The Divine Thought Heart Seal that Jiang Daozhen left for He Kao that day was akin to a mystical database, mainly comprising the summary data from the "Magic Sect Disciple General Investigation" conducted by the Ancestral Hall last year.

The Divine Thought Heart Seal can contain various information such as text, images, and scenes, but it is essentially a form of thought, like a segment of memory appearing in the mind.

Data is a resource, and a form of power. Only the Sect Law Hall Elders are qualified to grasp the complete content of this data. So, does Jiang Daozhen leaving such a Divine Seal for He Kao count as a breach of confidentiality?

In fact, it doesn't, because Elder Jiang not only made appropriate additions and deletions but also set "unlock" conditions.

If the Divine Thought Heart Seal is likened to a database, when He Kao encounters a stranger who is a Magic Sect Disciple, and if this person's information is recorded in the database, then the decryption permissions will be activated.

This is equivalent to the database opening the corresponding folder for He Kao, that is, the background information introduction of this person.

Previously, in front of Qian Guran, Yao Shaolan, Wei Luo, and others, why didn't He Kao discover this? Because he already knew these people well, they weren't strangers, hence this mechanism wasn't triggered.

This could be considered a bug in the design, but it doesn't have much impact because He Kao knows very few sorcerers.

Moreover, in the Divine Thought Heart Seal provided by Old Man Jiang, the information about Yao Shaolan and Qian Guran was even less than what He Kao himself knew. As for Wei Luo, the old man didn't even include her detailed information.

Old Man Jiang's intention was to cultivate He Kao into a genuine Hidden Moth, capable of overseeing the Magic Sect Disciples across the world, so He Kao had to know the various Magic Sect Disciples?

As for Xiao Guangnian, whom they met today, he was a junior disciple of the same master as Jiang Daozhen, so Old Man Jiang deliberately left more detailed background information.

The method left by Old Man Jiang was for him to recognize them when he encountered unfamiliar sorcerers. This Magic Sect Disciple Investigation's statistical result is probably the most exhaustive since ancient times, but it still can't be entirely accurate.

Some people might not have been reported in the statistics, such as the Huiming Shi Family, who hid a group of underground workers, and some might be loose cultivators wandering outside the Magic Sect organizations.

Besides the official Magic Sect Disciples, there is a larger community known as the Guest of Fate, which also wasn't included in the statistics.

Moreover, this statistics are just a static result at a point in time and can't reflect the dynamic development situation, such as people who later cultivated Entry Level, or existing sorcerers whose cultivation was promoted.

Nevertheless, this data greatly aids He Kao, and in most situations, it is sufficient.

As He Kao was in a daze by the roadside, the old man driving the sled stopped it and called out to him, "Young man, is this the way to Xiaohe Town? Hop on, I'll give you a ride!"

Locals are this friendly, and this "young man" is humorously called so, as He Kao is twenty-six while Xiao Guangnian is already eighty-three.

But He Kao was wearing a hooded winter jacket, goggles, and a cotton mask, making it difficult to see his face and age, so calling him "young man" wasn't wrong.

He Kao thanked him, got on the sled, Xiao Guangnian cracked the whip, and the horse continued on its way, asking, "Whose young lad are you, going home for the New Year?"

His address changed from "young man" to "young lad," perhaps realizing He Kao wasn't that old.

He Kao answered, "I'm not a local, just came over on a New Year's leave... couldn't drive here and left my car at Crane Ridge."

Xiao Guangnian replied, "This winter many people have been heading this way, not afraid of the cold… but Xiaohe Town is quite far from the border port, so not many come here."

He didn't ask how He Kao got here; the transportation from He Ling City to Xiaohe Town wasn't completely cut off. And He Kao couldn't admit that he took a big detour through Da'anling to get here.

They chatted a bit more, the old man was quite talkative, and when they reached the town, He Kao voluntarily helped him unload the carriage.

A tarp-covered sled, with contents inside that He Kao found familiar—a strangely shaped, over one-meter-high frozen mound of earth.

This clump of frozen earth was bigger and heavier than the three He Kao dug up two days earlier. He Kao helped the old man unload it from the sled and dragged it on a sled board into the yard.

He Kao probed, asking, "What is this? Could it be wild ginseng?"

Xiao Guangnian glanced at him with a half-smile, half-mock, "Young man, you have quite an eye for things! Many old hands at digging ginseng in this town and nearby villages haven't recognized it for so many years."

He Kao: "I was just guessing."

Xiao Guangnian: "Then you must keep it a secret for me! When I go out, I just toss this clump in the yard, if you let it slip, someone might come to steal it."

He Kao: "How would anyone steal something this heavy? Can they move it?"

Xiao Guangnian: "If it's valuable, people will find a way; even if one person can't move it, they'll call more—hoists, carts, this thing isn't exactly light… Sixty-year-old wild ginseng is worth a house!"

A house? That doesn't sound very expensive at all! But that's because this is Xiaohe Town, on the northeastern outskirts of He Ling City, so He Kao instinctively used local real estate prices for reference… A house in the deep mountain forest area of Xiaohe Town really can't be very expensive.

He Kao originally thought this thing was very valuable, estimating it at several hundreds of thousands at least. Turns out, he had added an extra zero in his head.

He Kao: "Rest assured, I'll definitely keep it secret for you! It's quite something you could dig it up in this season."

Xiao Guangnian: "Actually, wild ginseng at this time of the year is the best. I only dig one each year; it's more than enough for everything."

He Kao: "Is ginseng in this season the best? But, according to the data I found, isn't autumn after harvest and before freezing the best time to dig ginseng?"

Xiao Guangnian explained, "What you've read isn't wrong, that's the best timing, but not the best season. After the ground freezes and the snow covers it, how can you find and dig this thing?

However, ginseng that has been sealed in the frozen ground for a while has the best medicinal properties, undergoing a natural refining and solidifying process, most nourishing with primordial qi and acting gently… If harvested after spring, its efficacy disperses somewhat."

He Kao nodded, "I see, I've learned something new!"

While chatting, He Kao not only helped the old man unload the sled and move things, but also assisted in leading the horse into the stable… Xiao Guangnian warmly invited He Kao inside to sit for a while.

The house had two floors with a yard, not the traditional thick adobe houses, but a modern building made with lightweight insulating materials, and the plastic-steel windows had triple glazing.

Unexpectedly, this town had centralized heating, and Xiao Guangnian's house was connected to it, but also had an independent standby heating system.

The so-called standby heating system was actually a rather complex kang (a type of Chinese heated bed), using firewood burning and through the reserved space and flues in the walls, to heat one of the walls and two kangs both upstairs and downstairs.

Modern architecture also retained the traditional kang, there was one in the ground floor living room, and another upstairs, but they weren't burning at the moment because the room wasn't cold.

He Kao removed his outer clothing, mask, and goggles, brewed tea, and sat down. Xiao Guangnian unexpectedly brought over a dish of fried black beans and poured two cups of baijiu (Chinese liquor).

Not even at meal time, the guest was greeted with tea paired with liquor, quite novel, and He Kao wondered, "Mister, do we drink as soon as we step inside?"

Xiao Guangnian laughed, "Have a little to warm up, we'll drink formally during the meal… Actually, you shouldn't call me mister."

He Kao: "What should I call you then?"

Xiao Guangnian: "Call me Second Uncle! He Kao, how's my Senior Brother Jiang doing lately?"

He Kao, holding the cup, was taken aback: "How do you know me?"

Xiao Guangnian chuckled, "I guessed."

He Kao: "You have such keen eyes! How did you recognize me?"

Xiao Guangnian: "Well, I think I know about Qi Yuan's matter, and I know your name. There are rumors in Jianghu that you are Elder Jiang's Secret Disciple, I might also have checked it out."

**

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