Chapter 484 - 237: A Surge in Cultivation

Chapter 484: Chapter 237: A Surge in Cultivation

Xie Yuan slipped back to the Cloud Mountain Sword Sect’s Jinling Villa without attracting any attention.

The Celestial Concealment Skill was already powerful, and now that it could be used in tandem with the Celestial Illusion Skill, his ability to move unseen was even greater.

Once inside the villa, Xie Yuan made a quick pass by the row of guest rooms and found Qin Zhenyang. Revealing himself, he knocked lightly on the door.

KNOCK KNOCK—

Qin Zhenyang had been in his room, meditating with his eyes closed. At the sound of the knock, his eyes snapped open, and he shot to his feet.

A moment later, however, his expression changed. He sensed whose aura was outside, and his tense expression relaxed. He walked over and pulled the door open.

"Junior Brother Zhang, you’re back."

Qin Zhenyang said in a low voice as he let Xie Yuan inside.

He stared at Xie Yuan, a strange look in his eyes.

A moment ago, a rather strong presence of Blood Qi had appeared at his door and knocked, having snuck up so closely without making a sound. Qin Zhenyang’s first instinct had been to go on alert.

The next moment, however, he realized the aura belonged to Xie Yuan—it just seemed much stronger than before!

’And his stealth skills seem to have improved as well... It looks like he gained quite a lot at Jianzhen Lake.’

Qin Zhenyang silently let out a breath.

’Every time I go a while without seeing this junior brother of mine, his progress is always jaw-dropping. Forget about me, wasn’t even Master shocked by him before?’

’But we went into the ruins together this time. How could he have changed so much after we came out?’

Xie Yuan didn’t know what was on Qin Zhenyang’s mind. Now that he was back at the villa, he breathed a small sigh of relief and said with a weary laugh:

"If I’d known the Yao family was going to be so direct, I wouldn’t have bothered playing dead. I feel a little bad about receiving all that spirit money from the Qian family for no good reason."

Qin Zhenyang raised an eyebrow at his words.

’It feels like it’s not just Xie Yuan’s strength that has changed,’ he thought. ’His mindset seems a little different, too. Is he a bit more... cheerful?’

He shook his head.

"You did the right thing. It’s always best to be cautious—who knew if they were going to attack us on the spot? And even though they let us leave so easily, I’m sure they’re plotting something. As for your identity... it’s best to proceed as if it’s already been exposed."

Xie Yuan was only joking. In truth, Yao Yuzhi’s magnanimous reaction had only put him more on guard.

It was just as the saying goes: when something is out of the ordinary, something is surely amiss. Xie Yuan was already quietly taking this into account.

He quickly dressed Qian Yangsheng’s body again, arranging the clothes to look just as they had in the coffin. Then, he picked up the corpse and said to Qin Zhenyang,

"Senior Brother Qin, I’ll be right back. We can talk more then."

Qin Zhenyang nodded.

"Be careful."

"Got it."

Xie Yuan gave a serious nod, then dissolved into a blur and vanished from the room with the corpse, leaving Qin Zhenyang’s eyes filled with renewed astonishment.

’This Secret Technique of "Junior Brother Zhang" is truly wondrous,’ Qin Zhenyang mused. ’But even though we all have a tacit understanding, he’s not even trying to hide it from me anymore. Is that a good thing, or a bad one...?’

Xie Yuan quickly carried Qian Yangsheng’s body back to the Qian family’s estate. Even in the dead of night, only two servants were on watch.

Qian Yangsheng had only just died, so the news hadn’t spread, and the formal funeral proceedings hadn’t begun. Otherwise, given his status as a direct descendant and young prodigy of the Qian family, the mourning hall would have been crowded with people for Twelve Hours a day.

With a flicker of his Celestial Illusion Skill, the mourning hall before the two servants’ eyes silently transformed into a mental illusion, and they froze in place.

Xie Yuan pushed open the lid of the completely empty coffin, tossed Qian Yangsheng inside, and tidied things up a bit. After confirming everything looked just as it had during the day, he dispelled all the illusions and left immediately. The entire process took less time than it takes to drink a cup of tea, and he went completely unnoticed.

The two servants would never have guessed that the mourning hall, which looked completely undisturbed, had already been the site of a surreptitious swap.

With Xie Yuan’s current combination of Cultivation Techniques, forget the Qian family’s Grandmaster who was still en route; even if a Grandmaster had been stationed here, they, like everyone else in the estate, probably wouldn’t have noticed his presence at all.

To Xie Yuan, the estates of these great families were like open doors, unless it was a core area like the Yao family’s ancestral home—filled with countless traps, innumerable Arrays, and hidden treasures guarded by experts.

But Xie Yuan didn’t get arrogant. Who knew what treasures the Qian family disciples inside might possess? Once his task was complete, he left the estate immediately.

Even though both families had likely figured out his identity, more or less, he still had to keep up appearances—which meant, at the very least, returning the corpse.

This would prevent a situation where the corpse "secretly ran away" from the coffin, which would lead them to guess that Xie Yuan had switched identities upon his escape. Then they would just cause trouble by going to the Sword Sect to demand the body.

After all, the people of this world placed great importance on one’s physical remains after death, and the great families even more so. Though burning an enemy’s body to ashes was the cleanest solution, Xie Yuan didn’t want to create any more trouble for the Sword Sect.

Xie Yuan’s current goal was to avoid leaving the Cloud Mountain Sword Sect vulnerable to any accusations, even though the body already bore a sword wound.

As for destroying the corpse to eliminate the evidence... When Xie Yuan had made his escape, he had replicated the body’s condition perfectly. He wasn’t sure exactly what details about Qian Yangsheng’s death were known to the outside world. If he had deliberately removed the sword wound, that act alone might have exposed the switch, leaving him with no way to escape.

Fortunately, everything went smoothly in the end. This elaborate swap of his might have seemed a bit excessive, but just as Qin Zhenyang had said, no one could have known that beforehand. It was always best to be cautious.

He had arranged this act with his senior brother back in the ruins. The two of them had coordinated the performance: Qin Zhenyang created a distraction about the death of "Junior Brother Zhang," while Xie Yuan, disguised as Qian Yangsheng’s corpse, was tearfully carried out by the Qian family members to enjoy their mourning rites.