Hidden Moth

Chapter 634 370: The Xieshan Roof Has Replaced the Wudian

The landscapes in the painting depict the geographical features around Phoenix Tail Town. The painting and scroll seem to be perfectly integrated, revealing themselves as a divine artifact. The image of Tan the Immortal added later resembles Patriarch Tan Jun himself.Mei Guyu hurriedly stepped forward to pay respects to the Patriarch. Upon finishing the ritual and lifting her head, she saw a halo of light emanating from the scroll, enveloping her and He Kao's figures, as if a portal had magically appeared.

Soon after, the halo disappeared, and the scroll rolled up, disappearing without a trace.

They found themselves once again in an empty wilderness, with a high cliff covered in vines ahead. Holding a rolled-up scroll, He Kao smiled and asked, "Junior Sister, do you recognize this place?"

Mei Guyu replied, "It should be the original geography around Phoenix Tail Town. Ahead lies the cave mansion of Immortal Cauldron Palace, obscured by the Celestial Palace Curtain… How did Senior Brother bring the scroll inside?"

He Kao said, "The scroll is the Grotto Heaven, and the Grotto Heaven is the scroll. As I entered the Grotto Heaven, I assumed control of the array core, naturally holding it in my hands." He spoke as he tossed the scroll, which flew into the sky and vanished.

Mei Guyu asked, "Are you already able to control this divine artifact?"

He Kao replied, "Since advancing to Tier Six, I've been able to control it, though my cultivation isn't sufficient to fully comprehend its mysteries."

Mei Guyu's tone shifted, "But as you said before, the invisibility ability cannot be seen."

He Kao confirmed, "Indeed, if you focus on me or lock onto me with your divine sense, I cannot activate the invisibility ability. But do not share this; it could be exploited against me."

Mei Guyu assured, "I certainly won't tell anyone, including your identity as a Hidden Moth… So Hidden Moth's existence cannot be concretely proven."

He Kao conceded, "It can't be directly verified, but it can be indirectly proven."

No one can directly observe Hidden Moth traversing space, hence it cannot be proven, but it can be inferred indirectly. For instance, how he can appear in Qi Yuan one moment and in Nanhua a few minutes later...

Mei Guyu further questioned, "But I saw you open the portal with the scroll, and entered the Floating Colors Grotto Heaven with you, contradicting what you said earlier."

Mei Guyu highlighted an important point. If the invisibility ability cannot be seen by others, how did it happen just now? She saw the portal opened and entered the Grotto Heaven!

He Kao scratched his head, "It's different; the Grotto Heaven gate requires the scroll to open. We can walk in directly, even fly in, but it isn't instantaneous travel.

Right now, you can see me, and divine sense can lock onto me; I can't traverse space within this Grotto Heaven…"

Mei Guyu remained silent, merely looking at He Kao, clearly unsatisfied with the explanation.

He Kao rubbed his cheek further, "When I reached Tier Four, I thought the invisibility ability facilitated through Floating Colors Grotto Heaven wasn't the case upon advancing to Tier Six.

Traversing space is just Hidden Moth's instinct; I don't necessarily rely on Floating Colors Grotto Heaven to do it. However, to help others traverse space, I can utilize it for transitions to any place I've been."

Mei Guyu asked, "Do you have to take out the scroll every time to open the Grotto Heaven portal?"

He Kao answered, "Outside, it must be an actual scroll to unfold like an elaborate ritual." As he spoke, the scroll appeared again in his hand out of thin air.

Mei Guyu, seemingly thoughtful, nodded, "The scroll is the Grotto Heaven, and the Grotto Heaven is the scroll; you already control this divine artifact and can make it materialize in the Grotto Heaven.

But each time you open a portal outside, you must take the physical scroll out and unfold it."

He Kao confirmed, "Yes, precisely."

Mei Guyu warned, "Then you must be careful not to let anyone seize the scroll."

He Kao assured, "I'm very cautious each time I use it, and the scroll itself has wondrous powers; I can swiftly draw people into the Grotto Heaven within the painting. It's the Hidden Moth Sect's Sacred Artifact!

Unless the opponent is so strong I can't capture them, or too powerful I'm rendered defenseless."

Mei Guyu laughed, "That sounds a lot like Gold Horn King! But if you capture overly powerful opponents into the painting, you might still be unable to defeat them, gaining no advantage."

He Kao chuckled, "Today you're like an inquisitive little monkey."

Before the three elders, He Kao often played the role of a curious little monkey, grabbing every opportunity to consult them, endlessly asking questions. But today, it was Mei Guyu asking him constantly.

Mei Guyu suddenly spoke seriously, "If the scroll is the Grotto Heaven, then it's not the Hidden Moth Sect's Sacred Artifact; the real Sacred Artifact should be something else."

He Kao paused, feeling he might have misunderstood some things. The Seven Great Magic Sects all possess Sacred Artifacts; presumably the Hidden Moth Sect should, too. He had always simply assumed it was this painting.

Yet Mei Guyu made a valid point. Each of the Seven Great Magic Sects has a Grotto Heaven, but the Sacred Artifact is something else. For instance, the Alchemy Sect possesses Immortal Pot Grotto Heaven, but their Sacred Artifact is the Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace they've just retrieved.

If the scroll isn't the Sacred Artifact, what could it be… A Hidden Moth object?

That Beast Claw Pendant that He Kao always carries, which can only work in his hands, serves both as a key to enter Hidden Moth Grotto Heaven and aids in traversing space.

He Kao has worn this object for a long time, feeling it has become part of him. The invisibility ability has almost become instinctive, as natural as eating and drinking, often forgetting its existence.

But the real Hidden Moth object isn't merely the pendant but the spirituality it embodies. Originally with Huang Xiaopang, the Hidden Moth object was just a fake string bought for a few dozen Qian.

He Kao instinctively pressed his chest, changing the subject, "Junior Sister, can you fly?"

Mei Guyu replied, "Can and cannot."

He Kao: "So, can you do it or not?"

Mei Guyu: "Tier Seven Fasting, Tier Eight Flying, my cultivation hasn't reached that level yet. The Rainfall Divine Sword in my hand isn't a Flying Divine Artifact, but with its help, I have a technique to transform into sword light..."

Before she finished speaking, she summoned the Rainfall Divine Sword, merging her form with the sword light, and swiftly arrived at the distant mountain peak.

He Kao hurried after her and said, "This isn't just flying; it's practically like lightning!"

Mei Guyu explained that the technique of transforming into sword light actually has significant limitations, as it can only be performed within the range of one's Divine Sense. It's equivalent to launching all-out with one sword strike, requiring much energy and is difficult to execute continuously.

It's merely a burst technique, and once used in combat, the sword strike is committed with no return.

As they spoke, the two continued onward, and before long reached a high slope outside the central basin, from which they could see the outline of the Sect Ancestral Hall's courtyard, covering fifteen acres on the northern side of the central basin, had been completed.

Inside the courtyard, there was still a large vacant area waiting for construction, but the beam and column structure of the central hall was basically finished, and four Hidden Moth Sect disciples were waiting in front of the hall for the Sect Leader to arrive, as the celebration banquet was already set up in the open area.

He Kao invited, "Join us?"

Mei Guyu waved her hand, "I'll just watch the fun from here. Don't tell them; it's not the time yet."

As an Elder of the Sect Law Hall, Mei Guyu didn't intend to reveal herself and meet with the Hidden Moth Sect disciples just yet. He Kao went alone to the hall, and the beam-raising ceremony officially began...

The so-called beam-raising involves setting up the main beam right at the top of the roof, also known as the ridge beam or main beam. In traditional Eastern Country architecture, it is positioned at the very center and highest part of the wooden structure.

In the past, many ordinary households couldn't afford to build houses with beam and column structures, opting instead to directly place a main beam on the gable walls on either side.

There's a small question: what is the highest specification building style in ancient Eastern Country? The answer is the wudian roof. The Hall of Supreme Harmony and the Ancestral Temple all have multiple eaves and wudian roofs.

However, the contemporary situation has subtly changed. Though historical architecture experts still consider the wudian roof the most noble, in the public subconscious, the multiple eaves hip roof is seen as the highest specification.

The reason is nothing else but the fact that the Gate of Heavenly Peace's tower has a multiple eaves hip roof!

In contemporary Eastern Country, no building can surpass the Gate of Heavenly Peace, whether in terms of symbolic significance or actual importance. Its image is even engraved on the national emblem, so what building could exceed its status?

Moreover, from the perspective of architectural structure and visual effect, the hip roof is more intricate and beautiful than the wudian roof. The hall that He Kao and others constructed has a multiple eaves hip roof.

The main beam of the hall was extremely heavy, typically requiring lifting equipment. However, here, He Kao and Lan Jiwan each carried one end, hoisting it up while standing on two custom-made long ladders.

They placed it in the mortise-and-tenon joint, with a large red silk flower wrapped around the center of the beam. They then walked to the middle and shook open the red silk towards the sky.

As the red silk unfurled, the two floated down.

Earlier, they had shaken the celebratory Qian wrapped in the silk into the sky, which included various denominations of coins as well as gold and silver ingots, each ingot being an ounce made specially by Jiuliang Manufacturing.

In the Illusion Realm, it was He Kao who stood on the beam scattering the celebratory Qian, while others scrambled to catch them below. But now he shook the celebratory Qian into the air and came down, joining everyone in employing their techniques to catch the celebratory Qian falling from the sky.

On both sides of the red silk hung long strands of firecrackers, which were simultaneously lit using casting. Amidst the festive sound of firecrackers and drifting smoke, everyone laughed and joked together.

Because everyone's techniques interfered with each other, quite a bit of celebratory Qian fell to the ground, making pleasant tinkling sounds, prompting everyone to bend down and pick them up.

Seeing this scene, He Kao felt an indescribable feeling, as the scenes from the Illusion Realm turned into reality. Though there were some differences in specific details, they were more complete...

At this moment, it seemed even the state of mind and cultivation subtly improved, at least becoming more stable.

After the ceremony, it was time for the sect's communal feast. Sitting at the head position, He Kao felt somewhat embarrassed, eating and drinking there while Mei Guyu was still just watching from the nearby mountain.

He secretly communicated using Divine Thought, "Are you sure you don't want to join us for a bite?"

Mei Guyu replied, "Enjoy your drinks; don't worry about me. I'm fasting today... I'll stroll around the Grotto Heaven, and when you're done drinking, take me back to work overtime."

He Kao: "Alright then... When I was grabbing the celebratory Qian earlier, I also got a share for you."

After the feast ended, He Kao saw off Ye Liangchen and gave him some instructions. The next step for the sect's work was focusing on setting up the Alchemy Room, as the Creation Cauldron was brought in just the day before.

Lan Jiwan had been following beside him like a quiet cat, seemingly looking for an opportunity to talk with He Kao alone.

He Kao noticed and said specifically, "I'll come to see you tonight and take you somewhere; maybe you'll gain new insights."

...

Around ten o'clock in the evening, He Kao found Lan Jiwan in the Floating Colors Grotto Heaven and opened a portal, saying, "Come on, I'll take you somewhere."

Lan Jiwan was a bit surprised and slightly excited, lowering her voice, "Sect Leader Senior Brother, where are you taking me?"

He Kao: "It's not a nice place; it might make you uncomfortable, so please maintain a calm state of mind."

**