The Unveiling of a Secret

‘The household head is missing?’

Su Hanxing and Chi Qiu were both startled by the words. Indeed, a chill crept into Su Hanxing’s heart. If Ye Yan spoke truly, this incident had occurred within the very sect where he had always resided. How could he not be alarmed?

“She isn’t missing; she was never interred to begin with,” Ye Yan explained, his voice cold.

“Xiao Qi was not a child of a noble family, so she wasn’t buried within her clan. Instead, she was laid to rest directly within the Tianyan Sect. For an elder within the sect to tamper with her remains would have been effortless.”

“Later, as I was sorting through Xiao Qi’s belongings, I discovered something: a shattered protective spiritual treasure, her personal soft armor.” Ye Yan reached out, and a small, broken piece of light blue armor appeared in his hand.

“Take a look. What do you see on this?” Ye Yan gestured for Su Hanxing to approach and inspect it closely.

“This is… residual true qi, and it’s true qi cultivated with the Tianyan Method.” Su Hanxing leaned closer as instructed, taking the armor. He meticulously examined it and quickly recognized the origin of the lingering true qi.

“Moreover, once this true qi is unleashed, it carries the essence of the Grand Dao, lingering indefinitely. This is clearly the work of a Dharma Manifestation Realm cultivator.”

“Therefore, the one who shattered this soft armor must be an elder within the Tianyan Sect.” Ye Yan, observing that Su Hanxing hadn’t detected the Grand Dao’s imprint, promptly offered a reminder.

Upon hearing Ye Yan’s words, Chi Qiu’s interest in the armor fragment was immediately piqued. She quickly stepped forward, moving beside Su Hanxing to examine it with him. Though Ye Yan had offered a hint, Su Hanxing still couldn’t discern the Grand Dao’s traces. Since Chi Qiu had approached, Su Hanxing simply handed the soft armor fragment to her.

Chi Qiu first glanced at Ye Yan, and only after confirming his expression remained unchanged did she accept the armor. Having received the soft armor, she gently ran her fingers over the violent rupture in its surface. Before long, a peculiar aura of the Grand Dao permeated her senses.

“Indeed, there are traces of the Grand Dao of heaven and earth remaining on it, and they are quite unusual,” Chi Qiu affirmed with a nod, then handed the soft armor back to Ye Yan.

“Unusual?” Ye Yan retrieved the armor, his face showing a hint of curiosity.

“Precisely. The residual Grand Dao on this soft armor is incredibly profound and peculiar. Unfortunately, it’s too fragmented, so I can’t pinpoint exactly what makes it so strange,” Chi Qiu explained, nodding with a touch of regret.

“Forgive my ignorance, Senior Brother,” Su Hanxing interjected, a hint of embarrassment in his voice as he listened to Chi Qiu and Ye Yan discuss the Grand Dao traces on the broken armor. “I don’t know why, but my talent for comprehending the Grand Dao is severely lacking; I truly cannot discern any such marks on this soft armor.”

Ye Yan shook his head after hearing Su Hanxing’s words. “It’s not your fault; it’s the Tianyan Method.”

“The Tianyan Method?” Su Hanxing’s spirits immediately lifted.

“Indeed. Before you reach the Dharma Manifestation Realm, cultivating the Tianyan Method prevents you from perceiving the Grand Dao of heaven and earth. How can one comprehend it if they cannot even perceive it?”

Cultivating the Tianyan Method actually blocks the Grand Dao of heaven and earth? Chi Qiu thought, secretly astonished. No wonder Su Hanxing’s talent in other areas is so astonishing, yet he alone cannot comprehend the Grand Dao.

“So that’s how it is…” Su Hanxing let out a long sigh of relief after hearing Ye Yan’s explanation.

During his time with the Yinglong, Yinglong had informed Chi Qiu that constructing a Dharma Manifestation required relying on the Grand Dao of heaven and earth. Later, when Su Hanxing came to the Imperial City to find Chi Qiu, she relayed this information to him. Subsequently, Su Hanxing discovered that his talent for comprehending the Grand Dao was extremely poor, a matter that had vexed him for a long time. Only now did he finally resolve this inner conflict.

“I heard that forming a Dharma Manifestation requires the Grand Dao of heaven and earth as its foundation, shaping itself with the power of the heavens and earth,” Chi Qiu mused, recalling what Yinglong had said. “If one cannot perceive the Grand Dao, then how do cultivators of the Tianyan Sect advance to the Dharma Manifestation Realm?”

“Cultivators of the Tianyan Sect can form their Dharma Manifestations by drawing upon the power of the starry sky, thus negating the need to comprehend the Grand Dao of heaven and earth.” Ye Yan cast a rather curious glance at Chi Qiu before asking another question: “You aren’t a disciple of the Tianyan Sect. Does your sect not mind you constantly running over here?”

“I belong to no sect or faction; I am a rogue cultivator.” Chi Qiu hadn’t expected Ye Yan to suddenly inquire about her background. She spread her hands, indicating that she wasn’t from a renowned family or sect.

“A rogue cultivator, you say… This is the first time I’ve encountered a rogue cultivator with your level of strength.” Ye Yan raised an eyebrow in surprise, then praised her.

“You two are so close; why don’t you join the Tianyan Sect with him? As far as I know, the Tianyan Sect wouldn’t marry off female cultivators within the sect to Dharma Manifestation Realm elders.” After learning Chi Qiu was a rogue cultivator, Ye Yan’s attitude towards her noticeably softened. He glanced at Su Hanxing before asking.

“I have a grudge against the Tianyan Sect. Though my power is low and I cannot seek revenge, I would absolutely never join them,” Chi Qiu stated openly, without concealment, to Ye Yan.

“Oh? You, too, have a grudge against the Tianyan Sect?” Ye Yan’s interest was immediately piqued.

“Senior Brother, do you recall how the Tianyan Sect’s Grand Elder emerges every thirty years to divine those in the world who possess demonic qi?” Su Hanxing stepped forward, taking the initiative to explain for Chi Qiu.

“I am certainly aware of that. I’ve even accepted sect missions in the past to investigate individuals on that list,” Ye Yan confirmed with a nod.

“Chi Qiu was one of the cultivators on that list,” Su Hanxing said, pointing to Chi Qiu.

“Then why is she still alive?” Ye Yan sounded unconvinced.

“It’s a long story. I used a special method to remove the demonic qi from Chi Qiu’s body, and as a result, the Tianyan Sect no longer pursued her.”

Noticing Ye Yan’s skepticism, Su Hanxing prepared to retrieve a crystal from his storage treasure to give him.

“I’m not particularly concerned with that matter,” Ye Yan said, waving his hand dismissively. “You two have now seen the soft armor fragments. The traces on it could only have been left by a Tianyan Sect elder. Doesn’t that clearly indicate who killed Xiao Qi?”

“The traces on the soft armor were indeed left by a Tianyan Sect elder,” Su Hanxing conceded with a nod. In the face of such irrefutable evidence, there was nothing he could refute.

Furthermore, the true qi fluctuations on this soft armor were vastly different from those on Ye Yan’s person. This ruled out the possibility that Ye Yan deliberately left traces on it himself. Besides, Ye Yan would have no reason to do so.

“When I uncovered this truth, it felt as though my world had collapsed,” Ye Yan said, shaking his head with profound regret. “Outwardly, I remained calm, but secretly, I investigated why the Tianyan Sect would kill Xiao Qi, and which elder was responsible. Alas, before I could uncover the full truth, I was exposed.”

“At that time, I had quietly broken through to the Dharma Manifestation Realm, yet the Tianyan Sect remained unaware,” Ye Yan continued, his expression grim, a murderous glint gathering in his eyes. “Even so, they still dispatched several elders after me. Fortunately, I narrowly escaped death, fleeing into a major city to conceal my tracks and evade their pursuit.”

“The Tianyan Sect’s actions only solidified my conviction: Xiao Qi must have stumbled upon some unspeakable secret within the sect, leading to her demise. Afterward, the Tianyan Sect suspected I also knew of this, which is why they came after me.”