Hidden Moth-Chapter 583 - 335: Unnamed Paths Through Barren Mountains
Li Xiuyuan withdrew his magic, and Gu Chun also recalled that orb of golden light, transforming it back into the Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace, the size of an apple, held in his hand. He Kao was dumbfounded by the spectacle; it was said that the Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace had the marvelous uses of a spatial divine artifact, and he was genuinely astounded today.
The three then rode the clouds back to the basin at the center of the Grotto Heaven, where Gu Chun sat cross-legged with his hands open as if holding the Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace and spoke: "I will be doing my own work, you go about yours."
Having said that, the old man closed his eyes, while the Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace rotated in mid-air before his chest, seemingly refining something.
Li Xiuyuan beckoned to He Kao and said, "Come with me."
He Kao asked, "What are we going to do?"
Li Xiuyuan replied, "Mining stone, first we need to find the best site to build the Cave Mansion for seclusion... Hand me the Rainfall Divine Sword."
He Kao pulled out the steel ruler and handed it to Elder Li, who, along with him, reached the western foot of the mountain at the basin. There, a stream passed through, flowing along the basin's edge toward the entrance at the white stone bridge.
Crossing the river, it was evident that the mountain was steep, filled with jagged rocks. No one had tread here for millennia, and naturally, no path existed.
Elder Li wielded the steel ruler and turned it into radiant sword light, actually cutting a path through the mountain stones, leading to a cliff. Steeper sections were shaped into steps, allowing two people to pass simultaneously.
Elder Li had not received the Divine Seal inheritance of the Rainfall Divine Sword; he merely used the sword as an ordinary magical artifact, yet his prowess was remarkably exquisite.
Not only was he making a path, but he was also mining stone, slicing away excess parts and selecting suitable materials to cut into slabs two meters long, one meter wide, and about thirty centimeters thick, either piling them on the roadside or sending them flying to the foot of the mountain from afar.
He Kao couldn't help but praise, "I didn't realize your swordsmanship is also so profound!"
Li Xiuyuan chuckled, "I study a wide range of things."
He Kao said, "That's true, you're also adept in alchemy techniques."
Li Xiuyuan responded, "Don't just stand by and watch, go work on the road." Meanwhile, he transmitted a divine thought to him.
It turned out those stone slabs weren't for building the Ancestral Hall but rather for paving roads. In the divine thought, he provided He Kao with a map. This path stretched from the foot of the mountain, winding to connect with the main road at the center of the basin.
The so-called main road was the path leading from the white stone bridge to the grand entrance of the Ancestral Hall, though it hadn't been constructed yet. As for this small stone path, it was part of Lan Jiwan's envisioned garden landscape.
He Kao went down to the mountain, finding that the slabs that had flown to the foot were already laid along the stream, extending over a hundred meters, with a small segment already complete.
Elder Li's skills were truly impressive; slabs cut from the mountain flew down and could be precisely placed in sequence... He Kao quickly returned to transport more slabs for paving.
These heavy slabs were difficult to transport purely by manpower, especially considering the need to cross a river each time. So, He Kao employed the Object Control Skill to transport the slabs Elder Li had placed by the roadside down to the mountain.
This exhausted him greatly, but once he had paved the road to the planned location, there were no more excess slabs in the mountain, and looking back, he saw an additional small bridge over the stream.
This was a simple stone bridge, more than a zhang long, two meters wide, crossing the stream to the mountain path beyond.
It was midnight; He Kao walked along the stone path under the moonlight across the small bridge, then through the newly cleared mountain path, progressing deeper, ascending the stone steps on the cliff.
The steps ended at a platform between the cliffs, dozens of meters high from the mountain stream below, with a white stone wall behind.
Li Xiuyuan stood before the stone wall and, upon seeing He Kao come, returned the steel ruler to him, saying, "You come at a good time; I should wrap up. If you frequently carry this steel ruler while out, appearing as Hidden Moth with it amounts to exposure."
He Kao quickly replied, "Don't worry, Master Li; when I appear as Hidden Moth, it's with a different face and name."
Whenever He Kao appeared before others as Hidden Moth, he usually disguised himself as Feng Zilong, under the pseudonym Huo Qing, and naturally wouldn't be carrying his usual bag or wearing around that steel ruler.
Li Xiuyuan said, "If you don't carry the Rainfall Divine Sword with you, you'll struggle to escape when facing experts. But now you have the Four Seasons Flower Screen gifted by Grandmaster Guo, which should help you defend yourself."
Then, pointing to the white stone wall, he said, "If your cultivation is sufficient, the Rainfall Divine Sword is quite handy for cutting stone materials, but you shouldn't reveal it in front of other Hidden Moth Sect disciples.
I have an axe here, also a magical artifact, named Hill Cleave, which I can lend to you for some time. Are there any other high-tier sorcerers in the Hidden Moth Sect?"
He Kao replied, "Yes, there are two other cultivators, Er Ji and Lan Jiwan, both with Tier Four cultivation."
Li Xiuyuan advised, "Then let them use it to cut from this stone wall, utilizing the magical treasure's wondrous effect to harvest the necessary stones while also constructing a Cave Mansion here."
He Kao took the Hill Cleave and said, "Thank you, Master Li!"
This magical artifact looked like a simple axe for chopping wood in the countryside, akin to the standard weapon of the Axe Gang in movies—an axe head around a hand's size with a wooden handle about a foot long, which He Kao had used in his childhood.
However, upon closer inspection, he noticed the differences; the axe was crafted exceedingly fine. The handle had a slight curve, adorned with beautiful snakeskin patterns, and the dark axe head carried a faintly cold glow under the moonlight.
Li Xiuyuan again advised, "This axe is not a gift to you, it's only borrowed, and you will need to return it to me in the future. You can only use it here, don't take it outside, and don't let outsiders know."
He Kao: "Where is this magical treasure from, does it have a dubious origin?"
Li Xiuyuan: "This is a magical treasure of the Micro Realm Sect, crafted by ancient ancestors specifically for mountainous excavation, mining, and timber collection, occasionally usable for magical combat. I borrowed it from Zou Tianjin, and will have to return it to him eventually."
He Kao: "How long can I use it?"
Li Xiuyuan: "There's no rush to return it for now, use it for as long as you wish, just don't let others know or lose it... The time is about right, let's go check on Elder Gu."
The two returned to the stone ledge in the basin, where Elder Gu had already risen, beside him on the open ground were piles of timber like small mountains, all stacked and sorted according to size.
Elder Gu pointed at these piles of timber and said, "These have all been treated, enhancing the material properties, and can now be directly used for construction."
The main function of the Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace is alchemy, including material treatment, so processing some timber is certainly simple, since it's not about crafting spiritual elixirs.
But the fact that Elder Gu managed to process so much timber in such a short time is nothing short of a miracle!
The two elders spoke no more, yet He Kao suddenly realized another meaning behind their actions; today was not only to assist but also to demonstrate their extraordinary skills, giving him a measure of their adeptness.
Both of them are Great Success Cultivators who broke through to Tier Six years ago, especially Gu Chun, whose cultivation has long reached Tier Six Perfection. He Kao could gauge the vast difference between himself and these elder experts.
Li Xiuyuan once mentioned that with the Rainfall Divine Sword in hand, even if He Kao encounters masters and is outmatched, he should still be able to escape. Now he understands that he can only run away, provided he's quick to react!
Perhaps it's to prevent him from becoming arrogant, not knowing restraint in future mission executions, so the older generation used this method to remind him, essentially giving him a valuable lesson.
As dawn approached, He Kao escorted the two elders back to Phoenix Tail Town's Dragon Scale Slope. Before departing, Li Xiuyuan sent him a divine thought, and finally, the task came...
Elder Li also handed He Kao two USB drives, one of which contained the complete set of the Ancestral Hall's blueprints, allowing He Kao to organize manpower for construction following the designs, modifying them as needed.
He Kao said nothing, he merely nodded silently.
He had received too much information today; he spent the afternoon listening to lectures from Elder Zong and hadn't had time to digest it all, yet at night the two elders taught him another lesson.
Zong Zheng lectured without using any magical techniques, yet he explained the concept of breaking illusions before breaking the gate, and Gu Chun and Li Xiuyuan immediately demonstrated divine techniques he had never seen.
As a result, he remains somewhat confused even now...
Several days later, when He Kao reopened the Floating Colors Grotto Heaven and led the Hidden Moth Sect disciples inside, everyone was stunned.
Sect Leader Senior Brother has great divine techniques; in less than a week, he's prepared so much timber and even opened a road leading to the "quarry."
Everyone asked He Kao how he accomplished this. He Kao merely smiled and kept silent, Hidden Moth is just Hidden Moth, worthy of its name, at least its sense of mystery is fully intact.
Er Ji changed the plans and did not stay in Floating Colors Grotto Heaven for the following week. He would go outside to research, modify, and finalize the construction blueprints, leaving Chang'an Residence and Lan Jiwan here temporarily to cultivate and do other tasks.
For instance, Lan Jiwan could now use Qiu Zhan to cut the mountain walls for quarrying materials.
He Kao would open the portal at the same time next week, allowing everyone to decide who stays and who goes out to handle tasks; he would visit here occasionally as well, participating in sect missions alongside cultivation.
After leaving Floating Colors Grotto Heaven, He Kao did not return to Qi Yuan but went directly to the North American Continent.
He Kao had been here before, located at the southern tip of the US's west coast, near a town where a famous university in the state is situated. There were many other educational institutions in the town, resembling domestic university towns situated in suburban areas.
He didn't appear directly in the town but arrived in a piece of wilderness, recalling that it was once a lush forest teeming with wildlife, but now had become completely blackened.
This place had evidently encountered a large volcanic event recently, scorching many trees barren, leaving only charred stumps and oddly shaped branches.
It should have rained several times afterward, washing the mountains into a mess, with signs of small landslides visible in many areas. It had rained again recently, leaving low-lying places muddy.
At higher elevations, the rainwater had been baked dry by the scorching sun, and when wind drifted by, black-colored dust was billowing, suffocatingly choked.
Amongst the ashes and charred wood, many new weeds and saplings had emerged, some already over half a person's height.
Due to the time difference, it was noontime, and late-June's intense sunlight was almost directly overhead, making the mountains oppressively hot, akin to a baking steamer.
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