Beiyuan Manor in Dangguan County is Zhao Ci’s private estate. Behind it, nestled against the mountains, is a garden-style building complex, serving as the base for the sorcerers of the Huailin Lineage. It typically only accommodates people from within the Magic Sect, and Zhao Ci lives here as well.
This lifestyle is very convenient and comfortable. If he wants sothing to eat, he can just have the restaurant prepare it and send it over, without the need to order takeout. Cleaning, tidying up, and doing laundry can all be taken care of by hotel room service.
After returning from Phoenix Tail Town, Zhao Ci didn’t show any unusual behavior on the surface. He appeared like a successful person enjoying life, sipping tea in the garden and occasionally playing cards and drinking with local friends.
He almost organized drinking parties every day. In a small county with plenty of leisure ti, as long as one had so economic ans and a wide social circle, it was easy to set up various drinking gatherings, indulging daily in eating, drinking, and idle chats.
Zhao Ci couldn’t be considered an alcoholic, especially since he had an excellent tolerance for alcohol, rarely getting drunk. However, those familiar with him, including the staff at this hotel, noticed his change, and it seed significant.
In the past, Boss Zhao was a very busy, diligent person with a prominent background, and sowhat looked down on managing local relations in this small county. He often traveled, reportedly to inspect and discuss various projects in different places.
But to the ordinary people around him, this change seed like a good thing. As a wealthy heir in a small county, managing a stable estate and cultivating local connections ensured a leisurely life free from financial worries, as long as he didn’t venture into reckless entrepreneurship.
He recently took up a small hobby that wasn’t very good, going hunting in the mountains every few days. This is a risky activity, not only with legal risks but also personal dangers.
The area is located in the Dabashan Mountain Area, where the ecological environnt has recovered quite well in recent years, with various wildlife frequently appearing. Zhao Ci used his connections to obtain a hunting license.
The hunting license specified the ti, location, species, and number of ga allowed, mainly targeting overpopulated wild boars, preventing illegal hunting in protected areas.
Zhao Ci clearly didn’t always follow the rules; not far behind Beiyuan Manor lies the range of an ecological protection zone. He would occasionally go there to bring back so ga, have the restaurant process it, and invite friends to taste it.
Although these were private and secretive activities, the participants at these drinking parties included local departnt officials. In the county, many matters could be smoothed over with Zhao Ci’s background, but if reported, it could still beco troubleso.
The more important issue is that hunting in the mountains isn’t safe. What if a wild boar attacked him?
To the sorcerers around him, these were clearly signs of despair after losing hope for progress, but they found it hard to offer advice, primarily because they didn’t know how to bring it up, wishing only for his self-recovery.
Those who hadn’t liked him for a long ti took this opportunity to watch him in secret, finding amusent in his plight.
In recent days, only his junior apprentice Qiu Yuelin and his master Zheng Yisi found opportunities to persuade him. But Zhao Ci’s response left them helpless: "I have been indefinitely sealed in my cultivation. In this situation, this is the normal life I should live, right?"
Zheng Yisi: "You’ve only been sealed in cultivation, not stripped of it. You shouldn’t neglect your cultivation."
Zhao Ci: "I haven’t given up on cultivation, but in this situation, arduous cultivation without visible results is counterproductive. Living a relaxed life is better."
Qiu Yuelin also advised, "In this situation, senior brother should perform well to strive for an early unsealing. That’s the important thing."
Zhao Ci sighed and asked, "This is the punishnt from the Ancestral Hall. Can you tell what I should do to demonstrate good behavior? How can I show them that I sincerely repent rather than holding onto resentnt?
Let things take their natural course!"
He Kao observed all this silently, thinking to himself that Zhao Ci really has a knack for acting, accurately capturing the mindset of hiding a trace of reluctance amidst despair, totally natural without exaggeration.
He Kao had two unique ways of spying, firstly through Primordial Spirit Travel, no need to elaborate, essentially using the Shadow Mirror to view mirror reflections.
This required He Kao to stealthily get within visual range beforehand, using a mirror to reflect a specific area, for instance, he usually chose Zhao Ci’s residence’s living room.
So when he activated the Shadow Mirror, it would show the scene of that area. If Zhao Ci appeared there, he could of course observe him, along with anyone else present there.
The special aspect of the Shadow Mirror is the feeling that it can see through disguises and transformations, recognizing various divine qi, life energy patterns, and thereby deducing their cultivation.
Assessing cultivation realms through the Shadow Mirror isn’t highly accurate, and it requires certain experience... but once you know the conclusions, it becos clearer to see.
For instance, He Kao could discern that Zhao Ci’s cultivation and magical power were continuously sealed. According to Elder Jiang’s thod, He Kao could unlock his seal remotely at any ti.
Locking onto the Shadow Mirror for long-distance spellcasting is the most powerful application of the Shadow Mirror, but He Kao would never use it lightly because once employed, it would be discovered by the other party.
Actually, even without long-distance spellcasting, rely locking onto the Shadow Mirror might be detected by the other party.
It’s not that the other party directly realizes it, but rather a vague spiritual sense or instinctive intuition that gives them the feeling of being watched.
He Kao also conducted experints with i Wenhua, Lan Jiwan, Qian Guran, Ye Liangcheng, Xiaopang, Gao Xue’e, and that group of sorcerers at Chuanyue Manor, as well as with ordinary people around him.
It turns out that the higher the cultivation, the sharper the perception, although there are individual differences.
For example, Lan Jiwan, though only a Tier Four Cultivator, has reactions nearly as keen as those of Tier Five Cultivator i Wenhua. This might relate to her inherent traits and experiences, as she is always very alert, and to the secret arts she practices.
Lan Jiwan initially began her cultivation journey with the Micro-Entry Skill and later beca a Tier Four Artisan, but now she has completely switched to cultivating the Insect Concealnt Skill.
Cultivators of the Hidden E Technique generally display greater sensory abilities in this aspect compared to Sorcerers from other Sects, perhaps due to the Hidden E Technique’s inherent proficiency in stealth and espionage.
As long as He Kao isn’t deliberately observing, it’s usually hard for low-tier sorcerers to notice, but Xiaopang is an exception.
Despite Xiaopang having only a re Tier One Cultivation, when He Kao slightly prolonged his observation through a Shadow Mirror, Xiaopang would sense that sothing was amiss and instinctively start being more vigilant of his surroundings... perhaps due to his past with the Hidden Moth Sect.
Oh, by the way, during this ti, Xiaopang happened to break through to a Tier Two Cultivation, becoming an Acupuncture Client of the Observing Body Sect!
In contrast to Xiaopang is Xiaowu. He Kao also took ti to secretly "visit" him, and after observing through the Shadow Mirror for half a day, the Tier Three Appraiser, Wu Yanjun, felt nothing—truly big-hearted!
As for i Guyu... well, He Kao didn’t dare to experint with her in secret.
Thus, when He Kao was "monitoring" Zhao Ci, if any High-tier Cultivator like Qiu Yuelin or Zheng Yisi appeared in the scene, he would quickly put away the Shadow Mirror.
Zheng Yisi reached Tier Five Cultivation years ago. Qiu Yuelin, aged twenty-nine, only two years older than He Kao, already boasts Tier Four Perfection Cultivation. According to He Kao’s observations, her breakthrough to Tier Five isn’t far off.
Qiu Yuelin is a disciple of one of Zhao Ci’s martial uncles and belongs to the Huailin Lineage... there sure are many High-tier Sorcerers in the Observing Body Sect.
The Shadow Mirror can not only lock onto an area but also a specific target appearing in the mirror, allowing the observed scene to follow the target, as long as it doesn’t exceed a certain distance.
For He Kao, this distance is about twenty kiloters, which is quite far and well beyond the limits of his Divine Sense alone.
When "monitoring" Zhao Ci, He Kao needs only to take a peek from ti to ti. Even if the Xiao Alliance hears of this and wants to secretly recruit or win over, it would require so observation and probing; imdiate results are impossible.
He Kao has other tasks, such as connecting with Mr. Mi, but that waits on notification mainly from Elder Li of the Ancestral Hall. For him personally, addressing the internal issues of the Hidden Moth Sect remains a top priority.
If Elder Jiang’s judgnt is correct, the mysterious person who broke through to Tier Four Cultivation in the Hidden E Technique is Xiaowu’s master, Zhang Yanfei. What should He Kao do?
In fact, Li Xiuyuan had already hinted to him—the Magic Sect already has a ready path!
He Kao, as the current Sect Leader of the Hidden Moth Sect, if he acknowledges this identity, must enforce the Sect Rules of the Hidden Moth Sect. Anyone who advances the Insect Concealnt Skill to that tier will feel the call of the Floating Colors Grotto Heaven.
The inheritance and karma left by the ancestors is not the private possession of anyone.
The Sect Leader and the top echelon of the Hidden Moth Sect must not, out of personal motives, repel or refuse others but should instead create conditions to welco newcors. The recent announcents from the Ancestral Hall demonstrate this attitude.
As for after welcoming newcors, what the Sect can and should do is verify their past actions. If they have engaged in prohibited conduct, they must be dealt with according to the Sect Rules.
But if no prohibited misconduct from their past can be found, and they request to return to the Sect, no one can refuse, and they must hold a Secondary Inheritance ritual for them.
If it is verified that their past actions involved prohibited conduct, they will be punished according to the Sect Rules, but if it doesn’t reach the level of expulsion, their request to return to the Sect cannot be blocked.
If it doesn’t reach the "Ban on Teaching" level, or if the term of their Ban on Teaching penalty has ended, they must also be given a Secondary Inheritance ritual.
Thus, regardless of any concerns He Kao may have, he must welco Zhang Yanfei. Whether the other party is willing to co is another matter. At this point, he can no longer keep the Grotto Heaven Gate sealed.
The day after returning to Qi Yuan, He Kao hung the "Tan Xian’s Walking Stick Painting." The location was still the abandoned Joy Valley amusent park, and the ti was from three to five in the morning.
The exact location for hanging the scroll was the indoor comrcial street at the center of the amusent park. He himself hid in another nearby building, observing through a Shadow Mirror.
The first day, no one ca, nor did he discover anything else.
On the second day, still no one ca, but just before four-thirty in the morning, He Kao noticed through the Shadow Mirror a seemingly transparent silhouette quietly drifting into the indoor comrcial street.
**
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