Chapter 515: Chapter 293: Zhi Chang Observes Returning to the Root and Responds to All Things

Guo Qianhuai also waved to retract the four screens, which originally the size of door panels, transformed into four carved wooden plaques, easily fitting into his pocket. However, he furrowed his brows, silently fiddling with the plaques.

Gu Chun asked, “What’s wrong, thinking of playing cards?”

Guo Qianhuai sighed deeply and said, “The artifact refining has reached its full completion, yet it’s still one step short of perfection, ultimately not becoming a divine artifact.”

“Let me see!” Gu Chun reached out, taking the four wooden plaques, letting them rotate above the palm of his hand, whereupon the four mini screens became semi-transparent, displaying the changing scenes of the four seasons.

He frowned and said, “It exists between form and formlessness, with infinite wondrous transformations, capable of withstanding the full force of the Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace wielded by a Tier Six Alchemist, nearly a divine artifact.”

Guo Qianhuai responded, “But it’s still not a divine artifact.”

Gu Chun said, “Old Guo, just speaking from the perspective of artifact refining skills, from my point of view, you’re no less than our ancestors. Even if our ancestors had only Tier Six cultivation, they might not have forged such a magical treasure.

I previously saw the Moth Wings, imitating the flying divine artifact but not being one, thinking it was the most exquisite magical tool. But today, it seems it’s still not as good as your Four Seasons Flower Screen.”

Guo Qianhuai humbly said, “Things with different uses shouldn’t be compared together.” Then he sighed again, “Without reaching the legendary pinnacle of cultivation, it seems it’s indeed impossible to create a divine artifact… By the way, where did you put the Moth Wings?”

Jiang Daozhen chimed in, “I gave them to my young disciple, He Kao. Didn’t I tell you?”

Li Xiuyuan interjected, “Grandmaster Guo, you’ve completed the Four Seasons Flower Screen, and it’s not often needed…”

Guo Qianhuai quickly reached out to reclaim the magical treasure Gu Chun had taken, saying, “You all stop, don’t think of grabbing all the good stuff! Back in the day, I helped you craft the Spiritual Mechanism Nourishing God Pendant and the Ten Thousand Woods Rejuvenation Plate, which ultimately ended up with that kid.

Having managed to complete this set of Four Seasons Flower Screen, do you want to give it to him again? Don’t even think about it. I intend to keep it as a sect’s inheritance for the Micro Realm Sect.”

The so-called Spiritual Mechanism Nourishing God Pendant is the Beast Claw Pendant He Kao wore since childhood; the Ten Thousand Woods Rejuvenation Plate is the board left by Jiang Daozhen for He Kao, including the two complete sets of pieces, used in conjunction with the Ten Thousand Woods Rejuvenation Grand Array Gu Chun set up in Pugang Town.

Li Xiuyuan said, “Doesn’t the Micro Realm Sect have enough sect’s inherited artifacts? Instead of keeping them in the warehouse…”

Guo Qianhuai interrupted again, “In terms of guardian array artifacts, he already has the Ten Thousand Woods Rejuvenation Plate.”

Gu Chun retorted, “The Ten Thousand Woods Rejuvenation Grand Array is only around Pugang Town. If in another place, it surely wouldn’t be as useful as the Four Seasons Flower Screen. Don’t be so stingy.”

Guo Qianhuai glared, “Me, stingy? With his cultivation, using the Four Seasons Flower Screen is still too challenging.”

Jiang Daozhen said, “Don’t underestimate young people, think of Mei Guyu. Even at a young age, his cultivation isn’t inferior to yours.”

Guo Qianhuai put away the wooden plaques and said, “Though not a divine artifact, using it requires at least Tier Five cultivation… And besides, you all just want to get things effortlessly, that kid hasn’t even come to kowtow and acknowledge me as his master!”

Li Xiuyuan sighed with some regret on his face, turned, and said, “Old Ghost Jiang, the matters here are settled, there’s even an unexpected surprise, they actually brought the Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace… What’s the next step?”

Gu Chun said, “I wonder how Xiao Kao and Xiaomei are doing.”

Jiang Daozhen assured, “Don’t worry. When it comes to magical combat, with the Rainfall Divine Sword in hand, Mei Guyu is definitely stronger than you!” Then he turned to Li Xiuyuan, “You go out first, quickly make a trip back to Qi Yuan, and make a public appearance tomorrow.”

Gu Chun had already opened the portal, and Li Xiuyuan left hurriedly, Guo Qianhuai then asked, “What about the three of us?”

Gu Chun looked back at the messy Ancestral Hall of the Alchemy Sect and said, “No rush, let’s fix up this courtyard wall and roof first, try to reinforce them a bit more… Senior Brother Guo, why are you dazing out, still thinking about crafting divine artifacts?”

Guo Qianhuai stood there somewhat dazed, not sure what he was thinking, and upon hearing the question, he snapped back to reality, saying, “One thing is unclear to me. Someone like Master Dan Qiu, with clearly double standards, how could he break through Tier Six cultivation to verify great success?”

Jiang Daozhen explained, “Because he genuinely only acknowledges his ideals, and he really doesn’t care what you think. You need his acknowledgment to qualify to be seen as the same kind of person.”

Guo Qianhuai shook his head, “I don’t need his acknowledgment, nor am I like him.”

Jiang Daozhen said, “I didn’t mean it that way, just answering your earlier question.”

Gu Chun interjected, “He’s not from the Eastern Country. Grandmaster Guo has studied artifact refining all his life, without much interaction with such people. Also, considering your age, you haven’t heard Master Zong lecture.”

The so-called Master Zong is the Sect Leader of the Qi Observation Sect and an Elder of the Sect Law Hall, known by the nickname Second Elder and also the alias Master Yu.

Guo Qianhuai nodded, “Indeed, I haven’t heard him. Whenever Master Zong lectures, it’s the youngsters who listen. It’s said he talks about things from thousands of years ago, and the youngsters might not enjoy it, but they don’t want to disrespect their elders.”

Gu Chun said, “Someday, have He Kao come to the Sect Law Hall to pay his respects, and arrange for a lecture by this old Master Zong for the youngsters, to specifically clarify this matter.

Let everyone understand who we are dealing with and what kind of people we interact with…”

That night, He Kao was resting in the house he rented at Sesame Apartment and didn’t go anywhere.

The environment here is extremely noisy and chaotic. Without using divine techniques, the noises from upstairs and downstairs can be clearly heard, yet he can still meditate and cultivate.

He Kao initially started his cultivation at Sesame Apartment and wasn’t picky about the environment. The entry-level requirement for the Insect Concealment Skill is the ability to regulate mind and body, blocking out environmental distractions to realize the “No-Self View.”

However, for a long time after entering the sect, he became extremely particular about the cultivation environment, avoiding disturbances and even avoiding being noticed by anyone.

As Hidden Moth, he has many Dao Fields to choose from.

First is the evergreen Jade Phoenix Tree, where he built a concealed seat among the crown. It’s where he grew up, feeling very familiar with it, and it fits his mind and body best.

But it’s located in a bustling city, with the crown only blocking sight, amid the chaotic human presence not suitable for deep tranquil meditation, though fitting for cultivating and regulating divine qi.

Later, he crafted the Gu Mountain Cave Mansion, a secret base with almost no external interference, in the dark and quiet depths of the mountain.

Then he opened the Floating Colors Grotto Heaven, eliminating the need to find other cave mansions; the secret room on the third floor of his house was also made to block others’ perception.

But after such a long circle, today he returned to the starting point of his cultivation.

This is an unprecedented meditative state, free of distracting thoughts yet without severing external connections, clearly feeling the world.

This is somewhat like the state of “observing without thinking” during Primordial Spirit Travel, but at this moment, he doesn’t even “observe,” rather nature presents itself, indifferent to observe or not.

Taking the world as body, observing the heavens is like introspecting oneself, He Kao feels that taking one more step will lead to a brand-new state of mind and body.

But he also feels that if he takes this step, he might invite some unpredictable danger, so he maintains stability, still in the state of nearly Breaking the Gate but not.

At this moment, Li Xiuyuan called him.

Of course, He Kao set the no-disturb mode during meditation, but some special contacts have notifications… He immediately left the meditative state.

Elder Li asked him to meet at Dragon Scale Slope, He Kao was very cautious, although confirming no one was tracking him, he didn’t vanish directly inside Sesame Apartment’s room.

He first went out to a nearby park, then instantly appeared at a hidden spot under Dragon Scale Slope.

Dragon Scale Slope is located in the back hill of Phoenix Tail Town; given the strong infrastructure of the contemporary Eastern Country, there even is mobile signal on this mountain ridge. Li Xiuyuan was already waiting.

As soon as He Kao arrived at Dragon Scale Slope, he hurriedly spoke, “Master Li, do you already know what happened tonight?”

Li Xiuyuan shook his head and said, “I just came out of Immortal Pot Grotto Heaven and haven’t contacted anyone yet; I just wanted to ask you about the situation on Qi Yuan’s side…”

He Kao said, “According to Elder Gu’s instructions, I dressed as you today and accompanied Elder Mei to Joy Valley… Using the contact information you provided, Lan Jiwan caught that person and handed him over to Layman Xingrui.”

He briefly introduced the events that happened in Qi Yuan tonight, quite spending a lot of words, then he was about to ask what happened in Phoenix Tail Town’s side when Elder Li sent a piece of divine thought, introducing the changes inside Immortal Pot Grotto Heaven.

The content of the divine thought basically recreated the scenery inside Immortal Pot Grotto Heaven, many secrets He Kao naturally knew, he didn’t react at once, opened his mouth and was stunned for half a minute.

Li Xiuyuan then patted him on the shoulder, “You guys caught that Jiaobide, very good, a lot should be able to be discovered from him. I’d trouble you to take me to Qi Yuan, I need to make an appearance there, leave the rest to me.”

Some cultivators, even if caught alive, might not be able to extract information, as the world’s interrogation methods are nearly ineffective. For instance, from the beginning, Jiang Daozhen and others didn’t plan to leave the “Master Dan Qiu” alive, not even asking his real name.

But Li Xiuyuan believed Jiaobide is not in this category.

After smashing Xiao Alliance’s operation, the Magic Sect will inevitably undergo a thorough purification involving many people, some related to Xiao Alliance and others unrelated.

Li Xiuyuan had gathered a large number of personnel in the past two months to find many clues, which could be cross-verified with Jiaobide’s confession.

He Kao opened the portal and brought Li Xiuyuan into Floating Colors Grotto Heaven, but did not hurry to send him out and asked again, “How does the Sect Law Hall plan to handle this matter?”

His intention wasn’t to ask how to deal with those with issues violating sect rules but how to handle this matter, especially whether to make it public and in what way?

Li Xiuyuan squinted his eyes and asked back, “If it were up to you, how would you handle it?”

**

PS: Happy Spring!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep