Hidden Moth-Chapter 556 - 316: Dust and Smoke Scenery in Phoenix Village (Part 2)

If Phoenix Tail Town High School really gets closed, the children here will have to go to the distant county to stay in school.

The above situation has been introduced by Old Man Jiang through Divine Thought while riding his tricycle, and some judgments were made by He Kao through observations along the way. Despite riding quickly, they arrived at the Ancestral Hall at seven in the morning already.

The sky was already bright, and the surrounding area was encircled by mountains, nearly identical to the landscape seen in Grotto Heaven, giving a vague sense of traversing worlds.

But bringing the gaze back to the present reveals a vibrant town, returning to the human realm filled with the scent of daily life.

The architectural form of the Ancestral Hall is similar to the Ancestral Hall of various sects. Only "Ancestral Hall" is engraved on the lintel, with a large open space in front serving as the gathering ground for the town.

On every 1st and 15th of the lunar month, it’s the market day for the villages in Phoenix Tail Town, postponed in case of rain or snow, with specific dates notified by the township government to each village.

The Ancestral Hall hadn’t opened yet; Jiang Daozhen didn’t knock on the door but instead used Divine Thought to notify them briefly, and immediately someone opened the door to let them in.

The hallway and main courtyard are connected by a landscape screen, with a large full-length mirror right in the center, reflecting the figures and faces of the visitors.

The name of the usher is quite amusing; it’s Lu Xiaoji. He’s a Tier Four Government Official from the Qi Observation Sect, a student and Direct Disciple of Elder Zong, currently on duty at the Ancestral Hall during this period.

Lu Xiaoji smiled and introduced to He Kao that this mirror has been placed here since ancient times, and it’s a Heritage Treasure known as the Demon-Revealing Mirror.

The Demon-Revealing Mirror doesn’t have other mystical uses; as the name implies, it can uncover all illusory disguises in the world, theoretically also able to reveal the original form of demons transformed into human-like appearances.

He Kao also laughed and asked, "How many demons’ traces has it ever revealed?"

Lu Xiaoji: "There are no demons or ghosts in this world."

He Kao: "Then what did the ancestral master leave this mirror for?"

Lu Xiaoji whispered, "The intention of the ancestral master is beyond my guess; maybe he just wanted to see whether there are any demons in this world... Anyway, if there are, it will reveal them." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

At this moment, Jiang Daozhen used Divine Thought to secretly say, "This mirror can not only reveal demons but also any disguise. For example, your Hidden Moth Gauze here doesn’t work; even if you transform into someone else’s appearance, your true form is still reflected in the mirror."

Ah, so that’s it. This is also a warning for He Kao that the transformation technique of Hidden Moth Gauze isn’t foolproof, especially at the entrance of the Ancestral Hall where it doesn’t work.

This way, no one could impersonate He Kao to come here to claim the Pure Yang Pill... Of course, even without this mirror, no one should be able to exploit this loophole.

They didn’t head to the main hall of the second courtyard but took a turn to the side courtyard on the left of the first courtyard. He Kao used Divine Sense to roughly scan, discovering that the flowers here were almost all various rare Spirit Plants, and the entire Ancestral Hall was covered by a Guardian Array.

A plaque bearing the name "Qi Wu Studio" hung on a building in the side courtyard. Li Xiuyuan was unexpectedly sitting inside, beside a white-faced, beardless elder wearing glasses, looking just like an old learned scholar.

Seeing them, Li Xiuyuan cheerfully stood up and said, "Xiao Kao, you finally came!"

He Kao quickly went forward to greet them. Li Xiuyuan introduced the elder beside him, who was currently the Sect Leader of Qi Observation Sect, Elder of Ancestral Hall, village director of Cai Ping Village outside the mountains, former township leader of Phoenix Tail Town, and previous headmaster of the middle school - Zong Zheng.

This Elder Zong had once served as a township leader, then surprisingly went on to become the village director; can officials really become smaller in rank? Such actions of high-ranking individuals indeed cannot be judged by common sense...

He Kao hurriedly went forward again to pay respects to Elder Zong. Zong Zheng adjusted the glasses on his nose with his fingers, showing great interest in examining him, and with a smile, said, "I’ve often heard your name over the past two years, and finally get to see you in person today!"

Jiang Daozhen seriously said beside them: "Jianghu Wanderer He Kao has come to the Ancestral Hall to claim the Pure Yang Pill, including the Peony and the method of taking them; I just brought him over to recognize the place."

Zong Zheng listened with twitching corners of the mouth, almost unable to keep a straight face, even He Kao was stunned for a moment before reacting.

Old Man Jiang spoke the words "Jianghu Wanderer" particularly clearly, making He Kao realize that his current public identity is not yet that of a Magic Sect Disciple; if he has no cultivation, he is a Guest of Fate, if he has cultivation, he is a Loose Cultivator.

He Kao’s Magic Sect tutelage mainly comes from Jiang Daozhen, with contributions from Gu Chun and Li Xiuyuan. Now all three elders treat him as a Secret Disciple, with formal records stored in their respective sects.

Doing so also serves as protection for He Kao; should He Kao ever get involved in unforeseen events hard to explain, any elder can directly open the records to endorse He Kao’s identity, showing he already was their Secret Disciple.

But before such a matter occurs, strictly speaking, He Kao really is a Jianghu Wanderer.

Today, both Jiang Daozhen and Li Xiuyuan are present, somewhat endorsing He Kao’s identity, proving he’s not an impersonator. He Kao successfully received a Pure Yang Pill and Peony and also received a Divine Thought from Elder Zong, explaining the method of taking them in detail.

Elder Zong also kindly asked, "I wonder if He Xiaoyou has broken through Tier Five in his cultivation? Do you need someone to coordinate taking the pill, if you require it, perhaps..."

Jiang Daozhen waved to interrupt, saying: "The teacher doesn’t need to worry, I’ve arranged all of this."

While talking, another person came to knock on the door to pay respects; it was Zheng Yisi, looking middle-aged but already seventy years old. He heard Elder Jiang brought He Kao here and quickly came to inquire about the situation.

When punishing Zhao Ci, it must gain approval from both Jiang Daozhen and He Kao, so there was great need for communication.

Upon entering, Zheng Yisi introduced himself and expressed apologies to Jiang Daozhen and He Kao, reviewing his misstep in supervision and promising stricter disciple conduct in the future, also saying Zhao Ci had sincerely repented and so on.

Elder Zong then stated, "Since Elder Jiang is already here, we’ll have a closed meeting to discuss how to punish Zhao Ci. The result should be ready before lunch, just wait for the notification."

Zheng Yisi: "Wasn’t it said we should wait for all elders to gather before deciding?"

Elder Zong: "Other elders can vote online." Then asked He Kao, "He Xiaoyou, as this matter is related to you, do you have any opinions?"

He Kao, having met Zhao Sanjin before, already had a grasp of things, lowered his head and said: "I have no other opinions, leave it to the Ancestral Hall to decide according to the rules."

Turns out it really wasn’t necessary to gather all the elders, online voting works too? Elder Zong waved again: "It’s He Xiaoyou’s first time at Phoenix Tail Town. Junior Brother Zheng, accompany him outside for a walk, have a meal and buy some local specialties."

The old man thought again and reminded, "He Kao still carries the Pure Yang Pill he just got, keep an eye on him, don’t let anyone steal or rob it."

Zheng Yisi also listened with twitching corners of his mouth; this is Phoenix Tail Town, at the gate of the Ancestral Hall. Who would dare to steal or rob He Kao’s Pure Yang Pill? Are they courting death?

**