Chapter 474

Chapter 474: The Useless Acting

After Wang Chen moved into the Xun Celestial Guardian’s Pavilion, he cleared out all the servants, maids, and guards from the residence.

Then he recruited a group of people from the Xi family.

Although this would likely increase the Xi family’s influence over the Xun Celestial Guardian’s Pavilion, posing a risk of being undermined, Wang Chen did not care. After all, he would only stay in Daying City for a maximum of three years, after which he would inevitably return to the sect.

Whether the Xi family had ambitions was irrelevant; for now, their respect toward him was enough.

The old flower farmer weeding in the garden was undoubtedly one of the Xi family’s assigned workers.

He appeared very old, with gray hair and a face full of wrinkles. Deep grooves silently revealed the cruel passage of time, while his rough skin and cracked hands proved he was a genuine farmer.

The old flower farmer did not notice Wang Chen’s presence and was focused on clearing the weeds gradually.

He worked very seriously and carefully.

When he turned around to put the weeds into a bamboo basket, he was suddenly startled.

The old flower farmer hurriedly dropped his hoe and awkwardly bowed to Wang Chen, “Greetings, Master Celestial Guardian.”

Wang Chen asked, “Do you know me?”

The old flower farmer lowered his head, “Yes, yes. The steward pointed you out when he brought me to the mansion.”

Wang Chen nodded, “Thank you for your hard work.”

“It’s my duty.”

The old flower farmer replied cautiously, “It’s my honor to serve you, my lord.”

“Hehe.”

Wang Chen smiled, “Truly noble of you, a fellow traveler with perfect mastery in Qi Training, to humble yourself to do menial work.”

The old flower farmer looked confused, “M-m-my lord, what are you saying?”

“Good acting.”

Wang Chen chuckled, “You deserve the title of an old actor. Unfortunately, no matter how excellent your Breath Concealment Technique is, it can’t hide you from the Cave Truth Technique. Let’s skip the pretense.”

The old flower farmer’s disguise was almost flawless; his aura only revealed a Qi Training level. His appearance made him look ordinary, easily overlooked at first glance.

His Breath Concealment Technique must have been practiced at a very high level.

Unfortunately for him, he encountered Wang Chen.

To be honest, if it weren’t for the upgraded version of the Cultivation Panel 2.0 revealing the issue, Wang Chen would have never noticed the scheming cultivator in his back courtyard.

After pinpointing this threat, peeling back the layers became much easier.

Wang Chen was also an expert in disguise. Years ago, his Breath Concealment Technique reached perfect mastery, and now he had mastered the Purple Palace-level Cave Truth Technique, making it simple to see through the old farmer.

The key here was discovery.

Otherwise, how could Wang Chen possibly use the Cave Truth Technique on a mere servant?

This showcased the power of the Cultivation Panel’s Global Mode.

Within the range of his divine sense, it was clear who was friend and who was foe. Human hearts were unpredictable, but unique abilities would not lie!

This old flower farmer stood out in Wang Chen’s map view, emitting a yellow glow mixed with strands of black energy.

Especially at the moment he was exposed, the farmer’s malicious intent nearly burst forth!

“Master Celestial Guardian.”

Realizing he could no longer pretend, the old flower farmer suddenly straightened his back, his previously murky gaze turning bright and sharp. He spoke in a deep voice, “This old man meant no offense; I only sought refuge here after offending Grand Celestial Guardian Luo Han.”

“If the Master does not wish for my presence, I will leave at once!”

His voice was powerful, neither humble nor arrogant, and clear in its reasoning.

Wang Chen nearly believed him.

The reason he provided was indeed quite credible, for among the upper echelons of Daying City, everyone knew Grand Celestial Guardian Luo Han looked unfavorably upon the newly appointed Xun Celestial Guardian’s pavilion.

Wang Chen had been in his position for some time, and apart from meeting Luo Han on his first day, there had been no further gestures from him.

It was as if he allowed Wang Chen to fend for himself.

In the absence of unusual circumstances, it was unlikely for Luo Han to deign to come to the Xun Celestial Guardian’s pavilion to see Wang Chen. The old flower farmer’s claim of hiding here due to offending Luo Han was not entirely unfounded.

The problem was, what Wang Chen “saw” was not aligned with that truth.

If what the farmer said was true, he should appear as a white dot on the map!

“Trying to leave?”

Wang Chen shook his head. “It’s not that easy.”

Before he finished speaking, his hand reached out toward the old farmer: “Freeze!”

With his words, the old flower farmer’s body trembled, his limbs becoming stiff as the mana within his body stagnated.

He had been ready to escape, planning to activate his magical artifact the instant Wang Chen turned hostile.

But he never expected Wang Chen to act so decisively, moving so quickly that he had no time to react.

Most importantly, the old flower farmer could never have imagined how powerful Wang Chen’s Body Freezing Technique was.

The veteran had just flipped the situation!

The time he was frozen was merely a breath, just a blink of an eye.

However, in that brief moment, life and death were determined!

A hand of condensed mana came down, gripping the old flower farmer tightly, causing him to faint instantly.

“Where is Xi Chenlong?”

In the next moment, Wang Chen spoke in a deep voice, “Come see me immediately!”

His voice echoed throughout the Celestial Guardian’s pavilion.

The leader of the patrols, Xi Chenlong, quickly arrived at the back garden, accompanied by two guards.

Upon seeing the old flower farmer collapsed on the ground and unconscious, his expression changed drastically, and he quickly knelt on one knee: “Xi Chenlong greets the Master Celestial Guardian!”

“This person is a spy.”

Wang Chen pointed at the old farmer on the ground and said lightly, “He was brought here by you, so take him back.”

Xi Chenlong immediately lowered his forehead to the ground: “Yes.”

He did not dare to argue and did not believe that Wang Chen was merely talking nonsense; fear rushed through him.

Everyone in the pavilion, apart from the few children Wang Chen had brought, were arranged by the Xi family.

Now that there was a spy, the Xi family could not escape responsibility.

In fact, Xi Chenlong really did know this old flower farmer.

“Go.”

Wang Chen did not say much more, waving his hand to indicate they could leave.

Xi Chenlong felt the weight of the situation and hurriedly took the old flower farmer away to report to the Xi family and give Wang Chen an explanation.

Otherwise, the Xi family would have no standing before Wang Chen in the future!

After Xi Chenlong and the others departed, Wang Chen wandered around the Celestial Guardian’s pavilion.

Then he stepped outside onto the street.

In his opened map view, countless white dots appeared densely.

Then, Wang Chen discovered a significant issue.

A major problem!

His Virtue points were rapidly declining.

The more dots appeared in the view, the faster his Virtue points fell, to the point it felt like a painful loss for Wang Chen.

He quickly closed the Global Mode.

If this continued, the over twenty thousand remaining Virtue points would not last very long.

And such consumption was completely meaningless.

A total loss!