Hidden Moth-Chapter 518 - 296: The Passerby Who Asks for Directions

Mei Guyu came to Qi Yuan to "find a place to settle," which, in a sense, also equates to seclusion training.

This matter is no longer a secret to many, but the Ancestral Hall still issued a gag order to all Magic Sect disciples, and the announcement did not mention specific details.

For instance, Elder Mei’s name, age, gender, location, and method of seclusion training—none of these were introduced in the bulletin, leaving most people still uninformed.

The Ancestral Hall prohibits Magic Sect disciples from probing into or spreading related information.

If someone persists in doing so, then there’s no need for explanations. Not only is it a violation of the Sect Hall Order, but from a personal perspective, it would be purposely disturbing Elder Mei’s cultivation, leading people to question their motives and character.

Thanks to the Ancestral Hall’s achievements in information technology, it can send announcements directly to every enrolled disciple, greatly enhancing efficiency—something almost unimaginable in the past.

The Ancestral Hall also requires that every Magic Sect disciple convey the announcement’s contents to their reachable Guests of Fate, as well as independent cultivators they have contact with in Jianghu.

Many have heard of the Xiao Alliance for the first time and will naturally wonder what kind of organization it is and why it would do such things? The Ancestral Hall had, of course, anticipated this, and most of the announcement’s length was dedicated to answering such questions.

Its content is presented in a Q&A format, akin to the currently popular man-machine dialogue. Here is a main excerpt from the Q&A—

(1) What kind of organization is the Xiao Alliance?

The Xiao Alliance calls itself the "Carefree Wanderers Alliance." In ancient times, a "Carefree Wanderer" referred to a sorcerer with lost transmissions disconnected from their sect, differing from the modern-day meaning.

However, the Xiao Alliance is not truly an alliance of Carefree Wanderers; they merely use the title, much like some groups call themselves the "Justice Alliance," which doesn’t necessarily mean they represent justice.

The origins of this organization can be traced back over a thousand years to internal conflict within the Magic Sect.

The internal strife within the Magic Sect a thousand years ago led to a major schism, with a faction of sorcerers leaving the sect, taking advantage of the chaos to seize many magical treasures, elixirs, and secret manuals, and also destroying many records at the same time.

As a result, even today, the Magic Sect cannot precisely know what they took. Whether the many missing sorcerers of the time were harmed or left with them remains unclear.

The current Xiao Alliance may have no connection to those people from back then, but the items and techniques they absconded with have, after a millennium, largely ended up in the hands of the Xiao Alliance, such as the Alchemy Sect’s Sacred Artifact, the Eight Trigrams Purple Gold Furnace.

The Xiao Alliance has no consistent doctrine in technique cultivation, only striving to grasp and control more powerful forces for their own use. They have done much with techniques to expand and develop the organization.

Yet, such an organization has inherent limitations on its growth because it is not merely about absorbing more members; technique cultivation depends on talent, comprehension, and character refinement.

Not just anyone can enter, and even if they do, it’s hard to cultivate to higher realms. Some people have excellent cultivation aptitude, but after encountering and understanding more of the world, they may not necessarily agree with the Xiao Alliance’s methods.

On the other hand, the Xiao Alliance has always been wary of strikes from the Magic Sect because many of their actions violate the sect rules. The execution of sect rules and Sect Hall Orders by Magic Sect disciples applies to all sorcerers, including independent cultivators.

More importantly, the upper echelons of the Xiao Alliance have always advocated creating opportunities to destroy the Magic Sect and seize the Seven Great Grotto Heavens.

In their view, the few things "brought" out from the Magic Sect Grotto Heaven in the chaos millennia ago, along with various technique transmissions, are already invaluable and uncopiable peerless treasures.

Now, with a thousand years of developmental accumulation, the Magic Sect possesses divine artifact treasures, spiritual elixirs, and various innovative techniques that are unimaginably abundant.

Moreover, the Grotto Heaven itself is the optimal place for cultivating high-tier techniques, providing a continuous output of resources.

Such a target naturally cannot be easily exposed, especially to avoid alerting the Magic Sect, so they strive to operate in secret, placing main bases overseas.

They employ secret transmissions, like weaving a complex net with strict hierarchy, where everyone accesses different information to gather vast resources, focusing on nurturing elite talents.

They seem less like an organization with technique transmissions and more like a secret managing entity.

(2) What exactly happened during the internal conflict of the Magic Sect a millennium ago?

Many unforeseen events triggered and perpetuated the conflict, with numerous Magic Sect disciples finding themselves in opposing camps as events unfolded, increasingly violating sect rules, and thus unwilling to accept the sect’s constraints further.

However, the core division within the Magic Sect was rooted in the philosophy of safeguarding transmissions.

At the time, it was during the historical Period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms in the Eastern Country, where territories fragmented into numerous fragmented states. Some proposed seizing control of these states in secret, dividing realms into personal influence zones.

Each would form natural groups based on master-disciple relationships, with whoever had stronger methods and wider influence occupying bigger and better territories for development.

As for the Magic Sect, it could seize the opportunity to transform, becoming the behind-the-scenes coordinator and ultimate controller, continuing to live reclusively in the mountains while dictating worldly affairs.

So long as the world remained in a state of fragmented conflict, the Magic Sect could maintain dominance through balance and control. Some even proposed that the Seven Great Magic Sects should each occupy a realm, dividing influence zones for sect development...