Hidden Moth-Chapter 411 - 229: Once Longed to Find Demons and Monsters in Vain
Some say desire is the root of suffering, but it is also the source of happiness. Without desire, life loses its meaning.
The desire to restrain desire is itself a form of desire, such as the pursuit of "freedom from worry" by monks practicing abstinence. It just depends on how one chooses.
He Kao once only wanted to live well, free from so much unease and anxiety. In the past year, he has changed significantly, after all, he is now a high-tier Sorcerer.
Having mastered the Secret Technique, his life’s pursuit is naturally to achieve as high a level of cultivation as possible, perhaps even unraveling more mysteries of life and the world.
Gazing at the river view, He Kao once again let go of himself, quite literally—his consciousness left his body and, in a manner akin to Yin Spirit Travel, floated along the riverbank towards a nearby five-star hotel.
The newly mastered magical techniques still require practice to become proficient. In open areas without cover, his "Yin Spirit" can float a kilometer away, while the hotel was only a few hundred meters away, where Old Qian and Lawyer Yao were staying.
For someone of Qian Guran’s status, there was no need for Shi Haotu to arrange an apartment like he did for He Kao. He booked an executive suite at the five-star hotel and stayed there with Yao Shaolan.
The two were not yet asleep, sitting in the living room chatting; otherwise, He Kao wouldn’t have peeked, respecting the rule of not intruding.
Yao Shaolan was saying, "Xiao Kao thinks there are always troubles in Qi Yuan, so he asked you to assign him a long trip abroad, and ended up encountering even bigger issues... so-called karma can’t be avoided."
Qian Guran: "If I were him, I’d want some peace and quiet too. I thought the Huiming Shi Family had already calmed down, but then something like this happened, and even Steward Zou almost fell."
Yao Shaolan: "Xiao Kao is now jittery, having found a stranger Sorcerer at Qi Yuan Railway Station and needing to specifically remind you."
Qian Guran: "It’s prudent to be cautious. If you notice anything similar, you must promptly alert me as well."
From this conversation, one can hear how tight-lipped Old Qian is! The news of Mei Guyu going to work at the Qi Yuan Branch and the secret task assigned to him by the Ancestral Hall, he didn’t even tell Yao Shaolan.
Although they had clearly drunk wine at dinner, the two seemed still unsatisfied. After having two cups of tea at He Kao’s place, they returned to the hotel and opened a bottle of red wine, swirling it in goblets.
Qian Guran, talking while holding the wine glass, walked to the window, gazing across the Pearl River, when his face suddenly changed, and his eyes glinted sharply.
Yao Shaolan, noticing the change, also turned to look outside. The view was clear, but as Qian Guran’s gaze swept across, Yao Shaolan saw a fleeting apparition.
How to describe it, like suddenly seeing something when shining a flashlight in the dark, then it vanished into thin air, almost thinking it was an illusion.
Yao Shaolan exclaimed, "What was that?"
Qian Guran: "You saw it too? It felt like a silhouette."
Yao Shaolan got up and also came to the window, grabbing Qian Guran’s arm, saying: "It looks a bit like the legendary Yin Spirits and Ghosts."
Qian Guran: "But there are no demons or ghosts in this world; it might be a kind of surveillance magical technique."
Yao Shaolan: "Is someone secretly spying on us?"
Qian Guran: "It’s not surprising, especially after I disrupted Shi Yun Road’s plans. According to Steward Zou’s report, it was a trap set by a Jianghu Wanderer, as Shi Yun Road described Fabre.
Fabre has Tier Six Cultivation. When ambushing Steward Zou alongside an accomplice in Chong Guang, he was severely injured by Elder Gu... Perhaps he has accomplices in Nanhua secretly observing."
Yao Shaolan: "Did you sense any hostility? I didn’t feel any malice."
Qian Guran: "I didn’t sense hostility, only that the other seemed curious."
Yao Shaolan: "Since there’s no malice, it doesn’t match the background you mentioned."
Qian Guran frowned and said, "Which sect’s Sorcerer could control such magical techniques? I don’t seem to have heard of it."
Yao Shaolan: "You can’t possibly know all the Divine Techniques of the Magic Sects..." Pausing, she suddenly asked, "Could it be the Hidden Moth?"
This traceless skill resembles the legendary Hidden Moth. Qian Guran’s expression stiffened at her words, immediately warning: "Don’t speculate wildly, and never speak carelessly about the Hidden Moth!"
Lawyer Yao was indeed sensitive, inadvertently hitting the mark, yet she did not know He Kao was the Hidden Moth.
Qian Guran inadvertently revealed a crucial fact: this world has no demons or ghosts, appearing very materialistic. Yet the existence of magical techniques and Divine Techniques, without demons or ghosts, seems somewhat inconsistent.
After his entry into magical techniques, Qian Guran once aspired to cultivate divine techniques, to vanquish demons in the world. But later realizing that there were no demons to slay, he felt confused and disappointed.
Why aren’t there demons or ghosts? He asked his mentor in his early years and sought the advice of the Second Elder during his Secondary Inheritance at the beginning of the year. The answer was somewhat disheartening—there simply are none because no one has ever encountered them!
Not only him, but throughout history, the ancestors left no records of such matters...
Upon returning to his body, He Kao didn’t hear the latter part of their conversation; his body involuntarily broke into a cold sweat.
The last time at Qi Yuan Railway Station, after experiencing Divine Sense attacks from a stranger Sorcerer, he only felt a slight pinprick upon return. Now, his head felt as if pierced by needles, even somewhat dizzy.
The Qi Observation Skill is adept at observing people and has significant utility in specific scenarios, though always felt limited in power... He Kao truly realized just now that no magical technique is genuinely redundant.
Each magical technique inherently complements, opposes, and balances the others. It seems that the Qi Observation Skill can restrain the Insect Concealment Skill.
I recall at Qi Yuan Railway Station, He Kao wasn’t detected until he was sitting opposite the stranger Cultivator. But tonight, he was floating outside the window, several meters away from Old Qian, separated by a pane of glass, and he was discovered and attacked.
Even more surprising, Qian Guran’s Divine Techniques could actually "see" him!
Old Qian, sitting inside, might have sensed something; otherwise, why would he abruptly get up with his wine glass and walk to the window in the middle of the conversation? Suddenly, he cast a Technique!
That was the Spirit Suppressing Skill of the Qi Observation Sect, also humorously called Qi Field Shocking Skill. It is performed with the aid of Divine Sense and can target a single person or a large group. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖
For example, if a teacher knew this Technique, they could cough in a noisy classroom, and all the students would quiet down.
It doesn’t seem very useful for attacks, but it is mainly capable of weakening an opponent’s will, making them more persuadable or temporarily forget to refute and resist.
Unexpectedly, with just one glance from Old Qian, the Spirit Suppressing Skill almost harmed He Kao’s "Yin Spirit."
The consciousness, being incorporeal, certainly wouldn’t suffer any physical damage, but the loss of Divine Qi was significant, and He felt extremely fatigued. If this kind of loss exceeded a certain limit, it would truly damage the Primordial Spirit.
This caused He Kao to break out in a cold sweat. It seems that Consciousness Detachment is not omnipotent, and in the future, when performing such Divine Techniques, it’s best to stay away from sorcerers of the Qi Observation Sect.
He took out three sticks of Awakening Incense, lighting them in the room, and then began a sitting meditation for cultivation. While cultivating, he still had his consciousness detached but didn’t let it drift about, just hovered above his body.
The Awakening Incense was a pale green, and when burnt, left a pure white ash. The gases it emitted had no smoke, and the so-called "scent" was also colorless and odorless.
If someone could see He Kao’s Yin Spirit, they would notice that as the Awakening Incense burned, the colorless, odorless, and shapeless smoke drifted toward the area above He Kao’s body, making his detached consciousness more condensed.
Using the Awakening Incense for cultivation and recuperation, by the next day He Kao had mostly recovered, at least no longer feeling tired or dizzy, though he still seemed somewhat disheartened, like someone who had indulged in excess during the night.
He wasn’t actually injured, just in a bad mood. After all, he had been handled online yesterday, and also discovered that the new Divine Technique he had mastered had obvious weaknesses.
During the period that followed, He Kao restrained himself, refraining from reckless experiments in Consciousness Detachment and instead focused earnestly on cultivating. Yao Shaolan stayed in Nanhua for a week, completing the formalities for He Kao’s investment in the Huishiming Brand.
He Kao initially went on a business trip to provide on-site technical services, but ended up becoming a shareholder in the company. After transferring six million, he didn’t have much spare cash on hand, so he couldn’t afford any new equipment for the time being.
Fortunately, his monthly salary and travel allowances were sufficient for his personal expenses.
As for inviting Huang Xiaopang to serve as a director of the Huishiming Brand, He Kao specifically made contact with Lin Qingshuang and Mrs. Chen, and then discussed it with Xiaopang himself.
Huang Xiaopang hesitated for quite a few minutes before agreeing, and emphasized that this was only as a favor for He Kao.
Another week passed, and He Kao finally got good news. Elder Gu contacted him, saying he had acquired the Moth Wings and arranged to meet in Qi Yuan.
If someone else had asked to meet, He Kao would have had to buy a plane or high-speed train ticket to make an appearance, but with Elder Gu, there was no need to pretend. He directly used his Invisibility Ability to return to Qi Yuan and met at his family home in Pugang Town.
Elder Gu wasn’t formal at all. When He Kao appeared in the courtyard, the elder had already brewed tea in the main room and was leisurely sipping on it.
When he saw He Kao, he casually placed an item on the table, "This is the Moth Wings, put it on."
Although Moth Wings are an Invisible Artifact, it usually takes a tangible form; for instance, the Hidden Moth Gauze usually looks like an eye mask, while the Moth Wings look like two connected silver feathers, forming the shape of a bracelet.
The craftsmanship of this item seemed very exquisite, reminding He Kao of Steward Zou’s personal Magical Artifact, the Jade Locking Pillar, showing that this line of artifact refining follows a consistent style.
If He Kao wasn’t satisfied with this shape, he could refine it again to transform it into something else. For now, he didn’t need to bother and could just use it as is.
He Kao accepted the Moth Wings fondly and repeatedly thanked Gu Chun. Gu Chun smiled, "Now that you’ve broken through to Tier Four, as your senior, I should bestow you with an artifact.
You should become familiar with this Magical Artifact to avoid any accidents during use. Is there a suitable location where you can test it? I’ll protect you, in case you fall from the sky, I can catch you."
He Kao: "Yes, Caiping Grotto Heaven."
Gu Chun was sipping tea, when several drops suddenly spilled out of his cup. Putting the cup down, he said, "What, you’ve really found Caiping Grotto Heaven?"
He Kao: "You knew about Caiping Grotto Heaven too?"
Gu Chun: "It’s not that I knew, but Old Man Jiang speculated that since each of the Seven Great Magic Sects has a Grotto Heaven, then the Hidden Moth Sect should also have one, which might be called Caiping Grotto Heaven... I think the same."
He Kao: "Since you suspected this long ago, why only ask today?"
Gu Chun: "Because you only mentioned it today!"
It seemed that if He Kao didn’t want to talk about something, the elder wouldn’t press him. He Kao awkwardly said, "It’s not that I didn’t want to bring it up, but the previous two meetings were too rushed, with many other matters to address."
Gu Chun: "Never mind other matters, may I ask, where is Caiping Grotto Heaven located?"
He Kao: "It’s everywhere."
Gu Chun: "A random portal?"
He Kao: "You’re smart, guessed it right away. Let me take you inside for a look."
**
