CHAPTER 455: SUSPICION

Chapter 455: Suspicion

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"Did she appear at Real Person Yuyao's birthday banquet? Is she from the Jade Pool Holy Land?"

"Hard to say for sure. After all, a thousand years ago Real Person Yuyao hadn't started causing trouble yet, and many people attended the birthday banquet at the Jade Pool Holy Land." Li Ziping shook his head.

At this moment, Dan Yun, who had been standing silently nearby, suddenly spoke up.

"I know who she is."

"She's Real Person Jade Compassion."

These words stunned both Zhang Mengchu and Li Ziping.

"Jade Compassion? That mysterious senior sister of Real Person Yuyao? Wasn't it said she had already ascended to immortality?" Zhang Mengchu looked astonished.

Who didn't know about Jade Compassion? The Cangyun Realm hadn't seen a cultivator ascend to immortality for centuries, and Jade Compassion was the last one to achieve it.

It was precisely because of Jade Compassion's ascension that the Jade Pool Holy Land, originally on par with the Burning Purity Holy Land, suddenly rose to become the leader among the three great holy lands.

"Jade Compassion didn't succeed in ascension. She failed her heavenly tribulation and became a loose immortal, but Real Person Yuyao covered up this fact." Dan Yun said calmly. "When I first learned about this, I was shocked too, but it's the truth. When I was imprisoned by Real Person Yuyao, Real Person Jade Compassion visited me multiple times. Unlike Yuyao, this woman isn't so unscrupulous."

"But she didn't stop Yuyao either. Doesn't that make her an accomplice?"

Li Ziping's expression darkened as he glared coldly at the fortune-telling girl.

"Perhaps she simply couldn't intervene." Dan Yun sighed. "A loose immortal dares not exert their power, or else heavenly tribulation might strike at any moment. Though they bear the title of 'immortal', they're merely pitiful creatures barely surviving under the Heavenly Dao's majesty."

Unmoved, Li Ziping pointed at the fortune-telling girl. "Then why is she out now? And telling fortunes for our Patriarch?!"

"We should hurry over. What if she means harm to the Patriarch..." Zhang Mengchu started moving toward Chen Huaian before finishing his sentence.

Dan Yun remained silent.

She carefully observed the girl, feeling something was off.

The girl resembled Jade Compassion ninety percent, but the missing ten percent wasn't in appearance—it was in demeanor.

The Jade Compassion she had met was like a pure, aloof lotus flower, untouched by filth yet too cold for anyone to approach.

But this girl before them had the shrewdness of a street merchant.

Especially when she received the Spirit Crystals from the Sword Pavilion Patriarch—her excited expression was that of a money-grubber.

If this was really Jade Compassion, it would be extremely strange.

Moreover, Jade Compassion shouldn't appear now of all times, and certainly not at the Moon Shadow Sect.

...

"What are you laughing at? I didn't make any mistakes!"

The girl pouted, crossing her arms before playfully cupping her hands toward Chen Huaian.

"Big shot, you know best whether my reading was accurate. Want to try something else? Calculating the same person accumulates karma, so if you want another reading, I'll have to charge you... um, three Spirit Crystals this time!"

Chen Huaian narrowed his eyes, fingers lightly stroking the hilt of the Black Scales Sword.

His mind involuntarily recalled the customer service system of his Electronic Girlfriend game.

First Heavenly Calculation free, each subsequent attempt more expensive than the last.

Could this girl have some connection to the Electronic Girlfriend game...

He slapped three more Spirit Crystals onto the girl's table. "Go ahead! Since you're so skilled, calculate who this venerable one fancies!"

Chen Huaian was going all out.

If the girl could really divine this, he'd accept it!

"Great, great, how generous!" The girl grinned, grabbing the three Spirit Crystals and stuffing them into her mouth as if afraid Chen Huaian might change his mind. Her aura strengthened noticeably again. Squinting, she performed another calculation, faster than before.

Opening her eyes, she glanced at Li Qingran standing beside Chen Huaian, a teasing smile curling her lips.

"Big shot, I've got the answer. Should I say it directly?"

Chen Huaian hesitated briefly. "Perhaps... not too directly."

"Got it!" The girl swayed her head, deliberately pausing for a few seconds before speaking in a mystical tone:

"My, my~ The one you fancy... is far away in the distance... yet right before your eyes!"

Chen Huaian fell silent upon hearing this.

Accurate! Incredibly accurate!

Li Qingran froze for several seconds before lowering her blushing face, fingers nervously twisting her clothes as her thoughts wandered.

The surrounding cultivators exchanged confused glances, not immediately grasping the girl's meaning.

But ever since she claimed the Patriarch was only half a year old, they'd already written her off as a charlatan.

What 'far away yet near' nonsense...

Could the Patriarch possibly fancy that monkey disciple?

Or maybe Sect Leader Li Qingran?

Preposterous! Li Qingran was the Patriarch's disciple!

How could such a virtuous Great Ascension Stage cultivator be some despicable master who lusts after his own disciple?

Impossible, absolutely impossible!

"Big shot, want to try something else?" The girl seemed to have set her sights on Chen Huaian, licking her lips eagerly. "If it's still about you, the fee will be ten Spirit Crystals this time. But for a sect leader like yourself, a mere ten Spirit Crystals is nothing, right~"

Before Chen Huaian could respond, Moon Shadow Sect disciples voiced their displeasure first.

"Little girl, what's your deal? Our Patriarch is being lenient with you, and you're pushing your luck?"

"Yeah, don't think we can't tell you're making things up!"

"The Patriarch is too kind. If I encountered such a fraud, forget giving her Spirit Crystals—I'd drag her into the woods for some proper education."

The girl remained unperturbed by the surrounding skepticism, keeping her gaze fixed on Chen Huaian—or more precisely, on his storage ring.

She seemed completely uninterested in everything else.

Her eyes held only Spirit Crystals, only money.

"Just who are you? You couldn't have come to our Moon Shadow Sect just to tell fortunes, could you?"

Chen Huaian couldn't figure out the girl's identity.

According to the map displayed by his Electronic Girlfriend, the girl's aura was yellow.

Yellow represented a neutral or passively hostile state.

Meaning, as long as they didn't provoke her, she wouldn't be an enemy, and might even become friendly.

"Your Moon Shadow Sect is the richest, so of course I came here~" The girl rubbed her hands together, eyes sparkling with greed. "How about this—let me stay at your sect. I'll tell fortunes daily as your resident diviner, and I'll give you a twenty percent discount on readings."

"Patriarch."

Zhang Mengchu approached Chen Huaian, whispering so only he could hear: "This junior knows the girl's identity. She's Real Person Jade Compassion from the Jade Pool Holy Land, senior sister to Real Person Yuyao. About seven hundred years ago, she was the last cultivator to ascend."

"Her? An ascended cultivator?" Chen Huaian blinked. "Then why isn't she in the heavens?"

"According to Dan Yun's confirmation, she actually failed her ascension back then. Real Person Yuyao covered it up for the holy land's benefit."

Zhang Mengchu frowned at the girl and continued: "But this girl's demeanor is completely unlike Real Person Jade Compassion's, and their behavior couldn't be more different... This junior believes there may be more to this situation!"

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