Hidden Moth

As long as He Kao can make time, the Hidden Moth Sect holds a gathering once a week.

Unless there are unexpected circumstances, the meeting time is usually set for Saturday noon, and the venue is now often the Rest Garden Restaurant at the northeast corner of the Ancestral Hall, where the gathering is also a dinner.

He Kao, Lan Jiwan, Er Ji, Ye Liangchen, and Chang’an Residence, among others, set up a table of wine and dishes, mostly made from ingredients within the Grotto Heaven, with some vegetables personally grown by Ye Liangchen in an abandoned garden.

Everyone communicates and exchanges about life and cultivation matters, discussing sect tasks... Er Ji is a monk, but he’s not too picky and picks the vegetarian dishes to eat, like the tender sprouts in stir-fried shredded meat with sprouts.

With Er Ji around, He Kao feels much more at ease, as he manages most of the affairs within the Grotto Heaven, while some external liaison work is entrusted to Ye Liangchen and Chang’an Residence.

As for Lan Jiwan, she is part of the action group... Don’t be fooled by the limited members of the Hidden Moth Sect, they have quite a complete setup.

However, this noon, He Kao gathered everyone in the Central Hall to first announce a matter, appointing Er Chi as the Deputy Steward. In fact, this should have been done earlier, and today was just to formalize the procedure.

Usually, major magic sects are equipped with three stewards; since the Hidden Moth Sect has fewer people, they temporarily have only one, since there aren’t that many affairs. Why a deputy steward? Because Er Ji’s cultivation has not yet broken through Tier Five, as per the usual practice.

Then everyone thought it was time to start eating, and Ye Liangchen and Chang’an Residence were already thinking about going to cook. Unexpectedly, He Kao mentioned another matter; he needed to find two people: one must have Tier Four cultivation who can cast sealing techniques.

The other is a volunteer, with no restriction on cultivation level; the task is to have their cultivation sealed... because He Kao intends to personally attempt to unseal someone.

As soon as he finished speaking, Lan Jiwan raised her hand and said, "Me, I’ll be the volunteer! Let Senior Brother Er Ji seal my cultivation, and let Sect Leader Senior Brother unseal it for me!"

What’s the excitement about? Having your cultivation sealed is not a good thing, but it’s rare she is so enthusiastic and willing to contribute.

Let’s settle it like this, immediately in this great hall. Let Lan Jiwan relax her body and mind, and Er Ji applied the seal on her, a step that wasn’t overly complicated.

Then He Kao gestured and said, "You go ahead and eat, I’ll first unseal Junior Sister Lan."

Ye Liangchen: "We don’t have to start eating on time, we’ll wait for you. Sect Leader Senior Brother, how long will you need?"

He Kao: "It should take about an hour in theory, though since it’s my first time doing it personally, it might take a bit longer."

Unsealing a seal cast by others requires the Observing Body Skill to repeatedly sense and adjust the flow of meridians, and there must be no mistakes, hence a quiet and undisturbed environment is necessary.

Lan Jiwan suggested they go to He Kao’s residence in the Rest Garden, which can somewhat be seen as a Cave Mansion; it has a front hall, a back room, side chambers, and a small courtyard. Recently, Lan Jiwan helped Sect Leader Senior Brother with the interior arrangement and decoration.

While walking, He Kao asked with concern, "What does it feel like to have your cultivation sealed?"

Lan Jiwan tiptoed and said, "It feels like my hands and feet are tied, very uncomfortable and unadaptable..."

Uncomfortable? Judging by the brisk way Lan Jiwan was walking, she was clearly in a good mood.

As per the regulations of the Sect Ancestral Hall building complex, the northwest corner is usually called the Artifact Pavilion, and the northeast corner is usually called the Rest Garden. Now the walls and corridors of the Rest Garden have been built, allowing one to walk to various residences without an umbrella even on rainy days.

Upon arriving at He Kao’s residence, Lan Jiwan asked, "I’ve done some more arranging here lately, is Sect Leader Senior Brother satisfied?"

He Kao: "Couldn’t be more satisfied, if it were left to me, it wouldn’t be half as thoughtful and aesthetic as Junior Sister’s taste. Thank you! I feel like I’m sitting back and enjoying the benefits..."

Lan Jiwan pursed her lips and smiled, which was exactly what she was waiting for from He Kao’s compliment.

Not only was the house beautifully decorated, but the person was also quite attractively dressed.

She hadn’t put on makeup, just slightly trimmed her eyebrows, wearing a modernized version of an arrow-sleeved antique long skirt. The light and smooth black silk perfectly complemented her complexion and figure...

The back of the residence had a quiet room, perfect for casting to unseal the seal.

The specific method of sealing primarily involved controlling a few nodal points where meridians intersect, preventing the operation of divine qi and mana.

The simplest is the Three-Node Method, where these three nodes are interconnected to form a three-section meridian loop. If one forcefully attempts to operate mana to impact any node, the other two nodes would be damaged.

The most commonly used is the Five-Node Method, where each node is interconnected, increasing the affected meridian loops to ten sections, making the difficulty of unsealing almost rise by a magnitude. (Think of a triangle and pentagram)

He Kao found unsealing the seal smoother than expected, initially estimating it would take about an hour, but it was completed in half an hour. This was because Er Ji had applied the simplest Three-Node Method seal to Lan Jiwan.

Even to unseal such a simple Three-Node Method, He Kao had to remain constantly focused and carefully smooth Lan Jiwan’s meridians, without making a single mistake.

During this process, Lan Jiwan had to relax her body and mind to let He Kao’s mana infiltrate.

Doing this is extremely dangerous; if the other party harbored any ill intentions, the result could be grave injury or death. Even if there were no ill intentions, a slight distraction during casting could still cause harm to her.

Lan Jiwan, however, was already accustomed to this, as Sect Leader Senior Brother previously used Xue Guanghan to cast and detoxify her, a process quite similar, where the two had become quite practiced and didn’t even require much verbal instruction from He Kao.

After confirming the unseal, He Kao asked, "How do you feel?"

Lan Jiwan stretched her arms in a lazy arch, her chest pushing against her clothes, making her waist look slender and graceful, and she laughed, "It’s like breaking free from a cage and regaining freedom, thank you Sect Leader Senior Brother!"

He Kao was amused and said, "No need to thank me for that, it should be me thanking you."

Lan Jiwan: "I’ve never had the chance to ask, what’s really going on with Red Port, what happened afterward?"

Last time, He Kao only instructed Lan Jiwan to secretly monitor Zhao Ci’s whereabouts, without much further explanation. Later, when they evacuated from Red Port, He Kao left in a hurry, having no time to discuss this matter, leaving Lan Jiwan quite curious.

He Kao briefly explained the sequence of events, merely mentioning Zhao Ci’s cultivation being sealed and his contact with the Xiao Alliance, all orchestrated by the Ancestral Hall’s plan.

It was the Xiao Alliance that actively approached Zhao Ci, so the Ancestral Hall wanted to figure out what exactly the Xiao Alliance intended to do.

Lan Jiwan felt slightly guilty and asked, "Senior Brother, did my actions ruin the plan? But at that time, the situation..."

He Kao quickly shook his head and said, "No, that’s not sabotage, it’s remedy! The plan had issues to begin with, the Xiao Alliance didn’t trust Zhao Ci, and given the situation then, not only was Xiaolu’s life at risk, Zhao Ci was also in danger.

Your immediate reaction was right; you didn’t coldly observe but rescued an innocent life in time. If it were me, I would’ve done the same..."

Lan Jiwan laughed happily, "Then did I do the right thing?"

He Kao also nodded with a smile, "Of course, you perfectly completed the task!"

Lan Jiwan: "Does the sect give out rewards?"

He Kao: "Yes, definitely. What reward does Junior Sister want?"

Lan Jiwan: "Do it again, let me continue as a volunteer! The Three-Section Seal was too simple, let’s switch to the Five-Section Seal this time..."

He Kao: "How did you know I needed to test again?"

Lan Jiwan: "Senior Brother specially experimented with unsealing, surely there needs to be contrasts in different situations."

He Kao: "Then go say hello to them and have Er Ji seal your cultivation again."

In the Rest Garden Restaurant, food and wine were already set, waiting for He Kao and Lan Jiwan to start the meal. However, when they arrived, Lan Jiwan waved her hand and said, "I’m fasting today, you all eat."

Why did she decide not to eat? Because helping the Sect Leader Senior Brother conduct experiments is best done on an empty stomach.

He Kao: "I’m not eating either. Er Ji, please seal Jiwan’s cultivation again, using the Five-Node Method this time. Don’t make it so easy to undo."

Er Ji, also a Tier Four Sorcerer, knew well and persuaded, "Sect Leader, first have a cup of tea to calm your breath. It requires great concentration to unseal, and it is a significant consumption. It can’t be done consecutively."

He Kao and Lan Jiwan sat there drinking tea, secretly nurturing their divine qi, and only after everyone finished eating did they return to the quiet room to continue the spell to undo the seal.

This time was far more complex than the last, taking over an hour. A thin layer of sweat had formed on Lan Jiwan’s forehead.

He Kao, with Tier Six Cultivation as his foundation, didn’t find the consumption of divine power to be significant, but maintaining absolute concentration without making any mental errors, once relaxed after succeeding, mentally he was still slightly fatigued.

Lan Jiwan: "Sect Leader Senior Brother, shall we go again?"

He Kao: "We can’t perform consecutively. Even if you can handle it, I can’t guarantee no mistakes on my end. We must nurture our divine qi and restore our state. The earliest we can try again is midnight."

Lan Jiwan: "I have a suggestion."

He Kao: "You are also a Tier Four Cultivator, familiar with sealing techniques, having personally attempted twice to be sealed and unsealed. Any insights?"

Lan Jiwan: "Some aspects are a bit like before when you detoxified me. Why not use Xue Guanghan to try again? Using a magical treasure should save effort, and even if it can’t unseal, it could at least nurture the body."

Nurturing the body? Isn’t that nonsense!

But He Kao actually accepted Lan Jiwan’s suggestion because he felt there was some truth in it. When using Xue Guanghan to detoxify Lan Jiwan back then, he was actually applying the profound principles of Observing Body Skill.

He Kao spent an entire afternoon unsealing Lan Jiwan twice, before dinner he returned to Qi Yuan to say hello, rested and nurtured himself overnight, and returned to Floating Colors Grotto Heaven at midnight.

Lan Jiwan was already waiting in the Grotto Heaven and had voluntarily had Er Ji seal her cultivation again.

This time, to unseal, He Kao enlisted the help of the magical treasure Xue Guanghan.

He found that while it didn’t significantly reduce consumption, it allowed him to observe Lan Jiwan’s meridian flow more intricately. Unsealing her was also equivalent to a comprehensive correction and exorcism, somewhat akin to the Bone Marrow Cleansing in novels...

"What does it feel like this time?" He Kao’s voice was somewhat weary when asking. Performing the spell to unseal three times in one day under different circumstances had indeed left her a bit tired,

The consumption of divine and spiritual power was secondary; with his cultivation, he could bear it. The main challenge was mental, needing to maintain high focus because he couldn’t afford any mistakes.

Lan Jiwan, drenched in a thin layer of sweat, speaking with a slightly trembling voice, gasped and attempted to say in a calm tone: "Feels like having undergone a full body spa, thanks a lot, Sect Leader Senior Brother!"

This time was different from the previous two; it was that all-consuming and bone-melting sensation again, making her almost unable to resist moaning.

What in the world is a full body spa, where did that come from... But then when he thought about it, to Lan Jiwan, this was something akin to her very own super comprehensive spa treatment, and He Kao understood her feelings.

He Kao: "It’s good that Junior Sister wasn’t hurt."

Lan Jiwan: "How could I be hurt? I even feel like my cultivation aptitude has improved."

The words were getting more exaggerated, could it really improve cultivation aptitude? But the spell methods just used not only unsealed but indeed seemed to enhance physique.

He Kao couldn’t help but think of the Pure Yang Pill that could truly improve cultivation aptitude, aside from the two left by Hu Weidong "stored" with him, he still had two himself.

In the future, he would find an opportunity to have Lan Jiwan take one with him, as a reward and thanks to her.

Seeing He Kao deep in thought, Lan Jiwan asked again, "Sect Leader Senior Brother, going again?"

After thinking for a moment, He Kao nodded and said, "Indeed, we need to try once more, but we both need to rest well for a day first. Let’s set it for this time tomorrow."

The next day was Sunday, He Kao headed back to Qi Yuan to work overtime. After tidying herself up, Lan Jiwan sought out Er Ji to seal her cultivation again, and at midnight, when she saw He Kao, she eagerly asked, "What method are we using this time?"

He Kao produced a delicate, classical-style cosmetic mirror: "This time, we’ll use this."

**