Hidden Moth-Chapter 466 - 264: Gentle Breezes and Ivy Paths Enter the Palace Curtains

Chapter 466: Chapter 264: Gentle Breezes and Ivy Paths Enter the Palace Curtains

It’s just a screen name used twenty years ago, which isn’t solid evidence, but such a clue certainly can’t be dismissed as a coincidence and should be investigated.

He Kao frowned and said, "Xing Rui returned to the sect fifteen years ago and now serves as the steward of the Alchemy Sect. Between her and Zhang Jin Kui, you must know whom to trust more."

Li Xiuyuan could naturally read between the lines of these words. He smiled slightly and said, "Zhang Jin Kui doesn’t understand the situation of the Magic Sect, nor has he heard of Xing Rui.

I just discovered a clue based on the information he provided. Since there is a discovery, it cannot be ignored; otherwise, any problem will fall on me.

Additionally, let me tell you, Xing Rui is actually a descendant of the Jianji Palace..."

After Xing Rui returned to the sect back then, it was verified through the Magic Sect’s investigation that her grandmaster also cultivated in Jianji Palace, and later went to another Taoist temple, where her master was a disciple.

Historically, many Magic Sect disciples cultivated in Jianji Palace, not just descendants of the Xingshen Sect. After Jianji Palace was abandoned, these sorcerers dispersed, leaving descendants in the Jianghu.

When Xing Rui returned to the sect fifteen years ago, verifying her past behavior should have been a task for the Alchemy Sect, so why was Li Xiuyuan secretly asked to assist?

On one hand, the techniques mastered by the Xingshen Sect cultivators make many investigations convenient; on the other, her lineage could also be traced back to the Jianji Palace lineage.

No outsiders were privy to this conversation between the elder and the younger, so no one knew what Li Xiuyuan needed He Kao to help with this time. However, before leaving, Li Xiuyuan entrusted He Kao with another task.

That day in the orthopedics clinic of Chang’an Residence, Li Xiuyuan had first sent He Kao away and then talked alone with Chang’an Residence for a long time.

He told Chang’an Residence about the mysterious cultivator "Huo Qing" he encountered in Sawa Country, other than the content reported to the information office of the Ancestral Hall, and emphasized the need for future confidentiality.

Chang’an Residence was not surprised by this, remembering that Huo Qing had told him that his appearance in Sawa Country was due to a secret mission for the Ancestral Hall, hence his identity couldn’t be disclosed.

But Li Xiuyuan further advised Chang’an Residence that Huo Qing is someone absolutely trustworthy, and if encountered again in the future, related matters should also be kept confidential.

Why would he offer such counsel? The implication is clear—should He Kao ever encounter a situation requiring the Hidden Moth identity, he could seek help from Chang’an Residence.

Gu Chun, upon discovering Lan Jiwan back then, handed the matter over to He Kao, intending for him to recruit her as part of his retinue; as the sect leader of Hidden Moth Sect, he can’t always be a loner.

Li Xiuyuan possibly harbors the same thought for Chang’an Residence, though the approach differs due to varying circumstances.

The next day, returning to the office, Manager Gao had taken a week off, leaving Deputy Manager Huang temporarily in charge of department affairs. Meanwhile, Mei Guyu from next door was also back at work, appearing no different than usual.

He Kao didn’t go to the cafeteria for lunch, appearing busy at his desk. When colleagues inquired, he claimed he was dieting... After work, he went home as usual, entered a secret chamber on the third floor, closed the door, and then crossed over to the Floating Colors Grotto Heaven.

Sitting at the entrance of the Immortal Pot Residence, feet dangling over the cliff, he fiddled with the Celestial Palace Curtain hanging beside him, gazing at the star-studded night sky, feeling that cultivation should be this mundane yet unrestrained.

Yet a handful of people just love to stir up trouble!

As night deepened, He Kao returned inside the Immortal Pot Residence, brewed a pot of tea and consumed a Jade Phoenix Tree Seed. His figure vanished on the spot, and in the next moment, he appeared at Dragon Scale Slope, where he’d been the night before.

He quietly used the Stealth Skill to descend the mountain, then combined it with the Heart Plate Sect’s Earth-Traveling Skill, traversing through undulating mountains and forests without even startling the roosting birds, reaching nearby Immortal Pot Plateau.

Immortal Pot Plateau is a basin surrounded by mountains, less than a kilometer in size. There’s a natural village here called Immortal Bottle Village, with a registered population of over eight hundred.

The Alchemy Sect’s Immortal Pot Grotto Heaven is just behind the village, and in the nearby mountains lies a natural cave mansion, known as Immortal Pot Residence. Since the topography of the Eight Great Magic Sect Grotto Heavens mirrors Phoenix Tail Town in reality, each grotto heaven houses its own Immortal Pot Residence.

For ordinary people to reach Immortal Bottle Village, they must enter Phoenix Tail Town through a mountain valley via the highway, then head east through three tunnels, passing two other natural villages.

Historically, this place was nearly isolated from the world, but now transportation is convenient; cars can directly enter the village, which is equipped with water, electricity, and internet.

These tunnels were only opened in the last few decades.

He Kao didn’t take the highway tonight but approached from the northern mountains. His greatest advantage is his ability to teleport within the range of his Divine Sense, leaving almost no trace.

Immortal Bottle Village is beautifully maintained; nearly every household consists of quaint two-story buildings, distributed in a staggered manner, equipped with all sorts of modern conveniences.

As an Alchemy Sect steward, Xing Rui also has a residence in Immortal Bottle Village, a farmhouse at the edge of the village encircled by a bamboo fence; a plaque hangs on the gate with the inscription "Xingrui Residence."

This steward titles herself as Layman Xingrui, naming her place Xingrui Residence, which sounds like a café but looks like an agritourism lodge. On the second floor of Xingrui Residence, there’s a large terrace with patio furniture.

The edge of the terrace was lined with bricks and filled with soil, planted with a circle of vine plants that hung down perfectly in front of the first-floor windows, blocking the view from outside.

He Kao stopped in the mountains a kilometer away from the village. There are experts within the Immortal Bottle Village, more than one high-tier sorcerer, and Xing Rui is a Tier Five Medicine Gatherer from the Alchemy Sect, getting too close would easily lead to detection.

He Kao performed the Primordial Spirit Traveling Skill, drifting from high above to the top of the Immortal Bottle Village.

The range of Primordial Spirit Travel is limited to the extent of Divine Sense, so what is the difference between the two? Since Divine Sense can reach the area, why bother floating over like a ghost?

The difference is quite obvious; if you directly probe with Divine Sense, it’s like extending an invisible hand to "touch," and when you "touch" the opposite side, if they also possess Divine Sense, they will sense it too.

Primordial Spirit Travel allows for undetected exploration unless the opponent deliberately uses some method to actively probe, but He Kao must also maintain a state of "observing without thinking," and it is best not to get too close.

At this moment, he floated in mid-air, overlooking the entire Immortal Bottle Village, just like a deity looking down from three hundred feet above. He Kao did not realize that his courage had somehow grown so bold, daring to explore the village at night!

Of course, this was somewhat due to Elder Li backing him up.

Then he saw four people walking out from the tunnel, not alerting the other villagers, and directly headed to Xingrui Residence. The Immortal Bottle Village has two tunnels, one leading west to Yu Jing Village, and the other east to the farther Cloud Ascension Village.

These people came out from the western tunnel, which was also in the direction of the township government, led by Li Xiuyuan, followed by two men and one woman, but He Kao only recognized one, Wan Zhongle.

Wan Zhongle is also one of the stewards of the Alchemy Sect. In October two years ago, in Qi Yuan, he had his leg broken and was punished with a one-year banishment. Now his leg is healed, and the punishment ended half a year ago.

They came to find Xing Rui, since suspicious clues have been discovered, they cannot turn a blind eye. But for someone like Xing Rui, who has contributed to the Magic Sect for many years, it is inappropriate to secretly deal with her, the best way is to communicate directly face-to-face.

The most suitable ones for such tasks are the high-tier sorcerers from the Xingshen Sect or the Qi Observation Sect. Due to Xing Rui’s status, Elder Li came personally, and by the rules of the Ancestral Hall, he brought three stewards.

People from the Alchemy Sect must be present, so it was Wan Zhongle, the other two stewards came from the Qi Observation Sect and the Lingxi Sect respectively.

Xing Rui was already waiting for them in the hall, and after the door was closed, outsiders were not privy to what was discussed inside. He Kao also descended to a closer height nearby, quickly drifted around and then slowly hovered to observe.

Elder Li did not specifically instruct him to probe anyone, just told him to see if there’s anything notable around?

Yin Spirit is invisible, allowing him to penetrate walls to enter various houses, but he cannot do so easily, because he might be detected. Moreover, some houses in the village he cannot enter, not even the courtyards.

Those places probably have arrays set up, capable of blocking or interfering with Divine Sense, and also able to restrict the Yin Spirit... let’s call it Yin Spirit.

He drifted like this for quite a long time and saw no movement from Xingrui Residence, perhaps out of curiosity, He Kao stealthily crossed the bamboo fence into the courtyard, trying to approach from the side of the house, but found himself blocked.

The Yin Spirit encountered some kind of interference, emanating from the vines hanging down from the terrace... they have planted Celestial Palace Curtain here as well.

Celestial Palace Curtain is a type of spirit plant, demanding strict growth conditions. Surely Steward Xing Rui has her own cultivation method. It is one of the raw materials for refining Awakening Incense, but only plants over a hundred years old, with still vigorous vitality, meet the requirements.

The tendrils of Celestial Palace Curtain here are very slender, with an age of no more than a decade, of course not meeting the requirements for refining Awakening Incense, yet able to confuse Divine Sense.

Celestial Palace Curtain sheds its leaves in winter, but Xing Rui had also haphazardly planted another vine plant resembling green pothos, thriving with lush green leaves during this season, blocking off distant views from the outside.

With may be unclear to see and difficult to pass through, He Kao had no real solution.

Unexpectedly seeing Celestial Palace Curtain here, He Kao couldn’t help but recall the incident yesterday at Floating Colors Grotto Heaven, aiding the palace curtain in "consuming" a Spirit Awakening Pill.

The scene at that time was somewhat similar to when he helped Lan Jiwan remove poison, Divine Sense also infiltrated the texture of the vine body. He Kao did not know what twig was playing, suddenly had another idea, since Divine Sense can infiltrate the vine body, can the Yin Spirit drill inside?

It is to drill in, rather than penetrate through, akin to "transference," what would it feel like?

Remembering the novel Zhang Jin Kui introduced to him, there was also mention of cultivating Yin Spirit, supposedly allowing for temporary transference during Yin Spirit Travel.

That technically can’t be called transference, more suitable to be termed as transference, just temporarily entrusting the Yin Spirit to another body, if the transference target becomes aware, the Yin Spirit can easily be ejected.

But Celestial Palace Curtain does not have consciousness! With this thought, he could not hold back, and the Yin Spirit, like smoke, indeed drilled into a vine.

Yin Spirit Transmigration is another divine technique transformation of the Insect Concealment Skill. However, there was no description of this applied technique in the Technique from the secondary inheritance of Hidden Moth Grotto Heaven.

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