Chapter 1849 — True Identity: West Star Mountain Village

Mo Kongwen took his leave of Old Man Wei and made ready to depart.

True, at Old Man Wei's earnest urging he had lingered a few more days, sharing several rounds of wine with him—but what must go must go in the end.

His task here was done; he had succeeded in helping Wei Zhao through his tribulation, and now it was time to return and resume his seclusion, to assault that barrier once more…

"Old friend, I'm off. Take care of yourself!" Mo Kongwen said with a faint smile to Old Man Wei, who stood at the head of the village.

"This time… the road ahead belongs to little Yi alone." Old Man Wei sighed. "I don't know what those two were thinking, setting you to guard little Yi's safety. I can't say it'll all be smooth sailing, but at the very least the hidden clans won't be able to make quite so much trouble for him…"

Hearing this, Mo Kongwen could only smile bitterly. The only person who dared call those two "things" was Old Man Wei, who had once faced life and death at their side—he himself would never dare.

"The master and he must have their own considerations. You know the saying—iron unworked makes no steel, jade uncarved makes no vessel!" Mo Kongwen said. "And before he reaches that level, there is a limit on how many times I may act each year… once it exceeds two, I'll have no way to answer to the master… Besides, some forces have already slipped beyond our control. Thirteen years have passed… you and I, for reasons of aptitude, have made no great breakthroughs, but the ancient sects and hidden clans keep producing talent—especially the hidden clans, which in recent years have suddenly brought forth several Heaven-rank experts. That worries me greatly…"

"Yes, your worry is mine as well. The hidden clans are faintly showing a tendency to slip the leash—though that was inevitable. With those two things gone, we two old brothers alone cannot overawe those Heaven-rank experts, especially since I… cannot leave this place…" Old Man Wei smiled bitterly.

"Still… the master and he must have had their reasons for arranging things this way…" Mo Kongwen sighed. In truth, even he could no longer divine Wei Zhao's fate. It was just as the ancient records described: once one cultivates the ancient secret manuals, one's fate is altered—and the more exquisite the manual, the more erratic the cultivator's fate becomes, a hair's breadth of difference stretching into a thousand miles of error. Mo Kongwen had not believed it before, but his very first attempt to divine that Wei Zhao was in danger had failed—by then Wei Zhao had already perfectly advanced to the Profound rank, much to Mo Kongwen's astonishment.

And from that time on, not one of Mo Kongwen's divinations of Wei Zhao's fate had ever been accurate—so he had simply stopped trying.

After their farewell, Mo Kongwen vanished in the blink of an eye, and Old Man Wei, not the least surprised, turned and walked back the way he had come…

When Mo Kongwen returned to the place of his cultivation and saw the communicator in the room, his expression shifted ever so slightly!

Not daring to delay, Mo Kongwen sat cross-legged upon a diagram of the eight trigrams and began to divine… After a long while he opened his eyes, and the result sent a chill of dread through him!

At once Mo Kongwen placed another call to Old Man Wei.

The last time, at West Star Mountain Village, had been their first contact since parting, made through the communicator; this time, however, he called directly on his phone.

"Old friend, you've returned to the place of your cultivation?" Old Man Wei asked.

"Old friend Lin, there's trouble…" Mo Kongwen said, his expression grave.

"Trouble? What kind of trouble?" Old Man Wei asked, slightly taken aback.

"The hidden clans… may be about to stir up a storm!" Mo Kongwen said.

"The hidden clans? How would they stir up a storm? So long as no Earth-rank experts emerge, no one can shake little Yi now, with his skills and the friends around him!" Old Man Wei said, puzzled.

"But… what if those hidden clans no longer wish to abide by that agreement?" Mo Kongwen sighed deeply. "After all, he and the master have been gone so many years. The Hidden Clan Arbitration Association's hold over the hidden clans weakens by the day, and I have shut myself away to assault that barrier and will not emerge. I'd be a fool to believe they harbor no restless thoughts… And just now I cast a divination—the order of the hidden clans… is about to change."

"What! At a time like this, they…" Old Man Wei was startled too. "You mean the experts above Earth rank are about to come forth…"

"Heh—after biding their time so many years, anyone would grow restless…" Mo Kongwen said. "Had I known, I'd have stopped little Yi from going back no matter what, kept him here with you to recover. Even if they sent Heaven-rank experts, heh—they'd not return alive!"

"But what worries me is little Yi's situation right now…" Old Man Wei said urgently.

"I never thought the hidden clans would test me in this way…" Mo Kongwen said, and then told Old Man Wei about the communicator. Yes—Mo Kongwen was the Grand Elder of the Hidden Clan Arbitration Association!

Only, because of what happened that year, the Association's founder had departed, and he too had entered seclusion to cultivate, assaulting that final barrier, striving before Cloud-Rank Island opened to cultivate his strength to its peak, step onto the Heavenly Dao, and go seek the master…

So, by his promise and covenant with the master, he might emerge to lend aid only when Wei Zhao faced irreversible danger—but it was expressly stipulated that there was a limit: no more than twice a year!

This was a constraint upon his own cultivation, and a constraint upon Wei Zhao as well! If one always counted on a patron at one's back, one would grow slack in cultivation and develop a lazy temperament.

Should he exceed that limit, the most severe punishment would await Mo Kongwen.

Mo Kongwen deeply regretted it—this year's first opportunity had been inexplicably wasted, and now the second was spent as well. That is to say, no matter what danger arose, he could not emerge again!

"It seems these people planned this long in advance!" Old Man Wei could not suppress his anger on hearing this. "If little Yi's master had not gone, heh—even the ancient sects would show deference. Now these upstart hidden clans, every Tom, Dick, and Harry, are puffing themselves up…"

"Old friend Lin, call the people around little Yi at once and have them lie low, ride out this storm, and give them no opening!" Mo Kongwen said. "Though it's not certain they'll move against little Yi."

This too was because Mo Kongwen knew nothing of the Rainfire Star and the Qi-Gathering Pill, nor that Zhao Qibing had become the chosen heir of the Zhao family. Had he known, he would never have said such a thing.

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