Han Xuhan distinctly felt that the details didn't add up well enough to support Elder Daheng's theory. But practically speaking, he had no proof to refute it.

If the fog could bypass the mask's protection and invade his mind, then experiencing a hallucination was not out of the question.

But he also remembered the senior sister from the Frost Pill Mountain Peak ascertaining that this mask wasn't such a high-grade apparatus that it would be able to distinguish between its charger and wearer.

Was she wrong?

Naturally, he voiced the suspicion in his heart, relaying to Elder Daheng what she had said.

"Since you have profound knowledge of array formations, Elder, you can tell if this mask has that kind of mechanism or not, right?"

Hearing the question, Elder Daheng's face turned a little stiff. He focused back on the mask and started scratching on the wooden surface without saying anything.

At first, Han Xuhan thought the Elder was looking for the mentioned array, but a few moments later, the mask was handed back to him, with half of its surface covered in deep scratches.

His face solemn, Elder Daheng said, "I know why you asked this question, my disciple. Isn't it because of your cursed physique? Someone with meridians like yours cannot afford to keep an apparatus of this type active during danger.

"So I have fixed it for you. There indeed was an array on it that restricted the protective mechanisms if the qi signature of the wearer appeared to be unfamiliar with the qi powering the arrays.

"With these scratches, that array had been disfigured. You will be protected now even if any of your companions charge it for you."

"....Thank you, Elder," Han Xuhan said as he examined the scratches made with fingernails, his face scrunched up in a deep frown.

Were just some scratches enough to ruin an array? How could arrays be so weak? And wouldn't doing such a thing disrupt the functioning of the rest of the arrays inscribed on the mask?

Sensing his doubtful gaze, Elder Daheng coughed and gave him a confident nod.

"You can test it out the next time another mass of fog appears near our mountain peak. You'll see if it works or not while being powered by another person's refined qi."

"I will, Elder. Thank you for the modification and advice. Also, I apologize for interrupting your rest. If I had any idea that this was all a hallucination-"

Elder Daheng put a hand up in the air to stop him. "You don't need to apologize for such a thing. Your concerns were legitimate. Just know this for the future...

"Within the territory of the Crimson Snow Sect, nothing with ill intention towards you disciples can exist. Even if some evil creature managed to infiltrate its way past the perception of the guards and formations in the peripheral areas, we, the Elders will be able to detect it as soon as it sets foot on our mountains."

Han Xuhan nodded along, but when he recalled the hallucination, a grim possibility peeked into his mind.

"Elder, what if that enemy is more powerful than you are? Will you still be able to detect and defeat it?"

Elder Daheng's face hardened, but his confidence didn't show a crack as he responded.

"No matter how powerful the enemy may be, it will never be a match for our sect master. Even if we Elders cannot detect it, he will know."

"How powerful is he?" Han Xuhan asked in wonder. He had never seen a powerful cultivator express so much faith in another person. The Elders of the sect were too egotistical to admit such a thing.

Hearing his question, Elder Daheng smiled mysteriously.

"What is the highest level of cultivation you know of, disciple Xuhan?"

"...The Celestial realm."

Elder Daheng rolled his eyes. "You know nothing about that realm except the name. I'm asking about substantial knowledge."

Han Xuhan wanted to curse out loud. The sect hoarded information about the upper realms of cultivation to protect the disciples from getting deviant ideas, which might harm their future potential.

So what was the point of asking this question? Perhaps because Elder Daheng spent his days sleeping, he didn't even remember that such teaching policies existed.

"If it's on the basis of substantial knowledge, I'm familiar only with the Physique Transformation realm, Elder. Above that, even what I know about the Soul Reformation realm cannot be called substantial."

"Then you can just rest assured that if an enemy whose cultivation goes beyond the Soul Reformation realm ever infiltrates our sect, Master Zi can squash him like this," Elder Daheng said, making the motion of swatting a fly casually.

The implication was that the Sect Master's strength was above the third great realm of cultivation. Han Xuhan wasn't quite sure he believed the claim, considering most of the Elders in the Sect weren't even at the peak of the Soul Reformation realm.

How could such a disparity between a sect master and the sect Elders exist? The balance in their relationship would never be organic!

Nevertheless, his heart became calm after the assurance. Under Elder Daheng's persuasive words, he headed back to his hut to take some spirit-healing supplements.

Watching his back disappear downhill, Elder Daheng's countenance turned gloomy. He used his spiritual perception to check the surroundings cautiously. Then he crouched down to jab at some blades of grass near his feet.

His jabbing was forceful and methodical, carrying a hypnotic fluidity. A burst of colors spread from the spot as he pulled his hand back and stood up.

His action seemed to have caused a great disturbance in the elements of nature surrounding the area. Like a drop of paint blurring the calm water of a bowl, the scenery around him went through a wave of changes.

This wave, as if reconstructing reality itself, revealed a hut where just a moment ago, an ancient rock was lying. If Han Xuhan was here at this moment, he'd surely recognize the hut.

Elder Daheng also seemed to know what he was looking at. His face was a little angry as he approached the hut and stood just outside the gated entrance, watching the person on the patio coldly.

"Why did you reveal this place to the outside world?" he hissed, gnashing his teeth.

"I... Do... Nothing..." the young woman on the patio answered through long pauses.

Elder Daheng didn't buy the denial. "You can lie about this to anyone else but me. I have been guarding this formation around the mountain for years, not sleeping for a single moment since Xuan Zi brought you in. Every pulse of this formation is recorded in my memory. If you didn't mess with the formations-"

"She didn't do anything, I did."

The voice had come from inside the house, stunning the Elder. Following the response, a woman who looked slightly older than the one sitting on the patio walked outside and faced Daheng, her arms crossed and expression unfriendly.

Elder Daheng, in contrast, wore the same expression Han Xuhan had worn when he was running away from the hut. His face was devoid of blood, and his hands were shivering slightly.

"...You have arrived? So quickly?" He muttered, as if he couldn't believe his eyes.

"I was always here. What do you mean?" The newcomer woman, whose features bore a striking resemblance to the girl sitting behind her, said in a confused voice.

"Anyway, you must not blame Weiwei for the lapse in your formation. I sensed the fog of the pill coming and wanted to make sure that none of it would infiltrate the air of the hut. So I went to have a look at the arrays nearby and that's why the... boy ended up noticing the hut."

"I-Okay, okay, my apologies for raising my voice. It's just that having you two exposed to the outside world could cause some serious troubles. Master Ming Zi came here searching openly, and who knows how many other spies have come to search in secret? If your traces are discovered..."

Elder Daheng didn't finish the sentence. He knew he didn't have to. He simply bowed and disappeared from the spot. A moment later, the scenery reverted back to what it was when Han Xuhan had come to inspect it with him.

Elder Daheng's next destination wasn't his mansion, but the sect master's mountain peak. Sensing his presence at the door of the temple, Xuan Zi came out of his cultivation chamber with a concerned countenance.

"Xiao Heng, what's wrong? Do you need help with the formation-"

Daheng waved the question off and said in a panicked voice, "Why didn't you tell me that Zi Wei's injuries have recovered? I thought it'd take a few more years!"

"...She showed herself to you? Even I haven't been honored with the vision of her presence yet," Xuan Zi said in surprise. Elder Daheng realized that this was news to the Sect Master as well.

"It would have been fine if it was just me who saw her," he replied with a tired sigh.

"But another person was there while she was exposed to the elements outside the formations. You probably know this disciple. His name is Han Xuhan."

At first, there was a cold glint in Xuan Zi's eyes, but upon hearing the name, it disappeared as quickly as a sword being sheathed.

"If it's him, there is not much to worry about. He knows how and when to keep his mouth shut. I'll just warn him later."

"Just a warning won't do. You have to order the overseer of the apparatus pavilion to secretly replace all the fog-filtration masks issued so far except his," Elder Daheng said, sighing even more woefully this time.

"He must not know that his mask didn't have any recognition array. This isn't about protecting the secret of Zi Wei's existence. This is about protecting my dignity as an Elder!"