Chapter 620: The Five Hidden Gates
Chapter 620: The Five Hidden Gates
Using his teeth as a "storage pouch", Hidden Elder Two sealed away the heritage jade slip.
This Hidden Elder Two was truly sinister and cunning.
Murong Caiyin and the others were astonished, but when they turned to look at Mo Hua, they were even more shocked.
This little junior disciple of theirs seemed even more cunning than Hidden Elder Two...
He had managed to discover and retrieve the jade slip hidden inside someone else's tooth.
Hidden Elder Two's face was filled with shock and disbelief.
The location of the jade slip was extremely well-hidden, and in over a hundred years, no one but himself had known of its existence.
How had this little brat managed to "see" it?
As Mo Hua held the jade slip with a smile, clearly delighted, Hidden Elder Two's heart filled with venom. He sneered, "Don't get too happy too soon, little brat..."
Having lost his teeth, his speech was a little slurred.
"This is a heritage jade slip, inscribed with sealing runes. Without knowledge of those runes, you'll never be able to unlock the seal and access the contents within... the manual for the Minor Five Phases Concealment Technique."
"Only the heir of the Five Hidden Gates in this world knows the sealing runes on this jade slip!"
Hidden Elder Two revealed a sinister grin.
Ouyang Feng raised an eyebrow and pointed his sword at him, "Hand over the sealing runes, and you won't have to suffer..."
Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Hidden Elder Two replied with a fake smile, "I don't care about mere physical pain..."
Ouyang Feng frowned, "What do you want?"
"What else could I want?" Hidden Elder Two's eyes glinted with cunning, "Naturally, it's my life..."
"Hand over the sealing runes, and you'll let me go!" he cackled.
Ouyang Feng shook his head, "Don't dream."
"Then forget it," Hidden Elder Two sneered, "Kill me, and this jade slip becomes useless."
Murong Caiyin furrowed her brows and glanced back at Mo Hua.
She saw him completely focused on the jade slip, his expression intent as if he was very eager to learn the hidden technique within...
She softened a little and, after some thought, said in a low voice, threatening Hidden Elder Two, "There are array masters who can unseal jade slips..."
"That's true!" Hidden Elder Two sneered, "There are array masters who can do it..."
"But those who are proficient in Yuan Magnet Arrays are few and far between, and even fewer are those who can use a Yuan Magnet Array to unravel sealing runes. They are as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns."
"Constructing a Yuan Magnet Array and applying sealing and encryption runes is completely different from unraveling and decrypting one."
"Just because one can create doesn't mean one can unravel..."
"Even if they could, the time of such array masters is extremely valuable, and their spiritual sense is carefully calculated. Would they bother with a mere minor technique from the Foundation Establishment stage?"
Murong Caiyin's expression turned solemn.
The others hesitated as well.
While they wanted to help Mo Hua obtain the manual for the Minor Five Phases Concealment Technique, they couldn't possibly agree to Hidden Elder Two's demand.
Given his numerous evil deeds, they couldn't let him go even if they didn't consider the merits of the mission. Letting a tiger return to the mountains was out of the question.
Seeing their hesitation, Hidden Elder Two grinned, "Moreover, unsealing it isn't safe either. If you make a mistake and destroy the magnetic runes inside, the jade slip will be ruined."
"If that happens, you'll never be able to obtain this heritage of the Five Hidden Gates again."
Ouyang Feng's eyes narrowed, "Nonsense! The orthodox heritage lies with the Five Hidden Gates. As long as the Five Hidden Gates stand, so will its heritage. You're just a vile disciple of the sect."
Hidden Elder Two's smile turned manic, and his voice twisted.
"The Five Hidden Gates still stand?"
"Hahaha! Do they?"
"No, they're gone!"
Hidden Elder Two's smile was bloody, "This jade slip is the last of its heritage. The Five Hidden Gates will be struck from the records..."
Murong Caiyin and the others exchanged glances, their brows furrowing deeper.
"Hidden Elder Two, what are you babbling about? Are you speaking nonsense?"
Hidden Elder Two's smile was sinister and full of hidden meaning, "Believe it or not, I'm telling you that this is probably the only jade slip of the Five Hidden Gates that you'll ever see. If you mess up and destroy the magnetic runes, you can forget about ever..."
Before he could finish, a crisp voice interrupted, "Done!"
Everyone was taken aback and turned to see Mo Hua with the jade slip pressed against his forehead, his eyes sparkling with joy as he seemed to be savoring something.
Murong Caiyin and the others gaped, astonished.
Done...
Had he unsealed the jade slip?
"Impossible!"
Hidden Elder Two's expression changed drastically, his eyes widening in fear. After a moment's thought, he shouted, "Impossible!"
"You despicable brat, don't try to deceive me with your act!"
"The sealing runes of the Five Hidden Gates' jade slip can't be unsealed just because you say so!"
Mo Hua saw his disbelief and, after some thought, recited from the jade slip:
"Minor Five Phases Concealment Technique, a supreme art of the Five Hidden Gates, never to be passed on..."
"Sense the Five Phases, merge with heaven and earth, and conceal oneself..."
"The lesser hides in the leaves of the eye, the greater hides in the Five Phases of heaven and earth."
"Its principles are profound, its applications broad..."
"It can be used to attack, defend, create, kill, and hide, becoming visible or invisible..."
"Cultivators do not deceive in dark rooms..."
"Those who hide in the shadows must not abuse the art to commit evil, pry into others' privacy, take their lives, steal their possessions, or commit adultery, for such acts are despised by fellow cultivators and bring shame to the sect..."
"Those who violate these precepts shall have their arts stripped and be expelled from the sect..."
...
With each line Mo Hua recited, Hidden Elder Two's face paled further.
By the time Mo Hua finished, Hidden Elder Two's face was as white as paper, devoid of any blood, and his eyes were filled with disbelief.
"You..."
"How... how is this possible..."
But Mo Hua shook his head, "You have violated the ancestral teachings of the Five Hidden Gates..."
Despite his proficiency in the Minor Five Phases Concealment Technique, Hidden Elder Two had used it primarily for ambushes and murders, employing cruel methods like evisceration.
It was likely he had also frequently indulged in prying into others' privacy and stealing their possessions, among other despicable acts.
Given the chance, people would often choose to do evil.
Not everyone had a kind heart and unwavering resolve like Mo Hua.
Mo Hua nodded.
Now that he had obtained the Minor Five Phases Concealment Technique, Hidden Elder Two was of no further use.
This Hidden Elder Two was an old and evil cultivator, his heart filled with malice, and his methods cunning, cruel, and ruthless. Moreover, he was stubborn and refused to divulge any information.
Mo Hua would have to pry open his mouth himself to get what he wanted.
Now that he had everything he needed, all that remained was to hand over Hidden Elder Two to the Dao Court and exchange him for merit points.
Hidden Elder Two glared at Mo Hua with pure malevolence, as if committing every detail of Mo Hua's appearance to memory, intending to haunt him even in death.
But Mo Hua was unfazed. If anything, he'd be even less afraid if Hidden Elder Two became a ghost.
However, seeing the sheer venom in Hidden Elder Two's gaze, Mo Hua decided not to be too generous. With Mo Hua's "kind" suggestion, both of Hidden Elder Two's arms were broken once more, the tendons in his right hand severed, and his meridians ruined...
Thus, he would no longer be able to stir up any more trouble.
Ouyang Feng gripped Hidden Elder Two by the collar, dragging him away from Canglang Mountain, through Luopan Mountain Road, and all the way to the Dao Court in Qianxue Province.
The handover at the Dao Court went rather smoothly.
With his hands and legs broken and his front teeth missing, Hidden Elder Two looked like a "disabled" man. He was temporarily thrown into the dungeon, awaiting trial and sentencing by the Court.
Now, the group could return to the sect and wait for their mission to be assessed and their merit points distributed.
Mo Hua wanted to meet Gu Dian Si, but after looking around, he couldn't spot Gu Changhuai's tall, elegant, slightly arrogant, and somewhat flashy figure anywhere.
Mo Hua inquired with the executors, and was informed that Gu Changhuai was away on a mission and would not be back at the Dao Court for the time being.
As a third-grade Dian Si, he was usually quite busy.
Mo Hua felt a bit disappointed. He had wanted to discuss something with his Uncle Gu...
...
With this matter concluded, the group prepared to return to the sect.
On the way back, Murong Caiyin hired a horse carriage again. Inside the carriage were sweet-smelling fruits and fragrant tea.
Everyone's mood was relaxed and cheerful.
Initially, they had expected this mission to take a long time and require a lot of effort, and they had also anticipated encountering some dangers along the way.
But contrary to their expectations, everything went surprisingly smoothly.
No one was injured, they didn't spend much extra time, and they had completed the mission and were returning to the sect after just one day.
Thus, the atmosphere in the carriage was quite leisurely.
Murong Caiyin and Hua Qianqian sipped their floral tea, whispering to each other with heads close, their delicate hands covering their mouths as they giggled.
Shangguan Xu polished his heavy sword.
Mo Hua held a large melon in both hands, enjoying the scenery outside the window while taking big, juicy bites.
Only Ouyang Feng seemed to have something on his mind. He kept glancing at Mo Hua, looking like he wanted to say something but stopping himself each time.
Just as his expression turned conflicted, a bright red spiritual fruit suddenly appeared in front of him, accompanied by a crisp voice.
"Brother Feng, have some fruit."
Ouyang Feng was taken aback and couldn't help but smile. He took the fruit from Mo Hua's hand and said gently,
"Thank you."
Mo Hua nodded and took another bite of the melon, his cheeks puffed out as he asked,
"Brother Feng, is there something you want to ask me?"
Ouyang Feng was slightly startled and fell silent for a moment before sighing,
"This question may be a bit offensive, but I still want to ask... "
Ouyang Feng paused before continuing in a low voice, "Mo Hua, how did you unlock that sealing rune?"
The carriage fell silent for a moment.
Shangguan Xu stopped wiping his sword, and Murong Caiyin and Hua Qianqian also stopped their quiet conversation, lifting their heads to look at Mo Hua.
It was clear that they, too, wanted to know about the unsealing.
However, they hesitated to ask as they were unsure if it involved cultivation secrets.
Mo Hua replied calmly, "I was lucky. I guessed it!"
Ouyang Feng took a bite of the spiritual fruit and silently studied Mo Hua.
Murong Caiyin and the others narrowed their eyes, clearly unconvinced.
Mo Hua explained, "I memorized some secondary thunder runes, which are similar to 'hidden runes.' When I was unsealing it, I just tried each one until I got lucky."
"If you're lucky, you can unlock it..."
There was indeed an element of luck in him being able to unlock the sealing rune on the Minor Five Phases Concealment Technique jade slip.
Hidden Elder Two was on Elder Jiang's "list."
So, Mo Hua had kept a mental note and used the collection of secondary thunder runes from Elder Jiang's jade slip to try and unlock the sealing rune on Hidden Elder Two's jade slip.
After trying about a dozen or so, he succeeded.
It truly was a lucky guess.
But behind this luck lay Mo Hua's vast spiritual sense and computational power, solid foundation in array formations, and exceptional array mastery.
Ouyang Feng was unaware of these deeper aspects and was simply astounded. "You've learned the Yuan Magnet Array?"
Mo Hua didn't hide it and nodded, "A little bit."
Ouyang Feng was impressed.
True Yuan Magnet Arrays involved the principles of yuan magnets, requiring the drawing of double array patterns, which was vastly different from the simple Yuan Magnet Arrays.
He had originally thought that he had a high opinion of Mo Hua's array skills.
But now, he realized that he had still underestimated this junior disciple.
"Then..."
Ouyang Feng lowered his voice, "Can you... unlock sealing runes now?"
Mo Hua said, "I've just started learning. I can't really do it yet, and not for all cases. It still mostly relies on luck..."
Mo Hua deliberately exaggerated the "luck" factor to conceal his true abilities.
"Relying on luck..."
Ouyang Feng breathed a sigh of relief.
No wonder...
He had thought that Mo Hua could reliably unlock sealing runes with his own array mastery...
That would have been too outrageous.
And too dangerous...
Since it was based on "luck," everyone nodded slightly and didn't press the matter further.
Mo Hua suddenly remembered something and opened his storage bag to take out the jade slip containing the Minor Five Phases Concealment Technique. He asked,
"Brother Feng, Sister Murong, do you want to copy this concealment technique?"
They had all worked together to capture Hidden Elder Two, so they would share the merit points. It was only fair that they also share the technique.
The others hesitated for a moment before shaking their heads.
Ouyang Feng said, "We won't learn this concealment technique. It won't be of much use to us anyway. You keep it."
"Okay."
Mo Hua put away the jade slip and then asked, "By the way, if I hand over this technique to the sect, can I get merit points for it?"
Murong Caiyin thought for a moment and then nodded, "Yes, but it's a bit troublesome..."
"Troublesome?"
"Yes," Murong Caiyin explained, "The sect's collection of techniques and spells is already quite extensive. If you hand it over, the elders will have to compare it to the existing techniques before deciding whether to include it..."
"That's not a problem..."
"The issue is that many techniques need to be 'avoided' by other sects..."
"Some techniques, if they have a deep connection to other sects, may not be suitable for inclusion in the Tai Xu Sect's library."
"But those merit points will most likely not be much..."
"Overall, the sect hopes that disciples will earn merit points through bounties and missions, rather than by handing over their inheritance..."
"That's right, that's right!"
Hua Qianqian's voice was crisp as she nodded along, sharing some gossip with Mo Hua:
"It's said that the 'stingy sect', also known as the Duan Jin Sect, once caused a ruckus over something like this..."
"Some disciples, in order to earn merit points, stole their family's inheritance and handed it over to the sect for points."
"The Duan Jin Sect, greedy for the inheritance, quietly accepted it and even shamelessly claimed it as their own ancestral art."
"Later, the other family found out and came knocking. The Duan Jin Sect, to save face, stubbornly denied it, and the two sides ended up in a dispute, causing quite the spectacle..."
"From then on, the sect became more cautious about accepting inheritances, and the merit points offered decreased significantly..."
Murong Caiyin sighed helplessly and shot Hua Qianqian a glance, "Qianqian, the Duan Jin Sect is petty, so stop spreading their bad reputation..."
Hua Qianqian giggled in response.
Mo Hua nodded slightly, then asked, his curiosity piqued:
"Sister Murong, what if..."
Mo Hua blinked, emphasizing his next words:
"I mean, what if I 'accidentally' obtained the inheritance of a few low-grade techniques from other sects in Qianzhou? Could I learn them?"
Murong Caiyin's eyes narrowed with interest as she asked, "Are they of high quality?"
Mo Hua shook his head, "No, they're low-grade and inferior..."
He couldn't afford to use high-grade, superior techniques anyway...
"Then it doesn't matter..." Murong Caiyin replied.
"Won't they cause trouble for me?"
Murong Caiyin shook her head, "Unless you obtained them by 'killing and robbing', and the origins are questionable, afraid of exposure... Otherwise, for the most part, these low-grade, inferior techniques won't cause much of an issue if you learn and use them."
Seeing that Mo Hua still looked unsure, Murong Caiyin further explained:
"Low-end techniques are practiced by many cultivators, and there are numerous schools of thought and complex lineages. Many times, they are quite similar, and it's hard to prove which specific technique belongs to which family."
"Take the Fireball Technique, for example..."
"You use it, they use it, and on the surface, it just looks like a ball of fire. Even if there are differences, most cultivators won't be able to distinguish the nuances, making it impossible to pursue the matter further."
"But superior techniques are another story..."
"These techniques have very distinct characteristics, and once you use them, others will be able to recognize them immediately, and you won't be able to deny it."
"So, in this Qian Xue Province, as long as the origins of low-grade techniques are clear, it doesn't matter who practices them."
"However, for superior techniques, unless they belong to your own sect, once you obtain them, you must either hand them over to the Dao Court or return them to their original owners, giving them back to the respective sects."
"Otherwise, the trouble will be immense..."
"Thank you, Sister Murong," Mo Hua nodded, "I understand now!"
In other words, he could freely learn and use low-grade techniques.
But for superior techniques, especially those of high grade, he had to be cautious and not use them indiscriminately.
Just like the Duan Jin Sword Control Technique.
If he were to learn it, he would have to be careful.
Either he wouldn't use it casually, or he would have to ensure that no one saw him when he did...
Just like Boss Jiang.
Understanding this point, Mo Hua felt much more relieved.
The horse carriage returned to Qian Xue Province, and Ouyang Feng and Hua Qianqian bid each other farewell.
As Ouyang Feng alighted from the carriage, he glanced at Mo Hua once more, as if he still had something on his mind, but he didn't voice it.
Hua Qianqian gazed at Mo Hua, her eyes sparkling.
She found this little junior disciple of hers to be endearingly naive and pure, with a hint of cunning, and occasionally fierce...
All of which made him even more likable.
Afterward, Mo Hua, along with Hua Qianqian and Shangguan Xu, returned to the Tai Xu Sect. Shangguan Xu had some matters to attend to and took his leave, leaving Mo Hua and Murong Caiyin walking together for a while.
As they parted ways, Murong Caiyin thought for a moment and reminded Mo Hua, "Be careful not to mention the unsealing to others casually..."
"Mhm." Mo Hua nodded, then asked curiously, "Is there some taboo regarding unsealing?"
Mo Hua knew that Yuan Magnet Arrays were difficult to learn and master, and unsealing was no ordinary feat.
However, he wasn't clear on the specifics.
Murong Caiyin sighed, "Unsealing is extremely challenging... There are so many sects in Qian Xue Province, and most of their inheritances are recorded on jade slips, which are then sealed using array patterns..."
"It's precisely because unsealing is difficult that jade slips are widely used to preserve techniques, creating a barrier for inheritance."
"If anyone could unseal them, then the vast inheritances of this Qian Xue Province would mostly be stolen..."
"So..."
Murong Caiyin left the sentence hanging, giving Mo Hua a meaningful look, "Whether you managed it through your own abilities or 'luck', don't go around telling others about it..."
"Even if you did it through your own abilities, claim that it was 'luck'."
Mo Hua understood her implication and smiled, "Thank you, Sister Murong, I'll keep that in mind!"
Seeing his response, Murong Caiyin also smiled gently.
...
After they parted ways, Mo Hua returned to the disciples' residence and eagerly began studying the Five Hidden Gates' secret art, the Minor Five Phases Concealment Technique, which was fused with the five elements and hidden within the heavens and earth.
This concealment technique was far more effective than the one he was currently using.
While Hidden Elder Two had plenty of experience, his spiritual sense wasn't strong, and thus, he couldn't utilize the concealment technique to its fullest potential.
Moreover, he had been using it for nefarious purposes, so the technique was wasted on him.
Mo Hua took out the jade slip, ready to examine it closely, but then he suddenly recalled some of Hidden Elder Two's words...
The elder had smiled with a bloody grin, mentioning the Five Hidden Gates...
"They're already gone..."
"This jade slip is the last of their inheritance. The Five Hidden Gates will be struck from the records..."
Mo Hua's brows furrowed slightly.
Had the Five Hidden Gates been forced to leave Qian Xue Province due to poor management, only to be... wiped out?
Were his words true or false?
If it was the latter, then it was fine, but if they were true... What had happened to the Five Hidden Gates?
(End of Chapter)
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