create conflict."

(End of this chapter)