“Do you believe in fate?”
Ling Cang raised her hand, and a teapot landed in her palm.
Pouring downward, the tea naturally split into two streams, falling into two teacups that had appeared on the table at some unknown moment.
Lin An glanced at the teacup in front of him but didn’t take it.
He looked up and activated Observe Like and Dislike, noticing that the mist on the other party was very faint.
That was a good sign.
“Thank you, Senior.”
Ling Cang’s gaze flickered, but she didn’t react.
She casually picked up her teacup and took a light sip.
“Not going to try it? Even I only got a few ounces of this new product from your Ice Heart Pavilion.”
Lin An rubbed his fingers under the table.
If he remembered correctly, there were several packs in the storage pouch Gu Yingge had given him.
Should he take them out?
Forget it.
There was no reason to ask for a favor and then slap someone in the face.
“May I ask what Senior means by ‘fate’?”
Lin An wanted to get straight to the point, but it was clear he had to follow her lead.
“Boring.”
Ling Cang shot him a glare.
“Just like that woman outside.”
“…”
So she was the type to hold a grudge.
Ling Cang extended a finger and tapped the air in front of her.
Starlight surged, spreading outward from her fingertip as the origin.
In an instant, the room was filled with countless stars.
“Literal meaning. Do you believe that a person’s fate is predetermined from birth?”
As she spoke, her face lost all human expression, and the starlight in her eyes grew more dazzling.
Lin An could clearly feel that the woman sitting across from him had entered some kind of mysterious state.
She had become a lofty, overlooking existence of another kind.
To be honest, with her pulling off a move like that, Lin An couldn’t bring himself to say he didn’t believe.
This was clearly not some charlatan; she really had something going on.
“I… do.”
“Those who believe in fate will ultimately be burdened by it.”
“…”
So that was the wrong answer?
Then why did you put on all those special effects?
“Ahem, then I don’t believe.”
“Those who don’t believe in fate will ultimately be abandoned by it.”
“?”
Lin An gritted his teeth.
Take back what I said—you’re just a charlatan, aren’t you?
You said both the positive and negative.
So what am I supposed to say?
Seeing Lin An silent, Ling Cang raised her hand and tapped lightly.
One by one, “stars” flew in from around them, converging in front of the two into a peculiar pattern.
“Our Yuming Sect acknowledges fate, but we do not believe in it. We believe that a person’s fate is not set in stone. Every choice produces a corresponding branch, and each branch ultimately leads to a different destiny.”
Parallel universe, huh?
Lin An knew that concept.
In his former world, it was just a hypothesis, but here it seemed to be something that could truly be observed.
“Twenty years ago, Lu Mingyue came to us, seeking an opportunity to break through. But…”
“But?”
“At that fateful divergence point, she made the worst possible choice!”
“… Huh?”
Lin An sensed that the woman across from him seemed to be… grinding her teeth?
“Our Yuming Sect observes fate, but we also respect the fate of others. If they want to know, we tell them—as long as they pay the proper price.”
“And that woman… she didn’t pay a thing. She pointed a sword at my throat and forced me to read her fortune! She’s a shrew!”
Lin An pressed his hands firmly on his knees, pursed his lips tightly, and struggled not to laugh out loud.
It wasn’t his imagination—when she mentioned Lu Mingyue, Ling Cang had completely exited that mysterious state.
It seemed that incident had really dealt her a heavy blow.
“What are you laughing at?”
“!”
Lin An sat up straight, trying hard to keep his expression from looking too strange.
“Ahem, I wasn’t laughing.”
“You’re lying! Do you think I can’t tell? You never stopped!”
“Pfft…”
Lin An finally couldn’t hold it in.
He bowed his head, covered his face with his hand, and his shoulders shook uncontrollably.
Ling Cang: “…”
She felt her blood pressure starting to rise again, and her pretty face flushed slightly.
After taking a few deep breaths, she calmed down a little.
“Well… ahem, hmm, that really was too much.”
Lin An’s face was full of sincerity.
That wasn’t a lie.
He knew—when asking someone for a favor, even if you don’t bring a gift, you should at least give a smile.
But that woman really did… and honestly, it was something she would do.
Ling Cang shot him a sideways glance, picked up her teacup, and took a sip.
Then the corner of her mouth curled up slightly.
“Who says it isn’t? So, I pointed her toward a ‘bright path.’”
Her expression made Lin An frown slightly.
Tch… Could there be a trap?
Ling Cang seemed to read his mind.
“Don’t overthink it. I didn’t harm her. That method really can help her break through to the Divine Martial Realm.”
“It’s just the most difficult one.”
“Difficult in what way?”
That confused Lin An.
He didn’t see what was so difficult.
All she did was wait twenty years for him.
But on the path of cultivation, was waiting twenty years really that hard?
“Difficult in…”
Lin An waited for her to continue, but after a long pause, she stopped.
“Sect Master Ling?”
“Heaven’s secrets cannot be revealed.”
That’s not what you said earlier!
Lin An stared in disbelief.
This woman, acting like this—what difference was there between her and those riddle-talking, chapter-cutting bastards?
“Is there… a price to pay? But I…”
Before he could finish, her gaze cut him off.
What kind of gaze was that?
Well, it was the pitiful look you’d give a simp.
Wait…
“Lin An.”
“Huh? Huh?”
Lin An suddenly remembered—he hadn’t told her his name, had he?
“Curious how I know your name?”
You definitely can read minds!
“Of course I can’t read minds.”
“…”
“Don’t be surprised.”
Ling Cang raised her hand and gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
“I have seen much concerning your fate. In the end, all the convergence points lead to the Glazed Immortal Realm. Go there to find your answers—including why you cannot cultivate.”
Lin An opened his mouth, but in the end, he only raised his hands in a bow.
“Thank you for your guidance, Senior.”
Now that she had said so much, and pointed him toward a clear path, he had nothing more to ask.
Ling Cang didn’t look at him.
She slowly poured tea and took a sip, clearly signaling that she was dismissing him.
Lin An stood up, stepped down from the platform, bowed again, then turned and walked toward the door.
After two steps, he suddenly turned back.
“By the way, Sect Master Ling, the path you pointed out doesn’t have any traps, does it?”
He was genuinely worried.
Those fortune-tellers loved doing stuff like that.
Ling Cang’s hand, pouring tea, paused for a moment.
She spoke softly, “Get lost.”
“… Oh.”
Turn, open the door, leave.
The room fell silent.
The woman on the platform wore a thoughtful expression.
“The Transparent Sword Body lives up to its reputation. The Star Force didn’t affect him at all. Sigh…”
Ling Cang shook her head slightly.
In truth, from the moment Lu Mingyue left, she had been continuously casting spells, trying to influence Lin An.
But clearly, he didn’t take any pressure at all.
He acted as casually as if chatting with an old friend.
Who was friends with him?
A gigolo being pressed down and toyed with by Lu Mingyue…
Bah.
And he even asked about that woman—if that wasn’t being a simp, what was?
“Tsk…”
Ling Cang’s delicate brows furrowed.
“Why can’t I see the fate after entering the Glazed Immortal Realm…”
In the history of their Yuming Sect, this had never happened.
Even the great cultivator with the Transparent Sword Body a thousand years ago couldn’t escape the grasp of fate.
She closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, the starlight in her pupils whirled wildly, then slowly stopped.
“Still nothing… Strange. Huan Xing.”
“Meow~”
At Ling Cang’s call, a pitch-black kitten jumped out from somewhere.
She smiled, raised a finger, and scratched under the cat’s chin.
The black cat immediately wore a very human-like expression of enjoyment.
“Tail him. He will definitely enter the Glazed Immortal Realm. See what’s going on.”
“Meow~”