I Cannot See Through That Kid’s Origins

Hearing the old man's words, Ian Song didn't say anything, but there was a hint of amusement in his eyes.

But Stone Ling, being pure-hearted, didn't see that the old man was a swindler and instead thought he was a real expert. Delighted, she said, "Alright, sir, please tell my fortune first!"

The old man glanced at the girl and said, "I find you rather likable, so I'll give you a free reading." With that, he theatrically formed a few hand seals, then stared at Stone Ling and said, "Young lady, your surname is Stone. You lost your mother early, and your father just recently. Am I right?"

"Ah! How did you know that, sir?" Stone Ling cried out in shock. Even the amusement in Ian Song's eyes faded, and he stared intently at the old man, as if trying to see through him.

Yet no matter how hard he looked, the old man was just a Golden Core cultivator, with only a faintly obscure aura around him and nothing else mysterious!

Did I misjudge him, or is this old man truly a master I can't see through, hiding his real cultivation?

Meanwhile, the girl in the green skirt saw this and sighed inwardly—another innocent had fallen for her grandfather's tricks.

Seeing everyone's reaction, the old man was very satisfied. Stroking his beard again, he said, "My Heaven-Secrets Divination isn't famous for nothing. All the living beings and events in this world—if I want to calculate them, there's nothing I can't divine."

"That's quite the claim. Why don't you try telling my fortune?" Raina Quinn stepped forward, her tone skeptical.

"Heh, my readings aren't cheap. Ordinary people can't afford them." The old man looked at Raina Quinn arrogantly, as if she wasn't worth his attention.

"How much do you want? Name your price!" Raina Quinn sneered. She didn't know how the old man had figured out some of Stone Ling's details, but she had a vague feeling something was off about him.

"One thousand low-grade spirit crystals!"

The old man replied blandly.

"Fine, just a thousand, right? Here you go!" Raina Quinn casually tossed the old man a pouch of one thousand low-grade spirit crystals, then warned, "You'd better get it right, or don't blame me for being rude!"

When the old man grabbed the pouch, his cloudy old eyes flashed for a moment, but the look quickly disappeared. Ian Song, who caught this detail, grew even more suspicious—if the old man was a real expert, why would he care so much about a thousand low-grade spirit crystals?

Still, he said nothing, deciding to keep watching for now.

After pocketing the crystals, the old man once again formed hand seals and began his calculations. After a long moment, he slowly spoke: "Young lady, is your surname Qin?"

"That's right," Raina Quinn nodded, a hint of surprise flickering in her eyes.

The old man continued, "You're from the Tang Dynasty, and you're a direct disciple of a first-rate sect within Tang territory." As he spoke, his brows suddenly furrowed, and he glanced instinctively at Stone Ling and Raina Quinn.

Hearing the old man clearly state her background, Raina Quinn was even more shocked. Her doubts began to waver—could this old man really be a master?

So she asked, "Then tell me, what does my future hold?" This time, Raina Quinn's tone was much more polite.

The old man said proudly, "It's easy to divine the past, but the future has too many changes and drains my energy. If you want a reading about the future, you'll need to pay extra!"

Raina Quinn nodded, thinking his explanation made sense. "How much do you want?" she asked.

"Ten thousand low-grade spirit crystals!"

When the old man named his price, Raina Quinn didn't react much, but the green-skirted girl who came with him was stunned. She thought to herself, is Grandpa being too greedy, daring to ask for so much?

What surprised her even more was that Raina Quinn handed over ten thousand low-grade spirit crystals without batting an eye.

For a moment, the girl in the green skirt couldn't help but wonder if these people were just a bunch of easy marks.

With ten thousand spirit crystals in hand, the old man's eyes flashed with joy, but he quickly put on an act, forming hand seals and saying, "Hmm, after you leave your sect, you will meet a benefactor who will help you. Your future will be smooth sailing, and you'll soar to great heights. Of course, there will be some minor troubles, but nothing that can truly threaten your destiny!"

"Master, your reading is so accurate! Please take these spirit crystals." As she spoke, Raina Quinn stuffed ten top-grade spirit crystals into the old man's hand without another word.

The old man looked down and, seeing that they were top-grade spirit crystals, his hand trembled and his face lit up with joy. But he quickly realized something, hid his excitement, and put on the calm demeanor of a master. "Thank you very much," he said coolly.

When the girl in the green skirt saw those ten top-grade spirit crystals, she nearly fainted. She thought, just who are these people, to be so rich? At the same time, she worried—if they could casually hand over ten top-grade crystals, they must be important. If they found out her grandfather was scamming them, would they come looking for trouble later?

The old man lifted his chin and swept his gaze over Ian Song and the others. "I have one more reading left. Who wants it?" he said proudly.

"I'll do it!"

Ian Song stepped forward with a smile. "Sir, please tell my fortune. If you get it right, you'll be handsomely rewarded!"

"How handsome?" the old man asked instinctively.

"More than you can imagine!" Ian Song replied, dead serious.

"Alright!"

The old man nodded, muttering incantations and forming hand seals, but soon his face turned very ugly. He stared deeply at Ian Song, then started chanting and forming seals again.

Suddenly—

"Whoa!"

The old man spat out a mouthful of blood, his expression fearful as he stared at Ian Song. It was as if he was muttering to himself, or maybe asking Ian: "Outside reincarnation, outside Heaven's Dao—what kind of monster... holy being are you?"

"Grandpa, what's wrong?"

Seeing her grandfather cough up blood, the green-skirted girl was shocked and hurried forward to support him, her face full of worry.

Ian Song narrowed his eyes at the words. This old man really did have some real skill.

The next moment, Ian Song took out a storage pouch and tossed it to the old man. "Sir, this is your divination fee. Please take it."

"Thank you, farewell!"

The old man snatched the pouch and immediately urged the green-skirted girl, "Let's go!"

"Yes, Grandpa!"

The green-skirted girl quickly helped her grandfather away, and they soon vanished from sight.

Not until they'd gone a hundred li did the old man finally wave for the girl to stop.

"Grandpa, what's going on? It's like you just saw something terrifying!" The green-skirted girl asked, looking at her grandfather with a puzzled expression.

"It really was terrifying!" the old man said, still shaken.

"What do you mean?" The girl was even more confused.

"Heh!" the old man suddenly sneered. "That young man is beyond Heaven's Dao and reincarnation—I couldn't see through his roots at all. But I did see countless vengeful spirits wailing behind him, a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. He's truly a terrifying fiend. The farther you stay from him, the better!"

"No way, he didn't seem like the type to kill for no reason. Are you sure you didn't get it wrong?" The green-skirted girl was very skeptical.

"Enough, you silly girl. You wouldn't understand even if I explained. Anyway, let's see how much that kid paid me!" With that, the old man pulled out the storage pouch Ian Song had given him. But when he opened it and checked with his divine sense, he was instantly stunned.