Hidden Moth-Chapter 288 - 158: Seeing the Painting Is Like Seeing Immortal Tan

Otherwise, whenever He Kao goes out, he wouldn’t be able to obtain various supplies. Procuring these items has cost him quite a bit of Qian, especially the specialized equipment for outdoor exploration in different environments, which is quite expensive.

So when he told Lin Qingshuang that he doesn’t have much cash, it was the truth.

Some treasures he didn’t spend money on, like recently acquiring a tiger skin and a set of tiger bones, both processed for preservation. These are things left by Zeng Hongye and Xiaosi in the wild of Maoluo Country, which he picked up.

This cave hall maintains a consistent temperature of eighteen degrees Celsius year-round, with a stable and suitable humidity, reaching museum storage standards.

The hall is connected to three passageways, and at the entrance of one upwards passage, He Kao built a large stove, the kind with a chimney for burning firewood, cleverly using the cave’s structure to keep smoke from entering the hall.

But He Kao built the stove just for fun, hardly using it on regular days. Even if he occasionally needs to heat something in the hall, a camping stove would suffice.

Upon entering the hall, He Kao lit the camping lamp. Although he could already perceive things clearly in the dark, to observe all the details of a painting, lighting was still necessary.

He Kao had owned this painting for quite some time and often took it out for contemplation and study. Aside from being unable to activate the Invisibility Ability in front of the person in the painting, its material was quite special, but he hadn’t discovered any other mysteries.

The Hidden Moth Gauze and Earth Spirit Banner, he had mastered their preliminary uses, yet no matter how he handled this painting, there was no reaction.

This painting, "Tan Xian’s Walking Stick Painting," ought to be the genuine article. Zhang Yanfei’s cause of death was ambiguous back then. But why would Zhang Yanfei risk his life to leave behind the genuine article?

Since he left behind the genuine article, why send it for exhibition? Zhang Yanfei, being capable of creating a convincing replica, could certainly make a second one. It would make sense to send the replica for exhibition; using the genuine article makes no sense!

There must be a reason behind such abnormal behavior. Presumably, Zhang Yanfei studied "Tan Xian’s Walking Stick Painting" for a long time yet couldn’t grasp its essence, so he wanted to try a different approach by sending it for exhibition, hoping to see if it would undergo changes under public scrutiny?

Why can’t the painting’s mystery be unravelled? Is it due to lacking sufficient cultivation? The Alchemy Sect has passed down through generations that seeing the painting is akin to seeing Immortal Tan, but it doesn’t seem to be the case?

Seeing the painting like seeing a person, He Kao suddenly thought of something.

Maybe the key to this phrase isn’t whether one can see the person in the painting, but what the viewer should do upon seeing it. It must be known that Immortal Tan is the ancestor of the Alchemy Sect; wouldn’t later disciples have to kowtow several times upon seeing him? 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Having thought of this, he decided to give it a try. On the stone wall on one side of the hall, there was a naturally formed recess resembling a shrine, where he hung "Tan Xian’s Walking Stick Painting" and then performed a grand kowtow ceremony.

His head hit the ground with audible thuds, yet the painting showed no change; Tan Jun in the painting merely watched meaningfully.

Is this not the way? He pondered more. If this painting were placed in the Sect’s Ancestral Hall, it would either be treasured in storage or, following ancient tradition... it should be hung for offering!

How to offer to the ancestor? He Kao couldn’t help but recall the sect’s ancestral rites.

Upon breaking through to Tier Four cultivation, one needs to go to the Sect’s Ancestral Hall to accept the Secondary Inheritance Ceremony, which involves ancestral worship according to ancient rituals.

This ceremony is presided over by an elder, and its specific content is unknown to the disciples beforehand.

But He Kao, being the current Sect Leader of the Hidden Moth Sect, had many things already imparted to him through Divine Thought Heart Seal by Elder Jiang. The contents of the Secondary Inheritance Ceremony are also included in the complete inheritance of the Six Great Technique Sects.

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