Chapter 400: Recorders of the Past and Present (Part 11)

Li Zhiyuan picked up Zhu Hao's storage ring, and the cultivation resources inside astonished him.
Then he looked at the decapitated head, its eyes wide open in death, adorned with a strange bronze mask.
"Zhu Hao's ability to conceal his aura... must be thanks to this mask."
Such an item should have been handed over to the sect.
Li Zhiyuan removed the mask, a hint of surprise in his eyes. The mask was clearly a low-grade spiritual artifact.
Low-grade spiritual artifacts were extremely rare; even he only possessed two, one of which was a gift from an elder, given to him to use against Zhu Hao.
After returning to the sect, Li Zhiyuan handed over Zhu Hao's storage ring.
"Just as I suspected, Zhu Hao had such audacity to dare attack and kill a fellow disciple!"
The elder of the Enforcement Hall was enraged.
"Li Zhiyuan, is everything you say true?"
Some elders were skeptical, not believing that Zhu Hao possessed such great ability to silently kill eleven inner disciples.
Li Zhiyuan firmly stated, "That Zhu Hao, I don't know what kind of technique he cultivates, can conceal his aura so that disciples cannot detect him. Whether the murderer is Zhu Hao or not, I haven't touched any items in my storage ring."
Li Zhiyuan still concealed the information about the mask; he fabricated a special technique.
Clearly, the elders present were not easily convinced by Li Zhiyuan's words, as they had searched their storage rings thoroughly but found no trace of the special method.
Just as the elders were about to press for answers, the woman seated at the head of the table spoke: "This storage ring cannot be faked. The murderer is indeed Zhu Hao. Li Zhiyuan has helped the sect avert a major calamity; for his merit, he can be promoted to a true disciple."
With the sect leader's intervention, the crowd had no choice but to give up.
Ruan Hongyao said to Li Zhiyuan: "The sect has always been clear about rewards and punishments for its disciples. Merit is rewarded, and transgressions are punished. There is no need to conceal the matter of Zhu Hao; inform all disciples so that they may learn from this."
Zhu Hao's death ended with Li Zhiyuan's promotion to a true disciple.
The Tianyuan Sect flourished.
Since learning that the mask could help him conceal his presence, Li Zhiyuan avoided following in Zhu Hao's footsteps.
"The Jiangbei flower thief Hua Qieyu was killed by an unknown expert. It's truly gratifying! You know, Hua Qieyu, with his superb concealment skills, violated countless innocent girls, incurring the wrath of heaven and earth. I never expected him to be killed so silently. It's truly satisfying!"
"Indeed, indeed! Just three months ago, the infamous Thirteen Thirteen Thieves were also killed silently. You know, even a Spirit Sea Realm expert from a major sect couldn't defeat them when they joined forces, yet they died without a sound."
"Half a year ago, a demon infiltrated the southwest, slaughtering a city in an attempt to break through to the Spirit Sea Realm. That demon possessed the talent to deceive several sects that sent out Spirit Sea Realm experts, but in the end, it was discovered dead, left to rot in the wilderness."
"With such a terrifying method of concealment, these people couldn't all be one person..."
Li Zhiyuan listened to their conversation, adding in his mind: 'Indeed, it was one person.'
That's right. Since obtaining the mask, Li Zhiyuan had begun to punish evil and promote good. His home had been destroyed by demons, and he had been discovered by an elder of the Tianyuan Sect who was away, and brought back to the sect.
Fortunately, he possessed excellent aptitude and was immediately accepted as an inner disciple. His inherent goodwill remained unchanged with the passage of time.
Upon learning the mask's purpose, he chose to conceal it, intending to use it to accomplish more, giving his life meaning.
Now, ten years have passed.
He accomplished many things with the mask, choosing to remain hidden and disappear without a trace.
However, Li Zhiyuan did not change.
He continued his quiet good deeds, and twenty years later, Li Zhiyuan successfully broke through to the Spirit Sea Realm.
At the Spirit Sea Realm, he could do even more, and many wicked demons died at his hands.
As Li Zhiyuan did more good deeds, he attracted the envy of those who did not.
Another thirty years passed.
A demon noticed something amiss and began to ambush Li Zhiyuan… Li Zhiyuan ultimately chose to keep his appointment, and relying on the mask's ability to conceal his aura, he forcefully killed the ferocious demon.
This was a trap set for Li Zhiyuan. With the demon's death, Li Zhiyuan had nowhere to hide and was already surrounded by an inescapable net. Even with his profound cultivation, though he managed to break through, he suffered irreversible injuries.
Li Zhiyuan lay under a tree, removing his mask and touching it with his hand.
"Thank you..."
But he was ultimately going to die.
Ahead lay the Tianyuan Sect.
He could vaguely make out the sect's outline.
Li Zhiyuan clutched the mask to his chest, lay beneath the ancient tree, and passed away peacefully.
After Li Zhiyuan's death, the previously still bronze mask trembled, flashing with brilliant light.
The mask had actually leaped from a low-grade spiritual artifact to a high-grade spiritual artifact—this was utterly unbelievable...
The bronze mask's radiant light stood out starkly in the forest.
...
Liu Yizhi was merely an ordinary outer disciple of the Tianyuan Sect, having only recently joined.
He couldn't compare to the wealthy disciples who joined the sect at the same time, who had access to elixirs for cultivation.
His impoverished background meant he was lucky to even enter the Tianyuan Sect. Here, talent was worthless. He might be a genius, but who among those who joined the top sect of the Mujing Dynasty wasn't a genius?
To cultivate faster and reach higher realms, Liu Yizhi had no choice but to venture deep into the forest to gather spiritual herbs and medicines, a perilous journey fraught with danger.
"What's that?"
After searching for half a day without success, Liu Yizhi was surprised to find himself enveloped in multicolored light ahead. This reminded him of descriptions of rare and precious materials in ancient texts.
Liu Yizhi was thrilled. No wonder he hadn't encountered a single spiritual herb or medicine today; a great treasure awaited him here.
As Liu Yizhi cautiously approached, the original radiance gradually faded. Ahead, Liu Yizhi discovered a middle-aged man, ragged and covered in blood, leaning against a large tree, motionless. The only noteworthy detail was a bronze mask clutched in the man's arms.
Hmm... definitely a treasure.
Only after confirming the man was dead did Liu Yizhi dare approach. The man had left behind a storage ring, which Liu Yizhi opened, revealing a dazzling array of treasures that left him speechless.
Liu Yizhi recognized the familiar attire.
"This...this is an inner sect elder!"