Chapter 621: The Five Hidden Sect

Using his teeth as a storage pouch, he sealed the inheritance jade slip.

This Hidden Second, truly devious and cunning.

Murong Caiyun and the others looked astonished, then turned to Mo Hua—even more shocked.

How could their junior brother be even more cunning than Hidden Second…

He even spotted the jade slip hidden in someone's teeth, smashed the teeth, and retrieved the slip.

Hidden Second's face turned pale with panic, utterly incredulous.

The location of this jade slip was concealed beyond measure; for over a hundred years, no one but himself had known of it.

How the hell did this brat "see" it?

But seeing Mo Hua, smiling warmly as he held the jade slip, clearly delighted, Hidden Second's heart filled with venomous hatred—he sneered:

"Brat, don't… celebrate too soon…"

He'd lost all his teeth, so his speech was slightly airy.

"This is an inheritance jade slip, sealed with sealing runes. Without knowing the sealing runes, you can't break the seal—you'll never obtain the… Lesser Fivefold Concealment Technique's incantation…"

"The sealing runes on this jade slip—only I, the heir of the Five Hidden Sect, know them!"

Hidden Second revealed a triumphant, vicious grin.

Ouyang Feng raised an eyebrow, pointing his sword at him: "Hand over the sealing runes, and you won't suffer…"

Hidden Second spat out a mouthful of blood, grinning without warmth: "A little flesh and blood pain? I don't care…"

Ouyang Feng frowned. "What do you want?"

"What else could I want?" Hidden Second's eyes gleamed with cunning malice. "Of course—my life…"

"I give you the sealing runes, you let me go!"

Hidden Second sneered.

Ouyang Feng shook his head. "Don't dream."

"Then fine," Hidden Second scoffed. "Kill me, and this jade slip becomes useless."

Murong Caiyun frowned, glancing back at Mo Hua.

She saw Mo Hua utterly absorbed, fiddling with the jade slip, expression intensely focused—as if desperate to learn the concealed incantation inside…

She softened slightly, thought for a moment, then spoke in a low, threatening tone to Hidden Second:

"Sealed jade slips aren't beyond the reach of array masters…"

"True!" Hidden Second sneered. "There are array masters who can break them…"

"But array masters who master magnetic array techniques are already few and far between; those who can reverse-engineer magnetic arrays to break sealing runes? Even rarer still…"

"Constructing a magnetic array, applying sealing runes and hidden markings, is entirely different from dismantling a magnetic array to break seals and decode."

"Being able to draw doesn't mean you can undo…"

"Even if you could, such array masters' time is priceless, their spiritual sense must be meticulously conserved—would they bother with a trivial, obscure Foundation Establishment inheritance?"

Murong Caiyun's expression turned solemn.

The others hesitated.

They truly wanted to extract the Lesser Fivefold Concealment Technique's incantation for Mo Hua—but they could never agree to Hidden Second's demand.

Hidden Second had committed countless atrocities; even without merit rewards, they could never let him escape—letting a tiger return to the mountains was unthinkable.

If they hired another senior array master to unseal the jade slip, the cost would be far too high—even far exceeding the merit rewards from this mission. It wouldn't be worth it.

Seeing the group wavering, Hidden Second grinned again:

"Besides, unsealing isn't even safe—if you mess up and damage the magnetic markings inside, this jade slip becomes useless."

"You'll never get this Five Hidden Sect inheritance again."

Ouyang Feng's gaze sharpened like a blade; he snorted:

"Nonsense. The true inheritance lies within the Five Hidden Sect. As long as the Five Hidden Sect still exists, the inheritance remains. You're merely a traitorous disciple."

Hidden Second's grin twisted into madness, his voice warped.

"The Five Hidden Sect still exists?"

"Ha! The Five Hidden Sect still exists?!"

"Gone! It's already gone!"

Hidden Second's grin was streaked with blood. "This jade slip is the last inheritance. The Five Hidden Sect will be erased from history…"

Murong Caiyun and the others exchanged glances, their brows tightening further.

"Hidden Second, what nonsense are you spouting?"

Hidden Second's grin was grotesque and loaded with meaning. "Believe it or not—it's up to you. I'll only tell you this: this is likely the only Five Hidden Sect jade slip you'll ever see. If you break it by misreading the magnetic markings, you'll never…"

Before Hidden Second could finish, a crisp voice cut in:

"Done!"

Everyone froze, turned—and saw Mo Hua pressing the jade slip to his forehead, grinning broadly, engrossed in whatever he was reading.

Murong Caiyun and the others opened their mouths, stunned.

Done…

Did he break the seal?

"Impossible!"

Hidden Second's expression instantly changed—he widened his eyes in terror, then narrowed them, roaring:

"Yes! Impossible!"

"You shameless brat, pretending—don't think you can fool me!"

"My Five Hidden Sect's jade slip sealing runes—how could you possibly break them just like that?"

Mo Hua saw he didn't believe it, thought for a moment, and recited from the jade slip:

"The Lesser Five Elements Concealment Technique, a secret art of the Five Hidden Gates, never taught outside…"

"Perceive the Five Elements, merge with Heaven and Earth, to conceal oneself…"

"The small concealment hides within a single leaf's gaze; the great concealment hides within Heaven and Earth's Five Elements."

"Its meaning is profound, its application vast…"

"It can attack, defend, sustain, kill, conceal, and make the visible appear invisible…"

"Those who cultivate the Dao do not deceive even in dark rooms…"

"Yet those who conceal themselves, hiding in shadows, must not rely on this art to commit evil, spy on others' privacy, plot murders, steal flowers, or commit theft—such acts are despised by fellow cultivators and bring shame upon the sect…"

"Those who violate this shall have their art revoked and be expelled from the sect…"

…

With every line Mo Hua recited, Yin Laoer's face grew paler by a shade.

When Mo Hua finished, his face was as white as paper, utterly bloodless, eyes filled with disbelief.

"You…"

"How… is this possible…"

Mo Hua sighed: "You've broken the Five Hidden Gates' ancestral precepts…"

He mastered the Lesser Five Elements Concealment Technique, yet used concealment solely to ambush and kill, gutting victims with cruel methods.

He likely committed other crimes too—spying on privacy, stealing flowers, theft.

When given the chance, people always seek to do evil.

Not everyone is like me, kind-hearted and steadfast in the Dao!

Mo Hua nodded.

Now that he had the Lesser Five Elements Concealment Technique, Yin Laoer was useless.

This Yin Laoer was an old criminal cultivator, wicked in nature, cunning and cruel, and stubbornly silent.

He would say nothing—you had to pry the truth from him yourself.

Now Mo Hua had everything he wanted.

All he needed to do was hand Yin Laoer over to Dao Ting Si, exchange him for merit points, and all would be settled.

"Go to Dao Ting Si and eat your last meal!"

Mo Hua looked down at Yin Laoer, who knelt on the ground.

Yin Laoer still glared at Mo Hua with hatred, as if determined to remember him forever—even as a ghost, he would not let him go.

Mo Hua wasn't afraid of him.

If he became a "ghost," Mo Hua would be even less afraid.

But seeing Yin Laoer's venomous gaze, Mo Hua wasn't that magnanimous.

At Mo Hua's "kind" suggestion, Yin Laoer's arms were broken again, his right hand's tendons severed, his meridians ruined…

Now he could never cause trouble again.

Ouyang Feng gripped Yin Laoer's collar and dragged him out of Canglang Mountain, along the Luo Pan Mountain Path, to Dao Ting Si in Qianxue Province.

The handover at Dao Ting Si went smoothly.

The "disabled" Yin Laoer—missing hands, legs, and teeth—was temporarily imprisoned in Dao Prison, to be judged and sentenced after a court hearing.

Everyone could return to Bianyaohui Sect, await mission settlement, and receive merit points.

Mo Hua wanted to meet Gu Diansi, but looked left and right, scanned the whole place, and saw no sign of Gu Changhuai's tall, elegant, slightly arrogant, and somewhat flamboyant figure.

Mo Hua asked the officer, who informed him that Gu Changhuai was on a mission and temporarily absent from Dao Ting Si.

He was a third-grade Diansi; he was usually quite busy.

Mo Hua felt a pang of regret.

He had wanted to discuss something with Uncle Gu…

…

With matters settled, everyone was ready to return to Bianyaohui Sect.

On the way back, Murong Caiyun hired a carriage, filled inside with sweet fruit and fragrant tea.

Everyone's spirits were light.

They had expected this mission to take long, require great effort, and involve danger.

But everything turned out unexpectedly smooth.

No one was injured, little time was lost, and the mission was completed in just one day—enough to return to the sect.

Thus, the atmosphere inside the carriage was relaxed.

Murong Caiyun and Hua Qianqian sipped flower tea, leaned close, whispering tender words, hands covering their mouths as they laughed.

Shangguan Xu wiped his heavy sword.

Mo Hua held a large melon in both hands, gazing out the window while biting into it, sweet and juicy.

Only Ouyang Feng seemed troubled, occasionally glancing at Mo Hua, several times opening his mouth but holding back.

Just as he looked torn, suddenly a bright red spirit fruit appeared before his eyes, accompanied by a crisp voice:

"Senior Brother Feng, have a fruit."

Ouyang Feng froze, then smiled, taking the fruit from Mo Hua's hand and saying gently:

"Thank you."

Mo Hua nodded, took another bite of the melon, cheeks puffed out, and said:

"Senior Brother, you wanted to ask me something, didn't you?"

Ouyang Feng blinked in slight surprise, fell silent for a moment, then sighed:

"This matter is somewhat impolite, but I still want to ask…"

Ouyang Feng paused, then said in a low voice:

"Mo Dizi, that sealing pattern—how did you unlock it?"

Inside the carriage, silence lingered for a moment.

Shangguan Xu stopped polishing his sword; Murong Caiyun and Hua Qianqian ceased their whispering and lifted their heads, fixing their gazes on Mo Hua.

Clearly, they all wanted to know how the seal was broken.

But they feared such matters involved Daoist secrets, so they hesitated to speak.

Mo Hua said calmly: "I got lucky—I guessed it!"

Ouyang Feng took a bite of a spirit fruit and watched Mo Hua in silence.

Murong Caiyun and the others narrowed their eyes, clearly not believing him.

Mo Hua explained: "I recorded some secondary thunder patterns—similar to 'secret patterns'—and when unlocking, I just took a chance, trying them one by one."

"If I was lucky enough, I could unlock it…"

He had indeed been somewhat lucky in unlocking the seal on the Small Five Elements Concealment Technique jade slip.

Yin Laoer was on Jiang Laoda's 'list'.

So Mo Hua, holding out a slim hope, used the 'secondary thunder pattern repository' he'd collected from Jiang Laoda's jade slip to try unlocking Yin Laoer's jade slip seal one by one.

After roughly ten attempts, he succeeded.

It truly was luck—he'd guessed it.

Yet beyond this luck, it required immense spiritual awareness calculation, 'solid' array knowledge, and 'robust' array skill.

Ouyang Feng did not know these deeper aspects; he only exclaimed in astonishment:

"You learned the Yuan Ci Array?"

Mo Hua did not hide it; he nodded: "I learned a little."

Ouyang Feng felt a deep sigh within.

True Yuan Ci Array involves the Principle of Yuan Ci, requiring two layers of array patterns—vastly different from the crude Yuan Ci Array like the Small Yuan Ci Array.

He had thought he already held Mo Hua's array skill in high regard.

Yet he had still underestimated this junior brother.

"Then…"

Ouyang Feng whispered, "you… can unlock seals?"

Mo Hua said: "I just started learning—I can't say I can do it, not all seals, and I'll still mostly need luck…"

Mo Hua exaggerated the role of 'luck' to conceal his own 'skill'.

"Luck…"

Ouyang Feng exhaled in relief.

No wonder…

He had thought Mo Hua could truly unlock sealing patterns stably through his own array mastery…

That would be absurd.

Too dangerous…

Since it was all based on 'luck', everyone nodded slightly and said no more.

Mo Hua suddenly remembered something, opened his storage pouch, pulled out the Small Five Elements Concealment Technique jade slip, and asked:

"Senior Brother, Senior Sister, would you like to copy this concealment technique?"

Yin Laoer was captured together by all of them; the merit was shared equally; logically, the technique should be shared too.

They all paused slightly, then shook their heads.

Ouyang Feng said: "We don't learn concealment techniques; even if we did, they'd be useless. Keep it."

"Mm."

Mo Hua put away the jade slip and asked: "By the way, if I submit this technique to the sect, will I get merit?"

Murong Caiyun thought for a moment, then nodded: "Yes, but it's a bit troublesome…"

"Troublesome?"

"Mm," Murong Caiyun said. "The sect's cultivation methods and techniques are already extremely complex. If you submit one, the elders must compare it with existing ones before deciding whether to archive it…"

"That's not the issue…"

"The problem is, many techniques must avoid overlap with other sects…"

"Some techniques, if deeply tied to other sects, are unsuitable for inclusion in the Grand Void Gate's Scripture Library."

"Hastily archiving them can occasionally spark disputes…"

"Still, as long as what you submit isn't overly common and its origin is clean, the sect will reward you with some merit."

"But those merits will likely be minimal…"

"Overall, the sect still hopes disciples earn merit through missions and rewards, not by submitting inherited techniques…"

"Exactly, exactly!"

Hua Qianqian's voice rang clear as she nodded vigorously, telling Mo Hua gossip:

"It's said the 'Stingy Sect'—also known as Duanjin Sect—once had this exact incident…"

"Some disciples, to earn merit, stole family heirlooms and submitted them to the sect for exchange."

"Duanjin Sect, greedy for the heirlooms, quietly accepted them and shamelessly listed them as Duanjin Sect's ancestral Dao arts…"

"Later, the original families came knocking; Duanjin Sect, to save face, denied everything, and the two sides quarreled—creating plenty of laughter for onlookers."

From then on, the sect became much more selective in accepting inheritances, and the merit rewards dropped significantly...

Murong Caiyun sighed helplessly and glared at Hua Qianqian. "Qianqian, the Duanjin Gate is petty—say less bad things about them..."

Hua Qianqian chuckled.

Mo Hua nodded slightly, then remembered another question and asked:

"Sister Murong, suppose..."

Mo Hua blinked, emphasizing:

"I mean 'suppose'..."

"I accidentally acquired several spell inheritances—from other sects in Qianzhou. Can I learn them?"

Murong Caiyun regarded him with a thoughtful gaze and asked softly, "Are they high-grade?"

Mo Hua shook his head. "No, all low-grade, inferior..."

He couldn't afford superior, high-grade spells anyway...

"Then it doesn't matter..." Murong Caiyun said.

"Won't they come after me?"

Murong Caiyun shook her head:

"Unless you stole them by killing and seizing the treasure—meaning your source is tainted and you fear exposure... otherwise, for ordinary low-grade, inferior spells, learning and using them has little consequence."

Seeing Mo Hua still looked confused, Murong Caiyun explained further:

"Low-grade spells are learned and used by many cultivators, and their lineages are numerous and complex. Often, they're nearly identical, making it nearly impossible to prove which spell truly belongs to which sect's inheritance."

"Take the Fireball Spell, for example..."

"You use it, he uses it—it looks like nothing but a ball of fire. Even if there are subtle differences, ordinary cultivators can't tell the distinctions. No one can pursue it."

"But superior spells are different..."

"These spells have unmistakable signatures. The moment you use one, others recognize it instantly—you can't deny it."

"So in Qianxue Province, as long as the source of an inferior spell is clean, learning it is fine."

"But for superior spells, if they're not from your own sect, once acquired, you must either submit them to Dao Ting Si or return them to their original sect."

"Otherwise, trouble will be great..."

"Thank you, Sister," Mo Hua nodded. "I understand!"

That meant, for inferior spells, he could freely take whatever he wanted.

But mid- and high-grade spells, especially superior ones, couldn't be learned or used casually.

Like the Duanjin Yu Jian Jue.

If he wanted to learn it, he must be extremely cautious.

Either don't use it casually—or when you do, don't let anyone see...

Like Jiang Laoda did.

Understanding this, Mo Hua felt much more at ease.

The carriage returned to Qianxue Province, and Ouyang Feng and Hua Qianqian each took their leave.

When Ouyang Feng stepped down, he glanced at Mo Hua once more, as if still harboring some unspoken concern.

Hua Qianqian looked at Mo Hua, her eyes shimmering.

She realized this junior brother of hers had a naive, innocent face, yet was secretly cunning, occasionally even fierce...

Which made him even more likable.

Later, the three of them returned to Grand Void Gate. Shangguan Xu had business and took his leave first; Mo Hua then walked a while with Sister Murong.

At parting, Murong Caiyun paused, then reminded Mo Hua:

"Don't mention the sealing-breaking to anyone lightly..."

"Mm."

Mo Hua nodded, then asked curiously:

"Is there some taboo about breaking seals?"

Mo Hua knew internally that the Magnetic Array was hard to learn and master, and breaking seals was also unusual.

But this was only his guess—he didn't clearly know the specifics.

Murong Caiyun sighed. "Breaking seals is difficult..."

"In Qianxue Province, there are so many sects, and most of their inheritances are recorded on jade slips, sealed by array patterns..."

"Precisely because breaking seals is so hard, jade slips are widely used to lock away techniques and form barriers to inheritance..."

"If anyone could break seals, half the vast inheritances of Qianxue Province would be stolen."

"So..."

Murong Caiyun left it unsaid, giving Mo Hua a meaningful look. "Whether you broke it by your own skill or by 'luck,' don't speak of it casually..."

"Even if you broke it by 'skill,' say you broke it by 'luck.'"

Mo Hua understood at once and smiled warmly:

"Thank you, Sister. I'll remember!"

Seeing this, Murong Caiyun smiled gently.

After parting, Mo Hua returned to the disciples' quarters and eagerly began studying the Five Hidden Sect's secret art: the "Small Five Elements Concealment Art," which merged with the Five Elements and vanished into heaven and earth.

This concealment art was far superior to his current concealment technique.

Yin Laoer, though experienced, lacked strong spiritual sense and couldn't fully unleash the technique's potential.

Moreover, he used concealment for illicit purposes—so this art, in his hands, was like a pearl hidden in the dirt.

Mo Hua took out the jade slip, preparing to examine it closely, when suddenly, some of Yin Laoer's words came back to him…

At the time, Yin Laoer's smile was streaked with blood as he said the Five Hidden Sect…

"It's gone…"

"This jade slip is the last legacy—the Five Hidden Sect will be erased from existence…"

Mo Hua slowly furrowed his brow.

The Five Hidden Sect, forced to relocate out of Qianxue Province due to mismanagement… was it wiped out?

Was this truth—or lie?

If Yin Laoer had lied on purpose, that would be better…

But if it was true… what exactly had happened within the Five Hidden Sect…

(End of Chapter)