Hidden moth

Chapter 313 Unfinished, Unknown Divine Calculation

After retiring, the elders are honored as Supreme Elders and no longer interfere in sect affairs. In popular understanding, this means that after the old leader retires, he no longer manages affairs, so that the new leader can carry out the work and establish authority.

But for cultivators at their level, this is not just a statement; at least from a personal perspective, it means they cannot and will not do it.

On the other hand, the Zongfa Hall could no longer disturb these elders' secluded cultivation under the pretext of sect affairs.

Therefore, Jiang Daozhen could not have openly gone to find Zhao Sanjin in the name of the Clan Court. In reality, he only detained Zhao Ci in the Clan Court and did nothing else, while Zhao Sanjin came to him on his own.

After Zhao Sanjin appeared, he didn't mention Zhao Ci at all, as if Zhao Ci had never existed. This was because how to deal with Zhao Ci was a matter for the Clan Court, and he couldn't interfere.

If the Zongfa Hall's handling of Zhao Ci is unreasonable, he can certainly raise objections in his personal capacity, but the power to handle and decide still rests with the Zongfa Hall.

That being said, even if a senior elder is only expressing his personal opinion, his public and potential influence is considerable, so we must be even more careful.

Guo Qianhuai was also a Supreme Elder, which is why Zhao Sanjin asked him that question.

Guo Qianhuai quickly explained, "Although I have retired, I can still cultivate in the cave and exchange profound techniques with my fellow disciples, so I am not involved in sect affairs."

During that time, I was a guest in the Immortal Pot Cave. I stumbled upon Geng Yanxin, the steward of the Pill Cauldron Sect, who betrayed the sect and secretly let in two experts from the Free Alliance. The visitors also brought with them the Pill Cauldron Sect's lost sect artifact, the Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace.

They attempted to seize the grotto and plunder its treasures, but after their plan was discovered, they brazenly tried to kill those who knew the truth. Whoever was in the Immortal Pot Grotto at the time, how could they not have intervened?
As for Qi Nansheng, although he has retired, he is still an alchemist. It is only natural that people would collect materials and ask him to refine pills...

Zhao Sanjin waved his hand to interrupt, saying, "I didn't ask about Qi Nansheng, so you're not in any trouble either. But why did you stop me just now?"

Guo Qianhuai stepped forward and handed him a mirror: "Uncle-Master, can you identify what this is?"

Zhao Sanjin took the mirror but didn't do anything. He just stared at it for a while before raising his head and saying, "It's a replica of the Bone-Penetrating Mirror, and it's very well made."

The Bone-Penetrating Mirror is the sect's most prized artifact, and Zhao Sanjin was once the sect leader; he wouldn't be mistaken.

After Jiang Daozhen finished performing the grand ceremony and stood up, he spoke at the opportune moment: "Finding the lost sect's sacred artifact is not only a matter for the sect, but also the responsibility of every disciple of the art sect."

Zhao Sanjin turned his head and asked, "Where did this come from?"

Jiang Daozhen finally had a chance to speak, and quickly said, "This matter is actually related to your great-grandson Zhao Ci..."

Elder Jiang recounted He Kao's experiences in Dangguan County and the Bashan Medicinal Herb Garden. Elder Li was not only a witness, but the parties involved were also present. Anyone who wants to know more details can add them at any time.

Since Zhao Sanjin has come, he must have already heard about this matter, but how much he knows about it is unknown.

He didn't press further, but simply said, "Zhao Ci's capture was his own fault. Whatever the Clan Court decides to do, as long as it's reasonable, there's no need to ask me."

Jiang Daozhen: "Although I don't need to ask you, since you're here, I should tell you—I intend to seal his cultivation indefinitely to observe his repentance..."

Zhao Sanjin's non-interference in sect affairs doesn't mean he can't know the situation. Jiang Daozhen explained his plans for dealing with Zhao Ci, which made He Kao, who was standing to the side, blink in disbelief.

It turns out that this scheme had started a year ago, and its origins were even somewhat related to He Kao.

Back then, Shi Yunlu, a third-tier sorcerer from the Huiming Shi family, was punished and imprisoned for a year. Before the year was up, he secretly lifted the imprisonment and attempted to murder Shi Haotu and his wife. However, his plot was thwarted by He Kao and others.

There's a mystery here: who lifted the closure on Shiyun Road?
Sealing cultivation is an applied spell. It requires the target to willingly accept it and not resist, or to be subdued and unable to resist. Disciples of any sect can cast it after breaking through to a higher level; the target is a sorcerer of ranks one through five.

As for those who have broken through to the sixth rank or above and are considered mastered sorcerers, their cultivation level cannot be sealed by others, which is another matter entirely.

In principle, only the person who placed the seal can unlock it in the safest way. Because everyone's methods are subtly different, it's like an encryption system where only the person who placed the seal knows the password.

However, there are exceptions. There is another way: the fifth-level Zhu Youren of the Guan Shen Men can take action.

After breaking through to a higher level, each technique will grant its own unique supernatural power. The unique supernatural power of the Body Observation Technique is Zhu You, which allows fourth-level cultivators to eliminate their own negative status effects, while fifth-level sorcerers can also eliminate various negative status effects of others.

The so-called "Zhuyou" is said to be a kind of witchcraft from ancient times, "only by shifting the essence and transforming the qi can it be done through Zhuyou." The reason for using Zhuyou to cure diseases is that the methods seem bizarre, but the effect is to eliminate various negative states and restore a person to normal.

Being sealed in cultivation is not the same as having one's cultivation destroyed. Since it can be restored, it is a negative state that can theoretically be removed using the Zhuyou technique.

However, seeking help from a fifth-level Zhuyou master to remove the seal requires extreme caution. This is equivalent to a hacker bypassing the password and directly breaching the database, and the slightest carelessness could result in injury to the victim.

Moreover, a fifth-tier Zhuyou master can only break the seals placed by a fifth-tier sorcerer or a sorcerer with lower cultivation.

For example, when Shi Yunlu's cultivation level was first sealed by Zou Tianjing, a fifth-level Master of Mind Measurement and a deacon of the Subtle Gate, then theoretically, Gong Xiaodong, a fifth-level Master of Body Observation and a deacon of the Body Observation Gate, could undo it.

But what if the seal was placed by a sixth-tier elder? In that case, Gong Xiaodong couldn't break it, and only the sixth-tier physician Fabre from the Xiaomeng could. At the time, Gong Xiaodong was the only fifth-tier Zhuyou person in Nanhua who could regularly contact Shiyun Road, so some people suspected that Gong Xiaodong was behind it.

It was only later that the Zongfa Hall realized that it was Fabre who lifted the ban on Shi Yunlu.

But what if the caster is more powerful? For example, if it's a seal cast by Jiang Daozhen, a seventh-level cultivator, then even Fabre would be helpless... According to intelligence, the Xiaomeng Alliance does not have a single seventh-level great physician.

In this situation, is it possible that no one but Jiang Daozhen himself can lift the seal? Not necessarily, because there are two other hypothetical scenarios that need to be considered.

The first hypothesis is that they used the lost treasure of the Guan Shen Sect, the Bone-Penetrating Mirror.

The true wonders and power of the Bone-Penetrating Treasure Mirror can only be activated by a highly accomplished sorcerer. Theoretically, it can eliminate all negative statuses, and unsealing is naturally a given.

If the Free Alliance possessed the Bone-Penetrating Treasure Mirror, it could not only break the seals cast by seventh-tier sorcerers, but also, according to legend, seals cast by ninth-tier sorcerers. After all, the skill of sealing is not considered a particularly advanced technique.

The second hypothesis is that Zhao Sanjin, the founder of the Observation School, intervened.

It can be confirmed that Zhao Sanjin has been out of contact for fifty years, and that he broke through to the seventh-level Grand Physician cultivation shortly after his retirement.

There are also rumors that he is still alive and has broken through to the eighth level of cultivation... but this rumor cannot be confirmed at least until today.

However, both of these assumptions have a problem: if the Free Alliance has the Bone-Penetrating Mirror, or if Zhao Zu is still alive, why would they take action to lift the seal on someone?

Or to put it another way, what kind of person's cultivation level could be sealed? Only then could these two situations occur.

Jiang Daozhen may have started thinking about this as early as after the "Shiyun Road Incident" last year, but he only found the right person recently, Zhao Ci.

The Xiaomeng must be well aware of the importance of the Huailin lineage and Zhao Ci's background.

If his cultivation is sealed and Zhao Ci sees no hope of unsealing it, and the Bone-Penetrating Treasure Mirror is in the hands of the Free Alliance, then the Free Alliance might take the opportunity to bribe him...

Some might ask – what if Zhao Ci hadn't made a mistake? Well, then forget it. Who says a scheme will always succeed? Besides, in that case, no one would know that Jiang Daozhen had ever planned this.

If it is the Free Alliance that makes the move, then it can be confirmed that the Bone-Penetrating Treasure Mirror is indeed in their hands, thus confirming the whereabouts of this sect-protecting divine artifact.

If Zhao Sanjin were to make the move, given his status, he certainly wouldn't do it in private. He would definitely come to Jiang Daozhen to find out the truth. In that case, Jiang Daozhen could also achieve another goal—to confirm whether Zhao Zu had broken through to the eighth level of cultivation.

A question often has more than one answer, and a plan can also have multiple outcomes.

The punishment for Zhao Ci hasn't been decided yet, but Jiang Daozhen has achieved both of his goals simultaneously, though there was a small accident, or rather, an unexpected surprise.

The unexpected turn of events was that He Kao killed the assassin in the Bashan Herb Garden and obtained the Reflecting Mirror. The Reflecting Mirror was confirmed to be a replica of the Bone-Penetrating Treasure Mirror. If the assassin was from the Free Alliance, it would confirm that the Bone-Penetrating Treasure Mirror was in the hands of the Free Alliance.

However, there is still a flaw here, which is that it has not yet been determined whether the assassin is from the Xiaomeng. But it doesn't matter. Jiang Daozhen remains unchanged and continues to make arrangements accordingly.

The punishment imposed on Zhao Ci by the Clan Law Hall was to indefinitely ban his cultivation.

The word "indefinitely" is quite deliberate; it neither completely abolishes the system, preserving a glimmer of hope for recovery, nor prevents it from being banned for life.

How can one truly repent and make amends for their mistakes with concrete actions? Jiang Daozhen also intends to give Zhao Ci a chance.

After Zhao Ci returns, if anyone secretly contacts him and offers to help him restore his cultivation, he can go along with it and ask them to lift the seal on him, which is essentially luring them out...

Zhao Sanjin nodded and said, "If the Clan Court handles it this way, I think it is very appropriate. I will not say anything more. Do not tell anyone that I have been here, including Zhao Ci and Zheng Yisi."

He Kao couldn't help but ask, "What if no one comes looking for Zhao Ci?"

Zhao Sanjin said coldly, "It's not unreasonable to seal his cultivation for life! Sealing his cultivation is not the same as abolishing it. His foundation in the Body Observation Technique is still there, and he can prolong his life. If he is lucky enough to break through to the sixth level, the seal will be lifted on its own."

Jiang Daozhen quickly replied, "As long as he sincerely repents, I have my own way of confirming it. Even if no one comes to him, I will still lift the seal on him."

Zhao Sanjin glanced at Jiang Daozhen, seemingly communicating with him privately, then tossed the mirror back to Guo Qianhuai and walked out.

Guo Qianhuai was taken aback when he took the mirror, because the mirror contained a divine thought of Zhao Zu.

Zhao Sanjin was, after all, the founder of the Body Observation Sect, and had cultivated the Body Observation Technique to the eighth level. He had just studied the Reflection Mirror and left his understanding of its wonderful uses and the intricacies of weapon control in the mirror.

While Guo Qianhuai was still in a daze, he saw that Zhao Sanjin had already left. Jiang Daozhen and He Kao had both seen him off, and he quickly followed.

**
(End of this chapter)